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Played Poddy last night. He's dumped Tau and planning a Dark Eldar army, so tonight he's using mine to just get a feel of them. I won't be giving him much help as he's played against my D.E army plenty of times, so should have picked up tactics by now. Plus if he wins when I've helped he doesn't like 'false' victories, also he doesn't tend to listen to what I say anyway

I am trying a modified Necron list out. I've now got double Overlords on Barges, third Annihilation Barge and larger Wraith units, oh and a second Royal Court. I have dumped both Triarch Stalkers and the Canoptek Scarabs.


Necrons 'Necro-Wall' - 2,000 points

HQ

Overlord w/ Catacomb Command Barge - warscythe & sempiternal weave
Royal Court - 3 x Crypteks w/ harbinger of destruction - solar pulse
Overlord w/ Catacomb Command Barge - warscythe & sempiternal weave
Royal Court - 3 x Crypteks w/ harbinger of destruction

Troops

5 x Necron Warriors w/ Ghost Ark
5 x Necron Warriors w/ Ghost Ark
5 x Necron Warriors w/ Ghost Ark
5 x Necron Immortals

Fast Attack

6 x Canoptek Wraiths - 3 x whip coils
6 x Canoptek Wraiths - 3 x whip coils

Heavy Support

Annihilation Barge
Annhilation Barge
Annhilation Barge

Dark Eldar 'Kabal of a Thousand Cuts' - 2,000 points

HQ

Baron Sathonyx

Elite

4 x Trueborn w/ Venom - 4 x blasters - Venom w/ splinter cannon
4 x Trueborn w/ Venom - 4 x blasters - Venom w/ splinter cannon
3 x Trueborn w/ Venom - 4 x blasters - Venom w/ splinter cannon

Troops

5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon
5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon
5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon
5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon
5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon
5 x Kabalite Warriors w/ Venom - blaster - Venom w/ splinter cannon

Fast Attack

Beastmasters - 4 x Razorwing Flocks, 5 x Khymerae & 3 x Beastmasters
Beastmasters - 4 x Razorwing Flocks, 5 x Khymerae & 3 x Beastmasters

Heavy Support

Ravager - flickerfield
Ravager - flickerfield
Ravager - flickerfield


Pre-Game Analysis


I am pretty worried about this game even though this is Poddy's first time using Dark Eldar. The reason for this is my list has 26 dark lance weapons and I only have eight av13 vehicles, now av12 thanks to those lances. Dark Eldar struggle against mass av12, though eight vehicles isn't a lot for them to deal with. Add in that they have like 108 splinter cannon shots to deal with my infantry and also Beastmasters plus Baron to mop up in assault. Even though Poddy is new to D.E, I am in for a tough game no matter which way you cut it and looks like I am going to get a taste of my own medicine, gulp!


Game: Capture & Control + Pitched Battle

Deployment

I roll a 1 for deployment, which Poddy auto wins thanks to Baron. He decides to go first (even though I suggested going second to allow my Necrons rock up which will put all his guns in range) and deploys in the centre. Ravagers at the front length ways on, Trueborn Venoms behind then remaining Venoms - the fleet has been deployed between two ruins. Beastmasters deploy on either flank on the other side of the ruins, Baron is with the unit on the left flank. Although the Beastmasters are out in the open, they have nothing to fear as my guns cannot reach them first turn.

I deploy in the centre and almost mirror Poddy's deployment with my Ghost Arks at the front length ways on, then the Wraiths behind, then the CCB's on either flank behind the Ghost Arks and finally the Annihilation Barges in the centre. Immortals are in reserve.

My objective had already been placed in a large ruin on the left flank, the Immortals can walk on and get it. Poddy goes guts and glory and puts his midfield half on left flank and centre - objectives are moulds btw as had no objectives, though D.E have got one in the box, Poddy failed to look correctly









* Tactical Notes

This is going to be a interesting game. Poddy is going first and I suspect he's going to move everything up 12", well the Trueborn anyway and bail them out while the other Venoms move flat out to gain cover and the Ravagers lag behind.

I'll use my pulse and I hope it buys me defence from the blasters and lances, though with the D.E being so close and having night vision I am not hoping for much. If Poddy does do this then my first targets will be the Trueborn, which I'll send the Wraiths to meet and greet. I'll have to move up the Annihilation Barges and Ghost Arks to blast the Ravagers. The Overlords can just boost about until needed next turn.

Turn 1

Poddy goes aggressive and zooms all his Venoms 12" forward along with the Ravagers, two Ravagers split around the centre tower ruin. All Trueborn bail out ready to drop down with blaster death. Both Beastmaster units move and run and take cover behind the two large ruins on either flank, the unit on the right flank I cannot draw LOS to at all. Oh, solar pulse is now in use too

Shooting; Poddy blasts lances and blasters at my Ghost Arks and Ark on the left flank is wrecked (squad passes pinning test) while Ark in the centre goes boom, a few Warriors go down though squad passes morale and pinning. Ghost Ark on the right flank gets hit by blasters and is immobilised. Warriors in the Ark crater get blasted by poison and only the Cryptek remains standing. Not a bad turn at all for Poddy.

