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Tau vs. Dark Eldar in "Bang vs Lady D'ysperax!" (1500, 4/18)
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Hi All,
Well, this was an interesting one.
Straight up, this is my first list and battle with the new Tau Codex.
I had a lot of trouble making my list and decided (somewhat against my better judgement) just to go with Borkan gunline.
A lot of points dropped with the new codex, but sadly, not with the Crisis suits, which made me more reluctant to take them.
However, as there is a lot of infantry horde in my meta, I decided that maybe gunline (although rather boring), could probably be viable.
Of course, I also went with bringing the new hotness that is the Coldstar and the old (but still good) awesomeness of the Riptide.
Then... I decided to throw some Farsight in my list for fun.
I hoped that it wouldn't take too much steam out of my overall strategy, but I needed something to deep-strike anyway.
And when I looked for an opponent, I noticed that one was just taking names, tabling people in short games, and I was somewhat surprised to see an old friend:
Lady D'ysperax
.
..
...
Cue Shock and Awe
The Lady Archon had come back and was taking names (and faces... and souls...) with great abandon.
I had to try and step up, after all, I had a good amount of shooty and I wanted to see what the new Dark Eldar can do. After all, it was week one of the new Dark Eldar Codex and even I hadn't had a chance to look it over. How bad could it be?
How did it go for the Tau? Did I roll my opponent in three turns as per usual?
Umm... no. But, it was a "greater good" game! (puns ahoy)
Best,
-BT
P.S. Fluff is here! Comments and Critiques greatly appreciated!
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The Lists
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Tau Empire 1500: 59 Infantry, 20 Drones, 2 MCs, 1 Vehicle, 7 CPs
Bork'an Tau Battalion
-Commander w/Coldstar, Fusion Blastersx4
-Fireblade w/Markerlight, Puretide Chip (Warlord)
-Riptide w/HBurst Cannon, SMSx2, ATS, TL
-Ghostkeel w/CIon Raker, BCx2, ATS, TL, Stealth Drone
-Firesight Marksman w/Markerlight
-Fire Warriorsx5
-Fire Warriorsx5
-Fire Warriorsx5
-Krootx10
-Krootx10
-Krootx10
-Pathfindersx5 w/Markerlights, PAccel Drone
-Pathfindersx5 w/Markerlights, PAccel Drone
-Sniper Dronesx3
-Hammerhead w/Ion Cannon, Gun Dronesx2
Farsight Enclaves Outriders
-Commander w/Fusion Blastersx2 (Fusion Blades), DC, Iridium
-Shield Dronesx4
-Gun Dronesx4
-Marker Dronesx4
Signiture Systems (Relics): Fusion Blades, Puretide Chip
Warlord: Through Unity Devestation (-1AP on 6's aura)
Dark Eldar 1500: 34 Infantry, 9 Vehicles, 7 CPs
Black Heart Batallion
-Archon w/Huskblade, Blaster, PGL (Warlord) in Raider w/Disintegrator
-Archon w/Agonizer, Blaster, Writ of the Living Muse
-Warriorsx5 w/Blaster in Venom
-Warriorsx5 w/Blaster in Venom
-Warriorsx5 w/Blaster in Venom
-Ravager w/Disintegratorsx3
-Ravager w/Disintegratorsx3
Black Heart Air Wing Detachment
-Razorwing w/Disintegratorsx2
-Razorwing w/Disintegratorsx2
-Razorwing w/Disintegratorsx2
Cult of Stife Patrol
-Succubus w/Glaive, Triptych
-Wychesx7 w/Shardnet
-Hellionsx9
Artifacts of Cruelty (Relics): Writ, Triptych
Warlord: Labrynthine Cunning, Blood Dancer
Drugs: Succubus +2M, Hellions +1A, Wyches +1S
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Chapter One: A Date with Darkness
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There was a ripple of space/time as the Tau warship Eio'va burst from the Startide Nexus wormhole. The crew aboard the craft swiftly activated their scanners to look down at their destination: Mul'gath 8.
A simple agrarian world, it had a spaceport planetside with enough supplies to refuel the ship on their quest.
