Hopefully, this is a better picture of the Razorwings.

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Hi!

Sweet!

Primarch

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Primarch


The Primarchload
Magnetized Titans Tutorial
Net Epic Gold
Heresy Rules

It has been a while, but the 6th annual Airspace campaign is going on now. You can find a link to it at my Sig and it is open to all games set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Specialist or proxy rules included! Anyway, on with the show!

The Cleansing of Grex Silex. An Imperial Crusade fleet entered the system intent on clearing it of xeno, heretics, and renegades prior to rendezvous with the larger fleet at the Marovian System. Grex Silex was being torn apart by rival factions of the Rogue trader Geld Conglomerate and the various rivals for control had reached out to allies of all sorts prior to the arrival of the Imperial fleet.

Galahand Geld did not fully trust his ally Kel-Menoth the bitter, and found it necessary to bring in some of his own muscle. For this purpose, he contracted with the Varingyr mercenaries of Hideo Ironbound. His Frjal, or mercenary brotherhood, had a reputation for professionalism and results.

However, Kel-Menoth was suspicious of the Geld's motives for bringing in more mercenaries into Grex Silex, and he himself wanted to minimize any rivals to his power. Therefore, Kel-Menoth preferred to arrange for the Varingyr Mercenaries to do most of the dirty work in the system.

To this end, a flight of Varingyr Spy Eagles were dispatched into Silex Minor to find and locate Asteroid Bases and attempt to discern their allegiances. These recon craft were to approach the bases, take picts of them, and return to the Shallows for debrief. However, many cases they ran into trouble as enemy fighters and ground defenses would try to drive them off.


Make Your Escape Scenario
Warzone 4: Silex Minoris

Ironbound Frjal

1 Spy Eagle

2 Iron Eagles-
With additional weapon load- Mag Cannons

Total= 45 Points

The Graceful Hunters

3 Barracuda Fighters

Total= 54 Points

Set-up:
For this mission, we used no scenery, just a flat board to represent the space between some of the asteroids in Grex Silex. This was a new Scenario I just came up with....

The Spy Eagle was placed 20 inches in from the short board edge, going full speed and Alt 5. The Barracuda were placed on the board edge behind the Spy Eagle and in hot pursuit. They were at full speed and altitude 4 and 2 at 6. We decided that the pursuers could not deploy at the same altitude as the fleeing Spy Eagle. On the opposite short board edge were the Iron Eagles rushing to help the Spy Eagle escape.

If the Spy Eagle escapes from the opposite short board edge, the Varingyr win. If it is destroyed the Tau win. The Varingyr are all ready trying to disengage, so they can not attempt to disengage due to losses.

Turn 1:
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Iron Eagles race to close the distance and help their brother. The Barracuda close in. Barracuda 2 power dives to cut-off a potential escape while the other two race forward. The Spy Eagle tries to side slip away.

Shooting:
Barracuda 1 takes a long range potshot at the escaping Spy Eagle but misses.

Turn 2
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
Barracuda 2 stays low and his instincts pay off as the Spy Eagle dives for the hard deck. However, its attempt is lackluster. However, his comrades get between him and the pursuing Barracudas. The Tau are more than willing to go head-to-head, confident in their superior firepower.



Shooting:
Iron Eagle 2 fires on Barricuda 1, but fails to cause any serious damage.
Barracuda 3 is at long range on Iron Eagle 1 and fires with his Ion cannon. The blast dissipates off the Iron Eagle's armor.
Barracuda 1 opens fire on Iron Eagle two, and a Smart Missile strike clean and causes the gyro-copter to blow smoke.

Turn 2
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Barracuda stay spread and covering the board. The Iron Eagles spiral around a give chase, but the Tau aircraft are in hot pursuit of their prey. The Spy Eagle tries to get tricky and does a Wing Over, but unfortunately, it puts him in the middle of an array of drone cannon attacks. Yikes!



