Today I finish the battle report I've been watching for the last few days and we see the final push and violent ending but for who? Read on to find out.
In a defiant move the Shoota Boyz Move up ready to dakka the bikes, and the loan buggy makes a run for cover behind the building in an attempt to get out of sight and deny the fast attack VP, though it can’t quite reach but is sitting by a window.
Moving onto the shooting phase the Orks open up with as much Dakka as they can muster. The buggies rocket misses, the Shoota Boyz gun down 2 bikes and the Sluggas big shooters take a third and the remaining bike holds.
I then go eat some pizza before moving onto the assault phase. I have a kunning plan and promptly fail to realise that by shooting the bikes I can’t assault the Dire Avengers with the shoota boyz and so do it anyway.
The remaining Dire Avengers fluff it and then get cut down by the Mek who’s now chillin with his Shoota boy homies since the death of his Kans. I enact my kunning plan and consolidate into the shadow of the hill as best as I can hoping to bubble wrap the Stormboyz with Shoota Boy fodder.
With the combat over, the Dire Avengers have given their live to save the rest of the force, the Warp Spiders move in behind the mob of Orks for a clear line of sight to the Stormboyz and the lone Bike makes a run for it to behind the hill for safety.
The shooting phase is a blood bath; the Warwalkers can see all of the Shoota Boyz, despite the attempt to hide behind the hill, and so carry on with their sickening display of fire-power wiping out the Shoota Boyz and Mek. With the trap sprung the Warp Spiders join in and cull all but 2 Stormboyz who promptly high-tail it towards the board edge.
The twin rokits pay off and though 99% obscured I can see the riders face, so the biker crashes to the ground headless as the careening rokit finishes the unit off.
And now for the gambit, 6 pistols + big shootas from the Slugga boyz open on the rear of the Warp Spiders causing 6 wounds. Surprised that this may have paid off with bated breath I watch as one by one the Exarch saves all of them only needing fortune for the last one.
Damn
Shooting happens and the Buggy falls apart to the warp Spiders, the Wa walkers kill 11 boyz who managed 6 saves but alas the Boyz turn and legit, however in the confusion only make it 5 inches and are still on the table.
Using their jump packs the Spiders head for the 4 point objective.
In continuing form the Warwalkers open fire scoring a mass of wounds. The 9 remaining Orks including Nob begin taking cover saves while not doing too badly it comes down to one wound in the pool and one boy left. He fails the save and falls over leaving the Orks with nothing standing on the table.
Orks – Nothing.
Eldar inflict a crushing defeat on the Orks.
In particular the Stormboy Combat; if the Dire Avengers had fled as they should do, the Stormboyz would have been in the Warwalkers face next turn. Even if all the boyz died to overwatch/boss pole the Nob with power Klaw could have ripped the walkers to bits.
I did make the mistake of letting the two bad difficult terrain rolls for the Slugga mob get me down and send them back, along with the psychological effect of the bikers potentially jumping over my army and taking a back field objective along with line breaker. If I had run the Sluggers to catch up turn one I could always have used the rokit buggies to hunt bikers later and it would have given me more to play with when it came to the crunch, threatening the Warp Spiders and just more bodies to force the eldar hand.
I also failed with the big shooters in the Slugga unit and should have kept them in the back half of the unit. They could have just pushed my turn two shooting from a flop to the one more HP from the damaged walker I needed to dramatically reduce the pain they give out.
Ork of the match
It’s hard to say, most of the army didn’t do that well or didn’t get chance to shine. I think I have the tools for the job, but this game they just didn’t manage it when they needed to. If it has to be anyone I’ll give it to the lone buggy for the pot shot at the remaining Biker as it made me chuckle.
I made two choices early on which were painful, sending the Dire Avengers over the hill so early and into a terrible position (to their horrible death at the hands of the Stormboyz) and not committing the Jetbikes to anything productive, leaving them hanging around and being whittled down without achieving anything. My mistake with the Dire Avengers turned out to be a happy one however, bogging down the enraged Orks for just long enough and never retreating. I do feel that I should have done a lot more with them though and I’m going to have lasting nightmares of rampaging Stormboyz appearing from nowhere to cause carnage. I’ve never felt overly threatened by the Kans and I think ignoring them until they were close was prudent. The War Buggies however were far more damaging than I expected, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on those in future.
