Suffer Not The Alien To Live
I got a chance to go to Hobbies today and get in a game, I had to decide which army to take though as I wasnt lugging
both all the way there today and after the flip of a coin the Ultramarines were packed and going. My opponent was a Dark Eldar
player relatively new to the game. But I had never played Dark Eldar before and had little idea what to expect. At 1000 points
I was expecting a lot of light skimmers and nasty surprises. The lists were as follows:
Ultramarines 7th Company
Master
Captain Vash Thalion
-Storm Bolter, Power Weapon, Terminator Honors, Iron Halo, Frag Grenades
Tactical Squad
Tyriel (10)
-Terminator Honors, Power Fist, Plasma Gun, Lascannon
Tactical Squad Oscelo (10)
-Plasma Gun,
Plasma Cannon, Terminator Honors, Power Weapon
Tactcal Squad Altaris (7 I think)
-Plasma Gun, Lascannon
Devastator
Squad Voltaris (7 )
-Missil Launcher x3, Heavy Bolter
Dreadnaught Vindicatus Morti
-Twin Linked Lascannon,
Missil Launcher
Dark Eldar Raiders
x3 Haemonculus on jetbikes with some kinda nasty flamer thing
Ravager
with 3 cannon things
Warrior Squad (10), some nasty assault weapon, dark lance and cc thing
-Raider Transport, dark
lance
Warrior Squad (10), same equipment as the first... whatever that is
-Raider Transport, dark lance
Warrior Squad
(10), same kit
-Raider Transport, dark lance
Warrior Squad (10), dark lance x2
Deployment:
The
terrain was 2 large buildings on the right side of the board with a narrow alley between them and the left half of the board
was pock marked craters and a small bunker in the center.
All 4 skimmers went behind the building on the DE deployment
zone, unmounted warriors went in a crater and the haemonculus sat behind the building too. Devs went in crater on the left
with squad Altaris behind them and squad Oscelo to the right with squad Tyriel on the edge of the building further right with
the dread to squad Tyriel's right hiding in the building (I really expected him to die fast) and Captain Thalion sat between
the devs and squad Altaris.
Incoming, the call echoed off the walls of buildings and down cramped corridors. All
throughout the city klaxons wailed and sirens blared. On the outskirts of the system a sleek vessel just barely registering
on the scanners approached. Somehow a lucky scan sweep had detected the slight anomaly that signalled the Alien vessel and
the only confirmation was the sudden destruction of the sensor station. PDF troopers stormed from their barracks and rushed
to errect barricades. Citizens fled to whatever shelter they could find. The war no longer had battle lines, the enemy was
coming, coming fast and the Navy could not stop them. Aliens had come to carry the people screeming into some dark abyss from
which they would never emerge, the result was pandemonium. As the major population centers fell into chaos and disarray the
warriors of the Adeptus Astartes stood firm. Manning the trenchlines on the outskierts of Creon Secundus the Ultramarines
7th Company listened to the paniced vox transmissions from the city behind them with dispassion. The Xenos were coming to
meet their death.
Turn 1
Dark Eldar: I won the roll for first turn but made the Dark Eldar go,
I wanted those skimmers out where I could shoot them and true to form they came. The Ravager zoomed out along the edge of
the first building on its upper platform to take shots at Squad Oscelo. The Raiders and Haemonculos all moved 24" to the alley
and tried to hide. The eldar shooting resulted in 3 dead marines from squad Oscelo.
Ultramarines: Time to show
these xenos how its done. Dreadnaught stromped forward into the building. Captain Thalion moved towards squad Oscelo. Squad
Altaris' lascannon took down the Ravager, Dreadnaught and Squad Voltaris took down a Haemonculus and wounded a second. Squad
Oscelo's Plasma Cannon downed 5 of 10 of the stationary squad and Squad Tyriel's lascannon popped another.
Turn
2
Dark Eldar: All 3 Raiders moved into the lower building 12" and dropped out their troops. Haemonculus moved
infront of squad Tyriel and flamed the marines. 7 of the 10 fell to the nasty things. Two Warrior squads fired on the dread
but failed to scratch its side armor, one of those squads charged it and promtly lost 2 members in the ensuing fight for no
damage against the dread. The Haemonculus and the third warrior squad assaulted squad Tyriel killing one marine. 3 of the
Warriors fell and the lascannon marine smashed down the wounded Haemonculus.
Ultramarines: Squad Voltaris downed
the lead Raider with an immobolization result, squad Oscelo killed 2 more of the static warriors. In close combat the dread
prevailed again stomping another puny Eldar and with the combat for squad Tyriel all saves were made and Sergeant Tyriel promtply
crushed the horrific Haemonculus with his power fist, the lascannon marine pummeling a Dark Eldar warrior with his lascannon.
Losing combat the Dark Eldar fled and escaped falling back 7 inches, squad Tyriel consolidated out of sight.
Turn
3
Dark Eldar: Third warrior squad loaded up and both remaining raiders moved 12" out of the terrain and promtly
crashed into the ground. Both rolling a one on their dangerous terrain test and for a skimmer moving more than 6" that was
death. 6 of the 10 mounted raiders promtly snuffed it in the crash. The falling back warriors failed to regroup and the static
warriors failed to hit with their dark lances. In close combat another 2 warriors got stomped for no damage to the dreadnaught.
