Hey all

ive not gotten any modelling done this week as i have an eye infection.
(thankfully it is mostly better now)
to cheer me up we decided to have a quick game ahead of schedule (we werent planning on playing for another few weeks, until all my models were put together - we made do with what i'd done so far, with mostly empty bases ).

this was our first game of the year, and my first battle with the Tau, so we decided to just take it easy and treat it as a warm up - so we didnt spend time taking notes/pics for a batrep. as a result, this will just be a quickie from memory. once ive finished the army and we are playing proper games, we will write more indepth reports with diagrams and photos (this will probably be after Kate has introduced herself, with us taking in turns to post our own Turns).

first off, here are the forces we used:

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Tau Combat Patrol [400 pts]

Fire Warrior Drone Team [6 Tau = 98pts]
Team Leader: Pulse Rifle, Markerlight, Bonding Knife, Hard-wired Target Lock, Hard-wired Multi-tracker, EMP Grenades.
5 Fire Warrior "Drones": Pulse Rifle.

Sniper Drone Team [1 Tau & 3 Drones = 80pts]
Spotter: Pulse Pistol, Drone Controller, Networked Markerlight, Stealth Field Generator, Targeting Array.
3 Sniper Drones: Rail Rifle, Target Lock, Stealth Field Generator, Targeting Array.

Gun Drone Squadron [6 Drones = 72pts]
6 Gun Drones: Twin-linked Pulse Carbine.

Stealth Team [3 Suits & 6 Drones = 150pts]
3 Stealth Suits: Burst Cannon, Stealth Armour, Stealth Field Generator, Drone Controller + 2 Gun Drones.

vs.

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Eldar Combat Patrol [400 pts]

Guardian Defender Squad [10 models + 1 Heavy Weapon Platform = 100pts]
10 Guardians: Shuriken Catapults
Heavy Weapon Platform: Eldar Missile Launcher

Guardian Jetbike Squadron [3 Models = 76pts]
2 Jetbikes: Twin Linked Shuriken Catapults, Shuriken Pistols
1 Jetbike: Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Pistol

Dire Avenger Aspect Warrior Squad [5 Models = 92pts]
Exarch: 2 Shuriken Catapults, Exarch Powers: Bladestorm
4 Dire Avengers: Avenger Shuriken Catapults

Swooping Aspect Warrior Squad [5 Models = 132pts]
Exarch: Lasblaster, Warrior Power: Skyleap
4 Swooping Hawks (84): Lasblasters
Plasma & Haywire Grenades, Swooping Hawk Grenade Pack, Swooping Hawk Wings

the mission was a standard Combat Patrol game on a 4' x 4' board with lots of varied terrain. I won the roll off to choose Deployment zones, and started deploying first. i hid the Gun Drones behind a wood on my left, the FWs in a wood in the middle, the Stealth Suits in the open between them, and the Sniper Team on my right peeking over the ridge of a hill.
Kate tucked everything out of LOS behind a large ruin on my left (she plays defensively, so this wasnt too suprising ).

i won the roll off for first turn, and as i couldnt see anything (and i wanted the last turn to deal with Skyleaping Hawks) i made her go first.

i wont break it down turn by turn, but here are some highlights:

- DA Bladestorm combined with Jetbikes reduced the Stealths to 1 fleeing Suit in a single turn
- Gun Drones chased off the Jetbikes (after Pinning them for a turn too)
- Hawks failed to arrive until turn 4, only caused 1 casualty with their Grenades, and only Skyleaped once after that, sticking around for turns 5 & 6 to do a couple more casualties with their Lasblasters
- light casualties amongst Guardians and DAs, mainly caused by Sniper Drones
- less than 50% Markerlight hits
- DAs steamrolled through the Drones, Suits and FWs (between Bladestorming, Fleeting and Charging, despite my Cover)

game ended with 1 Sniper Drone and the Spotter regrouping behind their hill, cornered by the (unscathed) Hawks & advancing DAs, with the Guardians still firing missiles from in the distance - everything else was wiped out!

