Battle for the Blackstone: Eldar vs Adeptus Custodes BatRep

[Karhedron]

"Confirmed Shield-Captain", the Augur announced. "The signal is weak but matches the pattern Lord Guilliman has commanded us to search for".

The Shield-Captain nodded in acknowledgment, he had expected no other response. The strike-vessel "Light of Purity" was on patrol on the leading edge of the Indomitus Crusade fleet. Its role was to act as the fleet's eyes and ears, monitoring for activity of the accursed Heretics and sifting astropathic activity for any distress calls from Imperial worlds or ships under attack. But now they had discovered something unexpected. Following the fall of Cadia, the Lord Commander himself had ordered all Imperial forces to investigate the mysterious Pylons that had dotted the planet's surface. The Primarch had confided in the most senior members of the Custodians and the Adeptus Mechanicus that the mysterious "Blackstone" from which they were constructed might hold the key to containing the Cicatrix Maledictum or even closing it all together.

And now a faint but definite trace of the substance had been located on the planet ahead. It was a barren and inhospitable world with little native life and no signs of intelligent development but the Custodians were diligent in their duties and now it seemed their patience was to be rewarded.

"Prepare the drop-ship, we will retrieve the Blackstone and return our prize to Lord Guilliman."

"Shield-Captain!" There was a note of sudden alarm in the Augur's voice. "I am detecting a faint disturbance in orbit over the source of the signal but I am unable to localize it". The Shield-Captain frowned and studied the sensorium. The signal was faint and erratic, barely detectable above the background radiation from the local star. Any other Commander might have considered it as an anomaly from a faulty sensor and ignored it but the Light of Purity was a vessel of the Adeptus Custodes. It's structure and systems were kept in perfect order and its crew were the finest humanity could muster, they did not make mistakes. The Shield-Captain's mind had been honed by centuries of training, study and (more recently) countless combat actions under Lord Guilliman's command, he recognised such sensor patterns.

"Eldar!" He muttered. "It cannot be a coincidence that they are here. It looks like we will have to retrieve a sample of the Blackstone by force."

"Shield-Captain, should we target the weapon batteries?", asked the ship's Commander.

"At what Commander?" Replied the Shield-Captain. "The sensor reading is too faint to give a target lock and attempting to bombard any forces the Eldar may have on the surface would risk destroying the very prize we seek. No, we will deploy to the surface and recover the Blackstone. If the Eldar seek to stop us, they will have to reveal themselves, either in orbit or on the surface. Then we we shall sweep them aside. Order my brothers of the Allarus and the Gurdians to join me in the teleportarium. Everyone else to the drop-ship!"


Farseer Karhedron studied the runes floating before him with practised care. The rune of the Mon'keigh hovered precariously, like a loadstone balanced between conflicting forces. To one side floated the rune of the Necrontyr, to the other the rune of the Great Enemy, the alignment of both showed clear danger. The humans must not be allowed to walk down this path. Only one possibility led to safety. The rune of Khaine showed a way to avoid both disasters, they would have to stop the humans by force.

"Well, Seer?" The Autarch beside him would have seemed as still as a statue to a human but Karhedron could sense tension and anticipation in the warrior's mind, even if he kept it from his voice and body.

"Ready your blade, Autarch. The Monkeigh are coming for the Blackstone and they must not be allowed to claim it. Once again they seek to solve the problems of their own creation by attempting to harness powers they barely understand. In their blind meddling, they will unleash even more danger on the galaxy." With a gesture, Karhedron plucked the runes from air. The Autarch nodded in agreement. Now that the decision had been made, he was eager to engage the enemy.

All around them, the Eldar of Iyanden began to move silently as the Autarch's clear commands rang in their minds. Aspect Warriors took up firing positions, grav tanks hovered silently in the still air and the mighty forms of Wraithlords, animated by great heroes of Iyanden's past, strode to protect their living descendents. The Autarch leapt nimbly into the saddle of his jetbike and raised his laser lance in anticipation.

