Welcome to the final battle report from my time at Rapid Fire 2015. Game 6 saw my White Scars taking on another Eldar army in the mission Crusade (5 objectives) with Dawn of War deployment on table 10.
I started the game in position 19 on the rankings, just below the half way point- I would need a good result in this game to make it into the top half of the table.
As a reminder, my army consisted of:
I started the game in position 19 on the rankings, just below the half way point- I would need a good result in this game to make it into the top half of the table.
As a reminder, my army consisted of:
Kor'sarro Khan- Moondrakken (with CS)
Librarian- Mastery Level 2, Auspex, Meltabombs, Force Sword, Bolt Pistol (with C)
5 Command Squad- Mounted on bikes, 4 grav guns, 2 storm shields, Apothecary (CS)
5 Bikers- 2 Grav guns, sergeant has meltabombs (GB1)
5 Bikers- 2 Grav guns, sergeant has meltabombs (GB2)
5 Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, sergeant has meltabombs (MB)
10 Tactical marines- Meltagun, sergeant has combi-melta and meltabombs (TS1 and TS2)
Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP2)
5 Scouts- Bolt pistols, close combat weapons, sergeant has meltabombs (Sc)
Landspeeder Storm- Heavy Bolter, Cerberus Missile launcher (LS)
Drop Pod- Deathwind missile launcher (DP1)
Stormtalon- TL assault cannons, skyhammer missile launcher (ST)
2 Attack Bikes- Multimeltas (AB)
5 Devastators- 4 Missile Launchers (D)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R)
3 Centurions- Grav amps and grav cannons, hurricane bolters (C)
My Librarian ended up with Psychic Shriek and Misfortune after rolling on Telepathy and Divination.
Tom's army consisted of:
Farseer- Jetbike (F)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J1)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J2)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J3)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J4)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J5)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J6)
3 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W1)
2 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W2)
2 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W3)
7 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS1)
6 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS2)
6 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS3)
Wraithknight (W)
Warlord Trait (Farseer): -1 to my reserve rolls
Psychic Powers (Farseer): Prescience, Guide, Psychic Shriek
This looked to be another tough Eldar list. Jetbikes are tough, extremely fast (with a 36" turbo-boost move) and can put out a lot of shots with the scatter lasers. Warp Spiders are also tough and very fast and I had problems with them in game 3. Warwalkers can put out a lot of firepower, but fortunately are a bit easier to destroy with only AV10 protecting them (though they do have a 5+ invulnerable save), and Wraithknights are always a pain.
We rolled to place the objectives and set them up as shown on the deployment map.
I won the roll for table edge and chose the side with the objectives in the deployment zone. Tom won the roll off for deployment and elected to let me go first, perhaps wanting the final turn for some objective grabbing with the Jetbikes.
I didn't want to squander the gift I had been given. I deployed most of the army (barring the drop pod units, Stormtalon and a unit of grav bikers) pretty central to counter Tom's deployment. The Devastators went in the ruins besides the objective, surrounded by bikers and attack bikes.
Tom then deployed, putting a unit of Warwalkers and two units of Warp Spiders in the ruins to his right, two warwalkers by the pond to the left and the walwalkers and a unit of warp spiders to the ruins to the left. He kept all the Jetbikes, the Farseer and the Wraithknight in reserve. This was very surprising to me. I think he was concerned about the Centurions taking out the Wraithknight in turn 1, so kept it in reserve to come on and deal with other threats. I guessed that the Jetbikes were kept in reserve to allow them to come on later in the game and grab objectives.
I decided to Scout with all my bikes and attack bikes. My plan was to hit the deployed half of his army as hard as possible, hopefully wiping them out before the reserves could come on in force. This would allow me to deal with the reserves as they arrived and hopefully have enough left of the table to grab the objectives.
For Draw Blood, I chose the unit of 7 Warp Spiders, while Tom chose the Meltagun bikers.
