SM list:
MotF w/Beamer
Libby w/Null & Avenger
5x Scouts w/Cloaks, Snipers, HB
3x flamer/MM/Rhino tacs
3x Rifle Dreads
3x dakka Preds
2x2 MM/HF Speeders
Eldar list:
Eldard
3x 5x Dragons in TL-SC, chin SC, stones Serpents
2x 5x DA in TL-BL, chin SC Serpents
5x DA
2x SL/SC Vyper
2x Prism, chin SC
Falcon w/SC/SL/PL, HF, SS
This army compared to before has a synergistic theme and is much more capable of acting holistically. The firepower is staggering compared to the previous Eldar list with firepower spread across the army and there are no juicy targets for every gun from the get go, you’ve got to pop a transport first. Most units are also capable of taking down tanks though once they are taken down this list sits head and shoulders above the other list in being able to kill what’s inside. Let’s see how it works.
Again, my friend is playing SM and is new whilst I will be controlling the Eldar. He made some mistakes before, particularly in movement but it didn’t cost him because of the poor list he was versusing. Let’s see if they make an impact this time if he makes them or if the Eldar list is powerful enough to make this an engaging battle.
We used the same board as last time (I’m lazy okay) and rolled off for mission, first, etc. Seize ground w/5 obbies and pitched was rolled and I went first taking the top half. Eldar used the hill for their firebase and deployed quite openly so an initiative seize wouldn’t be good. The Marines deployed on the far side which takes the hill out of play and gives his 48” auto cannons an advantage and he reserved one speeder squad. SM failed to seize.
Turn 1:
Eld fortunes 2 Dragon Serpents and Guides the Falcon gunboat. Moved most of the skimmers 12” barring the 2 fortuned ones to gain better firing positions and as much cover as possible. Then I went pewpew! SM made 6/6 cover saves for vehicles but lost a wound off Libby & MotF and had a Rhino wrecked.
The disembarked tacs moved and then ran into the dangerous rubble whilst the remaining Rhinos and preds moved a bit into midfield (one Pred immobed itself). Dreads moved about to get cover and Speeders tried to loop around fortuned Serpent wall. After the gun smoke cleared…nothing was dead. SM had terrible to pen rolls and ended up shaking both the Prisms and stunning the Vypers. Not good for them next turn.
Turn 2:
Hood was out of range barely so Eldrad Fortuned/Guided Falcon + Fortuned nearby Vyper. Less firepower to throw at marines (this is what suppression fire does, even on bad turns you’re still highly likely to reduce incoming firepower) and it still is a case of too much mech for Eldar to handle (that’s just the way of it atm). If I send Dragons after Preds/Dreads I have to rely on my Serpents/Falcon to drop the Speeders…I deployed one Dragon squad in a position to damage both Speeders or a Dread but am holding back in the hope that my Serpents can do some damage this turn. A serpent fluffs it against the Speeders but my Falcon saves the day, downing both and the Dragons then take down a Dread, killing one of themselves in the explosion. Both the BL serpents fail to do anything after some atrocious to hit rolling but the pressure is back on the SM after taking down 3 armoured behemoths.
Speeders don’t come on and not much movement on the SM’s behalf. A Rhino moved into midfield whilst everything else repositioned to shoot at the Dragon serpents (here is where Eldar have fun; by not dropping all my Dragons and throwing some Serpents into the SM backfield, the SM either has to deal with them or advance which keeps him pinned in place. SM made a mistake here by trying to do both. He should of left everything relatively similar to where it was and tried to down the Dragons. If they don’t die, well his game is over. Whilst his Rhinos would have been vulnerable next turn, at least if they die there he has 30 marines in relatively close proximity and forces me to move them to hold those objectives). Dread shakes and knocks off a weapon turret on a Dragon Serpent. Libby kills all 4 dragons with avenger (risky with 1 wound gone already), and everything else shoots at the Dragon serpent in backfield, finally downing it with the last shot. The scouts then shoot down 2 of the Dragons but they hold fast. The Dread fails to damage the shaken serpent in combat.
Turn 3:
Time for eldar to capitalise on a booboo. The preds were only shooting auto cannons and should of therefore moved but they didn’t. Meltabombs auto hit then tanks and this will be worth the trade off from my AP1 loss on fusion guns with those Dragons + I get to multi-assault. Eldard Fortunes self and guides self + vyper but takes a perils wound o.O. Shaken serpent ram/tank shocks but does nothing. Other skimmers move about for firing positions (vyper immobs itself). Dragons wreck the Dreadnought and their transport drops the Libby down. Top BL Serpent and Vyper shake both Rhinos whilst the other BL serpent explodes the remaining Dreadnought (o.O!). The other Vyper and Falcon try and pop a Rhino for the Prisms and manage to Wreck one (o.O!). My prism only kill 2 however. The assaulting dragons take off 2 auto cannons from the Preds and stun one.
The Speeders come in and daringly go into the forest to get at the Falcon, both okay. Marines in the middle hop out to assault vyper and serpent whilst little other movement is noted due to damage. The tacticals in the middle knock off both weapons from the Vyper and the tac squad below manages to immobilse the ramming Serpent. Between the remaining preds they finish off a Dragon squad but the scouts only account for one Dragon but the Speeders wreck the Serpent (AP1 > holofields). A poor DT roll allows the middle Tacs to assault both the Vyper & Serpent where they killed the Vyper and took off the BL + stunned the Serpent. The Vyper explosion killed one Marine.
