You Decide! Vassal, Video or Both....

So, which do you prefer, and why?

Peace!

500 Hellion Gangers versus Tau Empire

Here is a little skirmish battle between Dark Eldar and Tau with my good friend Chris

- 500 point Hellion Gangers -

Baron Sarthonyx

10 Hellions

10 Hellions

3 Reavers

- 500 point Tau Expeditionary Force -

Commander

12 Fire Warriors

4 Pathfinders
Devilfish

- Game Type -

- 4x4 Board

- 500 point battle for our store's campaign

- Capture and Control Mission with 3 Objectives

- Spearhead Deployment



Watch the video before scrolling down to the Spoilers....

- Post Game -

My opponent Chris is a new player. He plays maybe once every few months.

I set up the terrain in such a way that he could get good firing lanes on me. He did not take advantage of the terrain set up, but that is fine.

During the game I suggested that he just Embark the Firewarriors in the Devilfish, and zip around the board until the late game, where he could hold one objective and contest another with the Firewarriors and Devilfish. He said he had a plan, and didn't move his Devilfish on turn 1. That set the Baron up to Stun the Devilfish, basically sealing the game as he could no longer go anywhere.

As always, my opponent and I did not tailor lists, and just made whatever we thought would be appropriate.

I am having so much fun with my Hellions and Reavers that they will basically appear in a ton of future video Battle eports!

Reavers... For my post game analysis on Reavers, I will link you to this post.

Basically, my use of Reavers has changed, and this will be reflected, not in the next few games I already recorded and will put up, but in any future games I play.

See ya, peace!

1000 Hellion Gangers versus Orks

I will be playing my good friend Mike and his Orks.

- Hellion Ganger List -

Baron Sarthonyx

10 Hellions
Helliarch w/ Stunclaw

10 Hellions
Helliarch w/ Stunclaw

9 Reavers w/ 3x Heat Lances

9 Reavers w/ 3x Caltrops

- Dirty 'ard Boyz -

Warboss w/ Power Claw

7 Nobs w/ Random Nobby shit like Power Claws, 'Eavy Choppas, etc...
Trukk w/ Red Paint Jearb

20 'Ard Boiz

3 Deff Koptas w/ Buzzsaw, 3x Rokkits

2 Killa Kanz w/ Grotzookas

Combat Drug rolled was Pain Token

Alrighty, lets get this mudda fugga going!!!!




Game Spoilers Bellow, read after the Video...


















This is a classic example of what I like to call "Playing the List" and not the opponent.

I had made a list, adn in my mind I wanted to do certain things, regardless of the Mission type. This is a big no no. What do I mean specifically?

Knowing full well that my opponent only had a single Trukk to get to my rear lines, the best course of action would have been to blow the Trukk up with my Heat Lance toting Reavers. What did I do? I got too caught up in the Reaver's Bladevanes, and I just got all giddy at the possibility of using the Bladevanes on the 3 Deff Koptas.

This game could have easily been a win for me if I was thinking with a more level head, but, my Dark Eldar blood lust got the best of me, and oh well!

After the game, the comment came up that it was shitty to fight a tricked out Nob Squad at 1000 points. I disagreed wholeheartedly. If I would have just blown up his Trukk on his side of the table, I could have held my Objective, and on turn 5 send in a Reaver Squad to contest his. If the game went to turn 6, I could send in the other Reaver Squad to contest.

I basically rolled out the red carpet for the Nobs, let them get into my back field, and just part their shitty Trukk on my Objective.

Oh, my Hellions running off the table on turn 1 didn't help much either, lol. But thems the breaks!!

In the end, the game was very fun for my opponent, and that is all that mattered to me.

Reavers... I love these guys. They are so much fun. They are proving to be a very, VERY fragile unit for what they do, but their awesomeness far out weighs their suicidal tendencies. I liked the split between two units of Reavers, with one dealing with Anti-MECH and the other Anti-Infantry.

2500 Kabal versus Tyranids

Time to get a little power gaming here! My friend's Tyranids are going to attempt to assimilate my Kabal's raiding fleet in a 2500 point 'Ard Boy style game.

- Battle Report Notes -

1) I use Vassal to represent games I have played at my local gaming store.

2) I use Vassal as an abstract tool to represent the battle. I use no measurements in Vassal, so one turn a unit may move 6", but only move 3" next turn, but in reality the unit moved 12" total in the 'real life' game. Just remember, this is abstract, so do not get caught up in the visuals, and just enjoy the match!

3) When a Vehicle is damaged, the number of 'explosions' on the vehicle indicates the roll on the Damage Chart. If you see 4 little explosions, that means either it was a straight 4 on the Damage Chart, or maybe a 3, but with a +1 for Open Topped or Melta.

4) As the Dark Eldar player, I cannot answer questions pertaining to what my opponent was thinking when doing certain actions. I will try my best to remember what my opponent verbally tells me, but other than that, I really do not know why my opponent does what he does.

- 2500 Point Kabal of the Budding Lotus -

Asdrubeal Vect

Baron Sathonyx

4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4x Blasters
1 Dracon w/ Blast Pistol
Raider w/ Flickerfield

4 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 4x Blasters
1 Dracon w/ Blast Pistol
Raider w/ Flickerfield

3 Kabalite Trueborn w/ 2x Splinter Cannons
Venom w/ 2x Splinter Cannons

19 Kabalite Warriors w/ 2x Splinter Cannons, Blaster
1 Syberite w/ Blast Pistol

19 Kabalite Warriors w/ 2x Splinter Cannons, Blaster
1 Syberite w/ Blast Pistol

19 Kabalite Warriors w/ 2x Splinter Cannons, Blaster
1 Syberite w/ Blast Pistol

8 Wyches w/ Shardnet and Impaler
1 Hekatrix w/ Phantasm Grenade Launcher, Agonizer
Raider w/ Flickerfield, Grisly Trophies

10 Scourges w/ 4x Splinter Cannons

Ravager w/ Nightshield and Flickerfield

Ravager w/ Nightshield and Flickerfield

Ravager w/ Nightshield and Flickerfield

- Tyranid Devourer Force -

Hive Tyrant w/2x Scything Talons, Hive Commander, Adrenal Glands, Regeneration, Leech Essence, Paroxysm, Armored Shell

3 Hive Guards

3 Tyrant Guards w/ Rending Claws, Scything Talons

Deathleaper

3 Zoanthropes

10 Genestealers w/ Rending Claws, Scything Talons, Toxin Sacs
1 Broodlord w/ Scything Talons

25 Hormagaunts w/ Toxin Sacs

25 Hormagaunts w/ Toxin Sacs

16 Termagaunts w/ Devourers

6 Ravener w/ Rending Claws, Scything Talons

Trygon Prime w/ Adrenal Glands, Regeneration

Tyrannofex w/ Regeneration

- Why I Took My (Dark Eldar) List -

I wanted to test out the new and improved Splinter Cannons, mixed in with an ass load of Darklight weaponry. I made this list as my general all comers list for 'Ard Boyz point sized games while in college class. From this master list, I will begin to work on my 'Ard Boyz list for next year.

This list is designed to be an alpha strike list. Both my HQs help me go first, and my entire army is built around the premise of going first and striking hard.

- Pre Deployment Plan -

Knowing my opponent was Tyranids, my idea was to bait his stronger units with my close combat units while shooting is army to ribbons as fast as possible.

- Mission and Deployment -

- This is a 2500 point game on a 6x4 board.

-Annihilation. Spearhead.

-We both roll a 3, but Dark Eldar gets a +1 for having the Baron in the army. Dark Eldar chooses to go first.

- Combat Drug results in a +1 Weapon Skill

- Dark Eldar deploys entire army in alpha strike position. Vect is in the center Raider with 9 Wyches. Bottom two Raiders hold the Blaster wielding Trueborn. Venom at the top holds the Splinter Cannon wielding Trueborn. Ravagers just chillaxin, and Scourges are behind Vect. A line of Warriors is deployed to keep out any out flanking units from the Vehicles.

- Tyranid puts a Trygon Prime and a Deathleaper into Reserves for Deep triking. Hormaguant Brood is deployed in such a way at to give his Hive Tyrant unit a cover save. Hive Guard up front. Zoanthropes and Raveners at the top.

- Tyranid Infiltrates his Genestealers in the top right ruins, as the Tyranid knows that by his turn 2, there will be a line of Warriors blocking the entire right boarder of the battlefield, blocking out flanking from being effective.

- Tyranid attempts to Steal the initiative, and fails.

