Had a game last night using the ATC (American Team Championship) mission:
Primary 1 - Crusade (4 objective markers)
Primary 2 - Emperor's Will
Primary 3 - Purge the Alien
Each primary objective is worth 8 victory points.
Secondaries - First Blood - Slay the Warlord - Line Breaker
Each secondary is worth 2 victory points.
Deployment - Vanguard Strike
Night Fight - 1st Turn
Here's my army list (DraigoStar):
- Ultramarines - (Primary Detachment)
Tigerius (Warlord - Storm of Fire)
Librarian - Level 2 Psyker - Force Axe - Bolt Pistol
4x Tactical Marine
Plasmagun
Sergeant - Combi-Plasma - Meltabombs
Drop Pod
4x Tactical Marine
Plasmagun
Sergeant - Combi-Plasma - Meltabombs
Drop Pod
5x Centurion Devastator (DevCents)
5x Grav Cannon-Grav Amp-Missile Launcher
Sergeant - Twin Linked Lascannon - Missile Launcher - Omniscope
- Grey Knight - (Allied Detachment)
Lord Draigo
Librarian - Level 3 Psyker - Nemesis Daemonhammer - Stormbolter - Liber Daemonica
Dreadknight - Heavy Psycannon - Heavy Incinerator
4x Grey Knight
Psycannon
Justicar - Nemesis Daemonhammer
Here are my psychic powers:
Tigerius (Level 3)
Psychic Shriek - Invisibility - Shrouding - Hallucinate (Telepathy)
Librarian (Level 2)
Smite - Iron Arm - Warp Speed (Biomancy) /Note I was hoping to roll Endurance.
Draigo (Level 2)
Gate of Infinity - Hammerhand - Banishment - Purge Soul (Santic)
GK Librarian (Level 3)
Gate of Infinity (Santic)
Prescience - Perfect Timing - Forewarning (Divination)
Dreadknight (Level 1)
Banishment - Sanctuary (Santic)
Grey Knights (Level 1)
Banishment- Hammerhand
So a pool of 12 warp charges total when all psykers are on the table.
Here is my opponent's army list:
Autarch (Warlord - Stealth in Ruins)
5x Dire Avenger
Wave Serpent - Scatter Laser - Shuriken Cannon - Holofield - Ghostwalk Matrix - Star Engines
5x Dire Avenger
Wave Serpent - Scatter Laser - Shuriken Cannon - Holofield - Ghostwalk Matrix
5x Dire Avenger
Wave Serpent - Scatter Laser - Shuriken Cannon - Holofield - Ghostwalk Matrix
5x Dire Avenger
Wave Serpent - Scatter Laser - Shuriken Cannon - Holofield - Ghostwalk Matrix
5x Fire Dragon
Wave Serpent - Scatter Laser - Shuriken Cannon - Holofield - Ghostwalk Matrix
Night Spinner
Wraithknight (stock)
Wraithknight (stock)
Gun Emplacement - 2x Twin Linked Icarus Lascannon (Skyfire - Intercept - BS2)
We place objectives - three of four Crusade objective markers are located over in one quarter of the table. My opponent wins the roll to choose his deployment zone and picks the side with the three Crusade objective markers.
I win the roll to deploy and choose whether to go first choosing to do so. I deploy DraigoStar (Draigo - Tigerius - GK Librarian - Librarian - DevCents) in my table corner with the Dreadknight beside them. My opponent castles in his table corner with a Wraightknight on either flank and declines to roll to seize the initiative.
- PRE GAME ANALYSIS -
I have a low model count army so my strategy is to win one primary objective, draw on another and score at least two of the three secondary objectives. Purge the Alien should be easy to achieve along with First Blood. The game plan is simple - gate around and take out all the wave serpents or immobilize them by the fifth turn... If I can do this it should easy to draw on Emperor's Will.
1st Turn - DraigoStar
The first drop pod comes in from reserve landing deep in my table corner beside my Emperor's Will objective marker and they disembark out from the backside. The Dreadknight shunts over towards the closest serpent full of Dire Avengers and is partially in a ruin.
During the psychic phase I successfully cast Gate, Perfect Timing and Shrouding but forget to cast Invisibility which is a huge blunder. This was my first time playing the army, thus the mental error. DraigoStar teleports into the ruin beside the Dreadknight with a small scatter such that Draigo and two DevCents are placed outside of cover.
During the shooting phase DraigoStar targets the wave serpent and wrecks it. The Dire Avengers spill out and fail their pinning check. The Dreadknight shoots the Dire Avengers with the heavy psycannon then finishes them off with his heavy incinerator. First Blood and two kill points the first turn.
1st Turn - Serpent Spam
The remaining serpents and Night Spinners shuffle a bit but none make a forward move. All shooting is focused on DraigoStar - I lose one DevCent, another takes a wound and Draigo loses two. Had I remembered to cast Invisibility it's quite possible I would have not taken any wounds... Losing two of four wounds on Draigo right off the bat was really bad.