Tom failed to seize and I got the first turn.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
I spent a good few minutes debating which drop pod to bring on. I thought I might keep the Centurions in reserve to deal with the Wraitknight later in the game, but would I miss their firepower early on? In the end, I decided to bring them on. If I wanted to take out the units on the board, I would need my heavy hitters from the start.
The drop pod arrived, landing on target towards the centre of the enemy deployment zone, the Centurion payload moving out to engage their targets. The rest of the bike squads moved up to swarm the enemy units.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Misfortune on the closest Warp Spider unit, hoping to end their lives quickly. He then failed to manifest Psychic Shriek on the same unit.
The shooting phase began with the Centurions targeting the closest unit of Warp Spiders, easily wiping them out (with help from the Librarian's Auspex). The Command squad targeted a second unit of work spiders, killing two of the squad. The Landspeeder storm fired at the same squad. The Cerberus launcher did not hit the target (I managed to roll a 12" scatter), but the heavy bolter succeeded in killing another of the elite warriors.
The attack bikes fired at the Warwalkers on the left, their weapons penetrating and blowing up one of the walkers. The grav gun bikers fired at the unit, but were unable to damage them.
On the other flank, the meltagun bikers fired at the warwalkers in front of them, blowing one of them up. The Devastators fired their krak missiles at the unit, finishing them off.
TURN 1- ELDAR
On the right flank, the Warp Spiders moved back into cover, having used their packs to escape the enemy the turn before. The second unit of Warp Spiders used their packs to move 14" towards the meltagun bikers.
The full unit of Warp Spiders targeted the meltagun bikers, killing three of the squad. A unit of warwalkers turned their attention to the White Scars bikers, finishing the unit off.
On the other flank, the warp spiders fired at the attack bikes, killing one and causing the survivor to fall back. The war walkers fired at the Command Squad, causing 6 wounds, but only killing one of the elite bikers (I failed 3 saves, but made 2 Feel no Pain rolls).
A very good turn for me. I had hit the Eldar lines hard and done a lot of damage. The response was a bit more muted, only eliminating one bike unit.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
Seeing the enemy falter, the entirety of the White Scars reserves deployed (I got all my reserve rolls, even with the -1 penalty from the Farseer's warlord trait). The second drop pod landed beside the ruins to the right, supported by the Stormtalon, who zoomed along the flank to engage and the grav gun bikers outflanked to the right besides the warwalkers.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Misfortune on the 3 remaining Warp Spiders in front of him. The energies of the warp overcame him momentarily as he periled, taking a wound and losing Psychic Shriek from his memory.
The newly arrived reserves began their barrage on the Eldar forces. The Stormtalon fired at the warwalkers, destroying one and taking a weapon from the second. The tactical squad fired their meltaguns at the surviving walker, but were unable to finish it off. The drop pod fired it Storm bolter at the vehicle and managed to destroy it where the squad had failed.
The second tactical squad fired at the warp spiders in front of them, killing one in a hail of bolter fire. The grav bikers fired at the unit, killing another of the elite Eldar. The attack brought the Eldar into the open and the Devastators launched Krak missiles at the unit, killing all but the Exarch.
On the other flank, the grav bikers and Command squad fired at the Warp Spiders, wiping the unit out.
The Scouts, attack bike and Landspeeder storm fired at the warwalker, but were unable to damage the vehicle.
In the assault phase, the attack bike and Scouts charged the last warwalker, two Scouts being cut down by overwatch fire. The vehicle put up a valiant fight, but was easily destroyed by the squad's grenades.
On the other flank, the bikers charged the Exarch, their hammer of wrath attacks wounding the Eldar warrior. Both sides struck at one another, but neither was able to damage their opponent and the Exarch Hit and Ran out of combat.
At the end of my second turn, only a single Eldar model remained, but he was soon to be joined by re-enforcements.
TURN 2- ELDAR
Three units of Jetbikes and the Farseer arrived to bolster the Eldar lines.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Psychic Shriek on the Centurions. The Librarian failed to block it, but the squad only took a single wound.