- Post Deployment Plan -

My plan has not changed. My target priorities are the Hive Guard first, and Genestealers second. The 'stealers will not be able to bother me until turn 2, so the Hive Guard, which can and will destroy my Raiders, must die on turn 1 if I am to stand a chance.

- Dark Eldar Turn 1 -

Vect's Raider moves forward, and both Vect and the Wyches jump out, splitting up into two different units.

Raiders and Ravagers move about. Scourges leap forward into firing positions.

Combined Splinter Cannon fire from a unit of Warriors, the Venom and the Trueborn in said Venom wipe the Genestealer menace from the battlefield.

Splinter Cannon fire from the Scourges and another Warrior squad kills two Hive Guard, while Raider Dark Lances kill the last Hive Guard.

Stunned at how effective Splinter weaponry is in the new codex, the Dark Eldar completely forgets to fire his Ravager Dark Lances, and jumps right into close combat.

Vect runs into 3 Zoanthropes, and actually one of them and wounds another. One Zoanthrope manages to short out Vect's Shadowfield, and wounds him. Zoanthropes take another wound from No Retreat, and only one Zoanthrope stands.

Wyches run into the Termagaunts, and kill 10 of them. One wych falls in turn. The remaining 6 Termagaunts fall due to No Retreat.

- Tyranid Turn 1 -

Tyranid forces lurch forward towards the Dark Eldar lines.

The Tyrannofex barfs up some grubs on the Scourges, wounding a single Scourge, but it lives with it's 6++ save.

Raveners charge into the Wyches. The battle is fierce, but the combat is a tie with both sides inflicting two wounds into each other.

Vect dispatches the last Zoanthrope, and gets him a nice shiney Pain Token.

- Dark Eldar Turn 2 -

All Dark Eldar units move into more effective firing positions.

Vect's Raider comes by and picks Vect up. Vect then drops his Orb into the Hormaguants, killing 4, and restoring Vect's lost wound.

Splinter Rifle and Splinter Cannon fire from two Warrior units and the Scourges wipe out the remaining 21 Hormagaunts protecting their Hive Tyrant master. One of the Warrior squads get a Pain Token for getting the last kill!

Ravager Dark Lance fire cuts into the Tyrant's unit, but they are saved by the underbrush.

Both Trueborn units at the bottom open up with their 10 Darklight weapon shots, and cut turn the Tyrannofex into a mound of slag and meat.

Raveners and Wyches exchange blows, but the Raveners come out on top and run teh fleeing Wyches down.

- Tyranid Turn 2 -

The mighty Trygon Prime enters the Battlefield from under the ruins, but, it miscalculates, and ends up bursting out in the open instead!

The Deathleaper also appears in the forest deep in the Dark Eldar lines.

The Hormagaunts and Tyrant move forward to their prey.

The Trygon Prime fires into the Venom, blowing it apart. The Tureborn inside drop to the ground unharmed, but they are pinned due to the shock! The explosion kills 4 Warriors! One from one squad and 3 from the other.

Raveners bound across the Battlefield with their lightning fast speed, and slam into a unit of Warriors. Due to the Warrior's Feel No Pain, they take far less casualties then they would normally. The Warriors make a Leadership Test against 3, and make it!

- Dark Eldar Turn 3 -

Splinter Rifle, Splinter Cannon and Darklight weaponry blow into the Tyranid forces.

Mass Splinter fire cut down 14 Hormagaunts, but they are still within 12" of the Tyrant, so they hold just fine.

Trueborn Darklight weaponry cuts into the Tyrant squad, wounding the Tyrant twice, killing one guard and wounding another Guard once.

All Darklight weapons in teh rear turn on the immediate threat; the Trygon Prime. The Trygon Prime is vaporized within seconds of the Darklight weaponry drawing a bead on it.

The Warrior squad in the rear open fire on the Deathleaper, causing it two wounds.

Vect leaps off os his Raider and joins the fight against the Raveners. Two Raveners fall dead, as do two Warriors. Combat draws.

- Tyranid Turn 3 -

The Deathleaper charges a Ravager, and rips off a Dark Lance mount with it's giant Flesh Hooks.

The Hive Tyrant unit and Hormagaunts charge the Warriors in cover. The Warriors are decimated, break and run! Poor Baron Sarthonyx run with them! Awwww....

Vect kills one more Ravener. The last Ravener takes a wound from No Retreat, and holds.

- Dark Eldar Turn 4 -

Dark Eldar forces move into better firing positions.

From a hail of Splinter and Darklight fire, the Hormagaunts, Tyrant and Tyrant gaurd drop to the ground.

Vect finishes of the last Ravener, and gets a Pain Token.

Tyranid player calls the game as all he has left is a Deathleaper who won't leave cover!

- Battle Report Conclusion -

Dark Eldar - 12 Kill Points

Tyranids - 4 Kill Points

Victor - Kabal of the Budding Lotus

- Post Game Opinions -

Splinter Rifles.... I love them now! I personally think that the Splinter Rifle is the best basic weapon available in the game. It went from Zero to Hero over night! Well, 12 years isn't over night, but whatever lol... 7/10

Splinter Cannons. Wow, these things are just beast! Just look at how they kill anything on foot, regardless of toughness. The sheer amount of fire these things put out is amazing. Do I miss Disintegrators? Hell no. Now that Dark Eldar got a boost with all their Splinter Weaponry, who Plasma Cannons lol. 8/10

Vect. He is house. Definitely worth 240 points, easy. Between his re rolling misses and always wounding on 3+, he could easily walk up to just about anything and bend it over. 7/10

Trueborn. I mean, you need to literally be blind to not see how good these guys are. Stick them in a Raider and have an awesome anti-MEQ/MECH unit, or stick them in a Venom and have a powerful anti-MEQ/HORDE unit. These guys are the 'Lootas' of the Dark Eldar. Ultra powerful ranged fighters in an elite slot. 8/10

I definitely like this list. So much more powerful than my previous 'Ard Boy lists, based on the concept.

1000 Wych Cult Versus Space Wolves

This match is a decent sized skirmish match between my friend "Pockets'" and his Space Wolves and my first Wych Cult list with the new Dark Eldar. I decided to go all the way and throw in Lelith. Was it a smart thing to do? Let's find out... :)

- Battle Report Notes -

1) I use Vassal to represent games I have played at my local gaming store.

2) I use Vassal as an abstract tool to represent the battle. I use no measurements in Vassal, so one turn a unit may move 6", but only move 3" next turn, but in reality the unit moved 12" total in the 'real life' game. Just remember, this is abstract, so do not get caught up in the visuals, and just enjoy the match!

3) When a Vehicle is damaged, the number of 'explosions' on the vehicle indicates the roll on the Damage Chart. If you see 4 little explosions, that means either it was a straight 4 on the Damage Chart, or maybe a 3, but with a +1 for Open Topped or Melta.

4) As the Dark Eldar player, I cannot answer questions pertaining to what my opponent was thinking when doing certain actions. I will try my best to remember what my opponent verbally tells me, but other than that, I really do not know why my opponent does what he does.

- 1000 Point Wych Cult -

Lelith W/ Bad ass, sexxxy good looks

9 Wyches W/ Shardnet and Impaler
Hekatrix W/ Venom Blade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher
Raider

10 Wyches W/ 2 Shardnet and Impalers
Hekatrix W/ Venom Blade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher
Raider

10 Wyches W/ 2 Shardnet and Impalers
Hekatrix W/ Venom Blade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher
Raider

10 Wyches W/ 2 Shardnet and Impalers
Hekatrix W/ Venom Blade, Phantasm Grenade Launcher
Raider

- Army List -

Wolf Lord W/ RA, Frost Axe, WTN, Belt of Russ
Wolf Guard W/ Combi Melta
Wolf Guard W/ Power Fist
Wolf Guard W/ Terminator Armor and Cyclone Missile Launcher

5 Wolf Scouts W/ 5 Sniper Rifles

10 Grey Hunters W/ Melta Gun, Mark of the Wolfen, Wolf Standard
Rhino

9 Grey Hunters W/ Melta Gun, Mark of the Wolfen, Wolf Standard
Wolf Guard W/ Power Weapon
Rhino

6 Long Fangs W/ 5 Missile Launchers
Sergent
Wolf Guard W/ Terminator Armor, Power Fist?

Before people give me grief, the Space Wolf army list given to me is half scribbled and full of shorthand. The Wolf Guard were thrown all over the army, and I don't really remember which ones went where. All I remember was there is a Terminator Wolf Guard with the Long Fangs, and a Wolf Guard with a unit of Grey Hunters. Don't hang me, please!

