Battle Report: The Dark Eldar Raids, Part 3

The Eldar forces continued their evasion tactics, hoping to avoid all enemies until their ships could return to orbit and extract them from the surface of Arcadian Prime. The Imperial forces and Orks might have forgotten them, but a new force, the Dark Eldar, had begun to hunt them...

Scenario:
Standard Patrol
Eldar Forces: Darkwing
Dark Eldar Forces: Archite

The Forces

Eldar Forces		Points
	Farseer with Guide, Eldritch Storm, and Spirit Stones	161
	Fire Dragons with Exarch (6)	131
	Howling Banshees (5)	80
	Warp Spiders with Exarch (5)	147
	Guardian Defender Squad, with Warlock with Conceal, and Scatter Laser Grav Platform (19)	218
	Guardian Defender Squad (6)	48
	Rangers (5)	95
	Swooping Hawks with Exarch (10)	237
	Vyper Jetbike	50
	Dark Reapers with Exarch (4)	191
	Fire Prism Grav Tank with Crystal Targeting Matrix	145
	Total Points:	1503

Dark Eldar Raiding Party		Points
	Dracon with Incubi Retinue (8)	244
	Haemonculi (2)	100
	Warriors with Sybarite (13)	157
	Warriors with Sybarite (13)	162
	Warriors with Sybarite (13)	150
	Warriors (10)	100
	Wyches with Succubus (10)	157
	Ravager	125
	Talos	110
	Reaver Jetbikes (3)	95
	Raider Squad (6)	110
	Total Points:	1500

Turn 1
The first units of each force's patrols began to scout the area. The Eldar Rangers, camouflaged well in their cameoline cloaks in the trees, spotted a Dark Eldar torture machine, the Talos, floating ahead.

The Rangers took aim with their long rifles and fired at the the Talos, but their shots did not wound the machine and merely served to alert it to their presence. The Talos advanced and fired back with its stinger, but failed to hit any of the well hidden rangers.

Turn 2
Much of the Eldar force began to arrive on the battlefield. The Vyper Jetbike took up position on the right flank, followed by the Fire Dragons, while the Howling Banshees and the Farseer moved onto the battlefield in between the Rangers and the Fire Dragons. The Rangers took careful aim with their long rifles again, and their well placed shots hit squarely on the Talos, causing it to crash to the ground, a useless wreck.

On the Dark Eldar side, more forces began to arrive as well. Both the Ravager and the Raider arrived, along with Dark Eldar Warrior Squad 1. The Ravager opened fire on the Vyper with its battery of Dark Lances, damaging the Vyper's engines and causing it to crash and burn. The Raider fired upon the Howling Banshees and missed. The Warrior Squad scampered forward rapidly.

Turn 3

The Raider disembarks the Dark Eldar Warriors

Both Eldar Guardian Squads arrived, the large squad with the scatter laser on the right flank, while the small squad advanced as a screen in front of the Dark Reapers. The Fire Prism arrived on the field, supporting the large Guardian Squad. The Fire Prism, under the influence of Guide from the Farseer, fired on the Ravager ahead, shaking the crew both otherwise not damaging the vehicle. The Guardian Squad's Scatter laser missed its target, and the rest of the army advanced.

The Dark Eldar Reaver jetbikes arrived, along with a haemonculus and Dark Eldar Warrior Squads 2 and 4. The Ravager quickly got out of the Fire Prism's line of fire by going full speed away from it, hiding hull down behind some rocks. The Raider moved forward toward the Dark Reapers, and disembarked cargo of Dark Eldar Warriors. The remaining Dark Eldar Warrior Squads moved forward toward their enemy. The Raider fired its Horrorfex on the Guardian Squad screening the Dark Reapers, killing two of them and pinning the unit. Splinter Cannon fire from the other Dark Eldar Warrior Squads killed three of the Fire Dragons.

Turn 4
The Eldar began to unleash their assault. The Warp Spiders arrived, using their Warp Jump Generators to propel them in front of the pinned Guardian Squad, to take aim at the Dark Eldar Warriors. The Warp Spiders fired and killed three Warriors with their Deathspinners, while the Dark Reapers behind them fired on and destroyed the Raider with their Reaper Launchers. The Swooping Hawks soared over the battlefield, dropping their grenades on a Warrior Squad 2, killing five of them, and then they proceeded to land directly in front of Warrior Squad 1! The Swooping Hawks opened up with massed lasblaster fire at point blank range, killing seven Warriors from Squad 1, causing the squad to break and fall back. The Fire Dragons, Guardian Squad, Howling Banshees, and the Fire Prism all advanced towards the
enemy. The Fire Dragon Exarch managed to shoot down one of the Reaver jetbikes with his Firepike, while the Fire Prism missed at the same target. The Guardians' Scatter Laser killed another Dark Eldar Warrior.

The Dark Eldar Dracon with his retinue of Incubi arrived on the battlefield, accompanied by the unit of Wyches. The Warrior Squads advanced towards the Eldar, and fired their multiple Splinter Cannon at the Swooping Hawks, killing four of them. The Ravager moved out of cover in order to get the Warp Spiders in its line of fire. Opening up with its Dark Lances, the Ravager killed two of the aspect warriors. The Warrior Squad that had disembarked from the now wrecked Raider advanced on the Warp Spiders and assaulted them, only to be wiped out by the power blades of the Warp Spider Exarch.

