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Eldar Alliance vs. Tau-Crons in "Raiders of the Lost (Ghost) Ark" (1500, 8/30)

Started by BigToof, August 30, 2012, 03:05:46 PM

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'Toof has too many Battles to rep!  I want next:

IG/Tau
2 (18.2%)
IG/Sisters of Battle
4 (36.4%)
Space Wolves/IG
2 (18.2%)
Dark Eldar/Eldar
2 (18.2%)
Ork/Eldar
1 (9.1%)

Total Members Voted: 11

BigToof

The Eldar Alliance vs. Tau-Crons in "Raiders of the Lost (Ghost) Ark" (1500, 8/30)

Hi All,
This Eldar-tastic adventure will features Y'stral and Thielbane, the leaders of the Dark Eldar Grisly Hand Kabal and Totally Not the Scarlet Serpents-Craftworld Eldar Allaince against the Mechanical Abomination that is the Tau-Necron fusion.
It was a fun and challenging game, and I hope you all enjoy it.
Yes, there's fluff :)

Best,
-BT

P.S.  As usual, C&C is greatly appreciated.

----------
The Lists
----------

The Eldar Alliance (1500pts): 30 Infantry, 7 Vehicles; 16 VPs
The Grisly Hand Kabal
-Archon Y'stral w/Shadow Field, Power Axe, CD
-Haemonculus Bella Le'Gosi w/LG
-Grotesquesx3 w/LG, Aberrant Bobo w/Flesh Gauntlet in Raider
-Warriorsx5 w/Blaster in Raider
-Wychesx5, HGs, Hekatrix Allonia w/Venom Blade in Raider
-Wychesx5, HGs, Hekatrix Ray'keth w/Venom Blade in Raider
-Reaversx6 w/Blastersx2, Arena Champion Starsparkle w/Venom Blade
-Ravager w/Night Shields
-Ravager w/Night Shields
-Voidraven Bomber
Not the Scarlet Serpents (really, honest)
-Farseer Thielbane w/Doom, RofWarding, Jetbike, Singing Spear
-Guardian Jetbikesx3

Tau-Crons 1500pts: 34 Infantry, 3 Vehicles; 13 VPs
Tau: For the Greater- SEIZING DIRECT CONTROL
-Shas'O w/Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Shields, Irridium Armor, BSF
-Crisis Suitsx2 w/Plasma Rifles, Missile Pod
-Fire Warriorsx6
-Fire Warriorsx6
-Broadsidesx2 w/Team Leader w/BSF
-Broadsidesx2 w/Team Leader w/BSF
-Broadsidesx2 w/Team Leader w/BSF
Necrons: Just as Planned
-Overlord w/Warscythe, Mind Scarabs, SWeave
-Warriorsx5, Cryptek w/Harbringer of Storm in Night Scythe
-Warriorsx5, Cryptek w/Harbringer of Storm in Night Scythe
-Doom Scythe

----------------------------------
Chapter 2: What's Old is New Again
----------------------------------
"Are you sure it's this rock, Thiel?  They all look the Khaine-damned same."

Archon Y'stral of the Grisly Hand fumed, staring up at the bright sun.  If he had bothered to glance around, he would have noticed that his group of followers were slowly catching up to the two Eldar Leaders.  However, the Archon was more interested in Farseer Thielbane, most recently of the Craftworld Biel-tan, who was carefully looking over a rocky outcropping intently.

The Farseer spoke in a calm voice, "Patience, Y'stral.  It is a virtue."

"More like a reason to get murdered, Thiel.  I hate these suns.  I should make one of the bastards go nova when we leave."

Thielbane shook his head.  Y'stral hadn't changed.  It had been centuries since he had seen the Archon, and he was still his overly bombastic self.  Thielbane, on the other hand, had given up his old Path of the Outcast, and entered properly into the Path of the Seer.  It was he should have done all along.  And if he kept telling himself that, he admitted, it would one day sound natural.

The Farseer felt along a group of stones and then gave a small smile as he felt a familiar depression.  He concentrated and felt a familiar ripple of energy run over his fingertips and into the rock.  He then stepped back as the entire rockface began to glow.  Thielbane took a moment to glance back and noticed with some satisfaction that the entire Dark Eldar ensemble had jumped back a few steps, intently watching what was going to happen.  That is, of course, except for the trio of enormous fleshy monstrosities and their leader, Bella Le'Gosi. 

The small Haemonculus was being shielded from the sun by a helpful umbrella-like attachment from one of the Grotesques, and was still writing in her strange book.  Thiel had glanced over her shoulder once, and found it crammed to the corners with an odd, almost indecipherable script.  Of all the Dark Eldar, Bella was the one that most intrigued him, as her mind was always full of strange fragmented ideas, that seemed to have little purchase, but could attack a problem with frightful intensity.  He considered looking into her mind again to see if she really was dismissive of the entire current affair, but the glow was starting to subside.

Archon Y'stral let off an appreciative whistle as he looked at the eerily familiar strucutre, crafted from a white bone-like material with small glowing stones set into the sides.

"Khaine's balls, Thiel, you really went all out with the holos and wards on this one.  Didn't even get a peep from the scanners.  Any particular reason why you went and hid this cache off in the middle of nowhere?"

Thielbane tried to contain a smirk, but failed, "You'll find, Y'stral, that the best things in the universe are the ones worth hiding."

The Farseer walked forwards and put his hands on two stones set about waist-height into the walls.  He spoke, "This is Far..."

Thielbane stopped himself in mid-sentence and paused, pushing away certain mental boundries for a moment.  Just a moment, he told himself.  He closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the sudden bolness to his voice, "This is Captain Thielbane of the Scarlet Serpents.  Are you awake, Olanna?"

