Dashofpepper's Necrons at Little Wars: Round Three

50 point massacre from Game One, and 35 points from Game Two puts me on the second table for game three – not enough to get onto Table #1.

Dashofpepper's Garden of Silence:
HQ: Deceiver
HQ: Necron Lord + Destroyer Body + Phase Shifter + Rez Orb + Warscythe
Troop: 11x Warriors
Troop: 12x Warriors
Fast Attack: 3x Wraiths
Fast Attack: 3x Wraiths
Fast Attack: 3x Wraiths
Heavy Support: Monolith
Heavy Support: Monolith
Heavy Support: Monolith



Mission 3: The Strait and Narrow
Overview: This scenario is simple. Kill everything of your opponent’s army. Leave nothing left alive by game’s end.
Line of Retreat: Units that fall back do so toward their own table edge via the shortest route possible as described by the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook (pg 45)
Game Length: At the end of game turn 5, roll a D6. On a 3+ game turn 6 is played. At the end of game turn 6, roll a D6. On a 5+ game turn 6 is played. At the end of game turn 7, the game ends automatically: Alternatively, the game ends immediately when the tournament organizer declares that time has elapsed. Players should not begin a new turn if there is insufficient time remaining to complete the turn.

Deployment: Diagonal/Kill Points
The table is divided diagonally by measuring 16 in. from each corner, as pictured to the right.

Players roll off and the winner chooses to go first or second. The player who goes first may select which side to deploy on. The player going first then deploys on his chosen deployment zone, followed by the player going second deploying on the opposite deployment zone.

Players roll off and the winner chooses to go first or second. The player who goes first may select which side to deploy on. No objectives will be placed for this mission.

Initiative may be seized on a dice roll of 5+ before the start of the 4^th game turn.

Objectives:
Primary: Completely Complete

-Obtain 3 or more kill points than your opponent: 25 points

-Obtain 2 or less kill points than your opponent: 20 points

-Obtain equal kill points with your opponent: 15 points

-Obtain 2 or less kill points than your opponent: 10 points

-Obtain 3 or less kill points than your opponent: 5 points

Secondary: Hold the Line
-Finish the game with more of your units completely within the enemy deployment zone than your opponent has completely within your deployment zone: 15 points

-Finish the game with the same number of your units completely within the enemy deployment zone as your opponent has completely within your deployment zone: 10 points

-Finish the game with less of your units completely within the enemy deployment zone than your opponent has completely within your deployment zone: 5 points

Tertiary: Sum of Its parts

-Kill more than half of your opponent’s army as calculated by Victory Points: 5 points

-Kill less than half of your opponent’s army as calculated by Victory Points: 0 points


Modifiers:
+5 points: The player with the most Kill Points from non-Troop enemy units at the end of the game achieves this modifier.

When they announced pairings, Bryce - my third round opponent protested – he’s played me several times before in friendly games and thought that our pairing must be a mistake because I’m always on the top table – which he knew he couldn’t be based on his own performance…and his Mechdar weren’t well equipped to deal with me. I wasn’t on the top table though, so we set up for battle!

Bryce’s Mechdar:
HQ: Eldrad
HQ: Farseer with Spirit Stones, Runes of Witnessing, Guide, Fortune

Troop1: 10x Guardians + Bright Lance, Warlock + Embolden, Wave Serpent w/ Twin-Linked Bright Lance

Troop2: 10x Guardians + Bright Lance, Warlock + Embolden, Wave Serpent w/ Twin-Linked Bright Lance

Troop3: 5x Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent w/ Twin-Linked Missile Launcher

Troop4: 5x Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent w/ Twin-Linked Missile Launcher

Elite1: 8x Howling Banshees, Exarch with Executioner, Acrobatic, Warshout, in a Wave Serpent with Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon, and Spirit Stones

Heavy1: Wraith Lord with Bright Lance and Missile Launcher

Heavy2: Wraith Lord with Bright Lance and Missile Launcher

Heavy3: Wraith Lord with Bright Lance and Missile Launcher

Pre-Game Tactical Assessment:
I’m a bit concerned. While the Bright Lances and Missile Launchers can’t really take down my Monoliths, they could immobilize them and take away my limited mobility. The Deceiver can’t run out on his own to get up close, because he’ll be facing a wall of STR8 weapons…and my Deceiver can’t make a 4++ to save his life. This past weekend, the one time I tried I failed five out of 6 saves and died. That’s pretty consistent for him. He’s also got me on range, which will make me getting to him almost impossible. Easy draw for him with potential for a win depending on what I do….difficult to win for me.

We roll off for deployment option and Bryce wins. *ponders* I haven’t won a roll to go first in the last six games with my Necrons. I seized once (game two here), and this past weekend during my third game my opponent and I tied three times on the roll to go first.