High in the sky overhead, Karhedron's keen eyes could make out the glimmer of re-entry flare as the crude drop ship of the Imperium pierced the planet's atmosphere.

Blood runs. Anger rises. Death wakes. War Calls!


Battle report to follow!

[Karhedron]

This was a battle between my Eldar and Chris's Adeptus Custodes. We rolled randomly for the mission and got "The Relic" (which I decided would be a chunk of the mysterious "blackstone" that features in the new Forgebane game and is probably what the Cadian Pylons and Blackstone Fortresses are built from). I won the roll-off for deployment and picked "Dawn of War" (long table edges) to keep things nice and simple. My army was as follows.

103 HQ Autarch, Jetbike, Laserlance, Banshee mask, Shimmerplume, Path of Command, Warlord Trait (Gate's Messenger)
35 HQ Warlock, Jinx/Protect, Destructor
100 HQ Farseer + Witchblade, Doom, Guide and Smite
35 HQ Warlock, Conceal/Reveal, Destructor

72 Troops 6 Rangers
140 Troops 10 Avengers, Exarch with Shimmershield and Glaive
60 Troops 5 Avengers, Exarch with Dire Sword and Pistol
139 Transport Wave Serpent with 2 Starcannons and 2 shuricats

143 Heavy Wraithlord, 2 Shuricats, 2 Brightlances
123 Heavy Wraithlord, 2 Shuricats, Brightlance
118 Heavy Wraithlord, 2 Shuricats, Starcannon
160 Heavy Fire Prism with twin shuricats
160 Heavy Fire Prism with twin shuricats
111 Heavy 4 Dark reapers, Exarch with EML

1499 Total

I don't have Chris's exact list but it was something along the following lines:

Allarus Shield Captain
Shield Captain

Squad with Guardian Spears
Squad with Guardian Spears
Large squad with swords and Stormshields

Allarus Terminators

Praetor jetbike squad

I deployed my Avengers on foot in some craters with a Warlock directly opposite the Relic. The Reapers deployed on a rocky outcrop on my right flank together with the Avengers in Serpent, Farseer, Autarch and the Wraithlord with Starcannon. My left flank was held by the Wraithlords with Brightlances. The Fire Prisms were positioned just to the left and right of the Avengers on foot where they would have good fields of fire. My Rangers went in Reserves using their special deployment

Chris deployed his jetbikes facing my far left flank behind another rocky outcrop. Both units of Guardians with Spears were deployed centrally, near the objective along with the Shield Captain. The Allarus Terminators and Allarus Captain were put in Reserve. Chris also spent a CP to put the large unit of Guardians with swords and shields in Reserve using the Teleportarium stratagem.

Although I finished deploying second, I won the roll-off to go first and Chris failed to seize. My Rangers deployed in some ruins on the right of the battlefield to helps screen my firebase of Reapers from any Deep Strike malarkey.

And with that, the game began!

[Karhedron]

Eldar Turn 1

 

The Eldar wasted no time in securing the Relic with the Dire Avengers advancing at full speed. A few other units shuffled slightly to improve their firing positions but the army was largely static. My Farseer cast Guide on the Dark Reapers but I was no in range to use any other psychic powers. In the firing phase, the Dire Avengers fired at the Guardians closest to them (causing 1 wound) and then promptly used Fire and Fade to head 7" back towards my lines, carrying the relic with them. The Reapers, Wave serpent and Wraithlord with Starcannon all unloaded into the Guardians closest to the Relic and I managed to wipe the squad out. My Rangers fired at the Shield Captain and managed to put 2 wounds on him (their best performance in 8th I think). On my left flank, the Fire Prisms linked fire and unleashed multiple volleys at the second Guardian squad but only succeeded in killing 1 of them (Custodes are tough!). The Wraithlords with Brightlances fired at the Jetbikes but failed to cause any damage (did I mention Custodes are tough?).

