The Spirit Stone War Battle 1

Battle 1: Gate Crasher

Mission Source: Custom
Points: Attacker (Tau) 2000     Defender (Eldar) 1750 + Defences
Armies: Tau Empire, Eldar


A Tau World Ship has made orbit above an Eldar world. It quickly launches an assault force to the planet below, and the Hunter Contingent makes a drive on the nearest city, hoping to gain a foothold on the ground, to begin landing additional forces in a safe area.

Tau Hunter Contingent

Hunter Cadre
XV8 Commander 2 Plasma Rifles, Iridium Armour
Riptide Ion Accelerator
Strike Team w/ Devilfish
Strike Team w/ Devilfish
Strike Team w/ Devilfish
Pathfinder Team, 2 Ion Rifles
Piranha Flight (2 Skimmers), Fusion Blaster, 2 Seeker Missiles
Piranha Flight (2 Skimmers), Fusion Blaster, 2 Seeker Missiles
Ion Cannon Hammerhead, Longstrike

Armoured Interdiction Cadre
Railgun Hammerhead, 2 Seeker Missiles
Railgun Hammerhead, 2 Seeker Missiles
Railgun Hammerhead, 2 Seeker Missiles
Skyray

Eldar Combined Arms Detachment

HQ     Prince Yriel
EL     7 Wraithguard
EL     7 Wraithguard
EL     7 Wraithguard
T       5 Rangers
T       5 Rangers
FA    Vyper w/ Bright Lance, Shuriken Cannon
FA    Vyper w/ Bright Lance, Shuriken Cannon
HS     Wraithlord w/ 2 Brightances, 2 Flamers, Ghostglaive
HS     Wraithlord w/ 2 Brightances, 2 Flamers, Ghostglaive
HS     Wraithlord w/ 2 Brightances, 2 Flamers, Ghostglaive

Setup

The Tau have arrived to claim another world during their Fourth Phase of Expansion. As the Tau mechanized force sweeps toward the city, the undead defenders are roused, and man their defensive positions. It seems the plan is to minimize the Tau firepower advantage, and counter-attack once the assault has reached the walls.

The Tau force on the other hand, has deployed in waves, so that the fire power units can provide support to the assault elements as they close with the defense wall. There are only 3 objectives, but the Eldar force is mainly slower moving infantry, though they are fairly resilient.

Turn 1 Night fight is in effect.

Tau Warlord Trait: 

Eldar Warlord Trait: 

The Eldar undead prepare to defend the wall, while the Tau prepare to take it.

Turn 1 Tau

Determined to cover the ground between the wall and themselves quickly, the Tau drivers send their vehicles toward the wall, as they are engulfed in a sheet of smoke from Smart Missile Systems and the shimmering haze of energy weapons discharges, the crack of hyper-velocity Railgun rounds shattering the peaceful early morning dawn

The vehicles of the Tau surge forward, firing all weapons as they advance.

A single wound is lost at the end of the Tau shooting phase.

Two Hammerheads take Snap Shots at Wraithlord 3, but the building provides plenty of cover for it to crouch behind.

The last Hammerhead takes a Snap Shot at Wraithlord 1, but fails to even wound.

The Riptide successfully Overcharges his Ion Accelerator, and hits Wraithlord 2, and also catches Vyper 2 in the blast, but the blast does not hurt the light skimmer. The ball of energy does, however, melt its way through the wraithbone armour of the Wraithlord, inflicting the sole point of damage during this shooting phase.

The Pathfinders are not in range of a target, nor line of sight, but they elect not to run so as to not outpace their armour support.

Using their Assault Thrust, the XV8 and the Riptide both move into cover, not sure how bad the Eldar counter strike will be.

Turn 1 Eldar

With precious few anti-tank weapons at hand, the Eldar try to maximize the few shots they get.

Tit for tat, the Eldar dole out a sole wound in retaliation.

Rangers 1 and 2 target the nearest Devilfish, trying to snipe and rend some damage to the Transport, but their shots cannot find a weak spot.

Wraithlord 1 also fires his two Brightlances at a Devilfish, but he has no more luck than the Rangers.

Wraithlords 2 and 3 both target the Riptide, and manage to land a single damaging shot on the fast moving target.

Turn 2 Tau

Prince Yriel is slightly concerned, as the Tau battle line closes rapidly, something he has not experienced before. Apparently, being pounded into dust by long range firepower is not the Tau battle plan today. 

Uncharacteristically, the Tau close rapidly, Snap Shooting on their way in.

The Pathfinders are finally in range of a target, and light up Wraithlord 3, calling in 4 Seeker Missiles from the Piranha wing. The normally precise missiles slam into the building, only causing 1 wound to the construct.

