Battle Report- Dark Angels Ravenwing vs Dark Eldar

Hi everyone, Michael here with another written battle report (maps included!). This time, my Ravenwing army takes on some Dark Eldar. For more reviews, analyses and battle reports, check out the Tactics Corner.

This week’s battle report comes from a recent visit to Heaton Games Club. I was wanting to get some practice in with my list for Fluffageddon, as I had not played my Ravenwing in some time. I would be going up against Adam and his Dark Eldar list in the Contact Lost maelstrom mission (the one where you get a card for each objective you hold).

Fluffageddon is an upcoming tournament with some pretty heavy restrictions to promote a fluffier army composition. These include:

• 1500 pts armies.
• No more than two formations or detachments.
• Only two duplicate units are allowed in each force, including dedicated transports.
• No Lords of War, Superheavy vehicles or Gargantuan creatures.

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

• Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)
• 5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)
• 6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)
• 6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)
• 6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)
• Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)
• Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L)

Ravenwing Support Squadron

• Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)
• 3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

For my warlord trait, I got Rapid Manoeuvre, giving me +3″ to any charges. This would be great for my Command Squad, helping to ensure they get into combat. In order to use the rules for Fluffageddon, my re-rollable save would be limited to a 4+ on the re-roll.

Adam’s army consisted of:

• Succubus- Glaive, Armour of Misery, Haywire grenades (S)
• 10 Warriors- Dark Lance (W1)
• 5 Warriors- Blaster (W2)
• Venom (V1)
• 5 Trueborn- 2 Dark Lances (T1)
• Venom (V2)
• 5 Trueborn- 2 Dark Lances (T2)
• Venom (V3)
• 5 Trueborn- 4 Blasters (T3)
• Venom (V4)
• 4 Grotesques- Abomination (G1)
• Haemonculus (with G1)
• Raider (R1)
• 5 Grotesques- Abomination (G2)
• Raider (R2)

His warlord trait gave the Succubus Fearless. For his combat drugs he got +1 toughness.

We set up the objectives as shown below:

I won the roll for deployment and chose to go first. I combat squad the second unit of bikers; the two meltaguns in one unit and the sergeant with powerfist in another, and the Attack Bike on its own. The Command Squad and Black Knights held the centre with the Support Squadron. The grav bikers went on the right flank, supported by the Landspeeder and the power fist squad. The meltagun went on the left flank with the Attack Bike.

In reply, Adam deployed the large unit of Warriors in the rocks to his left, supported by two of the Venoms. The other two Venoms and Raiders went on the right flank, set up out of line of sight or far back from my units.

As the game was about to start, Adam managed to seize the initiative! I chose not to Scout any of my units, not wishing to get them any closer to the Grotesques to start with.

 

TURN 1- DARK ELDAR

In his first turn, Adam drew Blood and Guts (kill a unit in assault), which he would be very unlikely to score.

The Raiders moved around the building they were taking cover behind to engage the Ravenwing forces. The Venoms inched forward slightly to get into weapons range, as the Dark Eldar Warriors made their way through the terrain to the objective.

In the shooting phase, the Warriors fired their Dark Lance at the Ravenwing Landspeeder. The skimmer jinked, but the shot missed it anyway. The Venom opened fire at the Grav gun Bikers, causing one wound which was saved by the Jinking Bikers. The second Venom fired at the same target, causing 4 wounds. Some poor Jink saves by me saw three of the Bikers fall to the splinter fire.

On the right flank, the two Raiders fired their Dark Lances at the Attack Bike, but they failed to harm the Jinking Biker. The Venom fired at the Black Knights, but caused no damage on the Jinking Bikers. The other Venom fired at the Command Squad, but equally had no success.

The opening salvo from the Dark Eldar had caused a little damage, but had forced many of my unit to jink, diminishing the firepower that would come back to them.

 

TURN 1- RAVENWING

For my first turn, I drew Hungry for Glory (issue a challenge), another combat card that I would be unlikely to score this turn.

The Ravenwing moved forward to secure the objectives in front of them, only the Attack Bike retreating behind the cover of the building.

The Ravenwing Support Squadron opened fire on the Venom in front of them, annihilating the enemy vehicle with their Assault Cannons. The resulting explosion killed one of the Trueborn in the vehicle. The Attack Bike snap fired at the Raiders, but caused no harm.

On the right flank, the Ravenwing Bikers fired at the Warriors, killing two of the squad and putting them out of range of the objective.

At the end of my turn, I scored First Blood.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Dark Eldar- 0
• Ravenwing- 1

TURN 2- DARK ELDAR

This turn, Adam still had Blood and Guts.

On the right flank, the Raiders continued to advance, the Grotesques and Haemonculus disembarking to advance on the Black Knights, leaving the Succubus in the transport. The other Dark Eldar forces continued their cautious advance.

