Thanks to everybody for the constructive feedback on my last batrep. Here's the game from Tuesday.
This also happens to be the first of five games that I'm committing to playing the same list for. When I built it on Mondat night, the plan was to grab all the stuff that Dark Eldar do better than other factions, and skew towards that. Playing to our strengths and whatnot.
1,499 points, 17 kill points
HQ: 125
Archon
+ Shadowfield, Drugs, Power Weapon, Soul Trap
Elites: 427
5 Incubi 175
+ Raider with Enhanced Aethersails
My first opponent: a really nice Ork player named T. I can't think of a time when we walked away from a game without having fun. That said, he's begun dabbling in Warmachine on account of piggies warped by Mad Science! So this is his first warhammer game in about a month. I felt kinda bad that this list was packing so much splinter fire, but he's whooped me in the past.
We went digging through the club's back room and pulled out what LoS blocking pieces of terrain we could find. I'm surprised that we had the corroguated cardboard (I mean steel!) warehouses.
Mission: Seize Ground, with 3 objectives (the bat swarms).
Deployment: Pitched Battle (again?)
His deployment from left to right:
A Warboss and his Nobs secured the left flank, hoping to sweep up the side.
Closer to the middle were three Battlewagons with Deff Rollas, Red Paint Jobs, and Big Shootas bunched together. Inside of each is a squad of 18 Boyz with a Big Shoota, and a Nob with a Klaw. The middle Squad was Shoota Boyz, the other two were Sluggas. Hiding inside the middle one was a Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field giving them cover.
Two small units of Lootas took up positions on the far warehouse.
Infiltrating: Kommandos with Nob with Klaw and Burna (a flamer or power weapon). His buggies got left behind on accident so this squad took its place.
My deployment from left to right:
Kabalite Warrior's Raider in front of two Ravagers.
2 Empty Venoms and the Wyches in a Venom hiding behind a unit of Reaver Bikes.
A unit of Reaver Bikes clustered near the far crater.
Archon & Wyches with Raider in Reserve
Incubi & Raider in Reserve
The two units of Trueborn ended up in reserve because I forgot to place 'em.
The Plan:
1. Take his long range fire on the chin. Use Reavers and Venoms to suppress / annihilate the Lootas.
2. Coax him into exiting his transports.
3. Swiftly apply Archon and Incubi to his Orky bits.
After my set up, he infiltrated his Kommandos onto the middle objective, out of LoS my army.
Drugs: +1 Attack. Spiffy.
I rolled to sieze the initiative, and got it!
So, Dark Eldar Turn 1:
The Kabalites and one Ravager took aim at the Trukk, the other Ravager moved to shoot at the Battle Wagons, with the Reavers turboing into position as a screen for the ravager.
One unit of Reavers Turbo'd behind one Loota Squad Bladevaning the bejeezus out of it and causing the Lootas to fail their morale & run away in the Movement Phase.
Three venoms unloaded on the other Lootas... killing... two. Alrighty.
The Ravager and Kabalite's Raider manage to Shake & Stun the Trukk, but deal no lasting damage. The other Ravager gets lucky and blows up the Middle Battlewagon, frying some orks in the process. To my surprise, the Nob in that squad was none other than Lord Caver Bringer of Most Massive Destruction Esquire III. This did not bode well.
Ork Turn 1:
Two Battlewagons move forward, one towards the screen of Reavers and one towards the middle objective. The shoota boyz also move forward on foot.
The Nobs say "F this!" and leave their Trukk, moving into nearby cover.
The Lootas to my surprise fired at the Reavers behind them, causing the Reavers to take two losses and run for their lives. The other unit of Reavers is swept away under a tide of green Orky doom, but not before killing two boyz in combat.
The other wagon disgorges its payload... I don't know why.
Dark Eldar Turn 2:
Reserves: The Archon and two Trueborn units arrive!
One Ravager moves to take a shot at the near Battlewagon (stunning it), the other Turbos towards center field to avoid potential Ork problems.