Shooting:
Barracuda 2 viffs and sprays at the Spy eagle, but the altitude difference and snap shot keeps anything from sticking. The Spy Eagle returns the favor but the Mag shells bounce harmlessly off the Tau fighter.

The Drone Cannons from Barracuda 1 spray at the Spy Eagle but miss. Iron Eagle two fires on Barracuda 2 but also fails to damage the Tau craft.

Barracuda 3's drone guns fire on Iron eagle 2 but fail to find their mark.

Turn 3
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Spy Eagles maneuvers barely caused the experienced Tau pilots to blink. They managed to out fly and out maneuver their Varingyr counterparts and get the drop on the “rescuing” Iron Eagles!

Shooting:
The Varingyr have no shots!
Barracuda 3 opens up on Iron Eagle 1 and smart missile manages to explode near his hull and cause him to blow smoke, but not down him.

A smart missile from barracuda 2 detonates Iron Eagle 2, and this time it is a fatal hit. However, the Varingyr pilot manages to punch-out in time!



Turn 4
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Spy Eagle scoots past Barracuda 2, who whizzes by a slows down enough to maybe get a Burst Cannon shot in passing. However, Iron Eagle 1 spirals and puts the Tau craft in his sights.

Barracuda 2 and 3 maneuver to get back in the fray, and chase down the Spy Eagle next turn.

Shooting:
Iron Eagle one sprays down Barracuda 2 with 6 dice, but only one hit that fails to scratch the paint.

The last of Barracuda 2's burst cannons shells fly wide of the mark and the Spy Eagle flies on.

Turn 5
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Spy Eagle Power Dives and guns his engines for Eldar controlled space, he drops way down low to the edge of Grex Silex's asteroid disc atmosphere. Barracuda 2 gives chase, but can't match the dive and is left too high. In addition, Iron Eagle 1 swings in behind the Tau fighter and into a tailing position. Barracuda 2 and 3 move to try and stop the Iron Eagle with close range Burst Cannon shots.

Shooting:
The Iron Eagle opens fire again, but can't get any of his shots to stick on Barracuda 2.

Barracuda 1 and 3's Burst Cannons open fire on the Iron Eagle. Barracuda 1's manage to hit something vital and the Varingyr aircraft starts to blow smoke.

Turn 6-Disengagement Turn
Initiative: Tau

Tailing Fire: This time, the mag Cannons on Iron Eagle 1 strike true, and Barracuda 2 begins to smoke from internal electrical fires. However, Iron Eagle 1 is now out of ammo.

Movement:
It looks like nothing can stop the Spy eagle from escaping now, and the Spy Eagle races into Eldar controlled space with the Barracudas in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, the Tau fighters have to disengage due to low fuel and ammo and the Varingyr recon craft escapes with the vital data.



Conclusion
Eldar win in Warzone 4

The Varingyr win thanks to mission objectives! However, it doesn't feel like a win when you lost a plane and the other was damaged to no losses on the enemy side. However, I will take it!

Some thoughts on the Varingyr aircraft. Even with the additional Mag-Cannons weapon load and they still suck at damaging anything. Maybe next time I will try the Fusion Lances? In addition, they have somewhat low ammo, so you want to make the shots count. Speed and maneuver wise they were a good match for the Tau Barracuda. I wonder how they would fare against the really fast and dodgy Chaos or Eldar forces?

Overall, it was good fun!

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Overlord airships were being used by Galahand Geld to seek out and destroy Tau aligned enclaves within Silex Minoris. Of course, Envoy T'Wa'La demanded that the Tau sympathizers be protected prior to their evacuation. Therefore, Tau hunter groups were dispatched to locate and destroy any Overlord airships they could track down.