Final VPs:

Tau scored 76 (Jetbikes fled the table, everything else above 50%)
Eldar scored 320 (just the Sniper Team @50% left)

Result: Crushing Victory for Kate!

so, where did i go wrong?

my main error was over estimating the survival abilities of the Stealth Suits while underestimating the combined fire of the Jetbikes and Dire Avengers (i should have hopped back behind the left hand wood after firing, rather than advancing). i also left the Sniper Team with too narrow a fire arc (the wood in the middle of my Deployment Zone cut off their view of the left hand side of the board, where the DAs and Jetbikes advanced). also i think it was a mistake for the FWs to hold their position when the DAs got too close (if they had fled out the other side of the wood it might have kept them alive long enough to Rapid Fire into the DAs next turn).

ashamedly, my best performing unit were the Gun Drones!

next time i will be a bit more conservative with the Stealths (hiding when the enemy get too close), a bit bolder with the Snipers (to get a better position during deployment) and a bit more cowardly when CC looks likely. a few less 1's to wound will help too.

was a fun game though, with lots going on (the Guard can be a bit samey, so the variety was nice), and even though things started to go down hill for me from about turn 3, it wasnt really a foredrawn conclusion 'til about turn 5 (with only turn 6 really being just a formality). a good round of shooting (or even a draw in CC) would have put the brakes on the DAs and could have balanced things out a bit from then on.

cant wait for the rematch! (we have left the Terrain set up)

cheers for reading

~ Tim

It's always surprising how many mistakes you make and how rusty you can get after not playing for a while. Even if you know all the books inside out, watch and help out with other games... when you play a a game yourself it can all fall apart just from being out of practice.

Glad you both had fun

Sing along to the tune of the french national anthem...

Eldar dar dar dar dar dar dar dar...da da da dar da da dar.

All hail the mighty kate.

Of course, my first post's comments related to you only Tim. Kate won because the opposite is true:

1. Women do not make mistakes
2. Women NEVER forget

mattjgilbert wrote:Of course, my first post's comments related to you only Tim. Kate won because the opposite is true:

1. Women do not make mistakes
2. Women NEVER forget

Hahahahaha, true that, true that. Well, at least that is what they have made us believe, and even if they do make a mistake, it is because of us anyways, so there you go...

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:this was our first game of the year, once ive finished the army and we are playing proper games,

I still can't get over (in a shocked rather than a negative way) how some folks can talk about something so much and do it so little (think about the naughty teenager who talks about sex all the time but doesn't get any )
When you say proper games do you mean 1000 or above? ..it would help with your appreciation of GAP if you G\P'd
Where did you go wrong, well you aimed for fluffy list rather than choosing things that perform and letting the fluff sort itself out(you've said this previously..like wanting someone to kneecap you before the battle).. you were rusty and your opponent savvy.. apart from that I can't help because there isn't any turn based or diagramatically thing where I can go at point 14 you should have gone right\backwards
Maybe some
2 Firestorm XV8s (Missile Pod, Burst Cannon, Multitracker) or just anything JSJy

Tim only plays CP I think (Tim?) So by proper games I'm guessing he means... with fully painted/complete CP forces.

As an aside my newly painted vindicator went against the norm on Sunday and didn't die without firing a shot (like all other newly painted tanks seem to do before you get a chance to show them off). My man-of-the-match vindicator (with dead-eye whirlwind support) redistributed Tau parts all of the battlefield for 6 full turns. For the greater good you understand.

[EDIT] Thought I'd look again at the two lists. Kate's is much... meatier than yours I think. It means business. Thinking about the combat patrol round we ran at our tournament on Sunday - you need things that pack a big punch but that can also survive. I think kmb's suggestion is good.

