Lisburn league game 2: Vs. Shane with Eldar

So I managed to get a game vs. relative newcomer to the club Shane and his Eldar (. Turns out I’ve met Shane before at the Q-con doubles event years ago and him and his guard friend played against me and my Blood angels friend (I was marine bikers using Khan, friend was DOA angels. I pop tanks he assaults contents and I cap objs... worked nicely bar GW interference). Anyway, it was good to find this out and get a good old Eldar interfering with imperial worlds they think they own game going.

The deployment was rolled by Shane who got Dawn of war. Damn him... and I rolled the mission and got Kill Points... Damn me. Not the nicest combo for guard right off the bat.

He’s running a hybrid list roughly of:

Farseer on jetbike

Autarch on jet bike with power weapon

5 Warlocks on jet bikes

10 storm guardians in serp, 2 flamers

10 storm guardians in serp 2 meltas

3 guardian jet bikes with warlock

9 Banshees Inc Exarch in serp

5 Warp spiders Inc Exarch

Wraith lord

2 War walkers

5 fire dragons Inc Exarch with tank hunter in falcon

My list is an alteration on my old DD4 list.

2x CCS 3 meltas in chimeras

3x Vet squads 3 meltas in chimeras

Platoon: PCS 3 meltas

Infantry squads 1&2 autocannons & 1 had a Commissar

Special weapon squad with 3 flamers

Hellhound with DB

Vendetta

Vendetta

3x2 hydras

I win the roll to go first and choose to... making it now better sine I’m getting first shots. Deploying my platoon blobbed up in the centre on top of a good sized hill. And deploy my platoon command squad on the left in buildings just In case he tries to deploy forward on that flank.  In return Shane declares all rolling on first turn bar the spiders that are deep striking and the jet bikes who are coming on from reserve. He tries to seize and fails.

Turn 1 for me... I roll on a company command squad on the far left in the buildings where the PCS are hiding, also bringing on a veteran squad next to them, and hydras just behind for covering fire on that flank. In the middle I bring on a CCS and veteran squad who park in cover either side of the hill the platoon are on and hydras roll on behind for cover and support up the middle on either side of the hill. A Hell hound also nips on just to the left of them with a Vendetta turbo boosting for save just behind it. On the right I bring on two hydras and the other Vendetta turbo boosts by the building for cover. In reply Shane brings on his Fire dragons on my right in the falcon, just besides a building. On the other side of the building he brings on the flamer guardians, to their left the banshees and to their left the Melta guardians, the war walkers walk on towards the left flank with the wraith lord following. And the seer council on bikes flies on in front of them fortuned up.

Turn 2, I maul the fire dragon falcon and wreck it with right hydras, I kill the flamer storm guardian serp with middle hydras, I kill the war walkers with the left hydras and thin down the seer council killing 2. In reply Shane deep strikes the warp spiders on beside my left most chimera in a dangerous location, but he gets a hit and is fine. He moves up his forces, and shoots the chimera, glancing it 2 out of 12 shots. WD and shaken only.

End of my turn 2

Turn 3, I move up disembarking the vets and CCs on left in front of the seer council, I blow up the banshee transport and thin them with more shots, the spiders are mauled and 1 plus exarch lives. In reply he kills the hydras with some good spider shooting, tries a shot on my right most vendetta with the fire dragons who have slinked out of cover, makes the CCs flee from shooting meaning he can’t multi assault anything and the banshees fluff in combat with the blob killing 3 and I hold



Just before the shooting phase in Shane's turn 3



Turn 4, I thin down the fire dragons from shooting, kill some more of the council, kill off the spiders Imob and WD serp who had tank shocked my hellhound last turn (both of us got S7 hits for the collision nothing happened) in combat I lose by 3 again and shoot a sgt to stay. In his turn he blows up a chimera on the left in CC from the council, and shakes another.

Turn 5, I blow up the serp finally and flame down the guardians who fall out, the hydras reach out and slap the farseer and remaining bike down, and I draw combat with the banshees.  In his turn he fluffs shots and then kills the PCS with the Autarch in hand to hand, the banshees also finish off my blob finally.

We roll to continue and it does.



Shane moving the poor Autarch behind the ruins in his turn 6 after the Wraithlord bites the dust to torrent fire



The hellhound and chimeras surround the banshees and flame them all away, the hydras on my right had rumbled forward and fire on the wraith lord who has finally shown himself, then the vendetta then the other hydras until he falls over. The final shots are on his Autarch who passes his saves (Shots would have instant deathbed him but I think he was on 1 final wound anyway). In his turn he just hides the Autarch just in case the game continues.

We get it rolled by Mark. And it’s a 3, not enough so the game ends.

I believe I’m correct in saying that guard going first in Dow really hurts for Eldar, especially if they get the side they want and also KO 3 different units in the first proper shooting phase. Shane did well trying to claw it back but each turn the units kept dropping and the guard when finally reached were too far ahead to catch.

Afterwards Shane also pointed out he forgot his jet bikes and warlock, and I realised I’d forgotten a veteran squad in chimera (I’d it sitting out on my cases to deploy and forgot! So seems we were both slightly blonde that day.

I win the mission by a load thanks to the hydras.  And come out on the back of that with a massive 1090 odd VP difference boosting me up the league table to 1^st. Next game another new test army.