After experiencing engine trouble, the Overlord Airship [i]Miyago turned back to base. A flight of Iron Eagles was dispatched to escort her home. However, before they could return to The Shallows, they were detected and attacked by a roving squadron from the Graceful Hunters.
[/i]

Stragglers over Silex Minoris

Ironbound Frjal

1 Overlord Airship- [i]Miyago[/i]

2 Iron Eagles
+Additional Weapon Load – Fusion Lances

The Graceful Hunters

3 Tau Barracudas

Set-up

The Miyago was set-up in the center of the short board edge at Alt 5 and moving the max of 2. One Iron Eagle was providing close support at Alt 6 while one was wide to the side at alt 6.

The Tau were spread across the opposite board edge. The one on the edge was at the highest altitude and descended from there. The far one was all the way down to alt 2. They were coming in at full speed.

Turn 1
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
Everyone moves straight ahead unwilling to blink. The3 Iron Eagles slowly speed up, while the center Barracuda flies up to the same altitude as the Overlord.

Shooting:
None. Everyone is too far away.

Turn 2
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Miyago boldly powers forward, and rises up even higher. Being a zeppelin, this does not impact its speed. Its Iron Eagle escort flitters around it and tries to stay closest to the potential Tau attack path, but it is hard to tell as they are also all playing it catiously, matching heights and speed to make sure the Overlord doesn't get by. Meanwhile, Iron Eagle 2 flys wide and towards the long board edge. What is he doing?

Shooting:
Turn 2 and no one is in range! Madness!

{b]Turn 3[/b]
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Tau used the gap between Iron Eagle 1 and 2 to try and slip between and get to the Miyago. However, Iron Eagle spiraled back but mistimed the move and failed to get the right angle. The Miyago herself slowly turned to present her formidable broadsides to the attacking Tau fighters. Barracuda 3 overcompensated for the move and opened a potential escape route for the Varingyr.

Shooting:
The port broadside on the Miyago opened fire and the Tau hunters suddenly weren't so confident. A Fusion Lance sliced across Barracuda 2's fuselage and caused him to blow smoke and leak fluid. Only the altitude difference saved him from the formidable blast of firepower.

Barracuda 1 was undetered and opened fire back. A Smart Missile struck home and the Overlord shook from the blast. 4 hits left!

Turn 4
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
Iron Eagle 1 spirals to try and tag any Barracudas that try to turn in on the Miyago. Meanwhile, Barracuda 1 blasts through the Overlord's wake and past on the other side. Iron Eagle 2 swings in to provide top cover on the airship, and Barracuda 2 can;t quite get the angle. Meanwhile, Barracuda 3 does a wing-over to cut off the airships escape, but it may have just put it into the starboard broadside arc or the bomber.

Shooting:
The Barracuda is too close for the Fusion lances, but it gets sprayed down with Mag-cannon tracers. However, the Tau pilot deftly negotiates the fire and avoids any serious damage. He viffs slightly and fires back. The Tau's fusillade strikes home as his Ion cannon strikes true and reduces the Overlord to 3 hits!

Iron Eagle 2 fires at the petulant Tau craft, but again the fancy flying of the Tau and the altitude difference allow him to avoid any serious damage.

Barracuda 2's Burst Cannons fire away at the nearby Iron Eagle 2, but fail to hit anything.

Turn 5
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Graceful Hunters quickly box in and pursue the Overlord. Their skill is clear as they easil outmaneuver and endanger the Varingyr escort gyrocopters.



Shooting:
Barracuda 3 takes aim at the lumbering airship and opens fire. A pair of Smart Missiles find their mark and blast into the Airship, it begins to smoke and list badly, but is still flying with one hit left! The damaged bomber returns fire, but its Mag-cannons only scratch the surface of the closely pursuing Barracuda.

From Barracuda 2 a Smart Missile damages the turbo-fan of Iron Eagle 2, but he is still in the fight.

Turn 5
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Overlord Airship drops like a rock and plunges down just above the edge of the Grex Sielx asteroid disc. Amazingly, Barracuda 1 and 2 had anticipated this move, but failed to dive fast enough. Iron Eagle 1 barely misses Barracuda 1 as they dive past each other. However, Iron Eagle 2 gets into a Tailing position on Barracuda 1.

Shooting:
Iron Eagle 2 unloads his Mag-cannons on the Tau fighter, but despite getting a solid hit, fails to cause any damage.

In return, Barracuda 1 peppers Iron Eagle 1 with burst cannons shells and despite 3 hits, fails to find a weak spot.

Turn 6
Initiative: Varingyr

Tailing Fire: Iron Eagle 2 performs Tailing Fire at barracuda 1, but again fails to find the mark. Iron Eagle 2 fails his Advanced tailing check.

Moving:
This time the Hunters overshoot their targets as they dive to try and engage them. The Miyago actual moves up a bit in an aggressive move to engage his foes.

Shooting:
The Miyago's forward mag-cannons spray Barracuda 1, but fail to cause any damage. Its port weapon's reach out to Barracuda 3, but fail to cause any real damage.

Iron Eagle 1 fires on barracuda 2 but fails to hit. Too eager.

Return fire from Burst Cannon drones fail to damage the Miyago Overlord.

Turn 7
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Tau scramble around to try and bracket off all possible escape routes for the heavily damaged Miyago. Meanwhile, the airship's escorts again find themselves out of position to help her.



Shooting:
The Overlord again battles valiantly to escape. Her forward mag-cannons hit Barrcuda 1 but fail to damage her. Her broadside Mag-cannons also fire on Barracuda 2, but fail to damage her despite 4 hits!

Barracuda 1 opens fire and despite the altitude difference blasts the Miyago into dust. The Overlord Airship explode spectacularly from Smart Missile and Ion cannon blasts. The Miyago goes down with all hands.



Conclusion
After 7 years of playing Aeronautica Imperialis I had never played this mission. I had read about how hard it was for the Straggler player to win, but I thought if I had a chance, it was with a 5 hits Overlord Airship! I guess not!

Once again, I learned that Mag-cannons suck eggs! Despite numerous hits, none of them stuck. The only damaging hit of the game was from a Fusion Lance, but the Tau stayed tight to their target, so I didn't get to use many more after the first one.

The Iron Eagles are pretty maneuverable, but even when they get in position they can't seem to finish off their target. I had equipped them with Fusion Lances for more hitting power, but I rarely got to use them as this battle was a knife fight. I guess I shouldn't bring a Lance to a knife fight.

The Overlord was throwing out firepower left, right and center, in a very real sense. However, despite all the dice it didn't seem to help this time. I was pretty aggressive with my bomber, so maybe I exposed it to more danger that it needed to be in. Maybe next time I will just flee and use my ability as a Zeppelin to constantly stay 1 or 2 altitude bands away from my attacker instead of trying to engage them. However, my wife was all over me and seemed to have most of the altitude bands covered at all times so I am not sure if I could avoid her long enough to make a difference.

In summary, I still haven't figured out how to be successful with these guys yet. Maybe I need them to operate in pairs better so I can put even more firepower on a single target? Any else have any ideas? Cheesy, if you happen to reads this I would love your insight from the Blood and Irongard campaign.

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After successfully repulsing most of the Varingyr's bombing fleet, Kor'O D'yanoi ordered her forces to go on the offensive. Using navigational trajectories and Gwaihaine Geld's knowledge of the system, Tau forces counter-attacked. Barracuda equipped with ground attack Smart Missiles and the dreaded Tigershark Ax-01 launched to take the fight to the Varingyr and their master Galahand Geld.


After the last battle, my wife and I weren't sure what scenario to play. We actually decided to use the campaign rules in the AI rulebook. We rolled a dice to see who would be on the Offensive. 1-4 the Tau and 5-6 the Varingyr. The Tau won, and we randomly rolled up an Air Raid on an airbase. We decided to use the Asteroid Base rules as well.