- Why I Took My (Dark Eldar) List -

I just wanted to try out a Wych Cult with the new Codex. It just so happens that this turned out to be a smaller game, so I cut out 500 points, which was just mainly my 3x Ravagers and some other stuff I forgot about.

- Pre Deployment Plan -

Get into close combat, and annihilate my opponent as quickly as possible.

- Mission and Deployment -

- Being a 1000 point game, we played on a 4x4 Battlefield.

-Annihilation. Dawn of War.

-Space Wolf won the Deployment Roll. He tells me I can go first. Later on he tells me that he thought I was going to charge his Deployment line with my Units, so he could counter assault me. Oh, he was very wrong...

- Combat Drug results in a +1 Attack for my entire army.

- I Place out Lelith in a Raider with 9 Wyches against the Deployment Line. Nothing in Reserves.

- Space Wolf deploys nothing. Nothing in Reserves.

- Space Wolf attempts to Steal the initiative, and fails.

- Post Deployment Plan -

Interesting... My plan is to hold back until I am able to assault with my entire army at once, if possible.

- Dark Eldar Turn 1 -

Raiders all come onto the board, and join up with Lelith.

- Space Wolves Turn 1 -

Space Wolves enter the Battlefield in a tight, counter assault formation. He hopes to bait my units to assault his Commander, and then pop out, and either Pistol me then Charge, or just Rapid Fire Bolters in my face.

Long Fangs take up cover on the right, while the Scouts enter behind the force.

- Dark Eldar Turn 2 -

Dark Eldar takes the bait wholeheartedly.

All Raider move forward. Wyches jump off the skiffs in anticipation that a Dark Lance shot or two will open up the Purina puppy chow cans open for them.

Raiders open fire, and Immobilize both Rhinos.

Wyches on the right charge the Long Fangs. The Shardnet and Impalers from the Wyches touch both the Wolf Guard and the Long Fang unit leader, reducing their attacks. Space Wolf is not happy with the Shardnets... To be honest, Wyches had this 'ability' before, but I guess he must have forgotten, since we haven't played together in 6 months. Now, though, Shardnets can 'target' specific models. Dropping the Unit Leader to 1 attack from 3 (touched by both Shardnets) and a Power Fist from 2 to 1 attack is pretty neato.

Wyches kill two Long Fangs. Wyches suffer no casualties, and the Long Fangs hold.

Lelith and her Wyches charge into the Wolf Lord and 3 Wolf Guard. I position my chargers in such a way that Lelith is able to just touch a regular Wolf Guard, and not the Lord. Lelith lays in with 12 attacks, and kills both Wolf Guard. The Rest of the Wyches pour attacks into the Lord, dropping him on the spot.

Space Wolf player was again not pleased that my two Shardnet wielding Wyches took away 2 Attacks from the Lord.

+2 Pain Tokens for Lelith and her Wyches.

- Space Wolves Turn 2 -

Space Wolves spring their trap. Puppies leap out of the Rhinos, and one unit rapid fires into Lelith... Feel No Pain ignores most of the wounds. Space Wolf player is not pleased with the Feel No Pain.

Another Grey Hunter unit must fire into the Wyches to force a Leadership test. Enough wounds are made to force the test.

Lelith and the last remaining Wych fail their Leadership Test, and fall back!

Two more Long Fangs drop to the ground. Wyches win combat, but the Long Fangs hold.

- Dark Eldar Turn 3 -

Realizing his Rhinos are Immobilized, Dark Eldar pull their Raiders back so the Rhinos are within Dark Lance range, but out of Storm Bolter range.

One Raider moves forward and unloads its Wyches.

Raiders open fire on both Rhinos, and blowing off the Storm Bolter from both Rhinos.

Wyches charge into the Grey Hunters from the upper left while Wyches charge into both the same Grey Hunters and the Scouts from between the Rhinos. Shardnet and Impalers completely negate most of the attacks the Grey Hunters would have had normally. Wyches win combat, and after combat resolution, all that is left is a single Grey Hunter and 3 Scouts.

Yes, the Space Wolf player did use his Wolf Banner, but he kept rolling 2's for his armor saves. We counted, and I noted this on paper. 8 rolls that were 2s, and only a single roll of 1, which in turn was rerolled as a 1 anyway!

Wyches on the right kill the Wolf Guard, and a lone Long Fang holds.

- Space Wolves Turn 2 -

Grey Hunters charge out of the Rhino and into combat with two units of Wyches.

I have not mentioned this, but the Space Wolf player was also pissed that he could never get his bonus for Counter Charge, nor regular Charging, because of the Wyches now "new" Defensive Grenades.

Combat ensues. Lone Long Fang is killed. Lone Grey Hunter is Killed. One Scout left. Not one Wych casualty in any of this game's close combats, thanks to the Shardnet reducing everything around them to basically nothing.

Space Wolf player calls the game.

- Battle Report Conclusion -

Dark Eldar - 8 Kill Points

Space Wolves - 2 Kill Points

Victor - Dark Eldar

- Post Game Opinions -

I don't know what people are smoking yet again when talking about Wyches. The new Wyches are so vastly superior to the old wyches it isn't even comparable.

Shardnet and Impalers. Wych Weapons what? What are those? I already forgot about them. This weapon is so awesome, it defies description. The ability to move my models into base to base with a model(s) I want to lose 2 attacks with is amazing. Wolf Lord has how many attacks? No it doesn't. Now it has 2, and you have to deal with my 4++ save. Enjoy.

Phantasm Grenade Launchers. Now I know how Plague Marines feel! I love having both Defensive and Offensive Grenades rolled up into one item. Wyches used to pay the same amount for just Offensive grenades, which means Wyches got Defensive Grenades for FREE with this item!

Wyches. These are basically the same as the old Wyches, but 3 points cheaper. As mentioned above, Wyches get Defensive Grenades for free. So Wyches not only went from 13 points to 10 points, but they have new kick ass weaponry (which they had in 3rd edition, but was taken away),Defensive Grenades for free, and Feel No Pain basically for free? What more do you want? Yes, they lost their Blasters, but for me personally, Blasters never did much for me to justify them in the long run. Plus, if you are hard up for lance weaponry, just take a Blast Pistol. Yeah, sign me up!

Lelith. I am still not too sold on her, but I must admit, having 11 attacks against MEQ on the charge is pretty nice. I'll have to play more games with her, but for now, I am leaning further away from "not good" to "pretty decent". I bet after I throw her into combat with WS3 T3 models, she'll shine like no one's business!

During the game I did give Lelith the benefit of the Combat Drugs for her one round of combat. It did not make a difference, I don't think, so it isn't a big issue. I am just used to the old book, but next time I will try my best to remember the rules for Special Characters better!

In this game, my opponent was not aware that Wyches had a Feel No Pain upgrade, and Defensive Grenades. He also found out the hard way what Shardnets do. We will play a follow up game in the near future!

I must admit... It was nice playing against one of GW's little money making power armies, and taking away all their toys in combat. Dark Eldar have always been anti-MEQ, and now it seems they are anti-MEQ +++....

Coming next.... 2500 points of 'Ard Boyz goodiness as my Kabal of the Budding Lotus takes on a Tyranid Hive Fleet!

1500 Cirque de Commorragh Versus Ultramarines

Another game with my friend Brian and his Ultramarines. Have at it ye' scurvy dog!

- Battle Report Notes -

1) I use Vassal to represent games I have played at my local gaming store.

2) I use Vassal as an abstract tool to represent the battle. I use no measurements in Vassal, so one turn a unit may move 6", but only move 3" next turn, but in reality the unit moved 12" total in the 'real life' game. Just remember, this is abstract, so do not get caught up in the visuals, and just enjoy the match!

3) When a Vehicle is damaged, the number of 'explosions' on the vehicle indicates the roll on the Damage Chart. If you see 4 little explosions, that means either it was a straight 4 on the Damage Chart, or maybe a 3, but with a +1 for Open Topped or Melta.

4) As the Dark Eldar player, I cannot answer questions pertaining to what my opponent was thinking when doing certain actions. I will try my best to remember what my opponent verbally tells me, but other than that, I really do not know why my opponent does what he does.

