To the games!
My list:
HQ: Shas'El Commander with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Target Lock, HW- Blacksun Filter HW-Mulitracker 95
Elites: Crisis Team: 1 XV8 Team Leader with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer and HW-Drone Controller and 2 Gun Drones, 2 XV8s with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer 166
Elites: Crisis Team: 1 XV8 Team Leader with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer and HW-Drone Controller and 2 Gun Drones, 2 XV8s with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer 166
Elites: Crisis Team: 1 XV8 Team Leader with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer and HW-Drone Controller and 2 Gun Drones, 2 XV8s with Twin-Linked Missile Pod, Flamer 166
Troops: 6 Fire Warriors 60
Troops: 6 Fire Warriors 60
Troops: 10 Kroot, 3 Kroot Hounds 88
Troops: 10 Kroot, 3 Kroot Hounds 88
Fast Attack: 4 Pathfinders, Devilfish with Disruption Pod 133
Fast Attack: 4 Pathfinders, Devilfish with Disruption Pod 133
Fast Attack: 3 Piranhas with Fusion Blasters 195
Heavy Support: Broadside Team, 1 XV88 Team Leader with Advanced Stab. System, HW-Target Lock, HW-Drone Controller with 2 Shield Drones, 1 XV88 with Advanced Stab. System 200
Heavy Support: Broadside Team, 1 XV88 Team Leader with Advanced Stab. System, HW-Drone Controller with 1 Shield Drone 100
Heavy Support: Broadside Team, 1 XV88 Team Leader with Advanced Stab. System, HW-Drone Controller with 1 Shield Drone 100
Total pts: 1750
To my delight, the first game I was matched up against the infamous Fritz from Way of Saim Hann and his Harlequin troupe. Fritz was running Eldrad, 3 wraithlords, 3 units of 10 harlies with kisses and a couple fusion pistols, 2 units of 5 rangers and that's it. Small and compact. The mission was 3 objectives, which are placed by the players, after deployment, anywhere on the table and then scatter. Fritz deployed a little castle in his corner and I set up aggressively in my corner, with Kroot Infiltrating into a forest near the Harlies. Fritz won the roll-off and placed 2 objectives along his table edge 6 inches apart and then rolled scatter but he rolled hits for placement. I placed my objective in my quarter and it didn't scatter.
With my objective safe, I had to come at Fritz to knock him off his objectives to win. Without a strong assault element, any army has a difficult time knocking Eldar Rangers with a 2+ cover save, rerollable from fortune off of objectives. In hindsight, it would have been best to deep strike some suits down to roast those pansies with flamers.
Looking at the mission and the way Fritz was able to place his objectives 6 inches apart along his long edge, you can see how winning the die-roll for placing objectives can give you an advantage before the game starts in this mission. This was one of the few things wrong with this tournament, as 2 missions essentially coming down to a single die-roll.
Turn 1 starts and the first dice are rolled. Fritz sits back, taking pot-shots at my with his Wraithlords and Death Jesters. Fritz can win this game by simply holding me off his objectives; He had 2 units of rangers sitting on his home objectives and Eldrad pumping them with fortune each turn. That's a 2+ cover save, re-rollable...if only I had deployed my pathfinders closer. They ended up spending the game inching forward to get in range with their 'lights. From turn 1, it's clear Fritz isn't going to come to me. Time to charge up the jetpacks!
My army advances, unleashing a hail of fire but my shooting was greatly reduced as I had very few targets. The Harlequins were for the most part out of sight, and the rangers had a 2+ re-rollable cover save so his Wraithlords were my only targets. My broadsides drop a wraithlord per turn and at the end of turn 3, these slender giants are extinct from the board.
As I move, Fritz is able to pin my suits and kroot with a Death Jester's cannon a couple times, holding off their advance. The poor Tau leadership turns out to be a running theme in this tournament as you'll see in the upcoming reports.
