The Green Oorookiagoths

"Any chance of some faction names we can pronounce? Please don't change Orks" asked a fan on the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page.

The reply? 

"You mean, the green Oorookiagoths?" quipped Games Workshop to a multitude of likes. Including my own giggle.

The question was asked in response to the latest faction focus issues today -- on the Dark Eldar. Or as they seem to be calling themselves this week, the Drukhari. Drunk Hairs? Or something like that at any rate.

I get it. At least at an intellectual property (IP) level. 

To ensure that copyright is enforceable, one has to have an identifiable and unique name. Space Elves don't cut it. Neither does Space Marine. Adeptus Astartes, yes -- that is enforceable IP. Eldar. Well, I would have thought that that would be an enforceable name myself. So why change? I'm not sure. Its clear that Drukhari is a word that has never been used before, and therefore is eminently more enforceable though. I'm reminded of when Games Workshop changes all their paints. Gone was Skull White to be replaced by Corax White. And so forth.

The other item of recent news is the deep strike rules. Looks like you can come in to play on any movement phase after the first so long as you stay 9" or more away from an enemy. And no scatter either. I'm a little disappointed by the lack of scatter (or perhaps they're just withholding the full description of competitive play, but I doubt it). It has been such an iconic part of teleportation for a long time and the ways of minimising it (folks on the ground with chaos icons and so forth) have been integral parts of many army builds for a long time. How this will all pan out, I don't know, but I'm willing to wait and see at least. 

Just let's not start re-naming Orks. Okay?

Warhammer World: Eldar Cabinets

These images contain miniatures from all aspects of Eldar (no pun intended), including Dark Eldar, Harlequins and the Craft World Eldar themselves. Although I've not got any snaps of aspect warriors, these miniatures are representative of the resplendent painting schemes that are to be found in the cabinets around the major displays of the halls of Warhammer World.

BAO Tournament: First round, Dark Eldar vs. Grey Knights and Tau

Hi all, Eldrad Vect here, it's been a while and I've had a busy year so far but I'm back and blogging about our gaming groups latest tournament campaign thing. Its based off the Bay Area Open rules pack with a funky points handicap system that grants extra points to list comped weak by the other players. I'll be blogging my games from the campaign with some 'narrative forging' to give comprehensive battle reports on the carnage caused by my Dark Heart Kabal. I shall also be posting the standings for each round of the tournament too.

"It was cold, colder than usual upon the planet, Kazarai Dodechius. Mist hung in the morning air and thin rimes of frost clung to the Paladin's Terminator Armour as they marched behind their Grand Master. Faint rays of light began to creep along the horizon and the only sound that could be heard was the thump of boots and quite hum of Tau battlesuits. "Are you sure their were Daemons here Fireblade?" questioned the Grand Master, but before the Tau leader could respond great beams of darklight tore through the trees.
"Worse than Deamons," responded the Fireblade "denizens of the Dark City"...

Ok, the army lists.

Dark Eldar 1850 pts (with extra 50 pts)
HQ
Lelith Hesperax   175 pts
Baroness Katteryna (Baron Sathonyx)   105 pts
TROOPS
10x Wyches with Raider   250 pts
12x Hellions  237 pts
10x Kabalite Warriors with Raider  190 pts
7x Kabalite Warriors  63 pts
ELITES
4x Grotesques with Raider   260 pts
5x Hekatrix Bloodbrides with Venom   150 pts
HEAVY SUPPORT
1x Ravager  130 pts
1x Cronos Parasite Engine  110 pts
1x Voidraven Bomber   230 pts
 TOTAL: 1900 Points

Grey Knights with Tau Allies 1850 pts
HQ
Grand Master Draigo   270 pts 
Tau Fireblade 84 pts
TROOPS
10x Paladins    735 pts
5x Terminators   235 pts
12x Fire Warriors  142 pts
ELITES
1x Dreadnought  135 pts
HEAVY SUPPORT
3x Broadside Battlesuits   243 pts
TOTAL: 1849 Points

First Round, Deployment: Dawn of War, Missions: Emperor's Will and Crusade (three objectives for Crusade placed within three inches of the centre line).

Deployment Phase:
The Grey Knights had the advantage of setting up first, having already been on the planet and prepared for combat. Only one squad benefited from Draigo's Grand Strategy special rule and scouted forwards. The Dark Heart Kabal deployed as far away from the big guns of the Dreadnought and Broadsides could reach and the benefits of Night Fighting as well as the Dark Eldar vehicles Night Shields meant that in the position they were in nothing could touch them. Fire Warriors deployed entrenched is ruins whilst Terminators and Paladins deployed out in the open with all the hubris of the Grey Knights they were. Kabalites and Hellions cowered behind tall ruins. the only adventurous deployment by my Dark Eldar came with the Bloodbrides and their Venom deploying behind a large piece of terrain and thus out of sight from the Broadsides.