- 1500 Cirque de Commorragh -

Archon W/ Agonizer, Shadowfield

3x Haemonculi

Court of the Archon
2 Medusae
5 Ur-Ghuls
2 Lhemans
3 Sslyths

10 Kabalite Warriors W/ Blaster
10 Kabalite Warriors W/ Blaster
10 Kabalite Warriors W/ Blaster
10 Kabalite Warriors W/ Blaster

5 Beastmasters W/ Agonizer
5 Kymerae
2 Clawed Fiends
4 Razor Wings

5 Beastmasters W/ Agonizer
5 Kymerae
2 Clawed Fiends
4 Razor Wings

- 1500 Ultramarines Force -

Chaplain

Ironclad Dreadnought W/ Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

5 Assault Terminators W/ 5x Thunder Hammers and Shields
Land Raider

10 Tactical Squad W/ Flamer, Missile Launcher
Rhino

10 Tactical Squad W/ Flamer, Missile Launcher
Rhino

5 Scouts W/ Telion

5 Vanguard Veterans /w Lightning Claw, 4x Power Weapons, Jump Packs

- Why I Took My (Dark Eldar) List -

I wanted to start an idea behind a traveling circus that the Dark Eldar use as a cover to steal the souls of children. There is a menagerie of creatures, side show freaks and attractions used to entice local towns to attend. During these shows the Dark Eldar slowly drain the patrons of their souls, leaving only empty husks to feed the various circus creatures. These circus acts also serve another, more practical purpose; to assess the defensive capabilities of a location for future raids.

I took all the freaks in the list and decided to parade them around the Battlefield. I am going to replay this list, but instead of Kabalite Warriors, I am going to include Wracks. Yeah, my anti-mech will be much weaker, but that is okay.

Enjoy the freak show!

- Pre Deployment Plan -

Charge, charge, charge!!! I really have no plan, as I have never used, basically, an entire Beast based army before.

- Mission and Deployment -

- Capture and Control. Dawn of War.

- Ultramarine won the Deployment Roll, and chose to go first.

- Both Objectives were placed out. Neither player deploys any units.

- Ultramarine infiltrates Scouts.

- Dark Eldar attempts to Steal the Initiative, but fails.

- Post Deployment Plan -

With only two objectives to take, and no Raiders, I was in for a tough time. Basic plan was to rush his objective, hold mine and see what these Dark Eldar units can do.

- Ultramarine Turn 1 -

Ironclad Drops next to the Dark Eldar's Objective.

I now mark Transports with a model on it so you can tell if there is a unt inside. Of course, I forgot to do this with the Landraider, lol. There is a Terminator Assault Squad with Chaplain riding in that thing.

Jump Pack Vanguard unit flies onto the Battlefield. All wielding power weapons. Very dangerous.

One Rhino stays behind to hold an Objective.

I think the Ultramarine forgot to move the Scouts, or maybe he didn't want to. I forget.

- Dark Eldar Turn 1 -

I'll be honest. I have no friggin clue what I am doing with these units. Running 'Nob' type squads is a new thing for me. So bare with me as I mull around the Battlefield figuring out what to do!

Each unit is marked with a single Pain Token.

The Kabalite squads move in behind my forces. I hope to be able to destroy that Ironclad before it can do any damage. One Kabalite fires his Blaster at the Dread, but misses.

Everything else moves onto the Battlefield and Runs forward. Beastmaster Squad on the left, followed by the Archon and his Court in the difficult terrain, and another Beastmaster squad to the right.

- Ultramarine Turn 2 -

Marine units drive around the Battlefield. Hoping to intercept me on my way to his Objective.

Missile launcher from a Rhino fires at my Kabalite Warriors, but scatters onto my Court, wounding a Clawed Fiend. He now has +1 Attack!

Ironclad douses a unit of Warriors with a Heavy Flamer, baking 6 of them. They do not break, and the Ironclad Assaults. The Ironclad does no wounds, and combat draws.

- Dark Eldar Turn 2 -

Not much going on here... My units move forward and Run to cover extra ground. Kabaliite Warriors spread out a bit to weaken incoming Missile fire from the Rhino.

My Archon and his Court are my bait units. I want the Ultramarine player to assault them, so I can counter Assault with my Beastmaster units and gain extra ground due to consolidation. Will he take the bait?

Close combat with Ironclad results in no casualties. Combat is a draw... again....

- Ultramarine Turn 3 -

Ultramarine units move around. Units on the left are going to defend his Objective, while units on the right are moving to take my Objective.

Landraider crashes through the ruins, and out comes a party!!!

Another Missile from the rearmost Rhino kills two more Kabalite Warriors.

The Assault Terminators, and Chaplain, disembark in such a way so that they have nearly exactly 6" to assault. This is to reduce the amount of reacting models I can have to fight against his units. Result? He destroys the Beastmaster unit as the Dark Eldar player only had a handful of non power weapon attacks back. The Beastmaster unit actually falls back, but since they have no ranged weaponry, we decide to just remove them from play since they won't be able to regroup during my next turn due to being within 6" of the Terminators.

Combat with Ironclad? What do you think? The stupid thing wiffs again, and deals no casualties. Ultramarine player is pissed, but he doesn't realize that the LONGER the Ironclad stays in combat, the LESS time I have to shoot at it to blow it up before the game ends. I am the one who is secretly pissed :(

- Dark Eldar Turn 3 -

This combat with the Ironclad is getting to be retarded. This one, stupid Imperial Robot is completely ruining my plans, as I can't even get close to my objective. Last thing I need is for the Ironclad to win combat on MY turn, and destroy another Troop choice. I can't move my Troops around the north of the terrain, as all that is going to do is introduce 24 Power Weapon attacks from the Vanguard Vet squad.

As long as my Archon and his Court are alive, my opponent cannot get close to my Troops with his Terminators and Vanguard Squad. So we are both keeping distance from each other.

Archon and Court move closer to the Terminators while Beastmaster Squad moves north towards the enemy.

3 Kabalite Warrior Squads open fire on the Terminators. The amount of Poison shots the unit suffers, and three Blaster shots, manages to kill 3 Terminators. They hold.

My Archon and Court are within 'Normal' Assault range, which is good as the Haemonculi along for the ride prevents them from 'Fleeting'. This time, only a single model makes it into combat with the last Terminator and Chaplain, and it is my Archon. Archon destroys the Chaplain, the Terminator cannot get through the Shadowfield, and the Terminator fails his Leadership test. He falls back.

For killing the Chaplain, the Arhon's unit gains a Pain Token.

Ironclad combat? YES, yet another combat where the Ironclad either misses everything or wounds on 1. Can you believe this garbage? The Emperor fraggin protects for sure!!!

- Ultramarine Turn 4 -

Assault Terminator continues to fall back, due to being within 6" of a Dark Eldar unit.

Vanguard Vets fly 12" and Run 6", trying to make it to the Objective.

Telion and his cronies keep slithering behind my lines....

The Landraider moves into 'Blocking' position, so that my job getting to my Objective becomes ten times harder. Landraider fires it's Heavy Bolters, killing a lone Warrior.

Another Missile from the Missile Factory up in the corner wounds my Beastmaster unit... I put the wound on my Clawed Fiend. It now has +2 Attacks!

Praise be Vect!!! The Ironclad FINALLY kills the Kabalite Warriors on the Ultramarine's turn! It then Consolidates a massive 1". Ultramarine player face palms.

- Dark Eldar Turn 4 -

Heamonculi split from their units so that the units can use their Fleet and Beast rules. Pain Tokens are split up accordingly.

Kabalite Warriors move into firing positions. The first Blaster fired Wrecks the Ironclad! The second Blaster shot destroys the weapon from the Drop Pod.

Beastmaster unit in the top left race across the Battlefield. Move 6", Run 6", Assault 12". The 5 million attacks Wreck the Rhino. Strength 5 hits and Rending are pretty nice!

Archon and his Court barely make it into combat. I didn't show it in this picture well enough, but I actually managed to stick a single model in Difficult Terrain somehow without noticing it. I roll double 1's to get out of Terrain, so the model is still stuck in terrain. I then roll a 6 to assault, and the unit barely makes it into combat with the Vanguard Vets.

Vanguard Vets lay into the Court with a metric ton of power weapon attacks. Wounds are spread all over the place, and I manage to only lose a single model. Two Vanguard Vets actually die from my measly 4 attacks from what I had available to attack. Archon and his Court lose combat, but hold.

- Ultramarine Turn 5 -

The lone Terminator - we'll call him "Bronson" - regroups and heads towards the Court of the Archon. I guess he must have a Death Wish... or two... or three... or four... OR FIVE!??!? How many of these damned movies exist?!?!?!

Lazy ass Scouts push a half asleep Telion into the Landraider. The giant pile of metal drives next to the Objective, and fires on some Kabalite Warriors with it's Heavy Bolter. 2 die, but the unit holds.

Heamonculi wander around aimlessly, like two blind old guys looking for their medicine.

