I recently attended the Surrey Warhammer 40k Championship Warm Up round 2 tournament with my White Scars army.
This tournament was a three-game, 1750 pts event that featured three Eternal War missions from Chapter Approved 2018. I decided that my White Scars would take to the tournament scene once more to see how the new Codex and supplement would improve their chances.
The first game of the day was Vital Intelligence using Dawn of War deployment. Vital Intelligence uses 5 objectives; one in the centre of the board and one on each diagonal from the centre to the corner. Each objective can be scored at the end of the battle round. At the start of each battle round, you roll a D6. The number rolled is the active objective and is worth 2 points, with all other objectives being worth 1 point. However, on the roll of a 6, all objectives are worth 2 points. The Mission was also using Kill Points for each unit destroyed.
My first game would be against Craig and his Aeldari/Harlequin force.
My first game would be against Craig and his Aeldari/Harlequin force.
My White Scars army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Khan on Bike- Twin Bolter, Khan's Spear, Chogorian Storm, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens
Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Plasma Cannon
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Power Sword, Flamer
5 Scouts Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns, Combat Knives
5 Bikers- Twin Bolters, 2 Meltaguns, Force Stave
5 Devastators- 4 Grav-cannons, Combi-grav
Rhino- Storm Bolter
Rhino- Storm Bolter
Drop Pod- Storm Bolter
Battalion Detachment
Captain- Bike, Twin Bolter, Teeth of Terra
Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter
5 Scouts- Bolters
5 Scouts- Bolters
5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
10 Vanguard Veterans- 5 with 2 Chainswords, 5 with Chainsword and Plasma Pistol
5 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Bolters
Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms
A fast moving White Scars force with some strong buffing characters and some backfield support unit.
I took a couple of units of Tactical Marines for backfield objective holding, along with the Thunderfire Cannon for long ranged firepower. I took three units of Scouts for board control and grabbing objectives out of my deployment zone.
For the fast moving elements, I took two units of Bikers, a couple of squads in Rhinos and a unit of Vanguard Veterans. These could move out to take on the enemy units or go after the objectives. For the Characters, I took two Captains on Bike (one of which is a Khan), a Lieutenant with Jump Pack and Librarian with Jump Pack.
Craig's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Aeldari- Alaitoc)
Farseer Skyrunner- Singing Spear, Shuriken Pistol, Fortune, Doom, Twin Shuriken Catapult
Warlock Skyrunner- Quicken/Restrain, Witchblade, Shuriken Pistol, Twin Shuriken Catapult
5 Dire Avengers- Shuriken Catapults
5 Rangers
5 Rangers
15 Guardian Defenders- Shuriken Catapults, Shuriken Cannon
6 Shining Spears- Laser Lances, Twin Shuriken Catapults
Night Spinner
Night Spinner
Hemlock Wraithfighter- Protect/Jinx, Spirit Stones
Vanguard Detachment (Harlequins, Soaring Spite)
Shadowseer- Twilight Pathways, Shuriken Pistol, Shards of Light
Death Jester
Death Jester- Player of the Twilight
Solitaire- Harlequin's Caress, Harlequin's Kiss
6 Skyweavers- Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
A fast moving Eldar army that would be good for grabbing objectives. Much of this army would be -1 to hit at long range, so would be tough to take out with my firepower. I would need to get in close to try and take out the Eldar with my units.
I won the roll off for deployment zone and chose the side, Craig deploying his entire army first.
He deployed much of his army on his right flank, the two units of Jetbikes, the flyer and the characters. He put one Night Spinner in the ruins on each flank, while the Dire Avengers deployed along the front of the enemy deployment zone. He put the unit of Guardians in the webway.
In reply, I put much of my army on my right flank, the two units of Bikers, characters, Thunderfire Cannon and a Tactical Squad. I put a unit of Tactical Marines and Scouts on the objective on the left flank, with another unit of Scouts in the centre. The last Scout unit deployed forward on the right flank, ready to move up on the enemy tank.
