Eldar Debut: Blockade Run 1000 pts

I’ve played against John and his Eldar, with few successes.  Now that I have an Eldar fleet, can I have the same result?  Let’s find out!

Mission: Blockade Run

Battlezone: Deep Space

——————————————————————-

Bozeman – Attacker – Corsair Eldar Late Gothic War Fleet (500 points)

• Eclipse Class Cruiser Argent Nebula
• Nightshade Class Destroyer x3 Chisels of Vaul
• Hemlock Class Destroyer x3 The Rememberers

——————————————————————-

Stephen – Defender – Segmentum Obscurus Gothic Sector Fleet (1000 points)

• Fleet Admiral (Ld 8, aboard the Torpedo Dauntless)
• Retribution Class Battleship
• Overlord Class Battlecruiser
• Dauntless Class Light Cruiser (Lances)
• Dauntless Class Light Cruiser (Torpedoes)
• Sword Class Frigate x2
• Sword Class Frigate x2

——————————————————————-

Setup:

The Overlord and two Swords deployed to my left, the Retribution and two Swords to the center, and both Dauntlesses to my right.  I set up behind an asteroid field to shield me in case I did not get first turn.  Luckily I did get the first turn.

——————————————————————-

Turn 1 – Corsair Eldar

My fleet moved up.  Most guns were out of range, but torpedoes fired from the Chisels of Vaul do two damage to the lance Dauntless and cause a Brace.  The Argent Nebula launches 3 bombers and a fighter.

The fleet makes for the weakest flank, tring to punch through.

Turn 1 – Imperial Navy

Battery fire from the Torpedo Dauntless forces a brace on the Chisels of Vaul.  The same ship fires torpedoes at the Argent Nebula and a terrible Holofield roll causes two damage!  The Overlord battleship goes on All Ahead Full to try to get into the fight.

Fantastic attack from the Admiral’s personal ship!

I’m a comin’!

Turn 2 – Corsair Eldar

The Chisels of Vaul, unable to reload, tack and move up.  The Rememberers and the Argent Nebula combine firepower and destroy the Torpedo Dauntless, leaving it a drifting hulk!

Pulsar Lances are absolutely terrifying on a good turn.

Turn 2 – Imperial Navy

The drifting hulk moves through a blast marker, takes a damage on a 6, rolls on the Catastrophic Damage chart, and suffers a WARP DRIVE IMPLOSION!  The Argent Nebula braces for impact and barely avoids damage!  Two Swords move up, and damage the Argent Shroud, crippling it and shredding the mainsail, leaving it unable to move in the ordnance phase.

Batteries: don’t leave home without them.

Turn 3 – Corsair Eldar

In a stunning display of hit-and-run, the Rememberers fire on one of the Sword squadrons, killing one.  The Chisels of Vaul fire on the other, killing one.  The Argent Nebula makes for the safety of the board edge.

Eldar escorts pack a wallop!

Turn 3 – Imperial Navy

The remaining Swords move up to desperately keep pressure on the Eldar as the rest of the fleet wheels.  The Argent Nebula takes two more damage and fails to Brace, causing a Mast Severed result that limits it to 90 degree turns.  Crippled lance Dauntless disengages.

The Argent Nebula is taking a beating.

Turn 4 – Corsair Eldar

The Chisels of Vaul reload and fire torpedoes at a Sword!  They never make it, as the Argent Nebula gets in a good Pulsar Lance volley and kills it before the torpedoes arrive.  The Rememberers fire at the other Sword and whiff, then turn and run.

Pulsar Lances are absolutely worthless on a bad turn.

Turn 4 – Imperial Navy

Overlord goes on All Ahead Full as the Sword tries a suicidal dash toward the Argent Nebula.  Lucky brace saves prevent destruction.

Last Sword just can’t do one last damage.

Turn 5 – Corsair Eldar

The Chisels of Vaul fire batteries at the last Sword, killing it, and then the entire fleet flees off the board edge.  Turn not pictured.  Game ends.

——————————————————————-

Final Score

Bozeman – Corsair Eldar: 582.5

Stephen – Imperial Navy: 62.5

——————————————————————-

Blockade Run is a tough one for the Imperials, with their short ranges and being so slow.  If Stephen had put the Retribution along one of the edges, facing the center, it could have fired on close enemies, or gone on All Ahead Full to get across the board fast.  Leave the fast, maneuverable escorts and Dauntlesses in the center, ready to go any direction.  Anchor the other side with the Overlord.

Next: hopefully painting!

On the subject of cases.

Recently, I bought an Eldar fleet off of Ebay, and it has been gathering dust.  After all, I can’t play it because I can’t take it anywhere.  So, I made a case.  Here’s some pictures:

This is an art supply case, augmented with used pluck foam (thankfully saved!) mattress foam, foam sheets, and hot glue.  You can see the results above.  While I was making this, I thought about cases in general.  After all, every model gamer needs to solve this problem.  So, here’s my take on how to tackle this problem.

