Bretonnian Knights

Just finished some Bretonnia stuff. The knights have been done for a while, but I wanted the Paladins done before I posted them. I also finished a Damsel (mage). Behind her is a Paladin/Lord that Dallas gave me in a trade. He had already painted it, so I just repainted the shields and called it a day. Currently, I'm working on a Dragon from Mantic games that the Damsel has a slight chance of turning into.

Battle of the Nile, 1798

Dan and Stacy came to play the Battle of the Nile, a scenario that I've been working on for some time. The challenge was to create a fun naval battle with ships at anchor and one side being pounded to ashes. Instead of a classic French vs British engagement, I've decided to split the British fleet among the players and have the French ships operated by automated rules. Rear-Admiral "Dan" Nelson and Captain "Stacy" Foley would then be competing against each other for greatest honours!


Here is the set up, with only the van and center of the French line. The British would start the game within the zone delimited by the dice. There were two forts on the shore that did not do much damage during the game, just like it happened in History.

Foley's line, at the top, prepares to circle around the French van while Nelson's column resolutely approaches the center. The counters by the French ships are the anchor positions that the British ships were supposed to reach before nightfall.

Half of Nelson's squadron just went through the French line which is being pounded from both sides. White puffs of smoke were helping the commanders keep track of which ships fired. In the background, Foley's line is shooting intensely on the French van.

This is just before nightfall. Ships with yellow/green counters on their bow are using backing sail to slow down to their anchor positions. On the left, four British ships are firing simultaneously on the huge Orient. Despite many close calls, the giant of the sea did not blow up. On the other hand, the Aquilon sank. The wreckage can be seen near the black centerline. At that point, the fate of the French fleet was sealed, and the competing commanders were racing to perform the most glorious actions for honours.

On the last turn, the Tonnant was set ablaze four times! When compared to the real battle, the end result is eerily similar. All in all, despite the scenario being playtested for the first time, it was a very enjoyable game. Even with over 12 ships on each side, the game ran smoothly. The tactical challenge to the players was to position their ships as best as possible before nightfall so as to gather as much battle honours as possible. In the end, Captain Foley got 450 points of honours and Nelson got 425. A few adjustments will certainly make the scenario a little more challenging and even more entertaining.

Letting go of the Farseer crutch

I have started preparations for next year's Las Vegas GT. Games Workshop just sent out an email regarding the next several qualifying tournaments, and it mentioned that the GT winner "...will be decided in the summer of 2011 in Las Vegas at The Throne of Skulls Tournament..."

The U.K. Throne of Skulls Rules Pack and FAQs are already available online, here. So, assuming the same criteria for Las Vegas, we're talking 1500 point armies and standard missions from the 40K rulebook.

I've been thinking about my Las Vegas GT list for awhile now. Also, I had some good conversations with the other players at Mechani-Kon 2 last weekend.

As a result of the above, I ended up re-jiggering my Eldar list, with a couple of purposes in mind:

1. To get my HQ(s) under tank armour
2. To enhance the survivability of my Eldar tanks
   
3. To add some more close combat capability
   

The force has been streamlined by getting rid of psychic entirely. There is a single HQ - I'm using my levitating Farseer model (pictured above) to "count as" Prince Yriel, a hybrid Autarch/Warlock and the cheapest of the Eldar named characters. This character is interesting, since it combines the stats and skills of an Autarch with a couple of psychic weapons, the Spear of Twilight (a Singing Spear that's also a Power Weapon), and the Eye of Wrath (a single-use S6, AP3 Large Blast, that can be set off in close combat). Dverning has written an in-depth tactica discussing the use of Yriel in games, including the dreaded "Yriel Bomb" ploy, located online here.

With the extra points saved, I've also packed protective upgrades onto all the tanks, and added Powerblades to the Warp Spider Exarch.