Air Raid!

Ironbound Frjal

1 Overlord Airship-

2 Iron Eagles
+Additional Weapon Load – Fusion Lances

1 Multi-Launcher

The Graceful Hunters

4 Tau Barracudas
+2 with weapon loads

1 Tigershark Ax-01-01

Set-up

On the Varingyr side of the board we set-up an asteroid base. It was about 1 by 1. Using the rules, we randomly rolled it to be at height 4. We then put 1 bunker (4 hits) and 4 Drop Eagle targets scattered around the base.



The Varingyr Multi-launcher was overlooking the base at height 4. The Overlord and 2 Iron Eagles came on behind the base at altitude 6 and full speed.

The Graceful Hunters deployed on the opposite side. They were split into three groups generally with a fighter accompanying a ground attack ship. The Tigershark was in the middle. They were at various high altitudes and speed 5 for the most part.

Turn 1
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Tau are flying around all weird. They are not going straight for the target area. In fact, the interceptors are hanging back and letting the strike fighters go ahead of them.

The Varingyr bracket the airbase, and the Overlord hovers over it and slowly begins to turn its guns towards the enemy.

Shooting:
None

Turn 2
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Tau are again doing some strange, crossing over pattern. None of them are looking straight at the targets, and I have no idea what my wife is doing. I hope she is feeling well? The interceptors are way in the back now.

Well, the Tau aren;t the only ones who can do weird stuff. I am wary of the Barracudas forward firepower, so a split our wide with my Iron Eagles, and hope to use their maneuverability to swoop back in before the Tau can attack my ground targets. Now,except for the Multi-launcher and Overlord, their path is clear.

Shooting:
None, everyone is still too far away.

Turn 3
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Tau Strike package with the Tigershark races past Iron Eagle 2 as it turns to engage them. The Varingyr are out-piloted by the Tau yet again! At least I made the Tigershark drop below the asteroid base in the process.

Iron Eagle 1 forces the lone Strike fighter towards the target zone, while the Interceptor moves to engage.

Shooting:
Iron Eagle 1 misses Barracuda 1 with a long range Fusion Lance shot. Barracuda 1 returns the favor and misses the Varingyr with his Ion Cannon. Iron Eagle 2 and Barracuda 2 also trade-shots at long range, and also miss.

The Overlord takes a mid-range broadside shot at Barracuda 4, but the altitude difference causes all the shots to miss.

Turn 4
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Tau easily out maneuver the Iron Eagles, leaving them without any targets. Plus, the Tau strike package blasts past the overlord on overwatch, however, they don;t have a great angle to the target area yet.



Shooting:
The Varingyr Multi-Launcher opens up on Barracuda 4, but fails to hit it.

Huh, we just realized that Burst Cannon Drones are All Around Down firing weapons only. Woops! We've been playing that wrong for how long now?

Turn 6
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Tau move in on the base and there is very little that can be done to stop them at this point. Barracuda 3 narrowly escapes crashing into the side of the asteroid after an overly aggressive power dive, however some fancy flying by way of a pilot test saves his bacon and puts him in good strafing position.

Shooting:
The Multi-launcher sees Barracuda 4 race over it, and opens fire with a barrage. The crews timing was percfect, and they light up the strike fighter with an airburst. The pilot ejects just in the nick of time! Scratch one strike fighter!



The crew's celebration is short lived as the Ax-1-0 lights up the Multi-laucher and destroys it. There went my most effective unit!

I'm glad my wife went for the Ground Defense, as now Iron Eagle 1 has a chance to blast Barracuda 3 from the sky before it can fire. All of its shots hit, but only the Fusion Lance manages to make it count. The Strike Fighter begins to smoke. Plus, Iron Eagle 1 is now Tailing the fighter.



Barracuda 3 opens fire on the Bunker complex, but its targeting system must be damaged. Only the Seeker missile hits the target, and it bounces off the Bunker's armor and deflects wide before detonating harmlessly!

