WARNING - Some of the videos below may not view properly during the very beginning due to my lack of experience with this medium. I still have to add the footage for table layout, army lists and deployment... if you come back later they will be up as well.
Black Blow Fly's Dark Eldar vs. Swag's Chaos Space Marines
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ARMY LISTS
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Dark Eldar
HQ
Vect
Succubus - agonizer, blast pistol & haywire grenades
Elites
9x Trueborn incl. Drachon - 3x blaster & 6x shard carbine, agonizer & blast pistol
Raider – flickerfield
Venom - dual splinter cannons, grissly trophies & flickerfield
Troops
9x Wych incl. Hekatrix - 2x hydra gauntlets, haywire grenades, agonizer & blast pistol
Raider - enhanced aethersails, show prow, tormentor grenade launcher, flickerfield
10x Warrior incl. Syrabite - blaster, splinter cannon, splinter pistol & venom blade
Raider – flickerfield
10x Warrior incl. Syrabite - blaster, splinter cannon, splinter pistol & venom blade
Raider – flickerfield
Fast Attack
6x Reaver jetbike incl. Arena Champion - 2x heat lance, agonizer
Heavy Support
Ravager - 3x disintegrator, flickerfield
Voidraven – flickerfield
Chaos Space Marines
HQ
Daemon Prince - Mark of Slaanesh, wings, lash of submission
Daemon Prince - Mark of Slaanesh, wings, lash of submission
Elites
4x Chaos terminator - 3x combi plasma, combi melta & power fist
5x Chosen - 2x flamer & 2x meltagun
Rhino - combi melta
Troops
8x Berzerker incl. Skull Champion - power weapon
Rhino
8x Berzerker incl. Skull Champion - power weapon
Rhino
8x Berzerker incl. Skull Champion - power weapon
Rhino
Heavy Support
3x Obliterator
3x Obliterator
3x Obliterator
Primary - Annihilation
Secondary - Seize Ground (5 objectives)
DEPLOYMENT
Dawn of War
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- Dark eldar win the roll opting to go first;
- All units except for the Reavers will roll onto the table on the first turn;
- Reavers are held in normal reserve
- Chaos Space Marines will all roll onto the table the first turn except for
- Chaos terminators will deep strike
COMBAT DRUGS
Pain Tokens
Note that this means the Succubus and her Wyches start the game with two pain tokens - i.e., Feel No Pain & Furious Charge !
To start the game Vect decides to play it safe. There is a large set of multi level LOS blocking ruins in one corner of the table which is chosen as Vect's deployment zone. There is no other LOS blocking terrain elsewhere except for some boulders that can hide the venom. Vect joins his Incubi in their venom and the Succubus joins the wyches in their raider. Everything will come on using the ruins for cover (except for the Reavers - held in normal reserve) to observe how Chaos deploys. The strategy is to pop a rhino or two early and put the pressure on Chaos to force their hand. The primary threat are the three squads of Obliterators as once they move into range they can shred Vect's air force. The lash princes are the secondary threat. Reavers will act as a distraction and hopefully pop a rhino or two. The venom's footprint is small enough it has plenty of places to hide so Vect should be able to engage the enemy where and when he wants.
Turn 1 - Dark Eldar
All the skimmers come in as planned using the ruins for cover. The Warriors' raider land on the top level so they can target rhinos the next turn.
Turn 1 - Chaos Space Marines
The Chaos forces of disorder also decide to play it safe coming in along the far corner of the table. None of the Obliterators can target any of the dark eldar skimmers.
0 kp Dark Eldar - 0 kp Chaos Space Marines
Turn 2 - Dark Eldar
The Reavers do not show up this turn. Voidraven moves 12" out of the ruins in position to shoot a rhino full of Berzerkers. Everything else holds its ground. Shooting sees the rhino immobilized.
Rhino blocked all shooting with smoke, was destroyed in the next round.
Neither the Chosen nor the Chaos terminators show up this turn. The forces of disorder move in a castle formation with the lash princes hugging the rear of the two mobile rhinos for cover. Obliterators are forward. General movement is towards the center of the table. One squad of Obliterators are in range of the Voidraven and they destroy it.
The pressure now slightly shifts onto Vect's shoulders as he is suddenly down one killpoint - nothing to worry about early in the game.
0 kp Dark Eldar - 1 kp Chaos Space Marines
Turn 3 - Dark Eldar
Reavers come in from reserve turbo boosting along the edge of the table to act as bait for the forces of disorder. Except for the venom the other skimmers still hold their ground with Vect banking on the Obliterators being out of range for one more turn. Venom moves flat out to lend support to the Reavers (grissly trophies) hiding behind a boulder. Shooting sees the immobilized rhino wrecked. The Berzerkers all emerge safe from the burning wreckage.
