Eldar vs. Marines

Eldar:
Farseer with Doom, Guide and Spirit Stones
6 Rangers
10 Dire Avengers, Exarch with dual Suriken Cannons and Bladestorm
Wave Serpent with Spirit Stones and twin linked Shuriken Cannons
6 Harlequins (4 with kisses), Shadowseer with Kiss, Troupe Master with power sword
3 War Walkers with Scatter Lasers
2 War Walkers with Eldar Missile Launchers

Ultramarine Forces:
10 Marines in a Rhino
10 Marines with Captain
7 Assault Marines
5 Terminators
Dreadnought

The scene was set.  The ruined hulk of an abandoned forge stood amongst the elegant spires of wraithbone.  The Eldar positioned themselves behind a small wooded area with the Ranger seated carefully in the trees.  The scourge of the Ultramarines moving in from behind the ruined building with the intent to wipe out the Eldar.

As the battle started, the Ultramarines saw their transport destroyed by a guided missile.  One marine perished in the resulting explosion and the rest dove to the ground to try and stay out of the line of fine.  Another marine fell to sniper fire.  The Wave Serpent spead across the field to try and get a better flanking position.  The marines and the dreadnought made a break for the cover of the building.

As the battle raged on, the War Walkers were guided and tried to whittle down the remains of the stranded  marine squad, but many of the shots fell short and only one marine fell.  This is a view of the battle up to this point.

The assault marines encountered a bit of a miscalculation during their jump and ended up on the far side of the battle with minimal support.  The rest of the marines from the rhino spread out and moved towards the Serpent and the rest of the marines managed to get better situated behind the building.

The Dire Avengers disembarked from the Wave Serpent and made their way towards the assault marines.  They unleashed a hail of fire, but were generally ineffective, only downing one marine.  The guided Walkers were more effective firing on the tactical squad, leaving only one marine with a rocket launcher alive.  That marine proved survived the fire from the snipers and the Wave Serpent, but then decided he had had enough and ran.  The Terminators managed to arrive and dropped in behind the Rangers and Harlequins.  They opened fire and took out two of the Harlequins.  The Assault Marines engaged the Dire Avengers and the avengers got the upper hand taking down one, but they ended up losing two in the return, but did not back down.

The terminators did not last long, though.  The Farseer doomed them and the guided Harlequins made short work, even in their thick armor.  The assault marines lost a few more to the avengers, but they were able to take down a few of the avengers as well.  The missile launcher equipped Walkers managed to get a lucky hit and turned the dreadnought into a slag heap.

The rest of the battle had little action.  The avengers and assault marines made little headway against each other, and the rest of the Eldar force eventually made it into view of the bunkered marines and demoralized them.

The final score: Eldar 3, Marines 0.

Here is a view of the final turn and the fleeing marines.

End of an Era

Well, it finally happened.

After years of playing numerous MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games, I have finally managed to reach the level cap in one of them.  That’s right, today Tinius, my Witch Hunter in Warhammer Online, managed to reach level 40 while killing some demons.  It didn’t take nearly as long as I expected, and the last few levels really seemed to fly by.  Now I just need to help my wife get her character up and then there’s all the other things to do.

It has been a fun ride so far, and I’m certainly going to keep on playing.  This is not the end by any means.

A New Dawn

Eldar force:
2 War Walkers with Missile Launchers
3 War Walkers with Scatter Lasers
5 Fire Dragons in a Wave Serpent with Shuriken Cannons
10 Dire Avengers, Exarch with dual Shuricats, Defend and Bladestorm
Farseer with Doom, Fortune and Spirit Stones
5 Rangers
5 Rangers

Marine force:
10 Marines, Sergeant, Flamer, Rocket launcher in a Rhino
10 Marines, Sergeant, Flamer, Rocket launcher
5 Terminators, 4 with power fists, 1 with power weapon
8 Assault Marines
Dreadnaught with close combat weapon and multi melta
Space Marine Captain

As dawn broke on the barren planet, the Eldar forces were faced with the task of eliminating the Ultramarine scourge.  Forces were deployed at opposite corners even though a pitched battle was expected.  One squad of rangers took cover behind a small hill, while the other squad stayed out of sight, hoping to catch the enemy unawares.  The Walkers made the first move in order to scout the enemy position and to get a better vantage point.  The Eldar successfully disrupted the enemy and were able to take the initiative in the battle.

The first round saw little action as the enemy was still out of range.  The Serpent sped forward with the blessing of the Farseer in order to deliver its precious cargo.  A few rockets were fired and one ranger was caught in the blast.  The dreadnought and assault troops advanced on the open flank.

As the sun climbed higher, the second wave of rangers entered the fray.  With little cover on the enemy flank, they decided to fall in behind the walkers.  The scatter lasers were able to get range on one of the squads of Marines and reduced their number, while the missiles only managed to disarm the Rhino.  The Avengers continued their march towards the enemy and the Serpent again sped towards the enemy.  At this point the assault marines and Dreadnought turned to face the oncoming threat, but all shots at the Serpent were ineffective.

With the Serpent in position it disgorged the Fire Dragons and they made a dash for the Dreadnought.  The Serpent followed by moving back to support and get in range to pickup the Avengers.  The scatter lasers and missile launchers combined to nearly whipe out the Space Marine Commander’s squad, leaving only a few survivers.  The Fire Dragons made short work of the Dreadnought, leaving nothing but a flaming crater.  Once this was completed, though, they fell to the terrible onslaught of the assault marines and had little chance of reprisal.  A Terminator squad also appeared on the field and decimated one of the ranger squads.

In a feeble attempt to protect themselves, the Walkers tried to take down the Terminators with mass laser fire, but the Terminators proved too tough.  The Avengers, though, had an open shot on the Assault Marines and used it fully to their advantage, killing all but two.  The rangers killed one more, but left the commander standing.  The crew of the Rhino finally disembarked and the Rhino foolishly attempted to ram the Serpent, leaving nothing but a scratch.  The terminators managed to get into combat with the Walkers and their power fists were too much, leaving nothing but some wreckage.

The battle began to dwindle as the casualties rose.  This would prove to be the last chance for the Eldar.  The missile launchers were able to take out a couple more marines, but not enough to be significant.  With a lack of targets in sight, the rest of the army was forced to position itself for a prolonged fight.  This was not to be, though, as the terminator crested a hill and rained fire down upon the remaining rangers, leaving no one alive.  The Space Marine captain boarded the Rhino with the rest of the large squad and was able to make it to safety.

The end score was Space Marines 4, Eldar 1.