The bridge was bustling with activity as the Air Caste set up plans to make landfall. There was a general sense of relief upon the ship, given the relative newness of Nexus travel. Although thoroughly vetted by the Earth Caste, there were few who were entirely comfortable with the newly discovered wormhole and the travel options that it had made available for the Fifth Sphere expansion. As such, almost everyone was ready to see friendly faces once more.
That is to say... almost everyone.
Commander Shi'va sat sternly, watching the instrument panel light up in front of her. As leader of the Fire Caste Cadre that had been deployed on what she considered to be a long-shot mission, it was all but insufferable to have to deal with delays of any kind. Still, it would at least get her out of the vicinity of her co-commanders.
"Shi'va! Did you hear that? I think we're out of the Nexus!"
Shi'va turned to see the smiling face of Shas'ui Kor'va. Kor'va had aged a bit since they had first met, but he was still as annoyingly chipper as the first day they had met on the Shas'la firing lines. And he was with the other pain in her side...
"Of course she heard that, Kor'va!" the Tau next to him bellowed. "Girl's not deaf. Just acts like it at times!"
Shi'va scowled at the scarred and wizened face of Shas'nel Cal'nan of Sept Bork'an. Cal'nan was a Fireblade of some renown, having passed at the chance of, in Shi'va's opinion, taking the more sensible approach of wearing a battlesuit into combat.
Instead, the old Tau had decided to stay on the front lines and poke his nose into things that didn't really matter to him. Shi'va was hoping to leave the newly met, half-retired Shas'nel at his far-away outpost, but it was not to be. Although lacking most social decorum, Cal'nan had one advantage: He was a good talker.
So good in fact, that he had managed to convince the Ethereal of his planet that he should be instituted as co-leader of their mission, even though he had just met the wandering Cadre. It cut her to the bone, but Shi'va accepted the wisdom of the Etheral, even though she had to wonder, albight momentarily, if there was the slightest possibility that the Ethereals might be wrong on this one.
But, she had sighed to herself, that was an impossibility. So it was that she was saddled with this burden of an old busybody who had taken himself out of retirement to fiddle with their guns and talk about his past exploits to anyone within earshot. Shi'va had wondered if half of them were even true, but that had mattered little to Kor'va.
Kor'va, also known as "Bang" to the non-Tau, had eaten up the stories with great earnest. Easily swayed by honeyed words and tall-tales, the Shas'ui had become Cal'nan's biggest fan and had followed him around like a Kroothound looking for scraps. It had been a relief at first to Shi'va, who had always been the target of Bang's assorted musings and half-flirtashish remarks, but it had quickly become an irritant now that Cal'nan was clearly loving the attention from his new admirerer.
Not that it had really mattered all that much, Shi'va reminded herself. Best to just let it all go. After all, it wasn't like she had felt jilted or anything when Bang chose to fall in pointless love with a Eldar of all things. And when said Eldar had shown her true colours and abandoned Kor'va in the middle of an Ork invasion, the Shas'ui had somehow convinced himself and the local Council that the Orks had spirited away the Eldar "diplomat" and that they were honour-bound to rescue her.
Again, the memory made Shi'va grit her teeth, but it was a scar that only burned when she mentally picked at it. After all, she told herself, it was just more time until she could retire and be done with all the nonsense of following quests. Or maybe get to actually act as a Fire Caste member for once.
Looking up at Cal'nan and Kor'va, Shi'va replied, "I only wish that I could turn myself deaf, then I wouldn't have to listen to you two prattle on."
The knife-edged words made Kor'va wince, but Cal'nan grabbed his belly and let go with a hearty laugh that was slowly and more quietly joined by the Shas'ui next to him.
Cal'nan nodded to himself, wiping away a tear, "Oh, she's a funny one. I can see why you keep her around, Kor'va."
Shi'va growled, "HIM? Keep ME around?"
But, before the argument could become more heated a message popped up on the comm-screen in front of all of them.
Shi'va frowned as she read it. "Curious. Just an automated response. Something about the weather being intolerable. We're just supposed to land at a set coordinate..."
"See, Shi'va," said Bang, glad that something else had grabbed the firey Shas'O's attention, "Nothing to worry about. With luck, we'll just have a bunch of drones come over, fill us up, scrub out the meteor holes and we'll be on our way. Nothing to worry about at all."