1.Capacity

In order to be effective, a case has to hold all the minis you need to transport.  This can either be in one case (see my Space Marine case that I posted several years ago) or in many easy to carry cases.

You should also be mindful of how your collection will grow.  If your case holds all your current minis, that’s perfect until you buy one more.  Above, you will see my Eldar case has several areas that are unused, for when I can get lucky enough to find more Craftworld Eldar on ebay.  If you want your collection to grow, you’ll need a case bigger than what you need right now.

2. Protection and Durability

Cases are useless unless they get your minis from point A to point B intact.  One of my previous Space Marine cases was a large blue storage tub, outfitted with foam and cardboard tiers.  I didn’t really design it to hold up the tiers, and so it rested on the minis directly.  As a result, several antennae, flags, bolters, and other extended appendages or items got broken on a regular basis.  The Battlefoam case I got later protects minis much better, and breakage rarely occurs.

3. Cost

Even though I love my Battlefoam case, it was expensive as hell, even with a Gen Con discount.  Frugal gamers have several options, based on what kind of minis you need to transport.  Battlefleet Gothic lends itself to art cases or toolboxes that can hold ships well.  For Epic minis, a fishing tackle box holds lots of small stands and has room for larger minis.  40K or other similarly scaled games such as Warmachine can use a variety of cases.  My friend Andy used to use foam filled pistol and rifle cases, which worked great but was inadvisable to take into a secure area…

4. Aesthetics

This to me is the least important, but still worth considering.  My Battlefoam case looks great.  The case shown above for my Eldar looks like garbage.  However, both work just fine.  You need to decide which is most important.  For example, my 40K Orks are partially stored in an old, rusty metal toolbox.  It’s impractical, dirty looking, heavy, and makes loud noises when you open it.  In short: it’s perfect!  I plan on spray painting part of it white, and then using a stencil to paint black checkmarks, then hand painting a few glyphs.

There’s a lot of options.  Think about it and make the case that’s right for your collection.

Next: a battle report with Stephen and the debut of my Eldar fleet!  Stay tuned!

Battlefleet Gothic batrep: Surprise Attack 1000 pts: Space Marines vs. Imperial Navy

Stephen and I finally got our work schedules to sync up, and we got some long-awaited Gothic action at AFK Games in Holt!

——————————————————————————-

Mission: Surprise Attack (1000 pts)

Region: Inner Biosphere

——————————————————————————-

Attacker: Stephen – Imperial Navy Segmentum Obscurus Bastion Fleet

• Solar Admiral (Ld 10), 2 additional re-rolls (aboard the Enif)
• Avenger class Grand Cruiser Enif
• Dauntless class Light Cruiser Cursa (Lances)
• Dauntless class Light Cruiser Stevo (Torpedoes)
• Squadron of 4 Firestorm class Frigates
• Squadron of 3 Sword class Frigates
• Squadron of 2 Cobra class Destroyers

——————————————————————————-

Defender: Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marine Dominion Fleet

• Master of the Fleet Ranidan Piers (Ld 10), 2 re-rolls (aboard His Hammer II)
• Battle Barge His Hammer II
• Strike Cruiser Vigilance, Extra Shield
• Strike Cruiser Courage, Extra Shield
• Wrath Squadron, 5x Hunter class Destroyers
• Minefield
• Minefield
• Orbital Mine
• Orbital Mine

——————————————————————————-

Setup

Shown above, the two Strike Cruisers are squadroned together.  Battle Barge His Hammer II is on standby; all other ships are on full alert.

——————————————————————————-

Turn 1 – Imperial Navy

The entire fleet arrives via the sunward edge (far edge in pictures below).  The Stevo, the Cursa, and the Firestorm squadron arrive to the left and go after the Strike Cruisers.  The Enif, the Cobra squadron and the Sword squadron come in nearer the center.

The Stevo fires torpedoes to limit the Strike Cruiser’s options, as the rest of the fleet advances.

The rest of the fleet menaces the center.

Turn 1 – Space Marines

Wrath Squadron goes around the large minefield.  The large minefield rolls two 6s to launch 2 mines at the Swords.  His Hammer II uses the gravity well of the planet to turn twice and fires normal torpedoes and Thunderhawk Gunships at the Enif.  The Strike Cruiser squadron fires torpedoes and Thunderhawks at the Cursa, which fails to brace for impact and is crippled.  Bombardment Cannons fire on the Firestorms and destroy one.

Wrath Squadron outflanks the enemy.

Thunderhawk flights away.

Bad torpedo roll is augmented by the Cursa failing to brace for impact.  A Thunderhawk causes an Engine Room effect, leaving two damage remaining.

Turn 2 – Imperial Navy

The left side of the fleet closes in, and fires on the Strike Cruisers, doing one damage to the Courage.  Torpedoes from the Cobras are stymied by resilient Thunderhawks.  The torpedoes and Thunderhawks hit the Enif, which takes two damage.  An orbital mine kills one of the Swords.

The only actual damage was caused by a torpedo fired by the Stevo.

Ordnance hits home, doing serious damage to the Enif.

Turn 2 – Space Marines

A daring double-boarding action by the Strike Cruisers yields mixed results.  The Space Marines win both actions.  The Cursa is reduced to a drifting hulk.  The Stevo takes one damage, but in return causes a critical effect to the Courage, causing a hull breach and doing 3 damage, crippling it!  His Hammer II reloads, and launches more ordnance.  Wrath Squadron also fires, with boarding torpedoes.  All of this ordnance does four more damage to the Enif, crippling it and causing a Fire.

Boarding actions are where Space Marines shine, but they are always a gamble!

Space Marines can really pump out a lot of high quality ordnance.

Turn 3 – Imperial Navy

Enif disengages.  The Firestorms and Swords go after His Hammer II, but do no damage.  The Stevo fires on the Vigilance.

The escorts pour it on to His Hammer II, but they don’t have enough gun.

Dauntless Light Cruisers can’t put out a lot of firepower in their side arcs.

Turn 3 – Space Marines

Abysmal leadership rolls by His Hammer II fails an Ld 10 check, TWICE!  Courage disengages.  Vigilance does two damage to the Stevo.  The rest of the fleet kills one more Sword, but the last one barely survives with some fantastic Brace rolls.

It’s become a one-on-one duel between the Vigilance and the Stevo.

Lucky Sword manages to hold on, preventing the destruction of the squadron!

Turn 4 – Imperial Navy

Stevo disengages.  Sword disengages.  Firestorms, however, fail to disengage even on a modified Ld 10!  They advance and kill one Hunter.

Stevo gets out of here.

Desperate and unable to flee, the Firestorms put the hurt on the Hunters!

Turn 4 – Space Marines

The Vigilance goes on Come to a New Heading to go after the last Firestorms.  The rest of the fleet pour it on, but one Firestorm survives.

Once again, one survives to save the squadron.

Turn 5 – Imperial Navy

Last Firestorm disengages.  Game ends.

——————————————————————————-

Final Score

Azure Flames: 329.75

Imperial Navy: 50

——————————————————————————-

Final Thoughts: After the game, I convinced Stephen to re-make his Avenger class Grand Cruiser into a Vengeance class because the Avenger has been completely useless for him.  The Vengeance has much longer range and a good variety of guns, as opposed to the Avenger which is all short range batteries.  Hopefully it does better for him in the future.

Next: Blood Bowl and 40K in Highland!

The Bait rematch – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur vs. Imperial Navy

Stephen and I wanted to get together to play another game of Gothic.  However, due to mutual delays, we couldn’t get started until 9pm.  Stephen suggested a rematch of The Bait, which he played against my Dark Eldar.  This time, however, I was the pursued as my Tau Kor’or’vesh fleet!

——————————————————————————

Mission: The Bait

Setting: Outer Reaches

——————————————————————————

Bozeman – Tau Kor’or’vesh Shan’al Shi’ur

-Lar’shi’vre “Protector” class cruiser, T’au Lar’shi’vre Aloh Sho’ka, T’olku configuration (pursued ship)

-Il’porrui “Emmisary” class light cruiser, T’au Il’porrui M’yen Lar’shi, Bor’kan configuration (squadroned with two other ships below)

—–Il’porrui “Emmisary” class light cruiser, T’au Il’porrui Lynu Kar’tyr, Bor’kan configuration

—–Il’porrui “Emmisary” class light cruiser, T’au Il’porrui Sh’ve Mont’re, Sa’cea configuration

–Vral Squadron: 4 Kir’la “Warden” escorts and 1 Kir’shash’vre “Castellan” escort

——————————————————————————

Stephen – Imperial Navy

-Avenger class grand cruiser

-Dauntless light cruiser (torpedo configuration)

-Dauntless light cruiser (lance configuration)

-Squadron of 2 Cobra destoryers

——————————————————————————

Setup:

——————————————————————————

Turn 1 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

The Aloh Sho’ka fails to go on Come to a New Heading, and so simply moves and launches missiles and a fighter for a CAP.

Turn 1 – Imperial Navy

A bad roll prevents the fleet from going on special orders.  The whole fleet advances.

Turn 2 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

Aloh Sho’ka Reloads Ordnance and turns.

