...or, the dice do some terrible things to Jon.
I played the Hybridized Eldar v1 .
His list looked about like...
Command Squad
>Creed
>Astropath
>Grenade launcher or two
>Carapace Armor
Chimera w/ multi-laser, heavy flamer
DH Inquisitor, Psychic Hood, 3 Mystics
10 vets w/ camo cloaks, 3x sniper rifles
10 vets w/ camo cloaks, 3x sniper rifles
10 vets w/ 3x meltaguns, carapace armor (I think), multilaser/heavy flamer chimera
10 vets w/ 3x meltaguns, carapace armor (I think), multilaser/heavy flamer chimera
10 vets w/ 3x meltaguns, meltabombs, demo charge
Vendetta
Vendetta w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
Banewolf w/ Multi-melta
Leman Russ
Leman Russ w/ Lascannon
I believe that was it for 1850.
Game's table quarters, seize ground. Objective in my quadrant near middle, objective in his quadrant, objective in middle, objective in an adjacent quadrant.
His plan starts out with the vet snipers on the table, the inquisitor in a building out of LOS*, and everything in reserve. In part, this is because I've got a LOT of anti-tank and he has crap for cover, and I've got first turn.
*I'll later make an ass out of myself, pick up the terrain, and tip the forge-world conversion inquisitor out onto the table, thinking 'oh, there's just maybe a sniper in there.' Go me...
I kill...maybe one, two guys? Freaking camo-cloaks. I'm given a lesson of what it's like to try to dislodge Rangers with gunfire. Just doesn't fly well. In addition, Eldrad gets off...no psychic powers on turn one.
Then his dice proceed to flip him the bird. Turn two...I've seen this song. He gets...a Russ, and a Banewolf, and a Chimera in. My wraithguard take one look at the wolf, and decide it has to die. It gets 12" in, and turns into a burning cover save for a Russ.
Past that...well, I somehow managed to blow apart any vehicle I scored a penetrating hit on (aside from the Vendetta hauling vets; I blew off a lascannon and stunned it, so it flew up and threatened my army. Wraithguard got Guide, and blew it to hell.). It had to be gakking demoralizing...Vendetta shows up, and bags the one Fire Prism I lost for the game. The other Vendetta showed up and nuked the Wraithlord to death, since Mr. Big 'n' Tall can't really hide for shit against a Valk.
In the end, I won when it should've been a tie, as Jon brain-farted and didn't last-minute contest with the command squad. Wraithguard firmly controlled both of my objectives (as my Rangers managed to break and pretty much run straight off the table, even though they had more than half the squad left). Avatar's doing a pretty convincing job of contesting his non-home objective, and he's got snipers I've yet to dislodge.
Lessons
-Sometimes when the dice say 'BOHICA' there's not a lot you can do. I'm just kind of waiting for my turn on the other end, but when one guy has hot dice and the other has cold dice, there's only so much you can do
-Creed in a mech list isn't BAD, but probably not worth his points. The command radius was nice, but I think it's something that could've been achieved cheaper
-"For the honor of Cadia!" CAN be used to hold something in place, like an Avatar. 10 fearless bodies against someone that isn't cranking out a lot of attacks means he's going nowhere. Could buy you time.
-Camo-cloak troops are a PAIN IN THE ASS. In retrospect, though, I think bringing a heavy weapon to compliment the sniper rifles (or in place of) would've worked out better.
-Vendettas are MURDER on monstrous creatures. I'm not sure there's really ANY kind of way to get a save against lascannons firing on you from 10-12" above the board, especially with Wraithlords.
-I think if I'm going with massed outflanking, I'd probably just go double command squad and double astropath JUST to be sure, though that doesn't prevent a horde of 1's on turn 2
-Vendettas/Valks are immune to the above, since their speed (and RANGE on the Vendetta...) mean it can always engage, and get troops there.
-If the enemy has something worth hitting with a Banewolf (IE, Terminators, Wraithguard...anything like that) either multiples come, or it all gets nuked. I think I'd've worried about it more if it'd been a Russ, since a Banewolf with a multi-melta is just on-par with a Russ in terms of points
-The Russ is still capable against lots of things...I think the Vanilla Russ, with perhaps heavy bolter sponsons, is capable of engaging AV10-12/13 vehicles, infantry, AND monstrous creatures alike. (Other than Wraithlords, but come on, T8 makes them the exception to so much...)
Thoughts on Jon's Army
I would worry more...
-If Kell got dumped for more breathing room...I mean, the guy's almost a vet squad in and of himself. He could put a Vet Squad over in the other Vendetta.
-Heavy weapons in the camo-cloak vets. BS4 autocannons or lascannons would be a bitch to dislodge.
-A third Russ (in lieu of the Banewolf) would be nasty. I think Banewolves need to come in multiples or not at all. I think that goes for the Hellhound spot in general. They're just too potentially nasty to really leave alive.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I think these two Eldar wins are decidely 'dicey' - if you'll excuse the pun! I can't understand why your opponent hasn't taken Mortars? They so cheap and riduculously effective in numbers. 3 mortar teams can ping up to 16 hits against snipers and the like... Their range and indirect makes them all but immune to the enemy and any elites that could threaten them (i'm thinking WarpSpiders or WarWalkers here) really shouldn't be attacking something else.
They're also no longer Guess range - so you just roll to hit with scatter. The barrage rule does mean its either ALL hits or ALL misses - but when its hits, these boys put odwn too many saving throws to counter (even against pathfinders)
The Banewolf looks a waste of space. I'm keener on taking 3 Hellhounds - mainly because I face Nids/Guard/Eldar/Tau more than Smurfs and three hellhounds are pricey, but are one of the few things that'll guarantee to pull fire away from your Leman Russ' and Vendettas.
Now to remorgage the house (and finish two armies first!)
Nah, these wins have definitely been dice-influenced. I mean, we all like to win, but I have to admit I've grumbled a bit because the dice have been a MAJOR swing factor, and I'm trying to get a good feel for how the army works (or doesn't.)
In my opponent's defense, I can say he's getting used to guard, as I've been his primary opponent since the new 'dex came out and his old Ork dice apparently protest vehemently to the guard...
As for the Banewolf...I think at the end of the day, with a hull-mounted weapon you can get any of the Hellhound family to be a nasty multi-role platform, but they need numbers. Also, the Banewolf only beats out the other two when it comes to the gun at point blank and only against certain types of enemies. Hellhounds don't worry so much about immobilized, and Devil Dogs double as heavy infantry hunters at range.
Post a Comment