Archon and his Court dispatch the Vanguard Vets, and gain another Pain Token. They Consolidate 6" into the Difficult Terrain.

In the top left, the last Rhino drives into terrain, and 10 Tactical Marines jump out. Mass bolter fire from both Marine units pour into the Beastmaster unit. A ton of crap dies, including 4 out of the 5 Beastmasters. The lone Beastmaster barely makes his Leadership Test and the unit holds.

- Dark Eldar Turn 5 -

Archon and his Court move to within 3" of the Objective.

Kabalite Warriors Immobilize the Landraider.

In the top left, the Beastmaster corrals his monsters into combat. 3 Marines die, and so does a Kymerae. The Ultramarines hold.

Ultramarine player rolls to end the game, and it does end!

- Battle Report Conclusion -

Dark Eldar - 0 Objectives

Ultramarines - 0 Objectives

Game is a Tie!!

- Post Game Opinions -

My gosh, this was a heck of a fun list to run!

Court of the Archon. What an interesting unit. I did not really get to use this unit to its full potential as just about every single close combat with these guys only ever resulted in using 2 or 3 models! I need to mess with these guys some more to get an accurate opinion on them.

Beastmaster. Much, much, much better than in the previous Codex. The three beasts available are just awesome. I really love this unit. It is SO much fun to use!

Kymerae. 4++ save it pretty awesome. Great for soaking up Thunder Hammer hits!

Clawed Fiends. The ability to get MORE attacks as they get hurt is pretty awesome! IU was actually getting mad when I would make my Feel No Pain rolls for them. By the time I got them into combat, they had soaked up a bunch of wounds, and were striking with a bunch of Strength 5 Attacks.

Razor Wings. I must say.... What the hell is up with this unit? Who thought of this craziness? Giant, fat flying birds with a ton of Wounds and Attacks? It is such a weird unit. I do love the amount of Rending attacks they get. Pretty awesome!

Overall, the Beastmaster unit is like an Ork Nob squad, in that you can totally mess with the wound allocation to keep the unit alive.

I will be playing this list again, but with Wracks instead of Kabalite Warriors, and maybe even a few Grotesques as well. We'll see! :)

Oh, do not bring up Harlequins please. I will not be using them in my army lists, ever. Bloodbrides make them obsolete, and I am here to play Dark Eldar, not Eldar Codex left overs. I have a small force of Harlie models, so yeah I like them just fine, just not in my Dark Eldar codex. I'll stick to their various .pdf rules thank you very much.

Thanks for watching! Tune in next time for a small Wych Cult versus Space Wolf skirmish!

Dark Eldar versus Ultramarines - Game 4 of 45

Finally, you guys asked for it, and here it is, a match between my Dark Eldar and a Marine opponent. My opponent is my good friend Brian, and he is a very competent Marine player.

-Game Notes -

1) I use Vassal to represent games I have played at my local gaming store.

2) I use Vassal as an abstract tool to represent the battle. I use no measurements in Vassal, so one turn a unit may move 6", but only move 3" next turn, but in reality the unit moved 12" total in the 'real life' game. Just remember, this is abstract, so do not get caught up in the visuals, and just enjoy the match!

3) When a Vehicle is damaged, the number of 'explosions' on the vehicle indicates the roll on the Damage Chart. If you see 4 little explosions, that means either it was a straight 4 on the Damage Chart, or maybe a 3, but with a +1 for Open Topped or Melta.

4) As the Dark Eldar player, I cannot answer questions pertaining to what my opponent was thinking when doing certain actions. I will try my best to remember what my opponent verbally tells me, but other than that, I really do not know why my opponent does what he does.

- 1500 Point Heamonculi Coven -

Ancient Heamonculi w/ Venom Blade
Ancient Heamonculi w/ Venom Blade

Heamonculi w/ Venom Blade, Liquefier Gun
Heamonculi w/ Venom Blade, Liquefier Gun
Heamonculi w/ Venom Blade, Liquefier Gun

10 Grotesques w/ Liquefier Gun
Aberration w/ Flesh Gauntlet

9 Wracks w/ 1x Liquefier Guns
Raider w/ Flickerfield, Torment Grenade Launcher

9 Wracks w/ 1x Liquefier Guns
Raider w/ Flickerfield, Torment Grenade Launcher

9 Wracks w/ 1x Liquefier Guns
Raider w/ Flickerfield, Torment Grenade Launcher

Cronos Parasite Engine /w Spirit Bomb

Cronos Parasite Engine /w Spirit Bomb

- 1500 Point Ultramarines Force -

Company Commander w/ 2x Lightning Claws
5x Command Squad w/ Power Weapon, 2x Lightning Claws (on a single model), Apothecary
Rhino

Ironclad Dreadnought w/ Drop Pod

10 Tactical Squad w/ Missile Launcher, Flamer
Rhino

10 Tactical Squad w/ Missile Launcher, Flamer
Rhino

10 Tactical Squad w/ Missile Launcher, Melta Gun

Land Speeder w/ Multi Melta

5 Scouts
Land Speeder Storm w/ Heavy Flamer

5 Devastators w/ 2x Missile Launchers, 2x Lascannon

5 Devastators w/ 4x Missile Launchers

- Why I Took My (Dark Eldar) List -

This list is a modified, fixed version, of the list I took in game 3 against the Orks. Nothing really too different, except for the weapons I gave some of my models.

- Mission and Deployment -

- Search and Destroy. Pitched Battle. Objectives were placed out around the Battlefield. As always, I put my Objectives out in the open, right where I want my opponent to be late game.

- Dark Eldar won the Deployment Roll, and chose to go first.

- Dark Eldar deploys entire force. Grotesques with 2 Ancient Heamonculi in the front. Two Cronos Parasite Engines behind them. Three Raiders with 9 Wracks and a Heamonculus each.

- Ultramarine deploys force. Landspeeder Storm in top right with Scouts. Landspeeder with Multi Melta in middle top left. Combat Squad Marines in top left into two units. Devastator Squads in top middle hill and top right ruins. Three Rhinos near ruins. HQ and Tactical Squad in rear Rhinos and Tactical Squad in the front Rhino.

Ultramarine attempts to steal the initiative, and fails. Dark Eldar takes first turn.

- The Plan -

Dark Eldar - Send one unit of Wracks to the top left to mess with the Devastator Squad on the Hill. Send rest of army to hold the three objectives in the right side of the Battlefield. The first order of business was to take down his Devastator Squads.

Ultramarine - Spread out, force Dark Eldar to split his forces. Use Drop Pod to bring in Ironclad to tie up the Grotesques. Counter assault with HQ and Tactical Squads.

- Dark Eldar Turn 1 -

Grotesques and Ancients move forward. Cronos Move forward. Raiders go Flat Out into assault positions for next turn.

- Ultramarine Turn 1 -

Drop Pod enters the Battlefield... and scatters directly in front of the Devastator Squad in the ruins, blocking their Line of Sight to most of the Battlefield! Ironclad Dreadnought shambles out of the Drop Pod, ready for battle.

Units shuffle around the board into various positions. Tactical Squad in the upper left starts to move to take Objectives later on. Rhinos move into assault positions for next turn. Two Rhinos pop Smoke.

The Ironclad's weaponry spring into life after decades of non-use.... and fails to hit the Raider directly in front of it! Even it's Heavy Flamer fails to do any damage.

The Devastator Squad in the ruins, with half of it's members blocked by the Drop Pod, fire two Missiles into a Raider next to them... A Glancing shot Shakes the Raider.

Land Speeder Storm's heavy Flamer fails to catch on the Raider due to the Raider's Flickerfield.

The other Land Speeder opens fire with it's molten hot Multi Melta on a nearby Raider... and Penetrates, but a roll of a 1 only becomes a 3, blowing the Raider's Dark Lance off.

Tactical Squad fires a Missile at the Raider missing it's Dark Lance... A Penetrating shot Stuns the Raider.

Devastator Squad on the hill attempts to fire its massive payload onto a Cronos Parasite Engine... 2 Wounds scored, but, both wounds avoided by Cover Saves given by the Grotesque!

- Dark Eldar Turn 2 -

The one mobile Raider skims over the Ruins in the top right, and opens fire on the Rhino in the rear which did not pop Smoke... A Penetrating shot Destroys the Rhino, sending 10 Tactical Marines to the ground. The Marines are not Pinned, nor do they take any casualties.

Wrack,s with their Heamonculi masters, leap out of the the other two Raiders.