Turn 2 – Imperial Navy

Cobras and the torpedo Dauntless get All Ahead Full, but the other ships don’t.  Small torpedo wave from a cobra stops the CAP around the Aloh Sho’ka, and the Dauntless fires torpedoes.  It fails to brace.  One damage causes an Engine Room Damaged result!

Turn 3 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

Aloh Sho’ka re-launches a CAP and fires at the Cobras, taking down a shield.  The squadron of 3 Emissary light cruisers arrives, and fire 8 missiles at the lance Dauntless.  One missile is shot down by turrets and the rest… MISS!  8 misses on a roll of 5+! Things are looking down for the Tau…

Turn 3 – Imperial Navy

Fleet moves up, but fire is ineffective.  The other Cobra fires torpedoes at the Aloh Sho’ka and removes the fighters on CAP.

Turn 4 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

Aloh Sho’ka goes on All Ahead Full to get around the Warp Rift.  The Emissaries Reload Ordnance and fire on the Dauntless again, doing minor damage.  The missiles remove a Cobra.

Turn 4 – Imperial Navy

The lance Dauntless fires on the Emissaries, but do no damage.  The torpedo Dauntless fails to reload, so it chases the Aloh Sho’ka.

Turn 5 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

The Emissaries Reload Ordnance, and combined fire reduces the lance Dauntless to a Blazing Hulk!  Vral Squadron comes in from the board edge, destroys the other Cobra, and lowers a shield on the torpedo Dauntless!  The Dauntless Braces for Impact.

Turn 5 – Imperial Navy

The blazing Dauntless suffers a Plasma Drive Overload, exploding and firing 4 lances at one of the Emissaries, lowering one shield and doing no damage.  The Avenger grand cruiser puts the Emissaries in its sight, but a poor roll does no damage.  Torpedo Dauntless on Brace fires ineffectually at Vral Squadron.

Turn 6 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

Emmisaries Come to a New Heading to get a shot on the Avenger, but the order reduces their weapons and has little effect.  The Aloh Sho’ka Reloads Ordnance and fires missiles and a Manta Bomber.  Vral Squadron cripples the Dauntless.

Turn 6 – Imperial Navy

Dauntless disengages.  The Avenger fires on the Emissaries causing a Brace.

Turn 7 – Tau Shan’al Shi’ur

Emissaries fire on the Avenger, taking down only 2 shields.  Missiles and the Manta prove ineffective.

Turn 7 – Imperial Navy

Avenger disengages.  Turn not pictured.

——————————————————————————

Final score:

Bozeman: 219.5

Stephen: 0

——————————————————————————

Stephen really loves that Avenger.  Honestly, I can’t understand why.  It’s up-gunned, but only up close.  It has no dorsal or prow armaments to lend it some versatility.  It seems to be good only against the Imperial Navy, who also has to get close, or perhaps Tyranids.  I’m not a fan.  I’d rather have the Vengeance which can scare the pants off of Eldar, or the Exorcist for some fighter craft fun.  The Avenger lost him this game, even though it didn’t get hurt.  It was so SLOW, and short range that it didn’t get to do much.  More Dauntlesses, escorts, or Nova Cannons would have been nice.  A Dominator could have ended the Aloh Sho’ka in two or three turns with luck, or forced it to brace in fear the whole game.

Next: more Gothic?  Projects?  Perhaps some fun times at Highland?

Compendium Updates

Check the sections to the right.  Blood Bowl has been given a version 2.0 upgrade with MASSIVE re-organization.  Battlefleet Gothic also got a minor tweak.  Rules for setting up Warp Rifts were added to the terrain setup section.

Imperial Navy vs. Dark Eldar – The Bait (at AFK)

Dastardly Dark Eldar pirates have been preying on shipping lanes.  Top Admirals plan to risk the Avenger class Grand Cruiser Enif to set a trap for the pesky aliens!  Will the Dark Eldar be curtailed, or will the Imperials come up with empty nets?

————————————————————————

Mission: The Bait – Deep Space

————————————————————————

Bozeman – Dark Eldar

-Torture class cruiser Gift of Discord, Launch Bays, Mimic Engines

-Corsair class escort x2, The Knives of Sweetness, Impaler Attack Craft, Mimic Engines

-Corsair class escort x2, Needle’s Promise, Impaler Attack Craft, Mimic Engines

————————————————————————

Stephen – Imperial Navy

-Avenger Grand Cruiser Enif (Pursued Ship)

-Lunar Cruiser Adara

-Dominator Cruiser Avior

-Dauntless Light Cruiser Resa (Lances)

————————————————————————

Setup

Before the game began, the Dark Eldar took a move, thanks to Mimic Engines!

Turn 1 – Imperial Navy

The Enif goes on All Ahead Full.  No help arrives.

