Thought I'd give a BatRep here.
Opponent: Harlequins (it was his first game)
Solitare
3 Troupes, each with a PML2 Seer, a Master, and a transport (Starweaver?)
3 Death Jesters in one unit
2 3-man bike squads, bolos
Squadron of 3 Voidweavers
Primary: Purge
Secondary: Modified Maelstrom, 3 objectives (one at center, one in my zone, one in his)
Deployment: Vanguard
I rolled all on Telepathy, and on two PML3 Libbys did NOT get Telepathy
I suppose it's to be expected, from time to time.
He rolled all on Phantasmology (or whatever it's called), and got a variety of powers, none of which were ever useful.
He got first turn, and set up aggressively on his line. One Troupe sat in a far-back forest, ready to pounce on an objective. Jesters next to empty transport ready to hitch a ride. Bikes were on flanks.
I placed the Broadsides flanking the VSG, and the Riptide astride it.
DKs front and center, in range of VSG, with Interceptors directly behind. Purfs were up the side, ready to swing around and take out a bike squad.
GKSS and both Libbys were in
DS.
T1 Top
Harlies surge forward. Troupe in back gets Veiled. Solitare takes center objective. All three VSG get busted. A single wound on one
DK from the Jesters, who had embarked.
T1 Bottom
Libbys
DS inside a ruin, scatter 9" (in the only 45d arc that was bad) onto a bike unit, and...die
That takes me from playing an even game to playing 1500 vs 1850, with none of the Psychic Shrieks I was planning on. Both
DKs fail Sanctuary (I did not roll a single 4+ on 6d6).
DK jumps forward and contests the objective the Solitare was on, taking a hull point from the Void Squad. Other
DK jumps and flames the Jesters, wrecking the transport. Purfs move toward bikes and lob off a few shots, causing one wound. Interceptors move forward and flame a Weaver, kiling two harlies and taking a hull point. Missilesides dismantle both Troupe Weavers. Riptide kills two bikes with his S8 blast. Troupe in front of Interceptors are pinned, making me choose between charging and ignoring this turn.
I go for glory: Interceptors charge unit, losing 3/5 and killing the rest of the troupe.
DK charges Jesters, taking another wound to
OW, but killing two of them and causing the final one to fall back. One VSG flickers back into existence.
I've scored quite a few
KPs by this point, as well as both my Maelstrom ones. He did get
FB, Warlord, and 3KP from my disastrous deep strike....
T2 Top
With much of his glass "hammer" decimated, my opponent begins to move his remaining forces forward. The Solitare sidesteps the
DK and goes for the two GKI left. The Troupe that recently fled their burning wreck of a Weaver moves up toward Broadsides, as does a jetbike pack; the pack is out of range of bolos, but does score a few hits on Broadsides, failing to harm the heavily-armoured suits. The Troupe in the back scoots forward to claim either his objective or the center objective, depending on what's needed (it's also Veiled, so I ignore it). Jester rallies and aims at a
DK, whiffing. The lonely jetbike blasts away the VSG, but does nothing else. Voids murder the wounded
DK.
In Assault, the Solitare mops up two Marines. The Troupe aimed at the Broadsides needs a 7" to charge...but overwatch kills 5/7 of the unit, leaving the Master and the Seer, who fail their now 11" charge. (If I had deployed smartly, Supporting Fire would've finished off this unit.)
T2 Bottom
Purfs move up on the lonely jetbike, setting up a charge. Broadsides
SMS the Voids, causing 3HP, and then unload 12
HYMP shots into the last Void, causing it to explode dramatically. (The mask on its front probably flew off, spinning slowly, right into the camera frame.) The Riptide dithers forward and shoots at the Jester, but it makes its saves.
DK moves backward, to threaten both the Solitare and the Master/Seer duo, and kills two of the jetbike pack, again leaving one with a wound on the field. Broadsides wipe out the Solitare, leaving the duo unmolested. (After having seen what happens in
OW, I'm not worried about being charged....)
In Assault, the Purfs handily finish the lonely jetbike, and move toward the Jester. The
DK sits around, babysitting centerpoint. I regen another shield.
T3 Top
My opponent has one Jester, one full Troupe, a jetbike, and the duo remaining on the table. Troupe moves in on the
DK, failing to wound with bladestorm pistols. The Jester kills a Purf, planting a shuriken in his eye. The duo sets up a charge against the Broadsides again, but they look very tired. The jetbike also moves against the 'sides.
In Assault, the duo dies to
OW, and the jetbike does not make his charge. The Troupe loses two to incinerator
OW, and also fails the charge.
T3 Bottom
DK flames the Troupe, killing 5/7 (again leaving Master/Seer), and finishes the two T3 characters with a S7 psycannon. Purfs and Riptide fire on the Jester, killing it. Broadsides kill the last jetbike. And that's game. Didn't finish three full turns.
End Score
Him: First Blood, Warlord, 5KP, 0MP. But he's also tabelled, so this is moot.
Me: Linebreaker, Warlord, 10KP (at least--6 more if the Seers and Masters are
ICs), 6MP.
Thoughts:
From the start of my T1, I was down 350pts. It was pretty demoralizing that I lost that much before I even got to do anything. However, my abundance of missiles really turned the tide, as did my
DKs: one soaked up all the scary shooting, and the other scored several
VPs while controlling center table.
He only killed two units (since he wasn't technically responsible for the
DS mishap), and did not score a single
MP. (I gave him 5/7 of his
VP because of the mishap.)
The VSG may have prevented him from killing a Broadside or two, but it didn't really have a major role. Against a gunline I'm sure it would do better.
I also didn't ever get to use my EWOs, which I was a little sad about.
It seems like quite a few of my cooler options (Psychic powers, EWOs, Nemesis Deep Strike, Supporting Fire, Void Shields) never came into play, and I still tabelled him, at -350pts, in three turns. That makes me think this is a solid list. But it was my opponent's first game with Harlies, and I'm sure that had a large impact on how he played.
Lessons Learned....
Put the Broadsides next to each other. Supporting Fire would've been MAJOR overkill this game, but in a different situation it's a very powerful rule that shouldn't be missed out on.
Put the Broadsides further up on the field. The only reason they did so well was because my opponent surged forward rather than hang out of range.
Pray that I don't mishap like that again
It was unbelievable. Also pray that I get Invisibility, because missing that was also statistically unlikely.
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