This is my most recent battle report. I played against Nomad the other day again at the game store. We played Matched Play at 1000 pts. I ran my Orks again, but this time he brought along his Craftworld Eldar.
Army ListsBlazinghand's List:
1x BATALLION detachment of Orks (6 CP)
++HQ++
Big Mek on Warbike with KFF, Killsaw
Weirdboy
++TROOPS++
30 Shoota Boyz, 1 is Nob with Klaw, 3 have Big Shootas
10 Slugga Boyz, 1 is Nob with Big Choppa
10 Slugga Boyz, 1 is Nob with Big Choppa
10 Slugga Boyz, 1 is Nob with Big Choppa
++HEAVY SUPPORT++
3 Big Gunz with Kannons
1 Mek Gun with Kustom Mega Kannon (A Zzap gun stands in for this today)
++DEDICATED TRANSPORTS++
Trukk with Big Shoota
Trukk with Big Shoota
Trukk with Big Shoota
Nomad's List:
1x OUTRIDER Detachment of Aeldari (4 CP)
++HQ++
Farseer Skyrunner with Singing Spear
++FAST ATTACK++
5 Windriders: 3 with Shuriken Cannons, 2 with Twin Shuriken Catapults
5 Windriders: 3 with Scatter Lasers, 2 with Twin Shuriken Catapults
1 Vyper: Bright Lance + Shuriken Cannon
++HEAVY SUPPORT++
Falcon with Aeldari Missile Launcher, Shuriken Cannon, CTM, Spirit Stones
Night Spinner with Twin Shuriken Catapults, CTM
Setup and DeploymentWe rolled for modes and got Secure and Control as our mission, the classic 2-control-point super drawish mission. However, with Slay the Warlord, First Blood, and Linebreaker all giving 1 Victory Point each, it is definitely possible to win without completely wiping the enemy.
Our deployment mode we rolled up was Search and Destroy, which has each of us getting a table quarter (though no deployment within 9" of the center of the table). Then, we each placed an objective in our own deployment zone. Nomad placed his objective in a ruins terrain piece at the back of his quarter, expecting he'd want to hang back away from my melee units. I placed my objective far forward, toward the center of the map, reasoning that I'd have better access to it there as the game went on.
Nomad deploys starting with his Night Spinner in the back, then his Farseer out of line of sight, and his Vyper and Falcon similarly back, delaying deploying his Windriders while he sees what I do. Similarly, I try to make noncommitant deployments; I deploy my foot boyz + psyker with
Da Jump in the back where they won't be shot, my Big Gunz on the objective, etc. I make the last two deployments after Nomad commits to the center with his Windriders, placing my Trukk Boyz as far forward as possible where they can thread between the hill and the LoS blocking structure.
I roll to seize the initiative, and fail. I spend a CP, rerolling it, and succeed! `:D
Top of Turn 1 (Eldar) (Orkz):I Advance with my Trukks and move up the Big Mek behind them, providing them with a much-needed 5++. My Gunz stay still, and my Weirdboy successfully uses
Da Jump to send my 30 Shoota boyz around the left side of LoS blocker, 9" from Nomad's Farseer and Falcon. A turn 1 charge on the Farseer could potentially take it out, which would be huge.
Since my Trukks Advanced, the shooting is pretty bad, but the 30 strong squad of Boyz manages to put a wound on the Farseer and a Windrider, and the KMK takes down a Windrider. Sadly, the Boyz fail their charge roll and reroll, leaving them stuck out in the open and the Farseer untouched.
Bottom of Turn 1 (Eldar):Nomad beats a hasty retreat, pulling back his forces near my foot squad of boyz and hugging the long table edge to try to delay assault by a turn, and swings around one squad of Windriders to get good shots on my Big Gunz.
His shooting phase is unspectacular, killing a single foot boy, putting 5 wounds on the lead Trukk, and knocking out a Big Gun (first blood!).
Top of Turn 2 (Orks):My two rear trukks are too far away to deliver their contents into assault this turn. The front trukk is at a slower speed due to damage and close enough already, so the boyz jump out and head toward the windriders, with the big Mek right behind them. The damaged Trukk meets up with two orphaned Grot Gunners. The plan for this weakened Trukk will be to push forward onto Nomad's objective and with these useless grots either contest or hold it. The shoota boyz advance, but aren't close enough to do anything useful. My two full trukks split off, each trying to cover one potential retreat angle. Weirdboy attempts
Da Jump to link up with the shoota boyz so he can teleport them next turn, but he fails.
Shoota Boyz get lucky and put a wound on the Falcon and the Vyper. Big Gunz shoot back at the flanking Windrider squad and drop it down to two models. Slugga Boyz charge the back Winriders and reduce the Windrider squad to one model.
Bottom of Turn 2 (Eldar):The Windrider Falls Back from assault, hovering in front of the Farseer, and the Boyz squad is wiped with shooting from the hover tanks. Nomad continues to slide along the long table edge, and sends his 2-model squad of Windriders back behind my Gunz entirely, shooting at my Weirdboy and putting a wound on him.
Top of Turn 3 (Orks):As is common in Turn 3 for Orkz, this is it, boyz. This is where we make it or break it. My remaining two Trukks disgorge their contents, and everyone moves in position to assault except the 30-strong squad, which remains far to the side. Weirdboy successfully uses
Da Jump and joins them near the enemy objective. The Windrider that was screening for the Farseer goes down, but the Farseer makes his saves against the Slugga shots that get through to him. My Big Gunz turn and wipe out the Winrider squad behind them. All that remain of the Eldar are the Farseer, the Windrider screening for him, the Vyper, and the two tanks.
Also, my wounded Trukk picks up two Grot Gunners to ferry them to Nomad's objective. The goal is to use them to screen for the Weirdboy later.