Turn 1 – Dark Eldar

The Knives of Sweetness Come to a New Heading to avoid the dust cloud, and the whole fleet fires Torpedoes, Impalers, and Bombers.  Total damage done to the Enif is 6, including two Engine Room Damaged results!  The Enif refuses to Brace for Impact.

Turn 2 – Imperial Navy

The rest of the Imperial fleet arrives, with the Lunar and Dauntless on All Ahead full!  A bank shot from the Dominator removes one of the Needle’s Promise escorts.  Torpedoes stop short of the Gift of Discord.

Turn 2 – Dark Eldar

Lucky torpedoes cause 2 damage to the Gift of Discord!  The Dark Eldar fleet Reloads Ordnance, except the remaining Needle’s Promise escort who disengages.  Battery fire finishes the Enif, but lucky turrets and Brace saves prevent the launched ordnance from harming the Lunar and Dominator.

Turn 3 – Imperial Navy

The surviving fleet closes in.  Failure to brace by the Gift of Discord dooms it to a drifting hulk!  The Knives of Sweetness brace and survive.

Turn 3 – Dark Eldar

The Knives of Sweetness attempt a bold boarding action!  …they lose and one of them dies.  Game ceded.

————————————————————————

Final Score

Imperial Navy – 325

Dark Eldar – 230

————————————————————————

Ugh!  I could have won had I disengaged on turn 2 (a classic Dark Eldar move) but I got greedy.  The Dark Eldar all-ordnance fleet is terrifying, but I think next time a more balanced approach could give me more options, such as Lock On with Phantom Lances and Batteries.  Stephen did what you should do in The Bait: pounce!

Next: Epic Eldar, possibly a training mission for Gothic, more Epic at Highland, and perhaps more Compendium stuff!  Stay tuned!

Battlefleet Gothic 1505 Fleet Engagement – Marines vs. Imperial Navy

Had an amazing game of Gothic with Stephen, despite some setbacks.  But first, a shout out to all the peeps at AFK games in Holt for all the incredibly diverse games played!

First, some amazing Eldar tanks with clear red glazed canopies that look great!

Next, some shots of an amazing super-weathered Mantis Warriors army, fighting hard to regain their honor after the Badab war.  Those fellas could use a bit of fresh paint.  How about it, Munitorum?

Nathaniel’s white Imperial Guard tango with Mr. Cat’s tan colored Crimson Fists.

Josh’s Brettonians square off against some Lizardmen!

One table was set up with the Robotech miniatures game!  Valkyries clashed with Zentraedi pods over a city!

Long time Fourstrands contributor Stephen (Dark Angels) was practicing for a tournament with his partner, who had a stunning Saim-Hann Eldar army.

Finally, there was even some Warmahordes!  Here’s a nice Circle list led by Morvahna.

——————————————————————————————————

Scenario – Fleet Engagement – 1505 points

Battlezone – Primary Biosphere

——————————————————————————————————

Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines

-Piers, Master of the Fleet, one re-roll (aboard His Hammer II)

-Battlebarge His Hammer II

-Battlebarge His Anvil

-Strike Cruiser Sacrifice, extra shield (squadroned with following two ships)

—Strike Cruiser Vigilance, extra shield

—Strike Cruiser Courage, extra shield

-Nova Frigates x2, Flame Squadron

——————————————————————————————————

Stephen – Imperial Navy

-Admiral (Ld9), one re-roll (aboard the Mars class battlecruiser)

-Retribution Battleship

-Mars Battlecruiser (squadroned with following two ships)

—Dominator Cruiser

—Gothic Cruiser

-Dauntless Light Cruiser, lances

-Sword Frigates x3

-Firestorm Frigates x3

-Cobra Destroyers x2

——————————————————————————————————

The Azure Flames Space Marines deploy in a Wedge (white area) to cut into the Sphere of the Imperial Navy (gray area).  Deployment map C:

——————————————————————————————————

Azure Flames turn 1

His Hammer II launches Thunderhawks and comes about.  Strike Cruisers go on All Ahead Full.  His Anvil fires Thunderhawks and Boarding Torpedoes to put the Imperials on the defensive.  Novas move up the edge of the board.

The Imperials are denied.

A threatening volley is fired!

Novas try to creep up the board edge.

Imperial Navy turn 1

The squadron of cruisers turns on His Anvil, which braces.  One Nova Cannon misses, but another hits!  …doing one hit.  Amazing fire from the Sword frigates lower the Battlebarge’s other two shields.  Torpedoes from the Gothic stop the boarding torpedoes.  The rest of the fleet comes about to re-engage.  Thunderhawks take out one of the two Cobras.

Nova Cannon?  More like marshmallow cannon.

Cobras get too close, and Thunderhawks make them pay.

Azure Flames turn 2

His Hammer II goes on All Ahead Full and leaves the Imperials in the dust (cloud).  Strike Cruisers pool their Thunderhawks and fire a 6 strong wave.  Novas and His Anvil destroy 2 of the 3 Sword frigates.