 

Custodes Turn 1

 

With the relic snatched from beneath their noses, the Custodes teelported their reserves straight into the fray. The Allarus Terminators materialised on my right flank, near the Rangers while the Allarus Captain and the Shield Guardians appeared just to the left of where the Relic had been. Much to Chris's annoyance, by Fire and Fading back into my own lines, he was not able to bring any of his units in close enough to the Dire Avengers to threaten them. The remaining Spear Guardians moved up behind their Shield Brothers while the Jetbikes headed towards the first Wraithlord on my left flank. Chris's shooting was largely ineffective although the jetbikes plinked a couple of wounds off the Wraithlord. Much to my relief, he failed most of his charges with just the Allarus Terminators charging into the Rangers and promptly butchering them for having the temerity to wound the Shield Captain.

[Karhedron]

Eldar Turn 2

 

The Avenger squad with the Relic moved at best possible speed towards the right flank, behind my lines. The Avenger squad in the Wave Serpent disembarked to face the Allarus Terminators and the Wraithlord marched towards them too. The rest of the army turned to face the newly appeared Shield Guardians and rapidly approaching jetbikes. The Wraithlords on my left flank backed out of charge range. The Farseer cast Doom on the Allarus Terminators and Guide on the Dark Reapers while one of the Warlocks cast Jinx on the Allarus Terminators for good measure. In my firing phase, my Avengers, Reapers and Starcannons managed to gun down the Allarus Terminators. My Fire Prisms did less well. Despite linking their fire once again, they only managed to kill one of the insanely durable Shield Guardians. The combined Brightlances of the Wraithlords on the left flank finally managed to bring down one of the Vertus Praetor jetbikes. With the Terminators dealt with, I had not desire to make any rash charges so my turn ended.

 

Custodes Turn 2

 

At the start of his turn, Chris used the "Unleash the Lions" stratagem on sword and shield unit to split them up into a bunch of separate 1-man units. As well as allowing for flexibility, it also denied me an easy target to focus my psychic debuffs on. Pretty much all his forces advanced with a couple of Guard moving around the rocks in the centre to try and catch up with the wounded Shield Captain who had been following in the footsteps of the Allarus Terminators. The remainder of his forces advanced towards the Wraithlords on my left flank. The shooting phase was once again largely uneventful with just a few wounds taken off the Wraithlords. In the combat phase, his wounded Shield Captain charged the Wave Serpent and managed to damage it but no one else was in range.

[Karhedron]

Eldar Turn 3

The Avenger squad with the Relic continued to tactically withdraw (or run away) into the corner of the board. The Fire Prism on my left flank moved at top speed past its brother and slid to the right of my lines to keep it away from the approaching Guardians. The Wraithlords stood their ground and prepared to fire. The damaged Wave Serpent backed out of Combat to allow my firebase clear LOS to the injured Shield Captain. They could not back up any further without exposing my Fire Prisms to the enemy and it was time for them to grit their wraithbone teeth and receive the charge.

 

The Farseer cast Guide on the Dark Reapers again but failed to Doom the Jetbikes while both of the Warlocks failed to cast anything. I should count myself lucky no one perilled. In my firing phase, my Avengers, Reapers and Starcannons only managed to put down the Shield Captain. My Fire Prisms linked fire once again but wree hampered by moving this turn which inflicted a -1 to hit and also meant that one could not make use of its Pulsed Laser Fire rule to shoot twice. As it was they needed the help of the Brightlances on the Wraithlords to take out another Vertus Praetor jetbike which just left one in range. Next turn would see the slightly battered Custodes finally get to grips with their elusive foes and I didn't need any runes to tell me this was going to hurt. All that remained to be seen was whether the Wraithlords were tough enough to hold the line.

