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[BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
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Author:  Chroma [ Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:02 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Hey all!

Dobbsy and I were able to squeeze in a final Eldar vs Tau game today that I just got back from. (I also played three other games as a Shas'O this weekend, but I'll report this one first.) ?All I'm going to say in the opening is that Dobbsy's a quick learner!

I hope to be able to post it all this evening, but please be patient!
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:34 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Rules Used

Tau 4.3.3
No pre-measuring.

Armies

Tau Exploratory Force - 3000 Points

He'Kai'Ka
Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
-Hammerhead Upgrade
-All Railguns
-1 x Swordfish
-Networked Drones

Or'es'Sha
Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
-All Ion Cannons
-Skyray
-Networked Drones

Sha'is'Kayon
Battlesuit Cadre (BTS Goal)
-Crisis Upgrade
-Shas'O
-Stealth Upgrade

Sho'ka'Nan
Battlesuit Cadre
-Shas'El

Shas'Sho'Kara
Stingray Contingent
-Stingray Upgrade

Is'Suam'Ka
Hammerhead Contingent
-Railguns

Korst'la'Ka
Hammerhead Contingent
-Railguns

Mont'Mal'caor
Pathfinder Contingent
-Pathfinders Upgrade
-Devilfish

Biel-Tan Swordwind - 3000 Points

Avatar

Wraithgate

Nighthunters
Aspect Warrior Warhost 1
8 Warp Spiders
1 Exarch
1 Autarch

Flames of Vengeance
Aspect Warrior Warhost 2
4 Dire Avengers
4 Fire Dragons
2 Exarchs
4 Wave Serpents

Children of Khsyron
Guardian Warhost 1
1 Farseer
3 Heavy Weapons Platforms
4 Guardians
3 Support Weapon Platforms

Children of Silence
Guardian Warhost 2
1 Farseer
3 Heavy Weapons Platforms
4 Guardians

Those Who Wait
Ranger Troupe 1
5 Rangers

Wildwalkers
Ranger Troupe 2
5 Rangers

Death-from-Afar
Fire Prism Troupe 1
3 Fire Prisms

Arrows of Wrath
Fire Prism Troupe 2
3 Fire Prisms

Sons of Fury
Windrider Troupe 1
6 Jetbikes

Silverhawks
Windrider Troupe 2
6 Jetbikes

End of Sorrows
Falcon Troupe 1
4 Falcons
1 Firestorm

Ancient Heroes
Falcon Troupe 2
4 Falcons
1 Firestorm
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:58 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Setup

Objectives

4'x6' Table



Garrisons

Ulthw? kept both Windrider Troupes and Aspect Warhost 1 off board via Wraithgate.

Biel-Tan garrisoned the Wildwalkers in the forest near the crashed Phoenix and Those Who Wait
were garrisoned off the Wraithgate into the ruins.

Tau placed no garrisons

Deployment

Biel-Tan - Right Flank



Biel-Tan - Left Flank



Tau



(Note: ?Those "tan" vehicles you see are actually Hammerheads cloaked in cunning holographic sheathes to resemble Gue'la Marine tanks. Ed.-We needed to "counts as" a couple Marine tanks as Hammerheads for Dobbsy's armylist)
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:39 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
(I want to apologize now that there are no more photos of this battle. ?My batteries were running low, so I put my camera away so I'd only use it for "cool" shots... and promptly forgot about it. ?Sorry!)

Turn 1

No teleports.

Strategy Roll: Biel-Tan

The End of Sorrows doubled forward, skirting the trees to attack the Stingrays of Shas'Sho'Kara, destroying one of the missile tanks.

Death-from-Afar try to live up to their name, but the psychic screams emanating from the Chaos Artifact rattle their nerve, and with the Autarch still in the webway, the merely stand firm trying to regain their composure.

Remembering the lessons learned from the training with Ulthw?, Shas'Vre of the Mont'Mal'Caor coordinates fire with Or'es'Sha and Is'Suam'Ka, bringing all weapons to bear on the grav-tanks of End of Sorrows? completely ending their sorrows as all the tanks are eliminated. ?(OUCH!)

The Shas'O follows the same lead, coordinating his Crisis and Stealth suits with the Shas'Sho'Kara Stingrays. ?There is a moment of hesitation, but then the Tau all move forward against the Wildwalkers. ?The trees offer no protection to the elder Rangers and they are killed to a man, never having fired a shot. ?(DOUBLE OUCH!!)