Here come the Space Marines!

The Novas pounce!

Imperial Navy turn 2

Mars launches 4 fighters which take up CAP duties in the squadron.  Gothic launches torpedoes, but a terrible Turret roll by me and a terrible Torpedo roll by Stephen means all 6 torpedoes go right through me!  Up close and personal Nova Cannon shotguns hit His Anvil hard, but fantastic Brace saves prevent any damage.  Thunderhawks approach.  Remaining Sword goes on a suicide charge at the Novas.  The rest of the fleet goes on All Ahead Full with some fantastic leadership rolls!

Nova Cannons lay into His Anvil, which weathers the storm.  The Sword prepares to sell its life dearly…

Don’t spare the plasma!

Azure Flames turn 3

Remaining Sword lives, despite failing to Brace for Impact, TWICE!  Strike Cruisers mass for a strength 18 torpedo wave!  One Thunderhawk splits off to remove the screen from the Gothic class.  This along with fire from His Anvil cripples the Gothic class, causing an Engine Room critical.  The Mars also gets an Engine Room critical and two fires from Thunderhawks.

…h…HOW?  HOW DID IT LIVE?

The storm is coming…

Imperial Navy turn 3

Due to Engine Room criticals, the Gothic and Mars cannot turn, so they move minimum distance.  Torpedoes fired by the Gothic several turns ago strike the Dauntless, causing one damage!  Lagging fleet continues All Ahead Full.  Nova Canon shot does 3 hits to the Courage, doing 1 damage, and causing an Engine Room critical! The surviving Sword disengages!

Friendly fire!

The Dominator draws blood from the Strike Cruiser Courage.  A fantastic Nova Cannon shot makes it unable to turn!

Azure Flames turn 4

Thanks to the planet, His Anvil makes a turn and boards the Mars class, doing 9 damage and turning it into a drifting hulk.  The Courage and the Vigilance board the crippled Gothic, making it a drifting hulk.  The Sacrifice fires torpedoes and Thunderhawks at the Dominator, doing two damage and causing a Port Weapons Malfunction.  His Hammer II launches Thunderhawks to menace the incoming escorts.

The storm breaks upon the Imperials… (pictured above, the Vigilance is where the blank base is)

Here comes trouble…

Imperial Navy turn 4

Dominator tries to disengage, but fails!  The rest of the fleet sticks around to help it.  Lance fire takes two shields down from His Hammer II.

The rest of the fleet covers for the Dominator.

Azure Flames turn 5

Both Battlebarges go on Lock On, and the Strike Cruisers Come to a New Heading.  The fleet does four more damage (with some poor rolls), crippling the Dominator.  Turn not pictured.

Imperial Navy turn 5

All ships disengage, except the Firestorms who fail!  They make for a Gas Cloud for cover…  Turn not pictured.

Azure Flames turn 6

Strike Cruisers Reload Ordnance.  18 torpedoes kill the closest and farthest Firestorm, but an incredible brace roll saves the second Firestorm!  …which then dies to Thunderhawk gunships.  Game ends.  Turn not pictured.

——————————————————————————————————

Final Score

Azure Flames – 907

Imperial Navy – 10

——————————————————————————————————

*squirts Mountain Dew out of nose*

…OK.

Well!  Let’s see what happened.  I got a great deployment opportunity to divide the Imperials.  Stephen had a 1500 list that he wanted to play, but it wasn’t tailored to fight Marines.  Stephen could have unbalanced his deployment (because he had more to deploy) but he was about as balanced as I was.  Next, I got lucky with some missed Nova Cannon shots and UNBELIEVABLE boarding rolls.  His Anvil beat the Mars class by NINE.  That killed a completely undamaged cruiser in one go.  Finally, the two hulked ships remained as I held the field, giving me approximately 140 extra points.  Finally I got 120 extra points because the Firestorms failed to disengage.

Next: Super Secret Project, Gothic or 40K at AFK and EPIC ARMAGEDDON at Highland!

Gothic Demo at AFK – Stephen’s first game!

Before I begin with the battle report, I must show off a painting technique I saw at AFK.  A player there had a fantastic pre-heresy mostly Forgeworld Imperial Fist army.  He has a painting technique for the right-angled grooves in Space Marine vehicles that I found intriguing.  Here it is:

I had always thought to highlight the edges, but here you see that the edges are DARKENED.  I think it looks neat, and may try that on a future project…

But now, a BATTLE REPORT!

Recently, I’ve been cross-posting on the Battlefleet Gothic facebook group page.  (for those here from that, hi everyone!)  Stephen has long been a fan of Battlefleet Gothic, collecting a massive Imperial Navy fleet with a smaller Chaos fleet alongside it.  He’s even painted it all!  However, for twelve years, NO ONE HAS PLAYED BATTLEFLEET GOTHIC WITH HIM!