The Vyper goes down to a couple of Killsaw hits. My Nob's Big Choppa fails to hit, and the Farseer takes no damage from the Boyz. I'm not able to bring all my forces to bear since I absorbed overwatch fire with the Trukk, something I'll have to reconsider as a tactic later.
Bottom of Turn 3 (Eldar):Nomad's Eldar forces may be down to three models, but these three models represent just under half of his army's point value, packing a lot of firepower and speed. He swings his Night Spinner into my backfield and shoots at the near squad of Boyz, while his Falcon and Farseer focus on my big Gunz in the center.
Top of Turn 4 (Orks):Neither of my disembarked squads are in a good position to make a charge this turn, so they load into their transports and head back toward the center to deal with the Farseer and Falcon. For reasons that are unclear to me now in hindsight, I charged the Falcon with the Grot Trukk and my HQ unit. My Grots disembark before this charge and place themselves between the Weirdboy +30 Boyz and the high Terrain piece, which will prove crucial later. My Weirdboy successfully uses
Da Jump on the 30 man squad of Boyz, but takes Perils in the process and is reduced to 1 wound remaining.
The Boyz are 9" away from Nomad's Night Spinner and ready to party. They unload on it, dealing a single wound, and fail both their charge rolls. The Big Mek puts a couple wounds on the Falcon.
Bottom of Turn 4 (Eldar):Concerned about potential assaults, Nomad flies his Falcon and Farseer to the top of terrain pieces, and continues to retreat into my backfield with his night Spinner. His Falcon has now completed a full circuit of the board, basically.
He wants badly to shoot my Weirdboy off his home objective, but there is a squad of 2 Grot Gunners that is closer, so he has to kill them instead because 8th edition is awesome. The Falcon's anti-tank guns aim at a Trukk and its Shuriken Cannon blows away the grots. His night Spinner kills two grot gunners and the Kustom Mega Kannon.
Top of Turn 5 (Orkz):I move the Weirdboy toward the center and disembark the full-strength Boyz squad, Advancing to get as close as possible. I spend a Command Point to reroll Advance, and it works: they get close enough that to be targeted by
Da Jump, which is used to hop them onto the objective. Nomad hadn't planned for this! Their Trukk also comes along to help out. I cluster all my squads on my home objective, because currently Nomad is limited on how many units he can target. The Night Spinner can probably take out any individual unit I have, but it can only shoot at one enemy with its Doomweaver and one with the Twin Shuriken Catapults. With 5 distinct units on my home objective, I've made it impossible for him to clear them off even with perfect rolling. My army shoots ineffectively and no charges are declared.
Bottom of Turn 5 (Eldar):Nomad brings his Night Spinner around, hoping to shoot me off his objective. If he can take his home objective, He has First Blood, we both have Line Breaker and nobody has Slay the Warlord. A draw in objectives (3 points each) would go in his favor due to the secondary objectives. He rolls very poorly and I maintain control of the objective.
The game-end roll is 3+ and so the game continues.
Top of Turn 6 (Orkz):Seeing an opportunity to pick off his Warlord, I send my Boyz, Big Mek, and Trukk after the Farseer. If I kill it, a draw in primary objectives leads to a draw, rather than a win for Nomad. I am confident my 30-strong squad of Boyz will not be shot off my home objective, and there is little I can do to help the Boyz on HIS objective. Sadly, I roll poorly in assault and the Farseer lives.
Bottom of Turn 6 (Eldar):The Farseer Falls Back out of combat, and takes some shoots at the Big Mek, dropping it to one wound. The tanks finally have some decent luck and drop the Boyz squad on Nomad's objective down to 3 models. In an act of desparation, Nomad charges the Big Mek with his Night Spinner, and charges the Weirdboy with his Falcon.
If the Falcon kills the Weirdboy AND the Boyz squad wipes to Morale, Nomad gets his home objective, and wins thanks to First Blood (we both have Linebreaker). The Night Spinner charging the Big Mek wouldn't change things this turn, but if he does kill it and the game moves on, he can give up Linebreaker and still win in the case of each of us taking one objective, since he'll have Slay the Warlord and First blood.
Nomad does in fact bonk the Big Mek to death with his Night Spinner, but the Falcon fails to connect with the Weirdboy. This means that we each have 1 model near Nomad's objective, and so neither of us hold it.
The game continues on a 4+, but a 2 is rolled and the game ends.
Final Tally:Blazinghand: 4 (3 for Objective, 1 for Line Breaker)
Nomad: 3 (1 for First Blood, 1 for Line Breaker, 1 for Slay the Warlord)
Blazinghand Wins!
----
Some thoughts:
1. I got too confident after wiping Nomad's Windriders and Vypers. I thought the game was over, but that was only half of his army, and the easy to kill half at that.
2. The Kannons pull their weight much better than the Zzap guns ever did.
3. I'm still not sure if the 30-strong foot squad of the Boyz were used wrongly or not. They never got off a charge, though they did force Nomad to go one direction. Also, failing all 4 of those charge rolls hurt.
4. Neither of us were really able to kill each other, and there was a lot of finnicky stuff involving charges and objectives.
5. I need to be more cautious with my Big Mek in general, and always have the Boyz screen for him when they can.
6. The lack of reliable Antitank in my list rears its ugly head again
7. Slugga+Choppa Boyz in Trukks, but Shoota Boyz on foot seems to have served me well. Although my 30-strong squad failed to charge, it was still able to do
something thanks to having lots of shooting.
8. Big Choppas in the small Boyz squad felt pretty efficient and not even that bad against vehicles. Not being able to 2+ to wound against T4 was sad though the accuracy boost was nice.
