The Wife is away shopping with her sister and mom in Copenhagen over the weekend, leaving dad at home babysitting our four year old twin girls. So as any considerate dad would do, I’m planning to start educating the little angels in the finer art of NetEpic wargaming…
The board has been set up with 3000 pts Eldar vs TAU.
Army lists:
ELDAR
Warhost 850 pts
Wind Rider Host 650 pts
Spirit Host 450 pts
Avatar Free
Iyanden Ghost Warriors Free
Wave Serpent Squadron 150 pts
Howling Banshees Squad 150 pts
Swooping Hawks Squad 100 pts
Dark Reaper squad 250 pts
Scorpion 250 pts
Warlock w falcon 125 pts
TAU
Battlesuit Cadre 700 pts
Hammerhead Cadre 600 pts
Recon Cadre 500 pts
Riptide squad 450 pts
2* Stealthsuit Cadre 300 pts
Orcha Dropship 200 pts
Mech fireWarrior Team 250 pts
The board is quite small – roughly 3X5 feet. Seen from the TAU’s edge we’ve got a forest on the far left then towards the center two small towns, one on either side of the battlefield. Theres is an open area in the middle and on the left we have a town on the TAUs side of the table, and a large forest on the Eldars side.
Basically I’ll do most of the playing, leaving all dice rolling to the girls as long as they can be bothered. They were quite enthusiastic when we set up the game board tonight – as all kids, they love doing “grown up” stuff.
I’ll post a game summary, and perhaps some pictures. None of the armies ar completely painted though.
Some notes on army lists and tactics.
ELDAR
The Windrider Host is indeed the old 3+2 squads of times past at a bargain price of 650 pts. IMO removing it from the basic Eldar armoury was one of the biggest mistakes in the 4. ed. revision. So we kept is as is .
The Spirit host contains 2 units of Wraithgauard as opposed to 2 units of Wraithlords in the original rules. This was done due to the availability of minis back in the day (We can’t all have primarchloads ). The cost is accordingly lowered by 50 pts.
TACTICS
For once the Eldar Army is bigger than its opponents Army. It is also quicker. Normally I would concentrate my Eldar to one area of the board. But since the board is quite small I’ll be trying to attack all areas. I might be spreading the Eldar a little too thin but time will show.
I’ll be making quick strikes down the flanks with Falcons and bikes, moving up the Wraithguards in cover of the Waveserpents shields in the middle. The Scorpion, Wraithlords and Dark Reapers are to provide covering fire.
TAU
Also the Tau is quite different from the official NetEpic rules.
For instance the Fire warrior squads are six man strong. Which leads to two things, the Devilfish comes in detachments of three stands and the Orcha needs to cater for both 4 and 6 man squads, which means it can carry 12 stands instead of the 8 it may carry in NetEpic gold.
The Crisis suit loadouts have been changed around. Today I’ve included a squad of Soulstorms (Flamer, burst) and Ionthunders (Cyclic ion blaster and airburst frag). Also remember that overall the attack rolls are one level higher than in NetEpic gold and the range is longer. For instance Fire warriors are 75cm,1,5+,0 rather than 50cm,1,4+,0. Hammerheads with Railguns have a range of 100cm rather than 75cm and so on.
I’ve given the Riptides a cost of 450 for a squad of three, which may be a bit excessive. Their stats are:
Move: 20cm
Save 2+
CAF +2
Ion Accelerator: 100cm, 2, 5+,-2
Smart Missiles: 50cm,2,5+,0
JetPack, Elite, Shield (fixed 5+ save)
TACTICS
I’ve loaded all the Crisis-suits into the Orcha, and kept it in reserve. I might keep it off board until round 2 before striking deep. The Riptides and 2 detachments of Hammerheads will advance down the center, while the “infantry” (Stealths, Broadsides, Fire Warriors) secure VPs in the 2 towns on either side. Piranhas and Tetras provide cover on each end of the TAU battle-line. The TAU army is smaller than the Eldar and I’ve concentrated it around the center of the board.