Necrons first turn; both Wraith units float 12" up to tackle the exposed Trueborn. Annihilation Barges remain in position while Overlord on the left flank moves flat out and sweeps a Ravager, it's wrecked. Other Overlord on the right flank just moves flat out to get a cover as not enough distance or room to sweep D.E vehicles in front of me. The surviving Ghost Ark regenerates a single Warrior into the depleted unit, wow.

Shooting; one Annihilation Barge attempts to fire at a Venom further back, though I am out of range, the other two fire at the Trueborn Venoms, one is wrecked and another goes boom while another is shaken, I get some more damage on other Venoms thanks to tesla arc and also wipe out the unit of three Trueborn thanks to tesla arc and shrapnel from the exploding Venom. Lanceteks blast the remaining Ravagers, the one on the left flank is immobilised (Wraiths can get it next turn) while the one on the right is stunned (with any luck the Overlord can sweep it next turn)

Assault; Wraiths charge the Trueborn and wipe them all out. One Wriath unit consolidates into the tower ruin while the other only moves 1".







* Tactical Notes

A pretty brutal first turn for both of us. I've taken out a Ravager and all three Trueborn, so lance weaponry has been depleted a lot for the rest of the game. Add in that one Ravager cannot shoot next turn and the other is immobilised ready for easy pickings. Some Venoms have also gone down, which I cannot complain about, that's less poison shots to kill my infantry.

Poddy's gamble has paid off pretty well. He's taken out two Ghost Arks and practically taken out a Warrior unit. With these two Warrior units exposed he can assault them with Beastmasters or splinter them to death. Plus the other Ghost Ark isn't moving and the Warriors inside are on the opposite side to both objectives.

Next turn I'll move both Overlords and sweep the Ravagers, Annihilation Barges will carry on blasting Venoms while Wraiths will assault exposed Dark Eldar units, maybe the immobilised Ravager if it hasn't been taken out to gun fire.

Turn 2

Dark Eldar second turn; Baron splits from the Beastmasters and moves towards the Wraiths in the tower ruin while the Beastmasters move and run towards the full strength Warrior unit on foot. Other Beastmasters attempt to flank around the shrine ruin on the right, though get poor run moves. Shaken remaining Trueborn Venom moves flat out and lands behind the others while the remaining Venoms move a little bit so I don't auto hit in assault.

Shooting; blasters fire into the remaining Ghost Ark, Poddy doesn't have good dice rolls, though the blaster does the job for him and it goes boom - the squad inside is then destroyed by posion shots. The depleted Warrior unit gets slaughtered by splinter cannons. Immobilised Ravager blasts a Annihilation Barge and it goes boom. I think that's all the shooting, doesn't seem a lot but trust me there was!

Assault; Beastmasters on the right attempt to move through cover to get the Wraiths by the shrine ruin, though get low terrain rolls and fail to make it. Other Beastmasters charge through the Ghost Ark wreck and lose take two wounds, shockingly the Beastmasters lose combat though pass morale. Baron charges the Wraiths, he gets lashed up and a Wraith phases and tears out his hard, good bye Baron you ginger little gakker!

I roll for reserves and the Immortals arrive, not what I wanted. They won't be in range of shooting anything this turn, so I get brave (and perhaps foolish) and prepare to throw them into assault to backup the Warriors engaged with the Beastmasters.

Necrons second turn; Overlord on the left sweeps the immobilised Ravager, I score one hit which the flickerfield saves anyway. Overlord on the right sweeps the other Ravager and I think flickerfield makes the save again. Wraiths which killed Baron move to attack the immobilised Ravager while the other Wraiths move to attack Venoms or any exposed infantry from shooting.

Shooting; Annihilation Barges blast into Venoms and cause immobilised, weapon destroyed and stunned among results - will be handy for stopping them shooting and allow Wraiths to auto hit. That's it for me!

Assault; Wraiths charge the Ravager and make it go boom, a plain Wraith takes a wound. Other Wraiths multi charge a Venom and stunned Ravager, Ravager goes bye byes while the Venom is now weapon destroyed, nice. Immortals throw caution to the wind and charge the Beastmasters, shockingly the Beastmasters lose combat and fall back - Warriors are left with a single Cryptek and Warrior who consolidate onto my objective. Immortals consolidate into the centre Ghost Ark crater.







* Tactical Notes

Another beating for both of us this turn. I've managed to take out both Ravagers, though I've had to use my Wraiths to do that and I didn't really want to. On a good note a unit of Beastmasters is falling back and will have to keep falling back because they are within 6" of my units, add in that Baron is brown bread too.

