Welcome to my final battle report from my games at the recent Stronghold V tournament. So far, my White Scars had managed two wins and one loss, so I was keen to see if I could secure a final win from my last game of the day.
The final mission was a special Stronghold mission for the tournament. This consisted of a single, immobile Objective in the centre of the board. Players score a point for each turn they hold the objective. Additionally, if a player holds it for two of their consecutive turns, they also score victory points equal to the turn number. For example, if a player controls the objective for turns 2 and 3, at the end of turn 3 they would score a point for holding the objective, plus 3 additional points. This was an interesting one and I wished that I had playtested it before the tournament. I was unsure if it was better to hold the objective as long as possible or save my troops for the final turns to swamp the objective where the rewards were possibly higher.
My opponent for the final game was Fin and his absolutely stunning Eldar army. I had been admiring this army during the lunch break and it was great to go up against it.
As a reminder, my army consisted of:
COMBINED ARMS DETACHMENT
Librarian- Level 2 psyker, Bike, Hunter's Eye, Mantle of the Stormseer, Force Sword, Meltabombs (with CS or L)
5 Command Squad- Bikes, Apothecary, 4 veterans with grav guns, stormshields and 2 with meltabombs (CS)
5 Bikers- 2 grav guns, sergeant with meltabombs (BS1)
5 Bikers- 2 grav guns, sergeant with meltabombs (BS2)
5 Scouts- sergeant with meltabombs (S)
Landspeeder Storm- Heavy Bolter, Cerberus missile launcher (LS)
Drop Pod- storm bolter (DP)
3 Scout Bikers- One grenade launcher, sergeant with meltabombs and locator beacon (SB)
Stormtalon- TL assault cannons, skyhammer missile launcher (ST)
Centurion Devastators- Grav cannons and grav amps, hurricaine bolters (C)
My warlord trait was Merciless Warrior (re-rolls on sweeping advance). My Librarian's psychic powers were Psychic Shriek, Perfect Timing and Invisibility (I actually rolled it!). Invisibility was comp'ed in the tournament so that all units shooting/attacking the invisible unit were BS1 and WS1. This meant I could still be hit with blast and template weapons.
Fin's army consisted of:
Autarch- Fusion Gun (A)
12 Guardians- Shuriken catapults (G1)
Wave Serpent- Holofield, TL Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon (WS1)
12 Guardians- Shuriken catapults (G2)
Wave Serpent- Holofield, TL Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon (WS2)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter Lasers (J1)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter Lasers (J2)
Crimson Hunter Exarch- Pulse laser, Bright Lance (CH)
8 Warp Spider- inc. Exarch (WS)
Night Spinner (NS1)
Night Spinner (NS2)
His warlord trait gave him -1 to my reserve rolls and he had no Psykers! A different Eldar army to what I am used to facing. No Psykers, plenty of Guardians and two Night Spinners, which I don't think I have ever faced before.
I know from experience that Wave Serpents are tough to take down with shooting and he had plenty of objective secured units to grab the objective.
I won the roll off for deployment zone and chose the side with the two line of sight blocking ruins. This would allow me to hide my bike squads for several turns if needed.
Fin won the roll for deployment and chose to go first. He deployed one Night Spinner on his right flank, with the jetbikes behind it. The other went in the centre, supported by one of the Wave Serpents. The other wave serpent went towards the left flank, with the jetbikes hiding behind it. As I said above, Fin's army was fantastic, with a very detailed free-hand pattern on the skimmers.
I deployed the Command Squad behind the ruins to my left, with one bike unit and Landspeeder Storm behind the ruins on my right. The final bike squad was deployed next to the ruins. I decided to Outflank the Scout Bikers to hopefully get at the rear armour of one of the skimmers.
My plan was to bring the Centurions down on the objective to grab it early on and start scoring some points. My bike units were in range to turbo-boost onto the objective to score it later in the game when needed. My Command Squad would hold back to see if I could engage any units going for the objective in the centre.
The battle had Night Fighting (great for giving me a 2+ cover save in the first turn when jinking) and I failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- ELDAR
The forces of the Eldar moved away from the White Scars this turn to their own board edge. I figured Fin was wanting to stay out of range of my guns and grab the objectives in the final turns with his skimmers or jetibkes.