Craig chose to give me the first turn, I'm guessing hoping to move up on the objectives at the end of the phase.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
At the start of the turn, I rolled and objective 5 was the active objective.
In the first turn, the Scouts in the centre advanced into the ruins, while the Scouts Bikers, Scouts and Khan on Bike advanced on the right flank, the rest of the forces moving up to support them. I used Skilled Riders on the Scout Bikers to give them a 3+ invulnerable save. At the end of the phase, the Drop Pod arrived near the central objective, the Devastators disembarking and moving up on the enemy army.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Ride the Winds and Storm-wreathed on the Khan.
The shooting phase began with the Devastators firing on the Shining Spears. I used Gravitic Amplification on the squad, while Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes on the Spears. The Devastators were now hitting on 6's, but managed to kill two of the squad.
The Thunderfire Cannon added its firepower, doing only a single wound on the first volley. I used the stratagem to fire the Cannon again, getting 10 shots. However, I failed to roll a single hit on a 4+ on any of the 10 shots!
The Bike Squad fired at the Night Spinner, doing four wounds, but failing to get past its armour. Both Rhinos used their Smoke Launchers.
In the charge phase, the Khan and Scouts assaulted the Night Spinner. The central Scouts failed a 7"charge on the Dire Avengers, even with a CP re-roll.
The Khan struck at the enemy vehicle, doing 5 wounds, but he made two armour saves. The Night Spinner took 7 wounds, while the Scouts managed to do another 2 wounds to leave it on two remaining.
At the end of my turn, I scored no points.
TURN 1- AELDARI
The Khan prevented the Night Spinner from falling back with his Master of Snares ability. On the right flank, the Skyweavers and Shining Spears moved up towards the central objective, joined by the Aeldari characters. Craig played a stratagem to give the Skyweavers +1 to their save after they advanced.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Doom on the Devastators, but failed to manifest the power, even with a re-roll. He then cast Fortune on the Shining Spears. The Spiritseer cast Twilight Pathways on the Skyweavers, but failed to manifest the power.
The Death Jester fired on the Scouts, but failed to hit. The second Death Jester fired at the squad, hitting but failing to wound. The Shining Spears fired on the Devastators, killing one with their Lances, while the Shuriken fire wiped out the rest of the squad.
The Skyweavers fired at the Rhinos and Drop Pod, failing to damage the Rhino and doing 6 wounds on the Drop Pod.
The Wraithfighter fired at the Scout Bikers, only getting two shots and killing one of the squad. The Dire Avengers fired at the Scout Bikers, doing a single wound, but failing to get past their invulnerable save. The Night Spinner fired at the Tactical Squad opposite it, doing three wounds and killing two of the squad (despite a 2+ armour save).
The Shining Spears then assaulted the Scouts, wiping out the unit and consolidating into the Drop Pod. The Khan on Bike then struck at the Night Spinner, destroying it.
At the end of the phase, we both scored First Strike. Craig scored two kill points, while I scored one kill point. I scored four objective points, while Craig scored two objective points.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 6
Aeldari- 5
A rough turn for the White Scars, but I had managed to grab the lead, thanks to sitting on the activated objective.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
At the start of the turn, I rolled and all of the objectives were active. I switched to the Tactical Doctrine.
The Khan advanced on the central ruins, while the nearby Scouts moved up to secure the objective. The Tactical Squad in the centre moved up on the Shining Spears, while the Rhino advanced back towards the White Scars deployment zone.
The Scout Bikers moved up on the Dire Avengers, the Librarian and Lieutenant advancing to join them. The Bikers advanced and used the stratagem to get a 3+ invulnerable save.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Storm-wreathed on the Lieutenant, failing to cast Ride the Winds on him.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers fired their Meltaguns at the Wraithfighter, doing three damage on the flyer. The Scout Bikers fired on the flyer as well. Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes, but the Scouts still managed to do three wounds on it.
The Thunderfire Cannon fired at the Harlequins, doing two wounds on them.
