So, the guy I beat my two previous
BA reports wanted another rematch... So I decided to try out the dark eldar at a higher points value. Here were the lists:
Dark Eldar 2500
HQ
----
Archon - huskblade, trap, field, drugs
Haemi - liquifier, crucible
Haemi - liquifier, shattershard
Haemi - liquifier
Elites
-------
3x trueborn - 3x blasters - venom w/ dual
SC
3x trueborn - 3x blasters - venom w/ dual
SC
7x Incubi - Raider w/
FF
Troops
-----------
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
8x Wyches - agonizer, hydra, haywires - raider w/
ff
Heavy
--------
Ravager -
FF
Ravager -
FF
Ravager -
FF
Note: I believe I was under by like 200 pts; I just threw some stuff into my list to make it 2.5k with proxies
vs
Space Wolves 2500
HQ
-----
Bjorn w/
AC
Rune Priest - hurricane,
LL
Wolf Priest
Elites
-------
9x Wolf guard - 5x power weps, 2x combi-meltas
Troops
----------
10x
GH - 2x melta,
pw,
MOTW - pod
10x
GH - 2x melta,
pw,
MOTW - rhino
10x
GH - 2x plasma,
pw,
motw - pod
10x
GH - 2x flamer,
pf,
MOTW - Rhino
Fast Attack
----------------
5x Thunderwolf Calv - 5x stormshields, wolf claw
Heavy Support
---------------------
5x longfangs - 2x missiles, 2x plasma cannons - drop pod
Vindi
Vindi
Mission: Kill Points
Deployment: Spearhead
So I've never played this high with
DE before, and I'm not that experienced in the first place... well, time to give it a try!
Deployment
I win the roll to go first and deploy in the far back right corner. This guys a great guy and I feel bad for wrecking him in my other 2 reports; that last one he just didn't have any chance to do anything. So I'll give him a little bit of a break and give him 1 extra turn to shoot me. I'm not pitying him; I just don't want him to think
40k is all about getting your ass beat!
He deploys centrally but not at the 12" mark! He took my suggestion and deployed to try and hide as much as he could (namely his vindicators). He deploys his rune priest in cover by himself, but everything else pretty much has cover.
Pre Game thoughts
Good! So he took my suggestion not to deploy aggressively when going second! He even deployed to try and give cover to as much as possible! Awesome! The first turn I'll pot shot a few things and shoot his fangs. Second turn I'll mull around and let him get some free shots here and there, and turn 3 I'll go all out. The purpose of this game: show him T-calv doesn't "suck" and that a rune priest can do well. Don't get me wrong, I'll play to win, but he needs a kick in the ass to show him some units are awesome.
Dark Eldar Turn 1
Movement: I turbo boost basically everything but 1 raider, 2 venoms, and my ravs.
Shooting: I wreck his left vindi, shake his right vindi, and wreck his back rhino.... ouch. And then I kill 2 longfangs, but they stick. I can tell hes a little flustered already, so I don't shoot down his rune priest and leave it alive.
Dark Eldar 2 - Space Wolves 0
Space Wolves Turn 1
Movement: Both his
GH pods come in, dropping close to my ravs. Everything else just advances on me.
Shooting: He stuns my right side venom and immobilizes my archons raider... but thats it
Assault: he fleets his calv but is too far to charge
Dark Eldar 2 -
SW 0
End of turn thoughts
Hmm... i figured hed do a little more seeing as a lot of stuff didn't move. This turn I'll just turbo 1 venom and my incubi and leave the rest of my stuff pretty static; that should give him 1 good turn of shooting then I'll go all out!
Dark Eldar Turn 2
Movement: I turbo 1 venom and my incubi to the left behind the altar there. The rest of my forces just shuffle around.
Shooting: I blow up 1 pod and wreck the other to give me a clear shooting lane next turn. I don't kill the priest again; I'll let him live 1 more turn.
Dark Eldar 4 -
SW 0
Space Wolves Turn 2
Movement: His army advances. He took a pod for his fangs, it drops in back and he hides his vindicator behind it. His wolves move up for some good pounding on vehicles!
Shooting: This is where things go horribly, horribly wrong-
1) Bjorn immobilizes my right side venom
2) My topmost ravager is JUST within 12" of his
GH squad and they melta it down
3) He split fires his fangs and wrecks not 1, but 2 raiders ( fail all my
FF saves)
4) His bolters glance down another raider
5) His rune priest wrecks a 4th raider
So in 1 shooting phase he wracks up 5 kill points....? DAMNIT!
