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At the Vinn Inn Gamers last night, played against Dale. He runs Necrons with many flyers and is known as some evil overlord or something. He seems like a sound guy to me, unless all evil overlords bunch together? Gonna be an interesting game...

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

HQ

Baron Sathonyx

Elites

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 - 3 x blasters - Venom w/ splinter cannon

Troops

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

Fast Attack

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

Heavy Support

Ravager - flickerfield
Ravager - flickerfield
Ravager - flickerfield

Necrons 'Sandcrons' - 2,000 points

HQ

Nemesor Zahndrekh
Necron Overlord w/ Catacomb Command Barge - warscythe, mindshackle scarabs, sempiternal weave & phase shifter
Royal Court - 4 x Crypteks - 2 x harbinger of destruction & 2 x harbinger of the storm

Troops

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

Heavy Support

Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
Doomscythe
Doomscythe

Fortifications

Aegis Defence Line w/ comms relay

Game: crusade + dawn of war

Warlord Traits: Dark Eldar = conquer of cities Necrons = master of ambush

Deployment

I win the roll off the table sides while Dale wins for deployment and goes first.

Objectives had been placed with one top left corner in a ruin, one in the centre ruin and another my table side in the centre.

Dale deploys his two Ghost Arks using cover while two Annihilation Barges are on the left flank and one in the centre along with the CCB.

I deploy and put my units as far back as I can. Ravagers go side ways on and Venoms hide behind. Baron and his Beastmasters go in a ruin to get more cover bonus while another goes out in the open, I hope Dale takes this bait unit and comes forward 12" with those ABs, at the moment he will be out of range first turn.








* Tactical Notes

Ok, I've never played against a list with four flyers before, so this will be interesting. Also add that I will have to adapt my tactics thanks to the Doomscythes as I like to bunch my stuff up together.

If I can nail those ABs first turn and maybe cripple the CCB I will be happy. Rest I'll take on from there.

Turn 1

Necrons turn 1; Dale moves all three ABs forward 12" while the CCB slightly lags behind. The Ghost Arks move a little to get the jink save. He also pops his pulse so night fighting is no longer active.

Shooting; ABs let it rip and take down two of my Ravagers, one survives on the left flank.

Dark Eldar turn 1; Dale has broughts his units forward, which is exactly what I wanted; now my Beastmasters and blasters are in range. I move forward both Beastmasters 12", one without Baron goes up the left flank while Baron and his buds go up the right flank towards the AB with the supporting CCB - I hope the temptation of Baron and Beastmasters will mean Dale will sweep me next turn and I can then return more fire power. All units move about, though due to limited movement I have kept my units in a line, so i hope Dooms do not arrive!

Shooting; Ravager fires and blows up a AB on the left flank, the supporting one comes under fire and loses a hull point. AB on the right flank comes under fire and loses a hull point I think.

Assault; both Beastmaster units charge into the remaining ABs and both of them are wrecked thanks to glances from Razorwings and some smashyness from Baron.







* Tactical Notes

Ok, brilliant start! Ok so Dale didn't take the Beastmaster bait and instead fired at Ravagers, which to be fair is target priority to fair do's. Though at the end of the day my plan worked and all three ABs come forward and paid the price. I just hope the Overlord will sweep my Beastmasters and then I can return fire.

Next turn I'll blast which ever flyers arrive; I hope no Dooms! And I'll start opening up Ghost Arks so the Beastmasters can attack whatever is inside.

Turn 2

Dale rolls for reserves and only the two Nightscythes come in. At this point Dale realises he has not put his aegis down!

Necron turn; Nightscythes each come moving down a flank 24" and Warriors and Crypteks get out. Overlord turns and flees, this appears to look like a bait trick, but hopefully it will work in my favour at the Beastmasters will be on Dale's doorstep and he really cannot ignore them; this will take pressure off the rest of my force. Ghost Arks move a little to claim jink save.

Shooting; Cryptek and Warriors on right flank blast a Venom and it goes down, the tesla from the Nightscythe kills three Warriors; squad passes morale and pinning. On the left flank Warriors and Cryptek blast a Venom and it goes down while tesla fires at another Venom, it goes down; both squads pass pinning. I think the lance and gauss fire from the Ghost Ark on the left flank kills a couple of Khymerae while the one on the right flank takes out two Khymerae.

Dark Eldar turn; Venoms move out 12" and spread themselves out, this will mean limited target for the Doomscythes and also reduce room where the flyers can go. Both Beastmaster units charge forward while the depleted Warriors on the right flank move into a ruin for cover. Ravager moves into the centre and targets the Ghost Ark across the board.