Seeing the awesome power that the Tau commanders can direct, the Arrows of Wrath advance towards the second Crisis Cadre, popping up to fire, but doing no damage.

Not waiting for a follow-up attack, Sho'ka'Nan's Shas'El coordinates fire with all the tanks of He'Kai'Ka and Korst'la'Ka, targeting the other group of Eldar Rangers? and not one is left standing. ?(TRIPLE OUCH!!! ?There goes the Eldar activation advantage!)

Angered by the loss of the Outcasts the Flames of Vengeance mount up and double towards Korst'la'Ka, but the bumpy ride throws off their aim and they score no hits.

Stuck on the far left flank, the Ancient Heroes are cautious about approaching the twisted Chaos Artifact that seems to so interest the Tau and they only hesitantly move forward.

Screaming with rage, the Autarch Raekarin leaps from the shimmering Wraithgate engaging the narrowly co-mingled Crisis suits and tanks of the Shas'O, the Stingrays, and Is'Suam'Ka's Hammerheads with her Warp Spiders. ?The Crisis suits flit away, out of line of sight behind some trees, but the tanks are unable to escape. ?The air hums with the sound of deathspinners and the destruction is horrific: all four Hammerheads are wiped out and three of the Stingrays when all the monofilament clears. ?The Tau flee, and the Warp Spiders give chase?

Knowing what is to come next, the Children of Khysron march up to get close to the Flames of Vengeance.

Meanwhile, the Children of Silence stay quiet and go on overwatch, guarding the Eldar Blitzkrieg.

All formations rally except the Stingrays? and Networked Drones are praised!
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:01 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Turn 2

Seething with fire, the Avatar appears directly between the Children of Khyson and the Flames of Vengeance.

Strategy Roll: Biel-Tan

With a loud warcry, the Nighthunters warp forward to engage the Shas'O's Cadre. ?The Tau try to escape, but their jumppacks are no match for the Eldar warpjump packs. ?The Stealth suited warriors give a good accounting, killing two of the Warp Spiders, but the three of them and a Crisis suit team are slain and the remaining XV8s try to get away from the deadly Eldar.

The Arrows of Wrath again fire on the smaller Crisis Cadre, sustaining, and dropping one Crisis Team.

With a wrath-filled roar that shakes the very rocks and trees, the Avatar leads the Flames of Vengeance and the Children of Khyson against the co-mingled Sho'ka'Nan Crisis suits and Korst'la'Ka grav-tanks. ?The Shas'El and his companions jump back under the protective guns of He'Kai'Ka? but it is not enough. ?Two of the fusiongun wielding Aspect Warrior squads and their Wave Serpent transport are destroyed, but the Tau pay an even higher price for their curiosity as both units are wiped out, shaking the resolve of He'Kai'Ka.

The Hammerheads of He'Kai'Ka try to regain their composure, but fail, though they have the courage to fire at the terrifying mass of Aspect Warriors ahead of them. ?One Wave Serpent, one Dire Avenger, and one Fire Dragon are killed in the attack and its enough to send the Flames of Vengeance away but it is too little too late.

The Wraithgate opens again and a swarm of Jetbikes buzzes forth: the Sons of Fury shriek battle cries as they engage the shaken grav-tanks of He'Kai'Ka. ?The fight is short, though vicious, and three of the grav-tanks crash, smoking, to the ground: two Hammerheads and the Skyray.

Death-from-Afar prove their name, as they pop up to sustain fire on the broken Shas'O's Crisis suits. ?Three are destroyed in the flash of laser fire, leaving only the Shas'O and a single Crisis team alone in the woods.

Knowing they cannot withstand an attack by the shrieking Autarch, the Pathfinders co-ordinate fire with the Ionheads of Or'es'Sha on the Nighthunters, disabling all the Aspect Warriors.

Despite the bolstering presence of the Avatar, the Ancient Heroes are still disturbed by the sudden silence of the Autarch, and only cautiously move towards the centre of the battlefield.

Remaining quite, the Children of Silence stay on overwatch?

All formations, except the Flames of Vengeance rally and the Avatar disappears.
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:19 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Turn 3

Strategy Roll: Biel-Tan

Knowing they must eliminate any chance of Chaos taint on the enemy commander, the Arrows of Wrath sustain fire on the Shas'O, killing the remaining Crisis team and leaving the Tau commander broken in the woods.