The result is the following, a purer Swordwind style list:

HQ:
Autarch (counts as Prince Yriel) (1#, 155 pts)

Troops:
Dire Avengers (7#, 202 pts)
6 Dire Avengers
1 Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones; TL Missile Launchers)

Dire Avengers (6#, 205 pts)
5 Dire Avengers
1 Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones; TL Bright Lances)

Elites:
Fire Dragons (6#, 210 pts)
5 Fire Dragons
1 Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones; Vectored Engines; TL Shuriken Cannons)

Fire Dragons (6#, 220 pts)
5 Fire Dragons
1 Wave Serpent (Spirit Stones; Vectored Engines; Shuriken Cannon; TL Shuriken Cannons)

Fast Attack:
Vyper Squadron (3#, 210 pts)
1 Vyper (Scatter Laser; Shuriken Cannon)
1 Vyper (Scatter Laser; Shuriken Cannon)
1 Vyper (Scatter Laser; Shuriken Cannon)

Warp Spiders (5#, 137 pts)
4 Warp Spiders
1 Exarch (Powerblades; Death Spinner x2)

Heavy Support:
Night Spinner (1#, 160 pts)
1 Night Spinner (Holo-Field; Spirit Stones)

Total = 1499 Points

I took it for a test run the other night against MikeA's Nurgle army. Mike came loaded for bear, running the following:

HQ:
Typhus 225pts

Elites:
Chaos Terminators (5) 2xChainfist, 3 Power fists, Combi-flamer, Combi-melta, Reaper Autocannon 245pts

Troops:
Plague Marines#1 (7) 2x Melta, P.Fist, Rhino 256pts
Plague Marines#2 (7) 2x Melta, P.Fist, Rhino 256pts
Plague Marines#3 (7) 2x Plasma, P.Weapon 221pts

Heavy Support:
Defiler 150pts
Vindicator Daemonic Possession 145pts


Total = 1498 Points

We played a tables quarters style scenario from Mechani-Kon. MikeA played well, initially controlling or contesting all quarters, but the mobility and durability (durability - wtf?) of the Eldar proved too much for the Chaos forces. The turning point occurred mid-game, when Typhus and his bodyguards fell to a fusillade of melta and shuriken fire.

I look forward to further play-testing. This is probably the first time I've run Eldar without any psychic powers in over a decade.

Rat October

Some recent progress made on the Skaven horde.  Total now is 145 Clanrats, 36 Plague Monks, seven Jezzail teams, two Ratling guns, two Rat Ogres, and...



...one suitably grungy-looking Plague Lord to lead the army into battle!

Next up in the painting queue are some more characters - Moulders to herd the Rat Ogres and giant rats, a Warlock Engineer or two, a Grey Seer maybe...?  Then back to painting rank-and-file - Stormvermin - and maybe a Plague Furnace?  I just picked up a set of Skaven from the new Island of Blood box so it promises to be a Rat October indeed!  



Project "Elfes Sylvains"

This is not a photoshopped image. This is the actual cover of the French version of the Warhammer Fantasy Wood Elves Codex. Among the projects I have been considering in the last few years, a Warhammer army was always high in my list of temptations, and among the WH armies I knew there was one with my name on it, literally. Warhammer was also among the many challenges that Curt seeded along our gaming sessions, and with the release of a new edition of the rulebook, I thought that all the ingredients were gathered for me to start a new insane project.

This is what I have so far: 20 Glade Guards ("Gardes Sylvains" in French) and 12 Dryads. The two characters are proxy heroes that will be in command of the army until I get new ones painted. The right hand one died a glorious death in Curt's brutal Fantasy RPG campaign not long ago. The left-hand one is my new character for the next chapter of the campaign.

Here is a close-up of the Glade Guards. This is the first time I am painting a 25/28mm army and the learning curve was not too steep, thanks to all the precious tips that were generously provided by master painter Curto Da Vinci. I've tried various colors for clothes, leather armors and hair. Not all combination of base color/highlights were successful, but I will re-use the best ones for the next batches. I digressed from GW usual bright palettes with sharp contrasts for something darker and a lot more toned done, more in the line of their "Lord of the Ring" collection. I opted for a Fall palette of colors. The next Regiment I will be working on will be a lot more yellowish. If you know a few painting tips that could help me improve my next batch of Wood Elves, please do not hesitate to let me know.