Shooting; Ravager blasts the Ghost Ark and takes a hull point off. On the right flank Warriors are wiped out by splinter cannons while the Nightscythe loses two hull points and is now locked at zooming speed. Warriors are wiped out on the right flank though their ride survives.

Assault; Beastmasters charge the Ghost Ark and it goes boom while Baron and Beastmasters charge the Overlord, Overlord issue a challenge, which a Beastmaster refuses. Beastmasters the batter the Overlord who dies, though the bugger gets back up! To add some insult Baron loses a wound thanks to exploded Ghost Ark, damn it!





* Tactical Notes

Another cracking turn! Some luck has been thrown into this though as both Dooms did not come on and Dale realised he had not deployed his aegis. On a good note one flyer has one hull point left and both Warrior squads in my face have been taken out, though a Cryptek on the left flank survives. A Ghost Ark has also gone down, pity the Overlord didn't stay down, but on a good note the Beastmasters are in Dale's face and he has to deal with them.

Next turn I'll send the Beastmaster unit into the Warriors who just bailed out of the exploded Ghost Ark while Baron's unit will either support them or go after the other Ghost Ark. My remainin units will continue to pump shots into the flyers.

Turn 3

Dale rolls reserves and a single Doomscythe arrives from reserve.

Necron turn; Doom comes on the left flank and moves 18" stopping right in front of a Venom. Other flyers move about while the Ghost Ark moves up to double tap on Baron's unit while the Overlord sweeps them, though only wounds once which I save.

Shooting; Doom opens up on two Venoms, death ray takes out one while the other is wrecked by tesla; both squads pass pinning. Ravager gets blasted by the locked velocity Nightscythe and flicker makes double saves. A Trueborn Venom does go down and the squad loses two dudes from the explosion and are pinned. Baron and the Beastmasters get shot as does the other unit, though both units pass morale tests.

Assault; Overlord charges the Beastmasters and after hammer of wrath attacks wipes the unit out with choppy choppy.

Dark Eldar turn; surviving Beastmasters move towards the Warriors on the left, I don't want them getting any where near the objective. Remaining Venoms move to draw LOS on the Warriors, need to help those Beastmasters out! Ravager moves to dakka the remaining Ghost Ark and destroy Dale's mobility.

Shooting; the Nightscythe with one hull point goes down in a ball of fire while another loses a hull point. Ravager blows up Zahn's Ghost Ark; squad pass morale. Splinter cannons dakka the Warriors and several go down, though all Warriors get back up except for the Cryptek.

Assault; Beastmasters charge the remaining Warriors and smack them about with five rending wounds, squad is destroyed.






* Tactical Notes

Not a too bad turn, though not as good as others, Dale has done some damage to this turn; I've lost pretty much all my Venoms, I think I have two left. My Beastmasters have also taken some pain, though I was expecting that and that was part of the plan.

On the bonus side I have taken out Dale's last Ghost Ark and now he has one troop choice left. The remaining Warriors have a very long walk to the closest objective and have a high risk of getting shot to bits with my remaining Venoms.

Next turn I'll move my troops up so I can get line breaker and try and take out the Overlord and the already damage flyer. If Venoms remain I'll blast the Warriors and hopefully kill Dale's troops.

Turn 4

Last Doom arrives and comes on the right flank.

Necron turn; the two flyers already on the board move down so they are in the centre of my deployment zone. Zahn's unit moves towards Dale's table edge, which is surprising, I guess he is trying to stay out of splinter cannon range, though that won't matter with a 36" range and 12" movement . Overlord moves to attack my last Beastmaster unit.

Shooting; flyers blast my vehicles and only the Ravager remains; damn this thing is invincible!

Assault; Overlord charges and smashes the remaining Beastmasters, only the Beastmasters themselves remain and they fall back 7" I think.

Dark Eldar turn; I move squads on the left flank forward and run them, one unit stays in terrain. Other unit moves in the centre ruin and claims the objective while another troop unit in the ruin in my deployment zone moves and captures the objective my side. The two Warriors in the ruin on the right flank move out as a backup.

Shooting; I blast some flyers though I don't think I do anything this turn, I can roll 5+ to hit but not a 6+! Why can't it be 5+ to hit flyers




* Tactical Notes

So all my Venoms are gone which means Dale's surviving troops remain, however he has put himself further away from the closest objective which means chances of reaching it are slim. Other than that it has been a quick and none eventful turn.

If the game ends next turn I have two units in place to hold objectives. No doubt they will be shot at, which I'll go to ground for a 2+ cover save - stealth thanks to warlord trait and +1 for going to ground.