Attempting a coup de gras, Death-from-Afar doubles towards the Shas'O, popping up to fire, but a struggling Shield Drone takes the hit, saving the life of the Tau leader (Dobbsy rolled a "6" on the Invulnerable Save for taking a hit from blastmarkers for broken units? and the Fire Prisms missed with their shots? *sigh*)

Feeling the need for revenge, the Pathfinders co-ordinate fire with Or'es'Sha against the Arrows of Wrath, destroying all the Fire Prisms. ?The Pathfinders' movement gets the formation near the crashed Phoenix.

Feeling useless, the Ancient Heroes finally shake off their lethargy and double towards the Pathfinders, firing madly? and scoring no hits.

The Stingrays prepare to move forward to take out the broken Aspect Warriors hiding in the distant ruins, but the silence on the Shas'O's commlink has shaken them and they hold their ground out of range of any targets.

Again the Wraithgate hums and another swarm of Jetbikes emerge: the Silverhawks blasting away with their shuriken catapults as they engage Mont'Mal'Caor. ?The strafing run is brutal, and the Pathfinders are wiped out before they can breach the fallen Phoenix. ?The Jetbikes buzz angrily around the disabled aircraft.

Knowing that victory is slipping out of their grasp, the Sha'Vre of Or'es'Sha orders his tanks forward to take the fight to the Eldar and blast the broken Aspect Warriors in the ruins. ?To his great dismay his men fail to follow, leaving the enemy just out of range?

The Children of Khsyron move back to secure the Wraithgate.

While the Children of Silence allow themselves a quiet smile, secure in the knowledge that they have prevented the Young Ones from tainting themselves with the evil on this planet.

End of Turn: Tau 0 (none) vs Biel-Tan 2 (Defend the Flag, They Shall Not Pass)
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:25 am ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Well that was a very challenging game!

Not being able to pre-measure certainly added a sense of tension to the proceedings which, surprisingly, I quite enjoyed!

The game was very close; if the Hammerheads had activated at the end of the turn I'm certain the game would've gone into turn 4 with Dobbsy claiming BTS at least!

The changes in 4.3.3 all seem good! ?The 1+ Init on Crisis suits is perfect and Networked Drones really helped!

As to Dobbsy's tactics, he really built some strong co-ordinated fire teams, it was frightening to face. ? I suggested that he try it with only using two units at once, at least against Eldar, because after the first two units' attack, the smaller Eldar units tended to be wiped out so the 3rd unit had nothing to target.

I look forward to Dobbsy's and anyone else's comments.

I've got three more Tau battle logs done up, one vs Space Marines and two vs Chaos Black Legion (one being a full planetfall attack in Dreadclaws!), that I hope to post in the near future.
Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:21 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 09 Jan. 2006 (17:34))
Rules Used

Tau 4.3.3
No pre-measuring.

Armies

Tau Exploratory Force - 3000 Points

He'Kai'Ka
Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
-Hammerhead Upgrade
-All Railguns
-1 x Swordfish
-Networked Drones

Or'es'Sha
Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
-All Ion Cannons
-Skyray
-Networked Drones

Sha'is'Kayon
Battlesuit Cadre (BTS Goal)
-Crisis Upgrade
-Shas'O
-Stealth Upgrade

Sho'ka'Nan
Battlesuit Cadre
-Shas'El

Shas'Sho'Kara
Stingray Contingent
-Stingray Upgrade

Is'Suam'Ka
Hammerhead Contingent
-Railguns

Korst'la'Ka
Hammerhead Contingent
-Railguns

Mont'Mal'caor
Pathfinder Contingent
-Pathfinders Upgrade
-Devilfish

Biel-Tan Swordwind - 3000 Points

Avatar

Wraithgate

Nighthunters
Aspect Warrior Warhost 1
8 Warp Spiders
1 Exarch
1 Autarch

Flames of Vengeance
Aspect Warrior Warhost 2
4 Dire Avengers
4 Fire Dragons
2 Exarchs
4 Wave Serpents

Children of Khsyron
Guardian Warhost 1
1 Farseer
3 Heavy Weapons Platforms
4 Guardians
3 Support Weapon Platforms