Y'stral raised an eyebrow, "A girl?  Thiel?  You kept a girl in stasis just in case you got an itch to come back?  I didn't know you were that sentimental."

The Farseer ignored Y'stral and nodded to himself as an intricate door shook and then peeled away.  A brillant scarlet light glowed from inside, and Thielbane felt a familiar smile return as he walked towards an Eldar Jetbike nestled within a number of boxes and crates.

Thielbane walked over and patted the bike approvingly, taking time to check the instrumentation and inner workings.  Everything was working as if it was yesterday.  The bike seemed to humm under his touch.  Of all the things he had to give up as a Corsair Captain, the loss of his Jetbike was the worst.  Olanna had been rebuilt a dozen times, but somehow, he felt that the essence of the Bike was still the same.  That somehow, it... no... she, recognized him, even after all these years.

He stood up, shaking his head.  Foolish, he told himself, so foolish.  It was not him anymore.  That Thielbane had gone away as part of a child's dream, a tantrum that was best forgotten as he ascended to his proper position.  Perhaps he should just forget all of this nonsense and go...

"You've got a lot of junk in here Thiel.  Are you gonna...  Oh, it's your old bike.  Heh, I thought you threw it away.  Kind of useless looking."

Thielbane felt a sudden rise of anger that he barely managed to contain, "Yes.  It... was all mine Y'stral.  Memories of a life long since past."

"Yeah, yeah," the Archon nodded, smirking at the Farseer, "So, can I ride it?  Always wanted to try one of those Reaver things, but kept wrecking 'em."

"I... I..."

"C'mon Thiel, it's not like any of this garbage is yours anymore..."

The Archon brushed past Thielbane and was about to throw a leg over the bike, when the Farseer suddenly moved and knocked his leg away.

Thielbane threw up a finger in Y'stral's face and simply said, "DON'T."

There was a sudden silence as the group of Dark Eldar picking over the piles suddenly stopped.  Nobody talked back to the Archon.  At least, not anybody who valued living for more than a few seconds.  A few of the more observant ones even inched back a few inches fearing getting themselves caked with the inevitable blood spatter.

But the Archon simply smirked and threw his hands up.

"Fine, Thiel.  It's yours.  Think you still know how to ride it?  You did promise those Reaver girls after all."

Thielbane snorted at the idea.  He could sooner forget how to walk.  He was about to put a hand on the bike when something pulled at his insides.  What was he thinking?  How could he even be considering this?  He had promised the Council, THE COUNCIL of all people, that he had given up on his old Path.  He had abandoned it completely.  There was no way he should be even...

"Archon!  Archon!"

Thielbane turned at the voice, and saw Y'stral looking over at a Ghost Holo with the face of one of the Reavers on it.

"What?" barked the Archon, "I'm in the middle of important looting here."

"Uh, forgive me, Great One, but we have incoming."

The Archon snorted and glared over at Bella, who was already dancing her fingers over her sensors.

"Multiple units detected.  Energy signatures indicate... Tau lifeforms."

Y'stral smirk deepened, "Oh, Thiel, would you look at that ?  Tau.  You know, the really shooty little blue guys.  Must've followed us in.  Can't run from them, sure enough.  It's a shame we don't have any of your clowns.  So, what do you say?  Are you gonna sulk in this cave, or go outside and fight?"

Thielbane frowned, trying to consider all of the possibilities.  Perhaps there was a third option, perhaps there was something that could be done, could be manipulated...

And that was when he noticed that his hand was already on the handle of his bike.

-----------------

Pre-Game Thoughts: Yikes, that is a lot of 2+ armor.  And Railguns.  And Fliers.  And Railguns.  And S7 spam.  And Railguns.  Did I mention Railguns?

Huh, now this is going to be challenging.  Tau is far shootier than me, but less mobile (by far).  Crons are faster than me (it's SO ironic I can say that), have more firepower (but not railguns). 

While the Eldar forces are uh... sort of more maneuverable (at least until my boats are shot out from under me), and are better in assault (if I ever get there).  But not to worry as we have our Harlie-star of re-rollable 2+ cover saves and... no, wait... we don't.  And I've made Thielbane a Jetbike-Doomseer.  Completely vulnerable.  Joy.

Depending on deployment I may be forced to just sit there and guard objectives and pray that I'm not shot to bits.  Let's see... T3 Alternatively, I can try to (hopefully) blitz forwards and catch the Tau off guard, hopefully doing enough damage so that the Necron forces have to deal with us instead of just zooming around and then depositing guys on objectives.  I can only hope that we roll something where I can get close enough to do damage.

----------------

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil (sonova!), Night Fight ON (wait... he has BSF, I have DE...)
Mission: Emperor's Will (2 objectives)
Warlord: Y'stral: Re-roll reserves, Shas'O: MTC and Stealth in ruins

-----------------

To be continued!
BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

The Man They Call Jayne

Huzzah, more Tau. They have been very good to me in 6th, and I have been curious how they will handle DE and Eldar. This promises to be interesting.
Jaynes Awesome Card Counter: +5

Secondspheres Crash Card Counter +4



crisis_vyper

I hate the Hammer and Anvil deployment as well, as it is the most strenuous deployment among the three that were given.

Cammerz

Thielbane again, fantastic.
The fluff for this report is already great so all you need to do now is increase the quantity of it and this'll be a really good report (all of your reports are good so I'm just comparing to your other reports).

The railguns will probably be a bit tricky, but if you can try and dark lance them to death early on then it might be okay. The fact that they have blacksun filters too will make them harder than normal but you can expect to always see blacksun broadsides this edition.

