Gather brothers, and hear the tragedy of Red Aerik, the Wolf of the Seven Stars, Breaker of the Bannon Front, Slayer of the False King, and Son of Russ.
Many years both long and short did Aerik sail the skysea serving the Allfather and so it was on star road that he did hear the cry of the people of Siggur. Aerik, ever eager to shed the battle-sweat, swore a mighty oath to bring relief. His mighty skyship, Ymir's Skull, took up high anchor as mighty Aerik hailed those below. Only silence and the echo of death was his reply.
The ancient iron priest Healf-Forged did turn the keen ears of Ymir's Skull to the task and where once a world of a dozen billion Siggurites teemed and thronged all was silent save in that graveyard of bent steel and broken glass once called Palur's Hive.
Those poor Siggurites, herded like sheep, had sought shelter in the great house of the Allfather and it was from here that they sent their pleas to heaven. Even as those assembled on the deck of Ymir's Skull listened the dying began anew. And through the screams could be heard the fell whispering of the Svartaldar.
Gathering his swiftest warriors Aerik swore to defend those last poor wretches from the depradations of the darkness and so it was that brave Aerik left Ymir's Skull with his favored warriors and his mighty wolfsteeds to bring succor for the innocent and death for the black elves.
Game 2 set me against WolflordKejl's brutal wolfstar list in a pitched battle cap and control. The list he brought was:
Wolf Lord w Mount (Power Fist, Stormshield, Wolf Tail Talisman) Fenrisian Wolves x2
Wolf Lord w Mount (Thunder Hammer, Stormshield, Wolf Tail Talisman, Wolf Neclace)
Fenrisian Wolves x2
Wolf Lord w Mount (Wolf Claw, Stormshield, Wolf Tail Talisman, Saga of Majesty) Fenrisian Wolves x2
Grey Hunter x5 (Flamer) Razorback
Grey Hunter x5 (Plasma) Razorback
Long Fangs x6 (Missile Launchers x4, Lascannon)
Long Fangs x6 (Missile Launchers x4, Lascannon)
Thunderwolf Cavalry x3 (Powerfist, Stormshield, Bolter)
Wolf Scouts x5
And to refresh your memory, this is what I took:
Kabal of the Razor's Song
Haemonculus (
WWP, Shattershard) - deployed with wyches every game - the liquifier was upgraded because I had 5 extra points. I used it just as often as I use the liquifier.
9 Wyches (Hekatrix, Agonizer, Haywire grenades, Raider, Shock prow)
5 Warriors (Blaster)
5 Warriors (Blaster)
5 Warriors (Blaster)
5 Trueborn (3 Blasters, 2 Splintercannons, Raider, Shock prow)
5 Trueborn (3 Blasters, 2 Splintercannons, Raider)
5 Trueborn (3 Blasters, 2 Splintercannons, Raider)
5 Reavers (Cluster Caltrops, Heat Lance)
Ravager
Ravager
Ravager
We deployed our objectives in opposite corners, his wolfstar with lords attached was opposite mine and his troops were in reserves as were the scouts (which he forgot about and I didn't even realize were in the list until I was typing this up). The long fangs were lined up against the back of the table edge since he had 48" range to my 36". I deployed my stuff as much out of
LOS as I could and two of my trueborn near my objective. The wyches, warriors and reavers were all held in reserve. I failed to sieze the initiative and we were off, ended up with +1
WS for my drugs (which I forgot to use).
The first round of shooting the longfangs only had a couple of shots and they were largely ineffective. For my turn I moved out a bit and started swinging over to the left flank. Two of my ravagers and and one of the raiders with disintegrators lined up on one of the long fang units and killed 3 with shooting and the survivors failed their leadership test and fell back off the table.
One of the razorbacks showed up and he parked it near his objective and destroyed a ravager with its lascannons.
It was about at this point that I decided on my strategy. The wolfstar wasn't scoring so I would bait it over toward my objective and work on just taking his. In order to sell this I had to make it look like I was planning on holding my own objective. The reavers and wyches showed up, the wyches moving flat out toward his objective and the reavers flying over the wolfstar causing a few wounds but he made his leadership test.
I had hoped he might move back toward the reavers and buy me an extra turn but he didn't. I also fired some disintegrators and both trueborn at them but didn't do much more than make them angry.
The wolflords broke off from the cav and charged a unit of trueborn and the warriors who had walked on with predicatably bloody results. The long fangs charged(!) the reavers and won combat but the reavers held.
My wyches disembarked from their raider and moved toward the razorback and then charged and wrecked it with their haywire grenades. A unit of warriors ran towards the empty wych's raider.
After this point I forgot to take pictures because time was starting to get tight, sorry. It wrapped up pretty quick though.
The other razorback arrived in a position to support the grey hunters and move toward the objective in a later turn and also fired at the ravager. The grey hunters charged the wyches and the wyches held. The agonizer accounted for 1 a turn, but that was all and in return I lost 1 or 2. Whichever of us had to take the test passed it on any given turn (it went back and forth a couple of times).
The longfangs killed the reavers off and at this point I think my opponent realized he had been suckered.
The warriors embarked on the wyches raider and moved 24" to claim his objective and the game ended with a 1-0 win for the Dark Eldar.
After Action Review I knew that my list had no chance against the wolfstar so my best bet was to keep them distracted and feed them unimportant squads. They wouldn't be able to score my objective so it was okay. To make it convincing I had to throw two troops units over there which was pretty brutal, but hey, if I got lucky I might even be able to score my own, right?
The best feints will do damage if they land, after all. Everything went pretty much according to my plan this game - the reavers did way more damage to the wolfstar than I though it would - something like a total of 9 wounds which hurt a couple of the wolfriders and killed enough wolves to make him take a leadership test.
The wyches did a great job by sticking the wolves in combat and creating a nice wall around the objective.
The ravagers didn't have much to shoot at this game and after their disappointing performance in game 1 were on my watch list.
The reavers punched above their weight and did a decent job. Nothing great, but not the terribad unit that many people think they are.
Overall, a pretty pleasing performance.
And though spear-din began to fade and Aerik was covered in the stinking blood of the Svartaldar he could hear the screaming of the innocents he had left behind in his impetuous charge. He understood now why the Svartaldar had died with grins upon their hideous faces.
Even as the blood swans began their feast Aerik led his thunderwolves back across the ruined city, praying to the Allfather and imploring to Russ that they would be fleet enough. Alas, as the bickering of the crows replaced the screams did Aerik know his folly. The black elves had spirited off the last of the Siggurites to that shadowy realm and had, as a battle-dowry taken with them Vlka Fenryka - Old Scar's long fangs and Ulf Ulfssen's battle pack is a loss still felt by all both on the field with his strength of arms and his bawdy songs in the lodge.
And so it was with heavy heart that Aerik returned to Ymir's skull and in a foul mood sought refuge in his private chamber. Were that the end of the tragedy it would be too much yet the Aerik's skein was not yet cut. After a day and a night passed without word from Aerik that most loyal of friends, Healf-Forged, sought to ease his troubled mind. When no answer was heard he enticed the spirit of [i]Ymir's Skull to open the way and when he did he turned away in horror. Where once was the den of a noble wolf lord there now was an abbatoir. Wolf blood congealed like jelly upon the walls though the rent body of Aerik lay clearly upon his bed. None had heard the bane which surely must have crept out of the shadows to slaughter him as he lay. That his mighty axe, still leaned against the wall, a half reach away, showed there had been no battle, merely murder as Aerik rested his troubled mind.[/i]