In the shooting phase, a Night Spinner targeted the Command Squad (thanks to barrage). The shot hit true, killing one of the Veterans. The second Night Spinner targeted the bike unit in the open, but the shot scattered off target, causing no harm.
The Jetbikes opened fire on the bikers with their scatter lasers, causing 8 wounds, but the Jinking bikers saved all the shots (thanks to the 2+ cover save from night fighting and Jink).
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
The drop pod arrived, landing next to the objective in the centre. The Centurions disembarked, moving into the cover afforded by the ruins. The unit of bikers in the open moved back to the cover of the ruins.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Invisibility on the Centurions to protect them from the ongoing assault.
The Centurions opened fire on the nearest Night Spinner, damaging it 5 times with their grav cannons and forcing the skimmer to jink. The pilot passed all but one of the Jink saves and the flyer was immobilised.
The drop pod fired on the nearby jetbikes and managed to kill one of the Eldar warriors. At the end of my turn, I scored a point for holding the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 0
White Scars- 1
TURN 2- ELDAR
The Crimson Hunter arrived, moving onto the right flank to engage the White Scars. The Warp Spiders also deployed. Fin decided to risk putting them near the board edge beside the Command Squad. His gamble paid off as they only scattered a few inches.
Both Wave Serpents advanced, the Guardians inside deploying in front of the ruins sheltering the Centurions. The mobile Night Spinner also advanced on the Centurions, while the Jetbikes redeployed to use the long range of their guns.
The Crimson Hunter opened fire on the drop pod, hitting it four times but failing to even glance the vehicle (even with the re-rolls the Exarch granted).
The Night Spinner used its torrent weapon to attack the Centrions and one of the squad perished in the attack.
Both Guardian squads used their battle focus to advance on the Centurions and opened fire with a hail of shuriken fire. The Centurions went to ground (I figured it was better for them to survive than to shoot next turn) and the Guardians failed to cause any wounds, thanks to Invisibility and the 2+ armour of the Centurions.
Both Wave Serpents fired all their weapons at the Centurions, including the shields on both vehicles. Despite a vast number of shots, only 3 wounds were caused in total, the armour of the Centurions saving all the damage. The two units of jetbikes opened fire on the squad, but failed to get past their armour. The little damage they did was enough for the Centurions and they failed their morale check, falling back towards my board edge.
The Warp Spiders fired on the Command Squad, killing two of the Veterans and wounding the Librarian with their firepower. They then used their jump pack moves to retreat 7" around the cover of the ruins.
A very good turn for me. The Invisible Centurions had managed to weather most of the firepower of the enemy army.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
Despite the -1 to my reserve rolls, both the Scout Bikers and Stormtalon arrived. The Bikers moved on from the right flank, while the Stormtalon went up the centre of my deployment zone to engage the Guardians. The Centurions moved up on the ruins once more.
The Landspeeder Storm advanced on the Guardians to add its considerable firepower to the combat. The Command Squad moved to the front of the ruins to target the Warp Spiders. It might have been better to move them to the side of the ruins to stay out of sight of the other Eldar units, but I wanted to get in range of the Centurions to cast Invisibility again.
The Librarian succeeded in casting Invisibility on the Centurions once more.
The Landspeeder Storm opened fire on the Guardians in front of it, the Cerberus Launcher killing 6 of the squad and the heavy bolter slaying another one. The Stormtalon opened fire on the same unit, wiping them out and scoring me First Blood.
The Centurions opened fire on the second Guardian unit, but could only kill one with their snap shots.
The Command Squad targeted the Warp Spiders, who used their flickerjump to move around the ruins. This meant that only one grav gun could target the squad. Despite firing snap shots (I jinked last turn), the veteran rolled a triple 6 to hit and killed one of the Warp Spiders with its grav shot.
At the end of my turn, I scored one point for the objective and an additional 2 points for holding it for turns 1 and 2, as well as First Blood.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 0
White Scars- 5
TURN 3- ELDAR
The Autarch arrived, moving on behind the ruins in the Eldar deployment zone. One of the Wave Serpents moved up on the ruins to grab the objective from the Centurions, while the Guardian squad moved up to support them.
