060890.M41 Retreat!

The Eldar transports roared out of the warp gate. It was dark. Their Xeno eyes could only just make out a writhing mass of green-skins ahead. Launch the assault. Prism Cannon, fire, instructed Farseer By'ko. The first blast from the Prism lit up the night sky, reflecting off the low-lying stratocumulus. The pilot of the Farseer's Wave Serpent shuddered, seeing how vastly outnumbered his Eldar were. The reverberating light ceased before he could align a shot from his twin-linked missile launcher. The slaughter had begun.

###

This was a 1500 point game between Mike's Eldar and Ryan's newly acquired Orks. Mike had two squads of Dire Avengers in Wave Serpents, one of which was accompanied by Farseer By'ko. Another Wave Serpent housed a squad of Scorpions. Two Prisms and an outflanking Walker comprised the Eldar heavy support units, and a squad of jetbikes rounded out the force.

The Orks were approximately comprised of two Big Mek HQs, two large squads of Shoota Boyz, one large squad of Sluggas, two independent Defkoptas, a squad of 5 bikes, and a battlewagon housing about a thousand Lootas. Oh, and Snikrot and about 15 accompanying peasants.

We rolled Annihilation with a Dawn of War deployment (Ryan's favorite!). I setup first, and took out about 6 Boyz with my Prism cannon in turn 1. Ryan's return fire did nothing the first turn. This was the only turn in which the Eldar were in command. This turn was also notable as the only turn in which something went right for the Eldar.

Ork army, turn 1.

The center of the Ork army, turn 1.

Eldar Mechanized Army, turn 1.

Turn 2, the bikes shrugged off all 8 War Walker scatter laser shots (who had outflanked this turn) without a single wound. One Defkopta shrugged off all three shuriken cannon shots from the jetbikes (who also arrived via reserves on turn 2), as well as a missile launcher hit from one of the wave serpents. The Eldar focused their fire strongly on the advanced squad of Shootas, dropping two Prism templates, a scatter laser and an EML on them. They killed off most of the squad, but about 10 still remained, enough to avoid a morale check.

Turn 2, Snikrot also arrived. His squad's shooting had no effect, nor did Snikrot do anything against the rear armor of the Farseer's Wave Serpent he attacked. But his extended unit took out 3 of the 4 jetbikes in hand to hand combat. The bike passed its test, holding the crew in melee. A Defkopta exploded the fortuned, flat-out moving Scorpion's wave serpent with a missile, taking out one or two of the Scorps in the explosion. They failed their pinning test, and thus were cowering low in the resulting crater, with Snikrot's boys just a few paces away. The Lootas shot poorly, yet still exploded one of the Dire Avenger's Wave Serpents, killing 6 of the 10 models inside. The Exarch kept his Avengers together, passing the pinning test. The Walker was immobilized by a Depkopta. The game was basically over.

The decimated Eldar army, end of turn 2.

Turn 3, the Farseer's Serpent redeployed and the Dire Avengers inside disembarked, unloading a bladestorm into the nearby 5 bikers. Only 2 fell from the 31 shots fired. The lone jetbike was eradicated, and Snikrot ran his doomed crew toward the scorpions. The 4 Dire Avengers bladestormed into the approaching Sluggas, having minimal effect with only 4 of them left. They would die on the backside of turn 3 when the sluggas assaulted. The Prism Cannons were effective yet again, mowing down more Orks. But there were too many left to take their place. Snikrot & crew charged into the 4 remaining Scorpions. The scorpions lost three of their four troops (including their Exarch), but wiped the Ork unit off the board with a sweeping advance, having killed 8. The Dire Avengers near the Farseer's serpent were engaged by the bikers, with a tied combat (no wounds on either side).
The remaining crew of the DA's who lost their Serpent prepare to bladestorm against the approaching Sluggas.

At this point, the Eldar sounded the retreat and conceded the match. They were down 4 kill points to 1 (2 wave serpents, 1 DA squad, and 1 Jetbike squad, versus Snikrot's squad). The scorpion unit had a single model left, and the DA's were engaged with the bikers. Without Scorpion assistance, that would have been a long, drawn-out battle with minimal results either way.