In the charge phase, the Khan and Tactical Squad assaulted the Shining Spears. The Librarian and Scout Bikers charged the Dire Avengers, while the Lieutenant charged the Hemlock Wraithfighter.
The Khan struck at the Shining Spears, doing 7 hits but only four wounds after rolling three 1's to wound. Four of the squad perished. The Scouts attacked the Spears, wiping out the squad.
The Librarian and Scout Bikers struck at the Dire Avengers, but only managed to kill three of the squad (including the Exarch) while the Lieutenant was able to do one wound on the enemy flyer.
At the end of my turn, I scored one kill point.
TURN 2- AELDARI
The Solitaire blitzed, moving up on the Space Marine Librarian. The Flyer moved off towards the Bikers, while the Dire Avengers fell back. The Farseer and Warlock moved up on the central objective, while the Skyweavers moved up on the enemy deployment zone. The Rangers arrived from reserve, emerging near the Night Spinner. Craig used a stratagem to give the Harlequins +1 save.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Smite, but the Librarian blocked it. He then cast Doom on the Tactical Squad. The Warlock cast Smite, doing one mortal wound, but a CP re-roll took out two of the Tactical Squad. The Spiritseer cast Shards of Light on the Khan, doing two mortal wounds on him. He then failed to cast Smite, as did the Hemlock Wraithfighter.
The Death Jester fired at the Khan, doing two wounds but failing to get past his armour. The second Death Jester fired at Khan, but failed to do any damage. The Farseer fired at the Tactical Squad, killing two with his rending shots, leaving one remaining.
The Spiritseer fired at the Khan, hitting and rolling an 11 for the Ld test, doing two more mortal wounds on him. The Warlock added his firepower, the Khan failed his armour save and perished.
The Rangers fired at the Lieutenant, hitting and wounding once, but he made his armour save. The Night Spinner fired at the Scout Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Hemlock fired at the Scout Bikers, wiping out the squad.
The Harlequin Skyweavers fired at the Drop Pod and Tactical Squad in front of them. He rolled a double 1 for number of shots on the Drop Pod, then rolled a double 1 to hit! The shots at the Tactical Squad only did two wounds and failed to get past their armour.
In the charge phase, the Solitaire charged the Librarian, the Skyweavers charged the Scouts (but was unable to contact the Tactical Marines), while the Farseer and Warlock charged the lone Tactical Marine.
The Solitaire struck at the Librarian, killing him. The Skyweavers slew the Scouts, consolidating into the Tactical Marines. The Farseer and Warlock struck at the lone Tactical Marine, but failed to kill him, allowing him to take the objective.
At the end of the turn, Craig scored three kill points, two objective points and slay the warlord. I was able to score 8 objective points for holding four of the objectives.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 15
Aeldari- 11
A lucky survival for the lone Tactical Marine had seen me control the central objective and maintain the lead in the game. Had the lone Marine died, it would have put Craig ahead by one point.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 3, the active objective was rolled to be objective 3.
The Captain, Bikers and Lieutenant moved up on the enemy army, while the Sternguard Veterans disembarked from the Rhino to move up on the Solitaire. The Rhino moved round to shield the Scouts on the objective. The other Tactical Squad on the right flank moved into the cover of the ruins, while the other Rhino moved to protect them. The Tactical Squad on the right flank fell back from combat, as did the lone Tactical Marine.
At the end of the phase, the Vanguard Veterans arrived, landing near the Night Spinner and Rangers.
The Captain fired at the two Dire Avengers, killing them. The Sternguard Veterans fired at the Solitaire, wounding him 7 times, two of which got through his save. The Bikers added their firepower, killing him with their Bolters, while their Meltaguns killed the Spiritseer. The Thunderfire Cannon fired at the Skyweavers, but failed to do any damage.
The Drop Pod fired at the Warlock and killed him with its Storm Bolter. The Vanguard Veterans overcharged their Plasma Pistols at the Night Spinner, doing 6 wounds to it.
In the charge phase, the Plasma Pistol Vanguard Veterans charged the Rangers, the other unit failing to make the charge.
