View from the North / View from the South
BatRep 029-04-10-2001
Dark Angels vs Dark Eldar
Dawn Assault
The desert was completely silent as the Dark Angel sergeant looked out of his landspeeder, hovering just an inch above the sand, into the pitch black darkness. Soon he heard the whirring of servos as the other Space Marines caught up to his recon squadron.
It was just moments to sunrise now and still a small patch of woods to cover before reaching this nights goal - an ancient temple and refinery rubble on the top of a small hill.
Suddenly the silence was cut by a violent scream, somewhere in the darkness about half a mile forward from their position. After a moment the agonising sound is covered by the rumble of the advancing tanks, but the grizzled sergeant of the recon wing already knows that the screaming can only mean one thing: the wretced dark eldar are tying some poor slave to their deadly Talos.
View from the North / View from the South
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Samuli Aura (another optimistic Dark Angel): My army selection was dictated mostly by my collection of painted miniatures.
Therefore I first chose the Land Speeders, the Dreadnought and the Deathwing terminators.
I was hoping the Terminators would perform well because of their new 5+ invulnerable save.
I also took two tactical squads, one with a razorback and one on foot. An assault squad
was also chosen, mainly to allow me some tactical flexibility. The plan would be to stand and shoot, if the mission would allow this. One squad of Tactical brothers would act as a bait to lure the Dark Eldar HQ into assault. Hopefully they would all die bravely on the first turn of assault, allowing me to shoot the DE HQ to atoms when they sweeping advanced. The Assault marines and the HQ in the Rhino would act as a mobile reserve allowing me to react to the Enemy's lighting-fast assaults, if and when some of their squads made it into combat. The Land Speeders and the Whirlwind would take care of any big Warrior squads lurking in the background, if their dark lances seemed like a threat. |
| Unit Name | ## | WS | BS | St | To | Wo | In | At | Ld | Save | Cost | |
 |
Master Raziel | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4/5 | 9 | 2+/4(I)+ | 289 |
| Stubborn: Auto-pass morale checks, even if
you would normally auto-fail. Cannot fall back voluntarily. Artificer Armour; Plasma Pistol; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Iron Halo |
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| Tactical Squad | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | [134] | |
| Bolter (x1); Heavy Bolter (x1); Meltagun (x1) | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1/2 | 8 | 3+ | [15] | |
| Bolt Pistol & CCWep. | ||||||||||||
| Rhino APC | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 11 Side: 11 Rear: 10 | [59] | |||||||||
| Carries up to 10 Space Marines. Tank.; Storm Bolter, Extra Armor, Searchlight, Smoke Launchers | ||||||||||||
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Deathwing Terminators | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 2+/5(I)+ | 280 |
| Deep Strike if allowed. Stubborn: Auto-pass morale checks, even if you would normally auto-fail. Cannot fall back voluntarily. Lightning Claws must be taken as a pair (i.e., one left, one right), as do Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields.; Power Fist (x4); Storm Bolter (x3); Assault Cannon (x1) | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 2+ | [52] | |
| Power Weapon; Storm Bolter | ||||||||||||
|
Dreadnought | 1 | WS: 4 BS: 4 S: 6 I: 4 A: 2 Front: 12 Side: 12 Rear: 10 | 140 | ||||||||
| Walker.; Missile Launcher; Twin Lascannon, Extra Armor | ||||||||||||
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Tactical Squad | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | 194 |
| Bolter (x3); Heavy Bolter (x1); Plasma Rifle (x1) | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1/2 | 8 | 3+ | [15] | |
| Bolt Pistol & CCWep. | ||||||||||||
| Razorback APC | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 11 Side: 11 Rear: 10 | [93] | |||||||||
| Carries up to 6 Space Marines. Tank.; Lascn. & Plasma Guns, Extra Armor, Smoke Launchers | ||||||||||||
|
Tactical Squad Ba'et (Tact) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | 91 |
| Bolter (x2); Missile Launcher (x1); Flamer (x1) | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | [15] | |
| Bolter | ||||||||||||
|
Tactical Squad | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | 126 |
| Bolter (x4); Lascannon (x1); Plasma Rifle (x1) | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ | [15] | |
| Bolter | ||||||||||||
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Assault Squad | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1/2** | 8 | 3+ | 135 |
| Bolt Pistol & CCWep. (x2); Plasma P. & CC Wep. (x2); Frag Grenades; Jump Packs | ||||||||||||
| Sergeant | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1/2 | 8 | 3+ | [25] | |
| Bolt Pistol & CCWep.; Frag Grenades; Jump Packs | ||||||||||||
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Ravenwing Land Speeder | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 10 Side: 10 Rear: 10 | 85 | ||||||||
| Fast, Skimmer. Ravenwing - 6+ Invulnerable save vs. shooting as long as they moved in the previous movement phase.; Assault Cannon (x1); Heavy Bolter | ||||||||||||
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Ravenwing Land Speeder | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 10 Side: 10 Rear: 10 | 85 | ||||||||
| Fast, Skimmer. Ravenwing - 6+ Invulnerable save vs. shooting as long as they moved in the previous movement phase.; Assault Cannon (x1); Heavy Bolter | ||||||||||||