In the shooting phase, the Jetbikes all moved flat out, taking refuge away from the main force of the White Scars. The lone Exarch made his way into the cover of the ruins.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
With the enemy retreating, the White Scars bike units began to move towards the middle of the board to get in range for the next turn. The Stormtalon moved towards the left flank, ready to circle round on the Eldar. The Centurions moved towards the cover of the ruins.
In the shooting phase, the grav bikers on the right flank fired at the closest unit of Jetbikes, but the Jinking of the bikers saved them from harm. The Devastators fired at another unit, this time killing one of the Jinking jetbikes. The Stormtalon managed to slay one more of the Eldar jetbikes, leaving only one left, who passed his morale test.
The other bikers turbo-boosted towards the centre of the board, ready to engage where the Eldar next appeared.
In the Eldar deployment zone, the tactical squads attempted to shoot down the lone Warp Spider Exarch, but were unable to wound him. One squad charged in to combat and succeeded in striking down the Warp Spider.
TURN 3- ELDAR
The rest of the Eldar army arrived. The Wraithknight moved onto the left flank, ensuring that he kept out of range of the Centurions. The rest of the bikers moved on, turbo-boosting to join the other jetbikers in my deployment zone.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Guide on one of the jinking jetbike units, then failed to cast Prescience on his own unit.
In the shooting phase, the Wraithknight fired at the Centurions, killing one of them. A unit of jetbikes fire at the Command squad, killing one. Another unit and the Farseer's unit fired at the grav bikers, killing all but one of the White Scars.
The Eldar army had been cut in half, but there were still 6 units of Jetbikes left to grab or contest objectives.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The White Scars bikers continued to move towards the Jetbikes in the corner, while one tactical squad broke from cover and ran towards the central objective.
The Scouts and tactical marines ran towards the closest objectives, hoping to get in range for the end of the game.
The Landspeeder fired at the Jetbikes, the Cerberus launcher killing two and the heavy bolter killing the final one. The long grav biker fired at the unit in front of him, but their Jinking saved them from harm. The Stormtalon fired at the lone jetbike, easily killing the solitary rider. The Devastators fired at another unit, killing one more biker.
The Command squad fired at the unit in front of them, killing one. Khan then led the unit in an assault, easily cutting down the two remaining Jetbikes. The lone grav gun biker charged the jetbikes in front of him, but was cut down by overwatch fire before he could reach them.
TURN 4- ELDAR
One of the Eldar jetbikes broke formation, moving towards the Devastators. The others remained in place to fire at the enemy forces.
The Farseer attempted to cast psychic shriek on Khan's unit, but I managed to block the attempt. He then cast Guide on a snap firing unit of Jetbikes and failed to cast Prescience on his own squad.
The Wraithknight fired at the Command Squad, wounding once, but the Destroyer attack was blocked by a Storm Shield in the squad (tournament rules allowed Invulnerable saves against D weapons). The Farseer directed his unit and a nearby unit to fire on the Command squad. The hail of shuriken fire wiped out the squad and left Khan alone. A third unit targeted the White Scars warlord, wounding him twice and leaving him perilously close to death.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
In what could be the final turn, the White Scars moved to engage the objectives. The Landspeeder Storm moved towards the Eldar jetbikes, the tactical squad grabbed the central objective and the grav bikers moved up to support the Devastators. Khan turbo-boosted behind the central ruins, out of sight of the enemy army.
The Landspeeder storm fired at the Jetbikes before him, killing two with his weaponry. The attack bike fired at the lone jetbiker, once again missing with its multi-melta.
The Stormtalon fired at more of the Jetbikes, killing two with rending shots from the assault cannon. The Devastators fired at the Farseer's unit, killing two jetbikers and wounding the Farseer.
The grav bikers fired at the lone Jetbike beside the Devastators, easily wiping out the squad.