At this point with one squad tied up by the Dreadnaught, another falling back and all 3 out of combat about to be
shot, 2 of which in rapid fire and facing heavy bolters and frag missils the Dark Eldar conceded the game. Victory to the
Ultramarines without one unit being wiped out woohoo!
Results:
Dark Eldar Cassualties:
23 dead
Warriors
3 dead Haemonculus
Ravager destroyed
3 Raiders destroyed
Ultramarine Cassualties:
3 Losses
from squad Oscelo
8 Losses from squad Tyriel
They came with speed and grace. Sweeping in from the lowlands in an attempt to sweep away the outlying defences and reach
the civilians beyond. Anti-aircraft turrets scattered liberally across the city made approach from the air suicidal even for
the Eldar. Nevertheless the Xenos seemed to think they could cut down the defending Marines quickly and be off with fresh
prisoners within hours. What they had not anticipated was facing the well dug in Ultramarines 7th Company waiting for them.
Captain Thalion stomped across the cratered ground his storm bolter roaring his hatred into the frew remaining Eldar.
The creatures tried to pull themselves from the wrecks of their transports only to be cut down by concentrated bolter fire.
Across the line the marines of Squad Oscelo ignored the aliens clossest to them and blasted apart the few remaining xenos
dug in at the second line. Squad Voltaris wasted no time covering sergeant Oscelo, bolter fire and frag missils streaked past
into the xenos as they tried to flee. Above in the ruins of the warhous block Vindicatus Morti aimed his missil launcher at
his feet and fired a frag round. The shell detonated spraying the attacking Dark Eldar with deadly shrapnel that just pattered
off the Dreadnaughts blessed hull. Within moments the lsat of the Aliens had been slain. The wreckage of their vehicles and
cursed flesh lay scattered around the battlefield and not a single squad of marines had fallen.
Sergeant Tyriel pulled moved among his fallen marines helping those who could still fight back to their feet and preparing
the bodies of the dead for an Apothicary to come and collect their geneseed.
"Well done sergeant, the xenos felt your wrath today." Said Captain Thalion as he climbed the stairs to the warhouse.
"The Emperor Protects." Tyriel replied solemnly
"Well...?" Vash asked removing his helmet to look the sergeant in the eye.
"Many of the xenos fell today and few of our battle brothers went to join the Emperor, a solid victory." Tyriel replied
not looking at his captain.
"But you have more to say?" Vash promted not letting the matter drop.
"It is just that this battle was unusual sir, the enemy could have come in greater numbers, the class of ship detected
held far more than this. But these aliens did not act like a scouting group. They fought as though expecting reinforcements.
Almost like they believed they were the vanguard of a much larger attack force but if thats so..."
"Then where was this force?" Vash finished for his sergeant, "A good question Sergeant and one we shall have to discover
the answer too, but not now. Apothicary Salius will be here shortly to collect the gene seed from the departed. When he is
finished we will re-deploy to a new position. Gather your men sergeant we have much more fighting to do today and not against
the Eldar."
End Game Comments:
Sergeant Tyriel and the Lacannon marine are getting purity seals added to their models,
that was an amazing display I was stunned that they were not wiped out in that close combat but even so badly outnumbered
they held, passed their saves and just crunched and smashed their way through the enemy and the Dark Eldar learned to fear
the Ultramarines today. My deployment forced my opponent to bottleneck himself and keep his skimmers moving through a lot
of terrain and it eventually caused their demise with two of the raiders crashing in one turn and killing more than half of
their carried squad. With the extremely expencive Haemonculus dead and the Ravager's big guns removed the Dark Eldar were
stuck trying to go on the offencive or stay put and die and their luck finally ended in the flaming wreck kinda way. The Dreadnaught
also surprised me by surviving so much shooting and assault attacks. All in all I am very happy with how the army did but
its yet another game where I have had to hunker down in the defencive. Next weekend I may pick up another Marine army at about
1500pts of drop podding infantry and dreadnaughts for 100 bucks but what to do with that Im not so sure. I could use rhinos
but they are so expencive for 50 point models. I am also trying to add some vets but to do them right I either need some bits
to spruce up a blood claw box and some lightning claws or just get a vet box Im not sure. So far the army is doing alright
but Im having trouble figuring out how to expand it. More assault marines, a land speeder and some rhinos Im thinking. A Predator
would help too but where Im going to get this money from beats me.
So anyway a great game, a fun game, a totally crazy
game with how things turned out but certainly satisfying deffinetly made the day. What was even more funny was the Dark Eldar
player went on to fight another noob Blood Raven player who was getting totaly stomped having lost most of his army. But I
didnt think it was good to let that happen, the guy had a command squad, Dreadnaught and Tac squad left. I told him to run
the Dreadnaught towards the same 3 Haemonculus on bikes who were hiding behind a downed Raider. Dreadnaught ran over the Raider
wreck and got into base with all 3, none of them could hurt it, the dread designated one attack to each bike, hit with all
3 attacks, wounded and all 3 failed. Three 80 point bikes just crashed and the Dread consolidated into a nearby warrior squad.
I then directed the kid to use his tac marines the next turn to destroy the Ravager which they did although the command squad
and captain snuffed it the dread kept stomping through the warriors. With the ravager down and the dread eating its way through
the warriors a certain defeat was turned around to a tie in two turns. Mwahahahahaha.
I guess I have fought marines
way too much, it makes it easier to play them... I know what doesnt work already.