While the Eldar prism cannons were very effective this game, even hitting hard when they scattered, the Ork's gunfire was ridiculously powerful. The game was thoroughly one-sided and handed the Eldar their first loss with their fully mechanized army. My Eldar still have never beaten an equal-point Ork army since the new codex was released.

###

The Farseer's Wave Serpent leapt up to the crater, the rear hatch opening even before the Serpent halted. The lone remaining Scorpion helped the wounded Exarch onboard, joining the Dire Avengers and By'ko. The three remaining tanks fled the battlefield as the Orks cried out in victory. Only their skimmers' speed saved them this day. The pilot of the War Walker was unfortunately left as a spoil of war in his immobilized machine; nothing could have been done to rescue him.

###

By'ko entered the chamber. We must retreat. Our attack was unsuccessful. The Ork menace will overrun this star system. We must move the Craftworld.

The process is already underway, replied Ji Handr'an. We have lost Castor.

060890.M41 Ork Counter-Attack

Autarch Uil Dron walked into the Chamber and bowed to the Council. What is your bidding?

The Orks have launched a counter-offensive in the Castor system, answered Ipsissimus Jae Caidr.

We eliminated the Orks from that system, Mighty Farseer.

"Apparently you did not!" scolded Jae Caidr.

Autarch, prepare a strike force to assault the Ork encampment on the 3rd planet of the system, instructed Magister Templi Ji Handr'an. The planet is hot, with molten lava and volcanic deposits. The assault will happen in 3 days. Farseer By'ko will provide you with further intelligence.

We will depart in 2 days. Uil Dron turned to leave, but was halted by Farseer Vi Vuith.

"Your mission is vital, Autarch," said Vi Vuith. "We have foreseen the consequences of loss and they are great. The Orks have a huge compound in a nearby star system that will be within radio range of the encampment in 4 days. If you do not succeed, the Castor system will be overrun."

We will defeat them, replied Uil Dron, and he strode out of the chamber.

060887.M41: Launch the Assault

The ultra-sonic whine of gauss weaponry reverberated through the Eldars' bones. Remain behind the hill until I signal otherwise, communicated Ji Handr'an to his armada. Show yourselves no sooner, and if I fall, retreat immediately to Novas-Dinne and prepare for war.

The Farseer stepped into the hatch of the Wave Serpent behind Ui'nech. Begin. Ui'nech's Wave Serpent roared forward, following closely by Oazi's Serpent.

###

This was a 1500 point match, Eldar vs. Necrons. The Necron army was led by a Necron Lord, who remained with a unit of Immortals all game. Another unit of Immortals was nearby. Two heavy destroyers, two units of four Destroyers, one unit of 10 Scarabs, and two units of Necron warriors rounded out the Necron army.

The Eldar were led by Farseer Ji Handr'an, who shuttled around with a squad of Dire Avengers all game, led by Exarch Ui'nech. A second unit of Dire Avengers, led by Exarch Oazi, and a squad of 4 jetbikes rounded out the Eldar troops. Backing the troops was one War Walker, two Fire Prism tanks, and a squad of Banshees, led by Exarch Xeera. All of the Eldar troops were mechanized inside Wave Serpents.

We originally rolled for a Dawn of War start; but since this was our first game in a long time, we didn't want the hassle of Dawn of War; so we rerolled a Pitched Battle setup with Sieze Ground objectives (3 objectives). Ryan's Necrons setup first. Mike chose to hold all of his Eldar in reserve, a risky proposition for a mechanized army that relies heavily on surgical strikes and precise timing. But the Necrons are a fierce opponent, and war sometimes necessitates risk.

Necron Setup, turn 1.

The Necron war machine rolled forward with two free turns of movement, spreading its heavy firepower such that the entire opposing edge was covered by Destroyers or their Heavy brethren. The footslogging troops took powerful positions behind hills. The Scarabs clogged the middle of the battlefield.

One turn 2, both Wave Serpents with Dire Avengers (one carrying the Farseer) arrived from reserve. They cruised up the left flank, and both sets of Dire Avengers disembarked and unleashed a hailstorm of shuriken into the Heavy Destroyers, felling them both.

Disembarked Dire Avengers, turn 2.

In return, on turn 3, The Necrons blew the twin-linked Starcannon off Oazi's Wave Serpent. The other unit of Destroyers sent a wave of gauss fire at Ui'nech's Serpent, housing the Farseer, but it bounced harmlessly off its energy field. In the Eldar half of turn 3, both Fire Prisms arrived, as did the jetbikes and the Walker. The jetbikes boosted behind a rock, hidden from view. The two prisms unleashed their cannons on the previously immobile--and clearly visible--scarab swarm, but both scattered badly, one creating an avalanche in the nearby rocks and the other felling a single scarab. The two Dire Avenger squads re-embarked into their respective Wave Serpents, which roared back to the center of the Eldar deployment zone. The War Walker outflanked onto the right flank, behind a squad of 4 Destroyers. But his two scatter lasers (8 shots) misfired badly, hitting only two and wounding 1.

Turn 4 was fairly uneventful, as the Necrons maneuvered their infantry in their Deployment zone. The lone dead destroyer rose from the ashes, and his squad blew a scatter laser off the Walker. The Warriors nearby also fired into the Walker, felling the juggernaut. The Banshees finally arrived in the Eldar half of turn 4. They roared up the left flank, joined by both Serpents of Dire Avengers. The jetbikes boosted deep in the left flank, behind a hill. The prisms did more of nothing.

The Banshee's Wave Serpent hides behind the other two.

In turn 5, with all the Wave Serpents bunched on the left flank providing cover for each other, the Necron firepower reared its ugly head. The Immortals pelted the Farseer's Serpent with fire, but the fortuned vehicle shrugged off the glancing wounds. Destroyer fire blew the twin-linked shuriken catapult off of Oazi's now unarmed Serpent. The Warriors on the right flank abandoned the objective nearby and fired on the in-range Fire Prism, shaking it. The Eldar struck back hard. A shadow of Doom fell upon the Necron Lord and his Immortals, and the dis-embarked Dire Avengers felled all but one immortal and leaving the Lord with a single wound. (Sadly for Ryan, he rolled his armor saves very well, saving all but 1 wound, but immediately we noticed that he had just rolled them all at once--per 4th edition rules--rather than doling out the wounds to the mixed-unit properly, as 5th edition requires. Therefore, Ryan allocated his wounds and re-rolled, and rolled poorly, only saving 1 Immortal and taking a wound on his Lord.) Dire Avengers disembarked from Oazi's Serpent too, killing several Warriors. The Banshee serpent bolted back toward the left-most objective, providing cover for his jetbikes.

The Necron Destroyer juggernaut.

In turn 6, the Necron's legendary recuperative ability failed them. Only 1 Necron Warrior stood back up. All of the felled Immortals lay quietly in the dust, as did another two Warriors. Several Necrons squads fired on the Dire Avengers, injuring them. Further fire on the Serpents did nothing. By this time, the Scarabs had engaged the jetbikes on the left-most objective. Oazi's Dire Avengers embarked into their Serpent, which tank shocked the Warriors standing on their objective. The Warriors were pushed aside. Ui'nech's Avengers embarked into their serpent, which roared forward toward the right-most objective. The two Fire Prisms unleashed their fury, felling a couple Destroyers.

The Dire Avengers, after having killed off many Immortals, prepare to re-embark into their Serpent.

In turn 7, the Eldar solidified their position. Ui'nech's Avengers landed on the right-most objective, disembarked, and wiped the nearby Necron Warriors off the battlefield with a bladestorm. The prisms fired at something and most likely missed. The Necron warriors and Immortals that had fired upon, and assaulted, Oazi's Wave Serpent inflicted no damage. His serpent then inched forward, giving the Avengers room to disembark and fire upon the Necron Warriors, doing little damage. The Banshees finally emerged from their serpent, felling 1 Warrior with a pistol and then only felling 2 in their charge. The necrons were unable to respond in that assault, killing nobody, but passing their courage test. Hence, the game ended with the Eldar in solid control of one objective, the Necron-held objective was contested by the Banshees and the Dire Avengers, and the third objective was surrounded by a swarm of Scarabs (who again escaped with only a single dead model after the two prisms fired terribly).

The Banshee Serpent roars toward the Necron battle line. Turn 6.

The Banshees assault the Necron Warriors, while the Dire Avengers look on. Turn 7.

Ui'nech and his Dire Avengers capture an objective, turn 7.
__

While writing this up, I realized I made a couple rule errors in this game, most of which hurt me.

1. On the last turn, my Farseer rolled double 1's in Dooming the Warriors. He should have had to have taken a Perils of the Warp save (3+) to avoid a wound. Even had he taken a wound, it was the last turn and he had been uninjured previously, so it had no real effect.
   
2. In the Jetbike vs. Scarab fight, the first round or two had me using an incorrect toughness, allowing the scarabs to wound on a roll of 4+ instead of 5+. This may have caused me to take an extra wound.
3. In the Banshee charge in the final turn, I realize I rolled two dice for each Banshee, one for their weapon and one for their charge ... forgetting that they're carrying pistols. So I should have rolled 9 more dice.
   

It was a fun game! And the first in which I've tried a mechanized army against the Necrons.

060887.M41: The 8th Planet

We are nearly finished disembarking from the Blackhawks, mighty Farseer, Ui'nech communicated.

The Necrons lie beyond the hill to the north. Their lifeless machine nature is a pestilence on this planet. Eradicate them, replied Ji Handr'an.

060885.M41: Rumblings in the Castor System

Ipsissimus Kae'an strode into the chamber and took his seat among the others already gathered.

Thank you for coming. I have felt in my meditations an unholy anxiety. I have contacted the small unit of rangers we positioned on the 6th planet of the Castor system, after our elimination of the Ork infestation, to inquire about any strange sensor readings. Their devices have detected seismic disturbances. But strangely, they appear to be sourced not from the planet's surface, but rather from the atmosphere. They triangulated the vibrational forces as emanating from the 8th planet in the system.

I have seen this before, Ipsissimus Jae Caidr mentally communicated to the others. Necrons.

That is what I fear, replied Kae'an. This foe is beyond any reconnaisance force. We will send an army.

060104.M41: Eldar Surprise Attack Orks on 6th Castor Planet

The Blackhawk roared out of the warp gate in the Castor system. Autarch Machant'ii immediately engaged the interstellar transport's cloaking technology, making it all but invisible to all inferior races, except perhaps to the technologically advanced Tau or ancient Necrons. The Blackhawk pulled into orbit around the 6th planet. "We are undetected," said Farseer Ji Handr'an, who had been dispatched by the Council to oversee this mission. Sensors indicate that the Orks appear to be scavaging the planet looking for resources. Machant'ii communicated mentally Ji Handr'an. We launch in 30 minutes, Ji Handr'an commanded, have a tactical plan to me in 20.

"The orks have discovered a mine shaft. Our planetary penetration sensors report strong levels of titanium in the mine," reported Machant'ii 20 minutes later. "So we had faulty information back on Novas-Dinne," responded Ji Handr'an. "We will correct that when we return. What is your assessment, Machant'ii?"

"The orks are in a spread formation, scouring the land. It appears they have sent a rearguard of lootas and a wagon to guard the mine, but the lootas appears to be slowed by the vegetative terrain. Next to the mine is a small settlement. It is in ruins, but our visual sensors show massive numbers of gretchin working to prepare the settlement for habitation. Among the gretchin is a Big Mek; he appears to be in charge of the resource gathering mission. A large squad of ork boyz are marching toward a glowing artifact in the east. The artifact's radiation emission is consistent with that of the Tau. The orks have sent another wagon of lootas and a skorcha buggy toward that artifact to secure it before the main squad of ork boyz can arrive. "

"Great Farseer, our plan is to launch a mechanized assault on the western flank. The spread formation of the orks will allow our infantry to outnumber them on that flank. This should allow us to take control of the mine and give us time to eliminate their transports. We can then secure the artifact."

I will accompany Kallas in his Wave Serpent. Stay aboard the ship, Machant'ii, and communicate updates as they occur. We will secure the region and prepare for the landing of the rest of our force. We launch now, commanded Ji Handr'an. Minutes later, a beam of darkness flashed down in the glow of the planet's sunrise. The Eldar had landed.

###

The Eldar launched a 1500 points mechanized force:

• Dire Avenger Wave Serpent: Squad of 10 with Exarch Kallas wielding dual avenger shuriken catapults. Farseer Ji Handr'an accompanied this squad. Serpent equipped with twin-linked ("TL") EML.
• Striking Scorpion Wave Serpent: Squad of 10 with Exarch Sol'Tor. Serpent equipped with TL EML.
• Dire Avenger Wave Serpent: Squad of 10 with Exarch Oazi wielding dual catapults. Serpent equipped with TL scatter lasers.
• Two Fire Prisms with holofields.
• Reserve squad of 4 jetbikes.
• Outflanking lone War Walker with dual scatter lasers.

The Orks had a 1175 (or 1125, I forget which) points force, which was approximately as follows:

• Big Mek in a squad of 30+ gretchin.
• 30+ shoota boyz.
• 30+ boyz.
• Scorcha
• Two squads of 10-12 lootas with accompanying looted wagon transport

Deployment and Mission

The game was a Capture and Control mission (two objectives) with Dawn of War deployment. The Orks deployed first as shown in the picture; the Eldar deployed nothing and went second.

Turn 1

The Orks had no targets, so they marched onto the board and ran forward.







The Eldar mechanized force deployed on the western flank and skimmed close to the line of shoota boyz, but blockading them from blocking the rear access of the transports. Oazi's wave serpent flew flat out over the line of shoota boyz, preparing to surge forward to the lootas in the bush in the north. Firing at the empty wagon, Kallas's wave serpent missed with its twin-linked EML, while Sol'Tor's serpent hit, but could not damage the front armor of the transport.

Turn 2

The orks ran around preparing for their shots, but their empty wagon experienced a power surge, forcing it to burst forward 12 inches, providing solid cover for the wave serpents. The eastern lootas let loose their rokkits at Oazi's serpent, wrecking it despite its flat out movement the turn prior. Oazi's squad took cover behind the downed serpent. Unfortunately for the orks, the gretchin didn't notice the approaching Eldar and went about their business preparing the ruined settlement, keeping the Big Mek from firing his Shokk Attack gun.



None of the Eldar reserves arrived. Sol'Tor's scorpions disembarked their white transport, which then flew over the ork line, covering them from the north. The serpent fired at the surging wagon, stunning it. Kallas's fortuned transport bolted forward maximum distance to prepare to attack the lootas in the bush. The Prisms missed entirely. Oazi's dire avengers moved into position and bladestormed into the bush-hidden lootas, killing 5; but they hung around. The scorpions charged into the doomed spread orks, killing 20. The orks struck 5 scorpions in return, but their armor repelled all but one of the attacks. The fearless orks consolidated into the battle.

Turn 3

The big mek fired his shokk attack gun at the swirling scorpion/shoota combat (which was an error we only caught at the end of the game -- you cannot target combats, even with ordnance blasts). The shot scattered off, missing everyone entirely. The lootas unleashed their rokkits into Oazi's dire avengers, who took 5 wounds, but surged forward with courage. The scorpions struck the shootas hard, felling 8 and only taking a single wound in return. This time, the orks were forced to retreat, but were cut down by the scorpions, who consolidated to the rear of their wave serpent. Ji Handr'an's fortuned serpent was shaken by rokkit fire, shrugging off approximately 30 incoming rokkits and two penetrating hits.





The Eldar retaliated hard. The War walker entered from the west flank, lining up a nice shot on the rear of the empty looted wagon. It fired, only shaking the vehicle with the 5 lasers that struck home. The scorpions embarked into their transport, which fired its EML at the side armor of the shaken transport, wrecking it from point-blank range. Oazi's depleted dire avengers took cover behind the wrecked wagon. Kallas's dire avengers disembarked and unleashed a bladestorm into the bush-covered, doomed lootas, kiling them all. Ji Handr'an remained in the serpent as it drifted forward slightly, covering Kallas's avengers and unleashing its EML at the wagon carrying the other loota squad, whose armor repelled the missile. The fire prisms finally pulled their weight. One fired through the arriving, turboboosted jetbike squad, destroyed the wagon carrying the lootas, while the other killed 5 of the disembarked lootas who were in heavy cover.

Turn 4

The shokk attack gun finally hit, stunning Sol'Tor's wave serpent; but the spirit stones reduced that to shaken. The blast also struck down one of Oazi's dire avengers, who bolted for the board edge. The remaining lootas fired at the jetbike squad, hitting two of them. Even with a 3+ save, the two bikes exploded violently; but the squad remained valiant. The eastern ork boyz continued running forward toward the artifact objective.