The Trueborn fired their Blasters at the Ravenwing Landspeeder, but the Jinking skimmer managed to block all the damage. The Warriors fired their Dark Lance at the enemy vehicle and managed to penetrate and immobilise it.

The nearby Venom fired at the Grav Bikers, killing one of the squad. The second Venom fired at the Power Fist squad, causing four wounds. Despite Jinking, two of the squad died, leaving only the sergeant. Both squads passed their morale tests.

On the other flank, the two Raiders opened fire on the Support Squadron, penetrating once. I chose not to Jink and one of the Speeders was forced to snap fire (I was hoping to use them to Overwatch the Grotesques at BS2). Another Dark Lance targeted the squad, but failed to cause any damage. The Venom squad opened fire at the Black Knights, killing one of the Jinking squad (after rolling two 1’s for my save).

The Grotesques charged the Black Knights. My overwatch from the Black Knights caused two wounds on the squad, while one Knight died to Gets Hot. The Support Squadron added their firepower to them, causing another two wounds and killing one of the Grotesques. Adam rolled a double one for his charge distance. Unconcerned, he used his Fleet re-roll on them. Amazingly, the re-roll also came up a double 1 and the squad failed their charge.

TURN 2- RAVENWING

This turn, I drew Objective 2, Objective 3 and Objective 5 and still had Hungry for Glory from last turn.

The Black Knights, Command Squad and Support Squadron advanced on the Grotesques. The Attack Bike moved to secure an objective, while the Meltagun Bikers moved up on the Raider. On the other flank, the survivors of the Bike squads moved up on the Venoms.

In the shooting phase, the Landspeeder snap fired at one of the Venoms. One of its Krak missiles hit, but then failed to cause any damage. The Bikers fired on the Venoms, but were unable to harm the vehicle.

On the left flank, the Meltagun bikers fired at the Raider, but the sole penetrating hit was saved by the Jinking skimmer.

The Black Knights fired at the Grotesques, causing one wound with their snap shots. The Command Squad added their firepower, wounding twice and killing one of the Grotesques.

The Ravenwing Support Squadron fired at the nearby Raider, destroying it with their firepower.

In the assault phase, the two Bike squads on the right flank charged the Venoms. The remains of the Grav bike squad managed to put a hull point on one of the Venoms. The other Sergeant swung his Power Fist at the second Venom, causing it to explodes. The resulting explosion killed one of the Trueborn and pinned the squad, but also took down the Sergeant with them.

The Black Knights and Command Squad assaulted the Grotesques. The Chaplain issued a challenge that the Haemonculus accepted. The Dark Eldar warrior struck at the Chaplain to no avail, before being unceremoniously cut down. The Black Knights wiped out the rest of the unit.

The Meltagun Bikers charged the Raider. They were able to take two hull points with their attacks, but could not finish it off.

At the end of my turn, I scored Objective 3, Objective 5 and Hungry for Glory. I discarded Objective 2.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Dark Eldar- 0
• Ravenwing- 4

At the end of turn 2, things were looking good for the Ravenwing. The Black Knights had taken out one squad of Grotesques, but were preparing for the counter attack.

TURN 3- DARK ELDAR

This turn, Adam drew Hungry for Glory (issue a challenge) and Objective 6 to go with Blood and Guts.

The Raider carrying the Grotesques advanced on the Black Knights, while the Succubus moved up on the Bikers. On the other flank, the Venom moved away from the remaining Bikers.

The Warriors opened fire on the Support Squadron, causing two penetrating hits that were saved by the Jinking skimmers. The sVenom fired at the Black Knights, but the shot was saved by the Jinking bikers. The squad inside targeted the Command Squad, wounding them 7 times, but all the wounds were saved by the Jinking bikers once more.

On the other flank, the Venom fired at the Landspeeder, destroying it. The Warriors targeted the Bike Squad. Their Splinter Rifles caused two wounds that were saved by the armour of the squad. The Dark Lance managed to kill off the Biker, the squad’s Sergeant failing his morale test and falling back.

The Grotesques declared a charge on the Black Knights and Support Squadron. The combined overwatch fire of the two squads put three wounds on the unit as they charged. The Abomination issued a challenge that the Huntsmaster accepted. The Huntsmaster swung first, but caused no wounds. The rest of the Black Knights struck, wounding the Grotesques three times and killing two of the squad that had previously been wounded. The Abomination killed the Huntsmaster. The Ravenwing won the combat and hit and ran.

The Succubus charged the Bike Squad. The lithe warrior struck down two of the Bikers for no damage in return, but the last Biker passed his morale test, but failed to hit and run (I passed the morale test on a double 1, after forgetting that the squad was Stubborn).

At the end of his turn, Adam scored Hungry for Glory and Objective 6.

 

TURN 3- RAVENWING

This turn, I drew Objective 1, Objective 2 and Ascendancy (control 3 objectives).

The Biker sergeant rallied besides the objective. The Black Knights and Command Squad converged on the Grotesques.