The codex says that Dryads cause fear... This is one skull holding angry plant that I would rather avoid. I've painted the bark and leaves in a way to suggesting Autumn. I found these tree creatures very pleasant to paint. Actually, it was like painting scenery. The base could use more work. From this angle, it looks like the Dryads are walking on a carpet. For the next batch, I intend to use a gel with beads that Curt recommended.

For the "national" colors of my Wood Elves army, I've decided to use the green/yellow duo of the Saskatchewan flag. I thought about green and white, but then I feared that I might get into trouble if I ever play against a Roughriders' fan.

I plan to paint 3 regiments of 20 Glade Guards, 3 "orchards" of 12 Dryads, 2 squadrons of 10 Glade Riders and a few War Dancers, Waywatchers and Treemen. I hope to be finished before Christmas.

'Topes Lose

The Tyranid hive fleet Nostromo has been allowed to rampage across the galaxy once again thanks to the most recent Imperial effort. Local guard units had requested aid in mopping up operations after a hard fought but successful encounter. The Chapter that responded was inexperienced, only moderately successful on the battlefield and not up to the task at hand! After a bloody battle involving horrific casualties on both sides, the Tyranids controlled the majority of the pre-designated objective markers.

The current mood in the Chapter is grim with some openly wondering if Tzeench or maybe even Slaanesh are hiring. The Chapter has also noticed that their schedule for the next few months has cleared up considerably. When confirmation was requested for the cancellation of an operation in support of an Imperial planet fending off an Ork attack, the Imperial commander confirmed that “things weren’t as bad as originally thought” and “may even turn around in the next month or so!” He went on to say, “recent casualties have unexpectedly improved our food situation, so there really isn’t any need for your Chapter to show up. Thanks anyway.”

The Chapter has recently begun exploring other opportunities in bulk transport. Imperial Long Haul Transport Inc. has expressed interest in leasing some of the vast cargo space now available on the Chapter Battlebarge. The Chapter Master was quoted as saying, “We really think that this is an exciting opportunity that can really propel our Chapter into the big leagues of bulk transportation. The future’s never looked so bright.”

All kidding aside, the game was a bloodbath and thus a lot of fun and I was able to use some units that I've never used before. Some of them showed promise... before eating it hard! The most interesting units were the Sternguard and Assault Terminators. The Sternguard killed one Carnifex and reduced another one down to one wound in a single round of shooting, while the Assault Terminators killed a Trygon, but died to a man doing it. I think the big lesson is to consider how many wounds these units can realistically cause in a single turn. 8 wounds for two Carnifex are too many for the Sternguard and 6 wounds on the Trygon are too many for 5 Assault Terminators. Shooting needed to knock both those units down a few wounds before either of those units did their thing. In particular, I think causing a few wounds on the Trygon before assaulting would have made a big difference for the terminators. Although Greg is probably right when he said that Terminator are not worth their points. I certainly wouldn't take them in anything less than 2000 points.

Thanks to Dallas for hosting and everyone who came out.

ECW Regiment of Foote

I've been settling into my hobby space in our new/old house and have been slowly unpacking stuff that has been squirreled away in boxes for years. Anyway, here is an old chestnut. A regiment of English Civil War foot using Redoubt castings which I painted, cripes, about 10 or so years ago.

If I recall correctly I think this is supposed to be Allen Apsley's Regiment of Foote (composed of Royalists from Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall). These castings are advertised as 28mm but are really closer to 33-35mm. They're kinda anachronistic and quirky but I quite like them. I've always enjoyed the look of the 'hedge' of pikes, intermixed with loads of company banners, with the sleeves of shot on either side. The excellent banners are from Brian. I pipped-out a boatload Redoubt stuff in an ebay auction and it remains on a side burner as one of those 'retirement projects'. Who knows maybe I can entice Greg to get into this with me?