Poddy hasn't done too bad himself this turn either. He has taken out the last Ghost Ark and a Annihilation Barge and has seriously cut down my fire power. I've also lost all Necron Warrior units and my only troop choice left is the Immortals, which I consolidated the wrong way as I am a total noob..

Next turn I'll move the Immortals onto my objective if they are still alive. Overlords will do more sweeping, Annihilation Barges blast things and Wraiths cut things up. Couldn't get a simpler plan.

Turn 3

Poddy moves what Venoms he can 12" back away from my Wraiths and leaves the others to their fates, typical Dark Eldar! Beastmasters continue to fall back with a 16" movement while the other unit flanks down to tackle the Immortals which I left out for dinner...

Shooting; splinter cannons, rifles and blasters fire into the Wraiths on the Dark Eldar Venoms, only a whip coil Wraith survives with a single wound. That's it for D.E, damn those Wraiths took some punishment.

Assault; Beastmasters charge into terrain against the Immortals and wipe them all out - there goes my last whole troop choice!

Overlords continue sweeping, the one on the left flank moves in a V shape and cuts up a empty Venom though lands back by the Beastmasters, the other one cuts open a Venom and it goes boom - squad is safe and passes pinning. Annihilation Barges hold position. Full strength Wraith unit flanks around to support the single Wraith and chew on any vehicles as Barges will have to blast the Beastmasters in order to keep my objective secure.

Shooting; Annihilation Barges blast the Beastmasters, they get cover as half in terrain though they pass morale and ready to chew on necrodermis. That's it for me!

Assault; Wraiths charge a Venom and it's wrecked while the single Wraith already engaged with the Venom from previous turn just stops it from shooting again, handy.





* Tactical Notes


Things are looking a bit bleek for me. I've lost my Immortals and got a single Warrior left who can claim my objective and it appears that Warrior is next on the Beastmaster menu. There's also half the Venoms left and my only real shooting units are the Annihilation Barges and now Poddy has pulled the moving Venoms into retreat, though at least I managed to sweep one and make it go boom!

Next turn I'll move sweep the Venoms with the Overlords and use Wraiths to mop up the exposed Warrior unit, Annihilation Barges will probably move up and start blasting. I think at this point I should be looking for a draw, my troop choices are almost gone. If I can contest objectives then I've got a draw, I could win if I table Poddy, though he has a lot left and I haven't got huge amounts to deal with what he has remaining.


Turn 4


Three Venoms move to deal with the Overlord on the right flank while the Beastmasters fall back off the board. Remaining Beastmaster unit moves 1" away from my surviving troop model on my objective.

Shooting; triple blasters fire at the CCB on the right flank, I pass two saves while one blaster misses. Squad in the crater blast the CCB on Poddy's table edge and cover makes the save. Splinter rifles and blaster from the squad by the full unit of Wraiths fire, only three Wraiths left now. The solo Wraith eats splinter cannons and snuffs it.

Assault; Beastmaster charge the Cryptek and Warrior, Warrior dies though Cryptek gets back up and holds the Beastmasters in assault.

Necrons turn; I decide to keep the Annihilation Barges static and use them to tackle the exposed Warriors by the Wraiths and the immobilised Venom, these troops are closest to Poddy's objective. I then move up the Wraiths to assault Venoms in order to spread my threats about. Overlord by Poddy's table edge sweeps the Warriors in the crater close by, one dies and the Overlord bails out as only went 6". The other Overlord moves 12" and cuts open a Venom, squad inside lose two Warriors and they pass morale.

Shooting; Annihilation Barges fire and the immobilised Venom is stunned while the Warriors are left with two Dark Eldar who fail morale and fall back, they stop near my empty CCB. Guns on the CCB's fire at the two infact remaining Venoms, one is stunned the other is fine.

Assault; Wraiths multi charge the two Venoms which got shot by the Command Barges, the one which took no damage explodes and the squad inside is pinned while the other takes no damage thanks to flickerfields if I remember right. Overlord charges the Warriors and only scores one hit and then fails to wound, useless. Beastmasters fail to kill the Cryptek who passes every armour save, combat rages on.





* Tactical Notes


I think I've got lucky this turn and managed to even things out with Poddy. He had five Venoms left in the previous turn, now he has two. I've also managed to make a squad fall back who won't regroup because the empty CCB is right by them, a squad is pinned and another engaged with a Overlord.


Poddy on the other hand has taken out my last troop choice. So I can only draw this game or win by tabling Poddy.


It's turn 5 next turn and I think the game is looking at a draw. My objective is no good for machine or beast so that's out the equation. Poddy's objective has nothing nearby and the only units able to get it are stuck in terrain, pinned or in a stunned transport. I doubt he will reach it.