Think about how your force might play against other CP lists. How would it fare against something like:

4 Necron Destroyers
11 Necron Warriors

killmaimburn wrote:I still can't get over (in a shocked rather than a negative way) how some folks can talk about something so much and do it so little

well thankfully there are lots of ways to stay involved in the hobby as a whole (rules/tactics discussions, collecting/modelling/painting/Terrain building, writing lists, reading fluff etc) even if you arent playing.

it had suprised us actually that when we thought about it we realised we hadnt played since Xmas. we had made a conscious decision though to pack the gaming stuff away to work on new Terrain and models during our "hobby time" for a while instead. weve managed to get the bulk of the Acid Lake work done, made good progress with the Tau, and ive produced some one-off conversions too (Tech Priest, Banshee, Scanner). and we are only just into May. not bad, IMO.

killmaimburn wrote:When you say proper games do you mean 1000 or above?

Matt got it, although i dont just mean fully painted and assembled CP, but also "the gloves are off" (both in terms of tactical tips and help remembering stats/rules etc, in readiness for when we play others), and taking proper notes and pics for batreps... we also arent playing on "proper" Terrain yet either, as nothing is ready (we played with generic terrain - old hills & trees etc - last night, as opposed to the themed terrain we are working on, like the Acid Lake).

these games (plural now, as we played another last night - more on that in a bit) are just warm-ups. they arent being counted towards the narrative of our planet, for example.

as for bigger games, well, im going to have enough on my plate to last me a good while yet (between finishing the Tau, all the Terrain, and working on the other armies ive bought). i might get the IG (or Kate's Eldar) out at a bigger pts level at some point, but its not something im planning. keeping things at CP level allows me to get more done (building a full size list for all the armies ive got planned would be pretty much impossible, and also CP games themselves are easier to fit in).

killmaimburn wrote:...or just anything JSJy

well 15 out of my 25 models can jump-shoot-jump.
(and "what did i do wrong?" was really meant as a rhetorical question )

anyway, we managed to squeeze in another game last night (much quicker the second time round as the Terrain was already set up and the armies were already out, and everything was fresh in our minds). same armies and mission as before.

i won the roll off for Deployment Zone choice again, and decided to swap sides this time. i put the Sniper Team in the middle of my DZ to maximise their field of fire, with the FWs in the big ruin to my right (the same one Kate had hidden behind in the first game), opposite the Jetbikes who were hiding behind a wood. the Stealths went to my far left with the Gun Drones, opposite the Guardians and DAs who were skulking behind a hill.

i won the roll off for first turn, and decided to take the initiative and go first. this game went a lot differently than the first - i was starting to get to grips with the force.

first turn the Sniper Team managed to pick off a couple of Guardians who were just visible past the edge of the ridge, and Pinned them. this allowed the Stealths and Gun Drones to advance without worrying too much about incoming fire. the FWs couldnt see the Jetbikes, so used their turn to get into a better position within the ruin (its quite big, with only the back edge within the DZ).

getting the Guardians Pinned when she thought they were hidden well enough was a bit of a shock for Kate (i set up my Sniper Team last, so i got to see where most of the Eldar had deployed before i picked their spot), and this lead to a bit of indecision Re: the DAs, who didnt really commit to countering the advancing Stealths. i think it was a bit of a "rabbit in the headlights" moment (and im sure she wont mind me saying that). the Hawks Skyleaped and the Jetbikes picked off a FW before retreating.

the Stealths capitalised on the lack of resistance and went in for the kill, reducing the Guardians to a single (Pinned) EML crewman. they then hopped away to keep them out of range to be counter-charged by the DAs.
the FWs managed a few shots against the Jetbikes, who had over-reached in their Movement Phase and couldnt quite make it back to safety with their Assault Phase move. didnt cause any damage, though. it was now that i realised i had deployed one of the FWs badly, as he was outside the ruin (beside it). this meant he couldnt contribute to the shots against targets in front of and to the other side of the ruin. i made a mental note to move him into the ruin if i got the chance. the Gun Drones took the opportunity to advance again, leaving them practically in Kate's Deployment Zone (i hadnt committed them to a target at either side of the board yet, so they had just advanced right up the middle as fast as possible).

the DAs advanced to counter the Stealths, and managed to kill 1/3 of the squad, causing them to fall back. the Hawks failed their Reserve roll. the Jetbikes advanced more cautiously this time, only risking shots with the Shuriken Cannon (allowing them to move back to safety behind the wood with their Assault Phase move), picking off another FW. Kate and I both realised that if they were allowed to continue in this fashion for much longer, they would wipe the FWs out without taking any damage - i now knew where to commit my Gun Drones...