Grenzing away

I'm still sawing away at the Black Powder project, and I'm pleased to report pretty good progress on my Grenzer unit. I made it to the half-way point last night and now have 20 of the troops painted. Here is a little update picture:



I found a pack of mounted infantry officers wearing shakos in my Foundry pile, so this unit will have a mounted figure in the mix as well. A mounted, shako-wearing Hungarian officer should stand in reasonably for an officer without it being too silly.

That will leave 18 infantry and the mounted officer left to paint before the unit is ready for basing. I don't think I'll be able to get it done before an approaching vacation dents my momentum, but we'll see what progress I can manage this weekend.

Project 'Beat Dallas' continues

A while ago I finished the bulk of my space marine refurbishing project. I had started a space marine army at the end of grade 12 (that's the year 2000, just so there isn't any confusion) and stupidly painted them as Salamanders. Codex Armageddon was new and it had a cool army list for the army. Like all things that reside on the fringes of GW's rules and army lists, the salamanders were no more and I was stuck with snot green painted models. Repainting began shortly after 5th edition came out.
Below are some of the odds and ends that I always ignored in past editions of space marines, but now appear to be pretty good.



Former tactical Terminators who have had their arms swapped out for TH/SS. The 3+ invulnerable is the main reason for this.


My future Britz have used the above Razorback for transport in the past, but I have something else for them to ride around in (once I get it painted) so I'm giving it to the marines. I also converted the turret to a lascannon/twin-linked plasmagun. Beside the Razorback is an alternate turret for my Predator. I have another Predator hull with lascannon sponsons, but it's too expensive points wise (maybe I'll paint it for the next edition).

Hopefully, I'll have pictures of a new Sternguard unit soon.

Battle report - rise of "smoke spam"

More plans wrecked by smoke rounds...

Last night Dallas hosted a game of Spearhead. The scenario set during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's last major counter-offensive in the war, and the fighting around St. Vith. I played the US side - a combat command that included a rifle battalion, some Shermans, some M-10 tank destroyers and a company of 57mm ATGs.

Dallas, later joined by Cam, took control of the German side, which featured three battalions - one panzer battalion loaded down with Panthers, and two foot-slogging Grenadier battalions.

The scenario was fairly straight forward. The German goal was to get through the US force. They could win two ways - by routing the US force prior to turn six, or exiting more than half of the Panzer battalion off the opposite table edge by turn 12. For fun I used a house rule to simulate the "on-fumes" state of the Panzers' fuel tanks - each turn Dallas would roll 2d6, and on an 11 or 12, one platoon would run out of gas and grind to a halt.

Well, the US gave a good fight. In particular, we really pasted Cam's grenadier battalion. That did little to halt the tide of Panthers, which rolled majestically over our infantry while the fire of the Shermans and 57mm ATGs pinged harmlessly off their armour. Dallas used the German off-table fire missions to deploy smoke screens at important times, which was really, really irritating.

My US lads held past turn six, compelling the Panzers to dash for the breakthrough. Sadly, I had few platoons left that could take advantage of the exposed flank and rear aspects of the Panthers. Spearhead's target priority rules also ensured that my infantry were tangled with the opposing German infantry, and the Panthers rolled right past them, leaving the Germans with a narrow but nonetheless definitive win, particularly as I failed a morale roll for the combat command.

Here are some pictures of the game. Note the carelessly exposed deployment of my tank destroyers. I'm sure the crews would condemn me for that, had any of them survived...

A cheesey smoke barrage obscures the German advance

Sherman tanks await the rare opportunity to take a flank shot at the enemy tanks

Q - do riverbanks provide good cover? A - NO

German armour rolls across the shallow creek

My very small collection of German armour in winter camo smashes its way through the infantry line

Cam's grenadier battalion got chewed up by artillery and a particularly stubborn platoon of M-20 armoured cars (seen on the far side of the creek)- none of which really helped me win, but at least we lit up somebody...