Shi'va frowned. It seemed quiet. Far too quiet. Something in the back of her mind whispered a warning, but it was interuppted by a pang of smoke, which made her eyes water. Cal'nan had produced one of those damnable Imperial smoke-sticks and was sucking on it with great abandon, puffing circles into the air dramatically.
"Do you mind?" asked Shi'va, raising a threatening eyebrow.
"Not at all, girl," replied Cal'nan pulling a stick out of the threadbare pack and handing it out to her.
Shi'va grimaced at the offer and stood up. "I like my lungs, thank you. Make ready for planetfall you two. Make sure the entire Cadre is at the ready."
"Uh, ready?" asked Bang, "For... what?"
"For the unexpected," growled Shi'va. "You're a member of the Fire Caste, Kor'va. Act like it for once."
Kor'va paled for a moment, but Cal'nan interrupted the two, clapping a hand on the Shas'ui's shoulder. "Let her have this one, m'boy. She'll owe us one that way."
"Owe... You..." started Shi'va before Cal'nan swiveled on a heel.
"Can't get started now," continued the Shas'nel as he guided the semi-confused Bang out of the room. "Got to get ready. After all, we should make a good show for the locals! You never know who we'll meet out there!"
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"I'm afraid, Commander, that our signal is still being jammed," intoned the mechanical voice of Drone Network V0-X1. The small drone fluttered around a massive crimson-clad Battlesuit that looked none-too-happy about the response.
Shas'O Vior'la Li'myr of the Farsight Enclaves swore at the situation. It had gone from bad to arguably worse. The Harlequins had left them on the planet occupied by Tau on things had been marginally acceptable as the locals had reluctantly supplied the separtists with supplies on the agreement that Li'myr and his Old Guard wouldn't raid them and the loyalists wouldn't report them.
Things had actually been going on swimmingly until the sky turned into a swarm of jagged ships that descended from the sky and with frightful quickness had gobbled up all of the populace. Li'myr had considered intervening, but the sheer size and speed of the invaders had whittled their chances of intervention down from foolheardy to downright impossible.
So it was that Li'myr had to watch the mass abduction with nothing but shame in his heart. Time had passed and no one else had come. With supplies now dwindling, Li'myr had his friends put into stasis, and only Voxi (V0-Xi's nickname) keeping watch for reinforcements.
And so they had come, but a familiar static plagued their transmissions and Li'myr's suspicions were confirmed: The Invaders were still here.
He had to dome something.
Anything.
"Voxi, get your other bodies mobile, we're going to help them. If they're caught flat-footed, they'll be torn to shreds in moments."
"Commander," said the AI pragmatically, "Do you want to know the odds of our survival or the success of this mission?"
"Low, Voxi?"
"Surprisingly low. Even by our standards."
The Shas'O nodded, "Fair enough. Put the Old Guard on timers. If we don't make it out of here, they at least deserve a chance to avenge us. I only hope we can make those monsters pay in blood."
Li'myr took another furtive glance down at the abandoned looking settlement. Who knew what those creatures were doing? What macabre plans did they have afoot?
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"Mother! I am not wearing that!"
Drachon Klon'vi sprinted down the hall, sending Warriors diving for cover. Following on his heels with the speed of an Ur-ghul on Adrenalight was his mother, the extravagantly beautiful and equally deadly Lady D'ysperax. The Archon had on a brilliant smile and a set of tight-fiting Kabalite armor that left little to the imagination. Most Drukhari would fall to their knees at the sight of such titillation, but for Klon'vi, it was more disgust and shame that filled his mind.
After being ousted from his position as leader of the Bloody Vulture gang of Hellions, he had been forced, seemingly by the capricious will of Khaine himself, to have to do the most unimaginable thing posible:
Move back in with his mother.
"Klon'vi! Don't be so stubborn. This one's pretty..." continued Lady D'ysperax holding up a runed and embroidered Slave-skin cape.