TURN 5- ELDAR
The Jetbikes advanced on the Landspeeder storm, while the Wraithknight moved around the ruins to clear out the tactical marines.
The Wraithknight fired at the tactical squad in the ruins, but failed to hit with both shots. The two units of jetbikes fired at the Landspeeder storm, penetrating the vehicle once and immobilising it.
The Wraithknight assaulted the tactical squad. The squad struck at the construct with their grenades, wounding it once. The Wraithknight then easily wiped out the squad in return.
At the end of turn 5, the Eldar controlled one objective and contested a second. I controlled the other 3 objectives. We rolled to see if the game ended and it continued for another turn.
TURN 6- WHITE SCARS
The grav bikers and attack bike moved up on the remaining Jetbikes, while the Stormtalon went into hover mode to fire at the Eldar.
The grav bikers fired at the three man jetbike unit, killing one. The attack bike and Devastators fired at another unit, wiping them out. The Stormtalon fired at the Farseer, killing the enemy warlord and leaving only a single jetbike and the Wraithknight.
TURN 6- ELDAR
The lone jetbike fired at the Landspeeder, penetrating and destroying it. The Wraithknight fired at the drop pod, but missed with both its shots.
We rolled to see if the game ended and we got another turn.
TURN 7- BOTH ARMIES
With little left on the board, the White Scars moved to secure the objectives and killed the final jetbike in the shooting phase.
In the final Eldar turn, the Wraithknight fired at the drop pod and succeeded in wrecking it. The Eldar held one objective and the Scars had the other four.
VICTORY POINTS:
WHITE SCARS- 12 (+ Draw Blood, Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord)
ELDAR- 3 (+ Draw Blood)
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Many thanks to Tom for a great game, I honestly did not expect to do so well when I saw his army list. He was a great opponent and always in good spirits, even when nothing seemed to be going his way.
Talking through the game afterwards, we both agreed that there were two key points that led to his loss:
1. Giving me the first turn
2. Keeping so much of his army in reserve
I was very surprised when Tom allowed me to go first. I know how much firepower the Jetbikes and Warwalkers can put out at long range (36" I think). That volume of high strength firepower would have caused a fair few problems for my bikes and I think I would have lost a unit or two in the first turn. I think he wanted to have the final player turn to grab or contest objectives, so allowed me to go first.
Another problem was that Tom kept about half of his army in reserve. I think he mentioned he was worried about losing the Wraithknight to the Centurions on turn 1, so elected to keep it in reserve. I assume the Jetbikes were kept in reserve for some late game objective grabbing.
This allowed me to focus my firepower on only half the enemy army and pretty much wipe them out before the reserves could arrive- there was only a single Warp Spider Exarch left at the end of my second turn).
I think he should have deployed everything on the board. He may have lost the Wraithknight, but it would have given me a lot more targets to try and take on and would have split my resources a lot more.
Even after the horrendous first two turn, I did not think that Tom was out of the game. When he brought the jetbikes on in turn 2 and turbo-boosted them into my deployment zone, I thought I was in real trouble. As I had pushed everything so far forward in turn 1, only a single unit of bikers and the Devastators were in range to threaten them. I had visions of his Jetbikes turbo-boosting to a different corner each turn where I would be unable to catch them with enough firepower to wipe out all 6 units, who could then turbo-boost onto the objectives in the last turn to contest or claim them.
That is why I focused so hard on destroying individual units, rather than weakening each unit and forcing them to jink every turn.
I would also have been inclined to be more aggressive with the Wraithknight, rather than hang by the objectives and ruins for most of the game. Even though I had a lot of grav weaponry on the table, I do fear the Wraithknight. Pushing the Lord of War towards my bike units and charging the Command squad would have given me a lot of pause. My Command squad and Centurions were the best units for taking it out. If he had dealt with the Command Squad without dying, the Centurions wouldn't be a threat as they were too far away from the action. This would have meant less focus on the Jetbikes and may have turned the tide of the battle.
