Forces from Craftworld Cor Mira and the Kabal of the Blackened Sun

This was my second game in our 40k League. Craftworld Eldar meet their long-lost kin from Commorragh!

Eldar of Craftworld Cor Mira:

-Farseer
     Fortune, Doom, Spirit Stones, Runes of Witnessing
-Seer Council - 5 Warlocks
     x3 Destructor, Embolden, Enhance

-Farseer w/ Guide

-10 Dire Avengers
     Avenger Exarch w/Twin Catapults, Bladestorm
     Waveserpent w/Twin Scatter Lasers

-10 Dire Avengers
     Avenger Exarch w/Twin Catapults, Bladestorm
     Waveserpent w/Twin Scatter Lasers

-15 Guardians
     Brightlance Platform
     Warlock w/Conceal

-3 War Walkers w/Dual Scatter Lasers

-Falcon
     Starcannon, Vectored Engines, Holo-Fields, Spirit Stones

Archon Malagant’s Kabal of the Blackened Sun:


-Archon with Shadowfield, Punisher, Tormentor Helm, Plasma Grenades

-Wych Drachite with Agonizer, Splinter Pistol, Wych Weapons, Plasma Grenades
     -Retinue: 5 Wyches w/ Wych Weapons and Grenades; 2 with Blasters;
     1 Succubus w/ Wych Weapons, Agonzier, Splinter Pistol, Plasma Grenades
     1 Raider with Dark Lance and Horrorfex

-6 Wyches w/ Wych Weapons and Plasma Grenades; 2 with Blasters
     1 Succubus w/ Wych Weapons, Agonizer, Splinter Pistol, Plasma Grenades
     1 Raider with Dark Lance and Horrorfex

-10 Warriors with 2 Dark Lances

-10 Warriors with 2 Dark Lances

-5 Warriors with 1 Dark Lance
     1 Raider with Dark Lance and Horrorfex

-5 Warriors with 1 Dark Lance
     1 Raider with Dark Lance and Horrorfex

-5 Warriors with 1 Dark Lance
     1 Raider with Dark Lance and Horrorfex

-Ravager with 3 Disintegrator
-Ravager with 3 Disintegrator
-Ravager with 3 Disintegrator

Deployment type was Spearhead. Mission type was Capture and Control.

The terrain was dominated by a large hill in the center of the table and a two-tier hill on the west-middle end. The southeast corner was covered with spaceship wreckage. A few ruined buildings were scattered around the battlefield.

The Craftworld forces arrived on the battlefield first, taking up positions in the northwest corner. Behind a building deep in their corner was the Falcon with the Seer Council inside. In front of that building was a large group of Guardians on foot with a Bright Lance. Behind the hill on the west side of the battlefield were the two Wave Serpents with Dire Avengers inside. Peeking over the hill, the war walkers stood ready to lay down fire while the vehicles advanced. A Warlock stood behind the hill to support the walkers with his psychic powers.

The Kabal foot forces took position in ruins where they’d have cover from incoming fire but had decent firing arcs for their Dark Lances. Ravagers set up in position to use their bulk to block line of sight to the many Raiders. The Wyches were split to support the flanks while the bulk of the Raider Squadrons were set up centrally to avoid incoming fire for the first few turns.

Craftworld Turn 1

The Guardians bravely march forward towards their Dark brethren. The Seer Council zips behind them to seek cover behind some ruins. The Wave Serpents advance over the walkers to lay fire on the Kabal position.

The Guardian’s Lance takes a weapon off the north-most Ravager. The South-west Ravager is destroyed five times over by psychically-enhanced Scatter Laser fire from the walkers. Wave Serpent fire immobilizes the Drachite’s Raider.

Kabal Turn 1

A Raider squad flats-out towards the southwest corner, with an eye to moving towards the Craftworld objective. The Archon and wyches move towards the Guardians…the wyches disembark to find some prisoners, while the Archon observes from the Raider. The two remaining Ravagers move to the East side of the central hill with line-of-sight to the War Walkers.

Everything shoots at War Walkers, and the massed Dark Eldar firepower kills one walker…

The Wyches assault the guardians, beating them handily in combat and taking 5 of them prisoner (including the Warlock!), and consolidate behind their Raider, stashing the prisoners onboard.

Craftworld Turn 2

The Seer Council’s Falcon zips over the ruins to outflank the Dark Eldar advance. One squad of Dire Avengers gets out of their Wave Serpent, then they move towards the lone Raider while their Serpent moves to fire at the Kabal’s strongpoint. The other Wave Serpent moves to drop off its load of Dire Avengers next to the first.

The Warlock directing the War Walkers concentrates their fire to wipe out the Wych squad on the hill, obliterating them easily. The Seer Council’s Falcon destroys the Ravager with the missing gun. The Exarch of the Dire Avenger squad farthest in the corner directs a Bladestorm at the Raider, Wrecking it: the Raider Squad disembarks on the far side of the wreck, out of line of sight of the other Dire Avenger squad, which chooses to run around the front of the ruined building.

Kabal Turn 2

Archon Malagant directs his Raider towards the War Walkers. The last remaining Ravager moves up on the hill, with line of sight to the Dire Avengers.

