Battle Report 2000 points: Grey Knights vs. DE
This was the campaign day where we all get together. After tiles were done and everyone picked their challenges, only the Grey Knight player and myself were left. I guess that is a complement
After my last game against him where he picked me apart with the auto cannons, I decided that this time I was going to get to him as fast as possible. If the deployment and mission allowed, I was even considering getting right up on the deployment line and trying the old first turn assault.
With the campaign rules, he got +1 to deployment rolls and 3 USRs. He made two of the rolls for USRs and took night vision on a dread and FNP on a squad. Because he is so far ahead in tiles I got 150 points which I spent on a defense line and quad gun, then added a blaster to my archon, scissor hands to my haemonculus. I can’t remember what, if anything else.
I got as close as I could in the report from memory, we got caught up in the game and forgot to take pictures as we went along.
The armies:
DE
HQ
Archon: Huskblade, soul trap, HWG, Combat Drugs, Blaster, Shadow field
Haemonculus: LG, Scissor Hands
Troops
9 Wyches: RF in a Raider with DL, NS, Haemonculus starts here
10 Warriors: SC in a Raider with DL, NS Haemonculus starts here
5 Wracks, LG in a Venom with SC X 2, NS
5 Wyches, RF, Venom with SC X2, NS
5 Warriors, Venom with SC X2, NS
Elites
4 Incubi, SC X 2, NS
Fast
6 Reavers with 2 HL
6 Reavers with 2 HL
Beast Pack: 4 Masters, Clawed Fiend, 5 khymera, 4 razorwing flocks
Heavy
Ravager NS
Ravager NS
Razorwing, 2 DL, FF, NS
Grey Knights
HQ
Ordo Malleus Inquisittor in Terminator Armour: Servo skulls, Psyker upgrade,
Space Marine Librarian in power armor:
Troops
Grey Knight Strike Squad: Justicar, 2 psycannons
Grey Knight Strike Squad: Justicar, 2 psycannons
Tactical squad in two 5 man combat teams: flamer, missile launcher
Tactical squad in two 5 man combat teams: flamer, missile launcher
Fast
Stormraven Gunship: Twin linked multimelta, fortitude-his HQ and a strike squad started here.
Stormtalon gunship: skyhammer missile launcher
Heavy Support
Dreadnaught: Psybolt ammo, searchlight, Twin-linked autocannon X2
Dreadnaught: Psybolt ammo, searchlight, Twin-linked autocannon X2
Mission: The Scouring
Deployment: Hammer and Anvil
Special Issues: Mysterious objectives: the only one that mattered was the sabotaged one on the volcano. The rest were nothing.
Warlord Traits: We both rolled for night fighting he rolled first and said no, I rolled second and said yes.
Terrain: See diagram and picture, I couldn’t put the lava rivers on the diagram so use your imagination.
Ability rolls: I rolled for combat drugs and got +1 to WS. He got prescience for his power
Night Fighting: Yes
We placed the objectives and then when we flipped, I got lucky and the two 3’s and the 4 were in my area. This completely reversed my strategy, because he had to come to me with this objective spread.
Deployment: He won the roll off. He deployed his armor up front, put his dreads in cover and put the cannon way in the back. He put one combat squad on the objective on the big volcano.
I then got as much in cover and as far back as I could with more weighted to the left to increase the range just a little more. I left my reavers in reserve.
I did not try to steal the initiative.
Turn 1 Grey Knights:
He moved his razorback forward and his rhinos a bit, along with his other razorback. The could only reach the quad gun with his searchlights, so once he lit that up, he put everything he had on it. Once the gun was lit, he targeted it with the cannon, killing 4 of the five warriors, who made leadership. The quad gun was destroyed, giving him first blood
Turn 1 DE:
I decided to take a shot and moved my ravager on the right up to get a shot at his dreadnaught (those autocannons ate my lunch last game). The other ravager and two raiders moved to get shots at the rhinos. The venoms moved a bit to keep jink, but had no targets to go after.
