So... here I am, joining 6th Edition. What better inaugural report than to take the Galactic Empire against the Dark Eldar? It was guaranteed to be bloody. 2000 points (but only one Force Org per side). Let's see how it went...
My Army:
HQ:
Primaris Psyker Palpatine (with Grenade Vets)
Lord Commissar Vader, Lightsaber (Powerfist) (with Flamer Vets)
Elites:
Boba Fett (Guardsman Marbo)
5 Storm Troopers, 2 Meltas, Plasma Pistol
5 Storm Troopers, 2 Meltas
Troops:
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 3 Plasma Guns, Plasma Pistol
-AT-AT Walker (Chimera), Multilaser, Heavy Bolter
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 3 Plasma Guns, Plasma Pistol
-AT-AT Walker (Chimera), Multilaser, Heavy Bolter
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 3 Flamers
-AT-AT Walker (Chimera), Multilaser, Heavy Flamer
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 2 Grenade Launchers, Flamer
-AT-AT Walker (Chimera), Multilaser, Heavy Flamer
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 3 Plasma Guns, Plasma Pistol
Veteran Squad, Grenadiers, 3 Grenade Launchers
Fast Attack:
3 Armored Sentinels, 3 Lascannons, 2 Hunter-Killers
3 Armored Sentinels, 3 Plasma Cannons
7 Speeder Bikes (Rough Riders)
Jason’s Army:
HQ:
Archon, Haywire Grenades, Agonizer (I think), Shadowfield, Splinter Pistol
-Archon’s Court, 3 Medusa (“Snake People”), 2 Lhameans, 5 Ur-Ghuls (in Tantalos)
Troops:
10 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster
-Raider
10 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster
-Raider
10 Wyches, various upgrades
-Raider
5 Wyches, Haywire Grenades, various upgrades
-Venom
5 Trueborn, 4 Blasters
-Venom
5 Trueborn, 4 Blasters
-Venom
Fast Attack:
Razorwing
Heavy Support:
Tantalos (yay Forgeworld!)
Ravager, 3 Dark Lances
Ravager, 3 Dark Lances
Mission: Victory Points (Kill Points)
Secondary Objectives: First Blood, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord
[That’s Changed! So… I want to kill the enemy first, get a unit into his DZ, and kill his commander, but at only 1VP each, they’re not critical priorities.]
Deployment: Short table edges
[That’s Changed! This is a very deep battlefield, but hard to outmaneuver the enemy. Probably a good thing for me, since I can’t outmaneuver Dark Eldar anyway; it forces him to confront me head-on.]
We rolled up the various random things:
Palpatine decided to try out the new psychic power tables, so went for Telepathic powers, getting Shriek and the Fearless one (power #2).
[That’s Changed! Not that useful, sadly. Should’ve stayed with the Lightning Arc.]
Our Warlord powers were likewise not that great. Lord Vader got Furious Charge as long as in the enemy deployment zone; at least it was a big zone. The Archon got an objective-related power which was actually totally useless.
[That’s Changed! But hardly matters in this case.]
I won the roll for deployment and elected to go first, not least because of First Blood; should be an easy first objective for me!
Deployment:
From left to right, I put my Speeder Bikes on the flank, accompanied by the Plasma Vets on foot and an AT-AT full of more Plasma Vets. To their right went the Lascannon Sentinels, then the Grenade Vets, with the Flamer Vet AT-AT behind them and Palpatine inside it. The right flank consisted of the Plasma Sentinels, the other Plasma Vet AT-AT, and the Grenade/Flamer Vets with Lord Vader anchoring the far right. Boba Fett and the Storm Troopers went in Reserve, the Troopers doing their Deep Strike thing.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...loymentIGL.jpg
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...loymentIGR.jpg
Jason deployed a Trueborn Venom, the Wych Raider, and a Warrior Raider behind cover on my left, with a Ravager behind them. In the center went the Tantalos, with the other Trueborn Venom and Ravager supporting it. On the right were the Wych Venom and other Warrior Raider. His Razorwing, as a Flyer, went in Reserve.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...loymentDEL.jpg
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...loymentDER.jpg
Jason attempted to seize, but failed.
The Plan:
1) When fighting a Dark Eldar army, it pretty much always comes down to “kill the transports.” First priority is to knock down the vehicles and tumble out the squishy occupants. Top targets are the Tantalos (full of scary stuff), then probably the Venoms and anything carrying Wyches. I’m not actually scared of the Kabalite Warriors.
