Warhammer 40k Battle Report: Eldar vs Astra Militarum, 1650

In addition to this week's X Wing games, I also played some more 40k, against Nick and his Astra Militarum!

My list was the usual one, but I tinkered slightly with the vehicle upgrades, swapping 2 cannons out for 2 Ghostwalk Matrices (I've edited the original post to be this version too).

Nick's list was:

Company Command Squad, Astropath (Psychic Shriek, Dominate), 2 meltaguns, Chimera

2 Ministorum Priests

Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad, 2 Meltaguns (Platoon commander was Warlord)

4x Infantry Squad, autocannons, Power axes, krak grenades, meltabombs

10 Veterans, Autocannon

Manticore

3 Vendettas

Allied Space Marines, White Scars

Chapter Master, Burning Blade, Artificer, Meltabomb

5 Scouts, meltabomb

We played Mission 6. The Primary was  Crusade (4 objectives), the Secondary was Contact Lost and the Tertiaries were First Strike/Linebreaker/Warlord. This mission used Hammer & Anvil Deployment.

For Warlord Traits, my Wraithknight got Conqueror of Cities, while his Platoon Commander got Master of Ambush.

I won the roll to select ends, but Nick won the roll to set up first, and chose to. I elected to try for Night Fight, but it was not to be.

 After both our deployments and Nick's Infiltrate moves, this was the board. The 4 Primary objectives are by the red Serpent, in front of the blob, in the ruined temple and by the Veterans on the near side.

Going into the game, my plan is to kill the blob as fast as possible, then use the Wraithknight and Night Spinners to mop up the rest of the ground troops while my Serpents focus on the Vendettas, hoping for a Skyfire Nexus to help out.

We prepare for the first turn, and I attempt to seize... successfully!

Eldar Turn 1

After my seize, I immediately put my plan into action. By deploying second, I ensured the green Serpent could move into the side arc of the Manticore and bring it down with the laser and shield, and it didn't disappoint. The rest of my army combines fire on the blob- both Night Spinners fail to snipe the priest, and then the Wave Serpents open up. After the dust settles, I've reduced the Chapter Master to 2 wounds, and killed 3 sergeants, 3 Heavy Weapon teams, and about 20 infantrymen. Not bad!


Astra Militarum Turn 1

Nick goes all out on the counter- he moves his chimera up and the CCS go for the max disembark, hoping to Shriek my Wraithknight who I left a bit too close. It casts with a perils that kills the Astropath, but it still hits! Nick then rolls a 17 and my poor Wraithknight evaporates! In the shooting phase the CCS runs and shoots meltaguns at half range into the orange Serpent. They both miss, but I have still Jinked. The blob advances but the Chapter Master stays still, using his orbital strike. He targets the pink Serpent, which jinks, but scatters onto the yellow one and blows it up! I lose 3 Dire Avengers in the resulting Explosion. The autocannon then does nothing to the Pink Serpent. The Veterans also do nothing to my blue Night Spinner.


Turn 1 Missions:
Nick got 2 Tacos this round- he controlled 3 objectives, and 1 numbered marker, for a total of 3 points. I held one counter, for 1 point. We both got First Strike, but Nick also got my Warlord...

Eldar Turn 2

 I need a strong retaliation after that impressive counterblow! The Hawks and green Serpent combine to annihilate the Veterans in the ruins and take the TacO. All my Dire Avengers that side and Fire Dragons disembark and combine with the remaining vehicles to annihilate the blob and Chapter Master, just leaving 1 priest!

Astra Militarum Turn 2

2 out of the 3 Vendettas arrive this turn, and Nick's PCS jumps out of one to meltagun the green Serpent in the rear, Stunning it. The plane itself goes for my blue Night Spinner, but he heroically passes all 3 Jink rolls! The other Vendetta shoots the Red Serpent, and it explodes. 1 Dire Avenger perishes in the blast. Nick's scouts also arrive and bolt pistol 1 Swooping Hawk down.


Turn 2 Mission Summary
I achieved another TacO, cutting Nick's lead to 3-2. I haven't got his Warlord... yet.


Eldar Turn 3

After wiping the blob in my first 2 turn, I start shooting the Vendettas. There is a Skyfire Nexus, but it's between the Hawks and the Chimera, so my Serpents can't get there. The Fire Dragons nail the Chimera, then the green DA squad nail the final priest. The 7 pink & yellow Avengers, as well a Night Spinner, go for the PCS but Nick goes to ground, leaving just his Warlord alive. The 3 serpents combine fire on the far side Vendetta, reducing it to 1 HP and shaking it. 

Astra Militarum Turn 3

Nick flies both the planes off the board after his 3rd Vendetta fails to arrive, so they can all come on together next turn.
The Platoon Commander has Gone to Ground so stays where he is, but the Scouts attempt to charge the Hawks! Overwatch kills 1 Scout, but the Sergeant succeeds in reaching them. However neither of us cause any wounds, so it's a draw.


