Here is my after action report, a reflection on what went wrong and what went according to plan. My notes get sketchier as the game went on, as is usual my note taking falls off as I get engrossed in a game. If I want to keep reporting on games, I need to improve on this.
Army Summary
- Troupe Master
- Shadowseer
- Troupe
- Troupe
- Troupe
- Troupe
- Solitaire
- Wraithblades
- Skyweavers
- Hemlock Wraithfighter
- Wave Serpent
My plan was simple, hope to not have the initiative seized, leap into my opponent's army and cripple them before they have a chance to fight back. Use the alpha strike and my Psychic powers to minimise my casualties and then it's a case of surviving til the end of the game. With the speed of my units, and their ability to ignore terrain and models while they move, I should be able to pick and choose my targets.
This plan ended up facing an army of Dark Angels
The Enemy
- Azrael
- Chaplain
- 10 Tactical Marines, Plasma Gun, Missile Launcher
- 10 Tactical Marines, Plasma Gun, Missile Launcher
- 5 Veterans
- Rhino
- 10 Scouts, Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks, Missile Launcher
- Venerable Dreadnought
- 5 Ravenwing Bikers
The Game
As per the Scenario, we took it in turns to deploy. The majority of our forces were on one flank, my force setting up opposite his. He had some decent tall terrain, but there was a convenient large building for me to try and get into cover. Our flankers ended up opposite as well, the Ravenwing close to the centre, my Skyweavers opposite them and my Wraithfighter further along that flank. With both armies set up, and me due to go first, Dan rolled to Seize the Initiative and failed.
Round One
My Turn
I had very decent Advance rolls, allowing me to get the majority of my Harlequins up to and behind the large building. The Wave Serpent used it's Star Engines to scream right up to his force, and the Skyweavers claimed the Bastion near the centre. The Wraithfighter moved to the corner and turned to face his army, ready to start strafing runs.
Psychic time, most of my powers were out of range. The Shadowseer used Twilight Pathways on the Solitaire, allowing me to threaten a first turn charge. The Wraithfighter cast Smite and, rolling first an 11 to cast and then a 4 for the Mortal Wounds, killed 2 of the Ravenwing.
My shooting phase was the definition of hit and miss. The Skyweavers and Wave Serpent fired their Shuriken Cannons into the Scouts, only for the shots to bounce off the cover they were in. That was the miss. The Wraithfighter opened up with it's Heavy D-Scythes, and killed 2 more of the Ravenwing. That was the hit.
The Solitaire charged and wounded the Rhino, taking no damage back and locking it in combat. The last of the Ravenwing failed their Morale test and fled the battlefield, taking a large chunk of points and Dark Angel mobility with them. This ended the turn with 4 of my units in the scoring zone, but plenty of time for them to be killed.
His Turn
The Rhino deployed it's cargo then fell back to get out of combat for future turns. The Venerable Dreadnought moved up, the Wave Serpent the target of it's ire this turn. Everything else stayed still, happy with their firing positions.
With no Psyker, we went straight into the shooting phase. One Troupe of Harlequins took heavy casualties and 1 of the Skyweavers was downed. The Wave Serpent weathered the fire against it. Dan's Missile Launchers were ineffective. The Veterans fired at the Solitaire, but it's Impossible Form proved too much for them.
Assault time. The Veterans and Chaplain successfully charged the Solitaire (they were so close, they couldn't fail) and the Dreadnought did the same to the Wave Serpent. The tank's armour managed to stop two of the blows, meaning it only suffered 6 damage.
I then spent 2 Command Points to interrupt with the Solitaire. Agonising about Caressing the Veterans or Kissing the Chaplain, I went for the former and killed 3 of them. Their return attacks with the Chaplain and his re-rolls left the Solitaire on 2 wounds, bloodied, but stymieing them. My units passed their Morale and it was time for Round 2.
Round 2
My Turn
Thank Cegorach for Flip Belts and Rising Crescendo. The Solitaire left the combat it was in, and moved up to menace Azrael himself. The remaining Skyweavers and the now 2 man Troupe went after the Rhino and the Wraithblades disembarked, eyeing up the Dreadnought. The Wave Serpent moved behind the enemy line and the Wraithfighter moved up to start strafing the Scouts.
Psychic phase wasn't great. I managed to get Enhance on the Wraithblades, but the Shadowseer Perilled on her first power, which I avoided with a Command Point (but didn't re-roll into a success) and the Periled again on the second power. Luckily she only suffered 1 Mortal Wound.
Shooting phase, I fired in one Tactical Squad, as the Scouts were going to be too hard to shift, with the Shuriken Cannons. Killed a couple for my trouble. The Wraithfighter I think killed 1 Scout, as the Lion Helm protected them from it's mighty guns. The rest of the army either had no ranged attack or had advanced, so it was onto the charges.