Overall, I think my plan worked well. With so much of the army in reserve, I was able to focus on and deal with the Warp Spiders and Warwalkers, eliminating these in the first two turns.
The Centurions and Librarian were pretty useless after turn 2, lacking the range or mobility to get back in the fight.
So, with my win in the final game, I went back up the rankings table. I finished 13th out of 36th in the tournament, a result I was more than happy with. Thanks once again to the guys from Stirling Wargamers for putting on such a great tournament, I had an absolute blast over the two days.
The next couple of posts will be a photo heavy armies on display post, followed by a review of how the different parts of my army performed.
My Librarian ended up with Psychic Shriek and Misfortune after rolling on Telepathy and Divination.
Tom's army consisted of:
Farseer- Jetbike (F)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J1)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J2)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J3)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J4)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J5)
4 Jetbikes- Scatter lasers (J6)
3 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W1)
2 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W2)
2 Warwalkers- Scatter lasers (W3)
7 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS1)
6 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS2)
6 Warp Spiders- Exarch (WS3)
Wraithknight (W)
Warlord Trait (Farseer): -1 to my reserve rolls
Psychic Powers (Farseer): Prescience, Guide, Psychic Shriek
This looked to be another tough Eldar list. Jetbikes are tough, extremely fast (with a 36" turbo-boost move) and can put out a lot of shots with the scatter lasers. Warp Spiders are also tough and very fast and I had problems with them in game 3. Warwalkers can put out a lot of firepower, but fortunately are a bit easier to destroy with only AV10 protecting them (though they do have a 5+ invulnerable save), and Wraithknights are always a pain.
We rolled to place the objectives and set them up as shown on the deployment map.
I won the roll for table edge and chose the side with the objectives in the deployment zone. Tom won the roll off for deployment and elected to let me go first, perhaps wanting the final turn for some objective grabbing with the Jetbikes.
I didn't want to squander the gift I had been given. I deployed most of the army (barring the drop pod units, Stormtalon and a unit of grav bikers) pretty central to counter Tom's deployment. The Devastators went in the ruins besides the objective, surrounded by bikers and attack bikes.
Tom then deployed, putting a unit of Warwalkers and two units of Warp Spiders in the ruins to his right, two warwalkers by the pond to the left and the walwalkers and a unit of warp spiders to the ruins to the left. He kept all the Jetbikes, the Farseer and the Wraithknight in reserve. This was very surprising to me. I think he was concerned about the Centurions taking out the Wraithknight in turn 1, so kept it in reserve to come on and deal with other threats. I guessed that the Jetbikes were kept in reserve to allow them to come on later in the game and grab objectives.
I decided to Scout with all my bikes and attack bikes. My plan was to hit the deployed half of his army as hard as possible, hopefully wiping them out before the reserves could come on in force. This would allow me to deal with the reserves as they arrived and hopefully have enough left of the table to grab the objectives.
 |
| Deployment and Scout moves. |
 |
| Scout moves. |
For Draw Blood, I chose the unit of 7 Warp Spiders, while Tom chose the Meltagun bikers.
Tom failed to seize and I got the first turn.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
I spent a good few minutes debating which drop pod to bring on. I thought I might keep the Centurions in reserve to deal with the Wraitknight later in the game, but would I miss their firepower early on? In the end, I decided to bring them on. If I wanted to take out the units on the board, I would need my heavy hitters from the start.
The drop pod arrived, landing on target towards the centre of the enemy deployment zone, the Centurion payload moving out to engage their targets. The rest of the bike squads moved up to swarm the enemy units.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Misfortune on the closest Warp Spider unit, hoping to end their lives quickly. He then failed to manifest Psychic Shriek on the same unit.