Turn 3 Mission Summary
I scored the TacO for holding 3 objectives this turn while Nick couldn't achieve any, giving me a 4-3 lead. I still haven't got his warlord!

Eldar Turn 4

I try to rush his board edge to make it difficult for him to get good shots with the Vendettas, but I keep close enough to the Objectives that I can get to all of them with Flat Out moves. The Autarch separates from the Fire Dragons, so that I'm holding the Objective with 2 units. The pink and yellow DA squads combine to kill the Platoon Commander (finally), while my green squad makes a 10" charge to join in the melee! They overwhelm the Scout Sergeant with attacks and both they and the Hawks consolidate.


Astra Militarum Turn 4

I missed a picture this turn, as we were too caught up in humming "Flight of the Valkyries" as all 3 Vendettas flew on! One killed 3 red Dire Avengers due to lack of a better target, the next did 2 hull to the pink Serpent- I decided not to Jink for the Skyfire Nexus, and the third caused Crew Shaken on the green Serpent


Turn 4 Mission Summary
The yellow DA squad achieved another TacO, so I've got a 5-3 lead now. We're currently drawing the Tertiaries after I finally killed Nick's Warlord, but I will have Linebreaker at the end of the game.

Eldar Turn 5

The pink Serpent uses the Skyfire Nexus to kill the full health Vendetta that shot it, while the green and orange Serpents both do nothing to the 2 remaining planes. The Purple Night Spinner boosts over to the objective in the top left, so that I've got 2 units on it.


Astra Militarum Turn 5

 Nick crosses his Vendettas- one tries to eliminate some of the Dire Avengers in the ruins to no avail, while the other goes for my Purple Night Spinner- I jink and take 1 hull point.


Turn 5 Mission Summary
I have First Strike, Warlord and Linebreaker, so will win the Tertiary 3-2. I also have a 6-3 lead in the TacOs after scoring another point for killing a Flyer. I've got control over all 4 Primary Objectives too.


We roll for Turn 6, and  the game carries on!

Eldar Turn 6

This turn I am able to get 2 Wave Serpents onto the Skyfire Nexus, and they clear the last 2 Vendettas with Scatter Lasers and Serpent Shields to completely table Nick.


End Game Mission Summary
I win 20-0; 12-0 on the Primary Objective, 6-3 on the Secondary TacOs and 3-2 on the Tertiary Objective.

After Action Thoughts.
What a shoot-out! The first game turn was insane!
Thanks very much to Nick for a lovely game- even though it didn't go very well for him he was still a great opponent, and I can easily see why he won Most Sporting last year.
His list was pretty strong, but I think the Chapter Master should have had the standard Bikemander build instead. I'd also have maybe swapped the Astropath for an Officer of the Fleet, but he did prove his worth! Nick's positioning in his blob meant I was able to use careful angles with the Wave Serpents to kill off most of his Heavy Weapon Teams and Sergeants, but in fairness blobs are very vulnerable to that and my Serpents are very mobile.
The Manticore was underwhelming, and I think with Wave Serpents being so popular currently they don't have much of a place any more. The points could go into more psykers, upgrading the Chapter Master, and maybe even grabbing Yarrick rather than the CCS.
I was glad to test my blob-killing power; 2 rounds of fire to take down a whole blob with a Tank Chapter Master is what I was aiming for, and I was pleased that it worked so well. I might stop trying to Snipe the priests and focus more on Heavy Weapons Teams though, especially with the second barrage.
I was happy at the way I dealt with the Vendettas too- getting inside their fire arcs meant that I could protect my wounded tanks easily, and if they drop into Hover mode I can kill them quite easily. The Skyfire Nexus was really useful too.
My Swooping Hawks performed once again, killing a unit of Veterans and a Scout Squad. They even scored a TacO as well.
Psychic shriek is truly the bane of the Wraithknight, as it's easily able to knock a couple of wounds off and sometimes just kill him outright like this time! I should have positioned it better though- 2" further back and I'd have been out of range.

Finally I'd like to thank Nick once again- he's also going to the GT, so I'll see him at the weekend. Thanks for reading the Battle Report, and if you enjoyed it or have any comments please let me know beneath!

SimonW

X Wing Battle Reports: Imperials Vs Rebels/Rebels/Imperials

Yesterday I played several rapid-fire games of X Wing. I used the same squadron (or a slight variation) every time, one I've really been enjoying:

Tie Interceptor, Soontir Fel, Push The Limit, Royal Guard Tie, Targeting Computer, Shield Upgrade
Tie Phantom, Whisper, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Cloaking Device
Lambda Shuttle, Omicron Group Pilot, Darth Vader Crew (in the final game this was Mara Jade instead)
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I went for the 3 point initiative bid as I really enjoy being able to choose to move after enemy Soontir/Whisper, or shooting before Han Solo, with my Soontir and Whisper.