Dark Lance fire was slightly more effective this turn, disarming completely one of the Wave Serpents, and Shaking the Falcon. Disintegrator fire from the Ravager annihilated the Dire Avengers, killing all but the Exarch.

The Archon very fleetly ran forward and assaulted the War Walkers, where his drug-enhanced abilities caused him to cut them down as though they were soft flesh instead of hard metal. He then consolidated towards the surviving Dire Avengers.

Craftworld Turn 3

The Dire Avengers that had Bladestormed on Turn 2 embarked on their Wave Serpent, which shifted towards the middle of the table to lay down fire on the surviving Dark Eldar. The lone Dire Avenger Exarch bravely crashed through the ruins to take on the small Raider squadron. The Falcon edged forward. The disarmed Wave Serpent rammed the last Ravager, causing it to explode!

The other Wave Serpent’s guns wrecked the Archon’s Raider.

The Exarch assaulted and killed two of the Dark Warriors, but they held firm, fighting tenaciously to keep him occupied and away from the rest of the Kabal. The Warlock that had been directing the War Walkers, enraged at their destruction, assaulted the Archon wildly. He was promptly bitch-slapped by the Archon, who made a mask from his face before consolidating closer to the Wave Serpent with the Dire Avengers on board.

Kabal Turn 3

Sensing the time had come, Archon Malagant signaled the two Raider squadrons, who commenced their pre-arranged maneuvers: with blinding speed they dove across the battlefield, positioning themselves to take the Craftworld objective. The Drachite’s Wyches let their presence be known…they got out of their Raider and moved to support the Warriors holding the Kabal’s objective…careful to stay out of potential Seer Council range!

Five Dark Lance shots only managed to Shake the Falcon again.

The Archon himself moved to tear apart the vehicle in front of him, but in his drug-induced rage he managed to only immobilize the vehicle…he knew he was going to die, but knew that he’d given his forces an opportunity to claim the battlefield. The Dire Avenger Exarch continued to grapple with the three remaining warriors, neither side able to gain an advantage.

Craftworld Turn 4

The Dire Avengers calmly stepped out of their vehicle and lined up to shoot the Archon. The weaponless Dire Avenger attempted to ram one of the Raiders, but had no effect. The Falcon swooped forward, the Seer Council disembarking to make their Dark brothers pay for their sins.

The immobile Wave Serpent shot every round it had at the Archon, but his Shadowfield proved too effective, as he avoided all damage. But the distraction of avoiding that fire proved his undoing, as the Bladestorming Dire Avengers ripped him apart with unerring accuracy.

Yet again, the Exarch and Warriors wrestled, both sides unable to gain any ground against the other.

Kabal Turn 4

The Drachite took command of the remaining forces. She signaled for the Raider Squads to finish off the Dire Avengers, so they moved slightly forward, and all the passengers took to the rails to shoot down upon their hated kin. The Drachite herself led her Wyches towards the Seer Council, ready to educate them in Gladiator style combat!

The Dark Lances and Splinter Rifles of the Raider squad killed just over half the Dire Avengers, who were unaffected by seeing their kin cut down. Dark Lances from the Warriors Shook the Falcon again.

The Drachite’s Retinue nimbly hops, skips, and jumps their way in to the Seer Council. The ensuing fight sees many on both sides die, but neither side breaks.

Craftworld Turn 5

The Falcon moved towards the Kabal objective, contesting the objective. The Wave Serpent rammed one of the Raiders, wrecking it, but the Warriors were able to disembark close enough to hold the objective. The Dire Avengers ran towards their objective, getting close enough to claim it, though unable to fire due to last turn’s Bladestorm.

The combat between the surviving Seer Council and the Drachite sees the remainder of the Seer Council destroyed. The Exarch kills one of the Raider squad, but they remaining two refuse to flee.

Kabal Turn 5

The Raider Squads unload on and kill the last of the Dire Avengers. The Wyches and Warriors fire at the Falcon, stripping it of weapons.

The Game ends with the Kabal holding one objective, the other contested.

Bob’s Thoughts: I knew that going second was going to be painful against such massive firepower. My overall plan was simply to wreck vehicles with Dark Lances and kill the occupants with Ravagers. Since I was unable to destroy any vehicles to force disembarkation, and since my Ravagers were destroyed so handily, that plan never really worked. I ended up having to hope to win a war of attrition and try to get troops surviving on both objectives. I’d also wanted to get the Seer Council out of their vehicle so that I could shoot them up and assault them with Wyches, which I thought would do well against them. That part worked out once the Council was commited, but took longer than I’d hoped. I think I could/should have deployed a lot differently, completely isolating the War Walkers and making everything else come to me, then late-game rushing to take the objective. As it was, losing so many vehicles in the first two turns nearly cost the game.

Archon Malagant’s forces will be retiring to the Webway for some concentrated Dark Lance firing practice. In this battle 48 Dark Lances were fired, killing in total only one War Walker!! In a previous battle vs. the Ultramarines it took 37 Dark Lance shots to kill a Land Raider. Something must be done to improve their accuracy!