Turn 3 - Chaos Space Marines
The Chosen arrive from reserve and outflank onto the far short table edge safe from the dark eldar flying armada. Their rhino comes in the full 12". The two remaining rhinos full of Berzerkers move towards the Reavers with the lash princes both hugging their rear armor. The Obliterators all move up into support and are just out of range to the dark eldar skimmers. The forward most lash prince then successfully casts lash pulling the Reavers 8" towards the Chosen (just reached one jetbike by less than 1"... Drat !!!). The Chosen then unload on the Reavers and vaporize all of them with the flamers. Vect is incensed and he's still behind the proverbial eight ball.
1 kp Dark Eldar - 2 kp Chaos Space Marines
Turn 4 - Dark Eldar
The venom moves 6" into a firing position to target the forward most lash prince - note that the venom is still in cover safely hidden from the Obliterators. The Warriors' raiders then attempt to fly out from the ruins to target the Chosen transport - one raider immobilizes itself on top of the ruins. The Trueborn raider also comes out using the Warriors' mobile raider as cover landing right beside the long table edge. The Wyches' raider still hangs back hiding safely behind the ruins. The venom's dual splinter cannons then drops one wound on the lash prince.
Turn 4 - Chaos Space Marines
Still the Chaos terminators fail to show yet again - they will automatically arrive the next turn. The Obliterators all move towards the dark eldar long table edge using woods and rock for cover. The Chosen dismount and move into position to target the venom with their meltaguns. Both Berzerker rhinos hold their ground and pop smoke. Both lash princes continue to hide behind the rhinos for cover. The Chosen are able to immobilize the venom. The Obliterators manage to stun the mobile Warriors' raider. Flickerfields are strong this turn disarming the vast majority of possible damage.
The battle line is now drawn clearly in the ground... The fight will take place over close by the dark eldars' long table edge. Blood flows freely on both sides.
1 kp Dark Eldar - 2 kp Chaos Space Marines
Turn 5 - Dark Eldar
Time is running down... This could be the final turn... Vect must marshal his forces and press forward with the attack. Every potential killpoint must be taken if possible. Vect and his Incubi retinue dismount and head directly towards the closest lash prince - it's time to crush in it's bloody skull. The Warriors' mobile raider is stuck in place due to being stunned. The Trueborn raider moves 12" along the long edge of the table and they dismount on the rear side lining up clear shots on the Chosen . The Succubus and Wych retinue now move flat out in their raider landing in position to launch an assault the next turn. The Trueborn blast away killing all but one evil veteran. The raider fires into the Chosen rhino but fails to inflict any damage. Vect then lobs his grenade pack on top of the closest lash prince and scores one wound. Vect sounds the charge and they assault the lash prince ripping apart the huge daemon before it can swing back. They then consolidate into some woods for cover.
Turn 5 - Chaos Space Marines
Finally the Chaos terminators arrive deep striking in front of the ruins over in the corner where sits the Warriors' immobilized raider and the Ravager is still safely hidden away. The two Berzerker rhinos move 6" towards the dark eldar and wisely decide not to dismount. The lone lash prince flies up a bit to target Vect and his Incubi. The Obliterators all opt to stand their ground this turn as they are both in range and in cover. The lone Chosen veteran wisely decides to hop back inside it's immobilized rhino... double Drat !! The lash prince then attempts to cast lash but fails... Nice dat !! The Obliterators first target Vect and his Incubi with burning plasma. Vect then declares he's not going to ground... He still has plenty of unfinished business to attend to before it all over! Two Incubi are torched in the first salvo then the other two are torched as well in the second salvo. The third squad of Obliterators then target the Wyches' raider and destroy it... They hop out of the burning debris and fail their morale check then pass it on the reroll due to their proximity to the grissly trophies on the venom - very close one there for sure. The Chaos terminators target the immobilized raider perched on top of the ruins but flickerfield is very strong and disarms all incoming possible damage !
2 kp Dark Eldar - 4 kp Chaos Space Marines
Chaos is ahead by 2 killpoints. It's not looking good for the dark eldar now - they have an even wider margin to surmount. Chaos is also holding two objectives so Vect is going to need at least 3 killpoints to move ahead for a shot at the win. We roll for a sixth turn and it's still on !
