Battle Report 122- 2000 pts Ravenwing vs Ynnari

Today's battle report features my Ravenwing taking on Adam's Aeldari force in a 2000 pts Eternal War mission.

This game was fought at a Bunker War tournament at Battle Bunker in Sunderland. This game was Big Guns Never Tire using Vanguard Strike Deployment.

My army consisted of:

Outrider Detachment

Sammael on Corvex (S)

Ravenwing Apothecary (A)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK1)

Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB1)

Outrider Detachment

Librarian- Bike, Force Sword, Mind Worm, Aversion (L2)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Plasma Guns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Chainswords (RB3)

Dark Talon- 2 Hurricane Bolters, Rift Cannon (DT)

Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L1)

5 Command Points

The Librarian took Mind Worm and Aversion. Sammael was my warlord and took Tenacious Survivor.


Adam's army consisted of:
Supreme Command Detachment
Warlock- Witchblade, Conceal/Reveal (W)
Warlock- Witchblade, Conceal/Reveal (W)
Yvraine- Gaze of Ynnead, Word of the Pheonix (Y)

Battalion Detachment
Warlock- Witchblade, Enhance/Drain (W)
Warlock- Witchblade, Enhance/Drain (W)
10 Guardian Defenders (G1)
10 Guardian Defenders (G2)
10 Guardian Defenders (G3)
10 Guardian Defenders (G4)
10 Guardian Defenders (G5)
Night Spinner- Shuriken Cannon (NS1)
Night Spinner- Shuriken Cannon (NS2)
Hemlock Wraithfighter- Conceal/Reveal, Spirit Stones (H)
Wave Serpent- Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones (WS1)
Wave Serpent- Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones (WS2)
Wave Serpent- Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones (WS3)
Wave Serpent- Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones (WS4)
Wave Serpent- Shuriken Cannon, Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones (WS5)

Yvraine was the warlord.
It looks like someone snuck a 6th edition Eldar list into an 8th edition tournament! I would get to see how powerful the Wave Serpent was in 8th edition first hand.

The objectives were set up already on the tabletop, so there was no objective placement.

The deployment order was as follows:

1. Ravenwing Bikers 3
2. Hemlock Wraithfighter
3. Ravenwing Bikers 2
4. Nightspinner
5. Ravenwing Bikers 1
6. Nightspinner
7. Black Knights
8. Wave Serpent (Guardians, Warlock)
9. Darkshroud
10. Wave Serpent (Guardians, Warlock)
11. Black Knights
12. Wave Serpent (Guardians, Warlock)
13. Sammael
14. Wave Serpent (Guardians, Warlock)
15. Librarian
16. Wave Serpent (Guardians, Yvriane)
17. Rest of Ravenwing army

Adam set up both Nightspinners behind line of sight, with the Hemlock Wraithfighter deploying at the back of the deployment zone. The five Wave Serpents deployed in front of the units across the length of the deployment zone. 

I set up most of my army on the left flank, ready to advance on one flank of the enemy army. The Dark Talon deployed at the back of my deployment zone. The Landspeeder went on the right flank, behind the Bastion. 

Adam took the first turn. I failed to seize the initiative, even with a command point re-roll. 

TURN 1- YNNARI

The Wave Serpents moved up to engage the Ravenwing, while the Hemlock Wraithfighter crossed the battlefield to target the backfield units. 

In the psychic phase, the Wraithfighter cast Conceal on itself, but the attempt was blocked by the Ravenwing Librarian. 

One Wave Serpent fired on the closest unit of Ravenwing Bikers, killing one of them. A second Wave Serpent fired at the same unit, wounding them three times. I failed all three saves and two Bikers perished. 

One Nightspinner opened fire on the Darkshroud. Adam used a command point to score 12 shots with its 2D6 shots, wounding the skimmer four times. The second Nightspinner fired at the Darkshroud, wounding it a further two times. 

The Wraithfighter fired at the Dark Talon, wounding it four times. 

Another Wave Serpent fired at the Meltagun Bikers, wounding them once. Another Wave Serpent fired at the same unit, wounding them three times, the Ravenwing taking two wounds. 

The Ravenwing units passed their morale tests. 

TURN 1- RAVENWING

The Ravenwing moved up on the Ynnari forces, most of the army advancing on the left flank to target the Wave Serpents. The Dark Talon moved up to support them. On the right flank, the Landspeeder stayed in place and was joined by the Librarian. 

The Librarian cast Mind Worm on the Wraithfighter, wounding it once. He then cast Smite, but the attack was blocked. 

The Landspeeder opened fire on the Wraithfighter. One Missile and the Multimelta both hit and wounded, but each only caused two damage. The Librarian added its firepower, hitting twice but failing to wound. 

One Ravenwing Bike squad opened fire on a Wave Serpent, wounding them once with their Bolters. The Flamer hit and wounded twice, but failed to get past its armour. The second Ravenwing Biker unit fired at the same target. The squad's Bolters did one wound, while the Meltaguns of the squad managed to take 6 more wounds from it. 

The first unit of Black Knights fired on the damaged Wave Serpent. I chose to overcharge the Plasma Talons in order to wound on a 3+, even though I would only do one damage with each wound (thanks to the Serpent Shield). The squad managed to do 6 wounds and destroy it. 

One of the squad perished to the destruction. Adam chose to take the Warlock so that the unit could Soulburst. The Guardians opened fire on the Meltagun Bikers, wounding them five times. I only passed a single save and two of the Bikers perished.

The Dark Talon fired on the newly emerged Guardians, wiping them out with its Hurricane Bolters. The Rift Cannon fired at the enemy flyer, wounding it once and inflicting another Mortal Wound with the vortex effect. 

