Forgeworld New Releases - Dark Eldar Tantalus

New from Forgeworld:

The Dark Eldar Tantalus

First crafted, so it is said, for the Archon Surasis Grief of the Kabal of the Dark Mirror, the Dark Eldar Tantalus is an assault skimmer, somewhat larger and more complex in design than the Raider, and accordingly better armed. Its distinctive twin-hulled design houses powerful engine-reactors slaved to enhanced drives and its unique scythevane armament.

One of the largest Dark Eldar vehicles yet encountered by the Imperial war machine, the cruel reavers who crew this sleek engine of destruction take delight in mounting high-speed attacks, slicing through the hulls of enemy vehicles and rending infantry into crimson shreds, heralded by the screech of the molecular dissonance fields of its scythevanes and the rapid fire of its pulse-disintegrator armament.

The Tantalus, designed by Daren Parrwood, is a detailed full resin kit that includes a set of etched brass deck panels. Measuring nearly 11” from prow to stern, this twin-hulled vehicle is a great addition to any Dark Eldar army. With its full rules contained within Imperial Armour Apocalypse Second Edition.

Eldar vs. The Imperium Battle Report - Part II

Well, it is taking a bit longer than to get the video battle report up, but I will have it up in a day or two.  In the mean time, here are a few more photos and a bit more detail on what happened.

This was the main Imperial Artillery Park on Table # 3.  Table # 2 had about 50% of this as well.  Mostly Manticores (12) and Basilisks.  The enemy targeted the Basilsks, which was a mistake.  Manticores are much more deadly to Titans.  

This green patch had trees, and so granted a 4+ cover save.  Of course everything had camo netting!  While not WYSIWYG, we have a rule that as long as ALL vehicles have the exact same upgrades, you don't need to model them.  Enclosed crew compartment does have to be modeled because that is a fairly important one visually.  The idea is that the opponent should always know what he is dealing with.

The green Stormlord had Lord Castellan's Supreme Command and so gave tank hunters to all units within 24".

Table 1 Turn 1  The Warlord dominates the table, and has a Vortex Missile launcher underneath it.

Table # 1 was hotly contested and had the most infantry units.  There used to be a Reaver where that big hole is.  It was taken down to one Structure point on Turn 1 and then eliminated on Turn 2.  On Turn 2, a group of Wraithlords Flank Marched and were engaged by Marines and IG.  In fact the IG held their ground after being almost wiped out so the Wraithlords couldn't assault the Warlord!  They were then wiped out in Turn 3.

Dark Eldar Deep Striked very effectively, but their fragile raiders got whacked in turn 3.  The Eldar countered the Imperial Navy with their ridiculously effective Nightwings, which are almost impossible to shoot down with TWO saves!

The ELdar fielded THREE Phantom Titans!  But after blasting away on turn 1, they were neutralized by the Imperium at the bottom of Turn 1, having their weapons shot off or stunned for the most part.

At the far end of the Eldar table was a nice Armorcst Phantom Titan.  They actually hold up well in the game looks-wise.  They are a bit smaller, but not out of place.

Well, the complete run-down will be on video shortly!

Alec

130,000 pt Eldar vs. The Imperium Battle Report

On Saturday, Sept. 24th, the L.A. Games Workshop Battle Bunker and SoCal Apocalypse hosted a 130,000 point Apocalypse battle.  It was a blast and was very close in the end.

The Bunker has a loyal and dedicated group of Eldar players, and, combined with some newer Eldar players put together a team of 7 to take on the Imperial regulars who have played a few times together.  

The Imperial side was an even mix of IG and Marines (Blood Angels and Red Scorpions). The Eldar had 3 Phantom Titans and about 8 Revenants.  The Imperium had a Warlord Titan, 4 Reavers and 4 Warhounds.

Here are some photos from the Imperial side of things.

The Eldar team surveying Table # 1

Table # 2 Imperial Titans and Artillery

Table # 3 The Imperial artillery park

Table # 4, More Imperial artillery!

Eldar had first turn due to a roll off and the Imperium choosing to go second. The Eldar team wanted to use objective scoring out of the book, so objectives would only be counted at the end of the game.  This changed strategy, as usually going first is a benefit if you are using the modified objective rules.  But if you only count them at the end, then you want last licks to get to the objectives last.

The Bunker staff did a video battle report and I will get that up tomorrow.

Alec

Dark Eldar Razorwing spotted!

Thoughts on Objective Scoring

So I played a 4,500 point per person game yesterday with 3 Space Marine players (myself included) against a combined Eldar/Dark Eldar force.  Now before I get to the Objective Scoring, let me make some observations on the opposition armies.

1)  An Avatar is CHEAP!  But died to a single Drop-Podding Sternguard unit with their Hellfire Rounds.

2)  WraithLords are a pain in the butt.

3)  Dark Eldar Scourges are insane.  They die immediately the next turn, but my opponent deep-struck 6 units and they killed a lot of stuff.  The number of dice he rolled looked crazy.  My Whirlwinds cleaned them off the board.

4)  Wyches and Lilith are heinous.  Just shoot the hell out of them after they kill one of your units.

On the Space Marine side:

1)  A Land Raider Achilles is very survivable against Eldar/Dark Eldar.  Since it is immune to Lance weapons, all they can do is glance it.

2)  You can never have too much AT.

3)  Ultramarine characters are under-powered.  The whole codex is weak compared to every other codex released since.  You can put Marneus Calgar, Cassius, Tigirius and Sicarius in one army and they don't match up to any characters in any other codex.  VERY weak.  

Mephiston smacks down a Wraithlord, even after suffering a Perils of the Warp!

OK, so now to Objective Scoring.  We used the same rule we are using in The Big Game.  It is the objective scoring we use in SoCal Apocalypse and with the San Diego group I play with.  

Starting with Turn 2, you count each objective after every PLAYER TURN.  So after the top of Turn 2, the bottom of Turn 2, etc.    This leads to:

1.  More aggressive play.  You can't sit back and try and go for that last turn scoring.

2.  More assaults!  You have to get in their and mix it up and get the opponent off the objective.

3.  Less reserves.  You need your stuff on the board.  If you keep stuff in reserve those items are not helping you.  Units must have an impact all game long.

So try this method with your game.  If you don't think about it and go for objectives right away, you will find you get behind in the scoring and you can't come back.

We will be using this method in The Big Game and I think it will make for some great battles.  we have a discussion thread on this on the Apocalypse40K.com forums.

Alec