Mission:  Recon – 1100 points

Eldar Force – Bob Barclay

Farseer
18- man Guardian squad w/Warlock
Small Guardian squad w/ Star Cannon & Anti-grav platform
Large Warp Spider squad with Exarch
4-man Dark Reaper squad
3-man Eldar jetbike squad
Falcon grav-tank with 6 man Fire Dragon squad

Dark Eldar Force – Dan Moore

Dracon with poisoned blades
5 Raider squads (5 Splinter cannons, 1 dark lance & 4 disintegrators)
2 eight-man Wyche squads on Raiders equipped with dark lances

SETUP:

Bob and I placed terrain on the battlefield and positioned it so that there was plenty of cover near the center of the board.  We rolled for the Recon mission, which allows a deployment zone within 18” of the long edge of the battlefield.  You are not allowed to place a unit within 24” of an enemy unit.  I offered to let Bob have his choice of battlefield sides for deployment and he chose the side with a large set of ruins and a hill the overlooked the center of the battlefield.

We rolled to see who deployed first and I won.  I placed a raider squad behind a large hill on my right side of the battlefield.  My thinking here was that the hill would at least provide hull-down cover for my raiders if Bob got first turn.  We continued placing units and I positioned five of my raiders (3 warrior & 2 Wyche) behind the large hill on the right side of the battlefield.  My other two raiders were positioned behind a wooded area in the center of my deployment zone.  Their job was to protect my flank.

Bob deployed his forces to counter my army.  His dark reapers were position on a hill in the center of his deployment zone where they could hit anything within view on the battlefield.  His large guardian squad and Farseer were placed in his deployment zone opposite of the bulk of my raiders.  The Warp spider squad was placed to the right of the Guardian squad, and the Jetbike squad was placed to the right of them.  The Falcon grav-tank was place on the left side of Bob’s deployment zone behind a large ruined building.  The small guardian squad was placed in the left-center part of the deployment zone behind a small ruined building.

The initial deployment of forces looked as follows:

Eldar Turn 1

We rolled to see who would go first and Bob won.  He opted to go first.  Bob moved all of his forces toward my deployment zone with the exception of the Dark Reaper squad.  The jetbike squad was able to zoom around the hill on the right side of the battlefield to give them a clear shot at most of my raiders.  Both Guardian squads used fleet of foot during the shooting phase because they did not have any targets to shoot at.  The Warp spiders jumped to the edge of the large hill on the right side of the battlefield.  Unfortunately, they were just out of range to shoot at my raiders.

During the shooting phase, the jetbike squad managed to shoot down one of my Wyche raiders with four of eight wyches being killed in the crash.  The dark reaper squad targeted a raider squad at the right edge of battlefield.  They achieved a penetrating hit with their rocket launchers but only destroyed the disintegrator on the raider!   None of the eldar squads were within assault range so Bob moved his warp spiders and jetbikes behind the large hill so that I could not shoot at them.

Dark Eldar Turn 1

I moved four of my raiders toward the Eldar forces and dismounted my warriors and wyches for assault.  One of the raiders behind the woods dismounted its warriors before moving into the open.  The four wyches from the crashed raider advanced and then used fleet of foot to get within assault range of the eldar jetbikes.  Three raiders fired their disintegrators at the eldar dark reaper squad and vaporized it.  The raider squads concentrated their fire on the eldar guardian squads and caused a couple casualties.

In the assault phase three raider squads and both wyche squads assaulted eldar forces.  The four-wyche squad and a raider squad assaulted the jetbike squad and killed two jetbikes.  The remaining jetbike failed morale and was run down by the raider squad!  The full strength wyche squad assualted the large guardian squad and caused enough casualties to force a morale check.  The guardians made their morale and the melee continued to the next turn.   A raider squad with the Dracon assaulted the eldar warp spiders and forced a morale check, which was passed.  The melee continued to the next turn.  The remaining raider squad assaulted the smaller guardian squad and forced a morale check, which was passed. The close combat continued to the next turn.

Eldar Turn 2

Most of the Eldar force was tied up in close combat so Bob did not have much to move.  He moved his Falcon grav-tank around a patch of woods so that he could shoot at one of the dark eldar raiders.  He shot at the raider and caused it to crash.

During close combat, both guardian squads and the warp spider squad fought their dark eldar opponents to a stalemate.  Both sides took casualties and everybody made their morale checks so the close combats continued to the next turn.  The only notable event was that the warp spider Exarch killed the dark eldar Dracon with its power weapon.

Dark Eldar Turn 2

Most of the Eldar forces were engaged in close combat so there were no targets to shoot.  I repositioned the four raiders with functioning weapons into positions of concealment behind woods or hills so that the Falcon grav-tank or any eldar squads would not shoot them down that won close combat.  The raider without a weapon was positioned behind the large guardian squad in close combat to block its fallback corridor.  The raider squad that ran down the eldar jetbikes advanced towards the melee with the large guardian squad.  They used fleet of foot to get in range to assault into the melee.  The four-wyche squad tried to do the same but fell short.

During the assault phase the dark eldar forces were able to cause the small guardian squad and the warp spider squad to break and run from combat.  Both squads were below 50% and could not regroup.  The victorious dark eldar warriors consolidated.  The warrior squad fighting the warp spiders moved nearer to the melee with the large eldar guardian squad.  The other warrior squad moved into some nearby trees for cover.

Eldar Turn 3

The small guardian squad and warp spiders continued to fall back and left the battlefield.

The Falcon grav-tank moved behind some woods and the Fire Dragon squad inside disembarked.  The Fire Dragons were within range of the dark eldar warriors in the woods so they shot at the squad with their fusion guns causing several casualties.  The dark eldar warriors failed their morale check and fled from the woods.

During the assault phase the large eldar guardian squad once again battled their dark eldar counterparts to a stalemate.  The guardian squad sustained heavy casualties but made its morale check.  The close combat continued.

Dark Eldar Turn 3 and game end.

The raider squad that had fled from the fire dragons shooting managed to regroup and advanced toward the Falcon grav-tank.  Unfortunately, their lone blaster shot did not penetrate the tanks armor.

Three raiders moved into position to fire their disintegrators at the eldar Fire Dragon squad.  All three disintegrators hit the squad and vaporized it.

During the assault phase the four-wyche squad and a raider squad (the ones that defeated the warp spiders) joined the close combat with the large eldar guardian squad.  The combined forces of two raider squads and both wyche squads were able to break the guardian squad and cause it to fall back into the unarmed raider.  The guardian squad was destroyed by crossfire and removed from the battlefield.

Bob conceded the game at this point as he only had the Falcon grav-tank remaining on the battlefield.

Post-game analysis.

I can think of two things that would have helped Bob’s Eldar in this battle.

First, his forces should not have advanced towards the dark eldar on the first turn.  They should have forced dark eldar to come to them.  Because the eldar advanced, my dark eldar were able to assault them in turn one.  Once the eldar were engaged in close combat their superior firepower was useless.

Second, the dark reaper squad should have been screened by another squad (large guardian squad?) so that they could not be destroyed by disintegrator fire.  The reapers would most certainly have downed a raider every turn if they had survived.  Unfortunately, Bob put them out in the open where they could be shot.