2v2 game against Eldar/Dark Eldar

[WatchCaptainAzrael]

Fraters,

 

I have recently intercepted a transmission from a beleaguered Imperial Guard regiment. The accursed Eldar and their lascivious offshoot of Commorragh have formed an unlikely alliance and are putting a world of the Emperor to the sword. As it stands, the Sons of the Lion are forced to fight side by side with the humans; a suboptimal choice to be sure, but we do as we must.

 

Alas, I am but a recently ordained Company Master (or one with limited experience), so I have little in the way of ideas of what manner of strike force would best complement the IG. Despite the conflicts, all forces are well-stocked with a wide variety of arsenal (it's gonna be a Vassal 40K game, no worries about models or lack thereof). Have any of you been forced into such a position, that you had to pool your resources with the Imperial Guard against such a treacherous foe? What advice in the way of complementing each others' strengths would you offer?

 

Your Brother in Arms,

++REDACTED BY THE INNER CIRCLE++

 

PS: There is no concern over completely smashing the other side. We'll be mostly running fluffy lists, but the Imperial side would rather play something with synergy so it doesn't become a one-sided beatdown either. We're both very green, and I'm not talking about armor color. B)

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Considering it's IG and it will not lack in shooting, I would complement IG with some muscle. I would probably go with some units of Ravenwing to outflank and force the opponent to move into uncofortable zones.. and DW make the proposition of assault IG more difficult.

[Polythemus]

Seems like good advice to me. Outflankers and maybe some deathwing cc units. You may want a tactical deathwing squad or a dreadnaught to defend the armor with since that will likely be the main target of those pesky space elves. Tactically if you can make it difficult for the elves to move, it may negate some of their speed advantage, of course they will have skimmers... Just try to pop those transports with melta/missles, and then pound with the ig artillery.

[Brother Kovash]

I've only played against either Eldar faction a few times, but each time I did I found that getting into assault as soon as possible helped each time. Unless your opponent is playing with Striking Scorpions, Howling Banshees and Harlequins, don't be afraid to move forward and force the combat.

 

If the Eldar are using vehicles of any kind, they have all sorts of tricks to keep their tanks in the game. If you bring a lot of heavy weapons with you (missile launchers, lascannons, assault cannons) be prepared to focus fire on one tank to take it out properly. One game it took me 4 turns to shoot down a Dark Eldar Razorwing Jetfighter because of it's upgrade that gives it an invulnerable save, forgot what it's called.

[librisrouge]

I almost never say this but this might be a time for a Librarian or even the Chief Librarian himself. Eldar almost always take the field with a farseer and (as both a Guard and DA player) their power are a pain in the butt against the mass fire that guard can put out. Stopping just 1-2 powers in a game (especially early on) can make a big difference. If I could take a Primaris Psyker with a Psychic Hood in IG I would certainly do so and you got better in your army.

 

Besides that, Deathwing with missiles is a decent choice. Tacticals to safeguard his firepower (bolters are sufficient once they're out of those skimmers.) As far as outflanking, I'd leave that to the Guard. Consider having his take a small platoon with Al'rahiem or some Sentinels and an Astropath in the HQ and that is better outflanking than we can do.

[Azrael Turnbull]

I second librisrouge's advice about the Librarian. A Librarian is a must to counter Doom, Guide, Fortune and any other kind of alien manipulation the Eldar can use. And they will more than likely try to use them!

 

I agree that Bolters would be good after the Eldar and Dark Eldar are on foot, but I think it'd be better to bring out the Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields instead. With a Cyclone of course. Hammer their lightly armoured vehicles with the rockets (starting with the squishier Dark Eldar vehicles), whilst their Star cannons and Bright Lances bounce off your shields. Leave the infantry squishing to the Guard player as they are much much better at this than Marines.

 

If the Eldar bring Scorpions, Harlequin's, Howling Banshees, etc. smash 'em up yourself and don't let them get close to any Guard units. Points for points, they are no match for close combat Terminators. Even if they send multiple units to wipe out a single Terminator squad, they will be left in the open to counter fire from the Guard, which no close combat unit can escape without conveniently placed cover.

 

If you can contact your Guard ally before the game, make sure he brings absolutely NO Leman Russ tanks. Not one! See the excited looks of your alien opponents' faces fade as they realise there is nothing with Armour 13 or more on the field for their expensive Bright/Dark Lances to take advantage of.

 

The Lion watches us.