I do apologise for the terrible quality of the pic, but I have since then upgraded my phone with a better camera... I'm on the left and my opponent on the right, when I make references to placement of things it'll be from my perspective on the left. Emperor's Will objectives are where the Fire Warriors are and at the big piece of terrain at the top of the board where my vehicles are.

Turn 1:
Grey Knights turn.
The Grey Knights strode up the field with little regard for the enemy, the Paladins moved on an angle matching the trees and the Terminators moved into the craters with an amazing move through cover roll of 6 and then a run roll of 6 too, aiming to hold the right Crusade objective. Everyone else stayed more or less in the same spot. In the shooting phase the Broadsides took aim at the Cronos, being the only thing in range, but due to some ridiculous cover save rolls the Cronos only took a single wound.

Dark Eldar turn.
Engines screeched as the Raiders moved and with the aid of Enhanced Aethersails they covered most of the board in a single move, entering the enemy deployment zone and planning to creep up the flanks. The Cronos rolled and abysmal 4 when moving through cover and a 2 when it attempted to run. The Ravager opened fire on the Paladins but poor luck on the Ravagers part and divine intervention of the dice gods on the part of the Grey Knights meant that only a single wound was taken. The Venom had similar luck as it only managed to kill a single Shield Drone from the Broadside squad. Also the Hellions and Baroness took and held the left Crusade objective which resulted in an early lead for the Dark Eldar.

End of Turn 1. Once again, sorry it's really blurry, but the basic shapes and positions are still there...

Turn 2:
Grey Knights turn.
This was a good turn for the Knights, the Paladins moved behind cover to avoid being a target for the Ravager and the Terminators continued to march towards the objective. As you'd expect all the Tau and the Psyfleman Dread stood still the get off there maximum shooting potential. The Fire Warriors and Dreadnought torn through the Cronos with a torrent of firepower, after the terrible shooting of the Dread it was the Fire Warriors who delivered the death blow to the foul creature. The Broadsides claimed their first victim of the game by blowing up the Wych squad's Raider, luckily the resultant explosion only killed a handful of Wyches. But the most horrifying thing this turn was the Paladins and Terminators decimation of the Bloodbrides and their Venom, wiping them from the board with a hail of bolts.

Dark Eldar turn.
After the considerable losses inflicted by some great shooting from the Grey Knights and Tau, the Dark Eldar had to do something considerably epic, hence the action taken by Lelith Hesperax's personally Raider which was to penetrate the opponent's back line as fast as possible and that is just what she and her squad did. With brilliant positioning, the Ravager traced a clear line of sight to the Paladins whilst being completely hidden from the Broadsides and Dreadnought, it managed to inflict 2 wounds killing the Paladin it had failed to last turn. The remaining Wyches moved inconspicuously toward the central-most objective through cover. The Kabalite Raider followed slowly behind Lelith's laying down firepower as the Splinter Cannon wielding Kabalite slew a Fire Warrior at range. The Voidraven failed to come on this turn as well adding even more desperation to the Dark Eldar efforts.

End of Turn 2. This pic is a little clearer and boy did Lelith's raider move far...

 Turn 3:
Grey Knights turn.
Frantic, the Fire Warriors, Dreadnought and Broadsides turned all their guns on Lelith's raider. As the Paladins and Terminators continued, undeterred, up the field towards the Dark Eldar deployment zone and to get greater cover from the horrendous guns of the Ravager. The Broadsides made short work of the Raider, blowing it up and injuring one Grotesque in the resultant explosion. But it wasn't over yet for the Grotesques as the Fire Warriors and Dreadnought unloaded into them. Thanks to the Fireblade's Special Rule Volley Fire, the Fire Warrior let off an ungodly 30 shots into the Grotesque, but because of there incredible resilience only two Grotesques were slain. The Dreadnought however was not as lucky, failing three of it's to hit rolls, even with the re-rolls for Twin-Linked and the one shot that did hit home was saved by the Abberation's Feel No Pain.

I can see where this is going...

Dark Eldar Turn.
After surviving Tau firepower, Lelith and her Grotesques were keen to spill blood. The Kabalite Raider continued to creep up the flanks and the Wyches speed towards the central objective under the cover of large rocks. This was a most devastating turn for the Grey Knights as the Voidraven Bomber came in from reserve. It flew over the Paladins, dropping it's Void Mine in it's wake, vanquishing three Paladins in its blast. Not only did it slaughter Paladins, but it abolished the Broadsides with a flurry of incredibly accurate Implosion Missiles leaving only a single Broadside and a Drone standing. The bloodbath wasn't over yet, the Kabalite Raider fired its Dark Lance and with a lucky shot blew it up, that wasn't all however the blast radius of the explosion hit all but one member of the Fire Warrior squad and slew some drones and Fire Warriors. Lelith threw a Plasma Grenade into the unprotected Tau killing five of them and the Liquifer Gun wielded by a Grotesque rolled an AP of 3 with resulted in a further four Fire Warriors destroyed. Not content with crippling Lelith and her squad moved in for the kill, assaulting the remaining drones and Fireblade. Lelith ravaged the Fireblade in a challenge as did the Grotesques as they smashed drones, by the end of the turn nothing was left of them.

