2k Eldar vs Ork Skirmish.

I spent a lot of time trying to place my terrain pieces in the center to slow the horde down as much as possible; when I lost the option to pick a starting position I realized just how scarce my cover was going to be. I wanted to protect myself from the defcoptas so I made a cover shield with the Harleys and put some scorpions out as bait. Harry has a tendency to kamikaze his coptas into taking out the biggest thing possible, and with his scout move and him going first, I wanted to bring everything in tight. The tanks in the back, the reavers behind cover, the monsters blocking them and the tanks, and the giant harley wall for the avengers. The scorpions where all dead by turn 2 (with my sorry rolls) but put 6 wounds on the copta squad and held them into position for the Dark Reapers on my second shooting phase. The Death Jester managed to pin a unit of bikes and the WraithLord took out the Ork Wagon all on turn 1, we had to cut this short after aggroing my wife. I need to learn a snare or debuff for when I grab that hate. 2k rescheduled for Saturday, time to revamp my list.

Dire Avenger Grenades?

Dire Avengers at about 85%. I need to retouch the faces, base them properly, and add the accessories. I washed the red a shade darker to create a distinct difference between the Dire Avengers and the Guardians; I think the color turned out rather well. One thing that rather irritates me here are the grenade packs and Predator style over the shoulder laser gun bits that are included. I wish these guys had grenades or some sweet shoulder gun in the codex; I almost don’t want to attach them because it’s unsupported altogether. I am still working on the banner for the Exarch but frankly, I am not sure what to do with it. A fatty Altansar logo for sure, but these guys are too pimp to leave it at that.

Practice: Eldar vs Chaos Space Marines

The practice game was mediocre at best. I stole all the 6’s leaving only 1’s for Larry’s dice for the first two entire turns making the match one sided from the get go and ruining any chance of really seeing either lists potential. My first turn immobilized a Rhino, destroyed the Defiler, and killed 3/5 of the Havoc team, not to mention put my units in a strategic position for the rest of the game. Larry’s turn was shortchanged when his left over Havoc shot a 14 at my Falcon and rolled a 6 (Destroyed – Explodes) on the chart but was quickly disregarded for a 2 (Crew – Stunned) due to the Holo-Field upgrade, and that was reverted to “Crew Shaken” because of Spirit Stones. His Dreadnought refused to cooperate four turns in a row creating unnecessary casualties, the Demon Prince never showed, and even the Terminators did not come out until the fourth turn. The other highlights where my harlequins being spanked by Possessed, a really badly placed Fire Dragon squad being stomped by Berzerkers, and me finally realizing what the fuss over terminators is all about. So what did I learn? Vehicle upgrades are worth it, Dire Avengers are better than I had imagined, and I need some sort of visual markers to keep from forgetting Doom and Fortune.

-BAX-

The List: 1.1

As far as my list goes I feel solid over the three heavy choices (Falcon, Wraithlord, Dark Reapers), and the two troop choices (Dire Avengers, Pathfinders), but the rest is negotiable. The Harlequins are exceptional but do they fill the slot better than Scorpions or Banshees? I am honestly not so sure, they have better survivability but the attention is on the immediate threat of the heavy’s. The Fire dragons seem great for anti heavy but I have yet to actually use/need them in any game with the rest of my list more than compensating for their role. I think I will swap them out for a fast attack unit to harass and dwindle while casting dispersions elsewhere. Swooping Hawks actually sound like a great antimob unit with the added bonus of tank stunner but their effectiveness seems somewhat shabby. Warp Spiders always have me feeling as if I am simply not clever enough to use them properly, and Vypers just sound too cheesy/glass to add to this heavy list. I think the Avatar is awesome but it may be unnecessary serving as a minor distraction at the most while my heavy’s seem to be the major focus. A few people refer to the Avatar as a great unit to simply suck up attacks and inspire core choices, which is great, but not if all the commotion is on the heavy’s. The Farseer is great, Doom and Fortune are must haves but I am worried I will face the same problem in fantasy with High Elves that I do here. I always take Teclis, or a generic High Elf Mage to fulfill a support role and never feel satisfied with the use of points. The mages are never in the right place or have to decide which unit to save while another dies and I am constantly worrying about how to best use them. I think the Eldar Farseers are better than High Elf Mages, Doom alone seems completely absurd and the potential makes it more than relevant if not a requirement.

1500 Pts - Eldar Roster - Altansar

HQ: Avatar (1#, 155 Pts)
1 Avatar @ 155 Pts
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Fearless; Deamon; Inspiring; Molten Body; Wailing Doom (WD)

HQ: Farseer (1#, 188 Pts)
1 Farseer @ 188 Pts
Psyker; Doom ; Eldritch Storm ; Fortune ; Mind War ; Fleet; Ghost Helm (GH); Rune Armour (RAmr); Runes of Warding (RofWard); Spirit Stones (P:SpStn); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Singing Spear (SSpr)

Elite: Fire Dragons (5#, 105 Pts)
4 Fire Dragons @ 105 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [41] Pts
Fleet; Crack Shot (CS); Firepike; Melta Bombs

Elite: Harlequin Troupe (7#, 206 Pts)
5 Harlequin Troupe @ 206 Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Harlequins Kiss (Hkiss) (x5); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Shuriken Pistol (x3); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Death Jester @ [28] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Harlequin Shrieker Cannon (HSC); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Shadow Seer @ [48] Pts
Psyker; Veil Of Tears ; Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Hallucinogen Grenades

Troops: Pathfinders (Rangers) (5#, 120 Pts)
5 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 120 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x5); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

Troops: Dire Avengers (10#, 162 Pts)
9 Dire Avengers @ 162 Pts
Fleet; Avenger S-Catapult (ASC)
1 Dire Avenger Exarch @ [54] Pts
Fleet; Bladestorm (BS); Power Weapon; Shimmershield (Sshld)
1 Shimmershield @ [0] Pts

Heavy Support: Dark Reapers (5#, 197 Pts)
4 Dark Reapers @ 197 Pts
Reaper Launcher (RL)
1 Dark Reaper Exarch @ [57] Pts
Crack Shot (CS); Reaper Launcher (RL)

Heavy Support: Falcon (1#, 215 Pts)
1 Falcon @ 215 Pts
Holo-Field (Vehicle) (H-F); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); Vectored Engines (VE); Starcannon (StrCan); Shuriken Cannon (SCan); Pulse Laser (PL)

Heavy Support: Wraithlord (1#, 150 Pts)
1 Wraithlord @ 150 Pts
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Fearless; WraithSight; Flamer (x2); Bright Lance (BL); Scatter Laser (SctL)

Total Roster Cost: 1498

Dire Avengers

Things are moving right along, I was able to finish the Blood Red primer, Blood Red/Water coat, and black detailing of the middle Dire Avengers. I started on the heads and arms but I could not help start a Dark Reaper just to break the monotony. I was hoping to have the heads on at least for today's game but oh well.

Cool Kids

Do you know what the cool kids do on Friday nights? We put together and paint models.

A Chaos defiler was built (Larry), an Ork wagon was started (Harry), and my Altansar Dire Avengers are in progress.

Things are coming together as we talk smack and prepare for our Monday game. 1500 Eldar vs Chaos Space Marines coming soon.

-BAX-

On The Table

Next up Dire Avengers.

Begi

My Eldar: Altansar Guardians are somewhat complete. I plan to redo the bases and perhaps change the grass color; the bright green contrasts miserably with the red, black, and silver color scheme. Perhaps a simple black rock of a barren wasteland would fit better.