the Stealths rallied (no Bonding Knife, but they were above 50% luckily) and Consolidated back towards the DAs. aided by the Sniper Team (and their Markerlight ), they exacted their revenge, dropping the Avengers down to their last man, before hopping back away. the Drones changed course, moving sideways towards the Jetbikes. with no targets, the FWs moved to reposition themselves in the ruin (so the badly deployed model could now see out).

the Hawks arrived, but their grenades missed the Stealths. they Skyleaped back away to safety. the last Guardian and DA passed their LMS tests and retreated to try and deny VPs. the EML missed the Stealths. the Jetbikes were starting to feel cornered by the FWs and advancing Drones, so decided to lash out. they moved to counter the Drones and fired to full effect... killing nothing. too late to turn back they charged into combat. blows were traded but no damage caused.

rather than wait around to get shot once the dust had settled, the remaining FWs charged in to help out the Drones. the Sniper Team had no targets (DA/Guardian hidden, Jetbikes in CC, Hawks flying high) and feared the iminent return of the Hawks, so they retreated behind some rocks at the back of my DZ. as the DA & Guardian were too far away now, the Stealths decided to play for VP denial (a lucky Plasma Missile could drop them below half-strength) and ducked back behind a hill out of sight. the Jetbikes split their attacks between the FWs and Drones, but neither side failed the 1-2 saves they were called on to take.

the Hawks landed, dropping grenades and firing Lasblasters at the Stealths, but failing to do any damage. Guardian and DA had no targets. the stalemate CC finally ended, with a Drone passing a Save but a Jetbike failing one. by now the remaning Jetbikes were outnumbered 5:1, failed their Morale test and were caught in a Sweeping Advance (due to the Drones' Init). this combat could really have gone either way (both sides were fighting like Mr Burns ), but eventually someone had to die, and it just happened to be a Jetbike. the Tau Consolidated towards the Hawks...

the Stealths, Drones and Fire Warriors all converged on the Hawks (the Snipers couldnt see from their hiding place) and knocked them out of the sky, with just 1 remaining. the Drones charged in to finish the job, and actually managed to pull it off! they hopped away behind a crater, and the Stealths retreated back behind their hill, leaving everyone safe from the EML.

the EML moved to the top of the ridge, but couldnt find any targets, ending the game.

Final VPs:

Tau scored 304 (just the Guardians and DAs left, both below 50%)
Eldar scored 0 (Gun Drones and Sniper Team untouched, FWs and Stealths above 50%)

Result: Crushing Victory for me!

so, what went wrong?

we discussed what had happened after the game, and i think there were 2 main problems for the Eldar. firstly, Kate didnt really have a plan for the DAs, and when the Guardians got Pinned it took her by suprise. if she had a more solid idea of what she wanted the Avengers to do, and had stuck to it regardless of the shock, they could have done some damage to the Stealths first and reduced my firepower before i could use them.

secondly, when the Jetbikes started to feel cornered, they should have used their speed to redeploy over to the other side of the battlefield. this would have stopped the Drones/FWs from ganging up on them, and would have allowed them to help the DAs defend the Guardians. even J-S-J'ing, the Drones wouldnt have been able to keep up with them, and it could really have tipped the balance. hindsight is great though - this is a learning experience afterall.

even though i won this time, i still made mistakes. the FWs were too isolated: their Markerlight was completly wasted as no-one else was shooting at the same thing as them. they need to work in tandem with other units. also there was the model i put outside the ruin (forgetting that he couldnt see through it).

other than that i was pretty happy - i left my options open when moving my Drones and Suits, so i could wait to see how that turn's shooting went before deciding where to go with my Assault Phase moves. i also backed down when i had scored an advantage in VPs and hid to maintain it. luck seemed to balance out too (the first game i rolled 5 ones out of 6 hits needing 2+ to wound at one point, and in the second game Kate rolled a similar batch of ones when trying to Save the Hawks).

we both learnt lessons and became more familiar with our forces, so mission completed.

once my eye is better (almost there - the drops and oinkment the Doc gave me are working a treat) we will get back into the modelling side of things. Kate has to base most of her models and im going to get those Drones put together. we might squeeze in a 3rd game before then, but im not sure.

cheers

~ Tim

Vox the arbites!
Tim's crushed kate!
It'll be in all the papers.

ruffian4 wrote:Sing along to the tune of the french national anthem...

