40K SN Battle Report: Dark Eldar vs Astra Militarum
SN Battle Reports brings you a great report as finally the Dark Eldar make their SN debut! Hold on to your seats this is going to be awesome!
Deployment: Dawn of War
Points: 1750
Mission: 3 Objectives (2x Capture and Control 1x Survive or Destroy)
“Alpha-Five-Pura designate eight two, immediate evac, repeat, immediate evac!” They all stared at the vox receiver but only static greeted their desperate request. This was an improvement. Their last attempted transmission had been met with the pleading moans and shrill screams of their former squad mates suffering fates crueler than anything any sane mind could contemplate. They were out there. In the shadows. Silent. Patient. Striking as and when they pleased. Like Alpha predators toying with their prey. The last survivors of Alpha-Five-Pura formed a defensive ring in the centre of the ruined plaza where their company had been… Ambushed? Certainly. Murdered? Where were the bodies? So many had fallen in that finely crafted ambuscade, scythed down by hissing projectiles and beams of pure darkness. Their foes lunging with viper-like speed and a murderous grace that turned ones heart cold. They had laughed as they dodged las-blasts and had driven their cruelly barbed blades into the exposed throats of their victims, revelling in the terror of their disorganised resistance. As quick as it begun they were gone. So were the bodies. Again and again they would thrust, faster than anything the grizzled Catachans had ever seen, killing few, losing none.
The screams of those taken alive could be occasionally heard. Horrible sounds of abject terror and of a body being pushed beyond its pain threshold and a mind forced to breaking and beyond. The shadows that had enveloped the plaza moved slightly. This could presage an attack and the squad scanned their perimeter diligently. Nothing but the amused laughter of their torturers. They were being played with. The shadows had been sprung on them by these fiends, a dark cloak under which they could work their diabolical schemes. The squad’s chronometer clearly stated it should be high noon but in the plaza it was as dark as midnight and as silent as a grave. Light, sound and even the wind had been snuffed out. The squad jumped as the vox unexpectedly crackled into life. “Alpha-Five-Pura this is Alpha-Primus, armoured support inbound to extract you. ETA 5 minutes.” An ululating cry broke the perpetual silence that had resumed after the vox had silenced itself. More cries joined the first in a discordant chorus of high pitched entropy. Hunting cries. Their stalkers had new prey. The squad sergeant leapt at the vox, urgently shouting down the mouth piece “Don’t come for us! It’s a trap! We’re bait!” Nothing but static greeted him… The vox buzzed once more but their response was not in the gruff, clipped manner of Alpha-Primus, but that of a sibilant laugh followed by a single, haunting sentence in heavily accented low gothic: “Too late fools.”
+ agonizer + soul-trap + shadow field
+ webway portal
+ Hekatrix + agoniser
• Raider
+ dark lance + night shields
+ Hekatrix + agoniser
• Raider
+ dark lance + night shields
+ two dark lances + night shields
Razorwing Jetfighter
+ two dark lances + night shields
5 Scourges
+ shredder + haywire blaster + splinter cannon + dark lance
Ravager
+ 3× dark lance + night shields
Voidraven Bomber
+ 4 shatterfield missiles + night shields
Scalpel Squadron
• 5 Wracks
+ ossefactor + Acothyst + agoniser + hexrifle
• 5 Wracks
+ ossefactor + Acothyst + agoniser + hexrifle
• Venom
+ splinter cannon
• Venom
+ splinter cannon
+ Knight Commander Pask
• Leman Russ Punisher + lascannon
+ sponson plasma cannons… + fire barrels + camo netting
• Leman Russ Punisher
+ lascannon + fire barrels + camo netting
+ 2× flamer + Forward Sentries + krak grenades + 1 Veteran Sergeant + power weapon
+ platoon standard + medi-pack + lascannon
+ 1 Platoon Commander
+ plasma pistol
+ power weapon
• Infantry Squad
+ 1 Sergeant
• Infantry Squad
+ 1 Sergeant
• Commissar
• Heavy Weapon Squad + 3× autocannon1 Valkyrie
+ lascannon + 2 multiple rocket pods + sponson heavy bolters
1 Vendetta Gunship
Hellhound Squadron
• Devil Dog
+ multi-melta + fire barrels + camo netting
• Bane Wolf
+ multi-melta + fire barrels + camo netting
Leman Russ Squadron
• Leman Russ Eradicator
+ fire barrels + camo netting
Here we are in what has been a very anticipated day for all of us at SN and a lot of our fans! Just one faction was missing from our tables and then as if by magic, or warp trickery, or a webway, or something, they finally appeared! Ladies and gentlemen here are the Dark Eldar! What better way to introduce them than to ask the awesome SN public to choose who they should face. And the winner (if being chosen to face the Dark Eldar is a win) with the most votes was the Imperial Gu… sorry… the Astra Militarum! Boom! So up we went to our new studio set up this beautiful jungle board and got ready to battle! Exciting!