A picture of the desperate US defenders

The game was a lot of fun. The scenario was very simple, and there was not a ton of different types of units involved, which helped cut down on the headaches. Dallas and Cam did a good job breaking the US defence, balancing the need for speed while trying to ensure the troops could shoot back. In particular, Cam reorganized his attack away from a "one-at-time" approach (which worked great for my defenders) to an "all-at-once" (which sucked for my hapless guys).

I love Spearhead, because the game represents a confrontation between plans as much as dice-rolling and different stat sheets. Much depends on your plan, and your initial deployment, as it is not quick to move stuff around the table if you are caught out. Compared to the goofed-out, endless-special-rules impaired world of the byzantine power-creeping codices that dominate 40k, Spearhead is pure wargaming joy.

Dallas really played the Germans well, rushing straight ahead, conscious of the ticking clock. His plan spread out the attack enough to keep me busy, while still ensuring the panzers punched hard, and had infantry support when it counted. Only one tank platoon ran out of gas (dammit!) but the roll each turn added a nice little sense of "uh-oh". On the American side, you got a good feel for the hopeless defence - infantry just waiting in the trenches while the German treads ground towards them....yikes!

Thanks to Dallas for hosting, and to Cam and Brian for coming out.

Game tonight - Battle of the Bulge

Tonight we will be playing Spearhead. The scenario will be set in the Western Front, the Ardennes in late 1944 and the Battle of the Bulge.

I concede readily that I have not delved too deeply into the specifics of the Bulge. I purchased "Hitler's Last Gamble" over a year ago in the hopes of finding gaming inspiration. Instead, it was one of those rare military history books with almost NO MAPS, so was damn hard to follow and I never did finish it. But I think we will capture the flavour of the Bulge with tonight's game, even if the unit specifics are not exactly right.

Another point of disclosure - I have precious few parts of my 6mm collection actually painted for winter - but screw that. We'll be able to make the table look somewhat wintry, and at any rate I don't know that the US troops had much of their stuff painted white. I know the Germans probably had a lot more...but hey, it's 6mm for fr*k sakes, and I do at least have some "winter" Panthers.

Anyway, the specific scenario will feature a desperate US defence of the approaches to the town of St. Vith. US "Combat Commands", scraped together from available local resources are in place to block the German advance. The Germans, who had envisioned capturing St. Vith on the second day of the offensive, are behind schedule. They still have the advantage, but will have to deal with challenging terrain, roads and unforgiving victory conditions that will call for them to get past the Americans as soon as they can.

In looking through my collection, it occurred to me that tonight will be something of a watershed when it comes to Spearhead - it will be the first time we use Americans. In fact, while I have a significant chunk of American models, I don't think we have ever rolled with Americans on the board for either Spearhead or Modern Spearhead. So a first for tonight's game! Look forward to seeing everyone and watching the tanks get stuck in the snow and mud.

Squeek-eek!

As threatened previously, work has begun on the chittering horde of Skaven for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.  Of course, finally seeing the new Skaven models from the eighth edition "Island of Blood" box "in the plastic" helped with motivation.  The first two units to be completed are a 30-strong unit of Clanrats and a 36-rat regiment of Plague Monks (25 shown).  The magic of Devlan Mud and a few choice highlights, plus a colour change on the Monks from purple robes to Knarloc Green - much more pestilential, I think!

Many, many more rats to come, obviously!

Roll Over Beethoven

Okay, Greg has been going great guns on his Napoleonic Austrians and I thought it high-time to show that I've not been doing nothing these past few months since I issued the Challenge. I have a ton of Foundry metals from past purchases but I also bought a schwack of the Victrix plastics as they have the early French in their bicornes and long coat-tails which I like the look of. The Victrix stuff is great but putting them all together can be a little crazy-making. Nonetheless, I do like the ability to build unique units without too much hassle. Here are a few 'raw' unpainted figures which have been arranged for a command stand concept.