That changed last night.  Stephen came prepared with a nice 1500 point list, but having never played, I convinced him to play my (all too familiar) training scenario.  Luckily for him, he had the ships to play the Imperial Navy without borrowing any of mine!

——————————————————————————————————————-

Battlefleet Gothic training scenario – Modified Cruiser Clash

Bozeman – Chaos

-Slaughter class cruiser Swiftboat of Truth

-Slaughter class cruiser Traitor’s Blade

-Carnage class cruiser Overkill, Chaos Lord (+2 Ld), re-roll.

-Murder class cruiser Domination

Stephen – Imperial Navy

-Lunar class cruiser, Commander (Ld 8), re-roll

-Lunar class cruiser

-Tyrant class cruiser

-Gothic class cruiser

——————————————————————————————————————-

Setup:

—————————————————————————————————–

Turn 1 – Chaos

The Traitor’s Blade (left side pictured) goes on Come to a New Heading to maneuver around a gas cloud.  Other ships fire at the Gothic class and take down its shields.

Turn 1 – Imperial Navy

The two Lunar class ships fire torpedoes at the Traitor’s Blade.  Poor brace save rolls cripple it.  The Gothic and Tyrant fire torpedoes at the Carnage, but good brace saves protect against all but one damage.

Turn 2 – Chaos

Murder class and the Swiftboat of Truth go on Lock on, and damage the Tyrant class once, collapsing its shields with a lucky crit!  The Murder also turns its guns on the Lunar with the Imperial Commander, while the crippled Traitor’s Blade attempts a boarding action.  A poor roll gives the Traitor’s Blade two more damage.

Turn 2 – Imperial Navy

Tyrant class disengages.  The Gothic goes on Lock on.  Good brace saves protect the Carnage with the Chaos Lord and the Murder class.  The two Lunars gang up on the wounded Traitor’s Blade, with one going on Lock on.  Ironically, the Locked On ship does nothing, while the braced Commander’s ship does one more damage!

Turn 3 – Chaos

The Traitor’s Blade disengages (whew!) while the other Slaughter class, the Swiftboat of Truth goes on Come to a New Heading to get behind the Gothic.  Other ships maneuver.

Turn 3 – Imperial Navy

Lunar without the Commander goes on Come to a New Heading, however the Commander’s ship fails a Command Check, even with a re-roll!  The fleet wheels to face the remaining threats.

Turn 4 – Chaos

Slaughter class goes on Lock On while the rest go on Come to a New Heading to come about.  Fire gives the Gothic class FOUR damage, even through Brace!  Critical causes another Shields Collapsed result.

Turn 4 – Imperial Navy

Gothic disengages.  Commander’s Lunar goes on Come to a New Heading while the other Lunar Reloads Ordnance and fires, leaving the wave just shy of the Slaughter.

Turn 5 – Chaos

Slaughter takes one damage by flying through Torpedoes without bracing, and gets up close and personal with the Lunar that fired them.  Brace saves all but one damage but it it critical and damages the Port side weapons!  This is TERRIBLE.  Other Chaos ships Come to a New Heading again.

Turn 5 – Imperial Navy

Commander’s ship Reloads Ordnance, and the other Lunar repairs its Port weapons, too late to put them to use…

Turn 6 – Chaos

Murder goes on All Ahead Full to clear a gas cloud, but the Carnage fails a Command check, making it unable to Lock On!  Fire does no damage to the Lunar, despite three ships giving it everything.

Turn 6 – Imperial Navy

Commander’s ship fires Torpedoes at the Chaos Lord’s Carnage class, crippling it!  Despite having functional weapons, the other Lunar, being on Brace, holds fire to prevent the Torpedoes from having blast marker problems.

Turn 7 – Chaos

The fleet uses Come to a New Heading to wheel around.  The Murder class can’t hit the Lunar that doesn’t have the Commander.

Turn 7 – Imperial Navy

Commander’s ship Reloads Ordnance while the other Lunar Comes to a New Heading.  Commander fires torpedoes at the Chaos Lord’s crippled Carnage, but fails to hit.

Turn 8 – Chaos

Carnage with the Chaos Lord disengages.  Slaughter Comes to a New Heading.  Murder fires on the Lunar without the Commander aboard, but can’t do much but lower shields.

Turn 8 – Imperial Navy

Imperial Fleet disengages.

————————————————————————————————————

Final Score

Bozeman – 104.5

Stephen – 111.25

————————————————————————————————————

WOW!  What a nail biter!  It came close at the end.  Stephen is super excited to really play this game, as he’s wanted to for ages.  I’m glad I could oblige.  Hopefully next week I’m not working so we can play a different mission.