The Eldar again struck back hard. The shaken scorpion transport burst forward 24" to prepare a dual assault on the big mek and the ork boyz at the far objective. Kallas's avengers embarked onto their serpent, rejoining the Farseer. The serpent lined up a shot on the lootas and hit them hard, forcing them to fall back off the board. The prisms and walker unleashed their weapons on the big mek and his gretchin friends, killing 6 gretchin.

Turn 5

Ji Handr'an fortuned his serpent, which surged forward flat out over the titanium mine objective, claiming it. The two remaining jetbikes turboboosted forward to contest the artifact objective, which the ork boyz had finally reached. The skorcha had been able to maneuver behind Sol'Tor's serpent, shaking it with its flamer. The walker retaliated, immobilizing the vehicle and knocking out its flamer. The prisms took out 13 gretchin, but the squad passed its morale check. The scorpion serpent rushed forward next to the big mek, preparing for a run on the artifact objective. The game continued for another turn, dooming the two Eldar jetbikes, as they were surrounded by 30 boyz.

Turn 6

The shokk attack gun hit Kallas's serpent, but its fast move the prior turn saved it from damage. The boyz decimated the jetbikes. In return, the prisms took down a negligible number of them as they moved into position for tank shocks in the 7th turn, if necessary. The scorpions disembarked and charged the big mek's squad, wiping them off the board. In the meantime, their serpent tank shocked the boyz, contesting the artifact objective. The game ended on this turn, with the dire avengers controlling the mine and the artifact contested.











The Eldar had lost only 1 dire avenger squad and its transport, and two scorpions, while the orks were down to a single troop unit.

###

This was a fun game and my first with an entirely mechanized force. I think it was a very strong force, and I think I handled mechanized tactics very well, even though I was outnumbered about 120 units to 41 (including tanks/transports). The Orks made a couple mistakes, one with aligning his lootas in area terrain and the other in accidentally moving his gretchin so his big mek couldn't shoot. He also rolled terribly on the damage table against my skimmers. My maneuvering was solid, nearly always having vehicles to provide cover for other vehicles and troops, and my attacks were synchronized well.

I made a rules mistake in the last turn, when I disembarked my scorpions and then tank-shocked the squad controlling the objective. You cannot embark/disembark and move flat-out in the same turn. However, it ultimately did not matter, as if I hadn't disembarked, I still would have tank-shocked the boyz, contesting the objective and thus winning the game that ended that turn. The only difference was that the big mek squad would still have been alive, but that would not have affected the outcome; and it would have subjected the gretchin to both of my prisms guns, instead of wasting the shots on the boyz.

Because of the way the orks had crushed the Eldar in the previous few games, we tried playing an unbalanced-points game. Next game, we'll be reducing the difference in the forces to something closer to 1500 to 1300. Here comes 60 more boyz. ;)

060102.M41: Special Meeting of the Elder Seer Council

"Welcome fellow members of the Council and Ministers of Command," said Jae Caidr, an Ipsissimus of the Council. "I have called you here in haste because I have foreseen an opportunity of which I feel we must take advantage. The vile Orks in the Castor system have sent a small expeditionary force to the 6th planet of the star system. The creatures appear to have little to no long-range scanning ability, as we know that the planet is uninhabited and has no resources worth pursuing."

"Therefore, it is my recommendation that we display the true might of the Eldar by sending an overwhelming force to quash this expedition. We must launch our Warp Transports immediately."

"I wish to send a squad of Rangers to reconnoiter the planet, so that we may prepare our assault strategy," said Machant’ii of the Strategic Command. "There is no time," replied Jae Caidr. "The Orks will soon learn of the worthlessness of this mission and will return to their new base in Abhid. We must launch our surprise assault within 2 days."

"As there is no time to meditate on Jae Caidr’s vision," announced Ipsissimus Kae’an, "we must decide now. I feel no warning in my heart when I consider this action. Hence, I recommend that we proceed with the assault. What is the Council’s feeling?" The members of the Council lowered their heads and consulted the swirling vortex of their future timeline. Each member, in turn, raised his or her head and nodded toward Kae’an.

"Action approved," announced Kae’an. "Autarch Machant’ii, prepare your forces to launch within the day."