Lelith and Fireblade locked in a brutal (and rather one-sided) Melee.

End of Turn 3... 

Turn 4, 5 and 6.
Grey Knights turns.
Predominantly, for the next three turns the Paladins pretty much U-turned to try and get to the enemies at the other end of the board, this left them pretty much useless for a few rounds doing nothing but locking the Voidraven's velocity with Psycannon shots they also in Turn 6 finally destroyed the Ravager which had been foolishly moved too close to the Paladins. Only the Grey Knights themselves were still standing at the end. Draigo also called Lelith out for single combat which was more for fun than actual strategic advantage since I was holding two of the Crusade objectives and at the end of turn 6, both Emperor's Will ones. This combat last two rounds until of course Draigo Instant Deathed my poor Lelith Hesperax.

Lelith and Draigo's epic combat...

Dark Eldar turns.
Purely moving towards objectives and futilely trying to kill Grey Knights. The Kabalite managed to bring Draigo to one wound in a single round of shooting after he had slain Lelith and the Voidraven and Grotesque crushed the remaining Broadside and co. in turn 4. Probably the most exciting thing that happened was the objective the Hellions had been holding since Turn 1, which was also sabotaged, blew up and killed a Hellion.

Overview
All up it was a really fun game that could have really gone either way at many points of the game. I could have been a bit more brazen with the Bloodbride but lesson for next time. and my Cronos' placement was horrible too. Also my Voidraven actually did something for once, not scattering a single missile blast template and it was really effective against the Paladins, most definitely the Unit of the Match, at least on my side that is.

Tournament Standings after Round 1 (still need to find out the names of each army):
1st: Dark Heart Kabal (Dark Eldar)
2nd: Reavers (Ultramarine CT)
3rd: Tyranid
4th: Salamanders
Joint 5th: Blood Ravens (Raven Guard CT), Necrons, Grey Knights and Orks.

End of Turn 4

End of Turn 5

End of Turn 6

Wargames Gallery: Deepstriking the Bad Way

Deepstriking on to the red cratered forge worlds surface, the Great Unclean One of Nurgle finds himself (through mishap) extremely far away from the centre of the action and eventually gets picked off by the much speedier dark eldar bikes.

(Picture taken last year during our local league).

Power Weapons: Are your Warriors using the right Weapons?

Hi all, Eldrad Vect here. Ah, the humble Power Weapon, the tool of champions and no name squad leaders, however in 6th edition they released the new rules on the different types of Power Weapons, this was awesome and I think one of the greatest things in the new rulebook (I love 6th Edition so much). It does beg the question though, what weapon should I use? well I'm here to give you the run down on what I think are the best choices for each race.

Space Marines/Chaos Space Marines (and Codex Chapters)
Power Sword and Power Axe:
Starting with the most popular race in Warhammer, Space Marines and their evil counterparts excel when using all weapon types but are particularly effective with these two. Since their base Strength is 4, the Power Sword is exceptionally useful, it's AP3 at full Initiative means in the hands of a Space Marine, can pull apart xenos and MEQs with equal ease. The Power Axe is also a great weapon for Marines but should be used defensively, i.e. if you have a Devestator (or Havoc) squad leader with a Power Weapon make it a Power Axe. The reason behind this is that the Power Axe's +1 to Strength and AP2 gives it sundering power unmatched, so it is effective at holding off attackers as it mean you won't lose combat and may even sweep your attackers since the upped Strength give you an greater chance to wound your foe.

Dark Eldar
Power Sword and Power Lance:
Dark Eldar need speed above all else and the Power Axe is too clunky for Dark Eldar and is also unnecessary because almost every Dark Eldar unit has access to AP2, whether it be shooting or CC, not only that but they have access to one the best Power Weapons in Warhammer, the Agoniser which always wounds on a +4 and is AP3 which can carve through Infantry and Monstrous Creatures. The Agoniser also makes the Power Maul useless too. Power Sword is for your shooty units to give them continuous AP3 to help even the Combat Resolution and maybe prolong combat so a more aggressive unit can help, where as the Power Lance is for your attacking squads, the +1 Strength on the charge is very handy for Dark Eldar. Personally, I typically use Agonisers but I do use Swords and Lances sometimes since they are cheaper than the Agoniser.

Imperial Guard
Power Maul:
Imperial Guard Sergeants should only ever wield Power Mauls, for them, the +2 to Strength allows them a chance to pummel even Marines in combat. No other Power Weapon is worth it, in my opinion the Sword is too weak, the Axe not needed and the Lance is pointless because IG don't often charge into combat, (well, I do).  