Eldar dar dar dar dar dar dar dar...da da da dar da da dar.

All hail the mighty kate.

No, no, no! Not the French Anthem...use John Williams's Emperial March from Empire Strikes Back.

DAR dar-da-dar, da-dada, DAR dar-da-dar, da-dada....

Better?

Ive just realised that in both games i completly forgot that Stealth Teams can Infiltrate! i knew that Gun Drones can Deep Strike (if the mission permits), but as this isnt included in the Combat Patrol mission as standard i had written this ability off. Infiltration on the other hand is allowed, and in both games i should have used it.

oh well, i did say they were warm up games...

~ Tim

You really need to read the rules a bit more Tim

mattjgilbert wrote:You really need to read the rules a bit more Tim

i listed all the weapons and wargear on my army list/reference sheet, but not special rules. D'oh!

they are certainly a lot differen to my IG. i think i remembered to do/use everything else though...

cheers

~ Tim

hey all

we went to Cardiff for the day last Thursday, and while there we played a great game on their gorgeous ruined city board.

unfortunately Seth was very restless (the train announcer had woken him early from his afternoon nap), and as a result we couldnt take notes or pics as we had to keep him occupied through eachother's turns. i tried writing a proper batrep from memory, but the turns started to blur together so i gave up on that.

instead im just going to be brief (i wanted to say something for completeness sake, before posting the 4th batrep, for the game we played at home last night, with pics). first, the result:
- the Tau wiped out the Dire Avengers and chased off the Jetbikes, scoring 168 VPs
- the Eldar wiped out the Gun Drones, reduced the Stealths below half strength (VPs drawn at this point), and then seized victory in the last turn by chasing off the Fire Warriors, scoring 245 VPs (Solid Victory)

there was a lot of terrain - big ruins, lots of rubble and wreckage, so it was kinda tricky for our armies to get to grips with eachother.

some highlights:
- the Stealths and Jetbikes played cat and mouse for a few turns before ending up in combat.
- the Swooping Hawks fought Fire Warriors for a couple of rounds before emerging victorious.
- the Stealths and Sniper Team took out the Dire Avengers.
- the Guardians and Jetbikes combined fire to take out the Gun Drones.

my main mistake was to leave the Drones isolated - they were supposed to work in tandem with the Stealths, but i changed my plans after seeing Kate's Deployment and Infiltrated the Stealths to try and sneak up on the DAs before they could do too much damage. this left the Drones as a sacrificial distraction unit (a job they performed well), and they were wiped out before they could make their points back.

Kate realised that she needed to pick her battles a little more carefully when it comes to charging her Jetbikes into CC...

i also had some rotten luck (not an excuse!:P) - my Sniper Team's Markerlight missed 4 turns in a row, rolling a 2 to hit (when needing 3's) every time!

all in all it was a great game. lots of fun, very close, and gave us chance to practice using our forces (and get out of our comfort zone by playing in a new - and public - place).

cheers

~ Tim
p.s. i just wanted to say a big "Thank You" to the staff at GW Cardiff for letting us borrow their table for the afternoon - cheers!

you can read our 4th batrep (with PICS!) in its own thread here.

last night we had another game at home. unfortunately it was getting late (and we knew we wouldnt have time to finish it off tonight as we need to start packing to go away), so we decided just to play fast and furious and not worry about taking pics and notes. so you are just going to get a quick batrep from memory.

it was a very bloody (to the point of "meat grinder") and close game, that came right down to the last turn - lots of fun!