After chatting a bit we decided on this idea to set up a veteran squad on one of the centre ruins as a objective giving the whole game a bit of a cool narrative vibe. This would make the whole game look as if the veterans had called for backup as they were slowly being stalked and hunted down by the Dark Eldar. (like the intro) After setting the veteran squad first and looking at them for a bit we decided that Catachans would look a lot cooler so we changed the Cadian veteran squad with a Catachan one! Awesome! Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Two further objectives were evenly scattered on the board. The mission therefore has capture and control objectives and one survive or destroy objective. We just couldn’t wait to start. We rolled to see who would start and Steven and his Astra Militarum won the roll. No needing to roll for his Warlord trait as Pask automatically brings preferred enemy as his. Steven rolled for night fighting, which didn’t happen. Steven then started to deploy.
Ethan rolled for his Warlord trait getting Rage, he then rolled on the Combat Drugs table for his Wyches getting +1 Strength… not that he needed it with so many attacks!
And then it really begins! A great sight as Steven starts to deploy his army onto the battlefield starting with his Hellhound Squadron on his right flank.
The Heart of the army, the one and only Knight Commander Pask and his squadron deploy in the centre of the deployment area already capturing one of the 2 objectives. We can’t wait to see this unit start firing, packing in 40 Strength 5 shots with preferred enemy goodness. Dark elder Swiss cheese! Victory is achieved through mettle. Glory is achieved through metal.
The platoon command squad deploys on the top of one of the taller ruins getting great line of sight of the battlefield. They are closely supported by the Heavy Weapons squad on the floors below who are ready to fire as they look for their first target.
Steven then strangely deploys one of his guardsman squads on the opposite side just behind some no entry fences… Interesting. We assume he wants to outflank into the Catachan ruin which is, say, 10″ away and give some firing support to the veteran squad.
Turn 1 (Astra Militarum) Ok something we didn’t expect Ethan says he will have everything in reserve and will not deploy… Dark Eldar shenanigans! He will use his Scalpel Squadron to automatically come in from deepstrike turn one giving Steven a upper hand in the movement phase but not being able to target anything on his turn 1. Cunning plan from Ethan? But very, very, risky as if Steven manages to target and destroy all of his deep striking units in turn 2 it will be game over for him.
Turn 1 (Astra Militarum) Ok so a tough one for Steven now where does he move his forces does he sit back and wait? Or move towards the objectives? Steven firstly moves his Guardsmen squad forward moving and running into the abandoned statue. The Commissar making sure his men are in order.
Turn 1 (Astra Militarum) The other Guardsmen squad is also moved forward.
Turn 1 (Astra Militarum) Knight Commander Pask and his squadron move forward towards the Objective a bit more. Not knowing where the first enemy units will appear it then deploys smoke for extra cover giving them a 4+ cover in open ground due to their camo netting.
