DAEMONHUNTERS versus Eldar

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Gary
Campaign: Vogen campaign game 5
Mission: Recon
1st turn: Eldar
Points: 1000

Daemonhunters

• Inquisitor Lord Severus, Daemonhammer, Bolt pistol, Holocaust, Icon of the Just, 2x Acolytes, Power Armour, Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1x Acolyte with Close Combat weapon and las pistol, 3xCombat Servitor, 3x Mystics, Rhino with Smoke Launchers, Hunter Killer missile, Searchlight
• Inquisitor Kurven, Psycannon, Power Armour, Emperor's Tarot, Purity Seals, Gun Servitor, Plasma Cannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2x Imperial Guard Veteran, Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2x Sage, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol, Hierophant, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol
• Daemonhost
• Eversor Assassin
• Squad Matoso, 7 Stormtroopers, 2 meltaguns, Rhino, Smoke launchers, Extra Armour, Hunter Killer Missile
• Squad Godirtho, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 plasma guns
• Squad Seralvo, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 Grenade Launchers
• Squad Vargas, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 Flamers
• Squad Devaux, 5 Stormtroopers

Eldar

• Farseer with Guide and Witchblade
• Wraithlord with Starcannon
• 2 War Walkers with Bright lances and Scatter lasers
• Wave Serpent with Starcannons carrying 7 Howling Banshees and Exarch
• 8 Dire Avengers with Exarch
• 3 Scouts
• 5 Swooping Hawks with Exarch

Vogen Campaign
My second campaign game of the night was against Gary's Eldar. Gary had missed several weeks of the campaign, like myself, so neither of us had any real chance of making it to the top. Nevertheless I was keen to keep my unbeaten record in the campaign against a very tough player. I did have a materiel advantage to help me; I had 1075 points while Gary had 950.

Terrain and Deployment
This was played on the same table as my previous game against the Chaos Space Marines. It was covered in terrain of either medieval type buildings or woods. Gary set up first and pushed me back fairly centrally with his Wraithlord. He placed his War Walkers nearby, along with the Scouts and the Farseer. They were all in the cover of a building and were effectively his firebase. His Wave Serpent started deep in his deployment zone toward my left flank, behind a wood. His Dire Avengers threatened my right flank, looking to advance through a building.

I set my shooty units up on my right in a wood. They had decent lines of sight into the building hiding the Eldar firebase. Squad Vargas started on my extreme right so I could push them forward unopposed to claim the bonus 200 victory points. Squad Matoso were hiding behind a building on my left to threaten the Wave Serpent and Wraithlord, and Squad Seralvo was in the centre screening the Eversor assassin. Severus lurked about behind Kurven's unit in the woods to counter-charge and confer the mystic ability upon them if those Swooping Hawks appeared nearby.

The Game
I won first turn and Squad Vargas began their long trudge up the right flank. Virtually everyone else stood still except for Squad Seralvo and the assassin who pushed through the wood in my centre, directly opposite the Wraithlord. My shooting disposed of the Scouts, who were the only unit I could get to shoot clearly.

The Eldar responded by revealing their guided War Walkers and killing Squad Devaux in a volley of scatter laser shots. The Wave Serpent surprised me by sneaking over the woods on my extreme left and taking a crafty shot at the rear armour of Matoso's rhino. True to form it was destroyed and the surviving Stormtroopers were left stranded deep in my deployment zone with short-ranged weapons.

Most of the Eldar hung back to pepper my lines with shots and Squad Seralvo was driven off but I passed numerous saving throws and was largely unharmed. In return Kurven took out a War Walker and then turned their attentions on the Dire Avengers. Between the Inquisitor and the Stormtrooper Squads Vargas and Godirtho, the Aspect Warriors were wiped out.

The Banshees hacked Squad Matoso apart in combat and then jumped back into their Wave Serpent. The Eldar convincingly held my left flank. I controlled my right but Gary dropped in the Swooping Hawks to shoot up Kurven's squad. I forgot to use the Mystic's ability but fortunately the Inquisitor's retinue emerged with light casualties. Severus now had something to assault and they finished off the Hawks in short order.

We were down to the last couple of turns in the game now and it was finely balanced. My Daemonhost finally arrived and I brought him in behind the Farseer and the last War Walker. After rolling Warp Strength he ripped apart the Eldar construct and got stuck into the Farseer. Severus and Squad Vargas pushed up on my right to get into the Eldar deployment zone and bag me a hatful of victory points.

That move left my firebase unprotected and Gary took advantage of this by wiping out Squad Godirtho and Squad Kurven with his Banshees. But I've saved the best combat to last.

In the centre the Wraithlord was moving slowly toward my deployment zone, advancing through cover. The only thing opposing him was the Eversor assassin who had lost his screening unit and was down to one wound. Thinking he was just going to get blasted apart by Starcannon fire anyway I charged him forward at the Eldar Dreadnought. Because it was in cover the Wraithlord went first. Two threes and a one. So I would get a chance to attack. I rolled a six, the maximum number of bonus attacks. Hitting on a three plus I got eight blows on target. And then, using his neuro-gauntlet, I wounded it four times, more than enough to kill it. Outrageous!

That pretty much sealed the game for me as I was ahead on victory points.

Result: Win

Campaign effect: None

Campaign results: Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0

Learning points

• What a combat by the Eversor Assassin! I'll remember that for many a year. Gary was absolutely flabbergasted by it while I was leaping around like an idiot. I was making such a fuss that many other gamers came over to see what was happening (I, of course, filled them in on every detail).
• This game was close, with either army capable of pulling out a win in the final turns. I struggled to get to grips with the Eldar shooting but the heavy terrain coupled with some decent saving throws helped me out. If I had remembered the mystic when the Swooping Hawks arrived I could have won a bit more convincingly but in the end it was a humble 60 point squad that made all the difference. Squad Vargas were virtually unharmed throughout the game, and were so inconsequential that they were ignored by the Eldar, but they bagged me an extra 200 victory points. Nice.
• Another win for the campaign to give me a very good record so far. In order to test myself further I challenged the current campaign leader to a game next week. Watch this space!