There are times when I sincerely believe that partaking of this hobby is nothing less than a masochistic endeavor. Being a Dark Eldar player, one might think that is something I'd enjoy . . . At the very least, faithful reader, you may rest easy in the knowledge that I will share these reports with you even if they are not flattering to me in any way. I just hope the other DE players out there don't get mad at me for my poor track record as of late and any sort of associations or assumptions one might make on the race as a whole.
Anyway, I played against the new IG Codex for the first time last Thursday night (and the first time in a loooong time vs IG in general). I have such a poor understanding of that Codex and army organization - not to mention the fact that there is no way I could remember what happened during each of his hellacious shooting phases beyond 'my guys died' - that I've decided to give an overview of the game and wrap it up with some observations.
I did, however, manage to take and save my pictures correctly this time.
Dark Eldar Army List (same as last time)
Archon (S.Field, C.Drugs, P.Grenades, Animus, T.Helm) - [375]
- Incubi Retinue (x 6 Incubi; 1 x Blaster, P.Grenades)
- Raider (Lance)
Wyches (x 9 Wyches, W.Weapons, P.Grenades) - [228]
- Succubus (Agonizer, P.Grenades, S.Pistol)
- Raider (Lance)
Raider Squad (x 9 Warriors, 1 x Blaster, 1 x S.Cannon) - [173]
- Sybarite (Agonizer, S.Pistol)
- Raider (Horrorfex, Lance)
Warrior Squad (x 14 Warriors, 1 x Blaster, 1 x S.Cannon) - [176]
- Sybarite (Agonizer, S.Pistol)
2 x Sniper Squads ( x 10 Warriors, 2 x Lances) - [200]
3 x Ravagers (1 x Lance, 2 x Disentegrator) - [345]
Total Points: 1497
IG Army List (as detailed as I can recall)
2 x Leman Russes (Battlecannon, Lascannon)
2 x Chimeras (Multi-laser, Heavy Bolter; Each carrying a unit of Psykers each)
1 x Sentinel (Missile Launcher)
6 x Heavy Weapon Squads (4 x Autocannons, 2 x Lascannon)
8? x Platoons of Guard (1 x Missile Launcher, 1 x Grenade Launcher)
1 x HQ unit with a standard/banner of some sort (1 x Grenade Launcher, 1 x Missile Launcher)
Deployment and Strategy
I won the roll for deployment and had him deploy first. He deployed in a fairly balanced gunline favoring (his left, my right) side of the table. I response, I deployed a semi-refused flank towards (my left, his right) side of the table, leaving a lone Ravager to serve as a fire magnet on my right flank. With a rare roll of '6,' I managed to steal first turn away.
Basically, the Dark Eldar strategy was to get into CC as soon as possible. I ran the Raiders flat-out up his right flank and ended up right next to his footsloggers on that side of the table. The Ravagers moved up a little more cautiously, except for my flanking decoy who perched on top of a hill. My footslogging Warriors tried to move and fire up the table as best they could - hopefully taking attention away from the three Raiders, while the Sniper Squads sat tight with visibility to most of his armor between them.
The IG strategy was to sit still and shoot. A lot.
Dark Eldar Performance
The Wyches got blown out of the air and then shot up. 3 of them made it into CC on turn 2 and, over the course of two Assault rounds, got wiped out by a Junior Officer and 3 Guardsmen. The Archon and Incubi also got shot down, but only lost a single Incubi before making it into CC and wiping out a platoon across two turns. They managed to survive a round of Shooting and make it into CC with another platoon - wiping them out in a single Assault round. However, the relentless firepower of the IG took its toll and eventually saw the Archon and a single Incubi taking cover by the smoking hull of the destroyed Russ by turn 4.
The Warriors broke and ran after a single round of enemy fire, but rallied and came back to pick a few wounds off of two platoons (including the HQ) and a Heavy Weapons unit. They never made it into CC, though and ended the game with the sole surviving Sybarite breaking and running away right as he was set to charge the remaining IG HQ.
Sniper Squad 1 managed to immobilize, shake, and finally destroy a Russ across four turns; sadly Sniper Squad 2 didn't really do anything but eat ordinance and blast templates. The Raider Squad managed to take out the Sentinel with a lucky Blaster shot and eventually wiped out a small platoon in CC - they did not survive the next turn's Shooting Phase, however. Their Raider ended the game with a Weapon Destroyed and heading for cover.
IG Performance
I have a hard time remembering exactly which unit did what on each turn - they all shot, a lot. Each shooting phase was a little marathon of despair for the True Kin. While there were plenty of cover saves and missed shots that alleviated the damage, the pure amount of firepower simply whittled away at the DE until there was little left - certainly nothing to put a dent in the surviving Russ and two Chimeras. The Psykers were particularly damaging to the Warriors and Snipers - having some sort of long-range large blast attack that (I'm 90% sure) rolled AP 1 every time it was used.
Observations
There were some missteps, though - the IG player had been playing the banner as allowing re-rolls to any Leadership test (including Psychic tests). Another player who began observing the latter half of the match stated that the banner only allow re-rolls on Morale and Pinning tests - not Psychic tests. I wish I'd known that earlier, it would've made a noticeable difference.
Also, he was tracking line of sight for his Heavy Weapon Teams from the barrel of the guns, and not the guardsmen operating them. They also apparently had the ability to see through Russes and Chimeras? I was not a fan of this approach, but I resisted commenting on it as I did not want to come across as a bad sport. To my opponent's credit, he was fairly generous with the cover saves.
However, it demonstrated a serious need on my part to brush up on the rules before my infrequent games. Additionally, I should undertake to gain a decent understanding of the other Codices out there.
Had I known ahead of time I'd be facing IG, I would have left the Disintegrators off the Ravagers and gone with a 3 x DL loadout. I also would have tried to get Slave Snares on the Raiders. That way, even with a Weapon Destroyed Result, they could've caused some damage. I don't know that the points would've allowed for much else. If my RJBs were finished, they might have been an alternative to the footslogging Warriors with their two Blasters. But that kind of defeats the purpose of an 'all-comers' list, so I need to learn how to use what I've got more effectively.
End of turn 1: Two Raiders & flanking Ravager are destroyed; Warrior Squad broke and running; Wyches & Archon prepare to charge
End of Turn 2: Archon w/retinue & Raider Squad are in CC (Wyches were defeated . . . by Guardsmen); Warrior Squad has rallied, but Sniper Squad 2 breaks.
End of Dark Eldar Turn 3: Remaining DE forces prepare to get shot to pieces
End of Turn 4: Lone Sybarite fleeing; Archon & single Incubi hiding out by destroyed Russ - Game Conceded
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