Assault: His calv molest my wyches that fell out and the haemi, consolidating toward my line.
Dark Eldar 4 - Space Wolves 7
End of turn thoughts
Seriously? At this time during the game im in utter disbelief... I was taking it easy to make this game more enjoyable, and he manages to get 7 kill points in a single turn...? And he only has 2 dedicated ranged units! Talk about s***y luck
lol. At this point I'm so frustrated that I can't even think... the only way I can POSSIBLY pull this out now is to wreck the wolf guard rhino and charge them with my incubi; I should be able to get the priest as well. That will give me 3
KP's + 1 for the rhino. My trueborn can wreck his back vindi, and my venoms and pluck at his wolves. IF I can pull that off, it'll be a tight game, but I can manage then.
Dark Eldar Turn 3
So I have to rally this turn and stick with my plan....
Movement: Truborn venom hops up and they get out, aiming at his vindi. My incubi get up behind the rhino and disembark, leaving the haemi inside. I throw some wyches in front of his calv to try and block them. The archon and crew get out to charge some of his guys. I also move up and pop out wyches to tie up Bjorn.
Shooting: I pen his vindi twice... and he covers both. I pen the
WG rhino... and roll a 1. Ok... the incubi fleet and have to choose; longfangs or priest? The fangs seem like a better target and due to multiple levels, I can't do both. I wreck his middle rhino and they pass pinning.
Assault: The archon and his buddies own his wolves and consolidate 1". I charge bjorn and stun him twice, losing 1 wych. The incubi rape his longfangs but only get a 1" consolidation... right where his vindicator can see me -_-
Dark Eldar 7 -
SW 7
Space Wolves Turn 3
Movement: His calv shuffle up. His other guards move toward the middle. His
WG in the rhino move up.
Shooting: His vindicator kills 2 incubi, then he informs me the priest has murderous hurricane; and proceeds to roll 11 wounds on the incubi. 3 are left and he tells me I'm in dangerous terrain the next turn... damnit! He wrecks a venom somehow, can't remember how.
Asaault: He charges my archons squad and I fail miserably and he kills like 4 wyches and I stick. He destroys more wyches with his calv and consolidates towards my 5th group.
Dark Eldar 7 -
SW 9
End of Turn Thoughts
I'm just getting more and more frustrated by this point; he seems to have all the tools in the right spots and I can't seem to make the rolls I need to. I really NEEDED to kill those wolf guard. Now that I didn't and my incubi are basically screwed hes going to be able to ram through my archons squad and my other wyches with ease. And those calv are about to score yet another
KP and theres nothing I can do; they haven't even taken a wound in
CC yet!
Dark Eldar Turn 4
Movement: I move away from his calv as far as I can. My incubi lose all but 2 to
DT tests trying to get his rune priest.
Shooting: I manage to do 0 wounds to the calv with 24 poisoned shots. My dark lances all do nothing to his vindi, rhino, and remaining pod.
Assault: I lose more wyches everywhere, my incubi take down the rune priest and I have 1 incubi left.
- At this point I stopped taking pics -
DE 8 -
SW 8
Space Wolves Turn 4
Movement: He moves up his
WG and gets them to charge my wyches. His calv more to charge my other wyches.
Shooting: He blasts 2 more vehicles to bits + my 1 incubi
Assault: He kills 3 squads of wyches this phase...
At this point I tell him lets call it; I'm behind now by 4
KP's and I literally have NOTHING that can kill his 30 marines, dread, vindi, and 5 T-calv that are left. I have 2 venoms, 2 ravagers, 1 wych squad, 1 archon, and a raider left on the board :/
VICTORY TO THE SPACE WOLVES!!!!
End of game thoughts
Wow... talk about a backfire!
lol. My intent was to balance out the game by not exploiting the newbie mistakes he seems to be making every game... but in the process, this allowed him to literally turn my army inside out in 1 turn! I have never seen so many 6's and so many failed
FF saves all in a single turn, it was quite remarkable! I feel bad for getting flustered at my opponent, but this was one of those games that make you wanna throw out your dice and buy all new ones
lol! My opponent played well, his actual strategy was pretty good, minus a few hiccups (rune priest solo, longfangs close to deployment line). I shook his hand and told em I hadn't been beaten that badly in a long time and he told me he never asked me to take it easy... and hes right, he didn't! So its my fault for underestimating him and allowing a moment of weakness. In the end that was my downfall, and it is definitely not the Dark Eldar way; I still have a ways to go to be as ruthless as many of the best
DE players!
Hope ya'll enjoyed the rep, and as always, leave comments!