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Whirlwind Battery | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 11 Side: 11 Rear: 10 | 75 | ||||||||
| Tank.; Multirocket Launcher | ||||||||||||
Total Points: 1500
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Panu Hotti (No, really, I'm not making these up...): The army I'm taking to this battle is about the same as I always play (mostly because I don't have enough figures to allow much variation). The basic plan is to sit back with the warriors and shoot everything in range into oblivion while the Archon and his retinue try to charge whatever they manage to get in range of. Because I knew I was going against Marines, the scourge squad is today armed with dark lances instead of usual splinter cannons and their overall plan is the same as the warriors', stand back and shoot. The Talos is supposed to draw as much fire away from others as possible, and maybe it can even get into close combat. To do something different, and to get rid of the rest of the points, I take a group of five Reaver jetbikes, although I usually find them too expensive to be effective. |
| Unit Name | ## | WS | BS | St | To | Wo | In | At | Ld | Save | Cost | |
|
Archon | 1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3/4 | 9 | 5/2(I)+ | 345 |
| Independent Character. Fleet of Foot.;
Agoniser; Splinter Pistol, Haywire Grendades, Combat Drugs, Shadow Field |
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| Incubi Retinue | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3/4* | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1/2* | 8 | 3+ | [210] | |
| Torm. Hl. & Punisher (x6) | ||||||||||||
| Raider | 1 | BS: 4 Front: 10 Side: 10 Rear: 10 | [60] | |||||||||
| Skimmer, Fast, Open-topped.; Disintegrator | ||||||||||||
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Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 110 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x6); Splinter Cannon (x2); Blaster (x2) | ||||||||||||
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Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 110 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x6); Splinter Cannon (x2); Blaster (x2) | ||||||||||||
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Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 110 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x6); Splinter Cannon (x2); Blaster (x2) | ||||||||||||
|
Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 110 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x6); Splinter Cannon (x2); Blaster (x2) | ||||||||||||
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Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 100 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x8); Dark Lance (x2) | ||||||||||||
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Warriors | 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 100 |
| Fleet of foot.; Splinter Rifle (x8); Dark Lance (x2) | ||||||||||||
|
Reaver Jetbikes | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 4+ | 235 |
| Combat drugs: Roll at start of battle: 1- Ignore fall back results, always sweeping advance, never consolidate, 2- +1WS, 3: +1S, 4: Always strikes first, 5: Re-roll CC misses, 6: +1A. Move 12". Alternatively, move 24"- save becomes Invulnerable, no shooting. Splinter Rifle / Special Weapons are Bike Mounted.; Splinter Pistol; Splinter Rifle (x2); Blaster (x2) | ||||||||||||
| Succubus | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 1 | 6 | 2/3 | 8 | 4+ | [95] | |
| Power Weapon; Splinter Rifle Reaver Jetbike, Tormentor Helm, Combat Drugs, Haywire Grenades |
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Talos | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | D6 | - | 3+ | 100 |
| Fearless- never falls back, cannot be pinned. Moves over difficult terrain without penalty, but if it starts or finishes it's move in difficult terrain it takes a wound (no save) on a roll of 1. | ||||||||||||
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Scourges | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ | 180 |
| Move 12". Can always deep strike, even if not allowed by the scenario. If model starts or ends in difficult terrain, roll a D6- on a 6 it crashes and is removed. Flee & pursue 3d6".; Splinter Rifle (x1); Dark Lance (x4) | ||||||||||||
Total Points: 1500
Both the players ceated their armies and then we used our special Advanced Advanced Mission generation table. The table is a modification of the Advanced Mission generation table that was presented in a WD. The only change is that we have put some extra scenarios in place of the "special" choises in the original table.
The Dark Eldar roll higher and got to choose a corner. After careful consideration Panu chooses the northwestern corner of the table as his start point. Samuli's marines are left with the opposing corner.
With the starting turn the Dark Eldar had less luck: the Dark Angels won the roll and after pondering for a long time Samuli decided to go second. Giving up the first turn isn't as daft as it might seem as the first half turn is night and visibility is really bad. The Dark Eldar also lack heavy artillery so Samuli felt he didn't have much to fear.
The players then set up simultaneously with the Dark Angels starting. Unfortunately for Samuli he couldn't take the center of the table as his whirlwind was much too fragile and precious. The Dark Eldar quickly exploited this and seized the center with their Talos.
The Dark Eldar were all crammed on the borders of their corner to assault the humans as soon as possible. The Dark Angels on the other hand took a more cautious stance and were all hidden behind a hill or in the mids of old ruins, ready to fire death on the aliens.