Game 1

In the first game I played Jay, who was running the following 3 ship rebel build:

B Wing, Ten Numb, Autoblaster, Proton Torpedoes, Fire Control System, Veteran Instincts
Y Wing, Horton Salm, R2-D2, Advanced Proton Torpedoes, Blaster Turret
Z-95 Headhunter, Tala Squadron Pilot, Cluster Missiles

99

 The board after our rocks and setup. I decided I'd try and slow them with my shuttle, while Soontir and Whisper go in guns blazing.

 The Lambda gracefully sweeps through the middle, with the aces flanking. Jay pushes up his squadron, with his Tala ready to face off with Soontir next round...

 Soontir floats up for a Range 1 engagement with the Z-95, which I didn't realise had cluster missiles. Jay has his missiles ready to go with a Target Lock, so I need Soontir to kill that ship... one Target Lock/Focus stack later, the Tala is smithereens, failing both of his evades!
The shuttle hard turns into the engagement, and starts work on Ten Numb.
Whisper however has a much less glorious time- he accidentally lands on a rock, and does nothing this round or next. Hooray for Whisper...

 Whisper turns off the rock but he's still out of the fight. The Shuttle pulls a 1 straight, colliding with the B Wing to block. Jay's Y wing gracefully banks through the gap and blaster turrets my Lambda for minimal damage, while Soontir aims at Ten Numb, continuing to hurt him with his piles of tokens! 

 Whisper and Ten Numb line up R1 shots on each other- Ten Numb is PS10 with Jay's build, so I'm quite worried. The Phantom is reduced to 1 measly hull, but then the B Wing is too!
Jay's Y Wing is just off the bottom of the picture, coming back for another pass.
The Lambda begins a long process of turning through the rocks (without hitting any), while Soontir turned right rather than left because I was worried he would collide with something with the left turn.

 A quiet turn for me- Whisper decloaks then recloaks, to try and get away from Ten Numb but to no avail, the B Wing's Fire Control System ensuring my demise. Soontir pulls a hard 1 and a boost to get back in the fight next turn, while the Lambda and Y Wing have a competition over "Who can be out of the fight for the longest?"

 Soontir has had quite enough of not doing any damage, so he grabs a Boost/Focus/Target Lock ready to annihilate the B Wing. Ten Numb tries to barrel roll away but he's still in range 3- Soontir proves his worth again as he deals 3 hits, finishing off the second of the rebel scum!

 Now Soontir gets to play "Chase the Y Wing", made interesting by R2-D2 and the Blaster Turret. I start to do damage, forcing Jay to pull green manoeuvres to recover shields. The Lambda continues to turn.

 The chase continues- the Y Wing recovers a shield, then Soontir takes 2 off again. The Lambda is still turning.

 Soontir gets to Range 1 and does 4 damage to the Y-Wing! Now it only has 1 left, after recovering again this round. The Lambda keeps trying to get back in the fight.

Soontir pulls up next to the Y Wing and slightly behind it- after much deliberation, including an independent adjudicator our friend Ryan, Soontir has a shot. He goes the 4 hits he was destined for, and Horton Salm is destroyed. 3 out of 3 for Soontir!

After Action
Go Soontir! I was disappointed by Whisper this time- I flew him much more poorly than I did previously and got very little use out of him. Soontir however did not disappoint, putting out at least 12 points of damage over the game and bagging all 3 kills! My MVP this game has to be the Shuttle though, for avoiding all of the rocks... Admittedly it didn't look good if the game went to another turn though. Jay's squadron was pretty cool, although I think and Ion Cannon and perhaps Dutch Vander would be a better build for the Y Wing. The Ten Numb Autoblaster combo at Range 1 is brutal, essentially delivering whatever damage it rolls!

Game 2
This time I played Ryan. He only got into X-Wing this summer, but has taken to it very well. We played 2 games- in the first, I used the same squadron and he used the following Rebel list:

E Wing, Corran Horn, Fire Control System, Engine Upgrade, Push The Limit and R2-D2
X Wing, Biggs Darklighter, Hull Upgrade

Z-95 Headhunter, Bandit Squadron Pilot
Z-95 Headhunter, Bandit Squadron Pilot

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Ouch! A tricked out Corran Horn along with a "Biggs Mini Swarm." However Corran is only PS8, so as long as I don't make any mistakes I shouldn't have too much trouble...

 I deploy similarly to before, with a similar plan- the shuttle will hold Ryan up in the middle, while my aces flank. The rocks are fairly tight in the middle.

 After a couple of rounds, the board is such. My shuttle is ready to turn in for the engagement next turn, while my aces are standing by.