Turn 1 (Dark Eldar) …and lets get ready to rumble! The first of 2 Venoms land via deepstrike the formation giving them some cool rules, making them get D3 victory points if they get First Blood. Let’s see how this goes. It is very important for Ethan to place them in key but defensive positions as if things don’t work out well for him turn 2 could be the end of this game. The first Venom lands a direct hit. Ethan’s first gasp for air……
Turn 1 (Dark Eldar) The second one lands just an inch and a half from the other Venom as it scatters 3 inches. This guy has a real pair of spheroid appendages! That was close! As you can see straight away these two skimmers bring some nasty pressure as they are now very close to the Catachan veterans and these things are nasty as delicate as they look they pack a real punch.
Turn 1 (Dark Eldar) Ethan doesn’t target the Catachan fighters but instead goes for the Guardsmen behind the fence. Clever thinking by Ethan going for the weaker unit with the least cover save and trying to get First Blood. The First Venom fires his 12 poisoned shots at the Guardsman, Ethan’s first rolls being very poor as he only manages to would 5 times of which Steven fails 3 cover saves. Good choice? What do you guys think?
Turn 1 (Dark Eldar) The second Venom proves the complete opposite as he only misses one shot to hit and wounds a total of 8 times! I guess we know who was top of that class! Steven fails most of his saves with an awful set of rolls seeing the whole unit finished off! Great shooting by the Dark Eldar! “We are the lords of despair, masters of terror. Dread and agony are our meat and wine, and they are plentiful indeed!”
Turn 1 (Dark Eldar) Ethan then rolls for his D3 First Blood roll which his Scalpel Squadron rules bring and the Dice Gods are with him as he manages to score 3 Victory Points. Ethan celebrates and parties like it is 39,999… but is it to early to celebrate? He suddenly remembers how important the next turn of shooting is. Can the Dark Eldar survive a round of Astra Militarum shooting?
Turn 2 (Astra Militarum) Steven’s first of two flyers come in and its bad news for Ethan as its the Vendetta with its 3 twin linked Lascannons and it straight away targets one of the Venoms.
Turn 2 (Astra Militarum) This Guard squad moves even further up now having a key position with fantastic cover. Great picture of the commissar taking aim on the newly deepstriking units.
Turn 2 (Astra Militarum) Ethan’s placement of the two Venoms are fantastic as none of the two Punishers can target them (Steven tried hard to get around this but failed miserably) there was just no way those two punishers could see these Venoms. That’s why Ethan was so calm about it when placing them there. The firing starts and some great shooting from the Vendetta sees the closest Venom shot and penetrated 3 times!!! Ethan opted to jink and boy did it prove vital as all his jink saves are passed (3+ jink due to stealth from the night shields which all his vehicles have).
Turn 2 (Astra Militarum) Now the Eradicators turn. Steven targets the closest Venom managing to clip both with the Ignoring Cover Large Blast but the blast scatters to the right only hitting one of them. He then fails to glance as he rolls a 1. Poor Steven his plan failed and Ethan’s rocked!
Turn 2 (Astra Militarum) Steven’s rolling goes from bad to worse this turn as the Veteran’s flamer hits 4 Wracks inside but none are wounded… Steven wasn’t a happy bunny.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) Steven had his chance and now its gone! And to make matters worse 5 of 6 possible units in reserve come in from Ethan’s table edge creating a massive headache for the Astra Militarum. Wobbly model syndrome…. the Razorwing is placed a bit further back than its proper finishing position as we didn’t want to bring out the super glue…if you know what I mean.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The Ravager and Raider move onto the table. Amazing view from here as they zoom in from behind the bridge with the Veterans in sight.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) Ethan places the Archon’s raider with wyches just in front of the Platoon command as the web way portal opens and the raider does not scatter when arriving from reserve deepstrike…….. evil just evil…..but awesome at the same time. The Voidraven bomber in the background also zooming in for extra support….all hell is breaking out with the the Dark Eldar force coming in from all angles and locations.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The Voidbomber enters and straight away delivers a devastating void mine – a bomb that detonates two warheads, one establishes a crackling sphere of energy, the second releases a particle of pure darklight which annihilates anything trapped within the energy field. Scary stuff… The Bomb delivers removing 2 hull points and destroying the Devil Dog’s primary weapon.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The Razorwing Jetfighter fires its dark lancers at the Eradicator removing only one hull point as Steven is in a excellent position using the ruin and his Camo netting to get a 3+ cover save.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The 2 Wrack squads disembark onto the ground floor of the building. Those Catachan fighters are in trouble. ‘BEG FOR MERCY!, Not that it will do you any good.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The Raider targets the Vendetta with his Dark Lance, Steven opts not to jink… what are the chances right? The Emperor will protect! Well Ethan was in luck again as he rolls a 6 to hit… oops! Damn corpse god! The lance manages to hit and destroy one of the Twin linked lascannons on the wing of the aircraft removing a hull point at the same time.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The newly deep striked in Scourges fire at the Hellhound squadron but the dice are not on Ethan’s side this time as they only manage to remove a hull point from the closest one.
