Skirmish on Regus Gamma
“They’re here…” The Warp Spider Exarch grinned as the Dark Eldar emerged on the field. They had sent out false sensor ghosts in hopes of luring the pirates here. They had massacred their brothers and sisters in a grotesque show of force not long ago and they were about to feel their retribution.
Charging his Powerblades, he ordered the troops to war.
The Forces
The game was played on a circular table, using 410 point lists and 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 (Ch’nai) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol and Shadowfield
Elites
5 Mandrakes
Troops
11 Warriors w/ 7 Splinter Rifles, 2 Splinter Cannons and 2 Shredders
1 Sybarite (Th’lon) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol
10 Warriors w/ 9 Splinter Rifles and 1 Dark Lance
Eldar Force
Elites
6 Striking Scorpions
4 Warp Spiders
1 Exarch w/ 2 Deathspinners and Powerblades
Troops
7 Guardians
5 Guardians w/ Scatter Laser Grav Platform and Crew
The Board
Our standard workplace battle field with the computer removed and Jeff using a second model tray as a second forest. The phone was treated as a ruined chemical plant…
Deployment
Turn 1 – Dark Eldar
Realizing the Eldar had been waiting for them, Ch’nai vowed to punish the disillusioned for their scheme. She charged toward the trees, with her Sybarite following her lead. The Second company kept a close watch on the surrounding area, anticipating an ambush.
Turn 1 – Eldar
The Exarch put his entire force in motion. The artillery Guardian group moved eastward to obtain a line of fire on the sniper squad while the rest disappeared into the trees. The artillery group opened fire with the Scatter Laser and managed to kill one Warrior at extreme range. The Scorpions opened fire on Th’lon’s group and killed three Warriors. The Spiders followed suit and killed another pirate. The second Guardian group charged into melee with the Warriors and managed to kill one of them, while losing one of their own. The frenzied Warriors forced the Guardians to fall back to a safe distance, as the Warriors consolidated, pulling back, out of the woods.
Turn 2 – Dark Eldar
Seeing Th’lon’s ranks already reduced to half, Ch’nai decided to take matters into her own hands. She charged into the trees with her weapons ready, while Th’lon ordered the remainder of his men to round the forest. Ch’nai saw the Warp Spiders and the Exarch that commanded then and leveled her Splinter Pistol at the nearest target. The shards from her pistol embedded in the Spiders neck, bringing him down twitching and writhing. Th’lon ordered his Splinter Cannon trooper at the front line to fire on the Guardians manning the Scatter Laser. The rain of shards managed to clip two of the Eldar and drop them to the ground.
Charging her Agoniser, Ch’nai let out a piercing shriek as she dove into the Warp Spiders. The energized blade cut through two Warp Spiders easily and she stood looking at the survivors with a wild look in her eyes.
Turn 2 – Eldar
The Warp Spiders activated their Jump Generators and relocated alongside the advancing Scorpions, while the Guardian groups retreated to consolidate their efforts. From their new vantage point the artillery unit fired their Scatter Laser into Th’lon’s group, killing three Warriors and forcing the unit to retreat. With the Warriors in a fast march south the Warp Spiders fired at their backs but missed. The Second Guardian group fired their weapons at the Dracon and while most missed, one shot clipped the device generating the Shadowfiled, leaving the Dracon open and vulnerable. The Scorpions were now out of range of Th’lon’s men, but they turned their attention to the Dracon. They open fire and the volley of fire brought the Dark Eldar captain down.
Turn 3 – Dark Eldar
Th’lon’s men had lost their will to stick around, but they still feared their captain. Ordering the men to stop for moment, he had the Warrior wielding the Splinter Cannon to fore a volley back at those manning the Scatter Laser. The shot managed to kill a Guardian before the unit resumed their flight. With the Warp Spiders so close to their lines the sniper group fired into the trees. The Splinter Rifles failed to do any damage, but the Dark Lance killed one Spider instantly as the stream of dark matter made contact.