The Wracks in the upper right pour double Liquefier acids on the Devastators, malting one into the ground. The Wracks in the upper left do the same to the 5 man Tactical Squad, but fails to wound any of them. The Wracks near the 10 Tactical Marines pour Liquefier toxins upon the Marines, melting 6 of them into the crater where the Rhino once stood. The 4 remaining Marines stand their ground.

All three Wrack Squads charge. One Wrack Squad double charges the Devastators and Land Speeder Storm. Another Wrack Squad Charges the 4 remaining Marines in the Rhino crater. The last Wrack Squad double charges the 5 Tactical Marines and the 5 Devastators on the hill.

The Wracks win all combats, all thanks to the Tormentor Grenade Launchers on the nearby raiders which impose a -1 LD to all enemy units within 6".

In the upper left, the Devastators hold, but the 3 Tactical Marines remaining break from combat and flee.

The Devastators in the upper right break as well, and flee for their lives. The Land Speeder Storm is Immobilized by the Furious Charges of the Wracks. The Wracks consolidate around the Land Speeder so it's 5 Scouts cannot Disembark from the Speeder.

The Wracks in the middle finish off the 4 Marines, and gain a Pain Token.

As for the 2 Cronos Parasite Engines and 10 Grotesques? They charge both Rhinos in the front, and fail to do anything to either one. Sometimes, 42 strength 6 attacks just can't hurt Armor Value 10, and neither can 6 monstrous creature attacks!

- Ultramarine Turn 2 -

5 Tactical Marines on the left move towards an Objective. One Rhino pivots so it is not in CC with the Cronos anymore. The other Rhino, still filled with 10 Tactical Marines, Tank Shocks past the Grotesques.

The Company Commander and his Command Squad leap out of the Rhino and sees the Wracks in front of them. They fire their pistols, Plasma Guns and Flamer, but fail to do any damage to the monsters.

Land Speeder fires it's Multi Melta... A Glancing shot that Stuns the Raider.

The Ironclad brings its weapon online again, and wounds a Grotesque with a Melta shot.

Unable to move, the Land Speeder Storm douses the immediate area with searing hot flame, but failing to do any damage to the Wracks, which shrug off the pain like it was child's play.

The Command Squad charges the Wracks, and kills 6 of the monsters. The Wracks manage to kill a single Marine. Being Fearless, the Wracks lose two more of their number, and hold.

The Ironclad charges into the Grotesques... The Ultramarine player smiles as he has just locked a 500+ unit in CC for the rest of the game, ensuring his Command Squad and 10 Tactical Marine Squad will be safe from the Grotesques bulging muscles of death. The Ironclad kills two Grotesques, and the Grotesques hold.

The Wracks in the upper left finish off the Devastators, and move closer to the Land Speeder near them after combat. +1 Pain Token.

- Dark Eldar Turn 3 -

Both Raider on the right of the Battlefield move in better firing positions for the Rhinos. They both fire their Dark Lances... a Penetrating shot Stuns the Rhino.

The Wracks surrounding the Immobilized Speeder fan out at the order by their Heamonculus master.

The Wracks in the upper left move closer to the Land Speeder. They open fire on the Speeder with their Liquefier Guns... a Glancing shot Shakes the Land Speeder.

The Wracks near the Immobilized Speeder also fire their Liquefier Guns, but to no avail. They then charge the Speeder. Unable to move, the Speeder is brought down, and it's crew of 5 Scouts are torn to shreds by the Wrack's Poisoned Weaponry and spouts of Liquefier Gun acids.

Both Cronos charge the Command Squad. A fierce battle ensures, but multiple Lightning Claws and Power Weapons not only bring down the remaining Wracks and Heamonculus, but put a couple of wounds on a Cronos.

For whatever reason, the Wracks in the upper left forget to assault the Land Speeder!

The Ironclad kills two more Grotesques, and subsequently, kills a third after combat. The Grotesques hold due to their Fearlessness.

- Ultramarine Turn 3 -

Not much goes on here. 5 Tactical Marines on the left move and attempt to flame the Wracks, but do no damage thanks to Feel No Pain.

Land Speeder moves a bit, but cannot fire this turn.

One empty Rhino starts to drive to the left of the Battlefield in hopes of contesting objectives on turn 5.

Ironclad Kills more Grotesques, and of course they hold due to being Fearless.

The Company Commander kills a Cronos, and the Cronos kill a Marine, but it takes a wound in turn by a Lightning Claw Marine.

- Dark Eldar Turn 4 -

Wracks on the left of the Battlefield move closer to the 5 tactical Marines, and glues them all to the grass with their 2 Liquefier Guns.

The Wracks on the right Embark onto a Raider.

The Raider on the left, without the ability to fire due to a lost Dark Lance, zips across the battlefield.

Both Raiders fire on the remaining two Rhinos. The Rhino holding the 10 Tactical Marines is Shaken while the other empty Rhino blows up in a fiery Wreck.

The Ironclad finishes off the last Grotesques, and after combat cuts down both Ancient Heamonculi. Sometimes being Fearless is not what it is cracked up to be!

The last Cronos and a Marine armed with Lightning Claws kill each other in a final embrace of death. The Company Commander now starts to make a B line to the left of the Battlefield.

- Ultramarine Turn 4 -

The Company Commander run across the Battlefield.

The Land Speeder moves back near an Objective, and fires on the lanceless Raider, but it's Flickerfield saves it from harm.

The Ironclad moves towards an Objective as well, and fires its Multi Melta on a Raider filled with Wracks, but it's Flickerfield saves it from a Penetrating shot as well.

Last, the Rhino filled with 10 Tactical Marines moves on an Objective, claiming it their own.

- Dark Eldar Turn 5 -

The lanceless Raider moves in front of an Objective to block it, while the Raider with Wracks in it flies across the Battlefield to the opposite side of the Objective, holding it.

The other empty Raider moves to contest the Objective held by the Rhino's Tactical Marines.

The Wracks move towards the Land Speeder.

A Dark Lance shot Stuns the Rhino on the Objective.

Wracks charge the Land Speeder, and turn it into a pile of scrap under the weight of their poisoned blades.

- Ultramarine Turn 5 -

The Company Commander runs across the Battlefield...

The Ironclad fires upon the lanceless raider with it's Melta Gun, but the Raider's 4+ Cover Save keeps it alive.

10 Tactical Marines exit their Stunned Rhino, and pour Bolter Fire and Melta Gun shots into the Raider. Only the Melta Gun has an effect on the Raider... but the Raider's Flickerfield harmlessly bounces the Melta shot into the air.

The Ironclad charges the Raider, but misses with all it's attacks. Needing 6's to hit is hard to do sometimes.

The Dark Eldar player rolls to see if the game ends... and the game ends.

- Conclusion -

Dark Eldar - 2 Objectives

Ultramarines - 0 Objectives

Victor - Dark Eldar

- Conclusion -

This is my reworked Heamonculi list, and I think it works pretty damned well. I do not think I need Ancient Heamonculi in this list, and I will be downgrading them to Heamonculi in later games.

My opponent played well. We both did not expect the Wracks to do as well as they did.

- Unit and Item Opinions -

Liquefier Guns. Once again, these monsters just melted their targets into the ground shot after shot. Remember, when you fire a Liquefier Gun, 50% of the time it will ignore the armor of a MEQ model, so when you have two of them, or even three if you are able to do that, MEQ just dies... A lot. I loved these in the old Dark Eldar book, and I love them in the new one. Best Flamers in the game. Thank goodness they can be taken outside Heamonculi now.

MEQ players, for the first time in a long time, now will the same fear of flamers as other armies. More so actually, since MEQ armies come in smaller numbers, the Liquefier Gun can cover a 10 man unit and kill half of it quite easily. Oh yeah, Liquefier Guns can take care of 2+ Save models as well.

All hail the unsung, under the radar, unseen and over looked "Power" of the new Dark Eldar codex; anti-MEQ flamers on 10 point models.

Grotesques. Yet another game where I was not able to see their full potential. Getting tied up by any walker with an armor of 12 really does put a damper on things. The fear this unit gave my opponent was worth it, though. He made sure not to assault me out of his Rhinos until this unit was dealt with in some fashion.

Now that I think about it, last game against the Orks, the Grotesques did a wonderful job. If it weren't for the wound allocation rules, the Nobs would have been dead. Don't get me wrong, I like wound allocation. I am just saying that Grotesques are what Ogryns wish to be; useful and deadly.

Wracks. Unlike my last game against the Orks, this time I remembered to give my Wracks +1 Attack and reroll to wounds on the charge. The results speak for themselves. Wracks are just nasty. Spouting out Liquefier juice before assaulting is king. These guys are the Flamer Assault unit other armies wish to have. Also, when I had 26 attacks on the charge, with wound rerolls, MEQ just fell by the wayside.