The Veterans were able to kill four of the Rangers, wrapping round the survivor to keep him locked in combat. The lone Ranger failed to kill any of the Veterans, and passed his morale test.
At the end of my turn, I scored four kill points.
TURN 3- AELDARI
The Wraithfighter moved up on the Vanguard Veterans, while the Skyweavers moved up on the Tactical Squad. The Guardians arrived, landing on the left flank near the Scouts and Sternguard Veterans.
The Farseer cast Smite, killing the lone Tactical Marine. He then cast Doom on the Sternguard Veterans.
In the shooting phase, the Farseer fired on the Drop Pod, doing one wound. The Hemlock Wraithfighter fired on the Bikers, killing them. The Death Jester fired at the Lieutenant, doing one wound on him. The Guardians opened fire on the Sternguard Veterans, killing the squad.
The Skyweavers finally destroyed the Drop Pod and killed one of the Tactical Marines in front of them. The Night Spinner fired at the Vanguard Veterans, killing one.
In the charge phase, the Skyweavers assaulted the Tactical Marines, while the Guardians made a charge on the Scouts and Rhino.
The Harlequins struck down the Tactical Squad, while the Guardians killed two of the Scouts. In reply, the Scouts killed three Guardians, while the Vanguard Veterans cut down the last Ranger, consolidating into the Night Spinner.
At the end of the turn, I scored one more kill point and one objective point. Craig scored 5 kill points and four objective points.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 21
Aeldari- 20
I actually forgot to add the kill point for the Ranger to my score during the game, so put the score down as 20 each in my notes.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 4, the active objective was number 1.
The Scouts and Rhino fell back from combat, while the Vanguard Veterans moved up to support them. The Captain and Lieutenant moved up on the Farseer. The Tactical Squad broke cover to target the Guardians.
The Vanguard Veterans fired their Pistols at the Night Spinner, destroying it. The Thunderfire Cannon and Tactical Squad fired at the Guardians, killing several of the squad.
In the charge phase, the Captain and Lieutenant charged the Farseer, while the Scouts and Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Guardians.
Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes on the Guardians as the White Scars attacked. The Vanguard Veterans were able to kill four of the squad (after the -1 to hit blocked about 7 attacks!). The Scouts were able to kill two more.
The Captain struck at the Farseer, doing two wounds. The Lieutenant was able to do one more to leave him on a single wound. The attacks back from the Aeldari failed to do any damage. At the end of the turn, the remaining Guardians fled to morale and I scored two kill points.
TURN 4- AELDARI
The Skyweavers moved out of the ruins to target the enemy forces, while the Death Jester advanced to grab the objective near the Vanguard Veterans. The Wraithfighter moved to the centre of the battlefield.
The Farseer cast Smite, doing three mortal wounds on the Biker Captain.
Both Death Jesters fired at the Captain, doing a single wound on him. The Wraithfighter fired at the Captain, doing four wounds. I failed all four invulnerable saves and he perished.
The Skyweavers fired on the Lieutenant, taking two wounds from him.
In the charge phase, the Death Jester charged the Lieutenant and was able to take his last wound to secure the central objective.
At the end of the turn, Craig scored 2 kill points and four objective points. I scored two objective points. We ran out of time for the game and I scored Linebreaker.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 26
Aeldari- 26
A draw for the White Scars and Aeldari. However, as I had forgotten the kill point for the Rangers, it went down as a loss for the White Scars 25 to 26, unfortunately.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Craig for a fun game.
Going through the game, it was a lot closer than I was expecting. I made a number of errors in this game, which I expected to make while learning the army.
The first major error was targeting the Shining Spears with so much firepower on turn 1. I have faced this unit a few times and once they get buffed up, they are incredibly hard to kill and can do a lot of damage and wanted to try and take them out. However, this was an error on my part.
Targeting the Shining Spears with the Grav Cannon Devastators was a big error. I could have predicted that Craig would use Lightning Fast Reflexes on them, meaning the Terminators were now hitting on a 6, which severely reduced their damage output against the unit. A better bet might have been to go after the Flyer or one of the Night Spinners.