"Helliarchs don't wear capes, Mother! They get caught on everything!" countered the Drachon, suddenly finding himself stuck in a corner. The Wicked Talon Kabal had found a mostly undefended Tau world and had ransacked it of its blue-skinned inhabitants. The Kabal had decided to stay in case other Tau would return and thus open up the possibility of a second harvest. But, Klon'vi knew that it was for a more sinister design. His mother had set-up a "union" proposal. Pimping out her only son to ally with some other Kabal. It was scandalous, unacceptable and completely on-par for HER.
"But, dear, you're not one of those little gang-people anyone," reminded Lady D'ysperax, quickly grabbling her son and pinning the cape on despite his protests. "Now, don't we look handsome?"
Klon'vi grumbled some form of acceptance, vowing to throw the cape into the nearest fire as soon as this whole mess was over. "Yes, Mother. Whatever. Now what kind of homely creature am I going to have to bear dealing with..."
And that was when his words skidded to sudden halt as a faint jingling of blades was heard down the hall. A ravashing-looking Drukhari walked at the forefront of a small horde of scantily clad Wyches. Klon'vi felt every fiber of his being drawn to attention as the firey-haired Succubus was nearly perfect in every detail. Her face was flawless, her body fit and toned with enough curves to attract the eyes of everyone who still had them, and a predatory glint in her eyes that made everyone remember where their weapons were being kept.
"Tallaria!" shouted Lady D'yperax in greeting, bowing deeply to the newcomer. "You're right on time. This is my son, Klon'vi. Klon'vi, this is Tallaria, Succubus of the Broken Blade."
Klon'vi managed to get enough blood back to his brain to operate his mouth and said in as best a pompous tone as possible, "Oh, ahem. Greetings. Yes, Mother, she'll... she'll do."
There was a pregnant pause and then a tittering as both Lady D'ysperax and Succubus Tallaria broke out in near-falling over laughing spasms. Klon'vi fumed as the two women seemed to laugh themselves nearly hoarse.
Wiping her tears away, Lady D'ysperax said, "Oh, oh, dear-heart. Oh, that's... that's a good one. No, we're not here to... (snicker) pair you with Tallaria. Oh, no, not that at all."
Rolling his eyes back into his head to hide his near-terminal embarrassment, Klon'vi said, "FINE, then Mother. Then who am I..."
The conversation was ground to a halt as a smell rolled into the corridor. Klon'vi wrinkled his nose as a pack of slave-leather wearing, tatooed and scar-bearing Hellions scrabbled into view. Khaine's blood, Klon'vi thought, Is that what I used to look like?
The Hellions sauntered up to the assembled groups, bowed mockingly, and their leader, a braided, face-painted female with the usual badly-made serrated teeth and clearly drug-enhanced musculature said, "The Venemous Vermin are here as invited. I..."
The Helliarch paused, fumed and then said, "Mother? Is this one of those things?! You promised this was a real raid this time!"
Tallaria smiled and said, "Be polite, Venaria."
"Malice."
Tallaria shot a knowing look at Lady D'ysperax who gave her a sympathetic nod that only mothers of troubling cheldren could give.
"Yes, little one," continued the Succubus, "It's one of those things. Now, Mummy's good friend here has a Drachon that..."
"Not even an Archon?" said Venaria with a wrinkled nose, "And a half-pint looking piece of dross at that? I'd rather stick a Hellglaive up my holes than let that thing anywhere near me."
"As if you're doing anyone any favours!" threw back the Drachon, "You could at least go to the good Haemonculi for enhancements. I'm amazed you still have half a tongue with that ill-fitting maw of yours."
"Children, Children," said Lady D'ysperax, "Let's not be so hasty. First impressions aren't all that important. Why my fifth consort and I didn't hit things off until we got to the bedroom. Let's just..."
Suddenly a voice came over the speakers, "Attention, Mul'gath 8, this is starship Eio'va. We are requesting resupply. Please reply."
A grin spread over the Dark Eldar, quelling all of the petty arguments. Prey had wandered into their kill zone and now the new harvest would begin...
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Mission: 2 Objectives
Setup: Frontal Assault
Pre-Game Thoughts: Huh, that's... a lot of Dark Eldar. After making sure that we are indeed playing the same points level, I have to say that the flotilla of nasty poison-filled Space Elves are kind of intimidating. However, it seems that the defences (i.e. Wounds, Toughness) hasn't changed, so all I have to do is shoot them out of their paper planes and I'll be golden. In theory anyway. Thankfully, I'm Borkan, so 36" plasma shots as a base with 18" triple shot-rapid fire should take care of a bunch of T3 models. I just have to deploy smart and make a meat wall just in case...