Turn 5

The Howling Banshees assault the Warriors

The Warp Spiders and the remnant of the small Guardian Squad moved forward into the cover of the wrecked Raider. The Eldar right flank continued implacably towards the Dark Eldar lines. The Swooping Hawks jumped out of harms way, moving parallel to the Dark Eldar lines, landing on the slope of a hill near Warrior Squad 2. Covering the Howling Banshees' right flank, the Hawks opened fire on the newly arrived Wyches, killing all ten, completely wiping them out! The Howling Banshees advanced and assaulted Dark Eldar Warrior Squad 2, killing two of the Warriors with no losses of their own. The Fire Prism fired its Prism Cannon at Warrior Squad 4 and the Dracon's Retinue, killing two Warriors and 3 Incubi. The Guardian Scatter Laser killed another Warrior.

Warrior Squad 1, reeling from the barrage of fire from the Swooping Hawks, fell back off the battlefield.The Ravager, still making use of cover, lined up the Swooping Hawks. The Dracon and his Incubi moved up to the woods that were providing cover for Warrior Squad 4. The Ravager, Haemonculus, and Warrior Squad 3 fired their Dark Lances and Splinter Cannon at the Swooping Hawks, killing all but the Exarch. The Dark Lances from Warrior Squad 4 both missed their targets.  The Reaver Jetbikes broke cover and fired their blasters at the Fire Prism, destroying the Grav Tank's Prism Cannon. The jetbikes then assaulted the Fire Dragons, but the fight ended up being a draw. On the other side of the battlefield, the Haemonculus assaulted the Howling Banshees, who were already engaged with Dark Eldar Warrior Squad 2.  The Howling Banshees killed one warrior, but were
then themselves cut down and wiped out.

Turn 6

The Eldar continue their advance

The main Guardian Squad continued their advance, and the Farseer broke cover behind them, heading to aid the beleaguered Fire Dragons. On the way, the Farseer cast Guide on the Guardians. The Fire Prism, its main armament destroyed, moved behind the cover of trees. On the left flank, the Swooping Hawk Exarch moved into cover behind some rocks at the top of the hill. The Warp Spiders jumped out from behind the wrecked Raider to take up position between the Ravager and Dark Eldar
Warrior Squad 2, which had just wiped out the Howling Banshees. They fired their Death Spinners at the Warrior Squad, killing two, then assaulted them, wiping out the unit. The Haemonculus, caught up in the combat, survived but fled. The aspect warriors consolidated their position in some nearby trees. The Rangers, now out of cover, fired at Warrior Squad 4, killing one warrior. The Dark Reapers fired at Warrior Squad 3, killing two of them. The Scatter Laser in the Guardian Squad killed three more. The Farseer charged into combat with the Reaver Jetbikes, and destroyed one of them with his Witchblade. The sole survivor fled the battlefield.

Warrior Squad 3 moved forward under cover of a large rock outcropping, with the Ravager shifted left again, trying to get line of sight with its Dark Lances. Warrior Squad 4 and the Incubi moved forward into the woods, now in sight of the approaching Guardian Squad and Fire Dragons. Dark Lance fire from both the Ravager and Warrior Squad 3 wiped out the Warp Spiders, while Splinter Rifle fire killed three Guardians.

Turn 7

The last Dark Eldar break cover to deal death unto the Eldar

The main Guardian Squad, Fire Dragons, and Farseer finally moved into range, and they had a target in the form of Warrior Squad 4.

The Farseer cast Guide on the Guardians. The Rangers sniped one of the Warriors down, while the Dark Reapers shot three more. Then the Guardians opened up, killing four and wiping out the unit. The Fire Dragons then fired their fusion guns at the Incubi, killing all of them, leaving the Dracon without a retinue. Using his Spirit Stones, the Farseer then cast Eldritch Storm on Warrior Squad 3, killing two more warriors.

The Dark Eldar were severely depleted, but still were determined to hit the Eldar hard. Warrior Squad 3 broke cover and moved into the open, directly in front of the Guardian Squad. The Dracon and the Haemonculus moved out of the woods. On the right flank, the Ravager shot and killed one Ranger with its Dark Lances. The Haemonculus on that flank then used his Crucible of Malediction, which killed the Warlock with the Guardian Squad. The other Haemonculus, now close to the Guardians, fire his Destructor at them, killing four. Fire from the Dracon and Warrior Squad 3 killed eight more, severely damaging the unit, but the survivors held firm. The Dracon and Haemonculus then assaulted the Fire Dragons.

The Fire Dragon Exarch managed to strike the Dracon, who was saved by his Shadow Field. The Dracon then struck the Exarch down. The Haemonculus was wounded by the Fire Dragons, who then decided they had enough and fell back.

With that, both sides decided to fall back and call it a day. The Eldar had given the Dark Eldar a pounding, but the Dark Eldar's final strike severely blunted the Eldar victory.