@Ynnead- Thank you for discretion in handling of that Heresy!
@Everybody- Bat-rep time! Hey guys back again with another bat-rep. First in an ongoing series with me and my brother as he commits to playing 40k on the regular. We are really diving to playing games at home now so except a lot of bat-reps between us.
We played a 1250 game and wow! What a breath of fresh air... this is what 40k used to feel like!
Lets dive right in!
1250 Eldar Vs. Imperial GuardEldar 1250
Autarch- Banshee Mask, Fusion Gun, Soulshrive
Farseer- Singing Spear- Invisibility, Domination, Prescience
Fire Dragons x5
Wave Serpent- Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Holofields
Striking Scorpions x10- Exarch, Claw
Dire Avengers x10
Wave Serpent- Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, Holofields
Eldar Jetbikes x4- Scatter Lasers x4, Warlock: Destructor, Conceal/Reveal
Swooping Hawks x6- Exarch, Power Sword
Hornet x1- Pulse Lasers x2
Imperial Guard 1250
Commissar
Veterans x10- Plasma Guns x3, Vox
Veterans x10- Plasma Guns x3, Vox
Veterans x10- Plasma Guns x3, Vox
Chimera- Heavy Flamers x2, Camo Netting
Sentinel
Ratlings x6
-Emperor's Wrath Artillery Formation-
Company Command- Plasma x3, Vox
Engine-Seer
Basilisk
Basilisk
Manticore
Notes- Check out my brother's freshly painted Engine Seer and one of his RT-era Ratlings also freshly painted.
Deployment and Mission: Emperor's Will (2 Objectives, in each DZ) and Vanguard Strike Deployment. My brother had me deploy first and he went first.
Turn 1Imperial Guard- So with only 2 units on the board, he orderd his tanks to ignore cover and fired away his Basilisks and Manticore at the Serpents, causing a HP on each. I saved one hull point via Holofields which was nice. Meanwhile the Chimera and Sentinel moved out to put pressure on my objective. A decent first turn but those artillery pieces aren't great against vehicles.
Eldar- So even though the artillery isn't great against vehicles the Dragons, Autarch and Farseer can't sit around and tank shots like that forever. Furthermore I knew my reinforcements were gonna be showing up soon with the Autarch so I needed to start taking out those deadly artillery machines. So I the Command Serpent right up the board and hid him as much out of LOS as possible in the Imperial ruins. Meanwhile my other Serpent moved up and pot shotted the Rattling trying to snag some easy kills but they shrugged off the fire in their good defensive position. A quick turn but I was well setup!
Turn 2Imperial Guard- So feeling the pressure the infantry move out. They pump everything they've got into the Command Serpent but it holds firm. Serpent Shield and Holofields doing work. Meanwhile the Artillery manage to immobilize the other Serpent putting a 2nd hull point on it. The Guard are racking up the hits, but struggling to break the armor. A weakness in my brother's collection which he will be remedying after much discussion!
Eldar- All the reserves show up! The Hawks jump down out of LOS in support of my command unit. The Hornet shows up the right flank to flush out the Chimera and Sentinel. Meanwhile the Scorpions outflank on the wrong side of the board... I wanted them going in, in support of my Command unit but oh well. They are also near the Chimera. Meanwhile the Command Unit moves out and charges into the Imperial ruins. Invisibility is cast and all other powers fail. I promptly destroy the Basilisk though I miss a number of shots. The Swooping Hawks blast which targetted the Company Command squad scatters off the board. The Hornet then whiffs against the Chimera! But luckily the Bikes and the Immobilized Wave Serpent manage to finish the sucker off. While the Avengers shoot up the Ratlings, they break and run. Bit of a shaky turn but I'm in a commanding position.