The Ravenwing Bikers with the Plasma Guns fired at a Wave Serpent. The Bolters did no harm. The Plasma Guns overcharged, doing two wounds on the enemy skimmer for the cost of one Biker to overheating. 

The final unit of Black Knights overcharged their Plasma Talons at another Wave Serpent. Two Bikers perished, despite the re-rolls afforded by Sammael, and they managed to four wounds on one of them. The Apothecary and Sammael fired on the Wave Serpent, each wounding it once. 

A unit of Bikers and a unit of Black Knights charged the damaged Wave Serpent. The Knights managed to do two wounds, while the Sergeant with the Power Sword managed to do a single wound. 

At the end of my turn, I did manage to score First Blood, but hadn't done too much damage to the enemy army. The Serpent Shields of the enemy transports had effectively neutered the damage that my Plasma weapons could do in my turn. 

TURN 2- YNNARI

The Wave Serpents fell back from combat, while the squads inside disembarked (at least those that could) to target the Ravenwing. The Hemlock Wraithfighter crossed the battlefield once more to target the Bikers. 

The Fighter tried to cast Conceal on itself, but failed to manifest the power. 

The Wraithfighter then opened fire on the Darkshroud, wounding it twice. The damaged Wave Serpent then opened fire on the enemy skimmer and was able to destroy it. 

One squad of Guardians targeted the Black Knights, wounding them once. A second unit of Guardians did another two wounds, killing one of the squad. The third unit of Guardians fired at the lone Plasma Gunner, killing him. 

A Wave Serpent fired at the Black Knights, killing one of the squad. A second Wave Serpent opened fire, wounding the squad 7 times and getting three through their armour to kill two more Knights. The last Serpent fired at the unit, wounding the last Black Knight once. A nearby Warlock opened fire at the survivor and was able to slay him with his pistol shot. 

One Nightspinner opened fire on the Dark Talon, destroying it. The second opened fire on the second unit of Black Knights, killing two with its firepower. 

In the charge phase, a Warlock assaulted the Apothecary. The overwatch fire of the Ravenwing Veteran managed to wound the warlock, but Adam made his invulnerable save thanks to the use of a command point re-roll. The warlock then succeeded in failing the charge! 

Another warlock then charged a Bike Squad, suffering one wound from overwatch, backed up by a couple of Wave Serpents. 

The Warlock and Wave Serpents struck at the Ravenwing Bikers, but failed to do any harm. The Bikers then managed to kill the Warlock and wound one of the Wave Serpents twice. This allowed the nearby Guardian to soulburst. They fired at the nearby lone Biker Sergeant, wounding him once. 

The end of the Ynnari second turn saw a lot of the Ravenwing units devastated. I would be hard pressed to survive much longer in this game.

TURN 2- YNNARI

The Landspeeder, Sammael and the Librarian moved up on the Wraithfighter. The lone Sergeant, Black Knight and Apothecary moved to engage the Guardians. The Apothecary managed to bring back on of the Black Knights on one wound.

The Librarian attempted to cast Smite on the Wraithfighter, but failed to manifest the power. He then cast Aversion on a unit of Guardians.

Sammael opened fire on the enemy flyer, wounding it twice with his Storm Bolters and once with the Plasma Cannon. The Landspeeder fired at the Wraithfighter, wounding once with the Multi-melta, but Adam made his 6+ save.
The Black Knights and Apothecary fired at the Guardians, killing four of them. The lone Sergeant fired at another unit of Guardians and killed two of them.

In the charge phase, the Landspeeder assaulted the Wraithfighter, but the overwatch fire destroyed it. Sammael then charged the flyer, managing to brave the overwatch fire to make it in.

The Black Knights charged one unit of Guardians, while the Sergeant and Apothecary charged another unit.

In the fight phase, Sammael struck at the Hemlock Wraithfighter, wounding it four times and destroying it.
The Black Knights killed only one Guardian with their combined attacks. The Apothecary managed to do a single wound, but the Guardian made his 6+ save. The Sergeant failed to hit the Guardians.

The Ravenwing squad in combat with the Wave Serpents managed to do one wound to one of them.

The Ynnari then struck back. The Warlock failed to wound the Black Knights. The Guardians, however, managed to do two wounds. I failed both saves and one Black Knight perished. The other unit of Guardians managed to kill the lone Sergeant.

At the end of my second turn, I decided to concede. I only had 9 models left on the board, and Adam had most of his army. My chances of surviving the next turn were very slim.

End of the game.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
That was a bit of a rubbish game for me, to be honest. I hate conceding games early, but there really was no hope for this one and I was fairly sure I would be tabled in the following turn.

I simply didn't have the firepower to deal with the enemy Wave Serpents. The Serpent Shield reduces the damage by 1 for each weapon firing at it. This meant that my Plasma guns could only ever do one damage to them, even with overcharging. As this was the bulk of my firepower, I really struggled to take them on. If it wasn't for the shields, I may have been able to take out two or three of them on the first turn, rather than just one. This would have allowed me to get to the gooey insides and take out the Guardians.
I couldn't even tie them up in combat thanks to having the Fly keyword, so was unable to diminish their firepower any.

The Nightspinners were also pretty brutal, having very strong firepower and not even needing line of sight to fire.

Overall, I like how the Ravenwing play in 8th edition. The Darkshroud is incredible, really improving the durability of the nearby units thanks to its -1 to hit bubble. These are a prime target for the enemy army and I may have to invest in another one to add to my army.

I don't think the Apothecary was of much use, I will probably replace him in the list if I use it again. The Librarian was useful, and he has access to some great psychic powers. Sammael is amazing in a Ravenwing army. He is great in combat, has some really potent shooting and his full re-roll bubble is brilliant in this type of army.

I will be changing up my Ravenwing army in future games, but look forward to seeing how they perform in future games.