I am tempted to make a full army of these bastards. 6 Troop slots filled with these guys. They are cheap as well! My Wrack units, with raiders and upgrades, came up to only 170 points. You can squeeze 6 of these units in a 1500 point list, and still have room left over for Ravagers if you wanted to do it...

That gives me an idea for an up and coming army list... -wink-

Heamonculi. Just give them Venom Blades, and let them go to town. Sure they die fast in close combat, but who cares! They gave their Pain Token to the Wracks/Grotesques, so let them die.

For my tastes, Ancient Heamonculi are not worth for how I use them. I know they can be powerful, but for my army list play styles, they are just a waste of points at the moment.

Raiders. I don't know what tools keep on thinking Raiders are dead to use. I don't know what crack they are smoking. Flickerfields continue to make Raiders tiny tanks flying around the Battlefield. Whatever, lol. I love Raiders, and I will continue to field them en mass in my armies.

I will give the new and improved (yeah right) Web Way portals a few games though. Maybe they'll surprise me.

Cronos Parasite Engine. Second game with them, and I am not liking them. Their Strength 5 is pretty crappy when in CC. Each game they are stuck in combat, I pine for a Talos and it's Strength 7 attacks. I am going to shelve the Cronos Parasite Engine for now. All my units start the game with 2 or 3 pain tokens, and I fail to see the point of taking these in my lists.

Coming up next... Ultramarines versus Cirque de Commorragh!

Dark Eldar Versus Tau - Game 2 of 45

My second game versus my good friend Mark and his Tau.

Just a few things I need to point out before going on. I do not include everything that happens in my battle reports. So think of my battle reports as a guideline. For instance, you may wonder why a unit does not fire in a turn or two. Either the firing did nothing of importance, i.e. it missed, or I simply forgot to jot down what happened.

If anyone has a question as to why something did or did not happen, please feel free to leave a question or five in your comment. Either I, or my opponent, will answer it for you, if either of us can remember the actual reason behind our actions :)

Also, I am going to try something different. I am going to refer to the players as their Race. People may not know who "I" am when I refer to Dark Eldar. The language might come off odd sounding, and if it bothers people, or helps out, please leave me feedback. I want to make my reports as clear as possible for you all.

1500 Point Battle (I left this out last time. Thank you all for your input!)

- Kabal of the Budding Lotus -

Archon w/ Huskblade, Drug Dispenser, Shadowfield, Soul Trap, Ghostplate Armor

5 Incubi
1 Klavex w/ Demiklaives
Raider w/ Aether Sails, Torment Launchers, Ram

19 Kabalite Warriors w/ 2 Splinter Cannons
1 Syberite

19 Kabalite Warriors w/ 2 Splinter Cannons
1 Syberite

5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Ram

5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Ram

5 Kabalite Warriors w/ Blaster
Raider w/ Ram

Ravager w/ Night Shield, Flicker Field

Ravager w/ Night Shield, Flicker Field

Ravager w/ Night Shield, Flicker Field

- Tau Force -

HQ Suit (Shas'el) w/ Twin Linked Fusion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Multitracker, Stim Injector
Bodyguard Suit (Shas'vre) w/Plasma Rifle, Fusion Blaster, Multitracker, Target Array

Crisis Suit w/ Twin Linked Missile Pod, Blacksun Filter, Target Lock
Crisis Suit w/ Twin Linked Missile Pod, Target Array

Crisis Suit w/ Twin Linked Missile Pod, Blacksun Filter, Target Lock
Crisis Suit w/ Twin Linked Missile Pod, Target Array

Crisis Sui (Shas'vi) w/ Twin Linked Fusion Blaster, Target Array
Crisis Sui (Shas'vi) w/ Twin Linked Fusion Blaster

10 Fire Warriors
Shas'vi
Devil Fish, Seeker Missile, Disruption Pod

10 Fire Warriors
Shas'vi
Devil Fish, Seeker Missile, Disruption Pod

10 Fire Warriors
Shas'vi

5 Pathfinders
Shas'vi
Devil Fish, Seeker Missile, Disruption pod

Hammerhead w/ Railgun, Burst Cannons, Blacksun Filter, Multi Tracker, Seeker Missile, Disruption Pod

Hammerhead w/ Ion Cannon, Burst Cannons, Blacksun Filter, Multi Tracker, Seeker Missile, Disruption Pod

- Why I Took My (Dark Eldar) List -

For my games, I will be playing repeat lists against various opponents. This, of course, is so I can gather more information about units against various types of armies. Basically, I want to play a list against a Shootie army, a Close Combat army, and, ugh, MEQ armies.

My opponent has been playing Tau for about 5 years, so he has an idea of how they work.

- Mission and Deployment -

Search and Destroy and Spearhead. Dark Eldar won the Deployment Roll, and Dark Eldar is going first.

We get 3 Objective Markers. Dark Eldar get two, Tau gets one. Tau goes to place his marker in the center of the table, in the Tower, but decides against it. Dark Eldar then places last marker in the Tower anyway.

Objectives in the RL pictures look like Christmas Trees.




- Archon gains +1 Weapon Skill from his Combat Drugs.

- Dark Eldar deploys entire army onto the battlefield, readying for an alpha strike. My plan is to hold the center Objective with my Archon and Incubi, so that the Tau player will be forced to come to me eventually. By doing this, I flip the Tau's entire game plan from defensive to eventually offensive, into situations he does not want to be in.

- Tau deploys defensively, readying himself for the first turn strike.

- Tau places his two suits in his HQ unit in Reserves for Deep Striking.

- Tau attempts to steal the Initiative and fails.

Note - The centerpiece tower counts as both a ruin, on the top floor, and a building. There is a single access point. So to get to the top floor, you either have to 'fly' up there, or enter through the only door on the ground level, which is facing the Tau player.

- Dark Eldar Turn 1 -

Dark Eldar Ravagers move into Alpha Strike positioning. Their goal is to do everything in their power to destroy the Hammerhead toting that nasty Rail Gun. If I can destroy that vehicle, my game will be 100% easier...

Raiders move into 'pounce' positions. The Raider holding my Archon + Incubi heads for the centerpiece tower. If I can secure the tower, I should have the game won, since the tower itself blocks line of sight to infantry sized models. My goal is to keep my HQ up there the entire game, and on turn 5 pour out and destroy everything they can. Getting my Archon + Incubi next to the game's third objective basically won me the game unless the Tau player can pull out some miracles.

One Raider moves to the rear of my deployment zone. I know my opponent loves to Deep Strike his HQ suits behind my lines, and I need to make sure I have to provide him with too many targets to be effective.

Two Ravagers fire their Dark Lances upon the Hammerhead, and Destroy it. One Ravager fires at a suit unit and kills one suit.

Now that the Hammerhead is gone, Dark Eldar needs to focus fire on the suits. Their 'Autocannons" are too deadly to keep around for long.

- Tau Turn 1 -

Not much movement going on. I chose to not represent the movement of the Suits during the Assault phase. This would have made the pictures too confusing, especially since 99% of the time the suits just hop back into their original positions anyway. So yes, the Tau player is using the Assault move every turn with his Suits.

Tau Pathfinders tag the Raider in the Tower with 2 Markerlights.

Fire Warriors fire upon the Ravager at the north of the Battlefield. Because of the Nightshield, they are 3" out of range!

Ionhead (Hammerhead with Ion Cannon) and one Devil Fish fire on the Raider in the Tower. Cover saves made.

Two Suits fire their Missile Pods at a Ravager. 5++ Flicker Field saves the Ravager from two penetrating hits. One glancing hit makes it through. Rolls a 6 and Wrecks the Ravager.

At this point, Tau forgot to fire his Ionhead's secondary weapons. I told him it was perfectly fine to fire the tank's secondary weaponry. Stupid Strength 5 shots Destroy the center Raider due to the Markerlight's -1 to cover and +1 to BS. Thats what I get for being nice, hmph!

Archon and Incubi come flying out. They are not pinned.

- Dark Eldar Turn 2 -

One Raider flies to the top of the Tower and the 5 Warriors disembark in the tower. I position my Blaster from the unit to be able to fire out of the front of the tower in case the Tau gets too close to the tower.

Kabalite Warriors make it to the lower left building, and hunker down for the rest of the game by the Objective. I position my Splinter Cannons towards the 'front/right' of the squad.

Ravagers move into position to start taking the Tau army apart.

First order of business, Suits. Ravager fires at a lone suit, and kills it.

