Another Crusade of Fire game day that I'm playing in at Drawbridge Games. There must be something in the air, because a lot of folks are getting back into the 40k hobby suddenly. Including my opponent for this match. Jeff brought his Ultramarines out of the cryo-sleep of a long warp trip and right to the tabletop.
I absolutely love the mix of older and newer models. Look at these squads! Especially the Sergeants with the proper back banners!
Before I get on to the game, time again for my painting progress. For the game I added one new model (another D-Cannon Engine of Vaul support weapon), and brought one model I've not displayed before.
Rogue Trader Era Eldar Musician, converted to be my Autarch in a Banshee Mask with a Fusion Gun.
Did I mention my love of older models? This might be the oldest in my collection, though I gained it relatively recently in a trade with a friend. Back in the day, 40k Eldar had musicians. This guy has a series of wraithbone pipes on his back, like some combination pipe-organ/bagpipes head and back gear. I thought it made sense to make it a Banshee mask character, so I gave him a gun and painted him up.
A third D-Cannon to complete the set.
Because Jeff is just getting back into the hobby, we went with pretty straight-forward lists for our clash using 1,000 points each. The battle was a regular one with objectives and diagonal deployment zones.
The Ultramarine scouting party arrived on the ruined planet of Junkatta in force, unloading two full Tactical Squads, a Devastator Squad, and a Predator Annihilator bristling with lascannons. Above them in the Strike Cruiser waited a terminator assault squad led by their company Captain.
Their initial probes located various xenos signatures in the ruins ahead. The near absence of the signals meant that it could only be the Eldar. Tau and Orks were not that stealthy, and Necrons and Tyranids don't bother to hide their signals. Aerial support photos revealed a group of the lithe Eldar warriors clustered around a battery of support weapons. The D-Cannons were being guarded by a group of Dire Avengers and a group of Guardians.
As the Ultramarines advanced, they realized that there were infiltrators on both of their flanks. On the left flank waited six Eldar Rangers, only the glint of their range-finders revealing their camouflaged position.
On the right flank lurked a unit of Striking Scorpions, hiding behind a ruined wall with their deadly chainswords at the ready.
Once they made visual battlefield contact with the enemy, the Ultramarines charged forward--unleashing a hail of withering fire as they went. Their bolter shots found and felled two of the Striking Scorpions before they even left cover.
The initial optimism of the Ultramarines was lost when the Striking Scorpions retaliated. Their deadly shuriken pistols sliced one battle brother down, and another followed suit to the hail of micro-laser shards from their mandiblasters. The Exarch of the Striking Scorpions inflicted even more wounds, his deadly claw tearing open suits of power armor like tin cans. Yet the morale of the line held, allowing their battle brothers to join them in repelling the Eldar foe.
With the tactical situation clarified, the Captain watching from the ship orbiting above set coordinates for the Assault Terminator squad to deepstrike and attack. With a crackle of energy the Terminators arrived at the dead center of the conflict.
The Eldar Guardians reacted quickly, leaving the safety behind the tall wall in order to fire upon the new arrivals. Their shuriken catapults cut down two of the terminators in a sudden burst--however they were dreadfully exposed to the terminators' retaliation.
Meanwhile, the remaining Striking Scorpions fled from the Ultramarines--their advantage in swiftness and speed was outmatched by the sheer numbers of the Space Marines.
The deadly hail of shuriken fire continued from both sides, with the Dire Avengers adding the weight of their volleys to the firing. Only the Space Marine Captain survived the hail of their fire, despite taking wounds from the weapons himself. The Dire Avengers, convinced they could finish him in close combat charged in, only to find him far too sturdy. He shrugged off their attacks with his toughness and terminator armor. However, he spent two full turns of attacking to no result against the Dire Avengers--his own attacks missing completely. Finally, he was joined by a group of Tactical Marines which finished off the few Eldar.
At this point, the numbers of the Eldar were dwindling. The Space Marines kept up relentless fire, continuing to shred their foes. At one point the Devastator squad's Lascannon-carrying member spotted movement in the distant ruins and let off a shot: it proved to be the Eldar Autarch. The bolt of powerful laser fire cut through his personal reflective field and set him aflame--killing him instantly.
The Predator rolled across the battlefield to engage the enemy D-Cannons. While it was immobilized by their counter-fire, it finally managed to destroy each of the weapons with precision Lascannon bursts.
All that remained for the Eldar were the six Rangers. While their fire had taken its toll on the Devastator Squad, they were unable to secure any objectives that mattered--even when they rushed forward at the end of the battle. The Rangers, knowing the battle was lost to the Ultramarines, slipped off under the cover of the ruins. The Ultramarine Captain, wounded and covered in plascrete dust from the battle, realized that their intel would help the Eldar strike back. Yet it was a well-fought rout of the xenos forces, and a win for the Crusade of Fire in purging the system of their menace.
Overall a great game. Jeff was a fun opponent, and I loved seeing his force. Such classic elegance of the big blocks of Space Marines plus a Predator as opponents. The classics are classics for a reason. The game ended with the Ultramarines scoring four victory points, and my Eldar registering zero. Ouch! The Eldar no doubt are planning some greater strategy: pulling the Ultramarines to this planet no doubt left another spot open for Eldar schemes to be advanced. That's the joy of Eldar: win or lose, it's all just a part of the broader tapestry of the fates. I'm excited for another game against Jeff and these Ultramarine foes!
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