The Night Spinner and Warp Spiders advanced on the Command Squad, while the Jetbikes moved to engage the Centurions.
The remaining Guardians opened fire on the Centurions, managing a great 7 hits even with Invisibility. The shuriken fire killed one of the Centurions with their rending hits. The Wave Serpent fired on the lone survivor, wounding him once. The other Wave Serpent fired at the Centurion, but could not remove his final wound. The two units of Jetbikes fired on the Centurion, but were unable to kill him. The lone survivor passed his morale test on a double 1!
The Night Spinner and Warp Spiders fired on the Command Squad, easily wiping the squad out with their crossfire. The Warp Spiders then jumped into the nearby ruins.
The Crimson Hunter fired at the Stormtalon, penetrating the jinking flyer once and immobilising it. The White Scars flyer passed its crash test and fought on.
At the end of the turn, Fin scored a point for the objective and for Slay the Warlord.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
The Stormtalon continued its advance, while in its wake the Landspeeder Storm advanced, the Scouts leaping out to target the Wave Serpent. The Scout Bikers advanced on the central ruins and one of the biker units moved up to the cover of the ruins.
In the shooting phase, the Centurion opened fire on the Wave Serpent, forcing it to jink but failing to cause any damage. The Scout Bikers and Scouts fired on the Wave Serpent, but failed to cause any damage.
The Landspeeder Storm fired on the Guardians, the Cerberus Launcher killing 8, the heavy bolter finishing off the squad.
The Stormtalon fired at the rear of the Wave Serpent, glancing it once.
The Scouts assaulted the Eldar transport, destroying the vehicle with their grenades. Taking out the Wave Serpent allowed me to score a point for the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 6
TURN 4- ELDAR
The Warp Spider and Night Spinner advanced on the central objective on one flank, while the Exarch and Crimson Hunter advanced from the other flank.
The Eldar flyer opened fire on the Drop Pod, penetrating it twice and forcing it to snap fire. The Night Spinner fired at the Centurion. Without the benefits of Invisibility, the last member of the squad was slain. The blast also hit the Scouts and three of the squad were slain.
The Warp Spiders fired at the drop pod, but were unable to damage it. The Jetbikes fired at the Scout Bikers, slaying one of the squad with their scatter lasers. The second bike unit fired at the Scout Bikers too, wiping out the squad.
The Night Spinner fired on the bikers advancing on the objective, but the shot scattered off the target. The surviving Wave Serpent fired on the Stormtalon, but caused no damage.
The Autarch charged the Scouts, killing one. The Sergeant struck back, wounding the Autarch once. The Scout Sergeant hit and ran away towards the objective.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The Landspeeder Storm and unit of Bikers moved up to secure the objective.
The bikers fired at the Night Spinner, glancing it once and immobilising it. The Landspeeder Storm fired on the Warp Spiders, but they managed to flicker jump out of line of sight.
The Scout Sergeant and Bikers assaulted the Night Spinner, their meltabombs wrecking the enemy vehicle.
At the end of the turn, I scored one point for the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 7
TURN 5- ELDAR
The Warp Spiders moved up on the bikers, while the jetbikes manoeuvred to get firing positions on the White Scars.
The Crimson Hunter fired on the Stormtalon, destroying the enemy vehicle. The immobile Night Spinner fired on the bikers in the centre. The shot scattered, catching one Biker and a Warp Spider. The Warp Spider was slain, while the biker remained unharmed.
The Warp Spiders fired on the bikers, killing three of the squad. The two units of Jetbikes fired on the two remaining bikers, wounding them 9 times. Fortunately, only one of the bikers fell to the shuriken fire. The squad passed their morale test.
The Wave Serpent fired on the Landspeeder Storm, penetrating the jinking speeder once and stunning it.
The Warp Spiders assaulted the lone biker, but neither side was able to harm the other. The Warp Spiders hit and ran from the combat.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
The time for the game was almost up, so my only move this turn was to turbo-boost the Landspeeder Storm into the enemy deployment zone to score Linebreaker.
I scored a point for the objective and 5 bonus points for holding it for two turns in a row.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 14
A win for the White Scars.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Fin for a great game against a fantastic looking army.
