Batrep: 1850 Eldar vs Tyranids

Armies deployed

So the stage is set for our third battle. Marshall and I have gone 1-1 so far and this would be the tie breaker! This time I suggested that Marshall try out the Skyblight from the third Dataslate of Leviathan Rising so helped him create a list. We played over at Titan Games, great place with awesome terrain (although I would have preferred if the ruins all had a base).

Army Lists
Eldar (Ray)

Love how the army is finally coming together. A few more elements need work and I am there

[Warlord] Farseer: Runes of Witnessing, Witchblade, Jetbike
Farseer: Runes of Witnessing, Jetbike
Guardians x10: Wave Serpent - Holofields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon
Guardians x10: Wave Serpent - Holofields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon
Dire Avengers x10: Wave Serpent - Holofields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon
Windrider Jetbike x3
Windrider Jetbike x3
Windrider Jetbike x3
Warp Spiders x9
Warp Spiders x9

War Walker x3: Bright Lance, Bright Lance

War Walker x2: Scatter Laser, Scatter Laser

Warlord Farseer

Warlord secured the following powers:

1. Doom
2. Guide
3. Prescience

Trait: Seer of the Shifting Vector

Farseer 

1. Mind War
2. Guide
3. Misfortune

Tyranids (Marshall)

[Warlord] Hive Tyrant + Twin Linked Brainleech Devourer Worms + wings
Hive Tyrant + Twin Linked Brainleech Devourer Worms + wings

Termagants with Fleshborers x30
Tervigon

Hive Crone

Skyblight

Hive Tyrant + Twin Linked Brainleech Devourer Worms + wings

Hive Crone
Harpy

Harpy

Gargoyle x14

Gargoyle x15

Gargoyle x15

Psychic Powers:
Warlord - Horror, Warp Blast
Hive Tyrant - Dominion, Catalyst
Hive Tyrant - Horror, Warp Blast

Tervigon - Catalyst

Warlord Trait: Re-roll failed Reserves

Pre-game Setup 

Dawn of War Deployment with Relic as Primary

Tyranid deployment. Painted Gants were proxying in for Gargolyes

Trygons were proxying in for Harpies, painted Gants for Gargs

Unpainted Gants for actual Gants. Flight stand for Crone. Man, Marshall has to start buying stuff or I'm banning proxying! 

Overview of the battlefield after both sides have deployed

Wave Serpents completed look just awesome. Love those FW bits

I kept all my Serpents back on the line to buy me time to shoot down the Synapse before Marshall could close the gap and start his Vector Strikes.

Note: here are some deployment errors on my part. I should have kept my Serpents and army in general together and gone for the refused flank. By spreading myself out so thin, I allowed Marshall to hit me on all fronts. I play Nids, I should know this! Also, the War Walker didn't need to be behind terrain, it already has a mobile 5++ cover. Dohhhhh. The Spiders in the ruins below didn't have to be in there. They have 3+ for goodness sake and Marshall's army didn't have any AP3 weapons! Learn learn!  

Put one unit of Spiders into this ruin. 

I held two units in Reserve: Jetbike x3 and Warp Spiders x9.
Marshall got first turn and I failed to seize.

Turn 1

Marshall pushed up aggressively and started putting pressure early on in the game.

Marshall managed to delete 2 of my Bright Lance War Walkers

Then continued to remove another 1. First Blood to Marshall

This was how close Marshall was to my lines in 1 turn. Skyblight+Flying Circus.

Eldar Turn 1: I advanced the Jetseer and his retinue up to tackle the FNP Flyrant

I managed to remove one of Marshall's Flyrants on the far left of the field. 2 more Flyrants to go.

Bottom of Eldar Turn 1

Turn 2

Made a small mistake and that cost me a Serpent. The edge was showing and that allowed his Crone to Vector Strike

Apparently the Vector Strike is determined by where the base of the Crone overlaps the enemy vehicle. Wow, I need to read up on VS.

Gargs (proxied by Gants) advanced to support the Crone to wipe out the Dire Avengers

Harpy (proxied by Trygon) vector strike the Avengers reducing them further

Another vector strike by the Tyrant taking down 2 bikes. 

I failed the Leadership test and fled off the board. Farseer and Warlord gone. Also gone was his ability to bring the Warp Spiders down within 6" and not scatter. In one move, Marshall nullified my army and plan.

Whuttttttt.....

Harpy (Trygon) shot and charged into the surviving Walkers destroying them both

Other unit of Gargs (proxied by Gants) engaged my other Seer on Jetbike

I was getting bogged down and fast

Gargs (Gants) wiped my Avenger out to the last man

Eldar Turn 2: So instead of my grand plan coming together, this unit of Spiders scatters and rolls on the Mishap. Marshall put them here to keep them out of the game for a turn. 

I mustered my units where possible, knowing that I really didn't have much in response to his melee.

The kinks in my lists were showing. No real ability to hit back with melee, I was either being tied down in combat or losing units fast. I needed to control the game.

Moved up my Spiders and managed to remove the 2nd Tyrant. Just one more! 

Turn 3

Marshall moved up and using these Gants, destroyed my Spiders

This stalemate was still on going

On the far right of my zone, these two bikes were tied up as well

Lost the retinue and the Farseer is now fighting for his life

I had to disembarked although it was Turn 3. I need to gun those Gants down

Deployed the other unit of Guardians in the hope of freeing up the Jetbike

Bottom of Eldar Turn 3 and I was not getting much done. I killed 2 Gants! 

TWO GANTS from 10 Guardians! 

Man I was going nowhere...

Turn 4 

And in the big monsters come

Stalemate was stale

Marshall kept advancing and deleting my Guardians

While he send some of these back field to address my hidden Spiders

Lost combat but the last jetbike stayed. The 3 Guardians high tailed

Bottom of Turn 4

Combat was still on but I was stuck. Farseer couldn't really do much

That heroic jetbiker being cheered on by his buddies who just regrouped

Regrouped my Spiders but I was certain I would lose them. Tervigon still had 4 wounds and those Gargs (Painted Gants are proxying) would tie me up. 

Relic was securely in Marshall's hands

I called it at the end of Turn 4. I felt that it was very unlikely that I could regroup to take out the last 2 Synapse creatures so that the large 30 man Gant unit start falling back.

Victory to the Tyranids.

Lessons learnt:

1. Know your own armour save. If the enemy does not have the AP weapons to bypass your armour or your armour save is better than terrain, then deploy them aggressively or have them sit in Deep Strike. Control the game
2. Keep the Serpents together. Vector Strikes do not work when they cannot complete their moves. Give them no room to land
3. Drop one unit of Walkers (version 5 of my list drops them in favour of the Wraithknight

Truly this Tyranid list is scary. Pressure up front and fast. There is no where you can hide, just how quickly you can kill. 

Looks like the Nids are back. I'm loving it