Custodes Turn 3

 

The two Shield Guardians who had split off earlier moved up towards the firebase on my right flank to try and avenge the fall of the Shield Captain. On my left flank, the remaining Guardians, Wardens, Jetbiker and Allarus Captain lined up to charge the Wraithlords facing them. Shooting was fairly non-descript with just a few wounds plinked off the Wraithlords. Then came the charge! Chris made all his charge rolls on my left flank and managed to seriously damage both Wraithlords with Brightlances. They tried to strike back but with their degraded profiles, they were ineffective. On my right flank, one Guardian managed to charge the Wraithlord with Starcannon. He did a couple of wounds and promptly got squished for his trouble by the massive Wraith-construct.

 

Things were looking bad for the Custodes. Their charge had done damage but failed to break through the wall of Wraithlords and the Dire Avengers with then relic were slipping out of their reach....

[Karhedron]

Eldar Turn 4
 
Sensing victory was close at hand, the Eldar redoubled their efforts to get away with the relic while slamming the door on the Custodes. The Avengers with the relic continued to move away from the pursuing Custodes. The Wraithlord in combat with the Allarus Captain and Guardians was down to just 2 wounds so it limped out of combat. The nearest Fire Prism also move so that the closest target was now the Allarus Captain himself. Lastly the Autarch gunned his jetbike and prepared to enter the fray himself.
 
In the psychic phase, the Farseer once again Guided the Dark Reapers and Doomed the Allarus Captain but the Warlocks both failed their powers. In the shooting phase, the Dark Reapers managed to kill one of the Gurdians accompanying the Allarus Captain while the Fire Prisms linked fire for the final time and vapourised the Captain himself, even his mighty Terminator armour was no defense against that level of firepower. In the assault phase, the Wraithlord and jetbiker swung ineffectively but were unable to land any telling blows. The Autarch charged the Guardian who was fighting the Wraithlord with Starcannon on my right flank and slew him with his laser lance.
 
Custodes Turn 4
 
The Custodes were down to just the dregs now with only a handful of Guardians and Wardens remaining. The last Guardian on the right flank lined up for a charge on the Autarch while the survivors on my left flank moved in on the badly damaged Wraithlord. The shooting phase was uneventful so it was straight onto combat. The Guardian charged the Autarch and managed to put a single wound on him. The Guardians and Wardens on my left flank charged the damaged Wraithlord and finally slew the towering construct. The other Wraithlord in combat with the jetbike fared better and finally managed to land a telling blow and killed his opponent.

[Karhedron]

Eldar Turn 5

 

The Autarch withdrew from combat against the Guardian leaving him facing the massed Dire Avengers. The Avengers with the Relic managed to carry it to the very edge of the battlefield. The Farseer Guided the Wraithlordwith dual Brightlances and Doomed the last 2 Wardens. The Warlocks once again failed to get their powers off. The Wardens were duly vapourised leaving just 2 Guardians standing.

 

Custodes Turn 5

 

With only 2 models left and no prospect of victory, Chris conceded.

[Karhedron]

Analysis
 

They say failure is a better teacher than success but frankly I was quite lucky to pull off such a solid victory. Going first basically won me the game as I was able to grab the objective and then run back to my lines with it. This forced Chris's forces to spend several turns walking forward through a hail of fire. Custodes are extraordinarily tough but even they have limits.

 

I did make a serious mistake though in gambling on this the way I did. I was lucky to roll a 6 for the Advance on my Dire Avengers. On a 4 or less they would not have reached it on turn 1. If Chris had landed his Guardians with Shields on the relic, I would never have got it back from them.

 

What I should have done is taken luck out of the equation and deployed my Rangers on the Relic to be certain of grabbing it.

 

On Chris's side, my lucky start gave him an uphill struggle. I think he would have done better with missiles  on the Jetbikes as he lacked any serious long ranged firepower. Hurricane bolters might shred Eldar infantry but they struggle to put wounds on Grav Tanks, never mind Wraithlords. Even a few hits on the Fire Prisms would have started to reduce my firepower and made life easire for his foot-slogging infantry.

[Aramis K]

Good write up, thanks for sharing