Overall, I think my plan worked well. I think the key to my victory was Invisibility. I would be interested to see how this game may have played out if I hadn't rolled this power for the game.
Without a doubt, this power allowed my Centurions to shrug off the firepower of most of the enemy army for two whole turns and allowed me to rack up an early lead for holding it for two consecutive turns.
I was surprised that Fin did not swamp the objective with his Wave Serpents, Guardians and jetbikes in the final turns. I think I would have been hard pressed to take them all out with my forces and this may have brought the score closer in the end.
Other than that, I don't think there was too much else I would have changed about my plan. Fin was quite unlucky with many of his rolls, many of which were below average. Once again, my saves were fantastically good in this game, especially with the Centurions (if not the Command Squad).
So I ended the day with 3 wins and one loss out of my four games and was very interested to see how I would place. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had come second overall in the tournament, my best ranking to date! I got a nice certificate and an Imperial Sector as a prize! I will need to get this built up and painted soon.
Thanks to the guys from Stronghold V for setting up a great tournament. I really liked the format of the army selection and the mission formats. All of my opponents were nice and friendly and the event ran very smoothly throughout the day, and lunch was great too.
My next posts will look at a review of my army performance in the tournament and some photos of the different armies that took part.
STRONGHOLD V TOURNAMENT
Army Thoughts
Game 1- White Scars vs White Scars/Mechanicus
Game 2- White Scars vs Eldar
Game 3- White Scars vs Daemons
Game 4- White Scars vs Eldar
Army Review
Armies on Display
My warlord trait was Merciless Warrior (re-rolls on sweeping advance). My Librarian's psychic powers were Psychic Shriek, Perfect Timing and Invisibility (I actually rolled it!). Invisibility was comp'ed in the tournament so that all units shooting/attacking the invisible unit were BS1 and WS1. This meant I could still be hit with blast and template weapons.
Fin's army consisted of:
Autarch- Fusion Gun (A)
12 Guardians- Shuriken catapults (G1)
Wave Serpent- Holofield, TL Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon (WS1)
12 Guardians- Shuriken catapults (G2)
Wave Serpent- Holofield, TL Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon (WS2)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter Lasers (J1)
3 Jetbikes- Scatter Lasers (J2)
Crimson Hunter Exarch- Pulse laser, Bright Lance (CH)
8 Warp Spider- inc. Exarch (WS)
Night Spinner (NS1)
Night Spinner (NS2)
His warlord trait gave him -1 to my reserve rolls and he had no Psykers! A different Eldar army to what I am used to facing. No Psykers, plenty of Guardians and two Night Spinners, which I don't think I have ever faced before.
I know from experience that Wave Serpents are tough to take down with shooting and he had plenty of objective secured units to grab the objective.
I won the roll off for deployment zone and chose the side with the two line of sight blocking ruins. This would allow me to hide my bike squads for several turns if needed.
Fin won the roll for deployment and chose to go first. He deployed one Night Spinner on his right flank, with the jetbikes behind it. The other went in the centre, supported by one of the Wave Serpents. The other wave serpent went towards the left flank, with the jetbikes hiding behind it. As I said above, Fin's army was fantastic, with a very detailed free-hand pattern on the skimmers.
I deployed the Command Squad behind the ruins to my left, with one bike unit and Landspeeder Storm behind the ruins on my right. The final bike squad was deployed next to the ruins. I decided to Outflank the Scout Bikers to hopefully get at the rear armour of one of the skimmers.
My plan was to bring the Centurions down on the objective to grab it early on and start scoring some points. My bike units were in range to turbo-boost onto the objective to score it later in the game when needed. My Command Squad would hold back to see if I could engage any units going for the objective in the centre.
The battle had Night Fighting (great for giving me a 2+ cover save in the first turn when jinking) and I failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- ELDAR
The forces of the Eldar moved away from the White Scars this turn to their own board edge. I figured Fin was wanting to stay out of range of my guns and grab the objectives in the final turns with his skimmers or jetibkes.
In the shooting phase, a Night Spinner targeted the Command Squad (thanks to barrage). The shot hit true, killing one of the Veterans. The second Night Spinner targeted the bike unit in the open, but the shot scattered off target, causing no harm.
