12.12.19 2500 Dark Eldar vs Black Templars

Finally another big game.  Bryan came up with the idea last week.  Followed through today.  Well worth the wait.

Vect stares down some power armour marines and a Dreadnought.

Met Bryan at Fantasy Flight last night.

Wore my purple Williams Peanut Bar polo shirt.

It has been too long since I've had a game with good buddy Bryan.  Miss rolling bones with him.  It has been over 6 months since I've last played my Dark Eldar.  There were a lot of things I forgot.  Will have to remember next I bring these girls out.

Mission: Relic.  Deployment Vanguard Strike.

Bryan won roll off.  Decided to deploy and go first.

Our stage of putting models on and taking them off.

Black Templars deployment.  Surprisingly tight.  Should've mimicked this.

Dark Eldar deploy for placing webway portals cutting off access routes for Land Raiders to go through.  Turned out didn't need them.  Only need one.  If that.

Attempt to seize initiative, 3 comes up.  Nope.  Top of first.  Black Templars move up ready to shoot at the line of fast skimmers.  Thank you, Night Shields.  No rounds are fired.  First turn was fast.

Bottom of first.  Dark Eldar come screaming out of their deployment zone.  Kept a couple of Venoms with 5 Warriors in back to grab relic after the first couple of troops from both sides die attempting to grab it.  Webways are placed and Land Raiders have to take the long way around to get out of their side of the board.  A squad of Wyches and True Born each assault a Land Raider.  True Born blasters took a hull point from one.  Learn a costly lesson.  True Born remove both Land Raiders.  First Blood VP to Dark Eldar.  Ensuing explosion takes A LOT of Wyches off the table.  Hope I never do that again.

Top of second.  Black Templars do a great job pushing back the advance of Dark Eldar.  Kabalite Warrior squad had the relic.  As planned Black Templars Terminator assault squad assault them and are bubble wrapping the flag.

Bottom of second.  Need to counter assault to regain the middle of the board.  Vect arrives from reserves not that it matters.  I want him to assault the Terminator squad in the middle of the board, he can't.  Will not place him in reserves next time.  Scourges arrive.  A lot of shooting into the Terminator squad quickly reduces their numbers.

Top of third.  Venom Vect embarked is destroyed.  Black Templars shoot their way to the middle of the board with middle range firing support.  They remove all but one Scourge from a squad.  Removing more and more Dark Eldar vehicles.  Damn this war of attrition is not fun with Dark Eldar.  Perhaps I've forgotten more than I thought.  Also need to work on learning tactics.

This is exactly the situation I was talking about at games last Fri night.  I think Overwatch sequence is messed up.  Presently its: You declare charge, squad being charged performs Overwatch, then you roll dice to see if you get into H2H, hand-to-hand.  Check it out 40k6 pg21.  The situation I described is that if you are unsure if you can make the distance you are effectively giving your opponent a free turn of shooting.  This is what happened.  Needed 7" rolled 5.  Vect wasn't wounded.

Bottom of third.  Finally Razorwing comes on.  Reducing number of Terminators on the field.  Far squad is down to three of those 2+ save m'fers.  Wyches who assaulted the Chaplin HQ continue their battle.  Have him down to 1 wound left.   Like they will take the last wound /rolls eyes.

Top of fourth.  Surprise, surprise Space Marines are on the winning side of this attrition battle.  So far VP 1-0 Dark Eldar.  This is the time when Black Templars start pulling back.  Something I didn't notice at the time.  They were pulling back for a point of strength.  Possibly betraying the feeling that it wasn't going that well for them.  Black Templars remove a Ravager.

Close up of bottom of fourth H2H.  Bryan has always wanted to have a Dreadnought in close combat.  Haywire Grenade took a hull point.  Vect's Shadowfield finally rolls a 1.  Slay the Warlord VP to Black Templars.

Bottom of fourth.  Finally a Typhoon Land Speeder gone.  Should focus on those in the future.

Pic: Bottom of fifth.  Top of fifth.  Black Templars are pulling further back to maintain their lines.  Finally focusing firepower Templars is putting a huge dent in the Dark Eldar front.  Chaplin HQ also finally wins combat and can't chase down last Wyche.  Cyclone Missile launchers take out Razorwing.  Bottom of fifth.  Moved Wyche to secure the flag for the victory because its worthy 3 VP.  I thought Templars had 2 VP.  Turns out I was too quick.  Bryan had me roll a regroup roll, whcih I completely forgot.  10 comes up, nope no flag for the Wyche.  Kabalite Warriors have been standing nearby for rounds ready for this.  They were too far away.  Didn't want them near the relic because Templars had avenues of fire on it like I did.  Templars have one squad that can grab the flag but they are behind the building.  Not sure if Scourges were close enough for line breaker.

Bryan rolls the dice to see if we go into turn 6.  3 comes up.  Game ends.

Tie 1-1 Dark Eldar vs Black Templars.

Several of mistakes made.  First was placing Vect in reserve.  Can't assault out of webways anymore.  Second was splitting up the Raiders and Venoms.  They should work in teams cutting down squads together.  Rather than each firing at different units.  Also not deep striking Scourges where they would be a bit more useful.  Probably most costly mistake was charging the Land Raiders with True Born and Wyches.  I lost too many Wyches lost that way.  True Born can do it by themselves.  Wyches would've done better taking on squads by themselves or moving to Dreadnoughts with their Haywire Grenades.


slainte mhath