Farseer Kenbae stood silently in the Crystal Tower of Craftworld Eu'Banthk, staring intently at the rare thing in his hands. He turned it over and over in his palm, appreciating it's heavy weight, brass color, and even it's crude design. The dud bolter round held a curious significance in his personal collection of war-trophies. Kenbae didn't keep them because he relished conflict, but rather because each one helped him to remember the sepcifics of his Craftworlds short and brutal history, and there were lessons learned in every piece he had chosen to collect.
This particular shell came from an Ultramarine Captain that had suffered defeat twice at the hands of his Aspect Warriors. The Farseer had refused to kill the man thus far, and would continue to do so. The mans fates held a curious portent for the survival of his Craftworld. Still... Farseer Kenbae continued to look at the shell.. reminiscing their most recent battle.
Eldar vs Ultramarines, 2000 points.
Game Type: Annihilation.
Deployment: Spearhead.
Eldar - 1993 points.
HQ
Farseer
(Runes Ward/ Runes Wit, Doom, Fortune, Spirit Stones)
Prince Yriel
Troops
Pathfinders x5
Dire Avengers x10
(Exarch, Dual S-Cat, Bladestorm,
TL SC Waveserpent)
Dire Avengers x10
(Exarch, Dual S-Cat, Bladestorm,
TL SC Waveserpent)
Elites
Fire Dragons x5
(
TL SC Waveserpent)
Banshees x10
(Exarch, Executioner, Acrobatic, Warshout,
TL SC Waveserpent)
Heavy Support
Fire Prism
(Holofields)
Fire Prism
(Holofields)
Dark Reapers x5
(Exarch w/ Missile Launcher and Fast Shot)
Space Marines
HQ
Space Marine Captain
(Artificer Armor, Combi-Plasma)
Command Squad
(Apothecary, Company Standard, Company Champion w/ Plasmagun and Powerfist, 3 vets w/ various combi-weapons and power weapons)
Space Marine Chapter Master
(Combi-Melta and Power Weapon)
Troops
Tac Squad x 2
(Various Combi-Weapons on Sergeants. Random Heavies)
Assault Squad x1
(Jetpacks, Plasma Pistol, Melta Bombs)
Scout Squad x1
(Snipers x4, Telion Upgrade)
Elites
Legion of the Damned x5
(Plasmagun and Heavy Bolter)
Dread
(Plasmacannon and
HF)
Dread
(Assault Cannon and
HF)
Fast Attack
Land Speeder
(Multi-Melta)
Heavy Support
Devastator Squad x4
(
ML x4 and a Power Weapon on the Sergeant)
Thunderfire Cannon x1
This game is vs another member of my command here at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City. He's been painting and modeling his Marines for years but has only recently started playing. He hasn't forayed into deploying tanks quite yet, so we both have some pretty soft lists. Either way, the game was pretty good.
Deployment
My Deployment:
His Deployment:
Using some trees and terrain as cover, I set up without reserving anything. I'm going first and am in a hurry to get some Banshees across the board to stab my enemy. He deploys mostly in terrain and 1 squad up in the open. The Thunderfire Cannon could be bad to my Reapers and Pathfinders if he uses it right, so it needs to be a higher priority. Then again, he new. So I waffle about on my tactics this turn and make some pretty non-commital opening steps.
Turn 1
I move some Waveserpents flat out for saves, Link-fire my Prisms to vaporize 6 Marines out in the open, and try to target some Reaper Exarch
ML fire on his Dread, but whiff them all. Without much armor on the board, I slink my
FD Waveserpent forward for cover and toward one of his Dreads. (
FD serpent is the black/orange
WiP.)
Farseer Kenbae urges his Waveserpent pilots forward. They must engage the enemy at medium range for success!
He moved some of his units forward, most noteably his Speeder and Jump Marines. The Speeder missed with it's multi-melta and the Assault Marines kept my
FD Serpent from shooting. His Thunderfire rounds were centered on my Southwest
FP to no effect. His Orbital Strike took the Prism Cannon off the same Tank, gimping it greatly. His Devastators shook a
WS, keeping it's Shuriken Cannons off target for another turn.
Turn 2
Farseer Kenbae was optimistic. After exchanging ranged salvo's with the enemy his army was still very much intact. Some tank pilots were reporting minor system errors, but the great part of his firepower was still available. His own pilot reported a squad of Assault Marines closing in fast. Relaying his commands to his Dark Reapers, he ordered a focused strike on the jumping menace.
I moved my
FD Serpent up enough for cover and opened fire with my Banshee/Farseer tank and my Reapers. His Assault Squad was wiped from the board quickly and without mercy.
Before Reapers...
After Reapers...
My Prism Cannon-less Prism Tank moved flat out over some rocks, setting up to ram his oncoming speeder. It was joined by a second skimmer containing some
DA's who I hoped would be able to end the Thunderfire threat.
His turn 2 was much like his first. His plasma dread opened fire on my Reaper, killing 2 of them. His second dread shook my
FP, keeping my remaining Prism Cannon in check. He moved some marines forward and whiffed with his Landspeeder. Sniper fire plinked off my
FD WS, doing nothing. He wasted another round of Thunderfire cannon shooting, trying to destroy my
AV 12 tanks with it. He failed to score the necessary 6 to have any effect. His Devastators took the shuriken cannon off the closest
WS to them. Rats. His next biggest accomplishment was immobilizing my
FD waveserpent.
Turn 3
More reports of pilots unable to fire trickled across the Farseers mindlink with his Exarchs. His Reapers were under heavy fire, but seemed stable. From the holo-cameras inside his Serpent he watches with pride as one of his prism tanks decides to take it to the enemy, guns or none.