Children of Silence
Guardian Warhost 2
1 Farseer
3 Heavy Weapons Platforms
4 Guardians

Those Who Wait
Ranger Troupe 1
5 Rangers

Wildwalkers
Ranger Troupe 2
5 Rangers

Death-from-Afar
Fire Prism Troupe 1
3 Fire Prisms

Arrows of Wrath
Fire Prism Troupe 2
3 Fire Prisms

Sons of Fury
Windrider Troupe 1
6 Jetbikes

Silverhawks
Windrider Troupe 2
6 Jetbikes

End of Sorrows
Falcon Troupe 1
4 Falcons
1 Firestorm

Ancient Heroes
Falcon Troupe 2
4 Falcons
1 Firestorm

Before reading the report, he seemed to go tanks, crisis infantry, and some PF's vs all that infantry of yours... This is encouraging as we get to see the new 4.3.3 crisis BM management in effect. We also get to see the new armored networked drones impact on the AMHC.

What's interesting to me beyond that is Dobbsy went to the point to proxy more HH's and lost the FW infantry, stealths, and broadsides all together. I'm assuming the favor of speed and pop-up to deal with the fast and hit/run eldar was motive for the change and loss of slower static infantry formations.

This decision, before reading the report, is interesting to me. Going into this report, I'm wondering if - to Dobbsy - the broadsides, stealths, and FW's were too focused for the diversity desired in this list or if they were too slow for what he was hoping to accomplish? Your list seems to be heavy infantry so if the FW and stealths could get close enough, the damage potential should have been reasonable. Perhaps the stealths were not as valued due to the lower strategy and unexpected ability to capitalize off of the post teleport situation... perhaps the orca was not valuable investment for the broadsides to the relatively low amount of armor your eldar were historically fielding. The FW with devilfish may be the most puzzling to me. They provided marks for the seekers on all the hammerheads and provided marks for the infantry punishing stingrays. I will be curious to understand why Dobbsy went hammerhead heavy - to the point of proxying even - and abandoned the other options in the list. Why weren't the other options - at least some of them, adequate against the eldar infantry heavy list?
Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:26 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 09 Jan. 2006 (18:58))


Garrisons

Ulthw? kept both Windrider Troupes and Aspect Warhost 1 off board via Wraithgate.

Biel-Tan garrisoned the Wildwalkers in the forest near the crashed Phoenix and Those Who Wait
were garrisoned off the Wraithgate into the ruins.

Tau placed no garrisons


Question (and probably a dumb one as I'm sure I'm overlooking something obvious here...),

Don't you place the wraithgate on the opponent's side of the table?

If so, can't you only garrison your eldar around the objectives on your side of the table (i.e. your blitzgrieg and the two objectives the tau set on your side of the table)

If so, how did you garrison around the wraithgate at center field... or am I missing something here? (very possible!!)

Cheers for the elaboration,
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Tactica @ 10 Jan. 2006 (16:26))
Question (and probably a dumb one as I'm sure I'm overlooking something obvious here...),

Don't you place the wraithgate on the opponent's side of the table?

The Wraithgate replaces an objective on the Eldar half of the table, either one of the two the opponent (Tau) has placed, or the Eldar Blitz.  So that's how it can be used for garrisons.

For the Eldar player to be able to place it on the *enemy* side would be absurdly overpowering!  *laugh*
Author:  Chroma [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:40 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
What's interesting to me beyond that is Dobbsy went to the point to proxy more HH's and lost the FW infantry, stealths, and broadsides all together. I'm assuming the favor of speed and pop-up to deal with the fast and hit/run eldar was motive for the change and loss of slower static infantry formations.

Well, Dobbsy will probably be incommunicado for a bit as he travels back home, with a layover in LA, I believe, so we won't be hearing much from him.

As to his army comp, I believe he wanted to set them all up as co-ordinated fire teams, with long range to keep the Eldar at arm's length and the speed to get away. ?As well, there was certainly a limitation on available models... and, I think Dobbsy, like me, likes tanks! ?*laugh*

Well, a third of my formations were armour, with a mechanized infantry unit as well. ?The all-rounder nature of Tau tanks certainly allows them to meet any kind of threat. ?As I said in the endgame, if his main Hammerhead contingent had activated properly, I think the Tau would've taken the game in Turn 4. ?Both the Biel-Tan and Ulthw? armies I fielded are my usual Tournament style Eldar armies. ?I've found, though offensively powerful, the superheavies and Titans are too fragile in the end, and eat up a lot of activations. ?Heck, if I'm facing an Eldar player with Revenants or a big Engine of Vaul troupe, I'm really happy, because I know where to direct all my fire! ?If only the models didn't look so good... *sigh*

As to Orca drops and such, the Eldar did have 8 units capable of AA fire, with 6 of those being lance attacks... not so sure I'd want to fly into that.



Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:08 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 09 Jan. 2006 (19:39))

Not waiting for a follow-up attack, Sho'ka'Nan's Shas'El coordinates fire with all the tanks of He'Kai'Ka and Korst'la'Ka, targeting the other group of Eldar Rangers? and not one is left standing.  (TRIPLE OUCH!!!  There goes the Eldar activation advantage!)


Its interesting here that you say the activation advantage is gone... but just an observation, if it takes the Tau CF to deal with a formation, then the tau again really are down in activations as it takes multiple tau formations to counter the single eldar activation....

Just an interesting perspective and observation here... with the above in mind, the eldar can eliminate the CF formations or the near formations to reduce the effectiveness of the CF if that is their main threat in this particular game. Thus, removing the potential for effective CF.

Its noted that the first ouch, double ouch, and triple ouch come from successful CF's. These also become increasingly harder to pull off if there are BM's and damaged formations and/or suppressed units that are either calling or participating in the CF in later turns.

How this unfolds will definitely be of interest. I'm a firm believe that CF is a tool, not an army basis for the tau to attemp to live and die by through a tournament or even a regular game. We know that CF can deliver a big hit - no question there - heck, it can deliver three big hits in the first turn - see above. I just don't think the possibilities last throughout the course of a game - perhaps I'll be prove wrong here as I read further... Hmm.



Screaming with rage, the Autarch Raekarin leaps from the shimmering Wraithgate engaging the narrowly co-mingled Crisis suits and tanks of the Shas'O, the Stingrays, and Is'Suam'Ka's Hammerheads with her Warp Spiders.  The Crisis suits flit away, out of line of sight behind some trees, but the tanks are unable to escape.  The air hums with the sound of deathspinners and the destruction is horrific: all four Hammerheads are wiped out and three of the Stingrays when all the monofilament clears.  The Tau flee, and the Warp Spiders give chase?

Umm... single, double, and tripple Tau "ouch" from one assault!

This is one of the problems of CF - you can leave yourself in a bad way if you want to use CF next turn. Also, responding to this after you've used multiple formations together on CF can be tricky. I wonder if the early CF will be worth it in th end. These losses seem significant.

Knowing what is to come next, the Children of Khysron march up to get close to the Flames of Vengeance.

Meanwhile, the Children of Silence stay quiet and go on overwatch, guarding the Eldar Blitzkrieg.

All formations rally except the Stingrays? and Networked Drones are praised!

Well, networked drones seemed to have helped. Don't know what the rolls are, but having all those broken formations from the above combat and having the crisis at init 1 surely played its part. This result is at least encouraging. Perhaps the CF and sacrifice of stingrays and hammerheads will prove worth it afterall - I'll be surprised, but perhaps Dobbsy is on to something.
Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:38 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 09 Jan. 2006 (20:01))


Turn 2

Seething with fire, the Avatar appears directly between the Children of Khyson and the Flames of Vengeance.

This is never a good thing. I've learned to be mindful of where that Farseer is at all times now. That guy is just a giant thorn in my side. D@mn eldar tricks!!

Strategy Roll: Biel-Tan
First activation in the turn again to the eldar. I find that first activation helps me more on the second turn than the first with the Tau. Typically the first turn is moot as 75cm means I'm either doing some serious movement to get weapons into range, or stalling while the enemy positions so I can capitalize off of his movement. With the IG, I may want to fire my deathstrikes, my manticores, or my shadowswords early on turn 1 - I just don't have any must have choice actions with the tau for turn 1... however, turn 2 seems to be very VERY important to my tau. If I've taken any risks in positioning from turn 1 - I need early turn 2. If I want to use the stealths, its usually on turn 2 for their teleport and I need to go first to capitalize there. If I want to reinforce a front - early turn 2 is important... but more than anything, if I want to deal with an advancing threat that's very close - first turn on turn 2 seems to be crucial for my tau more times than not.