2) Since this is a straight-up kill-fest, I’ll then wipe out units systematically and methodically. I’m pretty sure I can win a shooting war. My suicide Deep Strike detachment will take care of Ravagers, then just try to cause trouble in the backfield (and get me the Linebreaker objective with ease).
3) When the Razorwing shows up, I’ll mostly just take the strafing run on the chin. If I have any available troops to snapfire with, I suppose I’ll try to knock it out of the sky, but it’s a low-percentage play so I’ll concentrate on wiping the rest of Jason’s army instead.
4) I intend to play aggressively. Yes, I’m going to move towards the Dark Eldar. With the Imperial Guard. Let’s see how it worked out…
Turn 1
My Plasma Vets advanced into ruins on my left to bring their guns in range of the enemy skimmers. The Speeder Bikes edged forward behind them, but stayed out of line of fire of the enemy, wanting them to get closer. The Lascannon Sentinels advanced and shifted a little left to get line of fire on the Tantalos, as its Armor 12 was something they were well suited to shoot up. On the right, my Grenade Vets moved into 24” range of the enemy, Palpatine’s AT-AT stomping up behind them. The Plasma Sentinels and Vader’s AT-AT also advanced, while I kept the other AT-ATs back for now.
(Cue "Imperial March" background music)
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...12/Turn1IG.jpg
Shooting opened well, as the Plasma Vets on the left blew up the Wych Raider and killed 9(!!) of the passengers, getting me the First Blood objective. However, that was it for the good news for my first shooting phase. I Stunned the Trueborn Venom on the right and stripped a Hull Point off it, and took a Hull Point from the righthand Raider with a glance from Vader’s AT-AT Multilaser, but some good cover saves saw the rest of the Dark Eldar escape harm.
[That’s Changed! The ability to fire Plasma Guns to max range on the move showed just how useful Plasma Veterans can be; massed S7 AP2 fire with a 30” threat range is not to be underestimated! Also, while I didn’t do any massive harm to the skimmers on the right, with any luck the Trueborn Venom won’t be long for this world, down to just 1 Hull Point.]
Jason, pleased that he still had some vehicles to retaliate with, got right on it. He moved his Blasterborn, Ravager, and Warrior Raider forward on my left, the Wych Hekatrix staying huddled in cover. The Tantalos and second Ravager moved toward my center, and the Wych Venom and Warrior Raider on my right also closed in. He decided to disembark his Archon and Court from the Tantalos, figuring (rightly) that I was about to kill it really, really hard.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...12/Turn1DE.jpg
I took an awful lot of fire, but the Dark Lances were not terribly effective. One of my Lascannon Sentinels got Shaken by a Ravager shot, but that was it. The Tantalos and Venom knocked down all but 3 of my Grenade Vets, including all the Grenade Launchers and the Sergeant, but the three survivors stood firm. I lost a Guardsman or two to Venom fire on my left as well, from my Plasma Vets.
Turn 1 Victory Points:
Galactic Empire: 2 (incl. First Blood)
Dark Eldar: 0
Turn 2
All of my Reserves obligingly turned up (I rolled 2 5s and a 6, so even under old rules this would’ve happened). A Storm Trooper squad landed square behind the Tantalos and next to a Ravager, so they’d have their choice of targets. The other Storm Trooper squad scattered 9” so landed next to their Ravager target on my left instead of behind it as intended. Since they were still in Melta range, I left them where they were rather than risk a worse scatter with a re-roll. Boba Fett appeared in the woods on my right, thermal detonator in hand and eyeing the Wych Venom impassively.
On time, on target:
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/.../Turn2IGDS.jpg
Boba Fett?! Where?!
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...n2IGDSBoba.jpg
I sent my Speeder Bikes forward on the left and continued advancing the Plasma Vets on foot to get into Rapid Fire range of the enemy skimmers. The Sentinels also advanced, the Plasma Sentinels getting ready to make a spoiling charge into the Archon’s unit (the Haywires were the only thing that could hurt them, and would take a very long time to wipe them out, so it’d be a great way to tie down a dangerous unit). Vader’s AT-AT continued advancing on the right, and Palpatine’s AT-AT stomped up the center to get in Flamer range of the Archon’s Court.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...2/Turn2IGL.jpg
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...2/Turn2IGR.jpg
This shooting phase was impressive. The Force was strong with my army, as they dealt out massive damage. Skimmers crashed and burned all over the battlefield. On the left, the Plasma Vets brought down the Venom and killed a Trueborn. Then the Sentinels nailed the Warrior Raider, killing 7 of the inhabitants. The Storm Troopers blew up the Ravager, losing one of their own number in the process. Further right, the Tantalos went down to more Melta fire from the other Storm Troopers. Boba Fett’s thermal detonator not only blew up the Venom (killing 3 of the Wyches and Pinning the other 2) but also got 3 Ur-Ghuls via blast radius. The Archon’s Court took a hell of a lot of fire (including a massive 15 hits from my Plasma Sentinels, which then rolled 5 1s to wound), and when the dust had cleared was left with the Archon (with a non-functioning Shadowfield and 1 wound inflicted), 3 Medusas each down to 1 wound (clever LOS allocation by Jason) and a single Lhamean.