Turn 4:
Still pretty even. Eldrad fortuned his squad, guided the Vyper and the nearby Prism. SM are having trouble dealing with any ranged threat atm so Eldar need to limit SM mobility and press into the middle where all the Tacs are. Remaining dragons hopped into Serpent which flew into the backline behind the Preds again whilst the top right prism moved out of range of the MM. The Vyper shot off the MM and shook a speeder whilst the BL Serpent double shook them. The Prisms felled 5 of the remaining Marines in midfield and they held fast. The Marines in combat only shook the BL Serpent.
Middle marines moved to envelope middle Serpent whilst Pred 1 w/o AC moved into midfield to try and help hold the middle objective. Speeders moved into Eldar backfield. Scouts killed 2 DA and everything else failed to pen the Dragon Serpent. Tacs down south shook the Serpent w/Kraks and in the middle the Tacs finally blew the Serpent and killed one of them in the process.
Turn 5:
Eldrad fortuned his squad and guided the Vyper/Prism again. Dragons hopped out and moved towards Pred whilst Dragon Serpent moved into back armor of immobed pred. The Serpent stuns the Immobed pred and the Dragons explode the operational Pred. Remaining BL serpent and Vyper drop the 2 Speeders. The Prisms + disembarked DA drop 2 of the marines in the middle but the Sarge holds. The DA charge in but do no damage and lose one in return but remain. The marines engaged with the Serpent simply stun it despite 3 pens.
The Pred and Rhino move towards the Eldar objectives with the Rhino attempting a ram but it’s dodged. The remaining Tactical marines maintain their positions but fail to damage anything with shooting. The scouts though wipe out Eldrad’s DA buddies. The tac marines finally bring down the Serpent in the middle and the explosion does no damage. DA and Sarge do nothing to each other in combat.
Turn 6:
Thankfully T5 for the Eldar. The SM made a good push in last few turns so 2 tanks zoom to contest (I hate doing that ^^). Dragons kill the Immob Pred on the way out and the Vyper immobs the rhino which is trying to contest whilst Eldard fleets towards middle combat. BL serpent Wrecks the final Pred securing one objective for the Eldar. Combat between DA and Sarge goes on.
Shooting both MM does nothing for SM but the MotF + Scout assault gets a double explode result…very impressive. Explosion killed no one. DA & sarge combat continues with poor rolling. (Picture here has Pred Immob not Wrecked sorry).
Turn 7:
Game goes on. Prism tank shocks onto objective whilst Fire Dragons try and draw away the other marines + a tank shock. Eldrad kept moving towards middle combat and all shooting is pretty ineffectual though 3 marines on the right died. Dragons and Eldrad assault and remove both squads o.O. Tacs against Dragons failed Ld (took 3 wounds and failed 2) and ran 3” with dragons right behind them to ensure no rallying. DA consol onto objective.
Scouts (w/o MotF) drop 3 of the DA in the middle but they fail to run but the Tacs are able to immob the Prism and thus claim an objective.
Final score is Eldar 2, SM 1.
This was a much closer and more entertaining game and I think the SM should of pulled it out. A few mistakes here and there cost him the game in the end but ultimately SM & mech resilience allowed him back into the game (by allowing himself to be bottled up he had to fight for a breakout which he did in the end; recall me saying I would have a hard time shifting 30 marines and I did. 3+/4++* is hard to shift x30). If the game had ended T5 it was the SM’s game and T6 would have been a draw. Whilst these games more show the weakness of the Eldar dex currently (I wonder what those Dragons are going to do…oh right, run right into my face) in terms of flexibility, this style of Eldar list was much more flexible, durable and capable then the list used in the previous 2 reports. Also note in the final picture where the majority of damage is, in the SM’s deployment. Rarely will you win a game if you are mostly in your deployment zone (Tau/IG are pretty good exceptions) and I think this highlights why I prefer AC/LC preds over dakka preds. Once the Dreads were down there wasn’t that much downfield firepower.
I take my hat off to my unnamed friend (he can post his name if he wants but I think he’s preferring anonymity atm) and I look forward to facing him with his own army. It was nice of him to do these little reports with me and was a good stepping stone for him into 40k.
So let’s hear it people. Thoughts on both games and the Eldar lists?
6 pinkments:
Can't be bothered editing so will say this all here. I've always liked Eldar, they were my first major army collection when I started and love them to bits. They are a decent codex but atm are sliding off the charts. Increases in anti-psy (look at what happened the first 2 games) and mech numbers = a declining 4th ed Eldar codex. They still give fits to armies who are short-ranged but needing to send their 3x Dragon squads pretty much straight in does not bode well. I think if the SM had AC/LC in this game, they'd of won (i.e. drop the MotF for the upgrades) handily.
As it is I use my Eldar as a break from Marines/Tyranids since my Tau are shelved but they play the same every game. Unless they get a codex revamp soon, well *tear.*
It's "should have", like you "should have" killed yourself before subjecting us to this :P
Good report, vassal is handy to get a good view of things. Eldar are showing their age in a big way, hopefully they'll get a new dex and a new lease on life.
THIS is why my post was 'for you' Kirbs. You know what you're doing with Eldar, even though you should have committed Eldrad to CC as soon as the Falcon went down.
Trust him to clear objectives - he will, as long as he isn't Hooded or Null'd. I killed Skarbrand on Tuesday with him, lol.
Hmmm looks like your eldar over 5 pts with your eldar. That list is tight, I think I will give that list a try.
What post TKE :)?
Eh can't be bothered checking points atm islyfe but I'll check it later. Glad you like it and good luck with it!
The army list, lol.
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