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.
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
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...
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
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!
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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
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