Turn 5


Warriors falling back walk off the board, that's good for me or else if they would have fallen back a short distance then they could have blaster'd the rear of the CCB and it didn't move flat out. Empty Venom moves around so it doesn't get auto hit by Wraiths. I think that's it.

Shooting; blaster fires into the CCB with the other Overlord still on and fails to do anything. Splinter cannons from the empty Venom fire into the Wraiths, a Wraith takes a wound.

Assault; Overlord beats the Warriors in combat and they fall back off the board, Overlord consolidates towards the pinned unit. Wraiths attack the Venom again, not sure on results. Beastmasters beat the Cryptek, who gets back up again.

Necrons fifth turn; Overlord moves towards terrain to attack the pinned unit. Other Overlord moves 6" in the CCB and sweeps the unit in front, then bails out ready to take them out personally.

Shooting; Annihilation Barge fires into the immobilised Venom and takes it out, the other Barge fires into the squad and wipes them out. Tesla cannons fire into the stunned Venom, I don't think they do anything.

Assault; Overlords charge the Warriors and wipe destroy both squads after both hit and wound with all dice rolls, pretty good going for those guys. Wraiths take out the last Venom holding troops - squad passes pinning test. Beastmasters finally do over the Cryptek and it fails to get back up.

We roll for turn 6 and it's game on. Current situation is a draw.







* Tactical Notes


I've caused a massive amount of damage to Poddy this turn and practically wiped out all his troop choices, serves him right for doing the same to mine . While I cannot win the game, Poddy has a chance and that's getting his last unit of troops into that empty Venom and moving it 12" towards his objective. If he can secure the objective he has the game in the bag.


Turn 6


Poddy gets the Warriors on foot into the empty ex-Trueborn Venom and moves it 6" and lands by his objective. He fires some splinter cannon shots and blaster shot into the Overlord which has taken out two Warrior units in combat, Overlord drops down to a single wound.

My turn; Annihilation Barges pivot to blast the Beastmasters just in case. Overlord gets back onto his CCB and moves 12" and sweeps the Venom, it's wrecked and the squad passes pinning test though still claims the objective. I float Wraiths over, luckily for them don't need terrain tests and will be in assault. Shooting wise the Anni Barges and CCB finish off the Beastmasters while the Wraiths charge the Warriors and kill them to the last man who fails morale and falls back.

We roll for the game and it ends, Necrons win by tabling Dark Eldar as any unit falling back at the end of the game is destroyed.



Summary

Calling that game brutal is a sheer understatement. I think I got a taste of my own medicine that game and I took a proper beating and feeling a bit sore. I was expecting a draw at the best once Poddy took out all my troop choices and still had half his Venoms left.

Necron list wise; dual Overlords and Barges rule, they can stay. Wraith units I've ran as units of 5, 4 and 6 now and 5 seems to be the best. Unit of 4 seem too fragile and struggle to get the job done while 6 only seem to do that bit better than a unit of 5. Troop numbers was my problem this game. Poddy hit me hard and took out all Ghost Arks early on, this took a lot of fire power and armour from me plus let him kill my troops. By turn 3 I thought it was all over. I'll stick with two units of five Wraiths with three whip coils and spend the remaining points to bulk up my Warrior units. I still have 27 points left, I could get another pulse I am not sure.

Game wise I think I played alright. I should have moved those Immortals into terrain also and maybe preserve them or even use them as a block against the solo Warrior from oncoming Beastmaster unit. I also realised I made a mistake about ever living, the Beastmasters should have consolidated before the Cryptek got back up, though makes no odds as each unit would be at each others throats again.

Poddy played very well seems it was his first game. He started off strong with a aggressive play style and hit me hard. He managed to keep this up through out most the game, though the last turns I managed to start stunning Venoms and cutting them up which really was down to good luck. He said he enjoyed them more than his Tau and is going to start working on a list with Wyches and Reavers though using mine as base.

That was a close and exciting game to read about! I don't really have any advice as I have never played DE or Necron, but it does look like you got out trooped a bit this game. Thank you for taking the time to post it up. I enjoyed your 40k acid and bile discussion by the way... I largely agree with you there as I am sure many do.

~Casey

That is one very fast-paced game.

What you should've done was deploy a Ghost Ark at the side of your 'castle' and send it over for Poddy's Objective.

Also, I think that this necron list would hugely benefit if you drop a Ghost Ark full of Warriors, and use the points to get 5 more Immortals and put the whole 10-man squad in a Night Scythe, once the model is released. If you can also get a Resorb lord to put in that squad as well, you have a very resilient unit that can be contesting the opponent's objective on turn 1

Living Still wrote:That was a close and exciting game to read about! I don't really have any advice as I have never played DE or Necron, but it does look like you got out trooped a bit this game. Thank you for taking the time to post it up. I enjoyed your 40k acid and bile discussion by the way... I largely agree with you there as I am sure many do.