The Armoured Interdiction Cadre (AIC), using their Interlaced Predictive Targeting Matrix (IPTM), group together and target Wraithlord 2 to boost BS to 5, and re-roll to hit targets within 6" of the Matrix  point. 3 Railgun shots, followed by 12 Twin Linked SMS Snap Shots later, Wraithlord 2 was a pile of shattered wraithbone.

Longstrike successfully Overcharged his Ion Cannon, and hit Wraithlord 1, along with 6 Warp Spiders, but since they were hiding behind the building, only 3 died to the plasma blast, and the Wraithlord incurred no damage.

The Riptide fired three shots from his Ion Accelerator at Wraithlord 3, but the building provided ample cover to the undead warrior.

The  XV8 Commander had no targets, so he ran and then Thrust moved into cover along the outside of the Tank Traps..

The Riptide Thrust moved into cover beside the Commander.

Turn 2 Eldar

Still mostly biding their time, waiting to spring their ambush, the Eldar ready their close range weapons.

The Warp Spiders jump up onto the wall, and strip one Hull Point from the left Devilfish, and then Warp Jump back behind the safety of the wall.

Wraithlord 1 targets the left Devilfish with both his Bright Lances to no effect.

Wraithlord 3 fires his Bright Lances at the Riptide, but fails to hit with one, and the other shot is deflected by the 5+ invul save of the Riptide.

Both Vypers move into position and engage the Riptide with a deluge of shots from Bright Lances and Shuriken Cannons. After the dust settles, a single wound has been suffered by the Riptide, its pilot calmly entering a firing solution as retribution.

Rangers 1, on the left, tries to finish off the left Devilfish but fail to find a weak spot with their Sniper Rifles.

Rangers 2 target the right Devilfish, and succeed in dealing  one Hull Point of damage.

Turn 3 Tau

The Skimmers aren't slowed by the Tank Traps of the wall height...

...and Fire Warriors crowd onto the wall, taking advantage of the excellent fields of fire.

Both the left and right Devilfish each lose a Hull Point as they cross over the minefield.

The three Devilfish group to increase BS, and target Rangers 1 across the street on the rooftop. 12 Burst Cannon shots and 12 Twin Linked Pulse Carbine shots only manage to kill 2 Rangers, their Shrouded cloaks and cover afforded by the rooftop making them resilient with 2+ Cover.

The left Strike Team pour Pulse Rifle fire into the Warp Spiders below them, killing 3 and wounding the Exarch.

The right Strike Team volley fire at the closest Vyper, punching holes throughout the flimsy Skimmer, wrecking it.

The AIC chooses Wraithlord 3 as the point for its IPTM, and with the Skyray getting two Markerlight hits, it removes cover from the target, and the railguns make short work of the contruct, smashing it.

The XV8 Commander, after jumping over the Tank Traps, targets the lone remaining Vyper and strips one Hull Point.

The Riptide follows suit, and pelts the Vyper with Ion shots, and successfully downs the fragile craft, wrecking it.

Piranha 1, with no viable targets, Turbo-boosts into the gate opening.

Piranha 2, after jumping onto the wall, targets Wraithguard 2 (with Yriel attached), Fusion Blaster fire lancing down from the wall top, along with Pulse Carbine from the Drones. After all that, no damage was taken by the Wraithguard, as they turned their D-Cannons toward the intruder.

The XV8 Commander readies both his Plasma Rifles for action while he is out of sight.

Turn 3 Eldar

The Eldar move into position...

The Wraithlord pulls himself onto the top of the wall and readies his twin flamers.

Wraithguard 1 moves into position guarding the gate.

Wraithguard 2 and 3 move to intercept the Piranhas skimming over the wall.

The three remaining Warp Spiders try to entangle the left Strike Team with monofilament, but only trap one Fire Warrior.

Wraithlord one levels both flamers onto the right Strike Team, searing the flesh from the bones of nine Fire Warriors. The three survivors pass their Leadership with a 4 though, grim determination of their faces.

Wraithguard 1 fires at the Piranha Flight in the gate, getting 4 hits, but the sneaky Tau pilots Jink 3 of those hits into harmless deflections, but the last D Cannon hit rips a guttering hole down the center of the craft, turning it inside out as is plows into the ground right outside the gate.

Wraithguard 2 and 3 both light up the Piranha Flight coming over the wall, and even the sneaky Tau can't Jink their way out of D hits, which send both vehicles off to the warp in a blinding flash of Immaterium. The resulting explosion (not sure how that works in fluff), scatters debris and essence of the Warp over 8 members of Wraithguard 2, and 7 members of Wraithguard 3. Wraithguard 2 is okay, but one member of Wraithguard 3 is a pile of smoking and shattered wraithbone.

Rangers 1 target the left Devilfish, but still can't find a weak spot in the vehicles' armour.