Eldar getting turn 1 and turn 2 initial activations typically really hurt the Tau IMHO due to their inability to fight h-t-h and their need for some tricks to work at taking control of the battlefield before disparate situations develop - regardless of how things work out in this particular report. Just MHO anyway. :)


With a loud warcry, the Nighthunters warp forward to engage the Shas'O's Cadre.  The Tau try to escape, but their jumppacks are no match for the Eldar warpjump packs.  The Stealth suited warriors give a good accounting, killing two of the Warp Spiders, but the three of them and a Crisis suit team are slain and the remaining XV8s try to get away from the deadly Eldar.

Hmm... turn 2 ouch number 1 for the Tau out of the gates - and it not only broke the formation but it was a CF formation that Dobbsy used in turn 1 to apply some early pressure. Exactly as I was saying, if relied upon in the initial battle strategy - these types of losses can really hurt in early turn 2! Cudos to Chroma for tactically citing the formation early.

The Arrows of Wrath again fire on the smaller Crisis Cadre, sustaining, and dropping one Crisis Team.

2 blast markers on a now 3 man formation make these chaps all but useless on turn 2 as well. :\ Tau's potential for any activation advantage seems to be dwindling rather rapidly - though see above - I'm not sure they really ever had it.


With a wrath-filled roar that shakes the very rocks and trees, the Avatar leads the Flames of Vengeance and the Children of Khyson against the co-mingled Sho'ka'Nan Crisis suits and Korst'la'Ka grav-tanks.  The Shas'El and his companions jump back under the protective guns of He'Kai'Ka? but it is not enough.
...super. Ethereal has vision... Tau turn 2 3rd and 4th 'ouch' is on the horizon.

 Two of the fusion gun wielding Aspect Warrior squads and their Wave Serpent transport are destroyed, but the Tau pay an even higher price for their curiosity as both units are wiped out, shaking the resolve of He'Kai'Ka.

...it was like a vision. ;)
"Ouch, Ouch!"
Eldar Treachery!

The Hammerheads of He'Kai'Ka try to regain their composure, but fail,

no network drones I assume. I'll have to go back and look at the report to figure out if these are contingent or AMHC... assuming contingent.

though they have the courage to fire at the terrifying mass of Aspect Warriors ahead of them.  One Wave Serpent, one Dire Avenger, and one Fire Dragon are killed in the attack and its enough to send the Flames of Vengeance away but it is too little too late.

I hate firing at already activated formations - but there has to be some revenge if the formation didn't cooperate and do what it was supposed to... I assume he was attempting to activate to marshal and save them from break. Hmm... wonder if this was the best choice considering what you might have had left on the field at this time to activate.

The Wraithgate opens again and a swarm of Jetbikes buzzes forth: the Sons of Fury shriek battle cries as they engage the shaken grav-tanks of He'Kai'Ka.  The fight is short, though vicious, and three of the grav-tanks crash, smoking, to the ground: two Hammerheads and the Skyray.

Yep - no real resolve from that... except, stay away from it. This is an experience with Eldar thing IMHO. Always be mindful of what's in there - and their charge range. This may have been more difficult considering the 'no premeasure' mode you guys were playing it... which is foriegn to me in this game btw... however, better safe than sorry distances should have been observed by the Tau general. I hate the darn wraithgate thing in the eldar list. It seems uber strong. There's no real counter for it unless you are just going to mass so many troops around it that nothing can deploy from the wraithgate... which is next to impossible to hold btw and also ends up in a massive game around the wraithgate ... as I have tried to counter this before. Its just a no win proposition. I feel for dobbsy here... I wonder if there could have been a way to manouvre outside of the jetbikes charge potential and thus avoiding Tau ouch number 4 or so on turn 2... seems like its just a brutal turn for Dobbsy, no matter what he's done in turn 1. Turn 1 seems to have really left him in a bad way for you to beat the *@#% out of his army on turn 2. To me, thus far it seems like all the damage he caused on turn 1 with CF was absolutely not worth the positioning he left himself in for your mauling of his forces thus far in the early half of turn 2. We'll see how things go from here.

Death-from-Afar prove their name, as they pop up to sustain fire on the broken Shas'O's Crisis suits.  Three are destroyed in the flash of laser fire, leaving only the Shas'O and a single Crisis team alone in the woods.

More ouch pain.