The Jetbikes opened fire on the bikers with their scatter lasers, causing 8 wounds, but the Jinking bikers saved all the shots (thanks to the 2+ cover save from night fighting and Jink).
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
The drop pod arrived, landing next to the objective in the centre. The Centurions disembarked, moving into the cover afforded by the ruins. The unit of bikers in the open moved back to the cover of the ruins.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Invisibility on the Centurions to protect them from the ongoing assault.
The Centurions opened fire on the nearest Night Spinner, damaging it 5 times with their grav cannons and forcing the skimmer to jink. The pilot passed all but one of the Jink saves and the flyer was immobilised.
The drop pod fired on the nearby jetbikes and managed to kill one of the Eldar warriors. At the end of my turn, I scored a point for holding the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 0
White Scars- 1
TURN 2- ELDAR
The Crimson Hunter arrived, moving onto the right flank to engage the White Scars. The Warp Spiders also deployed. Fin decided to risk putting them near the board edge beside the Command Squad. His gamble paid off as they only scattered a few inches.
Both Wave Serpents advanced, the Guardians inside deploying in front of the ruins sheltering the Centurions. The mobile Night Spinner also advanced on the Centurions, while the Jetbikes redeployed to use the long range of their guns.
The Crimson Hunter opened fire on the drop pod, hitting it four times but failing to even glance the vehicle (even with the re-rolls the Exarch granted).
The Night Spinner used its torrent weapon to attack the Centrions and one of the squad perished in the attack.
Both Guardian squads used their battle focus to advance on the Centurions and opened fire with a hail of shuriken fire. The Centurions went to ground (I figured it was better for them to survive than to shoot next turn) and the Guardians failed to cause any wounds, thanks to Invisibility and the 2+ armour of the Centurions.
Both Wave Serpents fired all their weapons at the Centurions, including the shields on both vehicles. Despite a vast number of shots, only 3 wounds were caused in total, the armour of the Centurions saving all the damage. The two units of jetbikes opened fire on the squad, but failed to get past their armour. The little damage they did was enough for the Centurions and they failed their morale check, falling back towards my board edge.
The Warp Spiders fired on the Command Squad, killing two of the Veterans and wounding the Librarian with their firepower. They then used their jump pack moves to retreat 7" around the cover of the ruins.
A very good turn for me. The Invisible Centurions had managed to weather most of the firepower of the enemy army.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
Despite the -1 to my reserve rolls, both the Scout Bikers and Stormtalon arrived. The Bikers moved on from the right flank, while the Stormtalon went up the centre of my deployment zone to engage the Guardians. The Centurions moved up on the ruins once more.
The Landspeeder Storm advanced on the Guardians to add its considerable firepower to the combat. The Command Squad moved to the front of the ruins to target the Warp Spiders. It might have been better to move them to the side of the ruins to stay out of sight of the other Eldar units, but I wanted to get in range of the Centurions to cast Invisibility again.
The Librarian succeeded in casting Invisibility on the Centurions once more.
The Landspeeder Storm opened fire on the Guardians in front of it, the Cerberus Launcher killing 6 of the squad and the heavy bolter slaying another one. The Stormtalon opened fire on the same unit, wiping them out and scoring me First Blood.
The Centurions opened fire on the second Guardian unit, but could only kill one with their snap shots.
The Command Squad targeted the Warp Spiders, who used their flickerjump to move around the ruins. This meant that only one grav gun could target the squad. Despite firing snap shots (I jinked last turn), the veteran rolled a triple 6 to hit and killed one of the Warp Spiders with its grav shot.
At the end of my turn, I scored one point for the objective and an additional 2 points for holding it for turns 1 and 2, as well as First Blood.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 0
White Scars- 5
TURN 3- ELDAR
The Autarch arrived, moving on behind the ruins in the Eldar deployment zone. One of the Wave Serpents moved up on the ruins to grab the objective from the Centurions, while the Guardian squad moved up to support them.
The Night Spinner and Warp Spiders advanced on the Command Squad, while the Jetbikes moved to engage the Centurions.