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Setup: The board is kind of interesting with ruins in the corners and a big Line of Sight blocking building in the middle, which is kind of irking as my additional range won't be as much of an asset with the center blocked out.
We take turn deploying and I put the Farsight all in deep-strike while my opponent spends 3 CPs to put the Ravagers and the Raider with the Archons, Succubus and Wyches into Deep Strike. That's... new. Kind of awesome and horrible. Just like the Dark Eldar...
Next comes my choice to put the Tau down. I know that the Dark Eldar are hella fast. So... if I put all my mates in the corner, it's going to be bad times if I'm flanked.
Alternatively, if I deploy centrally, I'll probably take more fire, but the Dark Eldar are so fast, I'd probably be taking a decent amount of fire anyway. PLUS, it gives me a flank to run to if/when we need someplace to run to.
I put all of the Tau in the center with the Kroot in front, Fire Warriors behind them, Pathfinders behind that and far in the back, the Riptide, Commander, Hammerhead, Marksman and Sniper Drones.
The Dark Eldar deploy aggressively, with the Hellions in front, the Venoms behind them and the Razorwings acting as a somewhat effective barrier.
I then decide to put the Ghostkeel on top of the center building.
The Dark Eldar get the roll to go first and take it.
I'm really not looking forward to the possibility of an alpha strike. So that means... I need... to seize the initiative.
Now, you all know that this legendary thing has never happened for 'Toof. I have heard the tales and seen others do it. So... I summon the powers of the Greater Good... and roll a 1.
Picture Caption: I uh... have more mens than you. Go away.
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To be Continued!
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Interlude
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Kor'va whistled a merry tune as he tromped through the landing area in his Riptide Battlesuit. Shi'va was really in a mood today, although he had to admit that it might have something to do with Cal'nan. Cal was an amazingly awesome Shas'nel and had unbelievable stories that Kor'va didn't mind hearing again and again. And again. He didn't even mind when the details changed because that wasn't the point. The point was about languishing in the past victories of the T'au Empire. He had been in a number of scraps himself, but nothing on the scale that Cal had talked about. Cal said that he had seen everything from the Imperium to strange otherworldly aliens that looked like skeletons, which seemed plausible given how odd everything in the universe was. Granted it had been quiet for quite a while, but they were tracking, on good authority, the Orks had had kidnapped his beloved, and he would not rest until they had found Lorilune. Well, he had to admit, not technically not resting ever, as that would be impossible and all, but figuratively, it was a good goal.
He turned another corner and looked at another empty square that seemed half falling apart. That was odd. Why were the Earth Caste around here so lax? It was like nobody had been around for a long...
A warning light went off on his comm-grid and he flipped it on.
"All Cadre members, this is Shas'ui Kai'nan. We have intruders!"
Kor'va frowned, Kai'nan was doing scouting using a Ghostkeel. What kind of... Suddenly, the sky darkened and his targeting grid went haywire with the number of spiked dark vessels that seemed to appear from nowhere. Perhaps things were going to be tougher than he thought.
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Lady D'ysperax stretched on the deck of her Raider in the Webway. The Tau had arrived at just the right time. It would give her son and Tallaria's little girl a chance to bond over the blood of their enemies. Just the proper sort of engagment in more ways than one. She heard some grumbling and saw Klon'vi pacing the ship, which was loaded up near to bear with Tallaria and and her Wyches. The boy always had something to complain about. She could think of a few dozen names who would sell the souls of the families to come within breathing distance of Tallaria or her exquisite enterogue, but that was children for you. They never appreciated anything you tried to do for them.
"Lady D'ysperax?"
The question made her turn, where she saw an eager looking Warrior waiting for a reply. Oh, yes, she thought, the signal to attack. Might as well make this look good for her new in-laws.
"Very well, then. Let the Mon-Keigh tremble in their little boots. The Wicked Talon has them within our grasp."
