Patrol Clash on Minas Three
Dracon Arachi surveyed the landscape of a planet rumoured to have been touched by the diseased hand of Nurgle. They had hoped to take the diseased beings for torture, but had come up with nothing.
About to abandon the search, Arachi�s fell on a small band of soldiers. Eldar soldiers.
�So, they heard the same rumour�Men! Prepare for battle! We shall not go home empty handed!�
The Forces
We played on a circular table area with 400 point rosters, using the 40K in 40 Minutes rules. I don�t have either roster here, so this is from memory.
Kabal of the Crimson Dawn
HQ
1 Dracon (Arachi) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol, Shadowfield
Elite
5 Mandrakes
Troops
10 Warriors w/ 2 Splinter Cannons, 2 Shredders, 6 Splinter Rifles
1 Sybarite (Kl�tang) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol, Plasma Grenades
10 Warriors w/ 1 Dark Lance, 9 Splinter Rifles
Eldar Force
Elite
6 Striking Scorpions
Troops
7 Guardian Defenders w/ Shuriken Catapults and Grav Platform w/ Star Cannon
Heavy Support
4 Dark Reapers
1 War Walker w/ 2 Scatter Lasers
The Board
The terrain layout is unique because we had a game at the office on our lunch break. The �ruins� were actually a computer monitor, keyboard and phone, while our �forest� was Jeff�s tray he carried his models on. The terrain definitely isn�t as balanced as it should have been, but with limited resources we did the best we could.
Deployment
Turn 1 � Eldar
Knowing the crazed Dark Eldar would not hesitate to plunge into combat, the Scorpions fell back, away from the treeline, anticipating troops to emerge. The War Walker began its movement to try and obtain a line of sight on the approaching enemy.
Turn 1 � Dark Eldar
Arachi saw a gap in the nearby temple ruins that he could wait for any approaching Eldar and quickly made his way to his new hiding place. Kl�tang let out a war cry that sent his troops forward in a sprint, making their way around the forest. The sniper group lay in wait, hoping for a target to emerge.
Turn 2 � Eldar
The War Walker moved forward to the bottleneck between the trees and the ruins and located Dark Eldar forces down range. Aligning his targeting computer, the twin scatter laser lined up and opened fire. After a massive barrage of laser fire four Dark Eldar lay dead. The Guardian squad moved to the East to see Kl�tang�s group round the forest�s edge. Firing up the Star Cannon, a burst of energy streaked down the field and incinerated a Warrior into ash within a second of contact.
Turn 2 � Dark Eldar
Kl�tang wasn�t amused that first blood belonged to the Eldar. His troops surged forward, through a debris field. With a simple gesture, the Splinter Cannons in the unit fired, but barely did any damage, killing only 1 Guardian. The sniper group was still reeling from the damage done by the War Walker. A Warrior quickly picked up the Dark Lance from the previous owner and fired at the Walker, but the blast sailed wide.
Turn 3 � Eldar
The War Walker decided to continue to press its advantage and fired another volley at the sniper group. The lasers hadn�t fully cooled from the previous volley and most of the shots were off target, although the new owner of the Dark Lance was killed. The Guardians knew they had got lucky with the last Dark Eldar attack and they weren�t about to let them try again. They once again fired up the Star Cannon and fired, but only managed to kill one Warrior. It was the Reapers behind them who trained their guns on Kl�tang�s unit next. The Warriors had stumbled into line of sight and after firing a volley of rockets, four more Warriors had fallen. Despite Kl�tang�s orders, the unit retreated under a hail of such heavy fire.
Turn 3 � Dark Eldar
Kl�tang managed to reinstate a form of order and his unit turned around to return to the fight. On the outskirts of range, a Splinter Cannon fired and killed a Guardian toward the front of the unit. The sniper group held its ground, refusing to show fear. Another Warrior scooped up the Dark Lance, recalibrated the sights and fired. Though the Walker still stood, one scatter laser imploded as the dark matter made contact with it.
It was to the great surprise to the Striking Scorpions when Mandrakes appeared in front of them and opened fire, killing one of their ranks. Not giving the Scorpions time to react, the Mandrakes charged forward in a bloodlust, screaming incoherently. In the whirling melee, a Scorpion and a Mandrake mutually annihilated each other by burying their blades in the other�s chests.