The shooting phase began with the Centurions targeting the closest unit of Warp Spiders, easily wiping them out (with help from the Librarian's Auspex). The Command squad targeted a second unit of work spiders, killing two of the squad. The Landspeeder storm fired at the same squad. The Cerberus launcher did not hit the target (I managed to roll a 12" scatter), but the heavy bolter succeeded in killing another of the elite warriors.
The attack bikes fired at the Warwalkers on the left, their weapons penetrating and blowing up one of the walkers. The grav gun bikers fired at the unit, but were unable to damage them.
On the other flank, the meltagun bikers fired at the warwalkers in front of them, blowing one of them up. The Devastators fired their krak missiles at the unit, finishing them off.
TURN 1- ELDAR
On the right flank, the Warp Spiders moved back into cover, having used their packs to escape the enemy the turn before. The second unit of Warp Spiders used their packs to move 14" towards the meltagun bikers.
The full unit of Warp Spiders targeted the meltagun bikers, killing three of the squad. A unit of warwalkers turned their attention to the White Scars bikers, finishing the unit off.
On the other flank, the warp spiders fired at the attack bikes, killing one and causing the survivor to fall back. The war walkers fired at the Command Squad, causing 6 wounds, but only killing one of the elite bikers (I failed 3 saves, but made 2 Feel no Pain rolls).
A very good turn for me. I had hit the Eldar lines hard and done a lot of damage. The response was a bit more muted, only eliminating one bike unit.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
Seeing the enemy falter, the entirety of the White Scars reserves deployed (I got all my reserve rolls, even with the -1 penalty from the Farseer's warlord trait). The second drop pod landed beside the ruins to the right, supported by the Stormtalon, who zoomed along the flank to engage and the grav gun bikers outflanked to the right besides the warwalkers.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Misfortune on the 3 remaining Warp Spiders in front of him. The energies of the warp overcame him momentarily as he periled, taking a wound and losing Psychic Shriek from his memory.
The newly arrived reserves began their barrage on the Eldar forces. The Stormtalon fired at the warwalkers, destroying one and taking a weapon from the second. The tactical squad fired their meltaguns at the surviving walker, but were unable to finish it off. The drop pod fired it Storm bolter at the vehicle and managed to destroy it where the squad had failed.
The second tactical squad fired at the warp spiders in front of them, killing one in a hail of bolter fire. The grav bikers fired at the unit, killing another of the elite Eldar. The attack brought the Eldar into the open and the Devastators launched Krak missiles at the unit, killing all but the Exarch.
On the other flank, the grav bikers and Command squad fired at the Warp Spiders, wiping the unit out.
The Scouts, attack bike and Landspeeder storm fired at the warwalker, but were unable to damage the vehicle.
In the assault phase, the attack bike and Scouts charged the last warwalker, two Scouts being cut down by overwatch fire. The vehicle put up a valiant fight, but was easily destroyed by the squad's grenades.
On the other flank, the bikers charged the Exarch, their hammer of wrath attacks wounding the Eldar warrior. Both sides struck at one another, but neither was able to damage their opponent and the Exarch Hit and Ran out of combat.
At the end of my second turn, only a single Eldar model remained, but he was soon to be joined by re-enforcements.
 |
| "All by myself, don't want to be........" |
TURN 2- ELDAR
Three units of Jetbikes and the Farseer arrived to bolster the Eldar lines.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Psychic Shriek on the Centurions. The Librarian failed to block it, but the squad only took a single wound.
In the shooting phase, the Jetbikes all moved flat out, taking refuge away from the main force of the White Scars. The lone Exarch made his way into the cover of the ruins.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
With the enemy retreating, the White Scars bike units began to move towards the middle of the board to get in range for the next turn. The Stormtalon moved towards the left flank, ready to circle round on the Eldar. The Centurions moved towards the cover of the ruins.
In the shooting phase, the grav bikers on the right flank fired at the closest unit of Jetbikes, but the Jinking of the bikers saved them from harm. The Devastators fired at another unit, this time killing one of the Jinking jetbikes. The Stormtalon managed to slay one more of the Eldar jetbikes, leaving only one left, who passed his morale test.