Yet again you find yourself up against multiple flyers with very little anti-air yourself, only the one flyer. Perhaps in future you might want more Voidravens or maybe the Razorwings instead of those Ravagers, sort of depends on what you'll be facing more often; tanks or flyers, and something tells me it'll be the latter.

So, looking forward to the rest of the report.

BigToof

Quote from: The Man They Call Jayne on August 30, 2012, 04:04:38 PM
Huzzah, more Tau. They have been very good to me in 6th, and I have been curious how they will handle DE and Eldar. This promises to be interesting.

Hi Jayne,
Thank you for your reply.  I really do think that Tau made out quite well for 6th.  I have seen at least 5x the number that was there before, if only for the Railguns.
I think as the world becomes more Flyer-heavy, I think Broadsides will be more and more prevalent, as they just rip apart flyers with their twin-linked S10 AP1 shots.  Just devastating.  And with a 2+ save, they could care less about Tesla nonsense or Harbringer of the Storm shenanigans.
In fact, that's why my IG has them :)
I've often thought of actually switching it so that it would be an IG detachment to a Tau-heavy list, but the troops of the Tau are just... lacking.
Not to say BAD, but well... less than optimal as they're pricey (compared to guardsman) and with a very scary low leadership.  But Eldar/Tau is something that's interesting as well...
How is it faring for you?  They both seem rather easy to take apart with T3...

Quote from: crisis_vyper on August 30, 2012, 09:39:06 PM
I hate the Hammer and Anvil deployment as well, as it is the most strenuous deployment among the three that were given.

Hi Crisis,
I don't know why they included Hammer and Anvil.  It's a big boost to shooty armies with long range, and gives Flyers plenty of room to maneuver.  The only thing that makes it somewhat redeemable is the fact that outflankers will be very close to whatever they want to shoot at.
I just wish I had some of those...
Pardon my vitrol, but DE are hit hard enough as it is...  :)

Quote from: Cammerz on August 30, 2012, 09:55:55 PM
Thielbane again, fantastic.
The fluff for this report is already great so all you need to do now is increase the quantity of it and this'll be a really good report (all of your reports are good so I'm just comparing to your other reports).

The railguns will probably be a bit tricky, but if you can try and dark lance them to death early on then it might be okay. The fact that they have blacksun filters too will make them harder than normal but you can expect to always see blacksun broadsides this edition.

Yet again you find yourself up against multiple flyers with very little anti-air yourself, only the one flyer. Perhaps in future you might want more Voidravens or maybe the Razorwings instead of those Ravagers, sort of depends on what you'll be facing more often; tanks or flyers, and something tells me it'll be the latter.

So, looking forward to the rest of the report.

Hi Cammerz,
Thanks for your reply.
The Thielbane fluff is really coming along nicely, and I'm glad people are liking it too.
I'm actually considering throwing in a second Voidraven Bomber as it's just too good at taking down fliers.  The downside is that I'll be losing at least a turn of shooting and it's almost half a Ravager more expensive...

As for what's coming up next, it's odd that IG/Tau is TIED with SW/IG.

If anyone needs further goading:

IG/Tau is Vasily and Princess Sara

SW/IG is Mad Harry and...  Lord Commissar Seamus O'Keefe!

Best,
-BT
BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

Cammerz

Sorry BT, but having just drawn my attention to the poll I've gone and made it a 3-way tie. I'd like to see how Vasily and co. would react to Sisters of Battle.

crisis_vyper

Quote from: BigToof on August 31, 2012, 01:11:34 PM
Quote from: crisis_vyper on August 30, 2012, 09:39:06 PM
I hate the Hammer and Anvil deployment as well, as it is the most strenuous deployment among the three that were given.

Hi Crisis,
I don't know why they included Hammer and Anvil.  It's a big boost to shooty armies with long range, and gives Flyers plenty of room to maneuver.  The only thing that makes it somewhat redeemable is the fact that outflankers will be very close to whatever they want to shoot at.
I just wish I had some of those...
Pardon my vitrol, but DE are hit hard enough as it is...  :)

Well, for me my DE is actually doing quite well. However our playing styles are quite different when it comes to Dark Eldar (Your chopping tendencies and my shooting tendencies) which affect how much the changes affect us.

I am actually going to take allies for the sole fact that it helps me utilize the Strategic trait to the max. The only trait that I can't seem to use for obvious reasons is the outflanking trait which pisses me to no end as I have rolled that trait for the past two games. :shifty:

BigToof

Quote from: Cammerz on August 31, 2012, 06:05:18 PM
Sorry BT, but having just drawn my attention to the poll I've gone and made it a 3-way tie. I'd like to see how Vasily and co. would react to Sisters of Battle.

Hi Cammerz,
Thanks for your vote.  I embarrassingly wrote up a Space Wolf/IG rep already, but I guess people really want the sisters!  I'll have to see what I can do.  Maybe put up the SW/IG and then Sisters?

Quote from: crisis_vyper on August 31, 2012, 06:53:04 PM
Quote from: BigToof on August 31, 2012, 01:11:34 PM
Quote from: crisis_vyper on August 30, 2012, 09:39:06 PM
I hate the Hammer and Anvil deployment as well, as it is the most strenuous deployment among the three that were given.

Hi Crisis,
I don't know why they included Hammer and Anvil.  It's a big boost to shooty armies with long range, and gives Flyers plenty of room to maneuver.  The only thing that makes it somewhat redeemable is the fact that outflankers will be very close to whatever they want to shoot at.
I just wish I had some of those...
Pardon my vitrol, but DE are hit hard enough as it is...  :)

Well, for me my DE is actually doing quite well. However our playing styles are quite different when it comes to Dark Eldar (Your chopping tendencies and my shooting tendencies) which affect how much the changes affect us.