Knowing they cannot withstand an attack by the shrieking Autarch, the Pathfinders co-ordinate fire with the Ionheads of Or'es'Sha on the Nighthunters, disabling all the Aspect Warriors.

I wonder if the ion-heads could have done this on their own. Were the PF's needed? What orders did each formation follow? Maybe the PF's were needed to get them into ML range while the Ionheads sustained ???

Despite the bolstering presence of the Avatar, the Ancient Heroes are still disturbed by the sudden silence of the Autarch, and only cautiously move towards the centre of the battlefield.

Remaining quite, the Children of Silence stay on overwatch?

All formations, except the Flames of Vengeance rally and the Avatar disappears.

A happy point for the Tau... broken shas'o and his buddy appearently have benefitted a second time from the commander's initiative and new found commanding presence. That's a good thing as this forward commander was typical somewhat commical bouncing around out in a battlefield, only to get broken and go cowering for a turn or two in the past. I'm pleasently encouraged by the commander's initiative bump after these past two turns. It doesn't appear that the formation is having a great and powerful impact on the game outside of being a pincushion - however, at least he continues to be an activation if nothing less. He's still the SC afterall too. . As you said all formations rally, I'm assuming whatever broken tau HH formations there were left (if any) also rallied at this time. I'm at somewhat of a loss as to whether there were any HH to rally at this point too though. All the tau names start blending together and are a bit lost on my feeble mind I suppose.  :p
Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:56 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 09 Jan. 2006 (20:19))

Turn 3

Strategy Roll: Biel-Tan

Going second against the Eldar 3 turns in a row ought to be illegal! These aren't even the Ulthwe'! :80:

Knowing they must eliminate any chance of Chaos taint on the enemy commander, the Arrows of Wrath sustain fire on the Shas'O, killing the remaining Crisis team and leaving the Tau commander broken in the woods.

loss of activation again... ah, sweet rallying is such short lived gratification... and a pincushion his formation remains! LOL... (sorry Dobbsy). Well, its rather disheartening that he had to do so on turn 1 and turn 2 only to be immediately broke again on turn 3 and all alone now, but at least he did rally those previous two turns! (silver lining) :/ BTW: activation loss - Ouch!

Attempting a coup de gras, Death-from-Afar doubles towards the Shas'O, popping up to fire, but a struggling Shield Drone takes the hit, saving the life of the Tau leader (Dobbsy rolled a "6" on the Invulnerable Save for taking a hit from blastmarkers for broken units? and the Fire Prisms missed with their shots? *sigh*)

LOL - ah yes! there you have it - the tau crisis power of the shas'o comes alive in full force! (more silver lining!)

Feeling the need for revenge, the Pathfinders co-ordinate fire with Or'es'Sha against the Arrows of Wrath, destroying all the Fire Prisms.  The Pathfinders' movement gets the formation near the crashed Phoenix.

I wonder again if the CF was needed or if the tanks could have done the job against the FP's. If so, why not activate the PF's as a seperate activation later and potentially use them to deal with more infantry? Maybe there was an immediate need to get the PF's into position now vs. later - or into cover or something? I guess the point is - why use the activations if you don't need to with CF... but perhaps he needed to.

Feeling useless, the Ancient Heroes finally shake off their lethargy and double towards the Pathfinders, firing madly? and scoring no hits.
Case and point - would these guys been able to place the blast marker on the PF's had he not move them yet? Granted the Ancient Heroes didn't do much, but if they had it would have been more bad news. Why give them the opportunity?

The Stingrays prepare to move forward to take out the broken Aspect Warriors hiding in the distant ruins, but the silence on the Shas'O's commlink has shaken them and they hold their ground out of range of any targets.

With only 2 stingrays remaining out of the original 6 at this point, one wonders if there was enough there to do the damage anyway. coming under fire is one give-me... but were there markers in range to make the GM have an impact at that point?

Again the Wraithgate hums and another swarm of Jetbikes emerge: the Silverhawks blasting away with their shuriken catapults as they engage Mont'Mal'Caor.  The strafing run is brutal, and the Pathfinders are wiped out before they can breach the fallen Phoenix.  The Jetbikes buzz angrily around the disabled aircraft.