Sisters of Battle
Power Maul and Power Axe:
Sisters are weak, sad to say it but its true, S3 is not very good and unlike Eldar and Dark Eldar, these chicks ain't fast, with I3 they have the same problem as Guard. The Power Maul and Power Axe buff the Sisters to new levels, if your going to strike last anyway may as well do it with an AP2 Axe and take some foes out with you.

Eldar
Power Sword, Power Lance and Power Axe:
The Triforce of Power Weapons used by the Eldar all work well, Swords and Lances keep the Eldar's high Initiative whilst killing Infantry easy, even Terminators or other 2+ Armour save units if the Jinx Psychic Power is in play, however you may be wondering why I have the Power Axe on this list. Eldar Aspect Warrior Exarchs have good armour and WS, this means a good Power Axe doesn't go to waste, however I only use this on units that is makes sense to, an example of this is one of my Dire Avenger Exarch, I always play Power Weapon and Shimmershield but the Diresword is AP2 and in order to give the unit a +5 Invuln. Save I have to sacrifice the AP2... well, not really, I simply give my Exarch a Power Axe, this gives him both a lovely Strength bonus that makes him quite a good Marine killer and the AP of 2 that he was missing out on. So while it all depends on your squad and what you like to use.

Orks, Necrons, Chaos Daemons, Tyranid, Tau, Grey Knights.
Sorry you guys, you either don't have access to conventional Power Weapons or have unique weapons that a similar but way better (i.e. Boneswords, Warscythes, Hellblades...) just keep doing what your doing and you'll be fine. I know that some of them do have Power Weapons but it is not as widespread as the others.

Whatever Power Weapons your troops wield just remember, it better than a Combat Knife.

Worst Unit in Warhammer 40k Ever: Kheradruakh the Decapitator

Kheradruakh Codex art, doesn't he look awesome... all rights belong to Games Workshop, I do not own this picture.

Hi All, Eldrad Vect here. My Dark Eldar codex is starting to become out of date and may need an update, well after Orks, Space Marines, Tyranid, Imperial Guard and my beloved Sisters of Battle of course. But it recently hit me that some units are starting to die off, one of them is old Sly Marbo. Since the introduction of Fortifications and that every gamer and their grandmothers have an Aegis Defence Line (except me :'( ) with Quad Gun means that Marbo is shot down before he can throw his over powered Demolition Charge at someone, thus he is no longer a regular sight on the field of battle. It got me thinking of a Special Character that is so neglected and with stupid rules that even  Games Workshop has never made a model of him over 2 whole codex editions of Codex Dark Eldar (there were only two editions of the Dark Eldar Codex). Kheradruakh the Decapitator.

To explain why he is so very bad this is kind of going to turn into a unit review but thats alright, the lament of The Decapitator must be heard. First off his stat line.
WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
 6    5   5 3  3 6 4  9    -
This straight away should tell you, he is not worth 140 Points, his Strength, Weapons Skill and Attacks profiles are all pretty good but Toughness 3 and no save is concerning. Then we look at his sole piece of wargear, his sword, the Decapitator which is a Power Sword that inflicts Instant Death on a 6, useless now because most characters have 2+ Armour saves or pretty good Invul. saves.
Kheradruakh has a save though, a 5+ Invul. save which with a Toughness of 3 means he is just going to get murdered by Laspistol fire, which for the ultimate stealthy assassin in the Universe that is a living shadow, sucks. His special rules aren't very special, he has Fearless, Stealth, Move Through Cover, Fleet, Baleblast, Power from Pain, Night Vision and then his exclusive rules Shade Stalker, Hunter of Heads and Altered Physique. First rule, Shade Stalker, mean he has to start the game in reserve and can be placed anywhere on the board when he comes in and can do everything normal except assault, which is were a Quad Gun will be waiting. Hunter of Heads is dumb, choose an enemy Independent Character, The Decapitator has Preferred Enemy against him, great that'll help me when my face is being punched in by Abaddon. Altered Physique just gives him a Pain Token which gives him Feel no Pain. Also you'll notice he is a Special Character without the Independent Character rule, I though the was reserved only for the super tough like Mephiston.
Don't worry, Kheradruakh isn't the only Dark Eldar unit that suck, queue Mandrakes, ah yes, the mini Kheradruakhs that took a bat to the face when 6th ed came along, mainly due to the 'no assaulting after coming in from reserve' and 'Independent Characters without Infiltrate can't join a unit of Infiltrator even if said unit isn't Infiltrating' and this made the already hugely unpopular Mandrakes completely unusable which is a shame because the models are really good.
The final nail in the Mandrakes and Kheradruakh's coffin came from the Grey Knights FAQ, where it says they count as Daemons. Now when I read this, I was enraged by the fact that one, Mandrake are not Daemons and two, Mandrakes don't have the Daemon special rule and so they don't benefit from rules like Fear.
But that is just the way things go and I doubt we will see Kheradruakh make an appearance any time soon.