I am actually going to take allies for the sole fact that it helps me utilize the Strategic trait to the max. The only trait that I can't seem to use for obvious reasons is the outflanking trait which pisses me to no end as I have rolled that trait for the past two games. :shifty:

Hi Crisis,
Glad to see that you're looking to try new things.  Heavens knows that I really do like the Farseer in my army.  I don't have an ounce of outflank though.  Maybe we'll have to get Mandrakes or something like that  :)

And here's the rest of the rep!

----------------------
Setup: The terrain gods must be pleased this game, as I had a bastion (LoS blocking for Raiders?  Yes, please!) and a hill to work with as well as my usual bits of rubble on bases.  The bastion went near the center of the board, and the trees and rubble went scattered around with a decent sized ruin in one corner.  the hill on one side of the board nearly bisected one deployment zone. 

DE win the roll to go first, and I take it.

Realizing that the hill-split side would be a deployment nightmare, I nicely give it to my opponent to deal with.  My much more open side becomes quickly populated, with the Ravagers on the outside, Wyches next on the inside, and the Grot-Raider and Warrior-Raider in the middle.  I put both Y'stral and Bella in with the Grots.  Seeing as there's more space on the left, I put the Reavers with Thielbane on the left.  I put my objective out to the left in the middle of nowhere.

The Tau decide to (not too shockingly) go for the corners and back of the board.  One Broadside suit goes to the right corner (with... not a lot of LoS, but enough I suppose), and two go into the ruin on the left.  A unit of Fire Warriors go in the corners as well in front of the suits.  The Crisis Suits and Shas'O hide behind the hill.  The Tau objective goes out to the right, also in the middle of nowhere.  I see that his plan of shooting people off objectives is the same as mine!

The Tau fail to seize, and it's on!



Picture Caption: In the Red Corner... Dark Eldar Raider Spam.  In the Blue Corner... Railguns!

--------------------

"All I'm saying is that don't you think the Shas'O has been acting oddly?"

Shas'Ui Lo'pan walked alongside his fellow Shas'Ui Han'ji.

Han'ji scratched his chin, "I was more worried about recalibrating the Railgun target locks.  They've been acting up lately.  As if they suddenly stopped work..."

"Yes, yes, the target locks.  But Han'ji, isn't it strange that the Shas'O hasn't been talking to anyone?  That we're sent to this strange far-away world on supposed orders that none of us have seen?  And what about those odd poles that he had the Earth Caste make?"

Han'ji shrugged, "It's not our position to ask.  We act for the Greater Good, not for our own curiosity."

Lo'pan nodded, "I know, I know, it's just that...  I can't shake the feeling that all this is wrong somehow."

Han'ji sighed.  "Lo'pan, you'll soon find out that the universe is not as grim and vengeful as it appears.  It's not like there's something out to kill you over every hill."

----------------------

Turn 1: Dark Eldar
----------------------
Just over the next hill was the entirety of the Dark Eldar strike force.

"Haha!  Look at those pathetic little wretches, just waiting out there to be shot!"

Archon Y'stral snickered to himself, peering out from the hull of his Raider.

"Haemo!  Get your big bags of meat ready to go, we're going hunting.  Thiel!  You got a plan on... What are you doing?"

Farseer Thielbane was astride his Jetbike, hands outstreched and his face was grim with concentration.

"I'm... trying to divine the future Y'stral.  It's not as easy as it looks.  I'm only getting... hints.  Whispers as to what will be..."

"Good, it looked you were constipated or something.  Does the future involve me killing things?"

"I... Yes, it..."

"Good enough.  Minions!  Let's go teach them why they're afraid of the dark!"
----------------------

Huh, now there's two ways to play this.  One, sit back and light up the suits with Dark Lance.  Khaine knows I have enough of it.  Granted, they might shoot back.  But if I can Alpha Strike well enough, it should be easy to shake them up.

The other, more viscerally satisfying option, is to get in his face and start assaulting things.  Granted, I haven't done that in 6th yet, but he's close enough for me to try.  And you know... Tau fold like wet paper in assault.  Plus, if I can get a definitive assault and wipe his army, then I won't have to worry about the Necron Airforce.

So... yeah... Grots and Wyches go right up the board 30".  The Ravagers and Warrior Raider move out to the left and use the Bastion to block Line of sight from the Broadsides on the right.  Thielbane and the Wyches move up and eye the Fire Warriors on the left.

I pound lance fire into the Broadsides.  Both sides go to ground, with the squad on the right losing a member and then running.  The Reavers and Thielbane turbo-boost and bladevane over the Fire Warriors killing all but one!


Picture Caption: Old Dark Eldar Proverb: When in doubt, push all the boats in their face.


Turn 1: Tau
--------------
Shas'la Ken'ta didn't even have time to raise his Pulse Rifle before they hit.  He hunkered down behind the bit of rubble that kept him from being torn apart.  He wasn't even sure what they were.  He looked down on his arm, and frantically brushed away the sticky sparkles that landed on him.  Some kind of strange, alien material, no doubt with a nefarious purpose.  He glanced around at his fellow squadmates.  Dead.  Torn to pieces like they had fallen afoul of some kind of wild animals.  He could still hear their fearsome, alien cries:

"Go!  Go Ponies!  Go!  Go!  Go!..."
--------------

The fleeing Broadside runs off the table.

The Fire Warriors on the right move up onto the hill to enact the well known Tau formation known as Operation Meatshield.  The Crisis Suits move up onto the hill as well, although I knkow they'll be bouncing down soon enough...