The other bikers turbo-boosted towards the centre of the board, ready to engage where the Eldar next appeared.
In the Eldar deployment zone, the tactical squads attempted to shoot down the lone Warp Spider Exarch, but were unable to wound him. One squad charged in to combat and succeeded in striking down the Warp Spider.
TURN 3- ELDAR
The rest of the Eldar army arrived. The Wraithknight moved onto the left flank, ensuring that he kept out of range of the Centurions. The rest of the bikers moved on, turbo-boosting to join the other jetbikers in my deployment zone.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Guide on one of the jinking jetbike units, then failed to cast Prescience on his own unit.
In the shooting phase, the Wraithknight fired at the Centurions, killing one of them. A unit of jetbikes fire at the Command squad, killing one. Another unit and the Farseer's unit fired at the grav bikers, killing all but one of the White Scars.
The Eldar army had been cut in half, but there were still 6 units of Jetbikes left to grab or contest objectives.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The White Scars bikers continued to move towards the Jetbikes in the corner, while one tactical squad broke from cover and ran towards the central objective.
The Scouts and tactical marines ran towards the closest objectives, hoping to get in range for the end of the game.
The Landspeeder fired at the Jetbikes, the Cerberus launcher killing two and the heavy bolter killing the final one. The long grav biker fired at the unit in front of him, but their Jinking saved them from harm. The Stormtalon fired at the lone jetbike, easily killing the solitary rider. The Devastators fired at another unit, killing one more biker.
The Command squad fired at the unit in front of them, killing one. Khan then led the unit in an assault, easily cutting down the two remaining Jetbikes. The lone grav gun biker charged the jetbikes in front of him, but was cut down by overwatch fire before he could reach them.
TURN 4- ELDAR
One of the Eldar jetbikes broke formation, moving towards the Devastators. The others remained in place to fire at the enemy forces.
The Farseer attempted to cast psychic shriek on Khan's unit, but I managed to block the attempt. He then cast Guide on a snap firing unit of Jetbikes and failed to cast Prescience on his own squad.
The Wraithknight fired at the Command Squad, wounding once, but the Destroyer attack was blocked by a Storm Shield in the squad (tournament rules allowed Invulnerable saves against D weapons). The Farseer directed his unit and a nearby unit to fire on the Command squad. The hail of shuriken fire wiped out the squad and left Khan alone. A third unit targeted the White Scars warlord, wounding him twice and leaving him perilously close to death.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
In what could be the final turn, the White Scars moved to engage the objectives. The Landspeeder Storm moved towards the Eldar jetbikes, the tactical squad grabbed the central objective and the grav bikers moved up to support the Devastators. Khan turbo-boosted behind the central ruins, out of sight of the enemy army.
The Landspeeder storm fired at the Jetbikes before him, killing two with his weaponry. The attack bike fired at the lone jetbiker, once again missing with its multi-melta.
The Stormtalon fired at more of the Jetbikes, killing two with rending shots from the assault cannon. The Devastators fired at the Farseer's unit, killing two jetbikers and wounding the Farseer.
The grav bikers fired at the lone Jetbike beside the Devastators, easily wiping out the squad.
TURN 5- ELDAR
The Jetbikes advanced on the Landspeeder storm, while the Wraithknight moved around the ruins to clear out the tactical marines.
The Wraithknight fired at the tactical squad in the ruins, but failed to hit with both shots. The two units of jetbikes fired at the Landspeeder storm, penetrating the vehicle once and immobilising it.
The Wraithknight assaulted the tactical squad. The squad struck at the construct with their grenades, wounding it once. The Wraithknight then easily wiped out the squad in return.
At the end of turn 5, the Eldar controlled one objective and contested a second. I controlled the other 3 objectives. We rolled to see if the game ended and it continued for another turn.
