Welcome to game 37 of our campaign. As the Imperial forces continue their grinding advance towards the Chaos held Hive Erd,
the third player in the war makes their presence felt again.
The Eldar have so far proven an enigmatic foe in the Triskelion war – prepared to attack either the Imperial or Chaos forces seemingly at will for their own inscrutable purposes
The Imperium has however, finally tired of their interference in the broader conflict.
Prognosticators and sanctioned psykers have identified an area to the north of the main Imperial line of advance that bears the unmistakable psychic spoor of the Eldar.
A force led by Inquisitor Bellerophon is split off from the guard main force and with the mission to bring the perfidious aliens to decisive battle and knock them out of the war.
Previous games in this campaign can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Gordy2000%27s_Battle_Reports
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Farseer Asurtelar cast the sprit stones into the air before him. The polished orbs bobbed and danced just above his outstretched fingertips as he scryed the skeins of fate.
The runes on the stones began to glow softly in the pre-dawn light, illuminating the Eldar Commander along with a small circle in the woods he and his force occupied.
One spirit stone hovered briefly in front of his face, before joining the others in their swirling pattern.
In the moment it revealed itself, Asurtelar had marked the bloody rune of Khaine etched on its surface.
With a gesture, the Eldar swept the stones from the air and into the jewelled case at his waist. He turned to his assembled warriors.
“The Mon-Keigh approach. Today will bring a bloody dawn for us my children, but it is a price that must be paid if we are to reclaim that which was lost so long ago.
To your positions – they will be here soon.”
The Eldar around him bowed and then darted away with the elegant speed of their ancient race.
Asurtelar watched them go and wondered how many more spirit stones he would have to collect this day….
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The field of battle with forces arrayed on either side of the woods
Eldar infantry and skimmer tanks advance
The Imperial force is sighted by the Eldar’s keen eyes
The Imperial Guard move into the woods
They are accompanied by the forces of the church
Inquisitor Bellerophon is escorted by his retinue and a detachment of Sororitas
The Imperial battleline spreads out as it enters the woods
The concealed Eldar forces strike without warning
The Hellhound is damaged immediately
A Sentinel is also hit and a Tauros destroyed by Elder weapons platforms and skimmer fire
With the enemy sighted, the church forces surge forwards
Inquisitor Bellerophon leads his detachment into the fray
Withering Eldar fire eliminates guardsmen, church rabble and even a few Sororitas
Battle is joined
The Guardian squad in front of the Hellhound pay dearly for their inability to destroy is outright as it bathes them in fire
Commandos and Drop Troops deep strike behind the Eldar line and chew up a Dark Reaper Squad attempting to flank the Imperial advance
The Eldar receive a surprise of their own as a penitent engine crashes through the trees and into the remaining guardians
The Imperial line closes with their elusive enemy
The sister superior leads her forces forwards
The church faithful storm forwards
A lone Warlock moves to help the depleted guardians, along with an Avatar of Khaine in support
More drop troops move up with a damaged penitent engine
Forwards for the Emperor!
Eldar skimmers attempt to slow the tide of Imperial troops, but are taking damage in return
Having wiped out the guardians, the penitent engine turns its attentions to the new arrivals
Swooping Hawks attack the Imperial flank
Dire Avengers and Wraithguard hold the line
The avatar easily dispatches the penitent engine
The Hellhound is destroyed by Eldar skimmers as the Imperial line closes
Bellerophon’s retinue is stripped away by a torrent of Dire Avenger shurikens
“Into the trees! Flush out the Xenos scum!”
Farseer Asurtelar is wounded as he casts protections on his forces
Church rabble crash into the Dire Avengers, pulling down the elite infantry with weight of numbers
Two more penitent engines assault the Avatar
They fare no better than their predecessors, being contemptuously cut down by the raging bloody Hand of Khaine
Commandos assault the Fire Prism, destroying it with anti-tank grenades
More Commandos thin out the Wraithguard, taking casualties in return
The melta team moves up and targets the wounded Avatar
The mighty Eldar icon of war is caught by multiple beams, but is still standing as the steam clears. Incredibly, he is laid low by a single las-pistol shot from the squad sergeant (that’s a medal right there!)
The melta squad goes on to eliminate the Warlock
Sororitas and church forces pull down more of the Eldar force.
Farseer Asurtelar doesn’t need his runes to see where the battle is going. With a psychic signal, the depleted Eldar forces disengage and melt into the woods….
Imperial victory!
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Inquisitor Bellerophon pulled his sword from the dead xenos warrior. Around him the crack of lasgun fire and bolter rounds died away as their enemy fled into the woods.
The day was won.
He looked around the clearing as his forces policed the enemy dead and looked to their own casualties. A kernel of doubt tugged at his mind.
Why were the xenos forces so light? He had witnessed a superior force in earlier engagements – where was it now?
More pressing, where were the xenos artifacts taken from the Mechanicus and the moons of Triskelion, under the very noses of the Inquisition?
Bellerophon had the sinking feeling that these answers would come soon enough - and not in a way he would find pleasing…
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A good game – the Eldar held their own for the first half, but their inability to use their speed kept them pinned behind the woods,
and once the Imperial line broke through it was all over bar the shouting. Still, the Eldar have a few tricks left up their (elegant) sleeves.
Next game – God of War. The Eldar decide to take the gloves off…