Along range Fusion Lance barrage from the Overlord fails to find the mark on the Tiger Shark.

Turn 7
Initiative: Tau

Tailing Fire: Iron Eagle 1 fires on Barracuda 3. His Mag-cannons manage to catch the Tau flyer in the engine ports and cause them to flame out. Coming in so low to the crater, there is very little the pilot can do as hit craft crashes into the rock below. My first Iron Eagle kill!



Movement:
The remaining Tau craft slow and get ready to bombard the base. If they lose one more craft they will have to disengage. The Varingy can't get the angle on them yet.

Shooting:
The Tiger Shark unloads on the bunker complex with its mighty Railguns and drone missiles. The Railguns plow up the crater the Bunker is housed in but fail to damage the bunker. Meanwhile, a drone missile hits the bunker and causes some damage. Only 3 hits left!

A desperate long range Fusion Lance barrage from the Overlord managed to strike Barracuda 2 and cause it to blow smoke. However, it is still able to fly and fight. That was the last of the Overlord's long range firepower.



Barracuda 1 and 2 try to strafe one of the grounded Drop Eagles, but miss the mark.

Turn 8
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
It has turned into a knife fight over the Varingyr base! The Tau are pressing the attack,and the Iron Eagles are in a position to contest them!

Shooting:
Barracuda 2 fires everything at the bunker complex in an attempt to soften it up! However, nothing sticks.

Iron Eagle 2 misses his shots on Barracuda 1.

The Tigershark unloads everything it has on the base, but fails to even scratch it! The Varingyr must build things tough!

Iron Eagle 1 fires Barracuda 2, and manages to strike something delicate. The pilot fails to eject as his bird is downed in the perimeter of the base. That will force a disengagement!



Barracuda 1 also unloads on the Bunker to try and take it out. One of the smart missiles manages to hit something vital in the bunker. It has 2 hits left.

Turn 9- Disengagement Turn
Initiative: Varingyr

Movement:
The Tau aren't giving up that easy, and move in for a last parting shot at the Varingyr base.

Shooting:
Iron Eagle 1 uses the last of his ammo on Barracuda 1, but fails to hit.

The Tiger Shark uses the last of its missiles on the bunker, but fails to hit. Barracuda 1 also unloads. This time it is enough and the bunker is reduced to a smoking ruin from a barrage of close range Ion cannon fire!



With that, the Tau engage their afterburners and bug out.

Conclusion
This one is close! It will have to go down to the points!

Tau- 4 Ground Hits and 1 destroyed Multi-Launcher = 52 Points
Varingyr- 3 Dwoned barracuds, 2 with Weapon Loads = 66 Points

Varingyr/Eldar win in Warzone 4

Wow, that was close, but the Stunties won! Things looked pretty bad early on, but the Multi-launcher turned the tide when it took out the Strike Barracuda before it could fire! Plus, that is when the Tau's maneuverability became limited as they were attempting to strafe ground targets. They lost their advantage in numbers, and it became a lot easier to get a bead on them as their attack pattern was locked in.

Despite getting two kills, Iron Eagles still suck! The Tau got some pretty bad strafing rolls, and the Varingyr got lucky on a couple of hit/damage rolls. That is the way of the world. It was a nail-biter all the way down to the wire.

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Kel-Menoth the Bitter was no longer content to marshal his forces and let the mercenaries of Galahand Geld do all the work. Instead, he decided it was time to unleash his corsairs onto the lesser races of Grex Silex. However, he wanted his initial attack to be a decisive blow against the forces of his enemies. His primary concern was the dwindling Tau presence that had dared try to counter-attack in Silex Minoris. It was clear to him that they were attempting to pull out of the system, but they were caught between his forces and that of the Imperium and Orks.