Re-painting my Dark Eldar Kabalites

In my seeking perfection, re-painting is the only option. Eldrad Vect here, I strive for the best, this has led me to repainting my entire Kabal, while I'm happy with my Wych Cult scheme and my Haemonculus Coven scheme I got really sick of the unimpressive blue of my original Kabal scheme. So I slightly tweaked the White Dwarf Kabalite Armour painting guide and started.

 1. My original colour scheme, yes very boring drab and basic. My personality means I crave praise for my work, so this terribly bland warrior won't get me any. 

 2. I re-base coated my kabalites, however due to my natural laziness I left all my original details on, I really just want to re-paint the armour.

 3. I use Incubi Darkness to line the armour plates. Female kabalites are harder to paint, there brestplates aren't flat, thus I drybrush in order to give the same effect as the lines.

 4. Second paint I use is Kabalite Green, this particular warrior has been half done. I apply it to the lines of the first colour, but leaving enough of the first to still be seen slightly.

 5. Final coat, Sybarite Green. This highlights giving quite a nice glowing effect I then lightly drybrush the armour with Kabalite Green, I stress lightly, it is used to blend the colours together.

It's particularly effective on tanks, giving the Ravager I kind of sleek look. Also thanks for the amazing support of the Baroness, I haven't posted it for a while due to being busy and sick, but I am working on it so, you shall definitely see more of her in the future.

Building the Baroness: Skyboard

Hello everyone, Eldrad Vect here, I've recently had a run in with Nurgle, as such I haven't posted anything for a while due to sickness. This is the start of a series of posts about my construction and conversion of my Baron Sathonyx model for my Dark Eldar. Now the title says 'Baroness' so of course this is a female Sathonyx, I have yet to create and write fluff for her that fits with the rest of my collections. (I say collections since my storylines incorporate all of the armies I collect.)

Top shot, shows more of the details.

This is her Skyboard, converted from a regular Hellion Skyboard by cutting off the wings and attaching the lower parts of Raider tail fins to it, making it wider and bulkier with out going overboard. I removed the stubby Splinter Pods from the front and replaced them with spare Splinter Rifles also from the Raider kits, I have three Raiders so I have a lot of spare parts. I used Raider Chain Snares and tied up skulls to give the board a grisly fearsome look worthy of the mad Baroness. it's double the width of a regular Hellion board, so she'll stand out from her squad and I'm also planing for her to be higher off the ground then the rest of the Hellions too.

My Top 5 Favourite Special Characters

Hi Everyone, Eldrad Vect here giving you an insight to some of my personal favourite special characters in 40k and some of the tactics I use with them some, may just surprise you.

Number 5
Dark Angels: Grand Master Azrael

Counting downwards from number 5 to my all time favourite, we have Azrael. Az gets stuff done, with the ability to take both Ravenwing Attack Squadrons and Deathwing Terminator Squads as Troops, his wicked weapons and abilities like choosing his Warlord Traits and giving any unit he is with a 4++. I use him constantly in my Dark Angels force, he is either carving a path through the foe's troops or standing with my Tactical Squad or Devestator Squad. I do this because unlike other armies, Dark Angels do not have a lot of effective anti-flyer, instead of trying to take down flyers, I simply ignore them and this is why Azrael is placed with my troops, to give them a save against those pesky Helldrakes. Hes is an all-round great character.

Number 4
Eldar: Illic Nightspear

In number 4 is Illic Nightspear, I've always wanted a Ranger HQ and now its here, he looks really good, with his rifle and if you can see closely, his Power Sword is at his belt. I tend to use Illic as support for Striking Scorpions, yes you read right, Striking Scorpions, why? well simply because he and the Scorpions can Infiltrate anywhere they like ignoring the range restrictions, he also gives them Shrouded, combined with the Scorpions Stealth rule the unit gains a +3 bonus to any Cover Save they have. Illic himself has a Power Sword meaning hes is quite good in close combat.
I also use him to create immovable Dark Reaper Squads, cause Dark Reapers with Shrouded is a dangerous combination or I use him to Outflank short range units like Guardians and Fire Dragons.


Number 3
Tau: Commander Farsight

Since the old days, I've loved Farsight, a lovable renegade seeking to slay Orks. His new model is amazing and its a true testament to him that I bought the model before I even knew his rules. Apart from the obvious Mega Bodyguard Deathstar that I love using, I use Farsight and a single Bodyguard with XV8-05 Crisis 'Iridium' Armour this means that any small arm fire is palmed of to the Bodyguard and any AP2 is taken on Farsight's Invul. also since the Iridium Armour increases toughness by 1, Farsight and his Bodyguard have a majority toughness of 5 making them even harder to kill and leave a lot of points not spent on Bodyguards to put into things like Pathfinders and Riptides.