Craig would have probably played Lightning Fast Reflexes on the flyer, meaning I was still hitting on a 6 with the Devastators, but without the 4+ invulnerable save that the Shining Spears got, I might have been able to do some serious damage to the flyer to perhaps finish it off later. This would also have put my Devastators on the left flank, forcing Craig to deal with them and saved him getting an easy move on the objective in the centre.
Firing at the Shining Spears with the Thunderfire Cannon was also an error. I would have hoped to do more damage, but some horrendous rolling meant they were pretty much unharmed. I should have gone after the Dire Avengers for an easy kill and First Strike for a few more points.
Had I won the first turn on the roll off, I may have played more aggressive with the army, deploying them in the centre, ready to go after the Shining Spears with my Bikers and warlord. However, Craig may have chosen to take the first turn with my units closer to his forces and done some damage to my army before they had a chance to react.
Another error was later in the game with the Vanguard Veterans. When I consolidated into the Night Spinner, I should have used my fall back move to move closer to the objective. I still could have shot the vehicle with my Plasma Pistols to destroy it, then been closer to the objective to stop Craig from scoring it in his turn, possibly winning me the game.
I also didn't activate the Assault Doctrine on turn 3. This would have made a couple of changes to the outcome of some combats. In particular, the Farseer would have been slain by the Captain and Lieutenant with the extra damage of their attacks.
Overall, some lessons to learn with the new codex and my White Scars. The next game in the tournament would see me taking on the Aeldari once more.
I won the roll off for deployment zone and chose the side, Craig deploying his entire army first.
He deployed much of his army on his right flank, the two units of Jetbikes, the flyer and the characters. He put one Night Spinner in the ruins on each flank, while the Dire Avengers deployed along the front of the enemy deployment zone. He put the unit of Guardians in the webway.
In reply, I put much of my army on my right flank, the two units of Bikers, characters, Thunderfire Cannon and a Tactical Squad. I put a unit of Tactical Marines and Scouts on the objective on the left flank, with another unit of Scouts in the centre. The last Scout unit deployed forward on the right flank, ready to move up on the enemy tank.
Craig chose to give me the first turn, I'm guessing hoping to move up on the objectives at the end of the phase.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
At the start of the turn, I rolled and objective 5 was the active objective.
In the first turn, the Scouts in the centre advanced into the ruins, while the Scouts Bikers, Scouts and Khan on Bike advanced on the right flank, the rest of the forces moving up to support them. I used Skilled Riders on the Scout Bikers to give them a 3+ invulnerable save. At the end of the phase, the Drop Pod arrived near the central objective, the Devastators disembarking and moving up on the enemy army.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Ride the Winds and Storm-wreathed on the Khan.
The shooting phase began with the Devastators firing on the Shining Spears. I used Gravitic Amplification on the squad, while Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes on the Spears. The Devastators were now hitting on 6's, but managed to kill two of the squad.
The Thunderfire Cannon added its firepower, doing only a single wound on the first volley. I used the stratagem to fire the Cannon again, getting 10 shots. However, I failed to roll a single hit on a 4+ on any of the 10 shots!
The Bike Squad fired at the Night Spinner, doing four wounds, but failing to get past its armour. Both Rhinos used their Smoke Launchers.
In the charge phase, the Khan and Scouts assaulted the Night Spinner. The central Scouts failed a 7"charge on the Dire Avengers, even with a CP re-roll.
The Khan struck at the enemy vehicle, doing 5 wounds, but he made two armour saves. The Night Spinner took 7 wounds, while the Scouts managed to do another 2 wounds to leave it on two remaining.
At the end of my turn, I scored no points.
TURN 1- AELDARI
The Khan prevented the Night Spinner from falling back with his Master of Snares ability. On the right flank, the Skyweavers and Shining Spears moved up towards the central objective, joined by the Aeldari characters. Craig played a stratagem to give the Skyweavers +1 to their save after they advanced.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Doom on the Devastators, but failed to manifest the power, even with a re-roll. He then cast Fortune on the Shining Spears. The Spiritseer cast Twilight Pathways on the Skyweavers, but failed to manifest the power.