So the Tau do the only they can do: Shoot the stuffings out of me.  Or try rather.
The Broadsides on the right have Line of Sight to nothing.  The Broadsides on the left have little luck in hitting anything.  The Fire Warrior tries to do some damage, but fails to destroy a Raider.
So, now it's down to the Crisis Suits who, as they don't have Target locks anymore, can only slaughter one Raider.  They wisely choose the Archon's Raider and it goes up with a flourish.  The Archon gets out and is quite upset, but otherwise unharmed.


Picture Caption: Sorry Y'stral.  Don't worry, you can borrow a boat later.


Turn 2: Dark Eldar
------------------
Archon Y'stral let off an animalist howl as his Raider went down.  He jumped off before the delicate Dark Eldar craft smashed into the ground, rolling up to a crouch as his Shadow Field absorbed the impact.

"Oh, that does it, that does it!  Haemo!  Let's gut those... where did they go?"

Haemonculus Bella Le'gosi floated over, tapping a few panels on her GhostHolo.  "They have used a form of thruster technology to retreat behind the hill.  Fascinating.  The implications of..."

"Yes, yes, wonderful, so they have good ways to run away, I'll keep that in mind.  I..."

He turned back as a bluish light glanced off his Shadow Field.  Y'stral peered down the field and made out a sextet of armored figures, firing energy rifles in his direction.

"For the Greater Good!"

Y'stral sighed.  "Really?  Honestly?  This is their best shot?  Am I going to have to waste my time slaying peons?"

"It may not be necessarily so."

Y'stral glanced back at Bella, who was watching the skies behind her, head turned to the side.

The Archon peered into the distance and smiled as he saw a familiar scarlet light growing closer.

Farseer Thielbane's voice echoed through the dawning light, "Scarlet...  Sky Ponies!  Charge!"

-----------------------

No VoidRaven yet.  Oh well.

I disembark Allonia to deal with the last Fire Warrior and the Broadsides.  Ditto to Ray'keth on the right.  Y'stral moves up, but is stopped by the line of Fire Warriors.
I'm a bit sad that I can't get it on the stabby action, but then remember Thielbane and the Reavers who move up.  The Raiders and Ravagers shift around a bit.

Thielbane starts the shooting phase with a bang.  Or rather, a zoom and lots of screaming as he chops through the Fire Warriors with Bladevanes.  I shoot apart the Fire Warrior with a point blank Dark Lance.  The Crisis Suit fight heats up (somewhat literally) as I dump two liquifier guns on the Shas'O and company, destroying the Shas'O's Shield Drone and putting a wound on each suit.  I decide to not be brave with the Warrior Raider and Ravagers and zoom them around, making sure to stay 12" away from each other so that there's no extra Tesla/Doom Ray shenanigans.

I then try assaults.  One Wych from Allonia's group gets vaporized by a Railgun.  Ray'keth's group gets in fine through overwatch.  Y'stral makes contact as well.  Through devilsh action, I'm able to link up Ray'keth's fight with Y'stral making it all into a big brawl.

Allonia's fight is resolved first, as she accepts the Shas'Ui's challenge, doing a wound, but the Tau can't seem to hit her as she's WS5!  Ray'keth also accepts a challenge, but no wounds on either side.  Y'stral makes a challenge to the Shas'O, who accepts.  The Tau leader can't do much to the Archon, who chops off a wound or two.  The Grots pound the Crisis Suits into tin.  It's a bit of a hard morale check, but the Shas'O makes it while the Broadsides run!  Everyone consolidates around the Archon's fight.



Picture Caption: Y'stral FINALLY gets to hit something!


Turn 2: Tau
-------------
Farseer Thielbane smirked a bit as he watched the young Reavers laugh and dance atop their bikes.  They were so young, so carefree.  And some of them were definitely attractive.  Certainly after all of the carnage he could take a half dozen or so and... 
He shook his head.  Not again.  It was always difficult with the girls.  A Farseer was to have restraint, to be above such petty needs of the flesh.  But, it was hard.  He paused again.  Not the best choice of words. 

Thielbane breathed in, trying to control his feelings and rampant emotions when suddenly there was a humming sound.  A group of large poles that the Dark Eldar had ignored suddenly flared to light with greenish energy, rippling into the ground.  Suddenly, dark, rectangular objects began to rise from the ground, fitting together and giving off an eerie glow.

"Captain!" yelled Starsparkle, "What's going on?"

Thielbane cursed himself for his foolishness.  Why couldn't he have seen it?

"The Dead are coming, young one.  Get your squad together.  We have a fight on our hands."

------------------

The Broadsides rally.

Both of the Night Scythe come in.  They blitz up the center and takes aim at the Warrior Raider.
The newly rallied Broadsides fire and blow the Warrior Raider to shreds.  I don't lose that many, but then the Scythes hit them with a bucketful of Tesla...  Somehow one Warrior survives, but is wallowing on the ground in the wreckage.

Alloniia still can't take apart the Broadside.  Y'stral and company tear the Shas'O apart, mostly thanks to the re-rolls from all the spectators.


Picture Caption: So... much... Tesla...

BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

BigToof

Turn 3: Dark Eldar
-----------------
Archon Y'stral frowned, watching the green, curved alien ships blast into his army.

"Thiel!" he yelled into his GhostHolo, "When did the Tau go green?"

"Y'stral, they are not Tau" replied the Farseer.

"What?"

"They are Necrons.  I thought your Haemonculus mentioned that you had fought them before."

The Archon fumed sending a glare back at Bella, who was busy watching the Necrons with her usual amount of detachment.

"Great, just great.  I hate Necrons.  Always disappear so you get nothing to show off.  Minions!  Take them down fast so we can get with the looting!"

-----------------

I get my Void Raven, who zooms up and blows one of the Night Scythes to pieces.