[That’s Changed! I made a positioning mistake with my Storm Troopers, putting the Meltas closest to the explosions. Thus, when the enemy vehicles blew up, I lost a Meltagunner and only saved the other 3 by good Carapace rolls. Also the Archon’s Shadowfield up front minimized damage from the Heavy Flamer in the AT-AT and the Flamers from the guys inside. LOS on multi-wound models also allowed him to keep all the Medusa alive.]
Well, that cleared out the battlefield a little:
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...Turn2IGEnd.jpg
In the assault phase, I tried to charge the Archon’s Court with the Plasma Sentinels but fell just short. The Speeder Bikes, however, easily reached the Trueborn. Their Hammer of Wrath got two Trueborn, but the survivors tagged two of my Bikes in return. Incensed, they used their Lances to good effect and wiped the squad.
[That’s Changed! Rough Riders, as Cavalry, now get the Hammer of Wrath extra hits when they charge. This is useful, and having 12” normal movement is also awfully handy, especially combined with Fleet, which means they’ve still got a good 24” threat radius.]
Jason, chagrined at the sheer carnage of the previous turn, rolled up his Razorwing, which swooped onto the battlefield near the center. His remaining Venom, now un-Stunned, moved forward on my right to target the Sentinels with the Blasterborn. The Raider on the right pulled back a short distance, wanting to avoid Vader’s onset. The 3 Warriors on the left moved toward the Sentinels, wanting to die proud and maybe take one down, while the lone Hekatrix made for the Speeder Bikes. The Ravager went for my lefthand units. The Archon and his wounded Court advanced on my 3 Grenade Vet survivors.
Jason actually laid off my Sentinels on the right, to my surprise, targeting my AT-ATs instead. The Warrior Raider blew up Vader’s AT-AT, but I made 6 of 6 Carapace saves, so there were no fatalities among the passengers. They spilled out, angry and heavily armed. Palpatine’s AT-AT blew up from Blaster fire from the Trueborn, spilling out Palpatine and 4 surviving Veterans (lousy saves). On the left, the Ravager and Warrior Blaster were totally ineffective. The Razorwing made up for this by dropping a missile barrage on my Plasma Vets, conveniently clustered in cover. Very poor armor saves saw me with a total of 3 survivors; fortunately, thanks to canny placement (I’m learning!), I kept the Sergeant and two Plasma Gunners alive.
In assault, the Archon’s Court easily overwhelmed the Grenade Vets, gaining a Pain token. The Hekatrix got two of the Speeder Bikes, but the three remaining Bikers took her down and consolidated toward the center of the board.
Victory Points:
Galactic Empire: 8 (incl. Linebreaker, as I had units in his DZ now)
Dark Eldar: 3
Turn 3
The Speeder Bikes went to surround the 3 Kabalite Warriors on the left, the Sentinels moving toward them as well. The Plasma Vets hunkered in cover and hoped for the best. I sent both Storm Trooper squads after the remaining Ravager, and Boba Fett hopped out of the woods to take care of the Trueborn Venom. Palpatine’s squad shuffled around to target the Archon. The Plasma Sentinels moved in on the Archon’s flank. Vader’s squad double-timed toward the Warrior Raider, readying their grenades.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...12/Turn3IG.jpg
The Kabalite Warriors on the left were executed by Plasma fire from inside my AT-AT. The Storm Troopers got the Ravager with a combination of Meltagun fire, a Plasma Pistol shot, and a hurled Krak Grenade. One of their number died in a fiery explosion. Stupidly, it was another Meltagunner, showing that I hadn’t yet absorbed the lesson from last turn. Snapfire from my left (as there was nothing else left to shoot at over there) failed to even hit the Razorwing. In the center, shooting knocked the Archon down to his last wound and took down a Medusa. Toward the right, Vader’s squad failed to damage the Raider with shooting.
[That’s Changed! The ability to throw a Krak Grenade from a squad is awfully handy, and was actually how I finished off the Ravager this turn.]