So Rangers 2 shows them how it's done, and strips the remaining Hull Point and Wrecks the transport.

The Warp Spiders prepare to Assault the Strike Team above them, but a volley of Pulse Rifle fire churns into them before they can move, leaving only the Exarch to hurl himself into the enemy. With a 10" charge, he Jetpacks into them, causing a wound from Hammer of Wrath, but the Fire Warriors' armour protects him from the collision. Without grenades, the Fire Warriors lash out first with their eleven attacks, but fail to get any wounds onto the Exarch. The Exarch returns with his 4 attacks, killing one to win the Assault, but the Fire Warriors hold their ground with another 4 for Leadership.

Preparing to Assault after causing only 1 casualty from shooting...

...and losing two Warp Spiders to Overwatch, the Exarch is finally into close combat.

The Eldar strike back against the invaders.

Turn 4 Tau

The Tau see that the Eldar left flank is close to breaking, and they know they have to push over the wall quickly.

Movement...

Longstrike moves up to engage the last Wraithlord.

The last Piranha moves to engage Wraithguard 1.

The Riptide jumps onto the wall to get a commanding view of the Eldar on the other side of it.

The XV8 Commander Thrusts onto the wall to the left of the Riptide.

The two survivng Devilfish move into the street, contesting the left objective.

The AIC moves toward the gate, getting ready to Tank Shock their way in next turn.

Shooting...
Longstrike hammers away at the last Wraithlord, his Ion Cannon causing one wound, and his SMS causing one more, but the beast still towers before him.

The two Deveilfish and 3 man Strike Team group up, and light up Rangers 1, directly across the street. Pulse rounds pepper the enemy snipers, shredding two, but the last Eldar refuses to flee with a 6 for Leadership.

The three Hammerheads of the AIC group up and engage Rangers 2 with their SMS, smoke contrails marking the enemy snipers position as they unerringly find their way to the Shrouded unit, and shredding them with 11 wounds to wipe them out.

The Skyray, XV8 Commander and the last Piranha target Wraithguard 1, at the corner of the building. With the benefit of the Networked Markerlights from the Skyray, they all Ignore Cover and riddle three suits of wraithbone armour to utter uselessness.

The Riptide targets Wraithguard 2 with an Overcharged Ion Accelerator shot, but it scatters a total of 4", only hitting one construct, and the building somehow provides cover (to the closest model) saving the undead beast.

With no viable targets, the Pathfinders run a whopping 2", apparently fearful of outrunning the armour support still.

Assault...
The XV8 Commander Thrusts 8" back off the wall out of Line of sight.

The Riptide also Thrusts 8" back off the wall, but still in sight due to his large size.

The Warp Spider Exarch now hits first, but fails to hit with his three attacks. The Strike Team counters with 10 attacks, getting 2 hits, but cant land a telling blow and the combat is drawn. Moral victory for the Tau!!

Turn 4 Eldar

At close range, the Eldar are proving excellent wall defenders.

Shooting...

The lone member of Ranger 1 snipes away at the three survivors of Strike Team 2, but can't land a clean shot through the clutter of the rooftop (4+ Cover).

The Wraithlord fires his Brightlances at Longstrike's Hammerhead, get a hit, but can't punch through the armour.

Wraithguard 1 move into the gate, and fire at the left Hammerhead, hitting twice. The Hammerhead Jinks away 1 of those, and the D shot strips 2 Hull Points.

Wraithguard 2 moves toward the gate, and targets the last Piranha, hitting 4 times. The Tau pilot tries to Jink, but fails and suffers 2 D hits plus 2 Penetrating hits for a total of 17 Hull Points of damage. That's some nasty overkill.

Wraithguard 3 level their D Cannons at the Riptide, getting three hits, wounding three times, but no 6's. The Riptide is engulfed in a field of energy as it disperses two of the incoming shots, but the third finds its way through, and deals 3 Wounds to the huge suit, killing it instantly.

Assault...

The Wraithlord readies itself to charge Longstrikes' Hammerhead. It brings its' heavily shielded arms in front of its body as it sees the SMS whir into life, expecting Overwatch. The SMS hits twice but can't wound. The Ion Cannon hits once, and would have wouded except for the roof clutter fouling the fireing lane. In return, the Wraithlord attacks 4 times, hitting twice, both fists sinking deep into the armour of the craft, the undead fingers extending into the power core containment chamber. The resulting explosion bathing the Wraithlord in bits of the flaming and melting metal, to which it is impervious.

Wraithguard 1 tries to assault the left Hannerhead, needing 11", but only able to manage 4". Not today.