TURN 6- WHITE SCARS
The grav bikers and attack bike moved up on the remaining Jetbikes, while the Stormtalon went into hover mode to fire at the Eldar.
The grav bikers fired at the three man jetbike unit, killing one. The attack bike and Devastators fired at another unit, wiping them out. The Stormtalon fired at the Farseer, killing the enemy warlord and leaving only a single jetbike and the Wraithknight.
TURN 6- ELDAR
The lone jetbike fired at the Landspeeder, penetrating and destroying it. The Wraithknight fired at the drop pod, but missed with both its shots.
We rolled to see if the game ended and we got another turn.
TURN 7- BOTH ARMIES
With little left on the board, the White Scars moved to secure the objectives and killed the final jetbike in the shooting phase.
In the final Eldar turn, the Wraithknight fired at the drop pod and succeeded in wrecking it. The Eldar held one objective and the Scars had the other four.
VICTORY POINTS:
WHITE SCARS- 12 (+ Draw Blood, Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord)
ELDAR- 3 (+ Draw Blood)
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Many thanks to Tom for a great game, I honestly did not expect to do so well when I saw his army list. He was a great opponent and always in good spirits, even when nothing seemed to be going his way.
Talking through the game afterwards, we both agreed that there were two key points that led to his loss:
1. Giving me the first turn
2. Keeping so much of his army in reserve
I was very surprised when Tom allowed me to go first. I know how much firepower the Jetbikes and Warwalkers can put out at long range (36" I think). That volume of high strength firepower would have caused a fair few problems for my bikes and I think I would have lost a unit or two in the first turn. I think he wanted to have the final player turn to grab or contest objectives, so allowed me to go first.
Another problem was that Tom kept about half of his army in reserve. I think he mentioned he was worried about losing the Wraithknight to the Centurions on turn 1, so elected to keep it in reserve. I assume the Jetbikes were kept in reserve for some late game objective grabbing.
This allowed me to focus my firepower on only half the enemy army and pretty much wipe them out before the reserves could arrive- there was only a single Warp Spider Exarch left at the end of my second turn).
I think he should have deployed everything on the board. He may have lost the Wraithknight, but it would have given me a lot more targets to try and take on and would have split my resources a lot more.
Even after the horrendous first two turn, I did not think that Tom was out of the game. When he brought the jetbikes on in turn 2 and turbo-boosted them into my deployment zone, I thought I was in real trouble. As I had pushed everything so far forward in turn 1, only a single unit of bikers and the Devastators were in range to threaten them. I had visions of his Jetbikes turbo-boosting to a different corner each turn where I would be unable to catch them with enough firepower to wipe out all 6 units, who could then turbo-boost onto the objectives in the last turn to contest or claim them.
That is why I focused so hard on destroying individual units, rather than weakening each unit and forcing them to jink every turn.
I would also have been inclined to be more aggressive with the Wraithknight, rather than hang by the objectives and ruins for most of the game. Even though I had a lot of grav weaponry on the table, I do fear the Wraithknight. Pushing the Lord of War towards my bike units and charging the Command squad would have given me a lot of pause. My Command squad and Centurions were the best units for taking it out. If he had dealt with the Command Squad without dying, the Centurions wouldn't be a threat as they were too far away from the action. This would have meant less focus on the Jetbikes and may have turned the tide of the battle.
Overall, I think my plan worked well. With so much of the army in reserve, I was able to focus on and deal with the Warp Spiders and Warwalkers, eliminating these in the first two turns.
The Centurions and Librarian were pretty useless after turn 2, lacking the range or mobility to get back in the fight.
So, with my win in the final game, I went back up the rankings table. I finished 13th out of 36th in the tournament, a result I was more than happy with. Thanks once again to the guys from Stirling Wargamers for putting on such a great tournament, I had an absolute blast over the two days.
The next couple of posts will be a photo heavy armies on display post, followed by a review of how the different parts of my army performed.
Game 6- White Scars vs Eldar
Armies on Display
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