Hey guys, as some of you know a bunch of us have started a Friday Afternoon Campaign with 2 teams (Eldar and Imperial Guard).
Friday 12 Nov 2010 had us playing our 1st game @ 750pts as each week or so we will increase the battle size of the Campaign.
On one table we had Richard (Imperial Guard) vs John (Biel-Tan Eldar) and I won't get into detail as I was too busy; but their game went to a Draw, so each of them got to nominate 1 surviving unit as Veterans for the next battle (gaining one Vet skill as well).
On the other table we had Greg (Imperial Guard) vs Ken (Saim-Hann Eldar) and I am here with a few pics and notes to report how that game went.
The Saim-Hann were running an all Jetbike army (for theme) and here is what it looked like.
Clan Saim-Lucster(140) Autarch on JB, Laser Lance, Mandiblasters, and Fusion Gun.
(210) 6 Guardian Jetbikes with 2 Shuri-cannons; +1 Warlock on JB with Destructor and Singing Spear.
(151) 4 Guardian Jetbikes with 1 Shuri-cannon; +1 Warlock on JB with Embolden and Singing Spear.
(237) 5 Shining Spear JB's; Exarch had Starlance, skilled rider and withdraw.
738pts, 2 Scoring Units, 4 Kill Points, and 18 Jetbike Figures. The Imperial Guard were running a well balanced list and here is what it looked like.
Greg's Traitorous Guard (240) Command Squad with Power Sword Plas Pistol, Medic, Standard, 2 x Flamers, 2 x Bodyguards, Astropath ( DAVROS ), and an Officer of the Fleet.
(130) Vendetta Gunship (Flying Armour of Doom with 3 Lascannons).
(225) 10 man Veteran Squad (3 Plasma and 1 ML)
Chimera + H-Stuber
(155) 10 man Veteran Squad (3 x Snipers, Harker, Missile Launcher & Sgt-Harker)
750pts, 2 Scoring Units, 5 Kill Points, 32 Figures. {Note that I took the pictures with the wrong infantry squad with the Chimera, but like I said, I am not IG smart so I wouldn't know the difference until later during the game}
Mission & DeploymentImperial Guard get 1st turn with 4 Objectives on the table (3 green dice, and one OOP Eldar dude), and Kill Points being used as well if there was a Draw; since this is straight out of the back of the BBB for Campaigns pg 250 (Hey the book does have more than just rules you know, cool pictures, campaign ideas, etc, etc). The Mission is Dawn of War, so 1st Turn Nightfight is also in effect, and Greg Deploys one Infantry Squad in the Chimera in some trees (with all together too many guns, weapons, Eldar hurty things in one nice light package). I am not sure what Greg's plan was; but really I am sure he has some especialy Tratorous plan in mind (Feel free to fill in the blanks for me Greg) He did mention that his HQ squad and Flying armour thingy (3 lascannons) would be in full reserves (outflanking) as well as the Harker Troop squad (outflanking).
The Saim-Hann were up to evil Eldar Trickery, as usual, as they set up their larger GJB squad (with Destructor -- thats a Heavy Flamer for you non-Eldar players) behind some Blocking Line Of Sight (BLOS) terrain, please note that this Ork insanity terrain was compliments of Dan Clowater, and for this game it will always count as Dangerous and Difficult Terrain (because the friggin Orks would shoot/fight with you if you got too close). The Shining Spears would arrive Turn 1 via Dawn of War rules with the Embolden Squad arriving via standard Reserves -- turn 2+ (Embolden allows them to re-roll LD tests for you non-Eldar players).
Turn 1The Evil Saim-Hann try to steel the initiative; but Greg laughs (again) as they fail with a 5 on the die (this is a running joke, as I can almost never steel the initiative from Greg, and I didn't even want to steel it in this game; but I must roll the dice, so that eventually I roll a bloody 6 for this vs Greg).
Traitorous GuardGreg moves the Traitorous Chimera forward to Gain LOS on the Evil Saim-Hann. NOT, haha -- He actually rolled the dice for Dangerous Terrain and "Immobilizes" his own Chimera with a 1. With Greg off to such a wonderful start and with nothing within his LOS, he advances the turn directly to the Eldar.
Saim-HannThe Shining Spears "Turbo" onto the scene, right over to where the Destructor squad is parked. The Destructor Squad then pops out from behind the terrain and lets lose with their Shuri-Cannons (6 shots later the Chimera is unscathed -- Nightfight pooched the Range, so they all fell short - crappy nightfight saved his tank). They then do some shuffling to ensure Cover Saves (4/7 in or behind cover) on the next turn and even though one Guardian Jetbiker entered the DT with the Orks, he was too fast for them to shoot him down (no casualties -- and Saim-Hann can drive very well, let me assure you).
Both armies are off to a very slow start; but who will take the advantage now that nightfight is over and Reserves will start to arrive ?