~Casey

It was sheer brutal, dude. I think I got a lucky win as D.E started dropping like flies at the end. Stunning vehicles and scoring weapon destroyed results worked nicely.

You're right about the troops. I've ran with units of 5 for sometime now, though people don't usually target the Ghost Arks. Poddy knows the Ghost Arks can knock out a lot of fire power and support the Warriors. In a objective game he was right to go for these and killed two birds with one stone. I am going to tweak my list and add more Warriors, will be going with two units of 5 Wraiths and losing the weave on the Overlords.

Ah, glad you liked it. I admit I can get defensive sometimes, but that's only in the case when people start things. I don't think there's any reason to start anything really, people should really think what they put first. Leave a comment if you haven't already btw!

IHateNids wrote:That is one very fast-paced game.

What you should've done was deploy a Ghost Ark at the side of your 'castle' and send it over for Poddy's Objective.

Also, I think that this necron list would hugely benefit if you drop a Ghost Ark full of Warriors, and use the points to get 5 more Immortals and put the whole 10-man squad in a Night Scythe, once the model is released. If you can also get a Resorb lord to put in that squad as well, you have a very resilient unit that can be contesting the opponent's objective on turn 1

It seemed fast and brutal, dude, though we didn't finish until 11:30 and started at 7:30. Though Poddy won't STFU for 5 minutes and likes to talk about X-Factor and TOWIE

Right, Ghost Ark, if you check the first image you can see the lump of instant mould right in the open on the left-ish. That's Poddy's objective. You can see the Ghost Ark closest, that was 12" away from it. That Ghost Ark was the first one to get nailed. I guess Poddy has learnt something from me after all

I am not a fan of a Night Scythe plus that would change my tactics for Immortal useage. All I do is keep them in reserve and walk them in to get a objective. I know I could do this with Warriors, though I like the Immortal models and they are a little sturtier. They really don't take a aggressive stance in my list.

Surprising to see necrons actually table your DE list. Actually, no, I take that back. Necrons can actually be good enough to do that. You did make a couple of mistakes with the necrons.

- Crypteks (or members) that join a troop choice becomes troops themselves (just like Wolf Guard). They essentially become the "sergeant" of the unit and thus are scoring.

- When his beastmasters wiped out your cryptek's unit, you are no longer in cc. Thus, as you realized, they consolidate first and then you do your RP test for the cryptek. Once he gets back up, he is no longer in combat and can move/shoot/assault as normal next turn.

Now for a suggestion as to how to fine-tune your army. You will eventually get there as you did with your "Red Fleas" BA or your Purifier army.

- Ghost Arks are support units. You don't really need that many of them. I would drop 1 of your arks or even 2. Instead, get 2 more lance-teks (for a total of 8).

- Keep your wraiths maxed out at 6 if possible. You're need them against certain armies (i.e. war walker eldar and other armies that can put out Volume of Fire, including you own MSU DE). Also give 1 model a particle caster for wound allocation purposes. You'll find that this makes your wraiths more survivable. My ideal configuration:

6x Wraiths - 3x Whips, 1x Caster

- Swap out th 2+ on your Overlords to Mindshackles. This lets them deal with enemy uber-units, HQ's, monstrous creatures, etc. MSS is just that good.

About the only thing that really confused me about the whole deal was ehy poddy didn't start tearing into the Wraiths earlier with the Venoms and such. Realistically, once the Arks are down, he could forgo shooting the warriors for at least a turn and pour the Splinters into the Wraiths...

Maybe there was some LOS issues with that plan, but that's what I would've done.

Unholy_Martyr wrote:About the only thing that really confused me about the whole deal was ehy poddy didn't start tearing into the Wraiths earlier with the Venoms and such. Realistically, once the Arks are down, he could forgo shooting the warriors for at least a turn and pour the Splinters into the Wraiths...

Maybe there was some LOS issues with that plan, but that's what I would've done.

My guess is inexperience. Never having dealt with them before, you don't realize how good they can be. Trust me, next time he faces them, he will ignore the warriors to go after the wraiths.

True, although, if I'm not mistaken, he's faced mercer's Necrons before.

mercer wrote:I am not a fan of a Night Scythe plus that would change my tactics for Immortal useage. All I do is keep them in reserve and walk them in to get a objective. I know I could do this with Warriors, though I like the Immortal models and they are a little sturtier. They really don't take a aggressive stance in my list.

The Night Scythe is good in the way it is a Supersonic (Flat Out 36") transport that has the same guns as the Anni Barges that served you so well, just boost them about 12" and Tesla stuff to death. They can also DS if you want reserved Immortals. The only reason I don't use at least 2 in every game I play is that my FLGS is full of Lascannon-toting SM players. AV11+Lascannon=usually dead AV11, but against DE it should be fine

jy2 wrote:Surprising to see necrons actually table your DE list. Actually, no, I take that back. Necrons can actually be good enough to do that. You did make a couple of mistakes with the necrons.