The remaining Guardians opened fire on the Centurions, managing a great 7 hits even with Invisibility. The shuriken fire killed one of the Centurions with their rending hits. The Wave Serpent fired on the lone survivor, wounding him once. The other Wave Serpent fired at the Centurion, but could not remove his final wound. The two units of Jetbikes fired on the Centurion, but were unable to kill him. The lone survivor passed his morale test on a double 1!
The Night Spinner and Warp Spiders fired on the Command Squad, easily wiping the squad out with their crossfire. The Warp Spiders then jumped into the nearby ruins.
The Crimson Hunter fired at the Stormtalon, penetrating the jinking flyer once and immobilising it. The White Scars flyer passed its crash test and fought on.
At the end of the turn, Fin scored a point for the objective and for Slay the Warlord.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
The Stormtalon continued its advance, while in its wake the Landspeeder Storm advanced, the Scouts leaping out to target the Wave Serpent. The Scout Bikers advanced on the central ruins and one of the biker units moved up to the cover of the ruins.
In the shooting phase, the Centurion opened fire on the Wave Serpent, forcing it to jink but failing to cause any damage. The Scout Bikers and Scouts fired on the Wave Serpent, but failed to cause any damage.
The Landspeeder Storm fired on the Guardians, the Cerberus Launcher killing 8, the heavy bolter finishing off the squad.
The Stormtalon fired at the rear of the Wave Serpent, glancing it once.
The Scouts assaulted the Eldar transport, destroying the vehicle with their grenades. Taking out the Wave Serpent allowed me to score a point for the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 6
TURN 4- ELDAR
The Warp Spider and Night Spinner advanced on the central objective on one flank, while the Exarch and Crimson Hunter advanced from the other flank.
The Eldar flyer opened fire on the Drop Pod, penetrating it twice and forcing it to snap fire. The Night Spinner fired at the Centurion. Without the benefits of Invisibility, the last member of the squad was slain. The blast also hit the Scouts and three of the squad were slain.
The Warp Spiders fired at the drop pod, but were unable to damage it. The Jetbikes fired at the Scout Bikers, slaying one of the squad with their scatter lasers. The second bike unit fired at the Scout Bikers too, wiping out the squad.
The Night Spinner fired on the bikers advancing on the objective, but the shot scattered off the target. The surviving Wave Serpent fired on the Stormtalon, but caused no damage.
The Autarch charged the Scouts, killing one. The Sergeant struck back, wounding the Autarch once. The Scout Sergeant hit and ran away towards the objective.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The Landspeeder Storm and unit of Bikers moved up to secure the objective.
The bikers fired at the Night Spinner, glancing it once and immobilising it. The Landspeeder Storm fired on the Warp Spiders, but they managed to flicker jump out of line of sight.
The Scout Sergeant and Bikers assaulted the Night Spinner, their meltabombs wrecking the enemy vehicle.
At the end of the turn, I scored one point for the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 7
TURN 5- ELDAR
The Warp Spiders moved up on the bikers, while the jetbikes manoeuvred to get firing positions on the White Scars.
The Crimson Hunter fired on the Stormtalon, destroying the enemy vehicle. The immobile Night Spinner fired on the bikers in the centre. The shot scattered, catching one Biker and a Warp Spider. The Warp Spider was slain, while the biker remained unharmed.
The Warp Spiders fired on the bikers, killing three of the squad. The two units of Jetbikes fired on the two remaining bikers, wounding them 9 times. Fortunately, only one of the bikers fell to the shuriken fire. The squad passed their morale test.
The Wave Serpent fired on the Landspeeder Storm, penetrating the jinking speeder once and stunning it.
The Warp Spiders assaulted the lone biker, but neither side was able to harm the other. The Warp Spiders hit and ran from the combat.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
The time for the game was almost up, so my only move this turn was to turbo-boost the Landspeeder Storm into the enemy deployment zone to score Linebreaker.
I scored a point for the objective and 5 bonus points for holding it for two turns in a row.
VICTORY POINTS:
Eldar- 2
White Scars- 14
A win for the White Scars.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Fin for a great game against a fantastic looking army.
Overall, I think my plan worked well. I think the key to my victory was Invisibility. I would be interested to see how this game may have played out if I hadn't rolled this power for the game.