The Death Jester fired on the Scouts, but failed to hit. The second Death Jester fired at the squad, hitting but failing to wound. The Shining Spears fired on the Devastators, killing one with their Lances, while the Shuriken fire wiped out the rest of the squad.
The Skyweavers fired at the Rhinos and Drop Pod, failing to damage the Rhino and doing 6 wounds on the Drop Pod.
The Wraithfighter fired at the Scout Bikers, only getting two shots and killing one of the squad. The Dire Avengers fired at the Scout Bikers, doing a single wound, but failing to get past their invulnerable save. The Night Spinner fired at the Tactical Squad opposite it, doing three wounds and killing two of the squad (despite a 2+ armour save).
The Shining Spears then assaulted the Scouts, wiping out the unit and consolidating into the Drop Pod. The Khan on Bike then struck at the Night Spinner, destroying it.
At the end of the phase, we both scored First Strike. Craig scored two kill points, while I scored one kill point. I scored four objective points, while Craig scored two objective points.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 6
Aeldari- 5
A rough turn for the White Scars, but I had managed to grab the lead, thanks to sitting on the activated objective.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
At the start of the turn, I rolled and all of the objectives were active. I switched to the Tactical Doctrine.
The Khan advanced on the central ruins, while the nearby Scouts moved up to secure the objective. The Tactical Squad in the centre moved up on the Shining Spears, while the Rhino advanced back towards the White Scars deployment zone.
The Scout Bikers moved up on the Dire Avengers, the Librarian and Lieutenant advancing to join them. The Bikers advanced and used the stratagem to get a 3+ invulnerable save.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Storm-wreathed on the Lieutenant, failing to cast Ride the Winds on him.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers fired their Meltaguns at the Wraithfighter, doing three damage on the flyer. The Scout Bikers fired on the flyer as well. Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes, but the Scouts still managed to do three wounds on it.
The Thunderfire Cannon fired at the Harlequins, doing two wounds on them.
In the charge phase, the Khan and Tactical Squad assaulted the Shining Spears. The Librarian and Scout Bikers charged the Dire Avengers, while the Lieutenant charged the Hemlock Wraithfighter.
The Khan struck at the Shining Spears, doing 7 hits but only four wounds after rolling three 1's to wound. Four of the squad perished. The Scouts attacked the Spears, wiping out the squad.
The Librarian and Scout Bikers struck at the Dire Avengers, but only managed to kill three of the squad (including the Exarch) while the Lieutenant was able to do one wound on the enemy flyer.
At the end of my turn, I scored one kill point.
TURN 2- AELDARI
The Solitaire blitzed, moving up on the Space Marine Librarian. The Flyer moved off towards the Bikers, while the Dire Avengers fell back. The Farseer and Warlock moved up on the central objective, while the Skyweavers moved up on the enemy deployment zone. The Rangers arrived from reserve, emerging near the Night Spinner. Craig used a stratagem to give the Harlequins +1 save.
In the psychic phase, the Farseer cast Smite, but the Librarian blocked it. He then cast Doom on the Tactical Squad. The Warlock cast Smite, doing one mortal wound, but a CP re-roll took out two of the Tactical Squad. The Spiritseer cast Shards of Light on the Khan, doing two mortal wounds on him. He then failed to cast Smite, as did the Hemlock Wraithfighter.
The Death Jester fired at the Khan, doing two wounds but failing to get past his armour. The second Death Jester fired at Khan, but failed to do any damage. The Farseer fired at the Tactical Squad, killing two with his rending shots, leaving one remaining.
The Spiritseer fired at the Khan, hitting and rolling an 11 for the Ld test, doing two more mortal wounds on him. The Warlock added his firepower, the Khan failed his armour save and perished.
The Rangers fired at the Lieutenant, hitting and wounding once, but he made his armour save. The Night Spinner fired at the Scout Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Hemlock fired at the Scout Bikers, wiping out the squad.
