DAEMONHUNTERS versus Dark Eldar

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition, Gauntlet Tournament game 1
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Dark Eldar
Points: 1000
Location: Nomolos, Kandaeon Worlds, Skolarii sector
Background: After years of investigation, Kill-Team Severus track down the base of Eldar pirate raids to Nomolos and launch an attack on the alien leader.

Dark Eldar

• Dracon (agoniser and shadow field) with 5 Incubi in Raider
• 10 Wyches with Wych Weapons
• 2x10 Warriors with 2 dark lances
• 10 warriors with 2 splinter cannons
• Ravager
• Talos
• Warp beasts

Terrain and Deployment
This game was played on what looked like a Chaos table, maybe meant to represent the Chaos Wastes in Warhammer Fantasy Battle. It was a dark black/grey/brown table with a few patches of gnarled, leafless trees and two ruined wooden buildings. We quickly classified everything as woods, so that we would at least have something to deploy our armies in and around and behind.

I set up the Stormtrooper squads to hold the centre and my right, with the Inquisitor and retinue behind, ideally placed to counter attack the inevitable Dark Eldar assault. Gary hid his fragile army largely out of sight, screened by the woods and buildings.

Unfortunately for me, I had spoken at length to Gary on the journey to the tournament and told him exactly what the weakness of my army was, and how I would play against it.

He was obviously listening...

The Game
Gary is normally a very bold player, and when playing an assault army he generally races forward and engages the enemy as soon as possible. It usually works very well for him as it can unhinge his opponents and force them to react to his plan rather than implement their own.

In this game he refused the bait and stood off, hitting me with his superior long range weaponry. I was forced to zoom the Inquisitor and Stormtroopers in their rhinos over the board while trying to hold up his troops with the Daemonhosts.

One of the Daemonhosts fell to a blaster shot from the Wyches while the other deviated away from the enemy, rolling a succession of useless powers and subsequently playing little part in the rest of the game.

Squad Matoso in the rhino actually managed to make it across the board only to botch their shooting and get assaulted by the Wyches and a Warrior squad. Scratch one Stormtrooper squad.

Meanwhile Inquisitor Severus had his rhino shot out from under him, leaving the poor fella right out in the open. The Incubi needed no further invitation and pounded him and his retinue into the ground.

We only completed five turns of the game due to time restrictions but the result was never in doubt; a Dark Eldar victory.

Result: Marginal Loss - 10 points

Favourite moment: A death cult assassin receiving a charge from the warp beasts, killing the Wych and the beasts going out of control and attacking the Talos.

Learning points

• My battle plan depended upon the enemy coming to me and when he didn’t I was in deep trouble. My force needs to be far more rounded to be able to play in different ways.
• The Daemonhosts are fickle; I got unlucky in this game and they achieved nothing. They cannot be depended upon.
• Dark Eldar are surprisingly good in the shooting phase and can make a very good all-round army in 1000pts. Fast, shooty, tough, good close combat ability - they have something of everything.