 First engagement to the Empire! One Bandit Squadron is just too far in front of Biggs' leash, so he goes down to Whisper and the Shuttle. Soontir boosts to try and take advantage of a naked Corran, who clunked on a Headhunter. However, this takes him into range of Biggs so he is only able to take 1 shield, and also puts him in a bad position for next turn.

 The Lambda can't pull a 3 bank to avoid Soontir due to being stressed, so instead tries to go far enough forwards to avoid the collision. This does block Biggs and the Tala, and Corran koigrans so also loses his action. Whisper gets out of the way, and then Soontir... collides into the Shuttle. Oh crap. Ryan wastes no time- Biggs, the Tala and Corran reduce him to a single with their shooting, and then Corran activates his ability- with the Fire Control System's help he is able to blow the Interceptor to smithereens!

 The shuttle continues to stall Biggs, while the Tala is able to Koigran over, into a gap between the shuttle and the asteroid that is just big enough! Corran can't shoot this turn, so goes on the defensive. Whisper now has to do some heavy lifting, but first he gets away from the fighting, ready to make another pass. Combat passes with Corran taking no damage from the shuttle, and the Tala doing 2 to the shuttle.

My shuttle flies towards the bottom of the board, away from threats and also hoping Ryan will chase it and so fall into Whisper's trap. He doesn't go for it yet, just re-positioning his ships. No shooting this turn!

 Whisper pulls a decloak Koigran and is just in range of Biggs, to take a shot and get his cloak back up. Corran and the Headhunter follow the Lambda, and alas it is no more. Whisper really has his work cut out now...

 Whisper goes for the throat on Biggs, and gets it- with the damage dealt by Soontir earlier and Ryan only passing 1 evade, the X Wing is destroyed! Corran continues his approach, while the Bandit shoots the re-cloaked Whisper, but does nothing.

 We dance around, ready to continue the fight. Ryan gets Corran ready to Koigran next turn, while the Z-95 shuffles forward.

 The poor Bandit Squadron Pilot, abandoned by Corran, faces off against the mighty Whisper, and it goes predictably well for the Phantom. Corran pulls a Koigran, and it seems we're about to have an impromptu joust!

Whisper and Corran begin their duel. Whisper shoots first, taking 2 shield. Corran uses both of his attacks to do the same to Whisper though!


We stopped at this point as we wanted to get another game in afterwards. We decided to call it a draw- neither of us had kept time, our ships were similar points, and in a duel between them it's very tricky to determine the outcome- perhaps Whisper has the edge by moving afterwards, but Corran has R2-D2 and can wait for his chance to double attack.

After Action
Well, that game was tough! I flew Soontir very poorly in the first exchance, and Ryan had positioned well to take advantage. This match really did show me the power of a phantom though- for less than 40pts, it can clear up most of a Squadron by itself! Truly a beast of a ship, and if it can pick its fights then there's no stopping it! Corran was great for Ryan- he's lots of points, but he is very strong. It's a shame that Push The Limit is so necessary rather than Veteran Instincts- with PS 10, he'd be incredible.

 Game 3
Ryan and I pushed on for another quick game!
I used an almost identical squadron, but I wanted to try out Mara Jade instead of Vader. Her stress inducing ability is very strong, and I felt like I wasn't always getting much out of Vader as a blocker/delayer.

Ryan used an Imperial squadron this time:

Tie Interceptor, Soontir Fel, Push The Limit, Targeting Computer
Tie Interceptor, Carnor Jax, Push The Limit
Tie Phantom, Whisper, Advance Cloaking Device, Veteran Instincts
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This is why I like a 3pt initiative bid. As high PS Imperials are getting more popular, you need to be able to win the mirror match. Most high PS builds will have a 1pt bid , but many more are countering that with a 2pt bid of their own. I bid 3pts, as there's not really anything else I want in my squadron for 1pt (except maybe Enhanced Scopes on my blocker shuttle, to make it PS 0 during the activation phase).

This time there are less pictures of the opening & deployment.

 My opening sees the shuttle and aces leapfrog each other, sticking close together. My plan is to lure Ryan into a close range dogfight, then block with the Shuttle and stress his phantom with Mara Jade.
Ryan deploys Carnor and his Whisper in the opposite corner, and his Soontir zips towards them along the top edge.

This is the first engagement, and it took us both by surprise. Ryan's Soontir accidentally landed on a rock, taking a damage and losing his actions. Seeing this, mine boosted into Range 3, and with a Target Lock/Focus stack was able to bring his doppelganger down! A very unfortunate start for Ryan. However his Whisper is able to return fire, taking 1 hull and 1 shield from my Soontir. Carnor takes a potshot at the shuttle for 1 hull.