Turn 2Traitorous GuardReserve Rolls have "Harker" and his Tratorous Veterans arriving on the "Left" so that is way out of the action but there is a Mission Objective on that side, so Greg has them work towards that ruin. The Chimera is still Immobilized but it has range and LOS on the Destructor Jetbike Squad so Greg "Unloads" into them with 3 Multilaser shots, 3 H-Bolter shots, 2 H-Stubber shots, and 5 guns from the Veteran Squad inside. pew pew pew, and through all that firepower only 2 Jetbikers died (conveniently the guy that was in the Ork Dangerous Terrain so he wouldn't need to take a test to move later on and one other catipuult guy); and I know that it sounds weird as I fully expected more JB's to die; but Greg rolled pretty poorly to hit with only maybe 40% of his shooting actually hitting, and then less than 50% of that causing a wound, so the JB's only actually took 3-4 saves through all that shooting. the squad failed its Moral test and fell back some 13" (2 more and they were gone). Harker and Squad "Ran" a massive 2" to get closer to the Building Ruin with the Mission Objective in it.
Saim-HannDestructor Squad rally's (whew). The Embolden JB Squad arrives on a 5 (so much for that reserve offsetting little barstitch) and they come in with a full move towards the Harker Veterans. The Destructor Squad adjusts towards the farthest Mission Objective; but they actually got in range with their Shuri-cannons on the Harker Veterans as well. While the Shining Spears + Autarch wip up as close to the Chimera as they could get (passing 3 Dangerous Terrain tests as they land). In shooting the 3 Shuri-cannons work togther firing into the Harker Veterans, but only manage to kill 1 Veteran; while the Spears + Autarch fire into the Chimera, but only manage to remove the Multi-laser and shake the tank. The two Troop Jetbike units used their Assault move to grab some Cover Save terrain while the Spear + Autach squad assaulted into the Chimera (passing loads of DT tests again) and quickly blew it up (Explosion, 3" spread); which didn't go so well as 2 Shining Spears died in the explosion while only 1 Veteran Traitor guard went down. The Veterans did fail their "Pin" test though, so the Spears were not feeling so bad in the end.
With one group of Traitors "Pinned" and the other unit having to move to gain their Objective, the Saim-Hann felt good in their table position; but what if the HQ Squad and its Vendatta arrive, where will they go and how will they effect the battle ?
Turn 3Traitorous GuardGreg rolls for his Reserves (with a +1 btw) and gets his Comman Squad and the Flying Armour of Doom to come it on the Right (next to the friggin Shining Spears thank you very much - ooch); and he laughs as he starts to tell me his evil plans for my demise, as he starts to unload the Comman Squad from the Flying Armour of Doom.
His movement has the Harker Veterans entering the Building and gaining position on the Mission Objective (way on top - but we declared that each floor was only a 3" move for game/scoring purposes). He then has his Commander order those "Pinned" traitors to "Get up" (OK, game wise it was pretty cool, but I was not impressed to see Plasma Guns, etc rise up right in front of my best CC unit). Over to shooting, where the Harker Vets do Nothing against the Embolden Jetbikers and then the Traitor Veterans with Plasma, the Command Squad, and the Flying Armour of Doom manage to evaporate all of my Shining Spears and wound the Autarch (OOCH). He has no assaults (due to Rapid Fire, and or dis-embarking rules) and I am thinkful to actually see it switch over to the Eldar turn.
Saim-HannThe Destructor and Embolden Squads advanced/adjusted to gain shots on the Harker Veterans. And was very thankful to actually still have the Autarch on the battlefield, as I was sure that he would not be able to withstand another round of shooting, so he prepared to "get sum". Shooting had 3 Shuri-cannons and some Catipult fire go into the Harker veterans killing 4 of them (passed their LD though with a 6). Sir Lance-A-Lot was not wasting bullets on weekling traitors, so after the GJB's adjusted with their Assault move, he drove straight into the Traitorous Veterans and quickly skewered 4 of them with his Lance. The Traitors did nothing in return (OK, they cried a little) and then they promptly failed their LD test and were run down for their efforts before the Autarch consolidated back a full 6" (Not that he would live much longer; but to make sure that no-one considered making a drive at the GJB's).
Both armies are holding an objective at this point, and it seamed that things could go either way as all the fancy reserve tricks were done and both armies had three working components on the battlefield.
Turn 4Traitorous GuardMovement is not so much (6" restriction to keep the Flying Armour of Doom actually firing with more than 1 gun) and the HQ squad shuffle forward a bit. Shooting has the Autarch getting plastered by every Traitorous Bullet available on the Battlefield (No reallyhe had to shot that Autarch with every single gun he had left to finally put it down -- and believe me I was starting to hope that I would get another turn with him, as he could wreck that command squad in one good go). Thus Greg had no Assaults so he twiddled his thumbs and turned the turn over to the Saim-Hann.