In the shooting phase the ravager completely whiffed against the dreadnaught failing to even hit. The other ravager managed to put a hull point on a rhino. The two raiders both whiffed, as well.
Turn 2 Grey Knights:
The stormraven came in, but the talon did not. Everything started moving forward, but stayed buttoned up in the vehicles.
In the shooting phase fire was massed on the ravager on the right, but due to night shields and jink it only took a hull point, but got a stunned. The gunship hit the venom in the back corner, but only managed a glance. The Thunderfire Cannon then dropped it’s five S5 blasts on the beasts, causing 7 or 8 wounds, but the Khymerea up front managed to save most with their invulnerable saves before succumbing. The Rhino on the left managed a glance on the kabalite warrior raider.
Turn 2: DE
In the movement phase the ravager moved to get a shot at the rhino, the raiders moved up. The Jet fighter aimed at the quad gun and combat squad. The venom down a hull point moved into cover. The other venoms continued to move to block line of sight from the dreadnaughts and stay out of range as much as possible. The quad gun hit the fighter, putting it in velocity lock.
In the shooting phase the reavers turbo boosted across the short end of the board behind the building to keep the 3+ save. The jetfighter dropped two missiles and two dark lances into the quadgun managing to kill two marines. Both DLs failed to damage the quad gun. The ravager managed to stun the rhino and a raider took a hull point from the dreadnaught on the left, stunning him-but he used fortitude, so it basically became a glance. There were still no warm bodies to shoot at.
Turn 3 Grey Knights:
The stormtalon failed to arrive. The Stormraven moved towards the jetfighter. Everything else positioned to take out the vehicles with dark lances. The strike squad and HQ jumped out of the storm raven.
Shooting: The Stormraven made short work of the razorwing jetfighter who crashed straight down, not hitting anyone. The kabalite warrior raider exploded in a spectacular fashion, killing five of the warriors on board. More attacks on the beasts from the cover removing another couple of beasts. Psycannon and bolter fire was soaked up by the clawed fiend. Bolter fire took out the one warrior leaving the objective open. The ravager on the right took its second hit and became immobilized.
Turn 3 Dark Eldar:
The second group of reavers came on right behind the first. The first group then moved up to get in range of a razorback. The wrack venom moved behind the building by the objective. The warriors moved into the building. The wych raider and venom both moved up and the raider discharged its wyches and the haemonculus. The mobile ravager moved to get a shot at a dreadnaught.
In the shooting phase the reavers that just arrived turbo boosted over the squad of five marines, killing two and got in place to go after the dreadnaught next turn. The immobilized ravager took a hull point off the razorback and the reavers managed to explode the rhino. No one was killed or pinned in the explosion. The venoms killed a couple of grey knights. The other venom managed another. Over on the other side of the field the wyches threw a haywire grenade glancing the rhino. The ravager then managed to explode it. The raider then took a shot at the dreadnaught and took off an autocannon. The warriors then fired into the grey knights and killed one.
In the assault phase, the reavers moved back behind the building. The wyches declared an assault on the knights. Over watch killed the haemonculus and two wyches. Then the wyches rolled six inches and needed seven, failing to charge. Could not use fleet as the haemonculus was in the group (before he died).
The mysterious objective up on the volcano finally exploded, killing one marine.
And yes, I flip flopped a rhino and a razorback on the report map, on the lower side.
Turn 4 Grey Knights
In the movement phase the talon and raven got in position to go after the ravagers and venoms. The knights moved to good shooting position. One group headed back to deal with the reavers who now were in position to hold linebreaker and an objective. The others moved forward to go after objectives and the beasts.
In the shooting phase both ravagers were destroyed and the remaining raider, leaving no dark lances. The beasts took another couple of casualties and the clawed fiend finally died. The tunderfire cannon took out four of the reavers, negating their jink, then the strike squad failed to take them out with mass of fire. The wyches who failed their charge took a bunch of losses, ending up with three, but made leadership. Without the FNP they would have all been lost. Last, the venom with the 5 wyches exploded, killing 4, but passed pinning and leadership.