Splinter Cannon shards rip through and kills a 4th Fire Warrior.

Second Ravager fires on a Devil Fish. Killing the enemy mobility is key in Capture and Control. The Devil Fish blows up, and in the process kills 3 Fire Warriors as they come out.

- Tau Turn 2 -

Tau units shuffle around for better firing positions.

Unremarkable turn for Tau. Remarkable turn for Dark Eldar.

Markerlights... Pulse Rifles... Missile Pods.... and an Ion Cannon only manage to destroy Dark Lances off of two Ravagers and the center Raider.

Flicker Fields on the Ravagers save the day, as penetrating hits were ignores, while Glancing hits tore off the Dark Lances.

Bottom Ravager has one Dark Lance, and cannot fire the next turn. Top Ravager has two Dark Lances, but can neither move nor fire next turn. Raider in the center has no weapons and is also immobilized.

I must admit... It was nice to see a Tau player get frustrated by my 5++ saves for once. I am always the one who gets pissed at the Tau's 4+ Cover saves on their vehicles!

Flicker Fields have earned their keep on my Ravagers permanently.

- Dark Eldar Turn 3 -

Like wounded animals seeking shelter to lick their wounds, all my vehicles either go flat out or move to safety behind my one Stunned Ravager.

My Raiders get into position to engage the Tau forces with Kabalite warriors.

Nothing is in range of weapons that are able to fire.

- Tau Turn 3 -

HQ Suit and his Bodyguard Deep Strike and scatter into the open. Tau player uses his Pathfinder's Devil Fish ability, or something like that, and reroll the Scatter dice. Suits land 'safely' into cover.

Fire Warrior unit in cover embark into a Devil Fish, which then moves next to the centerpiece Tower. Tau player is planning on entering the tower, and Rapid Firing my Archon + Incubi Unit to death.

Two Suit units move behind a Devil Fish for cover.

Ionhead fires on the rearmost Ravager, chasing it! Flicker Field deflects a Penetrating hit.

HQ Suits fire on the Stunned Ravager, and manages to blow off a second Dark Lance. Both Ravagers now have one Dark Lance each.

- Dark Eldar Turn 4 -

Dark Eldar repositions Ravagers and one Raider (with 5 Kabalite Warriors in it) behind the Tower.

Raider drops out 5 Kabalite Warriors next to the HQ squad. I rapid fire into the HQ Squad. Tau player lets out an audible sigh. Tau player tells me he is used to opponents assaulting his suits, where his suits actually do better. I tell him I am not stupid, and I would rapid fire his suits to death and stay out in the open then get locked in combat with his suits.

Combined fire from the 5 Kabalite Warriors, and 5 Kabalite Warriors from the hill, including two Splinter Cannons, manages to kill a Suit and wound his HQ suit.

A single Blaster shot from the Kabalite Warriors on the Tower Immobilizes a Devil Fish. Tau players lets out another sigh. Immobilizing this Devil Fish basically destroyed his plans of using it as a mobile cover platform for his two Suit units. Tau player tells me I am too smart for my own good. I tell him that this is the 98th time we have played together over the past 5 years, and that eventually I'd learn his play style!

As you guys out there can see, this is the point in the game where we both begin to take 5, 10, even 15 minutes before making a single decision... We are both in deep thought, and this game just went from Checkers to Chess to Brain Surgery.

With the center objective so hotly guarded by one of the game's best CC unit, every inch counts.

Business just got serious.

- Tau Turn 4 -

It now takes the Tau player around 5 minutes before deciding to move a single unit in the movement phase. He does not like my Splinter Cannons. Also, the ignored unit of Close Combat death in the Tower by the Objective is beginning to worry him as the game comes closer to ending... With his one Devil Fish Immobilized, he also cannot use it to hold the Objective out in the open with the Fire Warrior unit waiting inside.

The Tau player knows he is in a bad spot.

Tau moves his Suits for better positioning for the later turns.

Best the Tau player can do is limit my firepower and mobility.

Markerlights, an Ion Cannon, tons of Strength 5 weaponry, and Plasma Gun shots from his HQ suit Wrecks a Ravager, Destroys a Raider and blows off the last Dark Lance from the last remaining Ravager. Kabalite Warriors jump out of the flaming Raider.

- Dark Eldar Turn 5 -

This is it. Time to counter the Tau's plans as best I can.

Dark Eldar positions the last Ravager, which cannot fire anymore this game, in such a way that the Ionhead cannot contest the Objective marker in the bottom left of the Battlefield.

Dark Eldar moves last mobile Raider out in the open to bait anything. The less that can fire at the important units, the better.

Dark Eldar decides to strike with Archon and Incubi. Archon splits from the Incubi. Archon charges the two Elite Suits while the Incubi charges the Fire warriors on the Objective marker. Both Tau units are decimated. Archon's Huskblade manages to Instant Kill both suits. +1 Pain Token to both units.

Some Splinter Rifle and two Splinter Cannons open up on the lone Tau HQ Suit, and kill it. +1 Pain Token.

- Tau Turn 5 -

Tau's entire game plan now was hoping the game went to Turn 6.

Ionhead moves in position for a Turn 6 Ram or Tank Shock.

Fire Warriors disembark from the last mobile Devil Fish. Devil Fish moves in front of a 5 man Kabalite Warrior unit.

Fire Warriors disembark from the Immobilized Devil Fish.

The last two suits get into firing position.

Devil Fish in the center lets loose a hail of fire, and kills three Kabalite Warriors. The Warriors hold.

Markerlights, Missile Pods and Pulse Rifles blow open the Incubi Armor, decimating all but a single Incubi. The Incubi holds.

20 Pulse Rifle weapons pour out death upon the Archon.

11 Wounds.

On wound number two, the Shadowfield fails... It flickers out of existence as it's power systems overload.

For 9 more wounds, the Archon's Ghostplate soaks up some of the damage, but what penetrates his armor, the Archon shrugs off the pain as if it were from a child's toy. Decades of torture and pain has served to save the Archon.

Between Ghostplate Armor and Feel No Pain, the Archon survives with a single wound left.

Tau player rolls to see if the game ends..... The game continues....

The Tau player smiles...

With a smile of his own, the Archon licks hot, delicious blood off of his lips, and painfully lifts his Huskblade high above his head, and charges the Fire Warriors....

- Dark Eldar Turn 6 -

The Dark Eldar forces go silent... The now pay attention to the lone Archon and lone Incubi.

Screaming in delight, the Archon throws himself into the Fire Warriors. The Archon cuts down 4 Fire Warriors. The Fire Warriors attempt to strike back, but cannot land a single blow. The Fire Warriors break, and with their backs exposed, the Archon slices and dices the remaining warriors.

Without making a single sound, the Incubi swiftly moves into combat with 10 Fire Warriors. The Incubi cuts down 3 Fire Warriors. The Fire Warriors strike back, but the Incubi shrugs off the pain (Feel No Pain). The Fire Warriors break, and the Incubi cuts them all down in retreat.

- Tau Turn 6 -

In desperation, the Tau Tank Shocks the Ionhead through Kabalite Warriors... The Ionhead is 3.1" away from the Objective!

One Devil Fish blows through the foundations of the Tower, and Rams the Raider that has been sitting in place immobilized the entire game. The Devil Fish snaps the weak Raider in two, and places itself within grasp of the objective.

The Immobilized Devil Fish simply turns on it's weapons, and drills holes into the Archon's back, dropping him.

Missiles from the Suits fail to kill the Incubi.

The Suits Charge the Incubi... After a few swift blows, the Incubi stands alone among the husks of bleeding mechanical suits.

Dark Eldar rolls.... and the game ends...

- Conclusion -

Dark Eldar hold one Objective

Tau hold none.

Victor - Dark Eldar

- Post Game Thoughts -

Splinter Cannons are proving themselves to be game winners. Before they were 24" range, but now with 36" and the ability to fire 6 shots, Splinter Cannons have shown to be a real power house.

Flickerfield. This game's MVP by far. Coupled with Nightshields, Flickerfields are just house. My Ravagers will now come stock with Flickerfields and Nightshields. And to think, for the cost of a single Nightshield in the previous Dark Eldar codex, Ravagers now get a 5++ save ontop of the Nightshield. Simply amazing.

Pain Tokens on my Archon and Incubi, giving them Feel No Pain, extended their lives immensely. Ghostplate Armor will now be stock on my Archon. DE players have been wanting a 4+ armor save for our HQs, and we finally got one. Just awesome!

This match was bloody and fun! I don't know what else to say really... The match speaks for itself....