The plan kicked into high gear here. One Troupe charged the Tactical Squad on the far Bastion. The Troupe Master and Shadowseer charged the Chaplain. One Troupe charged the Veterans. The 2 man Troupe and the 2 Skyweavers charged the Rhino. The Wraithblades charged the Veteran Dreadnought and the Solitaire charged Azrael himself.
My chargers struck. The Troupe on the Bastion killed a few of the Tactical Marines, losing only 1 of their number in return. The Troupe Master and Shadowseer wounded but didn't kill the Chaplain, taking nothing back. All but 1 Veteran was killed. The Rhino was surprisingly unharmed.
The Wraithblades annihilated the Dreadnought, which promptly blew up taking one of them with it. The Solitaire brought Azrael down to 3 wounds, before dying to the Sword of Secrets. The Marines that got shot lost a couple more of their number to Morale due to the Mindshock Pod on the Wraithfighter. This left me with 9 units in the scoring zone.
His Turn
With the plan in motion, Dan was under a lot of pressure. If his force didn't mount a decent retaliation, it would soon crumble. The Tactical Marines on the ground moved up to tackle the Wraithblades, the Rhino fled combat again and the Scouts prepared to fire. Azrael moved back to widen the reach of his Chapter Master ability and the Lion Helm. Everything else was locked in combat.
His shooting phase killed a Wraithblade. And that was all the shooting. His Missile Launchers were clearly empty. This lead to a short charge phase where the Tactical Marines charged the Wraithblades.
The Assault phase saw more of the Bastion's Marines die, a bunch of the ground Marines die, the last Veteran die and the Chaplain die. The Mindshock Pod took another Marine to Morale.
Round 3 onward
Here, my notes start to let me down. I basically stopped writing and focused on what was going on, so the turn by turn memory is gone. The final Troupe charged the Marines on the Bastion and helped kill them all. The Troupe Leader and Shadowseer charged Azrael, killing him at the cost of my Warlord. The Skyweaver and 2 man Troupe charge and start making a mess of the scouts, and the Wraithblades killed all but 1 Marine. I know that Marine and the last of the Scouts were finished off in my next turn by Smite, the Marine from the Shadowseer and the last 3 Scouts from the Wraithfighter.
Apologies for not taking better notes.
Army Review
Obviously, the force and the plan worked. A testament to coming up with a solid plan, building an army to carry out the plan and then following it. My opponent's dice helped at times, as did some of my own luck. The Ravenwing shouldn't have died so easily and the Dreadnought should have done more damage, not killing the Wave Serpent or injuring any of the Wraithblades.
Troupe Master
The Choreographer of War trait was really useful, even using the unique campaign Stratagem to extend it's range the turn she died. Luckily, she died after everything else had struck. A good choice for Warlord for this sort of force.
Shadowseer
Having the only Psykers on the table gave me free rein of the phase. Smite was useful, and Twilight Pathways allowed me an early strike with the Solitaire. It was the Shield From Harm trait that was really key. This character is needed for a Harlequin heavy force.
Troupes
Obviously, the only Troops choice in a Harlequins army, they are the recipients of the character's buffs. With 4 attacks each, they are brutally effective in combat for such small numbers. Their weapon options are interesting, I want to experiment more with their load outs.
Solitaire
A decent solo close combat piece, and a great distraction if thrown at the right enemy. I suspect I will often want to find room for one in any Aeldari army. The FAQ has even improved them by adding the <MASQUE> keyword, allowing them to benefit from the Troupe Master and Shadowseer buffs.
Skyweavers
They work best with Shuriken Cannon, as then they can advance, shoot (at -1 to hit) and still charge. The Mirage Launchers and Invulnerable Save help them get to combat. Charging the Rhino was probably a mistake, as they could barely hurt it. Good for hunting smaller characters though.
Wraithblades
These guys are brutal in combat against high toughness, multi-wound models. They are also pretty tough, making Mortal Wounds their bane. I think Axe and Shield is the way to go over twin Swords.
Wave Serpent
For when you have to deliver a unit into the opposing army. This is fast, has decent firepower and can absorb a lot of hits. I must remember to fire the Serpent Shield when it is near the end of it's life though.
Hemlock Wraithfighter
This model is expensive. Over 200 points. That is a lot for 1 model, even with 12 wounds. What you get though...
It moves, fast. It can do a ninety degree turn both before and after it moves to allow you to strafe. It reduces nearby leadership. It is harder to hit with shooting. It is difficult to assault. It doesn't roll to hit. It's weapon is D3 shots, S10, AP-4, D2. It has two of those. It has a 6+ save against all wounds suffered.
Did I mention it is a Psyker? Being able to Smite or cast your chosen Warlock powers is the delicious cherry on this already quite excessive seeming cake. It's is worth all of it's points. Every last one.
Final Thoughts
As my next post will show, I'm not done with the Aeldari yet. I don't even own the variety of units I want yet. However, I really should start looking at the Astra Militarum. Guess time will show what I've played.
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