Turn 3Imperial Guard- My bro knows the game is slipping away so he lays down the hammer! With targets finally on the board, his army shines. The Basilisk is ordered to ignore cover and annihilates the Scorpions dropping them to just 2 guys (exarch not included)! NOOO!!! Meanwhile the Basilisk receives the same order and kills 5 Avengers after a bad scatter. Also painful! Meanwhile the Veterans pump plasma into the Hornet (which doesnt jink) and fail to damage. Another unit of Veterans destroys the Command Serpent, while First Rank! Second Rank Fire! is ordered on the Veterans inside the ruins and they manage to kill a Fire Dragon, wound the Farseer and the Autarch depsite being invisible! Ouch! A good turn by the Guard and I realize this game aint over yet!
Eldar- So the Command Unit moves out towards the Manticore. That thing has to go or my Avengers are gonna get eaten alive. They target and fluff a bunch of rolls but just manage to destroy it. It explodes and wounds my Farseer and kills another Fire Dragon. Dang! Then Jetbikes zip towards the ruins, turbo-boosting to try and take out the Veterans harassing my Command unit. I have Destructor on the Warlock and I'm intent on using it, plus I'm worried about a second round of First Rank! Second Rank! Meanwhile the Hornet moves to the side and blows up the Sentinel. While the Avengers fall back to hold my Emperor's Will objective. The remaining Scorpions also move out to hopefully nail those dang Plasma Vets in the ensuing turns. Meanwhile the Swooping Hawks jump up and over the ruins, unleashing a blistering torrent of laser fire into the forward positioned Veterans and the Commissar. They then assault them the Exarch leading the way with his power sword, reducing them to about 4 guys (including the Commissar). Thats it... and my Command unit (while Invisible) still needs weather another round of laz+plaz fire in the heart of the Imperial ruins.
Turn 4Imperial Guard- Things are real desperate now! The Basilisk unloads again on the Avengers but it scatters wildly. Then First Rank! Second Rank! is ordered on the Veterans, combined with unholy Plasma-Hell from the Command Squad and the Command Squad gets shredded despite invisibility! The Farseer dies and all the Dragons die as well. The Autarch is alone and on 1 Wound! Uh-oh. No more invisibility after this turn. Good thing I moved those Jetbikes out to help him with that Warlock + Destructor ready to go. Combat continues with the Swooping Hawks and the Veterans + Commissar fall to the xenos blades. Then in desperation the Engine-Seer charges the Autarch.. my Soulshrive has only been charged up to Strength 4 but its enough and I manage to bring the Transhumanist scum down. Its a mixed bag for the IG, they are giving the Eldar hell but are fighting a losing battle.
Eldar Turn 5 + Wrap Up- Having taken a pounding over the past 2 turns, psychic defenses totally nullified the Eldar go for broke. The Autarch moves in slaying the Company Command squad and remains locked in a duel with the Company Commander (making excellent invuln saves) for a further 2 turns before killing him. The Jetbikes hop over the ruins and Destructor Fire and Scatter Lasers wash away the Veterans. Meanwhile my Avengers hop onto their objective and the Hornet takes out the Basilisk.
While the Eldar were in control for a majority of the game it was still a good game nonethless. My brother killed a lot of models and really held his own. He hardly plays and gave a great account of himself considering his lack of regular play. We talked a lot about army composition and he's gonna get a lot more anti-tank into his list as well as a kitbashed Void Shield Generator. Playing without his flyers at 1250 is also tough. The IG flyers are a huge asset and have absolutley torn my apart in previous games.
Look for an improved list next game. My brother has kicked my Eldar's butts back to the Webway before and he'll do it again! So take heart you proud Sons of the Emperor this will not be a one sided war!
BONUS ROUND!We know its a tough match-up for the Guard facing the Eldar regularly. Which is why I'm furiously working towards putting together another foe... and with the rumored demise of Cadia... there is no better time to let the ancient rivalry soar to new heights!
So here's my first WIP Berserker guys! Its an early WIP but hopefully you get the jist of how I'll be handling them. As per the great Looshkin's request I'll feature more WIP so you guys can see how I do it. Feel free to ask any questions you like along the way.
Also just for Looshkin I'll include some more WIP pics of my Farseer.
Real quick... I will drill the bolters and nix the mold line on the foot! Anyway guys thanks for stopping by. I know this was a bit of a mega-post. Anyway I hope you enjoy and I'll talk to you all soon!