Despite my failings with those two units, they did slow down the horde for long enough to allow the superb War Walkers to do their work. An storm of S6 shots and a keen Farseer on hand for Guide turned out to be an incredible combination and their shooting phase antics were a joy to behold, from my end of the table at least. I’ll certainly be making use of a similar setup in future to cull the rampaging hordes. The Warp Spiders were also on fine form, though I ended up making more use of their heavier armour and hail of high strength shots than their assault-phase jump rules.
Ultimately I ended up playing a very defensive battle with most of my choices being dictated by Dan’s aggressive and focused moves. Thankfully, hiding behind a hill and shooting everything without a suspiciously-phallic-hat on seemed to be a winning strategy!
Though some might say that hiding behind a hill until victory was assured isn’t exactly heroic…
Orks 3
Last turn saw the Orks chances drop off significantly, with the Stormboyz locked in a combat my options are limited, they would have to do so bad this turn not to finish the combat its highly unlikely and when they do it’s a guarantee that they will get cut down in the Eldar turn.In a defiant move the Shoota Boyz Move up ready to dakka the bikes, and the loan buggy makes a run for cover behind the building in an attempt to get out of sight and deny the fast attack VP, though it can’t quite reach but is sitting by a window.
Moving onto the shooting phase the Orks open up with as much Dakka as they can muster. The buggies rocket misses, the Shoota Boyz gun down 2 bikes and the Sluggas big shooters take a third and the remaining bike holds.
I then go eat some pizza before moving onto the assault phase. I have a kunning plan and promptly fail to realise that by shooting the bikes I can’t assault the Dire Avengers with the shoota boyz and so do it anyway.
The remaining Dire Avengers fluff it and then get cut down by the Mek who’s now chillin with his Shoota boy homies since the death of his Kans. I enact my kunning plan and consolidate into the shadow of the hill as best as I can hoping to bubble wrap the Stormboyz with Shoota Boy fodder.
Eldar 3
The farseer starts the turn with Guide once more on the Warwalkers and fortunes the Warp Spiders as they are heading off the hill this turn.With the combat over, the Dire Avengers have given their live to save the rest of the force, the Warp Spiders move in behind the mob of Orks for a clear line of sight to the Stormboyz and the lone Bike makes a run for it to behind the hill for safety.
The shooting phase is a blood bath; the Warwalkers can see all of the Shoota Boyz, despite the attempt to hide behind the hill, and so carry on with their sickening display of fire-power wiping out the Shoota Boyz and Mek. With the trap sprung the Warp Spiders join in and cull all but 2 Stormboyz who promptly high-tail it towards the board edge.
Ork 4
Well that basically over for me but there is still a glimmer (very tiny one about the size of a snotlings nadsack) of hope, the Slugga boys surge forward 6 from their crater and the buggy comes out of hiding.The twin rokits pay off and though 99% obscured I can see the riders face, so the biker crashes to the ground headless as the careening rokit finishes the unit off.
And now for the gambit, 6 pistols + big shootas from the Slugga boyz open on the rear of the Warp Spiders causing 6 wounds. Surprised that this may have paid off with bated breath I watch as one by one the Exarch saves all of them only needing fortune for the last one.
Damn
Eldar 4
The Warp spiders shuffle round to face the buggy at max range and the Warwalkers shuffle along with their first move of the game. The Farseer then does his grand old duke of your impression and marches up to the top of the hill (the smug pointy eared git)Shooting happens and the Buggy falls apart to the warp Spiders, the Wa walkers kill 11 boyz who managed 6 saves but alas the Boyz turn and legit, however in the confusion only make it 5 inches and are still on the table.
Using their jump packs the Spiders head for the 4 point objective.
Ork 5
The Boyz Rally and regroup back into the crater out of the Warwalkers range before trying to hurt Warpspiders with some dakka, but fail to scratch them.Eldar 5
The Warwalkers clamber up the hill and only just make it into range (dif roll 4) while the Farseer Marches up and down a bit. The Warp Spiders carry on with their mission and land on the 4 point objectiveIn continuing form the Warwalkers open fire scoring a mass of wounds. The 9 remaining Orks including Nob begin taking cover saves while not doing too badly it comes down to one wound in the pool and one boy left. He fails the save and falls over leaving the Orks with nothing standing on the table.
Aftermath
Eldar – 8 VPs First blood, Slay the warlord, 2 fast attack kills and 4 Objectives points.Orks – Nothing.
Eldar inflict a crushing defeat on the Orks.
Orks Closing Thoughts:
Well that was painful, but a lot of fun. It may have been a hideous defeat but I actually think I could have pulled it off if it wasn’t for a couple of rolls.In particular the Stormboy Combat; if the Dire Avengers had fled as they should do, the Stormboyz would have been in the Warwalkers face next turn. Even if all the boyz died to overwatch/boss pole the Nob with power Klaw could have ripped the walkers to bits.
