Campaign Progress 11/30/2010

Today the Scythiak got their chaotic tails handed to them by the Ed-dar in our Planetary Empires campaign.  We did a 3-objective Seize Ground, Spearhead deployment mission on a 4x4 board with some plentiful canyon terrain.


I took:

HQ – Company Command Squad – Power Weapon, Regimental Standard, Lascannon, Astropath. (Corrupted PDF officer) (135)
Troops – (Beldasian Forgefethers) Vet Squad (shotguns), Sgt has Power Fist, 3xMeltaguns, Grenadiers (Carapace armor), Chimera (Multi-laser and heavy flamer) (200)
Troops - (Cultists)
Platoon command squad – Power weapon, 2xflamers (50)
Infantry Squad power weapon meltagun (70)
Infantry Squad power weapon meltagun (70)
Missile Launcher squad (3xML) (90)
Troops – (Techno-barbarians)
Platoon command squad – Power fist, 2xflamers (55)
Infantry squad power weapon grenade launcher (65)
Infantry squad power weapon grenade launcher (65)

Fast – Hellhound, hull multi-melta (145) (Corrupted PDF)
Fast – 3xMissile Launcher Scout Sentinels (135) (Techno-barbarian Spawn Riders)
Fast – 3xMulti-laser Scout Sentinels (105) (Beldasian Forgefethers, repurposed industrial exoskeletons)

Heavy – Hydra (75) (Captured Arbites traffic control platform)
Heavy – Hydra (75) (Captured Arbites traffic control platform)
Heavy – Leman Russ Exterminator, Hull Lascannon (165) (Dispater pattern battletank with shotgun autocannon turret)
(1500)

I was down 5 (!) tiles, 5 to Ed's 10, so got an extra 250pts.  I spent them on Marbo and some allied Chaos Marines - six Chosen in a Rhino with four meltaguns.  I also got one special rule, and put Eternal Warrior on my Missile Launcher squad to keep all those S6 shots from insta-killing them.  The "Corrupted PDF" units were models borrowed from my Merkans, and the CSM were my Word Bearers.

Ed took:
Farseer with doom, singing spear.
2 squads of 7 fire dragons
2 wave serpents with tl scatter lasers
1 squad of 10 banshees with exarch and power weapons
wave serpent with tl scatter lasers
3 fire prisms
1 squad of 10 dire avengers exarch with power wpn and shimmershield
wave serpent tl scatter lasers.
1 squad of 10 storm guardians ccw and pistol.

He got 150pts from Manufactorums and added two Vypers, one with brightlance and one with missile launcher.

I set both sets of Sentinels and the Chosen to Outflank, with Marbo doing his thing and the Vets in regular Reserve, figuring that something would come close to my board edge.  It was a rough slog in the early game, but I eventually made it through most of the seven grav-tanks and the Vypers and most of the passengers.  At the end of turn five all he really had left was one Fire Prism and the very battered Storm Guardians.  The Storm Guardians had just passed a morale test exactly, but that was all they needed - the game ended with them holding on by their fingernails to two objectives, while I was only able to cover one.  Eldar Victory over the Spikey Mon-keigh.  He then proceeded to gleefully take a Command Bastion from me on the strategic map.  Curses, foiled again, again!

Tough game.  It was rough early having to deal with his full firepower, but the momentum was with me as I slowly tore open the tanks and his units.  Unfortunately the random turn length was not with me, but that's the way it goes.  Ed's getting really good with his army, keeping the tanks back to shoot and making pretty good target priority decisions.  Some of the "tricky" things in the game still take him off-guard, like the multiple Outflankers and how horrible walkers are for S3 units to deal with.  Seven grav tanks is a pain to get through, especially when I could never bring full firepower to bear due to the terrain.  I wish I could have stayed longer; I would have liked to have tried this list out against some Orks or another IG army.

Ed's take can be seen on his new blog:  Eldar is Your Daddy


On the hobby side I've been working on the Techno-barbarian platoon of the Scythiak and will get some WIP shots of them up tomorrow.  Still a ways from finished, but it's progress!