Fritz was able to destroy my Kroot and fry my fish with Fusion pistols, only to make short work of the Fire Warriors in the assault. My retaliation attacks from suits, however, were not as effective because they were getting pinned left and right.
With my advancing troops gone and his army largely intact, this would come down to Fritz's old turn 5 tactics of contesting objectives. I scoot a piranha on one objective and a piranha on another. But the game continues to turn 6, and he fights back killing the drones, but failing on my piranha. Turn 6, his rangers hold done objective, my Devilfish on the other side of the board hold another, my Piranha contests his second. The game is a draw.
Great game, Fritz!
My army advances, unleashing a hail of fire but my shooting was greatly reduced as I had very few targets. The Harlequins were for the most part out of sight, and the rangers had a 2+ re-rollable cover save so his Wraithlords were my only targets. My broadsides drop a wraithlord per turn and at the end of turn 3, these slender giants are extinct from the board.
It's quite a different thing to have to take ground as a Tau Commander and with Harlies getting their fleet roll it was difficult for me to judge assault distances. As I close, I stick with the usual Tau blocking tactics, sending out Kroot and Drones to speed bump his harlequins. They take the bait. Almost too well though.
As I move, Fritz is able to pin my suits and kroot with a Death Jester's cannon a couple times, holding off their advance. The poor Tau leadership turns out to be a running theme in this tournament as you'll see in the upcoming reports.
Fritz was able to destroy my Kroot and fry my fish with Fusion pistols, only to make short work of the Fire Warriors in the assault. My retaliation attacks from suits, however, were not as effective because they were getting pinned left and right.
With my advancing troops gone and his army largely intact, this would come down to Fritz's old turn 5 tactics of contesting objectives. I scoot a piranha on one objective and a piranha on another. But the game continues to turn 6, and he fights back killing the drones, but failing on my piranha. Turn 6, his rangers hold done objective, my Devilfish on the other side of the board hold another, my Piranha contests his second. The game is a draw.
Great game, Fritz!
4 comments:
Terrific report - really didn't need photos, as the tactics were clear. Getting Pathfinders or flamers in range would really have ruined his day - with those two troops gone, Fritz would have had to come after you instead.
Actually that sounds like an awful game. I don't blame Fritz for playing the way he did, because it was a tournament, but the mission was really against you.
There was nothing you could do except speed your tanks to contest his objectives in your Turn 5 and then pray for the game to end on Turn 5.
Sounds like a good game, even with a crappy mission. I don't get why so many tourneys insist on really weird objectives. I have more fun playing missions out of the book honnestly.
What about your pathfinders? 4 shots hitting on average would have bumped that cover up to a 6+ against one target. Then just hit em with a missile pod team, should have done 3-4 wounds without too much trouble.
More then anything else I'm glad I got to play OSH regardless of the "odd" missions at the tourney. Of course with a tie this just means I nead to head down to his neck of the woods for a tournament and a rematch!
Pretty much it all came down to who won the objective placement roll for this mission, and if the table actually had cover on it, any cover maybe my WL's could have lasted a bit longer to take things down so it wouldn't be a tie.
IF OSH had won the roll off my plan was to then advance with the clowns to try and punch through and then try to resort to pinning and LD checks to try and force the troops off his objectives failing that, and what a sad strategy at that, but what else could I do?
You also know things are bad when you are assaulting anything with pathfinders, and when pathfinders are winning the assault against anything even Tau gun drones! LOL!
It was good you didn't deepstrike your suits in, I was baiting on that based on how I set up. Flamers do wreck pathfinders and I use this when I see it. Deploy and leave them open, then ring the clows around them so you can't land close enough to get them- fortune the clowns for that 5+ invul reroll for when they take the flames, and then pounce next turn. Would have been just sacrificing suits for nothing.
That said, definetly time for me to bring a "hard" WAAC army to these events- have some Tyranid stuff in the works since everybody else is spamming BA and SW stuff. Guys just not respecting the fluff of the clowns anymore...
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