The Reavers regroup and move to assault the Lootas, with a Venom lending fire support. The prevail at the cost of one Reaver.
Two Venoms, two squads of Trueborn, and Kabalites all unload their pile of doom on the Boyz near the left objective, evaporating it in a spray of Orky green bits.
The Archon kicks in the Enhanced Aethersails and slams to a halt right in front of the Nobs, slowing their progress.
Ork Turn 2:
The Nobs move out of terrain admidst the Raiders and Ravagers. They destroy the Ravager and the Archon's Raider, but fail to hit the Kabalite Raider. The Kabalite's Raider also survived a Ramming attempt by the Trukk.
The Battlewagons and Ork Shootas fire on several targets, killing one Trueborn and one Reaver, and... I think stunning a Venom?
Dark Eldar Turn 3:
Reserves: Incubi Don't show up.
The Archon and surviving Wyches assault the Warboss and Nobs, after the Kabalites soften them up. The Archon kills the Warboss (getting two wounds while needing 6's to wound!) and fails to suck up his soul. The Wyches put three wounds on the Nob squad. The Nobs focused 8 power claw and 4 big choppa attacks at the Archon, and all were saved or avoided. The Wyches took minor casualties and sweeping advanced the unit.
The Ravager and Raider stunned the Battlewagon in the middle. Reavers and Trueborn took pot shots at Orks. The squad of Wyches got deployed near an objective.
Ork Turn 3:
Lord Carver's Shoota Boyz climbed into the left Battlewagon, with the Big Mek providing cover.
The Boyz in the middle made way for the Kommandos to hop in the far battle wagon and move to contest the far right objective. The Trukk Thought about ramming the Wyches and fired its big shoota, killing one... I think.
Dark Eldar Turn 4:
Reserves: The Incubi don't show up. Must've had better things to do. Perhaps there was a Sister's of Battle Convent nearby?
The Kabalites and their Raider fire at the Leftmost Battlewagon, wrecking it. The last Ravager fires at the rightmost Battlewagon, getting no results. The remaining Heat Lance in the Reaver squad fires, and wrecks it!
Venoms shoot the contents, and the Reavers assault in, leaving staying in a tied combat.
The Archon assault's Lord Carver's squad of Shoota Boyz, thinking to take them out before moving onto an objective. Lord Carver has other plans and tears the Archon apart with his power klaw, causing the Wyches to lose combat and flee, only to be sweeping advanced!
Ork Turn 4:
The Kommandos win their assault and consolodate onto the wreck of the Battlewagon.
The Trukk turbos onto the left objective, to contest it an be a pain.
The mob of Boyz in the middle humkers further down on the objective and prays.
Lord Carver's Shoota Boyz move onto the remains of their Wagon as well, seeking cover.
Dark Eldar Turn 5:
The Incubi show up at last! They get into position to assault the Trukk as a last resort.
The Kabalites discover they're a few inches too far from the objective and disembark in order to try to blow away the Trukk. The Reavers takes aim as well.
So, five lances and four incubi later, the Trukk has a Weapon destroyed result and remains.
The Kommandos somehow survived their turn as well, only taking one or two wounds.
Ork Turn 5:
The Kommandos move through cover far enough to contest the objective, also firing off a flamer and a slugga, killing 4 of the 5 wyches. The remaining Wych passes her leadership.
Lord Carver moves through cover and ends up assaulting the 10 Kabalites. The Kabs lose combat by 1, fail their leadership and get seeping advanced. Carver consolidates onto the objective.
With the Orks scoring the left objective (incubi are just a smidgeon out of range) and the other two being contested it comes down to a die roll.
The game goes 'til turn 6!
Hearing this, with such diminished numbers and without the ability to punch out that 1 last Wych, the Ork player conceeds and we pack up and head to a coffee shop.
All in all, I'm happy with how the Bondage Space Elves performed, but I feel kinda bad for the Ork player. This army was pretty close to being the Rock to his Scissors. Even so, it felt like a pretty close game at the end.
So, any thoughts or critique on the list or how I misplayed my army? This remains a learning process.
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