Number 2
Eldar: Eldrad Ulthran

My name says it all, this guy is BOSS! Since I started using him 3 years ago he has slain Thunderwolf cavalry, exploded the head of a Dreadknight pilot using Mind War slain countless Necrons and Space Marines and pried open a Dreadnought with his Witchblade. He is a legend, his psychic mastery means I use him for everything from buffing troops, cursing enemies and slain foes with Witchfires. I mainly run him with a unit of Dire Avengers or if I have Allies, an Archon, though I do place him in any unit where he is most effective.

Number 1
Dark Eldar: Lelith Hesperax

My all time favourite character, Lelith Hesperax, I loved her since the 2nd edition codex and when the 5th edition codex came out in 2010, on the day it came out, I bought Lelith and the codex, she was also my first Finecast model and I have 3 of her, and some conversion I've used her in, like my Female Commissar. Since 2010 I've played Lelith in almost every Dark Eldar army list. She has slain countless hundreds of models in this time, from whole Chaos Space Marine Squads to a Hive Tyrant, my devotion is quite silly though, there are some really good HQs in the Dark Eldar Codex that benefit the army in general, but I still like her and in 6th her BS of 9 is awesome... when throwing Plasma Grenades.
I typically give her a retinue of Grotesques, their Toughness, mass of Wounds and a free Pain Token make them great wound absorbers so that Lelith gets to combat unscathed, but other units like Incubi or Bloodbrides work well and I use them too. I also like sticking Lelith behind an Aegis Defence Line or on a Bastion with Icarus Lascannon, since we can't waste her BS9 now can we?

Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed my first attempt at a blog and hope to hear what you think :)  

Wargames Gallery: Dark Eldar Iconography

One of group's free-hand painting work (not my own!) that I thought was really, really cool when I saw it up close.  Enjoy!

Battle Report: Dark Eldar vs. Chaos Marines

Round 2 of the Wasp Campaign saw my Chaos Space Marines being challenged by Anthony's Dark Eldar forces. We're both after resources to better our supply lines.  We're both keen to get superiority over the other ... in the event of an evil alliance later on (mwa ha ha!).

Mission: Battle Missions: Pillage (also known as "Resource harvesting"), 3 collection points.

Due to the rules and the current campaign situation, the points levels are not equal, so my marines have a slight advantage.  I've also got more power generators which gives me important advantages and as a result, I get first turn.

Dark Eldar Army List (1100 points):

Succubus with agonizer (85)

Haemonculous, scissor hands, liquifier gun (75)

4 Incubi (88) with raider (60)

10 kalibites with shredder, darklance (120)

9 kalibites with syrabite, blaster (106) with raider (60)

9 wyches, shardnet and impaler, syren, agonizer, haywire grenades (148) with raider (60)

Ravager gunship with night shields and flicker field (125)

6 jetbikes with 2 cluster caltrops (172)

Chaos Space Marines (1150 points):

Daemon Prince, Wings (130 points)

Dreadnought, plasma cannon (105 points)

5 plague marines, 1 flamer, 1 melta, 1 plague champion with powerfist (170 points)

5 plague marines, 1 flamer, 1 melta, 1 plague champion with powerfist (170 points)

1 Rhino with Havoc Launcher (50 points)

1 Rhino with Havoc Launcher (50 points)

6 Chaos raptors, 1 aspiring champion with power fist, 2 meltas (180 points)

1 obliterator (75 points)

1 obliterator (75 points)

Chaos Vindicator, Daemonic Possession (145 points)

Set up: There are four buildings (roughly one in each table quarter) and five craters (in a "plus" shaped pattern across the table).  The three objectives are set up with two in opposite buildings and the third next to the crater in my deployment zone.  

Turns 1 and 2.

I open up with a volley lethal enough to whack several of the Dark Eldar's vehicles with the obliterators whom I've set up inside the buildings.  Sadly for me, armour penetration rolls are all ones.  Doh.  I advance my flying troops (raptors and a daemon prince).  I manage to get about one kill in the first turn overall due to my dreadnought, which isn't really good enough.  My vindicator is useless.  The plague marines set up in the building with the objective so that at least I can score points (1 per turn per objective as per the mission rules), whilst the second marine squad sits in their rhino behind the vindicator, jealously guarding a second objective.  The dark eldar keep to this buildings on the opposite side of the table -- I think I'm going to need a flamer over there eventually.

In their turn, the dark eldar move to meet my raptors as pictured below.  Sadly for my raptors, they're little match for the high initiative of the deadly dark eldar.  They're annihilated in one turn.  Flat.  But I think I can turn that to my advantage.  The dreadnought cannot be hurt by the dark eldar that slew the raptors, and -- thanks to their charge -- are in range for a counter-charge of my own.