Turn 4 � Eldar
Undeterred by the loss of its weapon the pilot of the War Walker fired another volley at the Dark Eldar, but the dark matter had scrambled the targeting systems and the laser missed entirely. The Guardian squad fired its Star Cannon down range at Kl�tang�s rapidly dwindling numbers, but the energy blast sailed wide. They quickly turned to assist the Scorpions with their duel with a newly emerged threat. The Dark Reapers readied their Launchers and fired another volley at Kl�tang, killing three more Warriors. Only Kl�tang�s whispered promises of an even more painful death kept the first unit from retreating. The Scorpions continued their melee with the Mandrakes and their superior training began to show, as they killed a Mandrake unanswered. The Guardians piled in on the Mandrakes flank. The insane Dark Eldar are all to familiar with surprise attacks however and the Guardians were fended off while losing one of their own.
Turn 4 � Dark Eldar
The Dark Eldar were running out of options� and men. Kl�tang held his ground, refusing to let the Eldar force him from his position. The sniper group fired at the War Walker again, failing to due anything more than a glancing blow. The dark matter once again scrambled the firing computer, preventing the craft from firing anytime soon.
The Mandrakes continued their crazed combat, not caring that their ranks were failing. After prolonged attacks with the Scorpions, they managed to kill one more at the cost of two of their own. The remaining Mandrake didn�t seem to notice, as he hungrily licked the blood from his blade.
Turn 5 � Eldar
The Eldar knew the day was theirs. The Guardians positioned themselves and in tandem with the Dark Reapers, they annihilated Kl�tang and his remaining soldier. With the War Walker�s firing circuits temporarily scrambled, the vehicle moved over to the ruins to prevent themselves from being destroyed. The Scorpions attacked the last Mandrake with renewed vigor and finally felled the foul creature.
Final
After the Eldar finished off all forward troops, we realized nothing more could be accomplished. With the War Walker in its final position, it prevented my holding the West quarter. So close to a draw�
Eldar � 2, Dark Eldar � 1. Eldar Victory.
Comments
Jay: What a dismal failure. Shall I list everything that went wrong? Number one culprit was my dice. It�s been a while since I�ve seen that many ones. If I had rolled a little better, I imagine I wouldn�t have taken so many bloody casualties. Jeff and I never discussed cover prior to the game. If the debris field in the East quarter had been counted as generic cover, Kl�tang could have had some cover saves from the Dark Reaper death that rained down on me. Why didn�t I use my Dracon? Good question. I wasted almost 50 points on gear I never employed�aren�t I swift? Why didn�t I move Kl�tang�s unit into the forest? Yet another good question. I could have reduced my casualties substantially by hiding in there, especially when my numbers were so greatly reduced. The best I can say for this battle is that it was a learning experience�I learned to better employ cover in the future and to burn my dice at the earliest convenience.
Jay�s MVP Picks:
Dark Eldar � Mandrakes for being the only useful unit in my entire force.
Runner up = Unit #2 for at least damaging the War Walker...pretty pathetic, really.
Eldar � Dark Reapers for decimating my forward ranks.
Runner up = Guardians for being a continuous thorn in my side.
Jeff: Knowing they would need to get to me to be a serious threat, I set up to take them out at range.
It worked, having never used the Reapers before, I wasn't sure how they would perform. The answer was above expectation.
My only regret was that the Scorpions never got used to their full potential. The Mandrakes appeared right in front of them so I never got the chance to charge.
The Guardians really did nothing - actually I don't think more than one or two got a shot off, it was the heavy weapons platform that did the work there.
Jeff's MVP Picks:
Eldar � Dark Reapers for annihilating the enemy.
Runner up tie = War Walker, for destroying the enemy on the first volley.
Runner up tie = Scorpions for taking a bad situation and triumphing.
Dark Eldar � The sniper squad for taking my Walker off line - if they hadn't they'd be toast and I'd have rushed that corner too.
Runner up = Mandrakes for effectively neutralizing my Scorpions.