 My Whisper decloaks opposite his, and we exchange firepower, each losing a shield or 2. The shuttle successfully stays out of Whisper's way.

The Lambda moves to Block Ryan's Whisper, but he is just able to avoid me. He damages my shuttle some more and recloaks, but I am still able to deal him another damage. I also stress him with Mara here.


We called the game here as the store was closing soon, we were both tired, and now there was almost nothing Ryan could do to avoid getting blocked and shot down by my Whisper next turn.

After Action
Brutal game- 3 aces died in 2 rounds! I felt bad for Ryan with his Soontir hitting a rock, as it really proved costly. Even though we ended up trading Soontirs, I was confident that my Whisper/Shuttle could beat his Whisper/Carnor due to initiative, and then taking out Carnor too made it a tough climb for Ryan. I liked Mara Jade in the shuttle- I find with this squadron that the shuttle either dies very fast and Vader is little use, or it blocks for a round or 2, he does maybe 1 crit and then has to turn around. Mara however greatly improves the blocking round, as she ensures every ship around her has a stress token, which prevents people pulling Koigrans over the shuttle or around the aces. I think I'll keep trying with her.

So that concludes this week's X-Wing action! There's also a 40k Battle Report to come too, which was potentially my final practice before the GT. It was against yet more Astra Militarum, this time with 3 Vendettas! That should be up very soon.

Thanks to Jay and Ryan for the great games, and thanks again for reading!

SimonW

Warhammer 40k Battle Report: Eldar vs Astra Militarum, 1650

After this week's X-Wing games, I had another GT practice match as well, against Andy and his Astra Militarum artillery army. We played Big Guns Never Tire/Tactical Escalation, with Hammer and Anvil deployment. I was looking forward to seeing how the Wave Serpents performed against the firepower of the Astra Militarum, particularly against the Vendettas and artillery.


Lists
My list was the same as usual.

Andy's list was approximately the following:

Company Command Squad, Banner, Medic, Officer of the Fleet

Platoon Command, 4 Melta Guns (in a Vendetta)
20 man Infantry Squad, Ministorum Priest
Sabre Defence Platform, Lascannons

Platoon Command, 4 Melta Guns (in a Vendetta)
20 man Infantry Squad, Ministorum Priest
Sabre Defence Platform, Lascannons

Vendetta

Vendetta

3 Thudd Guns

3 Thudd Guns

3 Medusa Gun Carriage Heavy Artillery Platforms with Bastion Breacher Shells (Imperial Armour 1: Imperial Guard, 2nd Edition P. 188)

Skyshield

Deployment

 I won the roll and had to deploy first. I lined my long board edge symmetrically, with 1 Wave Serpent at each end, the 2 Night Spinners inside them and the last 3 Serpents in the middle, with the Fire Dragons in the exact centre. My Wraithknight Warlord is at the front, hoping to punch out the artillery as soon as possible.

Andy places his Skyshield centrally and all the artillery on top, with the Company Command in the middle to help with orders and banner rerolls for Morale and Pinning.
One blob starts centrally and one on the left, so that my Wraithknight has no clear path to the artillery.
The 2 Sabre platforms deploy in the towers either side of his Skyshield.

I choose to take 1st turn, and Andy fails to Seize the Initiative.

The Game

Eldar Turn 1

I move everything into range and try to take out as much of the artillery as possible turn 1.
The Night Spinners team up and manage to snipe out Andy's Company Commander for Slay the Warlord and to neutralise his orders. Good work! The Wave Serpents start shooting at the artillery, but it doesn't go well- T7 and 3+ armour makes these things resilient. After the dust settles I've killed the one Sabre Platform on my right for First Strike and 1 of the Medusa platforms. Those platforms are extra durable with 4 wounds each! As it's Tactical Escalation I only have 1 TacO this round, one of the bridge objectives, which I don't reach this turn.

Astra Militarum Turn 1

Andy moves the blobs up to slow down the Wraithknight, and the artillery prepares to fire.
The Medusas take aim at the Fire Dragon Serpent containing my Warlord. It jinks, but to no avail, as the Str 10 Ordnance does its thing and blows it up! First Strike for Andy. The Thudds scatter wildly (fortunately for me) and that's the end of the phase. Andy gets the middle bridge objective as a Taco and is just out of range, even after running.

Turn 1 Mission Summary:
We both have First Strike, I have Slay the Warlord, and neither of us have any TacOs.

Eldar Turn 2

I decide that shooting the artillery is not going to work, so I need to blow away Andy's fearless tarpits to allow my Wraithknight to move up and kill the batteries in melee. My Swooping Hawks would have been very useful here, so they naturally decide to stay in reserve (despite only needing a 2+). One Night Spinner tries to snipe a Priest on my right but scatters completely away. The other shoots at the 2 Thudd batteries and is more successful, managing to pin one of them. All my Dire Avengers get out to shoot into the blobs, and the Fire Dragons get into a newly empty Serpent. After shooting is over, the central blob has just 2 guys left and the far side has about 6. The Wraithknight assaults the larger one and kills 4, leaving the fearless Priest and a single friend.