- Crypteks (or members) that join a troop choice becomes troops themselves (just like Wolf Guard). They essentially become the "sergeant" of the unit and thus are scoring.

- When his beastmasters wiped out your cryptek's unit, you are no longer in cc. Thus, as you realized, they consolidate first and then you do your RP test for the cryptek. Once he gets back up, he is no longer in combat and can move/shoot/assault as normal next turn.

Now for a suggestion as to how to fine-tune your army. You will eventually get there as you did with your "Red Fleas" BA or your Purifier army.

- Ghost Arks are support units. You don't really need that many of them. I would drop 1 of your arks or even 2. Instead, get 2 more lance-teks (for a total of 8).

- Keep your wraiths maxed out at 6 if possible. You're need them against certain armies (i.e. war walker eldar and other armies that can put out Volume of Fire, including you own MSU DE). Also give 1 model a particle caster for wound allocation purposes. You'll find that this makes your wraiths more survivable. My ideal configuration:

6x Wraiths - 3x Whips, 1x Caster

- Swap out th 2+ on your Overlords to Mindshackles. This lets them deal with enemy uber-units, HQ's, monstrous creatures, etc. MSS is just that good.

I got to admit, dude, that I was expecting a beat down. I didn't get beat down as much as I expecting, though I took some pain. Also we need to take into consideration that this is the first time Poddy has used Dark Eldar and open topped transports. I purposely didn't give him much tactical advice (I made two suggestions, going second and also at the end putting that squad into the empty Venom) for reasons already mentioned.

I see where you're coming from about the Crypteks, but is there any documentation to go on that? I know it's all good and well saying Wolf Guard can do it, but you no what G.W are like for changing things and rulings across codexes.

Yes, I thought of that after when writing the report and checked the codex ruling too and put up a post on here. I don't think it makes any odds as the Beastmasters would have re-charged the Cryptek next turn either way.

I may consider that with the Ghost Arks. Seven av13 vehicles is pretty tough, though those additoinal Crypteks would add another shot per 'Ghost Ark' giving three S8 shots. I'll give that some thought.

I didn't find that much difference between five and six Wraiths to be honest. Of course I do want them to live. Some more food for thought.

Mindshackles, I've used them several times in the past and didn't find them that impressive. It's the random nature of a model and also the leadership (which is tough to pass as 3D6). They are not something I am massively fond on. Also because I am moving Overlords flat out and sweeping, it's rarely I get out. If I do it's to tackle weak units i.e Warriors, Guardsmen, Combat Squads etc or tie up units i.e Long Fangs.

Unholy_Martyr wrote:About the only thing that really confused me about the whole deal was ehy poddy didn't start tearing into the Wraiths earlier with the Venoms and such. Realistically, once the Arks are down, he could forgo shooting the warriors for at least a turn and pour the Splinters into the Wraiths...

Maybe there was some LOS issues with that plan, but that's what I would've done.

Personally I would have done that as the Wraiths can move 12" and his Trueborn may have survived. On the other hand his tactics aren't as sound because his first time playing D.E and he's focusing on other things. Plus he's only played against my 'Crons once and may have forgot about the Wraiths moving 12".

No LOS issues btw, he did fire at the Wraiths once, he just focused on troops first turn.

jy2 wrote:

Unholy_Martyr wrote:About the only thing that really confused me about the whole deal was ehy poddy didn't start tearing into the Wraiths earlier with the Venoms and such. Realistically, once the Arks are down, he could forgo shooting the warriors for at least a turn and pour the Splinters into the Wraiths...

Maybe there was some LOS issues with that plan, but that's what I would've done.

My guess is inexperience. Never having dealt with them before, you don't realize how good they can be. Trust me, next time he faces them, he will ignore the warriors to go after the wraiths.

He's met them once, so probably forgot they can move 12". I think he also had lots of other stuff going on too to be fair.

Nice to see some pix of the new wraiths by puppetswar in action. Not sure why Poddy decided to close the gap. He should have hung back and blasted all day. I figured you would win this game as well.

This is unrelated but wasthe person who wrote the Necron book write the Dark Eldar book too? I was wondering because they have some similair rules eg. Being able to fire all weapons after moving 12 inches and 36" flat out / turbo boost.

No - Mat Ward wrote Cronz and Phil Kelly wrote dark eldar .

mercer wrote:I see where you're coming from about the Crypteks, but is there any documentation to go on that? I know it's all good and well saying Wolf Guard can do it, but you no what G.W are like for changing things and rulings across codexes.

