1000 points - Dark Eldar vs Night Lords

First game of the new year! And the first time I've played my Dark Eldar in almost 3 months. Decided I wanted to take a different list to my usual kabalite-shooty-death-fest, so I tried for an army themed around things that go bump in the night...

Haemonculus, Webway Portal, Parasite's Kiss, Liquifier Gun
10 Warriors, Raider, Splinter Racks, Dark Lance
5 Warriors, Blaster, Venom, extra splinter cannon
10 Wracks, Ossefactor, Raider, Dark lance
3 Grotesques, Liquifier Gun, Aberration
Talos, twin-linked Liquifer Gun, twin-linked Splinter Cannon (Geoffrey)
5 Scourges, 2 Haywire Blasters
5 Mandrakes

Night Lords are using mostly Nurgle rules to try and closest to fluff where possible, mostly so my opponent could take the Icon of Despair on things as that fits best for his Night Lords when using 40k rules. He's also gone quite heavily for quantity over quality.

Chaos Lord, Mark of Nurgle, Power Sword, Bike
5 Bikers, Mark of Nurgle
3x 10 Chaos Space Marines, Mark of Nurgle, Aspiring Champion, Icon of Despair. 2 units have heavy bolters, the third has a power fist, all champions have plasma pistols
Predator, Autocannon
5 Chaos Terminators, Mark of Nurgle, Reaper Autocannon, all power swords

Deep within a ruined hive city, a small contingent of Night Lords have captured an Imperial Fist. Eager to make escape with their captive Astartes, they find themselves unable to leave the planet due to a disruptor beacon. Unbeknownst to them, the ruins are full of a much more sinister predator, seeking to claim the loyalist marine for their own twisted ends...

The game was Emperor's Will, and Chaos won the roll and elected to go first. His warlord trait was useless, whereas I got the one allowing me to infiltrate 3 units - I picked the wracks, large warrior squad, and Talos, allowing them to get up close and personal. He deployed his objective in a ruin to the far right corner, and I deployed mine diagonally opposite. Everything infiltrated forwards apart from the venom and warriors, who stayed on my objective, and the Grots/Scourges, who were deep striking.

Turn 1 - Night Lords
The corner squads stayed stationary, whilst everything else advanced towards the waiting Dark Eldar. The powerfist marine squad is the central one, that's moving. He's able to get some shots on my raider in the centre (warriors) and on the Talos, but does no damage. Bikes turbo boost into my lines.

After the first Chaos movement phase.

Turn 1 - Dark Eldar
The venom poked its nose out, and the talos rumbled forwards from cover. The mandrakes, occupying the same piece of terrain, moved up to the very edge to take pot shots. The raiders both moved slightly. The warriors, venom, and venom passengers combined tossed out enough shots to annihilate the bikers for First Blood, and reduced the Chaos Lord to one wound. A dark lance shot took a hull point from the Predator, and the ossefactor killed a marine.

Turn 2 - Night Lords

Taken after their second movement phase. The far left squad moved out and ran, making a run for my objective. Chaos lord advanced on the venom, and the terminators moved to a central position. The Chaos Lord's combi flamer (on his bike) doused the venom, but failed to wound any passengers... the marines on the right guarding the Imperial Fist were more accurate, picking a mandrake out from the shadows. Finally, Reaper Autocannons managed to strip two hull points and a Dark Lance from the warriors' Raider. The Chaos Lord assaulted the venom, but was brought low by a well-aimed splinter rifle shot from a warrior, gaining Slay The Warlord

Turn 2 - Dark Eldar
The Scourges turned up, and scattered right to the rear table edge. The venom retreated just behind the ruin again. The Talos advanced on the vulnerable marine squad, and the wracks disembarked and moved to support. The warrior raider moved and went flat out to sit just over 12" away from the marines in the ruin, in an attempt to bait them out and launch an attack. In the shooting phase, the venom cut down two terminators that it could see, including the autocannon, and a few chaos marines in the central squad were killed, including the champion with his power fist. The scourges managed to inflict a single penetrating hit with a haywire blaster, stunning the predator. The talos and wracks attempted to charge the chaos marines, with the talos taking a wound - it made it, but the wracks failed their charge. Incensed by the insulting wound, Geoffrey disemboweled most of the marines, and the surviving four fled, with the talos consolidating into the ruins.



Turn 3 - Night Lords
The fleeing marines rallied, and moved to a more central position. The left hand squad continued their mad dash towards the relatively unprotected objective, whilst the right hand squad wrecked the raider, and pinned its occupants. The terminators moved across and charged Geoffrey, and honours were even with a single wound inflicted apiece but negated by the invulnerable save and feel no pain.

Turn 3 - Dark Eldar
With a crackle, the haemonculus and his grotesques stepped forth from the webway, directly in front of the Night Lords attempting to take the objective. Two liquifier guns did little damage. The mandrakes moved out, using the pinned warriors for cover, whilst the wracks advanced. The Scourges were able to wreck the predator, a few marines were killed from each squad, and the smallest squad fell back again. The combat saw Geoffrey dispatch another terminator.


End of turn 3

Turn 4 - Night Lords
Desperately, the nearest squad moved around, hoping to damage the venom and take the Dark Eldar objective, or at least contest it. They failed miserably. The fleeing Night Lords accomplished nothing, whilst the unit guarding the Imperial Fist managed to kill a solitary Scourge. The manufacturer of the ghostplate armour was noted, as they passed two out of three invulnerable saves to the heavy bolter. Geoffrey killed another terminator, leaving just one.

Turn 4 - Dark Eldar
Everything converged on the Night Lords holding the Imperial Fist, whilst the Haemonculus and his twisted playthings advanced on the few threatening Night Lords. A torrent of fire into the defensive squad reduced their number to five. Most of the unit near the Dark Eldar objective were shot down, and the Grotesques charged the remainder - the Haemonculus deigned one worthy of death by his own hand, whilst the last two were cut down by a rampaging aberration. Finally, Geoffrey the Talos slew the last terminator, and advanced with malicious intent...



With only two fleeing Night Lords, and 5 more steadfastly guarding the Imperial Fist, the Night Lords wisely decided to accept the haemonculus' generous offer of surrender, and escaped with their lives. For now...

Dark Eldar Victory! with a near-certain tabling of the Night Lords in turn five, and even if this could be avoided there was no chance of anything other than defeat.

The Imperial Fist was blind, his lenses being too coated in grime and battlefield muck to see. He had heard the sounds of battle, and was aware that his captors had retreated, and was for a moment relieved. With a hiss, he felt the seals around his helmet being disengaged. As it was lifted off, he could only see a tall, misshapen figure silhouetted against the rising sun. The figure leaned in, and he was treated to the briefest glimpse of a malevolent grin as he felt the prick of a syringe, and the world once again turned black...

nice batrep i like you list but i dont like Liquifer any more but it works for you so nice =)

Nice narrative!
Your opponent got unucky with some of the morale rolls, it seems! The fear ensuing dark eldar, striking fear into even the most gnarly of foes!

Nice write up and a solid victory!

Not sure I agree with nurgle being the best theme for nightlords (I would got khorne for savagery or slaanesh for speed). Sure nurgle gives them fear, but T5 is most unthematic for a legion almost entirely bereft of mutation!

Thanks for sharing the pain! Sneaky Geoffrey is sneaky!