The Harlequin Skyweavers fired at the Drop Pod and Tactical Squad in front of them. He rolled a double 1 for number of shots on the Drop Pod, then rolled a double 1 to hit! The shots at the Tactical Squad only did two wounds and failed to get past their armour.
In the charge phase, the Solitaire charged the Librarian, the Skyweavers charged the Scouts (but was unable to contact the Tactical Marines), while the Farseer and Warlock charged the lone Tactical Marine.
The Solitaire struck at the Librarian, killing him. The Skyweavers slew the Scouts, consolidating into the Tactical Marines. The Farseer and Warlock struck at the lone Tactical Marine, but failed to kill him, allowing him to take the objective.
At the end of the turn, Craig scored three kill points, two objective points and slay the warlord. I was able to score 8 objective points for holding four of the objectives.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 15
Aeldari- 11
A lucky survival for the lone Tactical Marine had seen me control the central objective and maintain the lead in the game. Had the lone Marine died, it would have put Craig ahead by one point.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 3, the active objective was rolled to be objective 3.
The Captain, Bikers and Lieutenant moved up on the enemy army, while the Sternguard Veterans disembarked from the Rhino to move up on the Solitaire. The Rhino moved round to shield the Scouts on the objective. The other Tactical Squad on the right flank moved into the cover of the ruins, while the other Rhino moved to protect them. The Tactical Squad on the right flank fell back from combat, as did the lone Tactical Marine.
At the end of the phase, the Vanguard Veterans arrived, landing near the Night Spinner and Rangers.
The Captain fired at the two Dire Avengers, killing them. The Sternguard Veterans fired at the Solitaire, wounding him 7 times, two of which got through his save. The Bikers added their firepower, killing him with their Bolters, while their Meltaguns killed the Spiritseer. The Thunderfire Cannon fired at the Skyweavers, but failed to do any damage.
The Drop Pod fired at the Warlock and killed him with its Storm Bolter. The Vanguard Veterans overcharged their Plasma Pistols at the Night Spinner, doing 6 wounds to it.
In the charge phase, the Plasma Pistol Vanguard Veterans charged the Rangers, the other unit failing to make the charge.
The Veterans were able to kill four of the Rangers, wrapping round the survivor to keep him locked in combat. The lone Ranger failed to kill any of the Veterans, and passed his morale test.
At the end of my turn, I scored four kill points.
TURN 3- AELDARI
The Wraithfighter moved up on the Vanguard Veterans, while the Skyweavers moved up on the Tactical Squad. The Guardians arrived, landing on the left flank near the Scouts and Sternguard Veterans.
The Farseer cast Smite, killing the lone Tactical Marine. He then cast Doom on the Sternguard Veterans.
In the shooting phase, the Farseer fired on the Drop Pod, doing one wound. The Hemlock Wraithfighter fired on the Bikers, killing them. The Death Jester fired at the Lieutenant, doing one wound on him. The Guardians opened fire on the Sternguard Veterans, killing the squad.
The Skyweavers finally destroyed the Drop Pod and killed one of the Tactical Marines in front of them. The Night Spinner fired at the Vanguard Veterans, killing one.
In the charge phase, the Skyweavers assaulted the Tactical Marines, while the Guardians made a charge on the Scouts and Rhino.
The Harlequins struck down the Tactical Squad, while the Guardians killed two of the Scouts. In reply, the Scouts killed three Guardians, while the Vanguard Veterans cut down the last Ranger, consolidating into the Night Spinner.
At the end of the turn, I scored one more kill point and one objective point. Craig scored 5 kill points and four objective points.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 21
Aeldari- 20
I actually forgot to add the kill point for the Ranger to my score during the game, so put the score down as 20 each in my notes.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 4, the active objective was number 1.
The Scouts and Rhino fell back from combat, while the Vanguard Veterans moved up to support them. The Captain and Lieutenant moved up on the Farseer. The Tactical Squad broke cover to target the Guardians.
