Saturday, October 30, 2010

Weekly Battle Report #1: Wolfstar vs. New Dark Eldar


Well, finally got a game in against the new Dark Eldar, with my friend CJ playing a proxy game with his actual Eldar army models.  None of the proxys are TOO outlandish, and we wanted to see what the new book could do.  So, he made a list and we threw down.



We played at 1850 points.  Here's my list:

Wolf Lord w/ Saga of the Bear, Thunderwolf Mount, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Wolftooth Necklace, Wolftail Talisman
Wolf Lord w/ Saga of Majesty, Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Claw, Storm Shield
Rune Priest w/ Living Lightning and Jaws

8x Grey Hunters w/ Melta Gun, Wolf Standard, Rhino
8x Grey Hunters w/ Melta Gun, Wolf Standard, Rhino
7x Grey Hunters w/ Melta Gun, Wolf Standard, Rhino

3 Wolf Guard w/ 3x Power Fist, 3x Combi-melta

5x Longfangs w/ 4x Missile Launchers
5x Longfangs w/ 4x Missile Launchers
4x Longfangs w/ 3x Missile Launchers

Plenty of other reports available of this list in tournaments.  Look at my battle report log link on the sidebar of the blog if you're interested.

Here's CJ's Dark Eldar list (as well as I can remember it):

Archon w/ Huskblade, Soul Stealer, Haywire Grenades, Combat Drugs, Shadowfield, Webway Portal
Duke Sliscus (or however you spell that)
Court of the Archon w/ 2x each of the minions, except 3x the big T5 ones w/ Raider (w/ Flickerfields)

8x Incubi w/ Exarch and the bloodlust power (or whatever it's called) w/ Raider

15x Warriors w/ Dark Lance, Champion w/ Poison Blade
15x Warriors w/ Dark Lance, Champion w/ Poison Blade
10x Wyches w/ 2x Shardnets, Champion w/ Agonizer
10x Wyches w/ 2x Shardnets, Champion w/ Agonizer

3x Reaver Jetbikes w/ Heat Lance
3x Reaver Jetbikes w/ Heat Lance

Ravager w/ Dark Lances
Ravager w/ Dark Lances

We rolled for mission and got Sieze Ground w/ 4 objectives, and Spearhead.  We deployed the objectives in the middle of the board, you'll see them in the pictures.  I specifically wanted to make sure they were in the middle, since it would help my wolfstar be able to control the board more easily.  Also, his advantage in manouverability was vast, and I wanted to keep that advantage to the minimum.

We rolled off, and I won the roll, and though maybe it wasn't the wisest thing, I gave him first turn, for 2 reasons:

1) As a rule, I generally love going 2nd in objective missions, simply because I get the final say in matters, and can contest/get people off their objectives and they can't do anything in return
2) I wanted to see how Dark Eldar did with first turn.  I've played enough games against the OLD Dark Eldar to know how easily their transports die.

CJ rolled for combat drugs and got a 1 and 6 (since the Duke lets you roll 2 dice) and gladly took the 6:  free pain token at the start of the game for anyone with the drugs.  So, his bikes, wyches, Duke (with the Incubi), and Archon (with the Court) all got FNP to start it off.  Wow, the game just got a whole lot more interesting.
Here's our deployment.  Remember:  IF YOU WANT BIGGER PICTURES, CLICK ON THEM.

You'll notice my longfangs behind my wolfstar, as well as the rhinos- free cover!  Also, what you can't see are my last unit of fangs, on a hill behind the rest of my force (area terrain!)  Also note that while he camped one of his 15-man warrior squads on an objective, the other 15 and the two squads of wyches are still in reserve.  My 3rd Grey Hunter rhino is also in reserve.


Dark Eldar Turn 1:

He moved his Ravagers 12", and his Archon got out of the raider, walked 6" and dropped the WWP (the small blast template).  *As a sidenote, I think if you're taking a WWP, you generally need to deploy it turn one, since your reserves you're depending on won't wait for it to be deployed. *  His Reavers turboed 36".

Shooting didn't do much, just killed a Longfang.  He might have been better off going for my transports, but I can understand the fear 11 missile launchers can instill in a person.  The Incubi Raider turboed behind a hill.
Alright, the skimmers with weapons on them are Ravagers.  The other two are raiders, and the one with a striking scorpion on it (on the right) has the Duke + 8 Incubi.  The weird green things on the flanks are his jetbikes.

Wolves Turn 1:

I decided I needed to stay away from the Incubi bubble of death with my wolfstar, and also decided to take a more roundabout approach to the game:  take his transports/skimmers out with missiles, and wait for the reserves to come in before I committed anything too huge.  His firepower wasn't withering enough to force me forward, so I would wait.

The wolfstar moved up toward the reavers on the left, ready to charge them for fun.  Grey Hunters on the left also jumped up and out of their Rhino, ready to rapid-fire them.  Not sure why I decided to do that, honestly, since the Wolfstar would be more than enough to finish them.  Everything else just kinda sat back.