Without a doubt, this power allowed my Centurions to shrug off the firepower of most of the enemy army for two whole turns and allowed me to rack up an early lead for holding it for two consecutive turns.
I was surprised that Fin did not swamp the objective with his Wave Serpents, Guardians and jetbikes in the final turns. I think I would have been hard pressed to take them all out with my forces and this may have brought the score closer in the end.
Other than that, I don't think there was too much else I would have changed about my plan. Fin was quite unlucky with many of his rolls, many of which were below average. Once again, my saves were fantastically good in this game, especially with the Centurions (if not the Command Squad).
So I ended the day with 3 wins and one loss out of my four games and was very interested to see how I would place. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had come second overall in the tournament, my best ranking to date! I got a nice certificate and an Imperial Sector as a prize! I will need to get this built up and painted soon.
Thanks to the guys from Stronghold V for setting up a great tournament. I really liked the format of the army selection and the mission formats. All of my opponents were nice and friendly and the event ran very smoothly throughout the day, and lunch was great too.
My next posts will look at a review of my army performance in the tournament and some photos of the different armies that took part.
STRONGHOLD V TOURNAMENT
Army Thoughts
Game 1- White Scars vs White Scars/Mechanicus
Game 2- White Scars vs Eldar
Game 3- White Scars vs Daemons
Game 4- White Scars vs Eldar
Army Review
Armies on Display
Well done mate, that's a great result! Those Centurions were legendary in the last game. Fin seemed to focus a bit too much fire on the drop pod. What was going on there?
ReplyDeleteThe Centurions were amazing, especially when Invisibility was added.
DeleteThe drop pod was in range of the objective, so Fin was trying to take it out to prevent it from scoring the objective each turn.
Ahhhhh! I didn't realise that it was a scoring unit. I have so many editions rattling around in my head, it's a wonder I don't start rolling d20's in games.
DeleteFantastic game, and so many nice pics! Congrats on the placement, well deserved!
ReplyDeleteLike you already said, it was a bit strange that your opponent didn't really use all his obsec units.
One question regarding the scoring - shouldn't you have been getting the extra turn points every turn? You were always holding the objective at the end of the game turn, so...?
Oh and, Centurions can go to ground? And why did you jink with the command squad?
Yeah, Cents can go to ground. Nothing preventing them.
DeleteI assumed that he was paraphrasing the Mission Objective, and that to get the extra Points, you had to hold it uninterrupted.
Yeah, we assumed that it was uninterrupted holding of the objective for two turns.
DeleteI jinked with the Command Squad as the Warp Spiders were closest to the Librarian and I wanted to ensure he had a save just in case I failed any Look Out Sir rolls (which I did). I figured it was more important to keep him alive to possibly cast Invisibility than to shoot the following turn.
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteOne Rules note to keep in mind for the future: When a Unit Falls Back, they lose their Gone to Ground status, so the Cents should have been firing at full BS that Turn.
I think, especially since the Command Squad were Jinking, that I would have Charged the Warp Spiders on Turn 2 instead of shooting at them. They wouldn't have gotten to Flickerjump, and with the Hammer of Wrath Hits, you seriously outmatched them in CC.
I probably also would have gone for a Wave Serpent with the Cents in Turn 1 instead of the Night Spinner. The possibility of stranding a significant chunk of his ObSec and his short-ranged firepower back on his Board Edge seems like a worthwhile gamble to me, even if it is a long shot.
Finally, man, a well-painted Alaitoc Army looks amazing. Don't see them very often because it's a pain to do that camo and not many people are willing to put in the effort, but it's fantastic when someone does put in the work.
Cheers for the clarification, didn't realise you lost Gone to Ground.
DeleteYeah, charging them would have been the better option, more chance of killing them with the Librarian's force sword.
Even discounting the Force Sword, that's 4 S5 Hammer of Wrath plus a surprisingly large number of S4 Attacks. Plus the chance of breaking them and running down the whole lot, or them failing their Hit and Run on a 6 and being stuck in CC through their next Shooting Phase.
DeleteCongrats on 2nd place - well earned !
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Thanks Steve, I was quite surprised by it, but very happy.
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