In the assault phase, the reavers were just outmatched and died a heroic, yet gruesome death.
Turn 4 DE
Without much left to move, the DE wyches moved towards the knights. The reavers moved up 12 inches. The beasts spread out some, while the lone wych moved and then ran to get next to the objective and behind the defense line. The wrack venom moved behind the building next to an objective. The venom with the archon continued to play duck and cover to say out of line of sight of things.
In shooting the venoms fired at what they could killing two more knights. The reavers then turbo boosted into the back corner hoping to survive the next turn and then turbo boost to contest the objective in the far end of the board.
The wyches managed to assault without losing anyone to over watch and then killed on knight and lost none.
Turn 5 Grey Knights
The raven went into hover mode since there were no lances left and headed towards my reavers and venoms. The talon followed. The infantry focused on the beasts. At the back of the board the troops headed towards the back objective and over on the back right the tactical marines joined the fight with the wyches.
In the shooting phase everything was focused on the reavers with the stormtalon and raven managing to kill four. The cannon went after the beasts, aiming by the wych but the scatter went against and it only managed to take out one beast. The dreadnaught aimed it’s one autocannon at the wych who went to ground on the objective and managed to survive. The quad gun took out the venom on the roof and the dreadnaught on the right took out the venom with the wracks in it, with one wrack getting killed in the explosion. No one could see the archon’s venom. Fire from the infantry took out two more beasts forcing a leadership. The beasts passed but the reavers rolled double sixes, running off the board.
In the assault phase the wyches failed to do anything. The knights failed to kill them, but the tactical squad crushed them.
Turn 5 DE
In the movement, it was clear that another turn would be the end of the DE, so the moves to take objectives were made. The wracks held fast. The venom with the archon came out to get a blaster shot at the storm raven. The beasts moved over to the middle objective, leaving the wych on the one to the left.
In the shooting phase, the beasts and the venom shot at the tactical squad killing one. Marines elected to fail leadership to make get out of assault range of the beasts, but ended up rolling an 11 which was much farther than they wanted. The blaster shot was a one, so no good. The warriors took some more shots with their splinter rifles to no effect.
The roll for continuation was a one. Game over. DE victory.
Grey Knights: objectives 5 points, first blood, line breaker, 2 fast attack kills=9 victory points
Dark Eldar: Objectives 10 points=10 victory points.
It was a blast. And overall it was very close with both of us having stretches of bad rolls and good rolls. When my 8 DL shots the first turn yielded just a glance, I thought I would be out by the end of turn two. Turn 3 I made a ton of saves, but turn four, everything blew up. Just how it goes.
The hero of the game for DE was the clawed fiend who kept the beasts alive long enough that they didn’t run and they soaked up a ton of shots overall. I also think he just forgot about the wracks in the back corner while he was trying to take out all my dark lances and the reavers, who became huge shooting magnets. I made a big mistake taking the chance with my ravager the first turn, trying to take out the dreadnaught. Actually, I only had one decent turn with my dark lances, and my jetfighter did nothing.
I completely forgot about his thunderfire cannon ignoring cover saves when I turbo boosted my reavers into his zone. It was fairly empty and I thought I would take fire, but get my 3+. I got lucky with the one wych who survived and ended up holding an objective, but even if not, I had the warriors there and that was what they were going to do 5th turn all along when the beasts moved over.
Overall, he played smart, keeping his troops all buttoned up for a good part of the game, but on the other hand, it just let me keep my venoms hidden while he had to come to me because of the objectives. Having the big points objectives on my side also let me keep hidden from his dreadnaughts, and plan for the last turn objectives. Not trying to steal the initiative was the right move I think, but I have to remember searchlights. Those things are annoying.
Subject: Bloody Claw vs Grey Knights 2000 points 
Sun Mar 03 2013, 03:35