Shooting was somewhat of a fail, only wrecking a single raider, though it was the 'dangerous' one (Incubi + Duke).  Also I took a weapon off a ravager.  He passed all of his cover saves on the other raider.  In assault, my wolfstar easily tore the Reavers a new... something.
I think that was one of my biggest mistakes, honestly, getting my Grey Hunters out to rapid-fire the Reavers on the left there.  Notice where my Wolfstar is, and how I was trying to stay away from the WWP.  Lol.  Stupid stupid stupid.

Dark Eldar Turn 2:

He rolled for reserves and got a squad of Wyches and his 15-strong warriors.  Instead of taking them in through the portal however, he brought them on right next to my wolfstar:
The green ones are the wyches, the multi-colored squad are the warrirors. 

A note:  we played it wrong, just assuming the Duke gave a single squad 3+ poison.  We forgot that he has to start with that squad.  So, the squad who had just come in from reserve had the 3+ poison, which is pretty good on 15 BS4 warriors.

Anyways, his Archon got in the ride, and moved a little bit.  The incubi moved up, the Ravagers re-moved 12", and he started shooting.

His shooting killed off an entire squad of un-covered Longfangs, and stunned my Runepriest's Rhino.  He also only managed 2 wounds on my Wolfstar with the warriors, and prepared for the assault of 'uber-wyches' who are SO WIN it's not even funny.

In assault, he caused a single wound to my wolfstar, and I killed 7 wyches back (including the squad leader).  He needed double 1's to stay in combat.
See?  Guess I was wrong- wyches ARE uber and waaaay worth their points- they held up my 800 point unit for a turn!  Wooooo!!

Here's the board at the end of the turn.  Wolfstar is tied up with 3 Wyches who rolled double ones on leadership because they're so good.

Wolves Turn 2:

My reserve Rhino came in this turn, and I snuck it on the back right side of the board, right behind his ravager.  I disembarked with them, ready to fry it with longrange melta shots.  Grey Hunters on the left got back in their rhino, popping smoke and driving forward to help back up my Wolfstar.  Rune Priest's ride popped smoke, and the Priest got out, moving back 8" (2" disembark, 6" move).  Their goal was to pop the Reavers nearby while staying away from the Incubi.  They would have preferred their rhino, but it was stunned last turn.

So shooting happened, and my priest killed the Reavers with Living Lightning.  My melta attacks on the far side of the board both whiffed, but that was okay- I killed that far Ravager with longfangs.  I also immobilized his last raider (the one with the Court/Archon).

In combat, he rolled amazingly well on his 4+ invulns and I only killed 2 wyches.  He needed a 6+ on leadership, and stayed again.  At least the star wouldn't get shot at by the warriors next turn!
Here's a view from his side, after he had started turn 3.  Note where he brought his 2nd squad of Wyches in at.  Lolz.

Dark Eldar Turn 3:

He moved his only raider he could move, and the Incubi got up next to my poor in-the-open longfangs.  The 3+ poison warriors also moved up to rapid-fire something lol.  He also got his Court out of their ride to deal with my Grey Hunters on the 'boring' side of the board.

His shooting was.. well, I'll let you decide.

His first 3 Dark Lances bounced off my rhino's smoke, but his final shot was able to hit, pen, get through the smoke, and wreck the vehicle.  His warriors then rapid-fired the Grey Hunters with 28 3+ poison shots (which should statistically kill about 4 marines) and killed every single grey hunter in the rhino.  Really?  Yikes!

Assault phase would show the longfangs the true power of I5.  I didn't even let him roll his attacks, heh.  The Wyches charged my wolfstar and shock of all shocks- lost combat and fled!  Wait, I thought Wyches who had poison shots from other units weaken a combat unit would be a good mop-up (or at least tie-up) unit?  Not so much.  4+ save still isn't very good vs. volume of attacks, and shardnets can only do so much.

Poor rhino and their inhabitants.  The wyches are all fleeing now, almost off the board.

Wolves Turn 3:

His Court of the Archon was fast approaching my grey hunters on the side, so I decided to make it epic.  Most importantly, his Archon hadn't taken the Phantasm Grenade launcher, so nobody had grenades.  So, my hunters climbed onto the fortress-thing in the corner and rapid-fired the court.  I only killed like 3 things, so now their majority toughness would be 5.  Yikes!

My wolfstar split up, with the Majesty-lord moving in to avenge the poisoned grey hunters.  The other section moved on to charge his 15-warrior squad.  My Rune Priest grey hunters moved into their rhino, and drove off 12", staying away from the evil incubi.

Shooting downed his final ravager.

My Majesty Lord walked through the warriors without a single wound in return, but my other wolves failed their charge and sat there dumbly, looking at more poisoned weaponry.