Turn 2 (Dark Eldar) The Wracks fire all they have got at the visible Catachan Veterans removing 3 from play with ease with their cool ossefactor & hexrifle guns. Ethan should have thought about that a bit more as his charge distance has now gone from 5″ to 8″! ….and like I thought the shooting proved a vital “mistake” as both wrack squads roll low on the assault dice and are unable too get into combat. Only one Veteran was able to overwatch as he was the only one that had line of sight on the wrack squads. Is that correct or can the whole unit fire?
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) Steven goes into his third turn quite confident that he can overcome the Dark Eldar advance. Let’s see how this goes. The rest of Steven’s reserves enter play. The Valkyrie straight away targeting the bunched up Scourges. Steven manages to slay 3 of 5… Not bad!
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) Knight Commandar Pask moves up a bit more and prepares his tanks to fire at the Flying Jetfighter above.
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) The Eradicator fires its deadly ignore cover Large blast at the disembarked Wracks hitting a total of 8 between the two squads. The blast manages to wound 7 times and 3 Wracks are lost from each squad. Could have been worse if it wasn’t for their FnP rolls.
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) The deadly Punishers target the Flyer needing 6s to hit but 40 shots between the 2 will do the trick with preferred enemy as an extra bonus. Ethan obviously jinks……. The Jetfighter is hit a total of 9 times of which 4 penetrate it and 2 glance it. Amazing! Save after jink save of a 3+ is rolled by Ethan and the flyer is just glanced once!!!!! Steven then left the room for a while. Rumours have it he cried and removed Ethan as a friend on Facebook and blocked him on Instagram and Twitter… Harsh but fair!
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) The heavy weapons squad finally fire and target the Raider just in front of them but their BS3 sadly fails them as they only hit twice of which again both 3+ cover saves from the jinking of the vehicle stop the S7 shots from penetrating it. Ethan stop it now! Poor Steven looks like a lost puppy at this point.
Turn 3 (Astra Militarum) …..and lastly one of the Wrack squads fail their leadership test and fall back a total of 8″
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) Turn 3 starts and an all important turn for Ethan as Steven’s Astra Militarum didn’t hit as hard as they should have in their turn 3…..Steven still in the background grumbling about Ethan’s cover saves lol Great Picture of the battlefield here as you can see how the battle is looking, Ethan just about to pivot his Bomber.
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) The Scourges jump into the abandoned statue one of them failing their dangerous terrain test followed by their armour save and is removed from play.
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) The Deadly Ravager stalks his next target firing all its lance weapons at the Eradicator and………..Eradicating it to a metal wreck! The next line is best said out loud in a terrible dalek voice- E-RAD-I-CATE! E-RAD-I-CATE! E-RAD-I-CATE!
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) The Bomber now targets the Vendetta firing at it and managing to penetrate it once but a good jink from the aircraft sees the penetration shot ignored. Good manoeuvre there by the pilot.
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) The Wyches and the tough female Archon disembark the Raider. Clad in dusk and robed in darkness we strike, our coming the terror of our foes.
Turn 3 (Dark Eldar) The Venom in the distance fires at the well protected
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