Bryce deploys! A picture of the table as well! The blue waveserpent to the right of the wraithlords has Eldrad and 10x Guardians in it. The one to their right has the Farseer with 10 more Guardians in it. The banshees are in the grey wave serpent.

Ah…this was me asking which one had Eldrad in it.

I deploy in return! My Monolith wall to screen my stuff, while my warriors are in reserve walking in from the table edge.

I roll to seize and fail.

Enemy Turn One:

Bryce casts fortune on Eldrad’s unit, his wave serpent, the Farseer’s unit, and casts guide on the nearest Wraithlord. His entire army of wave serpents scoots 12” away from me so that I won’t be in range to use my particle whips while the wraithlords back up 2D6 each.

So he’s going to play keep-away. >< Not much I can do about it. His wraithlords and wave serpents spew bright lances and missiles at my monoliths, but nothing gets through.

Dashofpepper Turn One:

I’m not sure what to do. I can’t get to him, I don’t want to throw my wraiths out in the open…I’m afraid of having to make too many dangerous terrain tests with my monoliths, so I decide to form the Flying V!

My wraiths are all within 6” of each other, all within 6” of the rez orb, and my portals are facing inward in case he can shoot me between the monoliths or I get immobilized – I want to be able to resurrect back within the safety of my Monolith screen.

The one monolith that moved 6” forward takes a particle whip shot at his closest wraithlord that didn’t make it a full 6” away, dropping the template on the front of its base. I score a direct hit and wound it. In hindsight, I should have tried dropping it further to the left to try wounding both, but I was afraid of being out of range.

Enemy Turn Two:

He moves flat out down to the left side of my board to the corner – still out of range of my particle whips while his wraithlords back up some more.

Here’s the bottom left side of the board where he’s hiding out.

Dashofpepper Turn Two:

I roll for reserves and get one squad of warriors. I consider dropping them in front of his wave serpent line to try glancing one to death with an immobilized result, but needing 6 to glance, 6 to immobilize, and him having 4+ cover anyway makes it unappealing. It’s a killpoint game, and I’d be risking trading one for one at BEST…and more likely losing my unit and getting no killpoints back. I choose to come out in my far right corner instead, far away from everything.

This is them after they’ve moved on 6” and then run into the terrain.

I shift 6” to the left with everything. All three monoliths take and pass dangerous terrain tests for entering or leaving terrain, while my wraiths and Deceiver continue to hide out.

My far left Monolith attempts to drop a particle whip on his closest wave serpent in the bottom left corner – putting the hole on the tip of his Wave Serpent. I’m in range! I score a direct hit. He rolls for cover and fails! My Particle whip gets gimped down to STR8 by his energy field, and I don’t get 2D6 either….I roll a 3 to penetrate, which doesn’t do the trick. Nothing else of mine is in range of anything.

Enemy Turn Three:

Bryce moves his wave serpents flat out around the left side of the board, and shifts his wraithlords still further away. Another volley of bright lances and missiles into my Monoliths and he scores a glance! Shaken.

Dashofpepper Turn Three:

My second warrior squad stays in reserves. My Monoliths pass three more Dangerous Terrain tests and lumber another 6” towards the middle of the table. I’ve previously mentioned interlocking Monoliths – this is a decent picture of it. The exhaust ports on the sides of the monolith lock into each other while offset, so that the dual ports close visibility at the bottom of the monoliths. This isn’t a perfect picture, but its enough to illustrate what I’m explaining.

I decide that I’m going to try making a move. My wraiths all turbo-boost 24” over towards his wave serpents to see if I can’t force him into action, or to get a Turn 4 assault on something.

The Deceiver is still hanging out by the Monoliths, hiding from LOS and hanging on protection duty.

Enemy Turn Four:

Bryce moves flat out with his wave serpents again….this time as far as he can get towards the other side of my Monoliths – in what I suspect is going to be a turn five+ shot to jump into my deployment zone and get the secondary objective.

His wraithlords move forward this time towards me; that last picture was halfway through his movement. His banshee wave serpent moved over too.

This time his wraithlords unload on my wraiths with brightlances and missile launchers. I pass every invulnerable save. J

Dashofpepper Turn Four:

Second warrior squad…still in reserve! Bryce said that he was going to take a chance, which is why he moved within range of my particle whips. He’s also moved out of range of my wraiths to assault…so my choices are to either take a chance trying to particle whip his wave serpents with STR8 non-ordinance, or…

I move my monoliths up 6” (passing another three Dangerous Terrain tests), and teleport my wraiths through each of my monoliths. Each is within 18” range of at least one monolith. Having already moved my Monoliths, my wraiths won’t be able to move again (to surround wave serpents), but they’ll all be in range to assault. Again, I’m positioning my Lord so that my wraiths and rez orb are all in maximum coverage.

Triple Monolith flux arcs shake two of his wave serpents, but I don’t crack any open. One of the wraithlords is in 12”, but I don’t hurt it either.

Assaults!