Astra Militarum Turn 2

Andy's Vendettas both arrive with the Officer of the Fleet bonus, and each shoots a Wave Serpent, forcing 2 to Jink. The Medusas aim at the red Serpent which Jinks but is still shaken, and they also clip the blue Night Spinner, denying it a Jink save and it becomes immobilised. 2 Guardsmen slip past the Wraithknight to score a TacO, and then in melee the Wraithknight easily crushes the Priest and final guardsmen, consolidating towards the Skyshield.

Turn 2 Mission Summary
Andy achieved 1 TacO this round, for a 1-0 lead in the secondary.


Unfortunately my phone's battery became too low for the camera at this point, so I have to continue the report without any pictures.

Eldar Turn 3
My 4 wave Serpents advance slightly and pair off, 2 shooting each Vendetta. Between them they manage a single hull point on one, which is not what I would have liked. The Night Spinners eliminate the Company Command Squad and it's banner, denying the artillery pieces re-rolls to Morale in the assault that's going to follow.
My Swooping Hawks arrive next to the remaining Sabre, ready to jump up and melee it to death next turn. The Wraithknight assaults the Medusa unit and after causing 3 wounds they fall back and he sweeps them all.

Astra Militarum Turn 3
Andy's planes each turn and cross each other. The melta Platoon Command Squads both deep strike out and use the Run then Shoot Order to get in close range of a Serpent each. Between the 4 squads he makes all 4 of my remaining Serpents Jink, but it's not enough for one of them and it explodes. The other 3 have taken a variety of hull points throughout the game, through glancing hits or crew shaken results after Jinking. The Thudds annihilate 2 squads of Dire Avengers.

Turn 3 Mission Summary
While I achieve 2 TacOs this round, Andy does too, and his are each worth 2pts! He takes a 5-2 lead in the Secondary. However I've killed a Heavy Support choice so I'm winning the primary 1-0 (not counting objectives).


Eldar Turn 4
I'm losing firepower pretty quickly so need to do something about it this turn. I form a plan to clear out a substantial amount of Andy's army this turn- my Wraithknight will destroy a Thudd Battery in assault, the Hawks will jump up and kill the Sabre Platform in melee, my Night Spinners, Dire Avengers and Fire Dragons will shoot both melta PCS while my Serpents will try to kill Vendettas. I also need to score some TacOs, and have enough cards now that I'm able to score a 2 for 3pts. However I need to kill 3 units this turn and control an Objective.
In the ensuing shooting phase my infantry/Night Spinners do their job and clean out both of Andy's PCS. The Hawks and Wraithknight forgo shooting to get ready for melee, while my Serpents look to the skies. Each Vendetta takes another hull point, and 1 is Shaken as well.
In the Assault phase, the Wraithknight does his thing to the first Thudd battery and sweeps it, while the Hawks beat up the crew for the Sabre, neutralising that as well.

Astra Militarum Turn 4
Things aren't so good for Andy now- that was a really clutch turn for me and has possibly sealed the game. His final Thudd battery tries to kill my Fire Dragons and Autarch for pride but can't quite manage it- the Autarch drops to 1 wound and 1 Fire Dragon is left alive after some careful Look Out Sirs! His Shaken Vendetta flies off the board, ready to come back on turn 5. The other one zooms over to a damaged Wave Serpent and annihilates it in a hail of Lascannon fire.

Turn 4 Mission Summary
I draw level on the TacOs this round, as Andy doesn't score any and I get 3pts, leaving the scores at 5-5. I also got another point for Big Guns, extending my lead to 2-0.

Eldar Turn 5
I think I'm in a position to win now, so go for the throat. I position units on 4 out of 5 Big Guns Objectives to get a strong margin of victory should the game end, the Wraithknight hops on to a Skyfire Nexus by the Skyshield to try and shoot the Vendetta off the table, and both Wave Serpents take take aim as well. Despite the Wraithknight missing twice, the Wave Serpent is finally successful and Wrecks the Vendetta. The Hawks jump over and sweep the Thudd Battery, despite losing 3 of their number to Overwatch fire from Lasguns!

Astra Militarum Turn 5Andy's Vendetta flies on his left side, and tries to nail a Wave Serpent to rack up some more points destroyed. Unfortunately for him I pass my Jink saves,

Turn 5 Mission Summary
I was able to achieve 2 more TacOs in my turn (control a marker and kill a flyer), so now I have a 7-5 lead that Andy will almost certainly not be able to assail. I've also got 15pts for Big Guns- 4 Objectives and 3 Heavy Support, while Andy doesn't have any.

