Saturday, January 5, 2013

WAR STORIES (and the end of 2012, part 2)


J and I played two games in about the last month or so, both smaller point values and still quite long games that never reached turn five (we are SLOW).  Our molasis-like game play stems from not playing 6th ed enough and having to reference the book too often.  Sixth ed has also made me doubt everything I knew about 5th (which I knew pretty well), so I always have to double-check.  I also would have to check some game notes while writing these quickie battle reports, because I don’t remember everything that happened.  We’ll just hit the highlights.

1. ELDAR vs. SPACE WOLVES:  I think it was about 1500 points or so, maybe 1250.  The object was to grab a relic at the center of the board and take it home. 

The Eldar deployed in a spread-like-cream cheese pattern; in other words, too thin.  The Space Wolves quickly took the center of the board with a drop pod strike, a landraider full of blood claws, and some pouncing thunderwolf cavalry. 



Lightning strikes accompany the arrival of the SW warlord, a formidable Rune Priest, who took possession of the relic in the first or second turn.  I seem to remember a lot of lightning being called down but I don’t think it ever amounted to much (J’s dice have some unknown grudge against him that continues to this day).  The Dire Avengers, always one of my fave units and never meeting my expectations, started out too far from the action to ever be of much use.  The Eldar’s expensive ghost warrior Wraithguard all fired their reality-tearing wraithcannons at the the landraider... and as usual, failed to do squat before they were returned to the grave.  Even at T6, when a wave of 15 savage bloodclaws led by Lukas and a Wolf Priest slams into four lousy wraithguard and a warlock, they don’t last long. (actually, i think the warlock hung on and survived, thus robbing me of the chance to shoot at the bloodclaws on my turn!) 



My guardians died early, as they are apparently trained to do, then broke and ran off the board despite the warlock’s Embolden which allowed him to reroll the failed morale check!  First I rolled an 11, then a 12!  Thanks for coming along, fellas. 



The elusive Harlequins actually did their jobs well.  One of the TW Cavalry models was killed by the Deathjester’s shrieker cannon, thus the wolf and rider exploded in a gory fireworks display, and the THC failed their pinning test.  The shaken wolf riders crouched behind their rock and waited for the harlies to summersault into combat.  Clowns died but finished the wolfriders in the process.  They then turned toward the savage mob of bloodclaws (while trying to dodge frag missiles from the long fangs up yonder) and met them in battle.  ...I don’t quite remember but I’m pretty sure the harlies didn’t survive the next shooting round and following melee.

The wraithlord did what giant construct monsters do best – it charged the landraider and in two round of kicking and smashing, destroyed the supertank by hand.  Go-o-o-o Wraithlord! 

The Eldar HQ – a jetbike-mounted farseer riding along with Shining Spears (not pictured) -- came out of reserve, zipped across the board, and charged the long fangs in their nest in the back, killing them with laser lances.  Then the farseer caught a plasma bolt to the back of the head and met instant death from a grey hunter. 



The game ended in turn 4 I think, due to time, with J having the relic and more VPs.  Score one for the Space Wolves! 

**

2.  CRIMSON FISTS vs DARK ELDAR: Only 1000 points, as we knew it’d take forever, and it did.  I think we only completed turn three.


I didn’t get any pictures but was able to field an (almost) entirely painted force at that points level, so I have taken pics post-battle.  I had two HQ captains with an assault squad and sternguard, a tac squad, snipers, a predator, and a razorback.  J fielded a Haemonc with wracks, wyches, and warriors, all in their own raiders, plus a talos pain engine and beastmaster with khymera and three reaver jetbikes.  And J found out that playing Space Wolves and DE are two very different things.  The DE’s superior speed got them engaged in the first turn, which turned out to be not such a good idea.  Two raiders delivered the wyches and haemonc/wracks right to me, where I downed both transports (one destroyed by sniper rifle fire!)  and engaged.  I really expected to take more casualties than I did there, but again the marine power armor and T4 are so damned tough!  (Which is why i want to try DE/E myself for a while.)  The haemonc challenged my pistolier captain, apparently to save his wracks from some wrath cuz the haemonc ain’t no fighter.  He died and a handful of wracks retreated, leaving my captain and 2 sternguard alive.  Similarly my assault sarge met the hekatrix’s challenge and died at her hands, but the wyches lost the combat overall and ran.  The assault Captain would go on to fight and kill the beastmaster’s lot and then fight the talos (the fight he was itching for).  In the end the assault team was lost and the Captain died under the Talos’s chain snares, but it was a helluva battle. 


The reavers took out my predator’s autocannon in turn one, then the tank’s heavy bolters killed two bikers.  The last biker would live to harass my men for two more turns, including a dirty picking off of my tac squad’s heavy bolter man; popping out of cover, shooting him in the back, and then popping back inside the ruins.  The tac squad concentrated on the Warrior’s who had taken an objective at the top of the highest ruins, but couldn’t thin them out enough.  The predator charged the building in an attempt to bring it down and immobilized itself.  Thus the Warrior’s won the day. 


In the end the Dark Eldar won: 4 victory points to 2!!  (objective plus linebreaker vs kill the warlord and first blood)


Two fun games for sure, and two victories for J!  If only we could learn to play a little faster....

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