Turn 5

Necron turn; Overlord comes towards the Warriors in terrain on the left flank. Flyers all come down and end up boxing around the Ravager. Zahn's unit moves forward, still a long way from the objective.

Shooting; Zahn's unit blast the Warriors on the centre objective, I go to ground and all survive. Flyers blast the surviving Ravager, but again flickerfield is strong, though the two man unit close by go down. Troops holding the objective my side get shot at, though go to ground and only one dies.

Assault; Overlord charges my Warriors, though Dale fails dangerous terrain test and the chariot halts and stalls.

Dark Eldar turn; I move and run both Warriors forward into the top left ruin and claim the objective. Ravager moves in between the flyers so Dale only has one which can target it now. Beastmasters continue to fall back.

Shooting; anti tank weaponry blasts the flyers though I can only roll 5+. That's it for me!

We roll for game and it carries on.





* Tactical Notes

Unfortunately the game didn't end, if so it would have been a very nice victory. But the dice have spoken and it is game on.

I am starting to run out of units so I hope my units on the objectives can hold. On a good note the Overlord cannot charge in the chariot, so at least I can fire some shots at him now.

Turn 6

Necron turn; two flyers move back up the right flank while one Doom moves towards the Warriors on the top left objective. Overlord bails out his ride and prepares to assault the Warriors on the objective. Zahn's unit moves forward and takes away stealth from the Warrior unit.

Shooting; Zahn's unit kills two Warriors on the centre objective; squad pass morale test. Doom blasts one unit of Warriors on the top left objective, I go to ground and all survive. Ravager gets shot again by Doomscythe, though the death ray it out of range.

Assault; Overlord charges my Warriors, though loses combat after fails armour save and falls down, but the swine gets back up again!

We roll and game goes on for one more turn.



* Tactical Notes

Ok, so the game goes on another turn, which I think I can say I've got this in the bag. The flyers I guess could drop down to skimmer move and go after all troops, but we will see. Hopefully going to ground will save them.

Turn 7

Zahn's unit gets to the edge of the centre ruin while all three flyers zoom over to the top left objective.

Shooting; Zahn's unit wipes out the centre unit while all flyers wipe out one Warrior unit on the top left.

Assault; Overlord charges the other unit, they lose combat and fall back.

My last turn, my Warriors manage to regroup and move up to get line breaker and I hold one objective.

Dark Eldar win with a total of 4 points to 2 points.







Summary

Extremely brutal game with Dale and I greatly enjoyed it. It was a true slobberknocker! I thought those flyers would give me trouble and they sure did. I was lucky both those Dooms didn't show up on turn 2 or it could have been a different game.

Dale played well, though unfortunately made a fair mistakes; he forgot to deploy his aegis, the objectives and even the tesla doing the arc funky thing. I think also those Ghost Arks should have been more aggressively, they stayed in their deployment zone and never got out thanks to Beastmasters and Ravager fire. I also think getting the Warriors out the Nightscythes too early was a bad mistake; both those units could have come in handy for late minute objective grabbing/contesting.

I am looking forward to a re-match with Dale, should be interesting if he remembers the aegis, the reserve bonus really would have been a game changer.

Why didn't you restart the game and let him use his ADL? Seems underhanded to me.

Necron turn; Nightscythes each come moving down a flank 24" and Warriors and Crypteks get out

I don't think you can get out once the flyer has moved 24".......

 Mafty wrote:

Necron turn; Nightscythes each come moving down a flank 24" and Warriors and Crypteks get out

I don't think you can get out once the flyer has moved 24".......

Necrons can, it's in the faq about nightscythes. Nightscythes can't hover so instead they were given a broken rule that lets them zoom and deploy units.

 Mafty wrote:

Necron turn; Nightscythes each come moving down a flank 24" and Warriors and Crypteks get out

I don't think you can get out once the flyer has moved 24".......

Necrons are special. Their FAQ lets them disembark/embark even if their flyers were to move 36"!

Can only snap shot if they get out after moving over 24inches though?

MarkyMark wrote:
Can only snap shot if they get out after moving over 24inches though?

Yes, but the scythe can go 24" the warriors get out 6" and shoot normally. they only need to snap fire if it goes more than 24"

My mistake....Didnt realize they had a FAQ for it. Was just going by rulebook.

 Dozer Blades wrote:
Why didn't you restart the game and let him use his ADL? Seems underhanded to me.

It was his turn 2 by the time he realised or my turn two. Shall we restart the game because I forgot to do something? Why is it underhanded if the other player forgot something we was already well into the game?