Allonia is still sort of hung up with the Broadside, so I send Thielbane up to help next turn.  I mount up Ray'keth who moves over a bit, trying to stay out of the way.

Oh, and the Guardians come in to, but they zoom behind a hill on the far side, hoping to be forgotten.

The Archon and Grotesques beat the meandering Broadsides almost to death, but a gravely wounded suit makes his morale check and hangs in there.


Picture Caption: Well... thta's one down...


Turn 3: Tau
----------------
Overlord Omega watched as the living ran past his Night Scythe.  They moved so quickly, trying to avoid death.  It was a pointless battle, as the Necrotyr were death itself.  Even the mighty Eldar would fall.  Under the control of the MindShackle Scarabs, the Tau had served their purpose well to ignite the damaged Tomb World and within days, more and more Necrons would awake from their slumber.

Death was coming.  To run only meant that you would die tired.
----------------

The Night Scythe runs off the board.  The Doom Scythe comes in.  He takes careful aim at the Void Raven, but thankfully I make a few Jink rolls and come out of the exchange only shaken.  Allonia still can't break the Broadside, but Y'stral certainly can break his.


Picture Caption: Evade, VoidRaven, evade!


Turn 4: Dark Eldar
----------------
"Wait!"

Farseer Thielbane twisted his Jetbike to a stop, looking at Starsparkle who was keeping her own Reavers away.  Thielbane raised an eyebrow.

"We're not going to help?"

He glanced back at the battle between a lone Wych and a massive Tau battlesuit.  Although the Wych was faster and far more skilled, it wasn't having any luck in finding a vulnerable spot.

"No, Captain, we can't!  It's a Duel."  Starsparkle hissed, nestling down.

Thielbane frowned and looked at the other Wyches who were watching with some bemusement at their leader's frantic attacks.

"But she will...  I mean, she might lose."

"Well, yes," nodded Starsparkle, "Of course she might, but it would be showing weakness in front of the others.  They'd kill her for that."

Thielbane frowned.  It seemed like such a silly rule.  He glanced at the Wych again.  What was her name?  Allaria?  Ariana?  No, no.  Allonia.  She had nice hair, decent eyes and a pert...

He shook his head again.  Why did these thoughts keep coming into his head?  But, he could tell that she would soon be overwhelmed.  A Craftworlder would never let something as silly as this go on.  Certainly there must be rules...

"But what if the other duelist does something to break the duel?  Couldn't we interfere then?"

Star rubbed her chin in thought, "Well... sure, but he'd have to be crazy to do that.  I mean, he can barely handle one Wych.  To attack another would be suicide."

Thielbane nodded, and concentrated, feeling the lines of fate move under his power.  The Tau Battlesuit swung again in a big ungainly arc at Allonia, but this time, it stepped on a slippery patch of gravel.  The huge suit lost purchase, trying to right itself, but not before it took several steps and bowled into the Wyches lounging off to the side.  Dust, dirt and muck splattered over the Dark Eldar, who gasped in outrage before grabbing their weapons.

"Uh, Captain?" added Starsparkle, "I think that means we can fight now."

------------------------
Thielbane casts Doom on the Broadsides and charge in.  Thankfully with the re-rolls, they manage to break the Broadsides, and catch them, wiping the squad.  I mount Y'stral back up into his ride.
I combine ALL of my lances and destroy the Doom Scythe.


Picture Caption: And with the power of Dark Lance, I spit at thee!


Turn 4: Tau
----------------
Hekatrix Ray'keth laughed, looking at the mass of trophies her Wyches had taken from the battle.  The Archon had done well, slaughtering through the little aliens, and her Wyches had been poised to carefully and quietly take the best pieces for herself.  With some carefully said words, she could probably take all the glory for herself. 

She smirked.  Poor Allonia had barely even finished a single fight yet, and that was so far out of anyone's sight it had practically not even happened.  Yes, she thought, everything was working out just...

And then her Raider exploded.
-----------------
The Night Scythe comes back in and wrecks Ray'keth's Raider.  A Warrior squad has walked in about this time, and shoots the dickens out of them.


Picture Caption: Ray'keth, didn't you have a armful of Pain Tokens?


Turn 5: Dark Eldar
----------------
The VoidRaven comes back in.  I move Thiel over to cover the Tau objective so there's no chance they can get within 3".  I then fire everything at the Night Scythe, knocking off it's weapons and immobilizing it.  The Guardians also move up to control the Dark Eldar objective with the Lone Warrior.

The Grots and Bella again lay two liquifiers on the Warriors, turning most of them into recyclable parts before charging in and annihilating the rest.



And with that, the Necron player concedes.  He's facing a strange angle, and can't go to hover to try and drop off his payload anywhere near an objective.  Also, I have all three secondaries.  Which means that it's...

Result: Dark Eldar Victory!

-----------------

Post-Game Thoughts: Not the most challenging of matches, but it certainly gave me things to finally destroy through assault.  Y'stral wrecked house, destroying three squads and the Shas'O.  Thielbane and the Reavers did surprisingly well, basically wiping out two Fire Warriors and helping out the Wyches take down the Broadsides.  I liked the alpha strike with the lances, but I'm wondering what to do if more Flyers show up.  I managed to basically zoom around them and keep out of Line of Sight, but it doesn't sound like a great option.  Even with all my lances, I wasn't doing much and the Void Raven also wasn't a sure thing to take them out. 