Saim-HannWith their Evil leader dead, the Guardian Jetbikers wanted some revenge. Thus they lined up to get a good old fashioned Destructor shot (H-Flamer) on that Harker Squad (because you can't win if you can't score) and as many other Shuri-cannon and catipult shots as possible as well. The Destructor caused 4 instand death wounds; but the 2 Shuri-cannons and some catipult fire also caused 5 other wounds, thus Greg used some crafty wound allocation to insta-kill 2 guys while the Harker Squad was "Going-to-Ground" so they could use some increda-saves to prevent all other wounds (well done my friend). The Emboldne squad fired in another Cannon and 4 Catipults; but the Increda-save worked its magic again, and Greg had them pass their LD test as well. Thus the Guardian Jetbikers used their Assault move to regain an objective or to get some cover save terrain going on (sort-of). {please note how the Destructor squad is now nice and close to Greg's Harker unit}
In retrospect I pooched that and should have just fired the Destructor, while the rest adjusted position and fired at the Command Squad; but hind sight is 20/20 and I was blind at the time. Both armies were thus still posed to win the game; but the Eldar wer caught up in the Blood Lust that sometimes takes over within the Barbarous Saim-Hann.
Turn 5Traitorous GuardGreg takes little time to adjust his units with the HQ Squad advancing Centrally and the Flying Armour of Doom also then advancing forward on the center Objective. He then fired all his weapons available into the Destructor Squad and removed 3/5 instantly with his Lascannon fire. The squad luckily rolled low enough to stay in the fight (all 2 of them) and Greg was in position to contest 1 onbjective from the Eldar while retaining another with the Harker veterans.
Saim-HannThe evil Eldar need to regroup and force the enemy to falter. Thus the Embolden squad builds a line stringing out from the Lower level of the Ruined Building with Harker in it so that they contest that objective, while they are still in proximity to score the Center Objective, and they have some firepower available to shoot up the Harker Veterans. The lowly 2 man Destructor Squad uses "Turbo" to hightail is back to a third objective in the ruins close to the Eldar battlefield edge. Shooting has 1 more Harker Veterans failing (even with G-T-G) but Harker and one of his buddies survives and passes their LD test (bloody increda-save)
{sorry forget to get a picture}
So the game could end here with the Saim-Hann controlling 2 objective and contesting 1; while the Traitorous Guard are merely contesting 1 Objective. But as it was in Gregs favour to have another turn I asked him to roll for it, and wouldn't you know it, he fires out a 5 and we "Game On"
Turn 6Traitorous GuardSo the Vendetta advances minimally to keep all its shooting options, and the Command Squad advancing on the Central Objective. In shooting the Vendetta puts all 3 shots into the 2 Destructor Jetbikes and for some reason I use the 4+ cover save from the terrain instead of the 3+ Cover from Turbo (OK, we were bantering and we forgot that they used Turbo - I need to build a cool marker plate or something). Anyway, the Squad does not die (only the Warlock) but the last dude makes his Moral Check. Meanwhile the command Traitors shoot the Embolden Squad and manage to kill one(removed from center of unit), and then they roll a mesely 2-3 for their assault into Difficult Terrain and fail as its actually about 3.25" to go.
Saim-HannThe Evil Saim-Hann abandon the Central Objective and converge on the Harker Veterans, while the lone GJB takes possition to score on the rear objective while being completely obscured from the enemy (with no chance for the enemy to see him within 2 turns of movement). In shooting the increda-save is once again used by the Harker veterans; but only Harker survies, and he passes his LD test. The Embolden Jetbikers then plow into Harker in an effort to finally kill him in CC (since he went to ground to surive anyway), and with some 12 Guardian attacks and 2 more from the Warlock it was a short fight (A draw, or course as neither side did anything worth noting).
{sorry I once again missed the picture}
Once again it was to Greg's advantage to have another turn so he rolled the Die, (2) and the game ended here with the Eldar in control of 2 Objectives and the Imperial Guard with nothing; thus it was an
Eldar Victory. We actually played turn 7 to see what would happen; Harker died, GJB's held 2 objectives at the end of that, etc, etc.
The Aftermath~~ Greg's Vendetta was nominated as the Veteran Squad (by me) and it will now get to re-roll all Dangerous Terrain tests in future battles.
~~ We both nominated one unit for the Eldar, so in future battles the Embolden GJB's will no longer be effected by Nightfight rules as they now have Night Vision, and the Destructor GJB's will benefit from FNP (now isn't that nice, GJB's with a really good chance to survive).
~~~ I would like to thank Greg for the game as he was a great opponent, we had a blast fudging in story line as we went (Davros rules BTW), bantering at each other, and squirming as both of us actually thought we were behind the eight ball several times in the game. I would also like to thank GW Halifax (Dave and the lads) for the use of their most excellent facility (Best GW store in the world). And I would like to thank Richard and John for taking part in the Campaign as well (I guess that I play Richard next and John plays Greg) but I am sure that we would accept more players on either/both teams if anyone is interested. Finally I want to thank all the guys that were watching, cheering, and those that read this Batrep.
Cheers