We roll for the game... and it continues...

Eldar Turn 6
 My Night Spinners spread out so that I now control all 5 Big Guns objectives, and another TacO. My Wraithknight stays on his Skyfire Nexus and draws a bead to the last Vendetta, but misses twice again! However my final 2 Wave Serpents have a taste for planes now and Andy's final unit is Wrecked.

Game over!

End Game Mission Summary
I control all the Big Guns Objectives and destroyed 3 Heavy Support choices for an 18-0 win in the Primary, netting 10 Tournament Points. I also win the Secondary with an 8-5 in TacOs for another 6 TPs, and take the Tertiaries (First Strike/Warlord/Line Breaker) 2-1 for 4 TPs. Final Score is 20-0 to the Eldar!

After Action Thoughts

Wow, that was tough! I thought that I probably had the board control and manoeuvrability to win the Primary mission, but Andy really made me work hard for it. After Andy's Turn 3 I thought he had a real chance to win the Secondary (as long as I couldn't table him), but luckily I was able to score points when I needed to and never fell too far behind. The GT rules pack prevents you scoring more than 2 TacOs per turn, and I think without that limit Andy could really have pulled ahead, but alas.

I was happy with the list again, and was glad to really be able to test the firepower. I was happy that I could clear out almost all 40 guardsmen in 1 round even without the Hawks, and the Night Spinners once again performed well by clearing key models and causing Pinning checks. I think Andy was slightly too aggressive with the blobs- had they hung back ready to tarpit my Wraithknight they'd have had much more of an impact and kept his artillery alive, but the central Objectives made that difficult.

I also want to talk about those Medusa Artillery Platforms some more- they were amazing! Toughness 7, 4 Wounds, 3+ armour and 4+ Invun from the Skyshield, with a Large Blast Str 10 AP2 Ordnance Barrage is a truly sick profile! Bastion Breachers are a cheap upgrade too, trading the large blast for a small one but gaining Str 10 AP1 Armourbane instead. They are just over 100pts per gun, but 1 battery is worth it in my opinion. I was lucky Andy only got 2 shooting phases with them, and that he got a bad scatter turn 2 that stopped them killing a 2nd Serpent. I think with orders, or a Divination psyker for Prescience (and maybe Ignores Cover), they'd be obscene!
The Thudds were devastating too, but I think 2 batteries of 3 is overkill- 16 blasts from 2 lots of 2 guns should be enough, especially if you can use the leftover points for better psychic support.

So, there's just under a week to go until the GT and I'm feeling excited! Those 2 games of X-Wing really helped with my 40k burnout, and this game improved my strategy against artillery, gunlines and cake stands Skyshields.

I'd like to wrap up by saying thanks to Andy for a great game! It was much closer than the scoreline indicates, but that's often the way with tournament points unfortunately.

This week I plan on finishing the last few bits of my army, so hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon. Thanks once again for reading, and as always any comments or thoughts are appreciated below!

SimonW

X Wing Battle Reports: Imperial vs Imperial

Yesterday I decided that I fancied a small break from all the 40k I've been playing recently, so I had a couple of games of X-Wing before my arranged 40k match.

My opponent was my friend Chud, who's recently got into X-Wing, and he was running the following Imperial squadron in our first round:

Tie Interceptor, Soontir Fel, Predator
Tie Defender, Onyx Squadron
Tie Phantom Whisper, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Cloaking Device
99

I used the squadron below, as I've been meaning to try it for a while and this was the perfect opportunity:

Tie Interceptor, Soontir Fel, Push The Limit, Royal Guard Tie, Targeting Computer, Shield Upgrade
Tie Phantom, Whisper, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Cloaking Device, Intelligence Agent
Lambda Shuttle, Omicron Group Pilot, Darth Vader Crew
98

I gave Chud initiative to help with the PS9 mirror match as I wanted to be able to arc dodge if necessary. I was excited to use the Phantom, and I chose Whisper over Echo to help with the squad's PS9 bid. Whisper also doesn't need Recon Specialist, so he actually works out 1pt cheaper.

Round 1

 After rocks and deployment, we set our dials.

 My lambda banks towards the middle, ready to help my Soontir kill Chud's. Meanwhile my Whisper gets ready to brawl in the middle, while Chud's Onyx Squadron and Whisper advance centrally

 Our Soontirs drift into Range 1 of each other. Chud focuses and has a predator reroll to score 2 hits 2 crits, but my Soontir has a TL/Focus/Evade stack and only suffers 1 crit. Thanks, shield upgrade! I return fire with Soontir and the Shuttle and he is no more. Didn't even need Vader! On the left we continue to dance around while the Defender puts some shots into the shuttle.
Next turn Soontir moves and boosts around the rock while the shuttle blocks the enemy Whisper, then my Whisper and Soontir combine to take him down. The defender turns past the action but it doesn't look good. 