I've created a thread regarding this on YDMC. You can find it here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/441117.page

Yes, I thought of that after when writing the report and checked the codex ruling too and put up a post on here. I don't think it makes any odds as the Beastmasters would have re-charged the Cryptek next turn either way.

Very true. However, the cryptek could've shot at a venom/DE transport on your turn before getting "re-charged" be the beasts. Also, this leaves the beastpack open to getting shot at by your army (if you had any shooting left at that point).

I didn't find that much difference between five and six Wraiths to be honest. Of course I do want them to live. Some more food for thought.

Poddy could've easily taken out your wraiths had he focused on them instead of the warriors. Most opponents with more experience will usually try to take out the wraiths first. That's why I prefer to maximize my wraiths unless I'm taking 3 units of them. I think if you guys have a rematch in the future, Poddy will probably change his target priority.

Actually I would have gone for the CCB 1st as I think they even outshine the wraiths as they are lethal in every phase.

Also keep in mind that had he consolidated well after killing the cryptek, he easily could have prevented him from RP by swamping the counter with his models.

Nice report, too bad stalkers are such rubbish, I want to like them but they are so over priced for what they bring.

GG

I was thinking I would have tried to focus first on the CCBs too if I had been in Poddy's shoes.... They can be tough to take down though so maybe going for easier kills was more attractive to him.

-666- wrote:I was thinking I would have tried to focus first on the CCBs too if I had been in Poddy's shoes.... They can be tough to take down though so maybe going for easier kills was more attractive to him.

Agreed. Poddy is learning though, this game was a vast improvement over his other matches. But yes, focus down the CCB's then the Wraiths then everything else. The warriors are cake for a venomspam list to take out.

-666- wrote:Nice to see some pix of the new wraiths by puppetswar in action. Not sure why Poddy decided to close the gap. He should have hung back and blasted all day. I figured you would win this game as well.

The Wraiths are nice looking models, though a bit too delicate. I need to get them on 25mm bases (ran out) and put a coin underneath to keep them on the board.

I am also not sure either why he closed the gap, I did suggest hanging back. You know what he is like .

jy2 wrote:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/441117.page

Thanks

Very true. However, the cryptek could've shot at a venom/DE transport on your turn before getting "re-charged" be the beasts. Also, this leaves the beastpack open to getting shot at by your army (if you had any shooting left at that point).

I am not sure if that would be possible. Reason is the Cryptek and Beastmasters were in that large ruin on my left flank, all Venoms and fallen back toward's Poddy's table edge towards the right flank. The tower ruin in the middle probably would have blocked LOS or because firing diagonal the Cryptek may have been out of range. I guess it's something we will never know, though you do make a good point.

Poddy could've easily taken out your wraiths had he focused on them instead of the warriors. Most opponents with more experience will usually try to take out the wraiths first. That's why I prefer to maximize my wraiths unless I'm taking 3 units of them. I think if you guys have a rematch in the future, Poddy will probably change his target priority.

Oh I totally agree he could have took those Wraiths out, I reckon he could have took out a unit of caused massive damage in a single round of shooting from splinter cannons. I suspect it probably will change target priority, he told me how annoying the Wraiths were.

Great batrep as always mercer, that was quite a damn bloody match. I expected poddy for actually win this match after the first few turns, but you finished very well. Looking forward to the next batrep, just gotta throw some daemons in there next .

Thanks about the report, dude. I too was expecting Poddy to pick up the win on this one.

Only a few Daemon players at the club I go to, and only one of them is really any good. He also hardly plays, which is a shame, though he has said about my 'Crons vs his Daemons soon

mercer wrote:I wouldn't say Stalkers are rubbish. I'd say meh, average. They add some twin-linked niceness, but score weapon destroyed and you've lost that ability plus the weapon itself. They can also be hit with tarpit in assault. I think the cherry on top to make them average is lack of model and difficulty converting.

Pretty much the only way GW are going to see a lot of sales for those things when they get released is if the model turns out to be impressive.

Regardless, I'll echo everyone else by saying awesome report!
Always glad to see Wraiths used to the best effect!
*waves little flag with a Wraith on it*

IHateNids wrote:

mercer wrote:I am not a fan of a Night Scythe plus that would change my tactics for Immortal useage. All I do is keep them in reserve and walk them in to get a objective. I know I could do this with Warriors, though I like the Immortal models and they are a little sturtier. They really don't take a aggressive stance in my list.

The Night Scythe is good in the way it is a Supersonic (Flat Out 36" transport that has the same guns as the Anni Barges that served you so well, just boost them about 12" and Tesla stuff to death. They can also DS if you want reserved Immortals. The only reason I don't use at least 2 in every game I play is that my FLGS is full of Lascannon-toting SM players. AV11+Lascannon=usually dead AV11, but against DE it should be fine

Then it meets my good old friend... LR lascannons ...