I declared two rams this turn, and both were pretty Meh. The first was a
Str 6
FP vs rear
AV on a his Speeder. I hit it and penn'd, but only managed a stunned result. The other was my gun-less
FP that was neutered by his Orbital Strike. It tried to ram the thunderfire cannon but blew itself up in the terrain. Reaper exarch honed in on one of his dreads and managed to blow off his Assault Cannon. I moved my Banshee/Farseer/Yriel Serpent into the terrain in the middle of the field, preparing for an assault soon. The other Serpent moved up and fired, killing a couple of Marines. My Pathfinders were useless and did nothing.
FD's reduced the Plasmacannon dread to little more than slag.
Ramming Speed Win!
Ramming Speed Fail!
Fire Dragon Win!
His 3rd Turn was pretty decent. His Devastator Squad
ML's a Serpent to death and his marines rapid fire and kill some avengers. He puts 10 wounds on em and I fail 2 4+ saves. Great rolling on my part. His Legion of the Damned kills 2 Dragons and his Captain shoots and kills 2
FD's. He assaults them with his
LotD and kills 2 more, taking 0 wounds in return. I run away and get away. Run little Dragon! He also wastes more Thunderfire rounds.
Bad Tank! Bad!
Run Away!
Turn 4
One by one Farseer Kenbae was losing communications with his Tank pilots. All that remained was 2 Wave Serpents, a cripple FD Serpent, and a lone Fire Prism. The gloom was interrupted by feelings of elation and joy from his Pathfinders. They had managed to cripple the enemy landspeeders weapons systems. One less threat to worry about. Kenbae's Serpent's warning lights flared. The pilot had decided they were in assault range of the enemy now. Kenbae and his Autarch Supreme readied themselves for assault with their Banshee warriors. Dark, primitive urges were kept at bay as Kenbae tightened his grip on his Wraithsword, and leapt from the back of their transport, taunting the enemy marines even as their Banshee's wails swept across the field of battle.
Charged from my transport and killed lots of marines, leaving 2 alive at the end of the assault phase. I wasnt too worried about the counter-charge from his Command Squad. My Pathfinders found their guns for once and managed to blow the multi-melta off the speeder. Dire Avengers went all crazy Bladestorm on the Thunderfire Cannon and the Techmarine and did 0 wounds and 0 glances. Yikes! Fire Prism tried to finish the speeder off but scattered into oblivion.
Fear the Banshee's Wail!
His Turn 4 was pretty beardy as well. He assaulted 2 of my serpents and took the shuriken cannons off both. The
FD serpent was reduced to no guns and was immobilized. 1 more glance on it meant it went dead. His Command squad chose to assault the Serpentthey came out of instead of my Banshees. Fine with me I suppose. His Devastators shot at my last Prism and stunned it, so no super shooting for me next turn. His thunderfire cannon wised up and used the Air Burst no cover save blast on my Pathfinders, and killed all but two. Like an idiot, I removed models in a way that took me out of coherency.
Eat Fist you Tank!
And you too, Tank 2!
Turn 5
"All squads! Continue to press the attack! We depart after 1 more push!" Farseer Kenbae could feel the enemy's frustration rising. He watched without emotion as his Autarch finished the last marine standing in their path. He consolidated himself and his Banshees behind the Marine Command Squad that had just immobilized his transport. Another skimmer flew overhead and landed behind a now-immobilized dreadnaught, which had suffered a barrage of Reaper missiles that left it unable to move.
I took out his last dreads legs.. Ran my
DA's into area terrain just away from his Devastator Squad, and flew a skimmer behind his dread for rear
AV shooting fun. I set my
IC's up to take the brunt of his next charge so I could make sure all their special attacks went off. Up to this point and from here on out, I was dooming/fortuning as expected.
Were coming for you!
Turn 5 got him a few more
KP's. His Command Squad flipped over my immobilized Waveserpent and his Legion of the Damned did the same. He stunned my
FP again with his devastator squad, and whiffed on my
DA's with his Techmarine.
He really hates my tanks!
Turn 6
The Farseer Kenbae was waist deep in actuator fluids and human blood. Marines fell before him and his Banshees like water. He personally dispatched the Chapter Master. The man's future was unimportant. He continued to be a soft presence in the mind of his warriors, reminding them the Captiain must live through this day...
I assaulted his command squad and killed everything there except the Captain and a single Vet. Losing the initiative roll I caught him and he passed 6 of 7 armor saves, leaing the Captain alive with a single wound. My
DA's blade stormed the Thunderfire again, killing it and the techmarine. My Serpent blew up his last Dread. On his turn he routed my
DA's with his Devastators but the last few got away. I wound up winning like 8 to 4.
Run stupid Eldar!
Victory is ours! Submit foolish human!
Farseer Kenbae watched as the remainder of his forces were marshalled off the field. He glanced briefly to the humans he had seperated into two groups. Those deemed dangerous to his kind would find peace at the end of a Fire Prism. The others were disarmed and unarmored and left tied to a center ruins with their Captain. He couldn't offer surrender or let them go. Their pride would prevent such an easy ending. Instead they were badly bound and fed lies about being left to the mercy of the wild beasts and harsh cold of the planet. They would escape before too long, then radio for planetary evacuation. By that time however, the war host of the Craftworld Eu'Banthk would be long departed, keeping a curious eye on this Marine Captain..
My friend plays well for being so new. I dont know if Rhino spam would have helped him much as it wouldve been a lot of easy
KP's to pick up. As it were it was my Banshees that earned the majority of what I got. I started trying them out because with
GK's running around at I6, I have a feeling Scorpions are done for.
Anyways, hope the Rep isn't too bad.
Later!
