Warhammer 40,000 Battle Report #37 – Dark Eldar vs Eldar, ATC Mission 2

Welcome to the Maelstrom! Today we’ve got a good old-fashioned kin strife, as our group continues to explore the first drafts. It is important to note that these missions are going to change rapidly, and as a result they may overlap with changes made to the missions. Each video will have a link to the version of the mission we were playing, but for the most up-to-date versions check out www.whatc.org.

The Armies

Kabalite Raiding Party

Dark Eldar – 1,850

Unbound

HQ

Archon: Power Sword, Shadowfield, Haywire Grenades

Haemonculus: Flesh Gauntlet

ELITES

6x Harlequins: 5x Harlequin Caress; Troupe Master with Power Sword and Haywire Grenades

Grotesques: one additional Grotesque; Raider transport with Disintegrator Cannon and Enhanced             Ethersails

TROOPS

Kabalite Warriors: five additional Warriors, Shredder; Raider transport with Disintegrator             Cannon and Enhanced Ethersails

Kabalite Warriors: five additional Warriors, Shredder; Raider transport with Disintegrator             Cannon and Enhanced Ethersails

Kabalite Warriors: five additional Warriors, Shredder; Raider transport with Disintegrator             Cannon and Enhanced Ethersails

Kabalite Warriors: five additional Warriors, Shredder; Raider transport with Disintegrator             Cannon and Enhanced Ethersails

FAST ATTACK

Raider: Disintegrator Cannon and Enhanced Ethersails

Hellions: five additional Hellions

Reaver Jetbikes: three additional Reavers, 2x Blaster, 2x Cluster Caltrops

HEAVY SUPPORT

Talos Pain Engine: Chainflails

Ravager: 3x Dark Lance

Ravager: 3x Dark Lance

Craftworld Iybraesil

Craftworlds – 1,850

Combined Arms Detachment

HQ

Farseer: Pysker (Mastery Level 3) – Doom, Guide, Executioner, Fortune

TROOPS

Dire Avengers: four additional Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent transport with Twin Scatter Lasers,             Shuriken Cannon, Holo-field

Dire Avengers: two additional Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent transport with Twin Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, Holo-field

FAST ATTACK

Vyper: 2x Shuriken Cannon

HEAVY SUPPORT

Night Spinner: Spirit Stones, Holo-field

Wraithlord: 2x Bright Lance, 2x Flamer, Ghostglaive

Falcon: Bright Lance, Holo-fields

Aspect Host (+1 Weapon Skill)

Howling Banshees: Exarch has Executioner

Striking Scorpions: Exarch has Scorpion’s Claw

Swooping Hawks: one additional Swooping Hawk

Aspect Host (+1 Ballistic Skill)

Dark Reapers: two additional Dark Reapers; Starshot Missiles

Fire Dragons: one additional Fire Dragon

Warp Spiders: one additional Warp Spider

After Action Review

Randall:

The fluctuating nature of your goals in the ATC missions is a lot of fun. It means that everything must not only be achieved, but it must be done in a timely manner. This eliminates certain aspects of strength that fast shooting armies have, and puts more strength into armies that rely on closing the distance for assault. Everything has to be done with razor timing, and you have to be able to shift gears immediately.

The speed of both Eldar factions was impressive; I was surprised when the Dark Eldar achieved Supremacy, and doubly so when the Eldar answered! Going into that turn, I didn’t think Griff or Brandon was going to finish the job. Still, that quick maneuverability was key, and paid off as they took one point after another away from each other.

I’m eager to see these armies square off again. Jink, along with the new Vehicle Damage Chart, have come along since we last played Dark Eldar at the Maelstrom, and their enhanced survivability was interesting to see. The faction still needs some tweaks to bring them up to speed with the rest of the game, but they definitely made a good showing tonight!

Brandon:

Those Scorpions. Wow, killing two Raiders with pistols, followed by the long charge. They have fallen flat in too many games, and I have wanted them to work so badly.

Overall the game was great. I love seeing Griff’s Dark Eldar on the table, and I look forward to seeing them finished. This was my first practice game testing early versions of the ATC missions, and I have to say that it was a lot of fun. The changing Objectives created a different game altogether than was a ton of fun. Having a list of what the Objectives were each turn meant there were no surprises in the randomness of the Maelstrom decks, that sometimes give on player an advantage. So, no Khorne Demonkin being asked to cast Psychic Powers! This gave me the ability to plan ahead and weigh my risks. While I lost, I felt I made a game out of it, and look forward to the next time I face my dark kin.