I’ve only got the Banshee wave serpent and Eldrad’s wave serpent in range. The left wraith unit goes after the banshees, the right wraith unit into Eldrad’s, and the Lord’s unit multi-assaults both – again so that my wraiths all have mutual support and rez orb support.

I stick five wraiths into Eldrad’s transport, and four wraith with the destroyer lord into the Banshee transport. Five wraiths with four attacks each…twenty attacks into the Eldrad’s wave serpent!

Six out of Twenty hits…not too bad! I either immobilize or wreck it, but don’t explode it. Eldrad and the guardians pile out. I didn’t think they would all make it…but they do.

The other four wraiths swing on the banshee wave serpent and explode it! Five of the banshees inside die in the conflagration and are pinned. 25% casualties make him take leadership to flee but they stay.

The explosion tags some wraiths, but they pass their saves – having a good game of dice so far! Templates hitting on target, even if they can’t penetrate, monoliths all passing dangerous terrain tests, and wraiths making all their saves against his fire.

Enemy Turn Five:

I’m up by two killpoints suddenly, and now he’s forced to commit to try regaining the game. There’s no guarantee of six turns, so its now or never.

Eldrad and his guardian attachment move up towards my nearest monolith after dooming the wraiths closest to them and fortuning themselves.

His wraithlords move up 6” towards my monolith wall.

Lots of shots into my wraiths from his guardians and I pass all my saves (despite being doomed), along with more lances and missiles into my monoliths that bounce off! Eldrad also cast Eldritch Storm into the wraiths – tagging two monoliths in the large blast and spinning them around for fun.

His closest wraithlord is within 6” of my monolith and assaults! 4+ to hit, 4+ to glance…he gets one glance and one penetrate and I start sweating. Shaken and stunned. *phew*

Eldrad his guardians multi-assault my monolith (with Eldrad and the warlock) and the three closest wraiths with the 10 guardians.

A picture from the other way. Eldrad and the Warlock swing at my Monolith and don’t hurt it. My wraiths kill three guardians and lose one – he stays in combat.

Dashofpepper Turn Five:

My last squad of warriors arrives from reserves and moves 6” onto the table directly behind my monoliths.

My downed wraith gets back up, and the squad teleports through the middle monolith to get out of combat. All three monoliths move 6” backwards in a line – getting me away from Eldrad on one flank and the Wraithlord on the other side. The warriors who just moved on teleport through the left monolith and up into firing range while the warriors on my right flank teleport through the monolith on the right flank (to the side) to line up rapid-firing shots at the wave serpent over there.

The Deceiver was hiding behind the left monolith – which just got assaulted by a wraithlord. He moves up towards the Wraithlord.

The warriors on the right open up on the wave serpent in front of them. They shake and weapon destroy it – I take out the bright lance.

Eldrad and his guardians accept a massive influx of fire. Warriors rapid-firing, monoliths flux-arcing…I kill two of them. >< On the flip side, the flux arcs finished off his banshees.

Assaults!

The Deceiver assaults his wraithlord and eats it alive! For his consolidation, he moves directly in the path of the other wraithlords to keep them from getting to my corner monolith.

And the central combat: Eldrad along with four guardians (one of them being a warlock) against nine wraiths and a destroyer lord – the lord is in base contact with Eldrad.

My wraiths eat through his fortuned guardians. Eldrad hits once against the Destroyer Lord, but rolls a 1 to wound, and the Destroyer Lord does three wounds in return – no armour or invulnerable saves and the squad goes down.

This is all happening midfield close to his deployment zone, and I get a 6” consolidate on one wraith unit, and consolidate into his deployment zone.

We roll for turn 6 and it ends! I’ve got 25 points for primary, with two wave serpents, banshees, Eldrad, a guardian unit, and one wraithlord, without taking a single casualty. 6-0.

My consolidating wraiths put a unit in his deployment zone, with none of his in mine, for another 15 points, and when he tallies victory points….I have 1,011 or something close – giving me just over half.

Post-Game Tactical Assessment:

I don’t think that my opponent really did anything *wrong* so to speak – I don’t think that playing for a draw is ever the right strategy going into the game. I think the biggest change I might have made in his shoes would have been to encircle the wraith-wing and try shooting it to death. His banshees couldn’t have made it into assault, but everything else probably could have moved 12” over to them and been in range to shoot. On turn two when my first warrior squad came in, I think he might have been wise to flat out his banshees to midfield – putting them within a two turn assault. If my wraiths broke off to provide cover, or I shifted Monoliths over to give them teleportation safety, he would have been no worse off than he already was.

At any rate, we’ve ended almost an hour early because of the four turn keep away, and I wander up to table #1, where Tyranids are trouncing all over Space Wolves. The Tyranid player ended up taking a 50 point massacre from the table and ending up with 145 points to my 135, putting me in second place!

My Necrons continue their undefeated plodding across the tournament scene.