Lord Er’Khun smiled to himself as he sent a small impromptu squad forward into the forests around the shrine. Some of his finest soldiers were in that squad, but all had risen above themselves. He knew they wanted his power, his position. And should any of them survive their little ambush, he might even consider them worth a small token of it.
It was so easy to manipulate these alien vermin, he thought to himself. A small feint to a known Eldar artefact draws them in, and now they felt they must stop the daemonic rites that he intended to perform. As if he could perform the rites without their blood anyway.
+++
So, MarsNZ and I spent Good Friday playing games. First was a small 6th Ed game, which we followed with the same armies but in 2nd Ed. This is the 2nd Ed game.
Here's the first game.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/591405.page
Here's the third game.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/591406.page
Eldar - 1000 points
Farseer with Singing Spear.
I received Guide, Fortune, Doom and Battlefate.
Exarch with Power Sword and Shuriken Pistol.
Exarch with Reaper Helmet and Eldar Missile Launcher.
5 Dire Avengers.
8 Guardians with Shuriken Catapults.
9 Guardians with shuriken Catapults.
3 Dark Reapers.
Support Battery with crew, two Lascannons.
Strategy Cards – Brilliant Strategy (+
D6 to my Strategy Rating), Barrage (Free template attack anywhere on the board once)
Chaos – 1000 points
Terminator Chaos Lord with Lightning Claw and Combi-bolter.
Champion.
Champion in Terminator armour with Powerfist.
8 Veterans with 2 Mark 1 Plasmaguns.
3 Terminators with 1 Chainfist and 2 Combi-meltas.
1 Dreadnought with twin-linked Heavy Bolters and Powerclaw
Allied Cultist Coven
Allied Cultist Coven
Strategy Cards – Covering Fire (Allows a unit to deploy on Overwatch and gain +1 to hit in the first turn), Crackshot (Halves vehicle armour for one shot)
The Missions:
I got Bunker Assault (+5
VP for destroying the bunker) and MarsNZ got Engage and Destroy (+1
VP for wiped out units) and we had the usual 2nd Ed Kill Points as well. We looked up the rules for bunkers and found a damage table and an armour chart. We decided on 25 as the armour value for the Bunker. In retrospect, we think 22 would probably have been better.
My Brilliant Strategy card only added 1 to my Strategy Rating, meaning MarsNZ got to choose his side and deployed second but I did manage to score the first turn.
Deployment:
Turn One:
Eldar – The Veterans in the woods to my left took full advantage of their Overwatch status, allowing them to fire in my movement phase, shredding many of the Guardians. In response I moved up, trying to return fire with a storm of shuriken, but found it hard to hit the Veterans, even jamming one of my catapults. I decided to use my Barrage early, in the hopes of scattering to hit Cultists or Terminators. Unfortunately, it ended up landing on nothing. The Farseer managed to cast Fortune on the Avengers at the end of this turn, improving their armour save by 2.
Chaos – The Terminators moved up the Trench toward their bunker and the Helbrute began taking pot shots through the archway. The Veterans charged into the Guardians and, unsurprisingly, tore them apart in combat, breaking them and sending them fleeing off the board.
Turn Two:
Eldar – The Avengers lived up to their name, stepping up face to face with the enemy and killing all but one with their Shuriken Catapults. The lone Veteran broke and ran through the forest to the silos on the other side. The Support Battery spent its time, as the last turn, pouring Lascannon fire into the Bunker, to no avail. However, the Dark Reapers managed to send a Krak Missile into the Dreadnought in the backfield, destroying its close combat arm, and sending explosions down its chassis, immobilising it. They fired at the Dread, because their Krak missiles weren’t able to damage the Bunker with the armour we had chosen…
Chaos – Continued to move forward, the Terminators taking space in the Bunker. The Dreadnought let rip with its Heavy Bolters, with a shocking four sustained fire dice, ripping apart the Dark Reapers. His Veteran rallied at the end of his turn.
+++
The encased remains of his fallen comrade screamed to the storm wracked sky in endless fury. Unable to move any closer, its legs jammed and whining in mechanical protest, the dreadnought leaned forward, desperately trying to engage the Eldar. Er’Khun laughed at the beast’s torment and then in elation as the twin’linked heavy bolter mounted on its arm began humming as it opened fire. A stream of bellowing rockets and deep thuds filled the air, the massive shells exploding into the aliens that swarmed closer and closer to the shrine. Er’Khun could almost see their souls as they died, each one being meticulously gathered up by the forces he had summoned to this forgotten altar. The dreadnought’s gun seemed never ending, whining on and on as it traced a line of death through the enemy line.
+++
Turn Three:
Eldar – Again I pounded the Bunker with Lascannons. Again, nothing. The Avengers ran through the woods, chasing the lone Chaos Veteran. The Guardians tried a couple of shots at the Terminators in the Bunker, but missed.
Chaos – The Veteran ran for cover, steering clear of the Avengers’ Line of Sight. The Dreadnought got another massive sustained fire result, killing off the remaining Guardians.
Turn Four:
Eldar – More potshots. Still no result.
Chaos – Keeps running. More Dreadnought firepower, trying to damage the Support Battery this time.
In the 2nd Ed rules it suggests four turns are good for a standard game. We decided we liked having a little uncertainty about the end of the game, so decided to roll a die and go to turn five on a 4+.
Turn Five:
Eldar – A last ditch push to get close to the single remaining Veteran. I wanted that Kill Point! No result from the shooting phase with the Lascannons. However, I finally roll enough Force cards to put Guide into effect, choosing one weapon and firing it immediately, automatically hitting. If I can get one good Lascannon shot in…
MarsNZ decides to Nullify it with a Daemonic Attack. On a 3-, my Farseer will be killed instantly. However, there are modifiers based on my power level and the Force required to cast the power. All in all, I need a 2+ to survive. I promptly roll a 1 and concede the game.
+++
Er’Khun watched the Farseer walk closer to the shrine. ‘He thinks there’s still time’ though the Chaos Lord in wonder. The ancient alien raised his arms, and gestured towards the small weapons platforms that seemed to be all that remained of the Eldar force. As he moved, a blackness appeared surrounding him. Arms and tentacles, hooked pincers and appendages to bizarre to name reached out of the hole, at once too large and too small for the things that filled it. They wrapped around the Farsee and dragged him into the blackness with them.
In the centre of the wrecked shrine, runes began to glow and a misty figure began to appear. It’s long neck swung around, searching for Er’Khun. He stepped forward to great the daemon he ahd bargained with. The thing’s massive beak opened, but did not move as a voice spilled out.
“My dear sister will be upset that I took these souls.” A multi-tipped tongue passed over the edge of the beak before the voice returned. “But what she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her.”
Er’Khun’s laughter echoed over the bodies of the dead.
Here's the next battle in this story.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/591406.page