DraigoStar: First Blood, 2 KP
Serpent Spam: 0
2nd Turn - DraigoStar
In from reserves comes both the second drop pod and Grey Knights. The drop pod lands in a central ruin on top of a Crusade objective marker and the Marines disembark out the front so they can target a serpent. The Grey Knights deep strike in my corner in a ruin close to another Crusade objective marker and my Emperor's Will objective marker. The Dreadknight remains in the ruin.
During the psychic phase I successfully cast Gate, Invisibility and Perfect Timing. Draigo suffers his third wound from Perils and loses Banishment. DraigoStar teleports over to flank on side of the clustered serpents with an eye on the Autarch's ride.
Tigerius pops his Warlord trait - Storm of Fire - so that the DevCents are twin linked. I wreck another serpent (Autarch inside with Dire Avengers) and immobilize another. There are only two mobile serpents left after only the first two turns - it's looking really good for DraigoStar at the moment. The Autarch and Dire Avengers spill out passing their morale checks.
2nd Turn - Serpent Spam
The mobile serpents shift away from DraigoStar and one Wraithknight moves up towards the centrally located tactical squad.
During the shooting phase one Wraightknight manages to distort my Dreadknight and the other rolls a 6 to hit taking out another DevCent.
DraigoStar: First Blood, 3 KP
Serpent Spam: 1 KP
3rd Turn - DraigoStar
The centrally located tactical squad backs up away from the Wraithknight while remaining in the ruin while the Grey Knights spread out in their ruin moving closer to the two objective markers in my table corner. DraigoStar is in range of another serpent and the Night Spinner so no need to Gate this turn.
This turn I successfully cast Invisibility, Prescience and Perfect Timing.
I wreck another serpent and immobilize the Night Spinner during the shooting phase - only one mobile serpent left with at least two turns to go! Everything is going to plan.
4th Turn - Serpent Spam
The one mobile serpent which just happened to have the star engines moves full out along its table edge over towards my short edge while the Wraightknight closest to the central tactical squad converges on them.
Eldar shooting doesn't do much except for the Wraightknight killing one tactical Marine. Note that the barrage from the Night Spinner scattered off target almost every turn.
The Wraithknight then charges in wiping out the rest of the tactical squad.
DraigoStar: First Blood, 4 KP
Serpent Spam: 2 KP
4th Turn - DraigoStar
This turn I made my second mistake... I decide to take out the Autarch for Slay the Warlord rather than the last remaining mobile serpent. I figure I have at least another turn left so it shouldn't matter.
I successfully cast Invisibility, Prescience and Perfect Timing.
Shooting removes the Autarch and his Dire Avengers.
4th Turn - Serpent Spam
The mobile serpent moves in deeper to my side of the table and the forward Wraightknight dashes towards my remaining tactical squad but is well outside of assault range this turn.
Again nothing significant happens during the eldar shooting phase.
DraigoStar: First Blood, Slay the Warlord, 6 KP
Serpent Spam: 2 KP
5th Turn - DraigoStar
This is the turn I should wrap up the win - what could go wrong ?
The remaining tactical squad hunkers back a bit holding my Emperor's Will objective marker and the Grey Knights move over a bit closer towards my two closest objective markers while the one with the psycannon stays still so he can shoot the mobile serpent.
I only manage to cast Gate this turn - no Invisibility, no Prescience and no Perfect Timing - wow, when it rains it pours. : ( Suddenly it's a game again. DraigoStar gates over beside the mobile serpent... Third mistake - should have gated them closer to my two objective markers still in range of the serpent.
DraigoStar manages to strip just one hull point from the serpent with a missile launcher and the Grey Knights' psycannon takes another... It's still mobile and objective secured.
5th Turn - Serpent Spam
The serpent flats out to contest my Emperor's Will objective marker and the forward Wraithknight flies up beside the ruin where my remaining tactical Marines are camping.
Eldar shooting takes its toll this turn dropping Draigo and all but one last DevCent.
The Wraightknight fails his charge.
We roll to see if there is a sixth turn but no the game is over.
Ultramarine-Grey Knights:
Purge the Alien (8), First Blood (2),Slay the Warlord (2) - 12 victory points
Serpent Spam:
Emperor's Will (8), Crusade (8), Line Breaker (2) - 18 victory points
Final Result - Minor victory for Serpent Spam
- POST GAME ANALYSIS -
Well I let the proverbial cat out of the bag - should have gone for the last mobile serpent first rather than getting cocky and taking out the Autarch. I made the one big mistake not casting Invisibility the first turn coupled with one really bad psychic phase combined to cost me the game.
I'm not really all that crazy about the Dreadknight - he's a lot cheaper points wise now but presents a big target and really isn't that hard to kill. I think I'll test a Stormraven next and find the points to field a full ten man Grey Knight squad... Or field the five man squad in a rhino - either way that's another objective secured unit. Also I will probably drop the Space Marine Librarian as well to free up some more points.
One comment I'll share is none of the terrain where we played had any real line of sight blocking terrain which really helps out all those serpent shields.
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