The Wyches did their thing and held up expensive and shooty things until help arrived.  The Ravagers were again solid.  The VoidRaven seemed to struggle by himself, and I'm often wondering if I should exchange a Ravager for a Void Raven...  Oh, and the Warriors were once again fairly useless, but perhaps that was me just being overly cautious as they just didn't have anything worth shooting at.  I think I really need to rexamine them and figure out just what to do with them.  Mini-Wych squads also die really easy, but at least they do something...
-------------------

Hekatrix Allonia paced a bit, looking for the umpteenth time down the hall.  Farseer Thielbane was STILL talking with the Reavers.  Damn their little minds, they never shut up.  Allonia played with the end of her hair.  The Farseer had been there when she had been saved from her battle, and although it didn't look like he did anything, she could tell that something had happened.  The same way you could tell when someone had paid to have your opponent poisoned the night before, or that your rival had nicked your blades so that your swings were off.  He had done something, and she wanted to know why.

After a few more moments, she decided just to try, and stalked up to the group of Eldar. 

The Farseer looked up, "Ah, Allonia.  Good of you to come.  You're not injured are you?"

Allonia paused.  He knew her name?  But she had never...

"Uh... yes.  Yes, I'm fine, I... Can we talk?"

The Farseer nodded to her and the two walked off a short ways.  Thielbane smiled at her in a way that made her insides melt.  She tried to form words, but nothing was really coming out.  She tried a few more times, but it was just making her more embarrassed.

Then, thankfully, the Farseer broke the silence by speaking.

"So...  The Reavers and I were getting together later to practice our bike stunts.  Would you like to come by?"

Allonia paused, "I...  I'm sorry Farseer..."

"You can call me Thielbane.  There's not enough of us left to stand on formality."

"Uh...  I...  I'm sorry, but I've already promised some of the other Hekatrixes that we'd  do something a bit more traditional tonight.  You're umm... welcome to join."

Thielbane frowned, "Well...  What kind of thing is it?  Torture?  Murder? Flaying?"

"Oh, no, just the standard Splintermind Orgy.  We have some shots left, and well... I'd like to unwind."

Thielbane bit his lip as emotions clashed in a massive battle against logic.  Ultimately, emotions came through with a landslide.

"Maybe... just once."

He nodded to himself.  Just one indiscretion.  It wouldn't mean anything.  Just one time.
BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

Rej

I'm loving Thielbanes descent back into the warm welcoming sticky embrace of hedonism.

And I really like that Allonia got to make a proper appearence.

The report was great and game really interesting, I havan't fought any flyers yet so it's nice seeing what they can do.
Phew...

crisis_vyper

Well I believe that the reason why this went well is due to the alpha strike. It done enough damage for it to be a race for your opponent to stay alive.

Flyers tend to make the most impact on the turn they arrive but once it is on the table it is actually quite a cumbersome vehicle to use. I would agree that they are perhaps our best anti-air alongside the ravagers (despite having to roll 6s), as our flyers have some heavy weaponry enough to shoot things out from the sky.

Cammerz

The Thielbane fluff is getting really good now, and I too am glad to see Allonia getting back into these reports.

I think your Void Raven came in at the perfect time to counter his flyers, a turn earlier or later and you might have had some trouble. But I can definitely see why you're thinking of getting a second, given the large number of flyers you're facing in all of your reports at the moment.

In this instance, I'm not sure that the ability to duel was the best thing for you as it meant the Tau could lock several units in combat for a few turns, but then again, I'm not sure what else they'd be doing as there was really only the flyer to deal with at the end there.

But well done on the victory, I don't need to say I'm looking forward to the next report as you've given us two of them.

Job's a good un!

BigToof

Quote from: Rej on September 03, 2012, 01:26:22 AM
I'm loving Thielbanes descent back into the warm welcoming sticky embrace of hedonism.

And I really like that Allonia got to make a proper appearence.

The report was great and game really interesting, I havan't fought any flyers yet so it's nice seeing what they can do.

Hi Rej,
Thanks for your reply.  I really do like how the fluff is coming along too, and it's wonderful to hear that sentiment echoed.
Allonia is always fun to write, but nowadays it's hard to get a decent assault as there's so much shooty going on.
Flyers I have found are only really deadly if they're taken in large abundance as otherwise they don't do much and are only on the board for a limited number of turns.

Quote from: crisis_vyper on September 03, 2012, 06:37:59 AM
Well I believe that the reason why this went well is due to the alpha strike. It done enough damage for it to be a race for your opponent to stay alive.

Flyers tend to make the most impact on the turn they arrive but once it is on the table it is actually quite a cumbersome vehicle to use. I would agree that they are perhaps our best anti-air alongside the ravagers (despite having to roll 6s), as our flyers have some heavy weaponry enough to shoot things out from the sky.

Hi Crisis,
Thanks for your reply.  I agree that the alpha strike really, really helped out.  I'm starting to wonder how much of the game will be around avoiding first blood, as I have seen many games won by very few victory points.  One thing I keep thinking about is a large Warrior blob behind a defense line with comm, but then we lose our greatest asset: speed and maneuverability.  In fact, that is one thing I noticed in this game, is that by being able to essentially be anywhere on the board at any given turn, it was very hard for my opponent to mutli-strike me with Tesla or the Doom Ray.  Of course, if he had more fliers, that would be another thing...  As for the Void Raven, I don't know...  I keep thinking about taking it out, but it does so well to draw all of the fire from the other flyers, I'm almost willing to keep it in simply as a distraction.

Quote from: Cammerz on September 03, 2012, 09:08:46 AM
The Thielbane fluff is getting really good now, and I too am glad to see Allonia getting back into these reports.

I think your Void Raven came in at the perfect time to counter his flyers, a turn earlier or later and you might have had some trouble. But I can definitely see why you're thinking of getting a second, given the large number of flyers you're facing in all of your reports at the moment.

In this instance, I'm not sure that the ability to duel was the best thing for you as it meant the Tau could lock several units in combat for a few turns, but then again, I'm not sure what else they'd be doing as there was really only the flyer to deal with at the end there.