Meanwhile, the daemon prince laughs off the puny shooting of the dark eldar HQ's squad.  Things are swimmingly over on that side of the board.  Even my plague marine squad manages one kill on that squad from their comfortable place sitting on top of the objective.  The vindicator finishes off the job before the daemon prince needs to get too involved.  Sadly for me, the vindicator goes up in smoke the next turn from a well placed dark lance.  Boom!  Why did the die roll ones for me on the first turn?!  Darn!

Turns 3 and 4.

I execute my plan and get my dreadnought in to combat with opponents that cannot hurt it back.  Sadly, all the attacks miss, or fail to wound.  Yet more ones on my die rolls are stuffing up my plan!  Still, the dreadnought is happy to sit pretty (or ugly?) for the rest of combat - secure that nothing bad can happen to it.

The jet-bikes launch their assault and skim over the daemon prince -- taking several wounds off him.  A few shots later and the daemon prince meets its maker.  I can't let those jet bikes live, so I target them with several well placed havoc launcher shots and a rapid fire from the plague marine squad that was sat behind the (now smoky) vindicator.

Meanwhile, my dreadnought finally finishes the job and moves right along.  But singularly fails to blow up the ravager gunship with its plasma cannon.  What is it with my dreadful vehicle damage rolls today?  Still an immobile ravager is an okay result.  Next turn, I'll be able to charge it and hit automatically!

The obliterators, meanwhile, continue to decimate the opposition.  There are very few dark eldar troops left, and only the ravager by this stage.  I decide that I've now got enough pillage points from sitting pretty on my two objectives that I can move the marine squads away from their objectives and try for the massacre.  

Turn 5.

The dreadnought destroys the ravager with ease in close combat, but gets blasted to bits in the next turn.  

The plague marines really suffer as they approach the kalibite held building (and objective).  The liquifier guns roll 1 for armour penetration for the second consecutive turn, reducing my squad to two marines.  A return flamer shot reduces the kalibites down to four men (or women?).

Simultaneously, my second plague marine squad moves up to where the first one used to be -- on the objective near the crater and holds that. I have both plague marine squads left (albeit with 2 in one of the squads), both rhinos and one obliterator left.  Anthony has four kalibite warriors sat on his singular objective.  And the game ends!

I didn't make it across the board fast enough to secure a massacre.  But it has been a decisive victory: 9 to 5 in terms of pillage points, and the secondary objective (kill the HQ) secured.  That means in terms of Empire Points, the score is 7-3.  Another victory to the chaos space marines.  I trust the dark eldar will serve us later in the campaign when we go 2 on 2, or 3 on 3 apocalypse style...

The star of the show for me were my obliterators.  Despite rubbish armour penetration rolls initially, their plasma cannon shots decimated the opposition's foot soldiers.  And for the dark eldar, those liquifier guns were terrific!  At AP1, even plague marines die with ease.  

Dark Eldar Army List for the Wasp Campaign

The fifth army list for the Wasp Campaign are from the dark realm of Commorragh (comments and criticism welcome!)


Anthony's Dark Eldar Army List (1500 points):

HQ:
Succubus; agoniser (85 points)
Haemonculous; scissor hand, liquefier gun (80 points)

Elites:
7 incibi; klaivex, demiglaive, bloodstone, murderous assault (214 points)
1 raider (60 points)

Troops:
10 kabalites; shredder, dark lance (120 points)
10 kabalites; sybarite, blaster, splinter cannon, poison weapon (130 points)
9 wyches; shardnet and impaler, syren, agoniser (130 points)
1 raider (60 points)
1 radier (60 points)

Fast Attack:
10 scourges; 2 haywire blasters, 2 heat lances (270 points)
6 jetbikes; 2 cluster caltrops (172 points)

Heavy Support:
Ravager gunship; night shields (115 points)

TOTAL = 1496 points

Dark Eldar: A Cause for Re-Thinking Marks of Chaos on Raptors?

For a squad of chaos raptors, an icon of Khorne seems optimal from a previous analysis (see: parts I and II).

However, in recent times, the advent of dark eldar has got me re-thinking this conclusion.  Lots more players are taking dark eldar (and there's still the die-hard eldar fans ... much like I'm a die-hard chaos marine and daemons player - kindred spirits). So, should I reconsider the Icon of Khorne?

I'll resurrect the three options that I was toying with originally: the raptor champion armed with a power fist, twin lightning claws, or simple baseline raptors.  I'll put them up against ten dark eldar cabalite warriors instead of the usual space marines).

Let's look at each Icons in turn, and assuming that the raptors get the charge in.

Khorne.

With a Khorne Icon, the raptors gain an extra attack each, but they strike second.

Khorne Case 1: Baseline Raptors.

The kabalite warriors need 4+ to hit and 5+ to wound from 9 attacks.  This results in 1.5 wounds, of which, 0.5 stick.  The sybarite has a power weapon with 2 attacks.  S/He also hits on 4+ and wounds (without a save) on 5+.  That results in 0.33 more wounds, making 0.83 total.