The Warp Spider Exarch lashes out with three attacks, getting three hits, gutting two Fire Warriors. The Fire Warriors respond with 8 attacks, again landing two hits, but they can't get through the Heavy Aspect armour. Finding themselves outclassed, they attempt to withdraw for mechanized retrieval, but the Exarch is too fast, and runs them down. He Consolidates 6" toward the gate.

Turn 5 Tau

Mech Tau try to crash the gate.

 Movement...
The last Strike Team (#1) disembark to contest the gate objective.

The two Devilfish move into position to gun down the Exarch and contest the left wall objective.

The XV8 Commander Thrusts onto the wall...again...eyeing up some Wraithguard below him.

For some reason, the AIC holds position rather than swarming the gate objective.

Two Devilfish shooting vs Warp Spider Exarch armour.

Strike Team 1 disembarks to see a street full of Wraithguard.

Pathfinders can see some Wraithguard of their own.

Wraithguard everywhere!

 Shooting...
The Devilfish group up to no benefit without a third partner, and try to execute with extreme prejudice the Warp Spider Exarch. 5 hits, 4 wounds and 4 passed armour saves later, he waves and Jumps away.

The Pathfinders fire their Rail Rifles and Pulse Carbines at Wraithguard 1. 4 Rail Rifle shots drop two Wraithguard, and the volley of eight snap shots gets three hits, two of which find a weak spot. That's enough to wipe out the squad.

Three surviving Fire Warriors, Strike Team 1 and the XV8 Commander group up to pound Wraithguard 2. 26 Pulse shots, 19 hits, 7 wounds results in two more shattered suits of wraithbone.
A further 4 Plasma Rifle shots, 4 hits doling out another wound and dropping a third suit, cored by plasma fire. Strike Team 1 is holding the gate objective.

The AIC target Yriel with their SMS, all 16 Twin Linked shots. 16 hits, 15 wounds, and he suffers 7 wounds (+1 from his cursed rule), his broken body flung into the street as missile after missile strikes home.

Assault...
The XV8 Commander Thrusts back off the wall into the gate, but not close enough to contest the objective, readying his weapons for another killing volley.

The Tau overrun the Eldar left flank...mostly. And that will cost them.

Turn 5 Eldar

The Eldar realize that with resources dwindling, they need to focus on securing the objectives.

The Wraithlord needs to clear the left wall objective, Wraithguard 2, Exarch, and lone Ranger (it had to be said) need to clear and hold the gate, and Wraithguard 3 is already holding the right wall objective.

Step 1, left wall objective.

Lashing out at each Devilfish twice, the left Devilfish takes 2 hits 1 Glance and 1 Pen, but no explosion. And the right Devilfish also suffers 2 hits, both Pens again no explosion!

Wraithlord needs to control the objective...

...a flying leap from the top rope...er...wall...

FLYING ATOMIC ELBOW!!! OMG...DID YOU SEE  THAT !?!?!?!

 Step 2, The lone member of Ranger 1 jumps off the roof and prepares his pistol to assault. The Warp Spider Exarch Warp Jumps 13" to land behind the wall, right behind Strike Team 1. Wraithguard 2 moves and runs 6" onto the gate objective to contest it.

Lone Ranger declares assault on Strike Team 1. He is only 3" away, so using Supporting Fire the three Fire Warriors on the roof overlooking the gate Overwatch at the Ranger, missing him. The XV8 Commander also uses Supporting Fire to try to protect Strike Team 1, but he also misses. Strike Team 1 now fires Overwatch at the lone Ranger, and they can't hit him either.

The Ranger charges in 7", the Exarch also charges in  successfully. The Exarch kills two Fire Warriors, while the Ranger can't get past the armour of the Fire Warriors.

The Tau strike back with 6 attacks at the Exarch, and 4 at the Ranger. Three hits on the Exarch, two wounds and a single failed save sees him go down to a viscious hail of clubbing rifle butts. The Ranger takes two hits which both wound, and his mesh armour is of no help as he feels bones breaking as he too goes down to a nasty rifle whipping. But with a 1" Consolidation, the Fire Warriors have been pulled back out of contesting range of the gate objective.

The few survivors of the Eldar hold on to victory!

And we roll to see if there is a turn 6, and the dice gods say NO!. The Tau have been ordered to call off this costly attack. Another way into the city must be found elsewhere. Too many Tau lives have been wasted trying to breach an entry here.

Summary

Eldar: 9 points (3 Objectives)

Tau: 3 points (First Blood, Warlord, Linebreaker)

So, for these two armies anyway, a 250 advantage to the attacker (2000 to 1750) was just right since the one army didn't have to move at all, except to react to the enemy advance. What a fight! Right down to the end of the last turn, it was pretty close, and seeing the Tau move on the attack for a change was awesome as they tried to forge a path into the city.

Hope you enjoyed reading, and until next time, happy gaming!