Therefore, he sent his experienced corsair pilots out to launch a series of ambushes against the remaining Tau presence in the system. The asteroids and debris fields proved all to easy to set such traps to the less experienced Tau pilots. With this strike, he hoped to clear the path between himself and the Mon'keigh who dared raid into his realms.


Since I won the last battle, my wife let me pick the scenario. I choose to try out one of the new ones I made called, “It's a Trap”. Essentially, one bomber type aircraft acts as bait to draw in enemy fighters out. Once they engage, the allies of the bomber swoop in from a long board edge on the attackers. The defenders are the ones being ambushed and have fewer points than the attackers. Let's see how it plays out.

It's a Trap!

Ironbound Frjal & Kel-Menoth's Corsairs

1 Overlord Airship-

2 Phoenix
with Star Cannons and Star Engines

The Graceful Hunters

3 Tau Barracudas

1 Barracuda Interceptor
Ace – Going Ballistic
+Escape Pod

Set-up

Per the rules, the overlord Airship was set-up 36 inches from the short board edge facing the opposite short board edge at max speed and altitude 5. The Tau were set-up closing in on its rear. They were at max speed and various altitudes to prevent dives and climbs getting the Overlord to safety. However, they are relatively close together.

The Eldar Phoenix are off the board, waiting in the sensor shadow of a nearby large asteroid.

Turn 1
Initiative: Eldar

Reserves: No

Movement:
The Overlord begins a slow turn while the Tau come straight on at full speed.

Shooting:
No range.

Turn 2
Initiative: Eldar

Movement:
The Overlord uses its Zeppelin ability to gain height as it continues its turn. Barracuda 2 was at the right altitude, so side slips and keeps pourin git on. The others are forced to try and gain height and are slowed.

Shooting:
None.

Turn 3
Initiative: Tau

Reserves: None

Movement:
The Overlord Power Dives down to alt 4. The Tau stay together, but Barravuda 1 angles towards the target.

Shooting:
Barracuda 1 takes a long range shot with his Ion cannon. It goes wide across the Overlord's bow as a warning shot. The Tau begin to broadcast tot eh Varingyr airship to surrender. The Overlord replies with a broadside or Fusion Lances that snags Barracuda 1 and causes it to blow smoke.

Turn 4
Initiative: Tau

Reserves: None

Movement:
The Overlord is getting perilously close to the edge of the board! The Tau give chase. The Tau ace fails to do another maneuver to try and drop lower.

Shooting:
No shooting as the Airship has managed to drop too low and evaded pursuit, but may disengage if it is not careful!

Turn 5
Initiative: Tau

Reserves: None

Movement:
The Overlord skirts the edge of a huge asteroid as it stays in play. Barracuda 2 and 3 are forced to break off attack runs and pull up to avoid potentially disengaging themselves. However, Barracuda 1 and the Tau Ace close in.



Shooting:
Smoking from his last pass at the Overlord, Barracuda 1 opens fire with everything it has. His shots fail to find their mark, perhaps still a bit glitchy from the damage he took earlier.

The Overlord desperately calls for aid from his Eldar friends and then opens fire on Barracuda 1. A barrage of Mag-cannon shells reach out, and Barracuda 1 is swatted from the sky! The pilot fails to eject in time, and goes down with his plane.

The Ace opens fire with her weapons, and the Ion cannon grazes the top of the airship, but causes no damage.

Turn 6
Initiative: Eldar

Reserves: None

Movement:
The Overlord turns back ontot he board. Meanwhile, the Tau Ace uses its Ace ability to rapidly climb to Alt 4, and then passes a pilot test to do a High G turn to track along high above the Overlord. The other Barracuda scramble to disengage and get better attack angles on the Varingyr ship. None of them want to follow Barracuda 1's lead.

Shooting:
The Overlord takes some long range Fusion Lance shots at Barracuda 3 as it tries to scoot away, but misses due to altitude differences.