(we used the same Terrain as last game, but swapped DZs)

first, the result:
- the Tau chased off the Jetbikes & Dire Avengers (after taking both units down to 1 model) and the Guardians, and wiped out the Swooping Hawks (finishing them off in CC!), to score the full 400 VPs
- the Eldar chased off the Gun Drones (down to 1 model) and the Fire Warriors (down to 2 models), and wiped out th Stealth team (in one turn!), scoring 320 VPs (just the Sniper Team left)

this left a VP margin of 20% - a "Solid Victory" to the Tau.

(funnily enough, this was almost exactly the same VP difference as the game we played in Cardiff, only in my favour this time )

some highlights:
- the Sniper Team and Stealth Team combined fire in the first turn to kill 2 Jetbikes, leaving the third to flee the board before he'd done anything
- the Guardians and Dire Avengers combined fire to wipe out the Stealth Team in their first turn (more on this later)
- return fire from the Fire Warriors and Sniper Team sent the Guardians packing
- Kate broke her usual pattern and decided to keep the Swooping Hawks on the table, at least until the first few turns unfolded. they ended up staying down all game (i think she took your advice, Matt )
- the Swooping Hawks chased off the Gun Drones in CC, but then bouced off the Fire Warriors and got taken down by the Sniper Team who charged in as reinforcements

in the end it could have gone either way in the last player turn of the game. Kate had just 1 Dire Avenger left - if:
- he didnt fall back (or only fell back a short distance, so was still in range),
- he killed at least 1 Sniper Drone,
- and the Team failed its Morale test,
she would have won.
alternatively, as long as he didnt Fall Back, it would have been a Draw.

as it happened though, she rolled a 10 for this LMS test (vs Ld9) and an 8 for his Fallback Move (which even halved due to Difficult Terrain put him out of range). i didnt feel too bad about this as i was in a bit of a better position by this point (untouched Sniper Team vs. 1 surviving Dire Avenger). still, very close stuff!

one point that deserves a particular mention is how she took out my Stealth Team - it was like an example out of one of my old "Sniping" threads (who remembers those from the old days on the GW Forums? OMG that was 2 years ago!) - and the best bit was that it was all accidental!

first, il set the scene: my Stealth Team had just leapt forward to gun down the Jetbikes, and then in their Assault Phase they hopped towards the Guardians who were hiding behind the Ridge (see Terrain pic here). i tried to be conservative with my move, so the Guardians wouldnt be able to get into range to use their Shuriken Catapults against them, but misjudged the distance ever so slightly (to catastrophic effect)...

here's a diagram of what went down:



the Guardians fired first and passed their Stealth Field roll (that one Guardian broke cover and moved forward to act as a spotter, making it easier to score the distance required). 1 Drone died to their Shuriken Catapults (the Plasma Missile missed). because of their limited range, there were only 2 drones i could remove (see diagram). as it turned out, this was a case of (inadvertant) "Range Sniping"...

now came the "Combined Arms": the Dire Avengers fired next. now, if the Guardians hadnt killed one of those 2 Drones, there would have been 3 Suits and 3 Drones in range of the Avenger Shuriken Catapults. there would have been no Majority Armour Group, so the worst Save would have been considered the Majority - i.e. the Drones would take wounds first. however, because of the Guardians "Tipping the Balance", the Majority Armour Group was now the Stealth Suits themselves! this meant that the Suits took the majority of the wounding hits from the Avengers (6 out 8!), and failed enough Saves for them all the be removed.

then, at the end of the Eldar Shooting Phase, the loss of their Drone Controllers caused all the remaining Drones to be removed too!
(an example of "Assassination" )

the whole unit wiped out just because of 4 key casualties - first the Drone that made the Suits the majority, and then the Suits themselves with their Drone Controllers. if i had been able to pick a Drone from the left hand side of the unit when the Guardians shot at them, it could have gone very differently when the Avengers opened fire (much less chance of failing 3 x 3+Svs out of 3 than there is out of 6!). if the Stealth Team had survived then things would have been quite nasty for the Eldar next turn, too...

anyway, i thought it deserved special mention (especially considering it happened by chance!).

cheers

~ Tim