But well done on the victory, I don't need to say I'm looking forward to the next report as you've given us two of them.

Job's a good un!

Hi Cammerz,
Thanks for your reply.
Yeah, the duel thing perhaps was not the best of ideas, but if I chose to ignore the challenge, I'm not sure how the rest of the girls would do.  And with Ld 8 on T3 models it's going to be a tough roll to keep them in the fight if things go south.

Glad to hear you like the fluff with Thielbane and Allonia.  Thiel is fun to write, if only because he offers an outside view of the Dark Eldar.  Plus, the fact that he has a sordid history makes the whole escapade much more enjoyable.  I'm not sure if I want to evolve Star into something more than the plucky comic relief she is, as she does that so well, but I do like that the Reavers are doing much more, and are kind of taking center stage with Thielbane on the bikes.

I suppose I'll have to see...

As for the other two reps, I hope you like them too!

Best,
-BT
BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3

crisis_vyper

Quote from: BigToof on September 06, 2012, 02:54:13 PM
Quote from: crisis_vyper on September 03, 2012, 06:37:59 AM
Well I believe that the reason why this went well is due to the alpha strike. It done enough damage for it to be a race for your opponent to stay alive.

Flyers tend to make the most impact on the turn they arrive but once it is on the table it is actually quite a cumbersome vehicle to use. I would agree that they are perhaps our best anti-air alongside the ravagers (despite having to roll 6s), as our flyers have some heavy weaponry enough to shoot things out from the sky.

Hi Crisis,
Thanks for your reply.  I agree that the alpha strike really, really helped out.  I'm starting to wonder how much of the game will be around avoiding first blood, as I have seen many games won by very few victory points.  One thing I keep thinking about is a large Warrior blob behind a defense line with comm, but then we lose our greatest asset: speed and maneuverability.  In fact, that is one thing I noticed in this game, is that by being able to essentially be anywhere on the board at any given turn, it was very hard for my opponent to mutli-strike me with Tesla or the Doom Ray.  Of course, if he had more fliers, that would be another thing...  As for the Void Raven, I don't know...  I keep thinking about taking it out, but it does so well to draw all of the fire from the other flyers, I'm almost willing to keep it in simply as a distraction.

Well if you want to save more points but yet want that distraction, why not take the Razorwing? It is like 40-50 points cheaper, and it comes with missiles to begin with. For the point cost, they always catches everyone's attention especially when I painted them with white chevrons and lines to make it pop out. And if it gets shot down, you do not have to feel the agony of spending so much points on one vehicle.

The warrior blob is somewhat situational, but hard to hide. With all that artillery we see these days, they are not as useful as they first appear. But that saying, using a Haemonculus Ancient with a defense line with quad cannons/Icarus Lascannon would be hilarious in more ways than one. That and a few wracks would make it quite a feasible combination.

BigToof

Quote from: crisis_vyper on September 07, 2012, 07:16:06 AM
Quote from: BigToof on September 06, 2012, 02:54:13 PM
Quote from: crisis_vyper on September 03, 2012, 06:37:59 AM
Well I believe that the reason why this went well is due to the alpha strike. It done enough damage for it to be a race for your opponent to stay alive.

Flyers tend to make the most impact on the turn they arrive but once it is on the table it is actually quite a cumbersome vehicle to use. I would agree that they are perhaps our best anti-air alongside the ravagers (despite having to roll 6s), as our flyers have some heavy weaponry enough to shoot things out from the sky.

Hi Crisis,
Thanks for your reply.  I agree that the alpha strike really, really helped out.  I'm starting to wonder how much of the game will be around avoiding first blood, as I have seen many games won by very few victory points.  One thing I keep thinking about is a large Warrior blob behind a defense line with comm, but then we lose our greatest asset: speed and maneuverability.  In fact, that is one thing I noticed in this game, is that by being able to essentially be anywhere on the board at any given turn, it was very hard for my opponent to mutli-strike me with Tesla or the Doom Ray.  Of course, if he had more fliers, that would be another thing...  As for the Void Raven, I don't know...  I keep thinking about taking it out, but it does so well to draw all of the fire from the other flyers, I'm almost willing to keep it in simply as a distraction.

Well if you want to save more points but yet want that distraction, why not take the Razorwing? It is like 40-50 points cheaper, and it comes with missiles to begin with. For the point cost, they always catches everyone's attention especially when I painted them with white chevrons and lines to make it pop out. And if it gets shot down, you do not have to feel the agony of spending so much points on one vehicle.

The warrior blob is somewhat situational, but hard to hide. With all that artillery we see these days, they are not as useful as they first appear. But that saying, using a Haemonculus Ancient with a defense line with quad cannons/Icarus Lascannon would be hilarious in more ways than one. That and a few wracks would make it quite a feasible combination.

Ancient Haemonculus with a big Warrior Squad?  Now that's an interesting idea.

Now that the FAQ has hit, that Huskblade is looking quite nice.  And tempting on a big model like an Ancient.  Too bad it's a lot of points...

As for the Razorwing vs. VoidRaven...  I dunno, they are actually the same base point cost, and the Raven is better at sniping AR12 vehicles.  I think I'll keep it for a bit longer.  I actually haven't had any real vehicle issues, as they are actually getting more rare, especially Blood Angels oddly enough...

I'm actually very tempted to bring back Incubi.  VERY tempted mind you, as they are now AP2.  The thought of slaughtering all those 2+ save bullet-catchers is just so wonderful a concept.

Best,
-BT
BigToof Points:

Cammerz: 8
Waaaghpower: 1
The Man They Call Jayne: 3
Mabbz: 6
Archon Sharrek: 3