Turn 7
Initiative: Eldar

Reserves: None

Movement:
The Overlord uses its zeppelin ability to gain some height. Barracuda 2 and 3 try to fly around and get in front of the blimp. The Ace has done so, but tries to loose height as it gets ahead.

Shooting:
The Overlord uses the last of its Fusion Lance ammo and tags Barracuda 3 as it circles back to attack. This causes the Tau aircraft to blow smoke.

Turn 8
Initiative: Eldar

Reserves: None- What is taking those blasted corsairs so long!

Movement:
Angered at being hit, Barracuda 3 pulls a High-G turn and is going head-to-head with the Overlord. The Tau Ace does a Wing-over and is also going head-to-head. Meanwhile, Barracuda 2 angles in from the side.

Shooting:
The Overlord desperately opens fire on barracuda 3 who is going right down his throat! The forward mag-cannons open fire, but the Tau aircraft splits through the fire unharmed. A broadside of Mag-cannon fire also fails to stop the approaching Barracuda 2.

Tau fighter 3 unloads on the airship. A smart missile and an Ion blasts buckle the front armor and cause the airship to leak fumes and spark. 3 hits left! The Tau Ace seems to land a Ion shot, but it is deflected off the armored belt of the blimp. A smart missile from Barracuda 2 also hits the side of the Overlord and causes it lose another hit.

2 hits left, those pointy ears better show up now!

Turn 9
Initiative: Eldar

Reserves: The Eldar Phoenix finally arrive!



Movement:

The Overlord rumbles along and goes up altitude. However, barracuda 2 sticks with him. However, the Eldar Corsairs both zero in on him. The remianing Tau try to get behind the Eldar, but are slightly out of position.

Shooting:
Phoenix 1 opens fire on Barracuda 2 at close range with its Shuriken and Star-cannons. The poor Tau never saw it coming as his plane is disintegrated by Eldar fire!

The tau ace reacts quickly and one of its Drone missiles manages to snag the trailing Phoenix 2 and damage the corsair!

Turn 10
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Overlord scoots away behind a screen of Phoenix fighters. Phoenix 1 and 2 end up going head-to-head with Barracuda 2, while the Ace manages to sneak out wide and angle back in one the Eldar.

Shooting:
Barracuda 2 fires on Phoenix 1 at medium range, but misses. Phoenix 2 returns the favor and causes Barracuda 2 to blow smoke.

The Tau Ace fires on Phoenix 2 with her weapons. It looks like a clean hit with her Ion cannon, but somehow the shot passes through the Eldar craft!

Phoenix 1 fires on barracuda 2, but fails to find a weak spot.

Turn 11
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
The Overlord keeps try to evade, but stays at the same altitude to act as bait. The Tau Ace misses the angle and goes behind. However, the Phoenix does the same. Barracuda 3 manages to stick with his target, but Phoenix 2 gets in a tailing position.

Shooting:
Barracuda 3 fires on the Overlord. A smart missile detonates near the zeppelin, and an Ion cannon bolt strikes home. However,t eh smart missile detonated early, and the Airship still has 1 hit left!

Phoenix 2 manages to splash Barracuda 3 with a close range barrage of fire. The Tau pilot again fails to eject. 3 dead air caste so far!

The Tau Ace uses the last of the Interceptors Drone missiles, and manages to snag the fleeing Airship. The missile locks on and finds its mark, blasting the Airship from the sky!



Turn 12- Disengagement Turn
Initiative: Tau

Movement:
With her primary mission complete, the Tau Ace goes Ballistic to get out of range, and heads for home. The Phoenix give chase but are unable to match her climb.

Shooting:
None

Conclusion
Another close battle! The Tau get double VP for downing the bait ship, in this case the Overlord. Let's go to the Victory points.

Varingyr/Eldar- 3 Barracuda= 54 points
Tau- Overlord Airship X2= 40 points

It looks like another close win for the Varingyr/Eldar!

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