First Game Against Necrons

Mission, Battlefield, Deployment:

For this game, the Relic and Vanguard strike were rolled. Terrain was place in an alternating fashion and was amazingly symmetric (two pieces on my left, four pieces in the center, six pieces on the right). Terrain was urban and the map was littered with ruins, save for a large no-man's-land in the center of the board. For Warlord Traits/Combat Drugs, my opponent rolled Dust of a Thousand Worlds and I rolled Strategic Genius and Grave Lotus. My opponent won the role for deployment but graciously allowed me to deploy first. Night Fight was not in effect.

The Eclipse Ascendant were prepared to fall upon the vile Necrotyr like a murder of crows. The Raiders and Venom were in the center of straight line with the two Ravagers capping off either end. Packed into a tight formation bristling with Dark Lances, they were well protected by their Reaver Jetbike and Scourge escorts.

The Necrons deployed an a dense phalanx with an Overlord directing the Necron host from his centrally placed Catacomb Command Barge. Scarabs were placed in the foreground to threaten vehicles. A single Ghost ark on his left flank formed an impressive wall, allowing his forces to advance unmolested.



Turn 1
Dark Eldar
Movement was fairly cautious— a nudge forward here or slight drift there, save for the Reaver Jetbikes turbo-boosting to a far rock formation and the Wyche Raider moving flat-out into no-man's-land. Shooting was brutal. The Catacomb Command Barge was quickly immobilized. The Ghost Ark was utterly destroyed by the Raiders' and Ravagers' brutal fusillade. The explosion killed five of the the passengers outright and another four nearby Warriors. One of the Destroyers were killed and did not re-animate.

Necrons
The Necrons advanced steadily forward, relying on their massed scarabs to screen their advance. Four Reaver Jetbikes were killed but the Dark Eldar were otherwise left to their own devices thanks to their Night Shields and range advantage.

Turn 2
Dark Eldar
Air support entered from reserve. Movement could be described as a sort of trident. The Ravagers fanned out to either side to hit their priority targets (Scarabs on the left flank and Destroyers on the right). The Scourges and left flank Ravager directed their anti-tank kit to better use: causing instant death to the Scarab bases. That, combined with anti-infantry support from a nearby Kabalite Warrior squad and turbo-boosting Jetbikes, made meat (metal?) out of the that particular group of Scarabs.



The right flank Ravager continued to hammer its target, reducing a Destroyer to molten slag. Meanwhile, the Razorwing Jetfighter pilot, his thoughts bloody, unleashed a terrifying barrage of Monoscythe Missiles, causing 24 wounds, 11 of which were unsaved after We'll Be Back (with Resurrection Orb) was factored in.



The Wyches disembarked from their Raider and made way toward a large Scarab horde. More Dark Lances were directed at the center most unit of Scarabs in preparation for the Wyches' assault. The Wyches slammed into the Scarabs, killing two bases and losing one of their own in return.

Necrons
An already grim battle continues to go sour. The remaining unengaged Scarabs continue their long sweep towards the left flank Ravager. Necron warriors advance of the right Dark Eldar flank and managed to glance the other Ravager twice. Green lights filled the sky, stripping the Razorwing of its precious armor atom-by-atom. The unengaged Scarabs managed to assault and consume the Ravager, while their fellows perished.

Turn 3

Dark Eldar
The Razorwing Jetfighter re-entered reserve. The Wyches separated from the Haemonculus, preparing for an all-out assault on the Overlord. The remaining transports moved to allow their occupants to unleash their full fury on the Necrons. One squad of Kabalites laid into the remaining Scarabs with their Splinter Rifles while another squad managed to kill two distant Warriors. The Trueborn and remaining Ravager made short work of survivors of the Ghost Ark explosion and the last Destroyer.

A lucky Dark Lance shot causes the Catacomb Command Barge to explode, killing four Warriors.

The Haemonculus used his Shattershard and obliterated two Necron Warriors. The Wyches similarly through plasma grenades and shot their pistols at their prey before assaulting. Three more Warriors were killed in this way before the charge began. Challenges were issued and answered. The Dark Eldar Succubus and Necron Overlord began their duel. Meanwhile, the Wyches battered the Warriors, killing three of them.



Necrons
There was much shuffling around. A Scourge was annihilated by a stray Gauss blast. The remaining Reaver Jetbikes, who had moved to support the Wyches, were similarly dispatched. The Overlord and several of his lackeys were slain but re-animated in short order.

Turn 4
The Necrons are picked apart by shooting such that they will be unable to launch any effective counter-attack. The battle raged on and the Overlord was once again slain along with two of his warrior-guard. Although they reanimated, the Overlord had clearly had enough.

The game ended.

Dark Eldar: First Blood, Slay the Warlord, Line Breaker (3)
Necrons: (0)

Commentary
Luck was certainly not on my opponent's side. He failed 80% of his We'll Be Back rolls, was unable to effectively retaliate, and was blown apart by hot dice. From a game play standpoint, it was a crushing and ultimately unsatisfying victory made bearable by my opponent's excellent sense of humor and good sportsmanship.

Ouch! Bad day for the Toasters! Good battle, great report!

Now with pictures!

Nice report, really like the colour scheme of your army.

Dark_Kindred wrote:

Four Reaver Jetbikes were killed but the Dark Eldar were otherwise left to their own devices thanks to their Night Shields and range advantage.

I often find this to be the case, night shields just mean your reavers get shot up faster as they are often the only viable target. So despite nightshields being a fantastic piece of kit I don't take them when running hybrid armies.

Glad to see another Dark Eldar army kicking ass and taking names.