(Moved from the Tiger Shark Thread)
Here is the Battle rep Chris referred to in the Tiger Shark thread.
Biel-Tan Eldar forces :-
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3x Guardian Warhosts ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 450
1x Mixed Aspect Warhost + 2x Exarch ? ? ? 350
1x Swooping Hawk Warhost + 2x Exarch ? ? 350
1x Warwalker troupe ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 200
1x Jet bike troupe ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?200
1x Falcon troupe (inc 2x Firestorms) ? ? ? ? ?250
2x Storm Serpents ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 500
2x Vampires ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?400
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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?2700 points, 12 activations
(Note I had designed a 3000 point army, but hastily removed a third Storm Serpent and Autarch upgrade to reduce my army to match the Taus forces)
Tau Forces
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(from memory ? Chris will advise any mistakes)
3x fire warrior Cadres ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 900
1x Battlesuit Cadre ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?250
2x Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre ? ? ? ? 750
5x Tiger Shark AX-1-0 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 875
? ----
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2675 points, 12x activations
Terrain
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12 moderately large pieces on a 6? x 4? table, which provided reasonable restrictions to fire lanes (less important to the skimmer based armies used)
Deployment
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Tau
The Tau garrisoned one of my blitz objectives placed centrally in a built up area with 1x Fire Warrior Cadre.
?East? Wing:-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Fire Warrior Cadre
?Centre :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Fire Warrior Cadre
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Battlesuit Cadre
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre (BTS objective)
?West? wing :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Fire Warrior Cadre
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1x Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
Off table :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?5x Tiger Shark AX-1-0
Eldar
Centre :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Falcon troupe
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2x Storm Serpents
Off table :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Vampire + Mixed Aspect host (BTS objective)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Vampire + Guardian host
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Swooping Hawk (teleport) (BTS objective)
Webway :-
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2x Guardian host
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Warwalker troupe
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1x Jetbike troupe
Note :-
Eldar intention is to march a Storm Serpent near an appropriate target, retain initiative and assault with formations from the Webway. In the previous game we played I kept the Serpents together and they died horribly quickly, so this time I intended to separate them, giving me three such attacks in the first turn, and up to three similar attacks in the following turns (assuming some survived), with the option of Vampire transport / evacuation if needed. However, sacrificing one Serpent to reduce the army size meant I had to load up the Vampires (so I was glad I bought them to start with).
Tau intention is to bomb, kill, shoot, maim and generally destroy anything they can line up in their Markerlights backed up by the 75cm Hammerhead seeker missiles. However, Chris did also explain the significant potential of the Tiger Sharks 45 cm range shot as well - - - -
Turn 1
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Tau win the initiative - - - - and think hard - - - - and then give it over to the Eldar!
(this is obviously going to be one of those games . . .)
Eldar think hard, eying up those dreaded Hammerhead formations - - - (How to get to them without being targeted first), and then reluctantly release a Vampire to ground attack the forward garrison, catching one squad taking a cigarette break (let that be a lesson to you!).
Retaining the initiative, the Eldar unleash the second Vampire that screams in to claim two further victims, sending the vile markerlight formation back to their own lines, and raising a slight hope in the untutored Eldar minds.
The Tau have been considering the portent of the brooding Serpents, so the ?East? wing Cadre decides to join it?s friends (safety in numbers), marching near the ?centre? formations, raising the Eldar hopes a little. Retaining the initiative, the Tau put their ?Centre? Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre on overwatch biding their time ? and raising Eldar hopes even further.
(Actually, I am convinced Chris was being kind, letting me at least attempt this assault concept to see how things pan out)
Buoyed with optimism, but with one eye on the clouds, the Eldar launch their invincible attack, marching one Storm Serpent against the ?West? wing, which is just in range. Retaining the initiative (and breathing a sigh of relief), the first Guardian host commence a fierce FF assault on the ?West? wing Fire Warrior Cadre ? annihilating it for the loss of one stand (lucky / unlucky rolls), and introducing a Farseer, who called for reinforcements.
Using the Eldar "Farseer" retain, the War Walker troupe emerged from the Serpent, advancing on the nearby ?West? wing Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre. Tau minds suddenly appeared very concerned (Chris started to eye up his rapidly dwindling ground troops and the remaining off table hordes ? and went very silent for a while - - - - a dangerous sign). However, rolling dismally, the Eldar notched up only one armoured victim from 12 die rolls!
This attack on a third unit is the final straw - the Tau finally wake up and get real mad, sending their bruised Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre to attack (and break) the Warwalkers who had abused their paintwork (which is almost as bad as criticising someone?s driving).
The Tau paused, considering the remaining Serpent and Falcons (with 2x AA), and decided to send their centrally placed ?Battlesuit Cadre west to assault the somewhat isolated Storm Serpent (my second mistake). Grabbing a seemingly huge handful of dice the Tau blazed away - - - - scoring a measly single hit! Crestfallen, and almost as an afterthought, the critical dice was rolled to see a SIX! Both sides blinked several times as a huge fireball erupted from that part of the battlefield and Eldar hearts missed a beat.