He was probably joking about the underhanded part, I wouldn't take it seriously. If I forgot an aegis I would be royally pissed at myself but I wouldn't ask to restart the game. There's nothing unsportsman like about not wanting to restart a game when you're already well into it like you said.

Definitely a hard fought game. Dale definitely needs to keep some Troops in the aether, so he can do late-game objective capturing. That's what Necrons do.

I would have let him place the ADL, his list only used the coms relay anyway, it looked like it wouldn't have effected the game if he dropped it in his deployment turn 2. Worst case scenario I would have let him use the coms relay, looked like the only point in him taking an ADL anyway like I said.

Great game Mercer! Glad to see the DE back in action. Not a big fan of the double FOC from your opponent though. I am sure 6 ravagers would have been handy

Yeah Mercer hopefully next time you'll do the right thing. I personally would not enjoy winning a game where my opponent fielded a lesser number of points.

If it was casual play, I wouldn't care. However, if we were playing in a tournament, it's a definite no-no. Not my fault if you forget about your own units.

bagtagger wrote:He was probably joking about the underhanded part, I wouldn't take it seriously. If I forgot an aegis I would be royally pissed at myself but I wouldn't ask to restart the game. There's nothing unsportsman like about not wanting to restart a game when you're already well into it like you said.

No, he's not joking, just another nasty typical internet geek comment.

Dale wasn't too fussed about the aegis, he just laughed it off. Restarting the game isn't feasible as he could place the aegis where he liked to slow down my advancement.

Briancj wrote:Definitely a hard fought game. Dale definitely needs to keep some Troops in the aether, so he can do late-game objective capturing. That's what Necrons do.

I would have kept the Warriors inside the Nightscythes inside a little longer.

Red Corsair wrote:I would have let him place the ADL, his list only used the coms relay anyway, it looked like it wouldn't have effected the game if he dropped it in his deployment turn 2. Worst case scenario I would have let him use the coms relay, looked like the only point in him taking an ADL anyway like I said.

Great game Mercer! Glad to see the DE back in action. Not a big fan of the double FOC from your opponent though. I am sure 6 ravagers would have been handy

Each to their own, but having placing the aegis during game is giving him a massive advantage as he can place it where ever he likes to block my advancement.

Yes, 6 Ravagers would have been nasty!

Dozer Blades wrote:Yeah Mercer hopefully next time you'll do the right thing. I personally would not enjoy winning a game where my opponent fielded a lesser number of points.

I did the right thing; we haven't got time to restart games every time someone forgets something f you would do that in your game then that's fine. We are on a time limit. If you do not like playing with less points then do not forget to deploy stuff; simple. If you would have restarted the game then that's your choice, though we didn't have time to re-deploy everything and start completely again, plus it was my turn 2 shooting when he remembered, well past it. By the time Dale remembered it wouldn't impact the game anyway. Not sure why you're getting your knickers in a twist.

Dale obviously wasn't fussed about it when he laughed it off, in fact he mumbled something about using the comms relay though I am not sure if did. Anyway, the aegis wouldn't have any effect on the game (as the Ghost Arks were behind walls or had cover) and nor would the comms relay at this point (because on turn 3 he rolled a 1 for reserve).

I actually do not have a problem with what Mercer did. If you let him take it back, then he will make the same mistake again. If you do not, then I guarantee he is going to think twice before saying he is all set.

In the combat where the "beastmaster refused a challenge" -- the player who issues the challenge gets to pick who sits out if the challenge is refused, not the refusing player. I am under the assumption that if the Baron was with that particular unit he would be nominated to sit out of combat.

calypso2ts wrote:I actually do not have a problem with what Mercer did. If you let him take it back, then he will make the same mistake again. If you do not, then I guarantee he is going to think twice before saying he is all set.

I didn't know myself he had an aegis until he said. I would have told if I would have known. Like I said, it was my turn shooting as he was working out cover saves for his Ghost Ark. It's a bit late then. Dale did say something about the comms relay but I didn't hear him, not that it would matter for turn 2. Dale didn't ask to put the aegis down anyway.

tetrisphreak wrote:In the combat where the "beastmaster refused a challenge" -- the player who issues the challenge gets to pick who sits out if the challenge is refused, not the refusing player. I am under the assumption that if the Baron was with that particular unit he would be nominated to sit out of combat.

Thanks, man. I didn't know that and checked the rules about 5 minutes ago. I am not too familiar with challenges.

I liked the battle report. The flood of Dark eldar on one side would have made me nervous to start to be honest! Your army looks great! Thanks again for sharing man!

Cheers, dude!

I like the report, nice paint schemes all around...Not a huge fan of the Necron list, but to each, their own.
Another excellent report Mercer.

Thanks, dude