4/21/2005

Rawes Meets USF

A few days ago Keith and I teamed up against David Rawes and his friend Andrew. Our side? Alaitoc and Ulthwe Strike Force. Theirs? Basic Marines and Dark Eldar.

4000 points per side. Secure and Control. Gamma level.

The story is an interesting one. Keith and I got first turn and, holy God... we hit them harder than I've ever seen someone get hit. Keith's disruption table took a considerable amount of the enemies off the table before the party even started. Then, before anything else happened in turn one, my Seer Council (which included Eldrad Ulthwan) laid Fortune and Guide all over the place, fortifying my Dark Reapers, of which there were 15. When the starter pistol fired and turn one commenced the Reapers laid down a hail of fire that left the enemy's noses bleeding and then Keith followed up by knocking enemy teeth loose with a shower of Ranger and Pathfinder fire.

It was a good start from us, but it didn't last like it looked like it would.

Later on some tactical mistakes were made; the Seer Council took some blows and got wrapped up in a prolonged hand-to-hand battle. Some Eldar tanks got corked and Wraithguard were mowed down mercilessly. The real pain came, however, when the Raider full of Wytches hit the table with a Screaming Jet Deep Strike. Anyone who knows anything about Wytches will already be cringing to hear it; not one, not two, but three Guardian squads were eviscerated with Wytch weapons, and the only reason our side didn't lose more is because it was the end of turn six. Keith and I turned white with horror as we watched the severed Eldar heads fly through the air, spinning. It was so not good.

In the end we got a Solid Victory, by GW's Rulebook standards... but Keith and I both knew that if we hadn't pounded our tent stakes so deep when the game started then we would have been the losers. We shook David and Andrew's hands after the game, but once they'd left and it was just Keith and I standing there, we both did a collective "PHEW" and wiped the sweat from our foreheads.

It was a good game. Here are a few snaps.

No comments: