Terror Based Dark Eldar vs. Tyranid Battle Report

Only the survivors of a Dark Eldar raid can know what true terror is.  When I think of Dark Eldar, I think of the horrors they visit upon their guests in their dark capital city and I shudder.

When the new Codex came out, many people said unkind things about Mandrakes and they claimed a Terror based list was impossible.  Needless to say, I was up for that challenge.  My Unorthodoxy bone wouldn't let me pass up a chance to try.

So here was my list (I later changed the list to just 3 Reavers with x1 blaster and 1x Grav talon, plus 9 Hellions with a Stunclaw):

Terror Made manifest:

195 VoidRaven Bomber(FlickerField, 4 x Necrotoxin Missiles)

125 Talos Pain Engine (Extra CC Weapon, TL Liquifier Gun, TL Haywire Blaster)

125 Talos Pain Engine (Extra CC Weapon, TL Liquifier Gun, TL Haywire Blaster)

95 6 Wrack (Liquifier Gun, Acothyst With Hexrifle)
80 Raiders (ShockProw, Torment Grenade Launchers, FlickerField)

95 6 Wrack (Liquifier Gun, Acothyst With Hexrifle)
80 Raiders (ShockProw, Torment Grenade Launchers, FlickerField)

95 6 Wrack (Liquifier Gun, Acothyst With Hexrifle)
80 Raiders (ShockProw, Torment Grenade Launchers, FlickerField)

105 7 Wrack (Liquifier Gun, Acothyst With Hexrifle)
80 Raiders (ShockProw, Torment Grenade Launchers, FlickerField)

226 8 Reavers (2 x Grav Talons, 2 x Blasters)

145 9 Mandrakes (NightFiend)

145 9 Mandrakes (NightFiend)

180 Haemonculae Ancient (HuskBlade, HexRifle, Webway Portal)

130 Haemonculae Ancient (HuskBlade, HexRifle)

Mission:  Quarter Deployment ,Kill Points.

Terrain from the Dark Eldar perspective of the Table.

In the DarK Eldar Deployment zone midboard was a church ruin and a forest dominating the right flank.  Near the very center of the board, closest to the Dark Eldar was an AV 13 building.  Opposite the ruined church in the Tyranid Quarter were ruined walls and a trench line in the middle of the Tyranid deployment zone.  Another ruined church wall was in the center of the Tyranid long board edge.

Dark Eldar Deployed first and went first.  They Deployed the Raiders as near to the center of the board as was allowed, using the large AV 13 building for cover from the Hive guard or other Tyranid forces that might fire on them.    Reaver Jetbikes took solace behind the ruined church.  Ironic.  The rest went into reserves except for the Mandrakes which grouped up in the right quadrant in front of the Dark Eldar deployment Quadrant, near a ruined partial building.

The Tyranids spread their girth across the front of their deployment quadrant.  From right to left the Termagaunts spread out, and then left of them were the Ripper Swarms and Hormagaunts left of them.  Behind that line were, right to left, 2 Hive Guard, 4 Warriors, 2 more Hive Guard and 4 more Warriors to keep Synapse ranges, and 2 Biovores stood in an old munitions dump to the far rear corner.  The Tervigon sat behind a broken wall to take cover and spawn away from the midpoint of the enemy long board edge.   Gene Stealer deployed 24 inches up along the short board edge, behind a hill.  At the 36” line of the long board edge were clumped the large Gargoyle unit with its Parasite master, right near the Tervigon.  Spore Mines took up the center of the unused quadrants to cut off enemy movement but were essentially not a factor  in the game, exploding against Raider hulls at various points but doing nothing worth writing about.

TURN 1

The Dark Eldar moved their Raiders stealthily towards the open quadrant in front of them, keeping their distance except for the one with the Homonculae in it, which took to the center and dropped its deadly Webway Portal package off.  The Dark Lances fired and killed a couple of Warriors and the Mandrakes backed away slightly to set their trap for the gargoyles that were clumped up with the Parasite on the 36’ line of the long board edge.

The Tyranids ran forward while the vile Tervigon spat out 12 of its unholy Termagaunt primordial soup children.  The Hive Guard took aim and fired at the offending Raider that had produced the eerie glowing portals creator.  The Gene Stealers ran over the hill and flooded towards the AV 13 building like a mass of hungry ants.  Meanwhile the Yrmgarls waited patiently for their opportunity to strike.

The Reavers got hit HARD by the Biovores, killing four of them and leaving them pinned.

ROUND 2:

As predicted, the Gargoyles had alighted well within the dread Mandrakes range.  The Homonculae ancient sprang from his Raider and joined them, causing eldritch flames to lick up and down the arms of the avaricious Mandrakes and they unleashed that hunger upon the gargoyles with venomous joy, nearly cutting the Gargoyles in half.  The second unit of Mandrakes, still unaccompanied by a Homonculae positioned themselves and readied for the charge.  The Wracks themselves mounted up and moved to the rear corner of the board.

Meanwhile from seemingly nowhere, the VoidRaven Bomber Streaked from its position in the clouds and alighted in the forest on the right side (did not become immobilized), and unleashed four Necrotoxin missiles and its Void Lances, completely annihilating the largest of the Termagaunt squads that were taking up the middle of the Tyranid line.  Both Hive Guard units and the wounded warrior unit were hit as well and hurt badly.  The Talos waited patiently in the ether…

The Wracks with the Homonculae, now without a Raider to transport them, took a step back and towards their fellows near the forest to put distance between themselves and the ravening horde before them.  Little did they know what appetite lurked there…  The Homonculae detached to join the Mandrakes near the forest.

The other Wracks in their Raiders allowed the Raider Lances to blast away, the Acothysts taking their pot shots as well with their fear inducing HexRfiles from within the confines of the Raider.

The Reavers were pinned and could do nothing but take it in the face.

The Gargoyles angrily responded, with their Parasite Master egging them on to greater efforts.  They rushed forward and shot the Mandrakes to little effect, and then missed the charge by about an inch.

The Hormagaunts had made good time and were easily within reach of the enemy.  The rest of the Warriors advanced with the Hive Guard up the middle.  The Gene Stealers entered the AV 13 building giving them a considerable amount of protection as well as potentially significant free movement next round.  The Tervigon ejected 8 more of its spawn.  The Biovores dared not fire for fear of hitting too many of their own.

SUDDENLY, the Yrmgrals appeared in the forest and multi-assaulted not only the Reavers but the Homonculae led Mandrakes that had just fired down on the Gaunts seconds before.  Unfortunately, they badly underestimated their opponents, as the Reavers were on combat Drugs (+1 Attack) and the Ancient Homonculae was not to be trifled with.  The Yrmgals were vanquished all in one fell swoop!  An unexpected turn of events to be sure.

ROUND 3: 

The Reaver Jetbikes Scythed their way across the night sky and cut into the Gaunts that the Tervigon had created, helping to tear them away for the Talos, but the swarm creatures were immune to the normal terror of self preservation that most would have fallen prey to.  The VoidRaven Bomber also blasted its engines to full throttle, placing itself next to the Tervigon just as the Two Talos lumbered from the fetid reaches of the etherium through the WebWay Portal and used their Liquifier Guns and Haywire Blasters to clear a path to the hive guard behind them.   The Raiders fired at the Gargoyles and gaunts, while one of the Wrack units flew alongside the VoidRaven bomber at the enemies long board edge.  Only one of the Talos could reach the Hive Guard but that was enough.  The Talos did its grisly work and smashed the Hive Guard to pieces.

The remaining Mandrakes dropped the Gargoyle unit that failed its charge to five fliers and their Parasite master as they waited for the inevitable charge, secure in their building position.

The Tyranid responded.  The GeneStealers tore the door frames of the AV13 building off in their lust to satiate their hunger and only Dark meat would suffice.  They rushed the central Mandrakes that were in the open with their fleet claws and the Mandrakes were simply overwhelmed without the help of their Homonculae master.  There was no terrain to slow the enemy down this time.  Their Eldritch flames flickered and died out.

The Tervigon popped its last spawn out, placenta and all, and shot some foul power at the Reavers, then charged and destroyed them.  The Gargoyles charged the Mandrakes in the building, losing horribly and leaving only a wounded parasite to fight on.  Once again the prowess of the Mandrakes was made clear to these mindless brutes.

The Rippers charged the Talos and poisoned it to death and all the other gaunt units charged the other Talos, but essentially were banging their head against a brick wall.  Even though one of the Gaunt units was within the Tervigons poisonous range, there weren’t enough of them to get through the tough armor of the Taos.

ROUND 4:

The Mandrakes  in the building finished off the Parasite with a dismissive slash across its throat, draining its blood into a cup for later inclusion in their libations, careful not to let a moment of its terror escape their attentions, and then rushed the field, eagerly attempting to get closer to the action.

The Rippers had to die and so the Wracks unloaded on them with Liquefier guns, HexRifles, Dark Lances and anything else they could throw at it until the unit was next to nothing.  The VoidRaven Bomber took it’s shots as well, wounding the Tervigon, but unable to drop its mine on the thing, as it had moved out of position when it attacked the Reavers the previous round {note:  this was played before the FAQ came out or I would have dropped it right on his head}.  All of this was punctuated by the charge of a unit of Wracks with the help of a Homonculae who attached itself to them.  With a Furious Charge, the Rippers vanished and the center of the board was much more manageable!

One unit of Wracks mounted up to avoid the next GeneStealer charge

That left the Genestealers pretty much alone with a gaunt unit to charge the remaining Wracks on the right near quadrant and that combat ended rather expectedly with Wracks dying horribly.  The Gaunts continued to flail against the tough Talos and it continued to batter their bodies against its own shell to get at the meaty insides as if to send a message to the far biovores that had been able to fire very little to this point for fear of hitting their own hordes.  With one last crack of a spine, the Talos finally tore one of the Gaunt units that were scratching at it to bits.

The Tervigon tried to attack the VoidRaven Bomber but it was of little use.  The thing was simply too fast for it to latch a claw onto it.

The Warriors inside the AV13 building burst out and tried to make their way towards the Talos combat, firing at the Wrack Raiders.

Round 5: 

The VoidRaven Bomber and other Raiders tried to finish the Tervigon, moving swiftly away from the only remaining free threat, the GeneStealers and scattering like leaves, then blasting away at it with Dark lances, wounding it again.  The Mandrakes also moved to fire on the Genestealers, and were able to put a serious dent in their numbers, cutting them in half from 18 inches out.  The Talos continued to cut and hack at the now powerless Gaunts that were simply too far from the Tervigon to benefit from the poisonous miasma it imbues its children with.  A unit of Wracks disembarked and used their Liquefier guns on the Tyranid Warriors that came out of the AV 13 building, then charged, tying the combat.

The Biovores were now presented with targets.  No friendly units were anywhere to cause problems and they blew a Raider out of the sky, but with nothing on the board but a nearly dead tervigon who took swings at the VoidRaven Bomber again, and the Genestealers who could reach no one, and the Warriors there was really nothing more to be done.  The Warriors fought the Wracks and Homonculae again and were beaten back again.  The Talos was as brutal as last round, crushing Gaunts under its feet.

The End.

Score 11-5, Advantage Dark Eldar