At this point the Eldar considered their options, and strangely decided to put the remaining Serpent on overwatch.
(I wanted to keep my options open for turn two, and was very unsure about the alternatives of moving either or both the Falcons and the remaining Storm Serpent because of the impending airpower thunderstorm. So I finally decided that the risk of losing the initiative roll and leaving the Serpent unprotected was just too great).
The Tau air commander, who had been turning the airwaves magenta, was finally allowed to fly in, and in his enthusiasm decided to go ?Wild Weasel? against the Falcon AA units (which had been placed on either end of the formation, and ahead of the Storm Serpents in an attempt to stop ?air sniping?)
The lone Tiger Shark arrived exactly 45 cms west of the AA unit, which grabbed its dice. Stats were checked, to find a 4+ pulse AA attack - - - and the Tau pilot suddenly went a little grey. The Eldar gunners fired what turned out to be their only shot, missing the low flying target, which promptly scored a single hit, at one stroke killing the AA unit, and suppressing the other (my 4th mistake ? I think ? I was starting to lose count). A second Tiger Shark arrived on the same flank, claiming a further three tank units, routing the formation.
Then to prevent any recurring abuse of his Western flank, the Tau launched their third TS at the victorious Guardian Host, claiming 3, and routing this formation (but not killing the Farseer)
The Fourth TS (won?t this ever end . . .) diced for initiative ? and decided to have a tea break (?the war was just too boring my dear, and besides there wasn?t any target worth killing!!?)
The fifth and final TS attacked the three routing Warwalkers, killing another two, - - - -
- - -and peace finally descended on the carnage.
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In the end phase, the Eldar warwalkers rallied magnificently, but the guardians and the remaining Eldar AA unit continued to rout. However, perhaps foolishly, I decided to leave the guardians in place ? I had one last ?cunning plan?.
The Tau fared little better, their Fire Warrior Cadre continuing to rout in the ?Centre?
Turn 2
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The Eldar Farseer in the midst of his routing Guardian formation checked his diary, scratching his head. ?I?m sure it was going to happen here? he mused, halting a while to catch his breath. ?What went wrong??
Suddenly the air nearby shimmered as the Avatar of the Bloody Handed God appeared with the Court of the Young Prince at his side, raising Eldar hopes again.
Simultaneously the Swooping Hawks materialised, surrounding the nearby Tau Battlesuit Cadre ? without receiving a single teleport BM!
Time slowed as the initiative dice spun lazily in the air - - - and the Tau commander smiled at last.
Reaching for another handful of dice, the Battlesuit Cadre swatted away their opponents like summer flies. Then the nearby Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre advanced and annihilated the Avatar. With a resounding wail, the great figure toppled, putting a single BM on the remaining Eldar on-table unit.
However, despite this, the remaining Eldar Serpent advanced heedlessly into the west flank carnage, disgorging a second Guardian formation which took bloody revenge on the Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre that had slain their beloved leader. This was followed by the jet bikes who assaulted the Battlesuit Cadre. However, this stubborn elite unit survived their third engagement as easily as the others.
The Tau reinforced their west flank with their second Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre, and the air commander, besides himself with rage ordered the lazy Tiger Shark pilot to ?engage something ? anything? ? and was rewarded by seeing it rout the second Guardian unit.
The Eldar launched an air assault with the third Guardian formation on the newly arrived Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre but failed miserably, losing the Vampire in the process, and at this point, with only one remaining Vampire and Aspect formation, the Eldar decided it was futile to continue.
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Although somewhat one-sided, I did enjoy the battle with a far more experienced player (yes I am also masochistic), and would like to thank Chris for his patience letting me experiment a bit during the battle ? perhaps I will do better next time he is in London.
Obviously much hinged on the loss of the second initiative roll, which might have seen me kill a few more Tau units, but without defense against the Tiger Sharks, this would only have delayed the inevitable.
The Tau Battlesuit Cadre performed magnificently, destroying the Serpent, Jet bikes and Hawks for the loss of one stand, while the Tiger Sharks took out the Falcons, two Guardian and the routing Warwalkers for no loss at all.
The Storm Serpent assault seemed to work by and large (although I sorely missed the third Serpent) as it launched ?the nomally fragile and slow Guardians which performed well when up close and personal, but through inexperience I did not maximise the situations.
Lessons learned - An interesting quirk - The second Guardian assault on the Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre took place within 5cms of their routing brothers ? so these counted as intermingled (with 3 BMs), but added a decisive number of additional dice and numbers, swamping their armoured opponents.
- Always remember the 15cm Eldar consolidation move ? on at least two occasions I could have moved a victorious formation into a FF position to help the next assault, which would have allowed me to deploy the remaining formations more efficiently
- Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee! ? keep attacking, while keeping options open. In hindsight, I think I should have moved the Falcons and Serpent and taken some ?pot shots? ? they were always going to be doomed by the ?shoal? of Sharks considering which, - - -
- I probably need to swap in a second Falcon / Firestorm formation at the expense of something ? probably the bikes, and strongly consider Nightwings instead of the Vampires.
All the best
Ginger
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- but in both cases the formations in question were actually Guardian infantry. 
?