I did make the mistake of letting the two bad difficult terrain rolls for the Slugga mob get me down and send them back, along with the psychological effect of the bikers potentially jumping over my army and taking a back field objective along with line breaker. If I had run the Sluggers to catch up turn one I could always have used the rokit buggies to hunt bikers later and it would have given me more to play with when it came to the crunch, threatening the Warp Spiders and just more bodies to force the eldar hand.
I also failed with the big shooters in the Slugga unit and should have kept them in the back half of the unit. They could have just pushed my turn two shooting from a flop to the one more HP from the damaged walker I needed to dramatically reduce the pain they give out.
Ork of the match
It’s hard to say, most of the army didn’t do that well or didn’t get chance to shine. I think I have the tools for the job, but this game they just didn’t manage it when they needed to. If it has to be anyone I’ll give it to the lone buggy for the pot shot at the remaining Biker as it made me chuckle.
WTF unit
Has to be the Stormboyz, if they had just killed one more Dire Avenger each turn then they would have been free to abuse their way around the Eldar lines.Lessons learnt
- Review your codex before games, little rules like Waaagh and the Stormboyz rokit packs have wording and additional rules that are easily forgotten or miss remembered “conceal basically is shrouded right?”
- Eat Pizza after you finish a turn not during.
- OUCH Warwalker hurt big time, kill them kill them first and worry about the rest later, (or bring armour 13 death rollers mwaahahahaha)
Eldar Closing Thoughts:
Well that didn't go to plan! That large mob of Boyz hanging back left me disinclined to fly down the field or break through one flank so I felt cornered in behind and around the hill for the entire game. Through turns one and two I felt sure that my poorly thought out deployment and indecisive movements had already cost me the game. By turn three I was cautiously optimistic and on turn four the Farseer was smugly strutting up and down the hill.I made two choices early on which were painful, sending the Dire Avengers over the hill so early and into a terrible position (to their horrible death at the hands of the Stormboyz) and not committing the Jetbikes to anything productive, leaving them hanging around and being whittled down without achieving anything. My mistake with the Dire Avengers turned out to be a happy one however, bogging down the enraged Orks for just long enough and never retreating. I do feel that I should have done a lot more with them though and I’m going to have lasting nightmares of rampaging Stormboyz appearing from nowhere to cause carnage. I’ve never felt overly threatened by the Kans and I think ignoring them until they were close was prudent. The War Buggies however were far more damaging than I expected, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on those in future.
Despite my failings with those two units, they did slow down the horde for long enough to allow the superb War Walkers to do their work. An storm of S6 shots and a keen Farseer on hand for Guide turned out to be an incredible combination and their shooting phase antics were a joy to behold, from my end of the table at least. I’ll certainly be making use of a similar setup in future to cull the rampaging hordes. The Warp Spiders were also on fine form, though I ended up making more use of their heavier armour and hail of high strength shots than their assault-phase jump rules.
Ultimately I ended up playing a very defensive battle with most of my choices being dictated by Dan’s aggressive and focused moves. Thankfully, hiding behind a hill and shooting everything without a suspiciously-phallic-hat on seemed to be a winning strategy!
Unit of the Match:
The War Walkers may have had the most obvious impact on the game for the punishment they sent up the table, but for me the Farseer was the real hero. Pumping out Guide and Fortune each turn paid for her points cost several times over in extra hits and rerolled saves even if she didn’t take any direct action.Though some might say that hiding behind a hill until victory was assured isn’t exactly heroic…
Unlucky dude but I think changing your list around a little bit would have helped. But sometimes the dice just ho against you. Keep up the battle reports
ReplyDeleteThanks. I knew what Dan would be playing and we we're building up from the 450 pt games which have a bigger limit on what your allowed. I find it more characterful to try and keep the core similar as you grow and taking advantage of my foreknowledge would have been mean.
ReplyDeleteNext time we play I'll also report back and hopefuly we'll see more form the bikes. But I hope this shows how good Warp Spiders can be.
It was a great game, I was pleased to see my pointy-hatted flower pickers do well, even if it was largely luck! Though the result of the game was just an added bonus, the best part being the banter and laughs we had along the way.
ReplyDeleteLooking forwards to the next game with Daniel now and hopefully the Dice Gods will be a little more equal with their favour next time. I think we're going to use more-or-less the same lists again, so should be an interesting battle,