 My Soontir and Whisper chase down the defender for several rounds, working on its 3 Hull 3 Shield...

 Soontir avoids a Range 1 focus shot with a cheeky boost! Whisper spanks the Defender down to 1 hull this round...

 I reposition my ships ready for the kill next turn, while Chud tries to nail Whisper, who goes down to 1 hull! Bloody cloaking device malfunctioned...

After manoeuvres, Vader has range to the Defender so it's game over. We roll it out anyway and the Omicron Group Pilot steals the kill for himself!

So after the first game, I was pretty happy with the squadron. The opening was a variant of what I used for my Vader Shuttle & 3 Royal Guard Ints with PTL squadron, and it works very well for lists with a central ship and more than 1 flanker.

I didn't use Intelligence Agent once, and I'd probably swap it out for either Enhanced Scopes on the Lambda (when it's released) or even a 3pt initiative bid (as I think it's really important in this list).

I chatted with Chud about the rocks and his deployment after the game, and how it let me pick off his ships quite easily. I also convinced him of the merits of Push the Limit on Soontir Fel. In addition he decided to swap the Onyx Defender for a Delta to better block, and used the 2pts for a Targeting Computer on Soontir after seeing it work so well for me.

So we decided on a rematch...

My squadron was the same as last time. (98 pts)

Chud used:
Tie Interceptor, Soontir Fel, PTL, Targeting Computer
Tie Defender, Delta Squadron Pilot
Tie Phantom, Whisper, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Cloaking Device
99

Again I give Chud initiative.

Round 2

The rocks are similar again. Chud deploys much better this time, forcing me to deploy differently. I decide to try and nail his Whisper with mine and Soontir together before the rest of his squadron can arrive to help, and if needs be delay them with the Lambda.

Opening moves. Lambda pulls a 3 bank to set his course, stressing itself for next turn. My aces drift up 2, playing it carefully, and both Whispers cloak up. His Soontir heads straight for my shuttle, while the Defender holds the centre.

Chud tries to Koigran Whisper behind my aces but comes up just short. With careful decloaks and choosing to move Soontir first, they are both able to get shots. My Whisper cripples him, and then Soontir finishes him off. Meanwhile his Soontir and Defender really hurt my Lambda, who realises he is going to die soon so starts shooting and using Vader.

My aces turn inside to face his. The Lambda is nearly finished by Fel and is about to be killed by his Defender, so Vader destroys his own ship in an act of spite for an extra damage. Whisper clunks into Soontir, but luckily still has a shot so can get up his cloak and a defensive focus. The combined fire of my aces and Vader reduces the defender to 2 hull.

My Soontir pulls off some fancy flying to get a 4 dice TL/focus shot on Chud's, but he only deals 2 hull. Everyone else is busy repositioning.

Soontir comes around the rock and further damages the Defender, which clings to life on 1 hull thanks to its 4 evade dice this turn. Whisper and his Fel dance around each other, initiative proving very useful in letting me avoid him.

Whisper decloaks and hard turns, killing the Defender at last. Now the chase is on...

Chud's Soontir continues to turn and avoid me, stacking focus and evade whenever he can.

Over the next couple of turns, Chud proceeds to make some spectacular evade rolls to stay in the game- 4 hits, 3 evades and tokens!

"I have you now," I said, with my best Darth Vader impression. However, the force is not with me as I hit 3 times and Chud rolls 3 evades. Didn't even need his tokens...

I reposition, determined that Soontir Fel "The Destroyer" shall get his man!

Eventually Chud tries to speed away 5 and forgoes his actions, but I am able to boost into range 1...  Soontir does his thing at last and finishes the game.

So, a much harder fought victory the second time! This game really showed the value of Push The Limit on Soontir- he's simply a machine with it, especially if you can get him a Targeting Computer as well.

I really enjoyed flying my squadron too- the Lambda is quite tricky to pilot but now that I've got the hang of it, my space bison graceful shuttle is very rewarding. Naturally Interceptors with PTL are great fun, and their ability to alternate between defensive arc dodges and overwhelming firepower as required is always useful. Whisper was really impressive, with the decloak followed by a hard 1 turn standing out as a particularly good move. He also doesn't suffer too badly from action denial either, as long as he can make a shot afterwards to get his cloak up and hopefully a focus too. I think Whisper is better than Echo primarily because the extra pilot skill which, along with a strong initiative bid, gives him the advantage in the mirror match and also against Soontir, Han Solo, and other PS9 ships that are popular at the moment.

Thanks for reading my first X-Wing Battle Reports, and thanks again to my friend Chud for playing. It was nice to play something other than 40k for a change, but I still managed to get a GT practice game in later that evening, so stay tuned for that battle report to come as well!

SimonW