With a shimmer the Mandrakes emerged beside the artillery group and opened fire with their Splinter Pistols. All shots went wide, but the creatures didn’t really care. They had already begun their charge. They collided with the Guardians before the Eldar could prepare their weapons and the Mandrakes cut their entire rank down.
Turn 3 – Eldar
With the Exarch standing alone, he activated his Jump Generator and retreated to a safe distance, letting the majority of his army do the fighting. The Scorpions emerged from the forest to confront the new target presented by the Mandrakes, as did the surviving Guardian unit. The Guardians opened fire on the Mandrakes, killing three in the volley of Shuriken Catapult fire. The Scorpions half-heartedly fired their pistols, but missed entirely before they charged in with swords drawn. Within the melee blades clashed and blood was spilled, but the Mandrakes were decimated, killing one Scorpion in retribution. Cheers espousing Khaine’s name were spoken as the Scorpions consolidated and sheathed their weapons.
Turn 4 – Dark Eldar
Th’lon’s group continued to flee, heading back to the rendezvous point for their extraction point. The sniper group caught a glimpse of the Scorpions in their celebration and fired the Dark Lance toward their foe, but the shot went wide, simply warning the enemy that they were in the line of fire.
Turn 4 – Eldar
After witnessing a stream of dark matter miss them by feet, the Scorpions fell back to protect their numbers, while the Exarch sought to claim more territory, uncontested from the Dark Eldar.
Turn 5 – Dark Eldar
With nothing in range, the Dark Eldar advanced in hopes of catching sight of something to kill.
Turn 5 – Eldar
The Exarch moved deep into the woods to hide in the western sector, while the Guardians entrenched themselves in the heart of their home turf.
Turn 6 – Dark Eldar
The sniper group moved out into the open to catch sight of the Scorpions. Though they were out of range, if the Aspect Warriors wanted the eastern front, they’d have to come and claim it.
Final
The Eldar decided discretion was more important then the elimination of their enemy and held their ground. They held enough ground.
Dark Eldar – 0, Eldar – 1, Contested - 1. Eldar Victory.
Comments
Jay: Not bad…it wasn’t until after the game that I realized we had missed a few rules that might have changed how the battle had unfolded, but we’re still learning so I graciously accept my defeat. All told, I didn’t do too badly; just that all my casualties were very focused… had they been distributed across my army I might have been able to hold my ground better. I had 9 models left on the table (12 if you count the three chickens that fled) and Jeff had 12 (his Exarch, five Scorpions and six Guardians, I think), so by quantity it was close, but considering I had more models on the board… I was pretty soundly defeated. I do take pride in the fact that I silenced that damned Scatter Laser and my Dracon practically silenced the Spiders single-handedly, although sending my Mandrakes to their death to kill that Guardian group was a foolhardy move when I was already unit-depleted. But, it was a good game whose outcome wasn’t certain until a few turns in. Once I get better with my limited forces, the Kabal of the Crimson Dawn will be a nasty opponent, worthy of fighting against my well-armed and skilled Craftworld kin.
Jay’s MVP Picks:
Dark Eldar – Dracon Ch’nai for being steadfast and wiping the floor with the Spiders.
Runner up = Mandrakes for being devastating in melee, even if for only a turn.
Eldar – The second Guardian group, for doing damage beyond their value, getting a piece of Th’lon’s group, my Mandrakes and destroying Ch’nai’s Shadowfield…above and beyond for 8 points each…
Runner up = Striking Scorpions for delivering the coup de grace to both my Mandrakes and my Dracon.
Jeff: That's a bit more like it. I got creamed last time.
I'm making a note of taking that Dracon out before she gets into melee range next time.
The game was pretty close and probably should have been closer due to the rules we missed.
It was a good battle - one of the better ones we've had I think.
I may use this configuration again.
Jeff’s MVP Picks:
Eldar – The second Guardian group, for cleaning up even after they had to make a tactical retreat.
Runner up = Striking Scorpions, cause nearly all of them survived.
Dark Eldar – Dracon, she killed off 3 warp spiders in one turn - that hurt.
Runner up = Mandrakes, for saving me the time of retraining my Guardian Artillery squad.