You'll notice I kept my lord within 6" of his fleeing wyches.  Very important that a unit that uber isn't allowed to regroup.  lol

Dark Eldar Turn 4:

He was running out of stuff, but so was I.  He moved in with the Court of the Archon, sieging my wolves over there.  The Incubi got ready to charge the fast rhino.

His weird flamer dude in the court got a S7 AP4 flamer shot on my wolves, killing a couple.  Jeeze!  I didn't know they could get that awesome of a flamer!  Cool though.  At least it wasn't AP3, heh.  His warriors got their licks in as well, killing my (unwounded) hammer/shield wolf.  Down to 3 wolves :P

He then charged me, and my wolves, despite their popped banner, failed every single save and died horribly, only killing a couple things back.  Very poor rolling for my sad marines thus far :P  His incubi charged the rhino and with 24 attacks needing 6's to hit and 6's to glance, got SEVEN glances on me, but only managed to shake and weapon destroy me.  :)
So, if you look hard, his Archon is holding court in the epic little fortress there in the right corner.

Wolves Turn 4:

I only had one scoring unit left, and I needed to protect it.  So, I just moved it up farther, another 12".  Wolfstar got into easy charge range of his warriors.  Majesty lord slowly started making his way back to the fight...

Shooting was able to take out 3 of his incubi with missile launchers, and the duke's shadowfield shrugged a missile off.

In combat, the wolves butchered the warriors.
This is sadly the last picture for a while.  I forgot at the end, for some reason, heh.

Dark Eldar Turn 5:

The game might end this turn, so he decided to split the Incubi off from the Duke, and charge the Duke into my (depleted) wolfstar, while the Incubi re-charged my rhino w/ grey hunters.  The Court started walking back toward the center.

The duke failed to get to my wolflord, rolling a 1,2,2 on his charge.  Whew!

Wolves Turn 5:

I first moved my Grey Hunter squad down toward where the center objective was, tank-shocking his Incubi.  They failed their leadership, and ran 12" toward his board edge.  Excellent :)  I kept my Bear Lord sitting there, waiting for the Duke to charge him in cover.  Silly me, the Duke has grenades, which I forgot.  The remaining wolf broke off to keep the Incubi running.  My majesty lord moved slowly back.

I forgot to shoot.  Wow, what a fail that was.  Still, if it ends this turn, I win.

We rolled, and it kept going.

Dark Eldar Turn 6:

His Incubi kept running.  The court moved toward my Grey Hunters.  The Duke shot his one blaster pistol shot, it penned, and exploded the rhino.  Ut-oh.

The Duke was easily able to get into combat, but the Court was an inch shy of charging in.  The wolves popped their banner, and still failed 5/5 (with re-rollable 1's) armor saves.  Yay!  I ended up still causing 4 wounds to him, which his Shadowfield saved.  That makes 5 so far.

Wolves Turn 6:

Well, he was going to destroy my rune priest/grey hunter squad this turn easily.  So it was time for me to charge in, and table him for the win, since I wouldn't hold the objective.  My Bear Lord charged in to kill his Court/Archon, and my Majesty Lord charged in to kill his Duke.  Also, my other wolf charged into his immobilized raider.

In combat, the archon/court failed to kill my bear lord, who in turn murdered the rest of the court, forcing the Archon to run.  The Majesty Lord caused 5 on the Duke, who saved all 5 on his 2+ invulnerable save.  Up to 10 now!  The other wolf managed to kill the raider.

We roll to see if we keep playing, and WE DO!
See, his Archon is fleeing, his Incubi are fleeing from my strategically placed final Rhino, and his duke is the only unit left alive :P

Dark Eldar Turn 7:
He has nothing to do but combat.  Duke can't kill my Majesty Lord, and I cause another 4 on him, of which he saves all of them.  Up to 14.
Wolves Turn 7:
I charge in everything, for the table.  Duke can't kill my stuff, and I cause another 10 wounds (4 from Majesty lord, 2 from wolf, 4 from Bear Lord)  to him, of which he saves all of them (24 total) and we draw.  Heh, epic game :)

You lucky, lucky bastard.


Well, it was a fun game as always with CJ, though we ended up playing for like 3 hours since we didn't really know how to play as/against Dark Eldar.  Normally our games only take like 1.5 hours, so that's saying something.  There's a learning curve there.

What I got from the game is that Wyches are indeed not at amazing as everyone thinks they are (though FNP drug makes them a lot better!) and that warriors are the way to go for troops, unless Wracks are, which we didn't use at all.  Also, the Shadowfield was amazing, if you can't roll a 1, you can't lose heh.

The court I have mixed feelings about.  I don't think the huge T5 guys are really worth their points, but the flamer template guys rocked!  The Duke has good rules as well- I think he might really be worth it, though maybe he should lead the Court next time, and the Archon should go with the incubi to give them phantasm grenades.

It was a fun game, they play very differently from other armies.  It was like we had 3 mini-games going on all at once all over the board!  Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it :)

1 comment:

C.J. Young said...

It was a awsome game! Thanks for the always hard fight Adam!