The Vanguard Veterans fired their Pistols at the Night Spinner, destroying it. The Thunderfire Cannon and Tactical Squad fired at the Guardians, killing several of the squad.
In the charge phase, the Captain and Lieutenant charged the Farseer, while the Scouts and Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Guardians.
Craig used Lightning Fast Reflexes on the Guardians as the White Scars attacked. The Vanguard Veterans were able to kill four of the squad (after the -1 to hit blocked about 7 attacks!). The Scouts were able to kill two more.
The Captain struck at the Farseer, doing two wounds. The Lieutenant was able to do one more to leave him on a single wound. The attacks back from the Aeldari failed to do any damage. At the end of the turn, the remaining Guardians fled to morale and I scored two kill points.
TURN 4- AELDARI
The Skyweavers moved out of the ruins to target the enemy forces, while the Death Jester advanced to grab the objective near the Vanguard Veterans. The Wraithfighter moved to the centre of the battlefield.
The Farseer cast Smite, doing three mortal wounds on the Biker Captain.
Both Death Jesters fired at the Captain, doing a single wound on him. The Wraithfighter fired at the Captain, doing four wounds. I failed all four invulnerable saves and he perished.
The Skyweavers fired on the Lieutenant, taking two wounds from him.
In the charge phase, the Death Jester charged the Lieutenant and was able to take his last wound to secure the central objective.
At the end of the turn, Craig scored 2 kill points and four objective points. I scored two objective points. We ran out of time for the game and I scored Linebreaker.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 26
Aeldari- 26
 |
| End of the game. |
A draw for the White Scars and Aeldari. However, as I had forgotten the kill point for the Rangers, it went down as a loss for the White Scars 25 to 26, unfortunately.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Craig for a fun game.
Going through the game, it was a lot closer than I was expecting. I made a number of errors in this game, which I expected to make while learning the army.
The first major error was targeting the Shining Spears with so much firepower on turn 1. I have faced this unit a few times and once they get buffed up, they are incredibly hard to kill and can do a lot of damage and wanted to try and take them out. However, this was an error on my part.
Targeting the Shining Spears with the Grav Cannon Devastators was a big error. I could have predicted that Craig would use Lightning Fast Reflexes on them, meaning the Terminators were now hitting on a 6, which severely reduced their damage output against the unit. A better bet might have been to go after the Flyer or one of the Night Spinners.
Craig would have probably played Lightning Fast Reflexes on the flyer, meaning I was still hitting on a 6 with the Devastators, but without the 4+ invulnerable save that the Shining Spears got, I might have been able to do some serious damage to the flyer to perhaps finish it off later. This would also have put my Devastators on the left flank, forcing Craig to deal with them and saved him getting an easy move on the objective in the centre.
Firing at the Shining Spears with the Thunderfire Cannon was also an error. I would have hoped to do more damage, but some horrendous rolling meant they were pretty much unharmed. I should have gone after the Dire Avengers for an easy kill and First Strike for a few more points.
Had I won the first turn on the roll off, I may have played more aggressive with the army, deploying them in the centre, ready to go after the Shining Spears with my Bikers and warlord. However, Craig may have chosen to take the first turn with my units closer to his forces and done some damage to my army before they had a chance to react.
Another error was later in the game with the Vanguard Veterans. When I consolidated into the Night Spinner, I should have used my fall back move to move closer to the objective. I still could have shot the vehicle with my Plasma Pistols to destroy it, then been closer to the objective to stop Craig from scoring it in his turn, possibly winning me the game.
I also didn't activate the Assault Doctrine on turn 3. This would have made a couple of changes to the outcome of some combats. In particular, the Farseer would have been slain by the Captain and Lieutenant with the extra damage of their attacks.
Overall, some lessons to learn with the new codex and my White Scars. The next game in the tournament would see me taking on the Aeldari once more.
Great report, love the pics. Don't know how you do it as well as play in a tournament timings too.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Siph! Years and years of practice have made it so that I can now write them down pretty quickly.
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