I dare say, with all that armor floating around the battlefield already, your opponent would have a tough time trying to prioritize targets.
AV 11 might look like an easier target, and so might steal attention away from the more important elements of your army...

skoffs wrote:I dare say, with all that armor floating around the battlefield already, your opponent would have a tough time trying to prioritize targets.
AV 11 might look like an easier target, and so might steal attention away from the more important elements of your army...

Actually I was meaning land raider ...

Also awesome bat rep Mercer, I am gonna use a all-army proxy of DE against 'Nids any advice?

That sounds fun, when?

skoffs wrote:

mercer wrote:I wouldn't say Stalkers are rubbish. I'd say meh, average. They add some twin-linked niceness, but score weapon destroyed and you've lost that ability plus the weapon itself. They can also be hit with tarpit in assault. I think the cherry on top to make them average is lack of model and difficulty converting.

Pretty much the only way GW are going to see a lot of sales for those things when they get released is if the model turns out to be impressive.

Regardless, I'll echo everyone else by saying awesome report!
Always glad to see Wraiths used to the best effect!
*waves little flag with a Wraith on it*

Thanks about the report

happygolucky wrote:

skoffs wrote:I dare say, with all that armor floating around the battlefield already, your opponent would have a tough time trying to prioritize targets.
AV 11 might look like an easier target, and so might steal attention away from the more important elements of your army...

Actually I was meaning land raider ...

Also awesome bat rep Mercer, I am gonna use a all-army proxy of DE against 'Nids any advice?

Thanks about the report. Hmmm, advice for D.E against 'Nids, tell the Tyranid player not to bother getting out his stuff as you win

Actually I think nid players complain too much about this match up. A dakka venom will shoot 12, hit 9 times, causing 4.5 wounds, and if a tyranid player is playing correctly he will have a 4+ cover save of FnP on what ever is being shot. 3+ save on big gribblies. That's 2 wounds on the horde or 1 on a big un. Hardly worth complaining. As for dark matter, gimme a break who isn't loaded with AT these days. Poison is good but over rated here.

mercer wrote:

skoffs wrote:

mercer wrote:I wouldn't say Stalkers are rubbish. I'd say meh, average. They add some twin-linked niceness, but score weapon destroyed and you've lost that ability plus the weapon itself. They can also be hit with tarpit in assault. I think the cherry on top to make them average is lack of model and difficulty converting.

Pretty much the only way GW are going to see a lot of sales for those things when they get released is if the model turns out to be impressive.

Regardless, I'll echo everyone else by saying awesome report!
Always glad to see Wraiths used to the best effect!
*waves little flag with a Wraith on it*

Thanks about the report

happygolucky wrote:

skoffs wrote:I dare say, with all that armor floating around the battlefield already, your opponent would have a tough time trying to prioritize targets.
AV 11 might look like an easier target, and so might steal attention away from the more important elements of your army...

Actually I was meaning land raider ...

Also awesome bat rep Mercer, I am gonna use a all-army proxy of DE against 'Nids any advice?

Thanks about the report. Hmmm, advice for D.E against 'Nids, tell the Tyranid player not to bother getting out his stuff as you win

Cheers I was thinking about using a cross between Archon kabals and heamonculi coven with everything in raiders (mainly because I Dont like wych cults because to me they are quite fathy with different types of weapons and I have played Venomspam in tourneys, and yes I lost to them... twice, but it wasn't that fun to play against and I wouldn't like to subject anyone else to that crushing list) I was also wondering are Talos good for one heavy support slot or do the go better in pairs?

Red Corsair wrote:Actually I think nid player complain too much about this match up. A dakka venom will shoot 12, hit 9 times, causing 4.5 wounds, and if a tyranid player is playing correctly he will have a 4+ cover save of FnP on what ever is being shot. 3+ save on big gribblies. That's 2 wounds on the horde or 1 on a big un. Hardly worth complaining. As for dark matter, gimme a break who isn't loaded with AT these days. Poison is good but over rated here.

No, he has every reason to. This is IMO the toughest matchup for tyranids, even tougher than grey knights. He's got 9 venoms!!! That's 40.5 wounds each turn just from splinter weaponry. FNP is hardly any protection at all. At 2K, most tyranid lists will have 2 tervigons at most. That's only 2 sources of FNP. Just fire at the unit not FNP'd. So if the tyranid player FNP's the hive guards, fire at the tervigons. If he FNP's the tervies, then take out his offense by killing his hive guards. And to advance towards the DE player, tyranids will need to eventually move out of cover for the gribblies....not that that matters after you take out their sources for synapse.

I see it again in this report??? Are the triarch stalkers in the photo's a proxy or were they accidentally included? I dont see them in the list and the army adds up to 2k without them? Just confused is all. Another good report. Dark Eldar can give necrons a run for there money but having so much dakka can really hurt DE.