In assault, Vader’s squad bum-rushed the Raider, while Boba Fett went after the Venom and the Plasma Sentinels stomped into the Archon’s unit. The Archon whiffed with his Haywire Grenade, and two Medusa were stomped to death in response, but the Archon didn’t run. Boba Fett coolly placed a Meltabomb on the underside of the Venom and watched it explode, killing 2 Trueborn and one of the Wyches nearby. Vader’s squad, with their mass of Krak Grenades and Vader’s Lightsaber, Wrecked the Raider through multiple glancing hits.
[That’s Changed! It was a LOT easier to take down skimmers in assault than it used to be, and glancing them to death on the right was easy as well.]
Jason was down to only a few units; his Warriors on the right, a single Wych and the Archon and survivors in the center, the 3 remaining Trueborn, and the Razorwing. The Razorwing continued its attack run straight down the middle, aiming at my Plasma AT-AT. The Wych went to try to help out with her Haywires against the Plasma Sentinels, and the Trueborn took aim at Boba Fett who’d so rudely deprived them of their ride.
Boba Fett had made a pretty good run, taking down an enemy vehicle every turn, but his luck ran out and the Trueborn vaporized him. The Warriors killed 5 of Vader’s henchmen, causing the squad to hesitate. Vader calmly reminded his men of the virtues of obedience. The Veterans gulped, tried to ignore their Sergeant’s dying gasps, and returned to their duty. The Razorwing shot up the AT-AT but failed to kill it.
In assault, the Wych and Archon succeeded in stripping Hull Points off a pair of Sentinels.
Victory Points:
Galactic Empire: 12
Dark Eldar: 4
Turn 4
The writing was on the wall for the Eldar now. I sent the Speeder Bikes to help out against the lone Wych fighting the Plasma Sentinels. Vader’s squad advanced to finish the Kabalite Warriors on the right, Storm Troopers hurrying to catch up (while my other Storm Troopers, hilariously, ran after the Razorwing, throwing grenades and snapfiring their Meltagun at it). There wasn’t much else for me to do, so I stood fast and opened fire on what I could.
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/...12/Turn4IG.jpg
Vader’s troops caused massive damage with Frag Grenades, killing half the Kabalite Warriors. Another barrage of snapfire saw the Razorwing escape harm (I just couldn’t roll a 6; the one hit I did score was promptly Jinked away). The Storm Troopers on my right blasted the Trueborn with AP3 Hotshot Lasguns, executing them all.
In assault, Vader led his men into the Warriors, losing two of them but killing all the Warriors, while the Speeder Bikes gunner their motors and ran right over the Wych (Hammer of Wrath killed her before she could twitch). I sent Palpatine’s squad into the Archon’s unit as well. The Archon knocked a Sentinel down with a Haywire hit, and the Lhamean got two of Palpatine’s men. Palpatine lost his nerve and retreated from combat.
Jason was down to just the Archon, a Lhamean, and the Razorwing. The Razorwing strafed my righthand AT-AT, nearing the end of its attack run, Shaking it. The Archon missed with his Haywire Grenade, and the Sentinels failed to stomp him and the Lhamean flat.
Victory Points:
Galactic Empire: 15
Dark Eldar: 4
Turn 5
The game was effectively over. I snapfired the Plasma Vets at the Razorwing overhead, finally scoring a penetrating hit and bringing it down in flames. Jason then conceded the game, as the two models he had remaining were trapped in combat and couldn’t possibly salvage the situation.
Final Result:
Galactic Emprie: 16
Dark Eldar: 4
Massive IG victory!
Men of the Match:
Imperial Guard: I give the nod to Boba Fett, who took down a total of 2 Venoms, 4 Wyches, 2 Trueborn, and 3 Ur-Ghuls before being atomized by Blaster fire. Definitely the best kill tally of the game, though my Storm Troopers were awfully handy too (one unit of them got the Tantalos, Trueborn, and a Ravager!)
Dark Eldar: The Trueborn on the right, as they got one of my AT-ATs, 6 Veterans, and Boba Fett before being killed, thus contributing a full half of the VPs for the Dark Eldar.
Thoughts:
1) I already hate flyers, and have only faced one of them. That thing was ridiculously hard to knock out of the sky.
2) Oddly, the Dark Eldar vehicles seem to have gotten MORE durable. Previously, a glancing hit had a pretty decent chance to shoot a skimmer down, but now you need multiple glances to do it. They’re still fragile, though.
3) Overall, I’m quite pleased with how my army transitions to 6th Ed. The masses of Plasma Guns now seem positively prescient (those are NASTY), and the Rough Riders got a little bit of a boost.
4) I gotta be more careful with my special weapon placement.
Originally Posted by Atrahasis
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Lord Cook