The Attack Bike fired at the Raider, but failed to cause any damage. The Support Squadron fired at the Grotesques, killing one of the squad.

The Command Squad and Black Knights charged the Grotesques. The Chaplain issued a challenge, putting one wound on the Abomination. The beast replied, dealing two Instant Death attacks on the Chaplain, fortunately I was able to save both. The Command Squad struck at the Grotesques, causing two wounds. The Black Knights then struck, hitting only 5 times with their 16 attacks, but killing one of the squad. The Ravenwing won the combat, but remained locked with the Dark Eldar.

The combat between the Biker and Succubus ended in a stalemate as neither side could harm the other.

At the end of my turn, I scored Ascendancy for 1 point and Objective 1.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Dark Eldar- 2
• Ravenwing- 6

TURN 4- DARK ELDAR

In turn 4, Adam drew Behind Enemy Lines (have a unit in my deployment zone) and still had Blood and Guts.

The Raider moved into the Dark Angels’ deployment zone, while the Venom and Trueborn advanced.

The Trueborn fired their Blasters at the Support Squadron, destroying the Heavy Bolter on one of the jinking skimmers.

On the right flank, the Dark Eldar targeted the lone Sergeant, but were unable to bring him down.

In the assault phase, the Trueborn charged the Support Squadron. They attacked the Darkshroud, wrecking the enemy vehicle.

The Succubus finally succeeded in taking down the last Biker, while the Chaplain killed the last of the Grotesques.

This turn, Adam scored Behind Enemy Lines and Blood and Guts.

 

TURN 4- RAVENWING

This turn, I drew Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 5, Domination (hold all the objectives) and Kingslayer (kill the enemy warlord).

The Support Squadron moved to target the Raider, while the Command Squad went after the Succubus and the Black Knights went for the Trueborn.

The Support Squadron fired at the Raider, but were unable to cause any harm with their snap shots. The Black Knights fired at the Trueborn, killing the squad. The Command Squad fired at the Succubus, easily bringing her down. The Attack Bike fired at the Venom, but failed to cause any damage.

At the end of my turn, I scored Slay the Warlord, Kingslayer and Objective 5. I discarded Domination.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Dark Eldar- 4
• Ravenwing- 9

At then end of turn 4, I had a good lead on Adam and we had both wiped out a lot of each others armies.

TURN 5- DARK ELDAR

This turn, Adam drew Objective 2.

The Raider took flight and rammed the Landspeeder from the Support Squadron. The Ravenwing skimmer was unharmed, but the Raider was destroyed in the process. The Venom advanced on the Black Knights, while the Trueborn advanced on the lone biker.

One Venom fired at the Command Squad, killing the Banner holder. The other Venom fired at the Black Knights, killing one of the squad. On the left flank, the Dark Eldar targeted the lone Biker and finally managed to slay him.

At the end of his turn, Adam scored no points.

 

TURN 5- RAVENWING

This turn, I drew Objective 1, Objective 1, Objective 2, Objective 6 and Objective 6.

The Command Squad moved to secure Objective 2, while the Attack Bike went after Objective 1. The remaining Black Knights advanced on the Venom.

The Support Squadron fired at the Venom, destroying the enemy vehicle. The Black Knights fired at the second Venom, blowing it up and killing one of the passengers.

They then assaulted the Trueborn, killing one with their hammer of wrath wounds. The Dark Eldar struck at the Bikers, but failed to cause any harm. In reply, the Bikers cut down one more of the Eldar. The Trueborn lost combat, but did not flee.

At the end of my turn, I scored Objective 1, Objective 1 and Objective 2.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Dark Eldar- 4
• Ravenwing- 12

With that the game ended, a win for the Ravenwing.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS

Thanks to Adam for a great game, it was nice to have the Ravenwing out on the field once more.

Without a doubt, the turning point of the game was the failed charge of the Grotesques on turn 2. Adam was extremely unlucky, getting a double 1 for his charge distance, twice! Had the Grotesques made it in, they probably would have done a fair bit of damage to the Black Knights and would have been more difficult to kill with my Command Squad. As it was, I was able to charge them with both the Black Knights and Command Squad and finish them off quite easily.

There were a few mistakes I made during the game and a few things that I forgot.

I forgot that the Dark Angels are Stubborn. I need to remember this as I almost fled from the combat with the Succubus.

I forgot that the Interrogator-Chaplain causes fear and that the Mace of Redemption is Blind and Concussive. I will need to try and remember these for future games.

When the Trueborn charged the Support Squadron on turn 4, I did not fire overwatch at them. I was under the impression that the Support Squadron could not use the Ravenshield special rule for this. However, after re-reading the FAQ, it appears that they are allowed to overwatch for themselves when they are charged.

It was a great game. The Ravenwing showed their mobility strengths for the maelstrom mission.

If you liked the battle report, be sure to check out my blog St Andrews Wargaming for plenty more.

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