Turn Four
The Novamarines could sense blood in the water now, and moved in for the kill. Chapter Master Teublitz gritted his teeth and led his Terminators and Land Raiders in to engage the Warlock; determined to exact vengeance for the fallen Coronus.
Their courage was once again rewarded by the Emperor; although two units of Terminators were crushed to death, the fragile legs of the Warlock were simply no match for the brutal destructive power of the chainfist. With an echoing crash and the sound of smashing porcelain, the Warlock crashed down amidst the ruins of a hab-block. The chapter master immediately ordered a search for the body of his Eldar counterpart amongst the ruins, but it could not be found.
Seeing the success his Master had enjoyed, Sergeant Santiagon tried to rally his battered Tactical marines to retain the initiative, but was unsuccessful. A ripple of firepower washed out from the ruins at Autumn to little effect.
Angered by the destruction of Hymn to Rebirth and keen for revenge, Autumn of Our Days engaged the Captain Mercian’s Tactical formation, storming into the rubble of the ruins with feet swinging and fist lasers blazing.
Undaunted by the titanic War Engine bearing down on him, Captain Mercian led a brutal counter-charge. The Xenos Engine swept aside marine after marine, but the damage they were causing began to tell. Forced to rely on his Iron Halo twice to save himself from being vaporised, Mercian bolstered his men to ensure Autumn of Our Days could not gain the upper hand.
It finally became apparent that the Novamarines had won the engagement, but the fearless Autumn of Our Days stubbornly refused to withdraw, the Eldar steersman’s face twisted into a snarl that contrasted with Mercian’s battered but stoic formation.
As the combat raged at the heart of the city, the Whirlwinds launched another sustained barrage against the Wraithlords, but once more the Eldar machines emerged physically unscathed, although the same could not be said for their morale.
Spear of Eons followed Autumn of Our Day’s example and attempted to exact some revenge for the destruction of Hymn to Rebirth by targeting the Teublitz and the Novamarine veterans.
Spear of Eons got his wish, and the chapter master was vaporised by a pin-point accurate pulsar beam! The Terminators – and the remaining Marines across the battlefield– let loose a moan of dismay at Teublitz’s passing.
Assuming temporary command, Librarian Herzog’s Devastators on the west answered this insult by once more targeting Hawk.
 The Revenant crumpled under the storm of firepower, crashing to the ground in the shadow of the Cathedral.
All formations on both sides succeeded in recovering and rallying, with the exception of the Wraithguard. The battle hung in the balance, but night was drawing in and reluctantly the two armies were forced to disengage. The Novamarines had succeeded in breaking the spirit of the Eldar when they destroyed Hymn, but all other strategic objectives were hotly contested. It seemed that this battle would have to be considered a strategic stalemate by both sides, although perhaps a moral victory for the Novamarines…
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The Novamarine survivors
The Honoured Dead
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Eldar Conclusion
[Bob Hunk] This was hard fought game that was a lot of fun to play. I’m only sorry that we ran out of time and didn’t get to establish a proper conclusion. I think it could have gone either way although the advantage did rest with the Novamarines. I’d definitely learnt a lot of lessons from our last game though, and not dithering for the first turn certainly paid off. J
Novamarine Conclusion
[Apologist] Phew! What a great game. There were plenty of tense moments and exciting points of drama for both sides, providing a real tactical dance. I think this game showed that the Eldar Titan Clan list can work against an ‘all-comers’ list. The Waning Moon came out of the starting blocks snarling this time, and I think I had some good luck at critical points – not least passing two invulnerable saves with Captain Mercian to drive off Autumn of Our Days! My heart sank when the Tactical marines were engaged by one of the most fearsome close-combat Engines in the game, but Astartes grit really paid off. The blue-and-white line was definitely stretched thin at points, but the mobility of marines and the all-round flexibility of Tactical formations carried me through.
Had the game continued, I wonder whether the Eldar’s toughness would have seen them victorious, as my formations were looking frayed, while I’d really only been able to cause scattered damage. Certainly there was a completely undamaged Phantom on Bob Hunk’s blitz…
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But seriously, excellent batrep sounded like a very exciting game.
Looks like a lot of fun.