The cool thing about the multi-pose plastics is that you can build a unit incrementally to flesh out an idea for an overall theme. The box came with a couple mods for guys raising their hats and I thought I'd do a whole battalion that is in the midst of a impromptu salute. I envisioned a scene where the Colonel is passing along the praise of the brigadier to the battalion and particularly the colour party for covering itself in glory in the past engagement. The men are loving it, with lots of back-slapping, musket-waving and shouting out "Vive le Starbucks" or something.

I have a hard time getting used to how light these guys are. It kinda freaks me out as I'm used to a certain heft with a unit of this size. In retrospect I'm happy I went with metal bases as I'm thinking they would otherwise blow away with a good sneeze. I also prefer the lower profile to the bases - the figures seem more part of the playing surface.

The other thing I wanted to try with this unit was to place figures and groundwork into the 'dead space' at the front of each base. I reason that this way when the battalion is placed into column it looks a bit more integrated between the lines. Technically this would be rated as a 32-figure battalion in Black Powder or Republic to Empire but it has a few more models in it as I prefer a more packed-in look. There are a couple light conversions in there with guys holding their bicornes, bearskins and shakos. There is also the obligatory bald guy to commemorate my own follicle-challenged status.

I wasn't really sure on the autumnal groundwork colours but I think I like it now. It seems to give more variability to the overall colours instead of just seeing a mass of blue and white. I've got a bunch more models painted (no, really) but I'm waiting for some more 'filler' NCO/junior officer castings from the Perry's, Foundry and Sash and Saber to act as file closers. I'll post another update once I have a brigade's worth based and their groundwork completed.

Next up: French Dragoons!

Fighting Withdrawal

The lack of supplies and reinforcements has pushed the Defending forces into a corner. They must make a fighting withdrawal to the starport while the Attacker attempts to cut them off and finish them.

Wednesday night I missed the big Bug/Guard dustup, since I was scheduled to play a game with MarioR. We played one of the preview scenarios from Mechani-Kon2 , another local tournament coming up on September 18, put on by AlexB and ThurstonH. Of the three example scenarios, one will be present at the event, so they are a good introduction to the types of missions we will face.

I ran with my Eldar Swordwind. Mario played his Ultramarines, led by Sicarius.

Objectives:
Defender: Hold your ground as long as possible before falling back, escape with as much of your forces intact as possible.

Attacker: Prevent the enemy from falling back, do as much damage to the enemy as possible.

This is a difficult scenario. Six turns in length. The defenders gain VPs only for (1) proximity to objectives calculated at the end of each turn, and (2) for units which withdraw of the table, but only on or after the 4th turn. The attacker gains VPs for proximity to objectives and defender units destroyed/damaged.

We rolled off and the Eldar would defend.

Rats. Nothing in reserve, and all the Eldar skimmers immobile at the start of the game.

Per the scenario rules, I drew an imaginary diagonal line from the northwest to southeast table corners. Three objectives were set up in the southwest half.

I deployed the Dragons and Spiders well forward, to push back the Marine deployment. My plan would be to use the Fire Dragons and Warp Spiders to distract and delay the Space Marines, using the Vypers as a second line of support, also shielding the vulnerable rear armour of the lead Serpents from Deep Strikers. The HQ's hid behind some woods to the south, ready to move up in support of the centre. The Night Spinner and Dire Avengers would lurk in the southwest corner, gaining VPs for the objectives there and shooting at targets of opportunity.



I left a bit of a gap between the Farseer/Autarch duo and the Dragon Serpents. If the Space Marine Dreadnought in its drop pod came down there, it would get a lot of melta love.



Mario combat squadded a unit of Marines, deploying half in some ruins to the north, with a missile launcher. The remainder embarked in their Razorback fighting vehicle, a little closer to the centre of the table.



The Ultramarines started off by dropping their Dreadnought just in front of the objective in the centre of the table. Mario thought about a drop behind the Eldar lines, but gleaned my melta-laden intent. Marine fire killed some Warp Spiders.

In response, the two Dragon Serpents moved up in tandem. One moved Flat Out beside the Dreadnought, capstonong the move of the second Serpent, and blocking movement/fire by the Razorback. The second Dragon Serpent moved up behind and deplyed its Fire Dragons, who blew up the Dreadnought.