Turn 6 - Dark Eldar
The mobile Warriors' raider moves up 12" inches to target a Berzerker rhino - the Warriors then dismount out on the rear side and Vect joins them. The Succubus and Wych retinue surge forward in a position to assault the lone daemon prince. The Trueborn stand their ground in position to also fire upon the Berserker rhino. The Ravager flies up on top of the ruins targeting the Chaos terminators with it's disintegrators. The other Warrior squad remains embarked in their immobilized raider. All blaster and dark lance shots into the Berzerker rhino can only manage to stun it - Drat !!! The venom then sprays it's salvo of poisoned shots into the lone prince and strips two wounds away. The Ravager then targets the Chaos terminators and amazingly kills none. The Warriors and their raider then fires upon the terminators and combined drop one. The Succubus and her Wych retinue then run to make sure they'll be close enough to assault the daemon prince. They charge the beast but the agonizers can only drop one wound between the Succubus and her Hekatrix. The Wyches then attack and with the pair of hydra gauntlets manage to just strip away the last wound. They then consolidate around the Berzerker rhino daring them to step out. Still not enough damage inflicted to move into the pole position - it's definitely not looking good at all for notorious Black Druchii. :'((
Turn 6 - Chaos Space Marines
The Berserkers all remain inside their rhinos cowering in fear of Vect and his mighty Kabal of the Black Heart. The Oblits all decide to back away from the action. The terminators move towards the ruins. The only substantial damage is from the Chaos terminators wrecking the Ravager as the Oblits all fail to wreck or destroy a skimmer or squad of infantry.
3 kp Dark Eldar - 5 kp Chaos Space Marines
Vect is still behind by 2 killpoints - if the game ends now it's in the bag for Chaos. We roll for the 7th and final turn - it's still on !
Turn 7 - Dark Eldar
Everything lines up to target the immobilized rhino except for the Warriors over in the ruins with their grounded raider. The Succubus and her retinue move around the rhino blocking off all the hatches. The Warriors in the ruins and their raider both target the Chaos terminators and finish them off. One raider splits it shot and wrecks the Chosen rhino... The evil vet hops out the rear side safe behind the wreck. If I can pop the immobilized Berserker rhino then the passengers are destroyed as well since they can't disembark while maintaining a 1" gap from the Succubus and her Wyches who are all fearless now as well. The blasters and dark lances all pour into the rhino but it still stands... Triple Drat !!!! The Succubus and her Wyches then assault the transport automatically hitting with their haywire grenades but fail to pop it. We are now tied on killpoints and over the course of the last two turns I've managed to move two scoring units into position to contest one objective and hold another (sneaky dark eldar !!) - dead even draw at this point.
Turn 7 - Chaos Space Marines
The Oblits move into firing positions on the grounded venom and manage to wreck it thus ending the game with a win for Chaos.
5 kp Dark Eldar - 6 kp Chaos Space Marines
POST GAME ANALYSIS
Black Blow Fly:
It all came down in the end to popping that one rhino which I miserably failed to accomplish. I was pumping some shots into rear armor as well. I hit it with four blasters, two dark lances, three blast pistols and 10 haywire grenades... It was a stunning blow to a solid plan of attack in an attempt to surge back for the win in the final minutes.
I am happy with my deployment and still think that was the best plan of attack. I could have surged forward with a raider rush relying upon the 4++ to weather a turn of combined shooting from the Oblits and they could only target one unit each at most dropping three skimmers during the first turn. There would still have been a good stretch of open ground to run the gauntlet though and I think the lash princes would have been much more of a problem if I had gone that route. As it played out over the course of the game Chaos was only able successfully use lash once - I lost my Reavers as a result though and that definitely hurt as if they hadn't been lashed I'm sure they could have popped at least one rhino... As it was they simply gave up a free killpoint with nothing in return to show.
The Voidraven also failed to score a killpoint as well and gave up another free killpoint. I probably should have held it back one more turn... I placed it in harm's way hoping to take out a rhino early and I payed the price for failing. The Ravager also failed to inflict any damage failing horribly when called upon to nuke the Chaos terminators. So three very easy killpoints for my opponent with nothing to show in return for these losses.
The Chosen coming in on the far side hurt me as well since it would have been a couple of easy killpoints if it had come in on my side... One evil vet just managed to survive which was the difference between loss and a draw.
The game started off at a very slow pace in terms of action but it got very bloody going into the top of the 5th turn. I was playing from behind the entire game and could not ever manage to move ahead.
Swags:
Dark Eldar are always a hard fight. I got some luck in using the full length of the board to my advantage in this game. The raiders didn’t close the gap early and that helped the Oblits to fire most all game long and never take a wound.
The lash princes were more of a psychological threat, I think, than a physical threat and that made the DE play a bit more cautious than normal. Thus running out the clock as it were and avoiding early round kill points.
All in all it was a push and pull game that forced each of us to prey on every last inch, stretching our ranged shooting and attacks to the max.
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