The raptors hit on 4+ and wound on 3+ from 41 "normal" attacks (total) if everyone was still alive.  Let's assume one is dead from the dark eldar.  That means there are (only!) 37 attacks.  That gives 8.22 wounds.  (i.e. dW = 7.39).

Khorne Case 2: Power Fist.

Again, 0.83 wounds incoming from the first-striking dark eldar kabalite warriors.  Assuming that one of the regular raptors perished, they get 8x4 attacks on the charge that results in a total of 7.11 wounds. The aspiring raptor champion gets 4 attacks (2 base, 1 charging, 1 from the icon), of which 2 hit and 1.67 kill.  This gives 8.78 wounds (and dW = 7.95).

Khorne Case 3: Lightning Claws.

As above, but the champion has 5 attacks and 2.5 hit. They wound on 3+ with a re-roll for failed wounding rolls. This gives 2.22 more wounds for a total of 9.33 (and dW = 8.5).

Slaanesh.

For a Slaaneshi Icon, the chaos raptors strike simultaneously with the dark eldar.

Slaanesh Case 1: Baseline Raptors.

The raptors are still taking 0.83 wounds, but now strike back without losing anyone.  On the charge, they get (9x3)+4 = 31 attacks.  That gives 6.89 wounds (and dW = 6.06).

Slaanesh Case 2: Power Fist.

Assuming the aspiring champion survives, the raptors get 9x3 regular attacks, plus 3 power fist attacks.  The regular attacks cause 6 wounds; the power fist yields 1.25 wounds.  That's 7.25 wounds in total (dW = 6.42).

Slaanesh Case 3: Lightning Claws.

Again, we'll assume the champion survives.  The regular attacks again cause 6 wounds. The lightning claws have 4 attacks, of which 2 hit and 1.78 kill.  That gives 7.78 wounds (and dW = 6.95).

Conclusion.

The Icon of Khone is still superior.  The extra attack still outweighs the increased initiative.  Good job since I've already modelled the Icon of Khorne and don't particularly want to change!

Dark Eldar Codex Download and Other Odd Search Terms

I decided to have a bit of a drill down into what people come to Warpstone Flux to look for by investigating search terms that link to my site.  My most popular pages have remained roughly constant compared to when I last posted on this topic, give or take a few new gems.  But lurking at the opposite end of the spectrum are dubious search terms that are downright illegal (such as the title of this post) or have very little to do with the content that I place on to my site.  Here's my top 10 examples that google analytics and webmaster tools inform me resulted in a Warpstone Flux hit.

10.  Dark Eldar Codex Download. 

Despite it being illegal, people still try to search for it.  I've no idea why search engines would turn up with a link to Warpstone Flux for such a search, but my guess is that other "spam" sites harvest / cookie cut content from Warpstone Flux and mash it together with other random oddities. Other search terms likewise include "Space Wolves Codex pdf Download" and so on.  

Just incase I'm not being clear: you will not find any illegal content on Warpstone Flux. 

9. Child Star Theory.

You mean the Star Child Theory, right?  In which case, here's a quick link to a previous posting about that issue, and an Alpha Legion discussion that was also had!  There is no content on academic theories as to why children become stars.  I'm a physical scientist, not a sociological scientist and hence don't feel qualified to comment!

8. Transmutation Circle List.

You want to change something in to something else by drawing a circle?  And you want multiple examples of said circle?  Well, Warpstone Flux is not the right place for you -- you probably want something a bit more Fullmetal Alchemist inclined, I'll wager.

7. Julie K Smith.
It'd be hard to make these sorts of things up, wouldn't it?  I've never met anybody by that name.  Sorry.  

6. Mortal Kombat Reptile.
Moving right along...

5. Bazooka Cafe.
According to wikipedia, it is an "erotic Japanese game for windows".  Huh?
I'm not going to delve any further in to this one.

4. Black Ops Zombie Gun Stealer.
I think this one is a little easier to explain as it is a mash-up of lots of different terms that appear on separate Warpstone Flux pages.

3. What is a Philtrum?
That's easy to answer and explain -- it is the groove above a top lip that meets the base of the nose.  An example of a philtrum can be seen on my Nurgle rhino.  It's a good question never the less!

2. Final Fantasy XIII.
I might have mentioned those letters and words, but really, this is another false positive hit!

1. Troll Face.

Initial reaction: What the?  

But actually, after a bit of investigation: this one relates to one of my commenters (Skarvald the Troll-faced).

Anyone else got any odd ball search terms that resulted in a hit on their blogs that they'd like to share?  I've got plenty more, but I might make them in to a second post on this subject matter for a future date!

Wargames Gallery: Dark Eldar Melee

A rapid melee evolves as daemons deep strike in the midst of a Dark Eldar onslaught.