Next: a super secret project, some Epic Orks, and more Rules Compendium updates!

Necrons vs. Dark Eldar – 510 pt. modified Cruiser Clash at Highland

Highland had their monthly meeting, but few showed.  Rob wanted more Gothic (will he catch the Gothic bug?) so he tried out my Dark Eldar, and asked that I play…

…Necrons.

Yes, THOSE Necrons.  How did he fare?  Let’s find out!

———————————————————————————————————

Bozeman – Necron Harvest Fleet, 510 pts

-Scythe class cruiser Awakener.

-Shroud class light cruiser Desert Whisper.

-Dirge class raider x2, Khopesh Squadron.

———————————————————————————————————

Rob – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar, 500 pts

-Torture class cruiser Gift of Discord, Launch Bays

-Corsair class escort x3, Banes of Joy, Phantom Lances

-Corsair class escort x2, The Jesters, Impaler Assault Modules

———————————————————————————————————

Mission: Cruiser Clash

Modifications: 510 point limit, added celestial phenomena, no restrictions other than those in fleet list, victory points.

Location: Inner Biosphere (one Solar Flare)

———————————————————————————————————

Setup:

———————————————————————————————————

Turn 1 – Necron Harvest Fleet

Before turn 1 begins, A SOLAR FLARE OCCURS!

All ships go on All Ahead Full.  Thanks to Inertialess Drives, the Scythe makes it all the way across the board and surprises the Dark Eldar.  One lance Corsair is destroyed.  The rest of the fleet moves up.

The Scythe surges ahead.

Necrons can be surprisingly fast.

Turn 1 – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar

Dark Eldar bombers bounce off of the Scythe, but Impaler Assault Modules disable the Lightning Arcs and prevent the Scythe from turning!  So close to the edge, the Scythe is in danger of disengaging involuntarily.  The entire Dark Eldar fleet goes on Come to a New Heading and turns fire on the Dirges, who brace to avoid damage.

Ancient enemy?  Hardly.

Turn 2 – Necron Harvest Fleet

Scythe goes on Burn Retros to avoid going off the board edge.  Dirges take out one more lance Corsair.  Shroud continues to advance.

HIT THE BRAKES!

Turn 2 – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar

Reloads give the Dark Eldar enough ordnance to put 2 damage on the Scythe, re-applying the repaired critical effect preventing it from turning.  Battery fire kills a Dirge despite Brace for Impact.

Turn 3 – Necron Harvest Fleet

Damaged, and unable to Burn Retros again, the Scythe chooses to move its full distance off the board to automatically disengage.  The surviving Dirge also disengages.  The Shroud goes on All Ahead Full to surprise the Torture cruiser Gift of Discord, causing 2 damage.

Turn 3 – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar

The Dark Eldar turn to face the Shroud.  Necrons choose to trust their armor, and lucky battery fire causes 2 damage, crippling the Shroud.

Ouch!

Turn 4 – Necron Harvest Fleet

Lightning arcs from the Shroud do little to the Torture.

Turn 4 – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar

Brace for Imapct saves the Shroud from more damage.

Turn 5 – Necron Harvest Fleet

Amazing battery fire despite being crippled and on Brace causes the Torture to take 2 more damage, crippling it and applying a Prow critical result.

Turn 5 – Chosen of Shadow Dark Eldar

Phantom lance causes 2 damage to the Shroud, reducing it to a drifting hulk.

———————————————————————————————————

Final score:

Bozeman – 100

Rob – 554

———————————————————————————————————

…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I haven’t had a loss this bad since I first got into 40k.  That’s a 454% margin of loss.  Plus, Rob scored more victory points than the game was worth.

Necrons can’t split up or they get picked off.  Plus, charging forward was stupid as it left me in a position to get forced off the board.  I also set up weird, splitting my forces so that Rob could refuse the flank.  Rob got screwed by the Solar Flare, but recovered nicely.

Next: a game at AFK!

A piece of history: Battlefleet Gothic promo board decoration

Behold.

I’ve got some battle reports for the past few days to write up, expect them later tonight.  However, this bore no further waiting.  Pictured above is Dan, one of the owners of the fine establishment AFK Games in Holt, MI.  In his hands is a piece of gaming history.  Back in the 90’s when Battlefleet Gothic was new, GW gave out plexiglass table decorations that had been airbrushed with artistic starscapes, as a promo for Rogue Traders to get people into Gothic.  I had no idea these existed until yesterday when Dan showed me the one he had hidden in his store room.  This is part of a game I dearly love.

Perhaps one will go on ebay one day… probably not though…

Enough self pity.  To writing!  Expect not one but TWO Battlefleet Gothic reports, one from fabled Highland and one from our hometown folks at AFK!  Stay tuned!  To the website.  You can’t really tune a website.