The Farseer Fortuned the Autarch and herself, and moved up in support of the Dragons. The Vyper squadron and surviving Warp Spiders moved up and shot up the Combat Squad in the ruins, killing three, including a Missile Launcher dude.

The two Avenger Serpents moved up to the second objective to gain its VPs, but failed to destroy the drop pod with their fire.

The Night Spinner dropped a large blast on the Razorback, failing to damage it, but forcing a Difficult Terrain test the next time it moved.

For their second jump, the Spider Exarch and one Spider jumped back beside the lead Serpent, helping to contest the central objective.



Next turn, the Space Marines received from reserve an Assault Squad led by a Chaplain, and an outflanking Tactical Squad. The jump troops came in from the north. The outflankers rolled and came in from the east, exactly the worst place they could since they would have to move the length of the table to get into the action.

The Razorback declined to move. Instead, the Combat Squad inside the Razorback disembarked to assault the dismounted Fire Dragons. Marine fire pulled the turret off a Wave Serpent. The Fire Dragons lost a man in close combat but their morale held.

The second Fire Dragon unit dismounted. The two lead Wave Serpents pulled back, supported by the Vypers. The Night Spinner also enmeshed the Assualt Squad in monofilament wire. Eldar fire destroyed the Razorback and killed almost half of the Assault Squad.

In the Assault Phase the Autarch assaulted the Combat Squad locked with the Dragons, but only killed one. The Dragons lost another member, leaving a drawn combat.





The Marines then received from reserve an Attack Bike squadron, coming in from the north, Siccarius, who moved up behind them, and a Thunderfire Cannon, which moved on in the northeast corner. Getting revenge for the Razorback, Marine fire wiped out a Dragon Squad; the other Dragon Squad was wiped out in close combat. The Autarch fell back south.

In the bottom of the turn the Autarch rallied and joined the Farseer. They ended up taking cover behind some woods with their second move.



Concentrated Eldar fire wiped out the remains of the Combat Squad from the ruins, and reduced the Assault Squad to just the Chaplain and one jump trooper.



In the fourth turn, the Thunderfire Cannon opened up on the Vypers with a barrage that wiped out the entire unit. Ouch! That's the first time I've lost all three Vypers in a single game. Concentrated melta fire from the Attack Bikes and some lucky close combat rolls destroyed both Fire Dragon Wave Serpents. The Spiders were reduced to just the Autarch.

In just half a turn the game had turned around. With the start of their fourth turn, the Eldar could now start pulling forces off the table. My quandry was in trying to decide what, if anything, to leave behind to further slow down the Marine onslaught. The Eldar had or would gain 350 VPs for objectives, the lone Spider couldn't get off the table this turn, and the Night Spinner was pretty safe in the corner.

The Eldar chose the better part of valour. The Farseer Doomed the Assault Squad and withdrew off the table with the Autarch, followed by both Dire Avenger Wave Serpents. The Night Spinner killed a couple more of the remaining Combat Squad.



The Spider Exarch moved up and gunned down both the Chaplain and the last jump trooper. The Exarch didn't make a second jump, contesting the central objective with his last act of defiance, denying the Marines 50 VPs.



The game's last two turns proceded quickly. The Exarch fell to the guns of the Marines and the Attack Bikes surged forward to control objectives. The Night Spinner withdrew off the table as Mario's Marines consolidated their hold on the three objectives.

At the end of the game, the Eldar had managed to save over half their force for 793 VPs and gained another 350 VPs for objectives, totaling 1143 VPs. However, the Marines themselves gained 300 VPs for objectives, plus the 707 pts worth of units the Eldar lost. 1143-1007=136, shy of the 150 point spread required for a win.

Result = Draw

This was a tense and exciting game. The end was unclear until the final tallies were made.

I liked how each side had some radically different goals. Trying to hold onto objectives added an interesting twist to the proceedings.