Ulghhhh... you had more in reserve still??? OMG... that's brutal. I go back to that PF CF and movement... I wonder if he should have waited on that movement/activation. Man... can't believe you had more in reserve still. That's just sick. The amount of damage that is coming out of this Eldar army to the Tau seems quite painful! BTW: More turn 3 ouch to the Tau.

Knowing that victory is slipping out of their grasp, the Sha'Vre of Or'es'Sha orders his tanks forward to take the fight to the Eldar and blast the broken Aspect Warriors in the ruins.  To his great dismay his men fail to follow, leaving the enemy just out of range?

Heh - super. :/
"yay Dobbsy, yay." :p

The Children of Khsyron move back to secure the Wraithgate.

While the Children of Silence allow themselves a quiet smile, secure in the knowledge that they have prevented the Young Ones from tainting themselves with the evil on this planet.

Did these guys even fire the whole game? LOL, it seems like they either failed to activate or remained on OW the entire game. Which is ugly. It 'seems' the eldar kept bikes in reserve until turn 3 and didn't activate this Children of Silence formation at all while the Eldar gave the Tau a real beat down to an equally pointed army. I'm sure I probably don't have that right though. (well, hoping anyway)

End of Turn: Tau 0 (none) vs Biel-Tan 2 (Defend the Flag, They Shall Not Pass)

Blah... well, heck of a trip to Canada for the Aussie Tau ala' Dobbsy force! 0 for 3 games against the Eladr, but quite the learning experience I suppose.

Really enjoyed the pictures here and the battle Detail Chroma. Wish there were more pics... at least - of the highlights. Oh well, deployment is the most important shots :)

Looking forward to yours and Dobbsy's responses. Good reports.
Author:  Tactica [ Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:12 pm ]
Post subject:  [BatRep] Biel-Tan vs Tau, 3000 points
Quote (Chroma @ 10 Jan. 2006 (10:40))


As to Orca drops and such, the Eldar did have 8 units capable of AA fire, with 6 of those being lance attacks... not so sure I'd want to fly into that.


I'm going to assume you were pretty confident in his army build this third game then Chroma. It sounds like he had a solid force from your comments.

Its hard for me to get an exact feel from the bat rep, but in summary, it looks like he came out of the gates with a CF structured force. I've tried this on numerous occassions and as noted previously and within this thread previously, it doesn't work IMHO. Its a great tool at times, but just not something to base an army around IMHO. It sounds like at the sacrifice of having more activations than you, he came out of the gate with guns blazing and 3 successful CF attacks. However, that cost him something like 7 of his activations and put him in some pretty bad situations if you were to get first activation in turn 2.

Eldar getting the activation in all 3 turns hurt bad, but in turn 2 - it seemed to be really nasty (as is usually my feeling with tau). You seemed to just pound him hard in turn 2, then followed it up with continued pounding in turn 3. From the report, it really didn't seem like he had much going for him after turn 1, and he had to over extend himself quite a bit in turn 1 to capitalize where he did.

Your avatar and wraithgate formations just seemed like insult to injury.

From this side, that seems like either a bad battle plan, bad army match up, or lack of experience playing eldar so poor position that should have been avoided. Maybe there's more too it than was in the report and its not as bad as it sounded, but it did sound pretty grim for Dobbsy for turns 2 and 3.

I wonder if he relied too much on CF (my personal experience would cooberate that theory).

I wonder if some minor army comp choices could have been changed. I'm not a fan of crisis cadre's for their points. It seems like he was low on actual unit counts too for the amount of tanks he had, seems like he needed more infantry to suppor them.

Sounds like you had the air situation under control and no fliers TS, barracudas, or even orcas were going to be in a good situation. If it were me, I think I would have tried at least one barracuda formation though.

Your speed of approach seemed to cause him a lot of pain. The avatar pop and assault, the two jetbike assaults... all hurt bad. I don't know if his depth from the wraith gate could have been avoided or not, but reliance on CF seemed to take him there. I wonder if there was a way to deal with the speed of your assaults better.

All this aside, it seems like something was missing from his list to give you a proper battlefield response. I'm not convinced of the PF's utility in this battle. I'm not convinced that there was any amount of 'taking it to the enemy' that he could have done with the tau list to offer a better offensive tactic.

I wonder if there was a way to hang back and skirt the edges of the battlefield with an all mech force supported by honda's favored scorpions and possibly delivered a different result.

I'll give you this Chroma, this battle has got me thinking.

Cheers,
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