Opponent: Gary
Mission: Pitched Battle
Location: Habour
Background: 976.M41. Rocked by defeat by Eldar Exodites living upon Habour, Captain Kennell commits more forces to the conflict. The mysterious Eldar Craftworld sends forth more defenders in turn.
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 1000
Imperial Guard
- Command Platoon 77, Captain Kennell, Junior Officer, Honorifica Imperialis, Company Standard, Medic, Missile Launcher
- Anti tank squad 3, Lascannons
- 8 Stormtroopers, 1 meltagun, 1 plasma gun, deep strike
- Infantry Platoon 1
- Command Squad 36, Junior Officer with power weapon and plasma pistol, 2 meltaguns, 2 plasma guns
- Infantry Squad 501, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
- Infantry Squad 541, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
- Infantry Platoon 2
- Command Squad Missile Launcher
- Infantry Squad 609, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
- Infantry Squad 812, Flamer
- 20 Conscripts
- Basilisk, Indirect fire
Eldar
- Farseer with Mind War
- Wraithlord with starcannon
- 5 scouts
- 8 Storm Guardians with 2 fusion guns
- 5 Fire Dragons with Exarch in Falcon
- 5 Howling Banshees with Exarch in Wave Serpent
- 8 Dire Avengers with Exarch
- 5 Swooping Hawks with Exarch
Another warm up game for the Gauntlet tournament which was only a week away. Gary still hadn't decided whether to take his Eldar or Chaos army, and this battle would help him make up his mind.
We played on a 6x4 table with moderate cover, including a few fantasy ruined buildings across the middle of the table. The Eldar had a large wood in their deployment zone (Gary won choice of board edge).
Most of my Guardsmen deployed on the right, against the predicted Eldar attack with the Basilisk on my left behind a tall building. Sick of deep strike, I began with my Stormtroopers on the table. Gary set most of his army up in the woods, ready to spring forward, with his skimmers on my left opposite the Basilisk.
The Game
I won first turn for a change and hit the skimmers with all of my heavy weapons. I took down the Wave Serpent with my first shot then did nothing to the Falcon. The Basilisk took out some Guardians. My Stormtroopers pushed forward into a ruined building.
The Eldar Falcon zoomed around the building and did for the Basilisk while the rest of Gary's army sped forward out of the forest. The biggest surprise to me was the scouts, which Gary fleet of footed forward and into combat with my scouts. Even though I was in terrain and went first, I lost the combat and my men routed.
I downed the Falcon and left the Fire Dragons isolated and effectively out of the game, while the rest of my army decimated the Eldar Dire Avengers and Guardians in the centre. The conscripts were killed to a man in combat but that left the Eldar in rapid fire range of my guns. Every time an Eldar unit looked like it might reach my lines I concentrated all of my guns on it and destroyed it, and because they arrived one after another I was rarely in trouble.
The Swooping Hawks arrived late and shot up a Command Section but were wiped out quickly in a hail of lasgun fire.
A convincing massacre.
Result: Win
Imperial Control: Increased 46%
Kennell's Commendation: No-one squad in particular. The missile launchers in the infantry squads won the battle, taking down the Wave Serpent, Falcon and Wraithlord in quick succession.
Learning points
- What a difference it made facing Gary's Eldar with my Guard (and their heavy weapons) rather than my Radical Daemonhunters. I dominated the game to such a degree that Gary chose to drop his Eldar for the forthcoming tournament.
- Bloody Stormtroopers! I still can't use them right or roll any decent dice for them. Maybe they're saving all their luck for the Gauntlet?
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