Fall From Grace III: Battle Summaries for Ozone Scorpions
At FFG III, I had a lot of people interested in playing against my new Dark Eldar army, the Kabal of the Ozone Scorpions. Though I've been talking about the "Drowboys" for quite some time now, I haven't had a lot of chances to play them, so I'm still learning and they're still a work in progress. 

My Dark Eldar army is much smaller and more focused than my Space Marine collection, so I couldn't invent fanciful lists as I had for my Tigers. Still, I was quite happy to bring on the bad guys.... 

Modified "Tooth and Claw" list 
Currently, my pal Pat and I are running the Tooth and Claw campaign, pitting my Dark Eldar against his Space Wolves. Since we began, I've made some minor changes to my 1500 point list, the biggest one being removing the scaling nets from my Raiders. 

Unlike many Dark Eldar players, I actually like scaling nets, but I got rid of them because I was never using them. That, and they became a liability in Battle #2, when Pat's Venerable Dreadnought used the netting on a Raider to improve his chances of hitting it in close combat to 4+ instead of 6. Who needs more of that grief?

I scrounged up some more points here and there and with the points I saved, I added another Reaver and gave a Sybarite an agonizer. Here's a leaner, meaner version, designed to go after heavily armored foes like Space Marines (Loyalist or Chaos) and Necrons. 
 

HQ
Dr. Jheste. Haemonculus w/ webway portal	80 pts
Elites
Silver Scorpions. Succubus (Blygos) w/ agonizer and splinter pistol. 7 Wyches w/ Wych weapons, 2 w/ shredders	178 pts
Sky Scorpion. Raider w/ disintegrator. Transport for Silver Scorpions	60 pts
Warp Beast Pack. Beastmaster Wormwood and 5 Warp Beasts	75 pts
Troops
Flyte Alyval. Sybarite Vhlondryll w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex	171 pts
Flyte Moryl. Sybarite Kharynydia w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	171 pts
Flyte Tormtyr. Sybarite Eylservs w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex	171 pts
Flyte Despyna. Sybarite Relonarr w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	171 pts
Flyte Noqyr. Sybarite Eklavdrah w/ agonizer, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 6 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex. May accompany Dr. Jheste.	178 pts
Fast Attack
Lynatharr's Guard. 2 Reavers w/ bike-mounted blasters; 3 Reavers w/ bike-mounted splinter rifles	145 pts
Heavy Support
Jheste's Joy. Talos	100 pts
Total	1500 pts

I fought two battles with this list. So how did it do?

Battle results for first game 
Mission: Meatgrinder (page 146 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Black Templars (Matt)
Points per Player: 1500

What happened? We rolled randomly for mission, and I decided to take my best shot, knowing full well that the defender (Matt, in this case) almost always wins Meatgrinder. What the hey....

Matt's army had:

• Marshal and Command Squad with two flamers (in a Razorback with heavy bolters);
• The obligatory Emperor's Champion;
• Dreadnought with plasma cannon, power fist and heavy flamer;
• Vindicare assassin;
• Two 10-man Tactical Squads (in Rhinos);
• One 5-man Tactical Squad (with a lascannon);
• One squad of 9 Initiates and 5 Neophytes;
• One 8-man Assault Squad with storm shields; and
• A Whirlwind

I got off to a slow start (I really must learn to deploy my Raiders better) and my Wyches were literally fried by Matt's Command Squad. But by about Turn 3 or so, I got on a roll and started hammering the Marines in Black, roaring across the long side of the board and butchering everything I could find. My finest moment was incinerating seven--yes, SEVEN--Marines with a single shot from a disintegrator, calling to mind the fairy tale about the brave little tailor who kills "seven at one blow."

Matt hung in there, dutifully cutting down my Raider Squads--which I would then swiftly recycle, coming back on the board just outside his deployment zone and using Fleet of Foot and charges to get right back into the fight. Time expired after seven turns with one--ONE--Black Templar still standing, surrounded by a horde of Dark Eldar. Everything else in Matt's army, including characters and vehicles, had been killed or destroyed. 

Outcome: Black Templars win. Though I lost that battle, I had lots of fun, as did Matt. I imagine that the Ozone Scorpions let that single Black Templar trooper go to tell his superiors what the "Drowboys" were capable of doing. Heh heh heh heh....

Battle results for second game 
Mission: Night Fight (page 140 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Tau (Dwayne Powell)
Points per Player: 1500

What happened? Again, we rolled randomly for mission, and I was confident that the darkness and terrain (see below) would negate Dwayne's considerable firepower advantage, giving me an easy win. What actually happened is that I got careless and made some very bad mistakes. 

Mistake #1 was taking a too-cautious attack route (see above). I should have gone straight at Dwayne's Fire Warriors and dared him to shoot down all my Raiders before I got to his guys and skinned them alive. I really must learn to deploy my Raiders better.

Mistake #2 was not rolling Combat Drug results for my Wyches before the game. My Wyches attempted their first charge through difficult terrain and most of them didn't make it. As I began to roll my attacks, I finally remembered to check--lo, and behold, I got the one that gave me a 12" assault move. Man, that was enough to p*** off the Pope.... 

Mistake #3 was forgetting to move and shoot a Raider that was packing a dark lance. It had a peach of a shot against the rear armor of a Hammerhead. 

Dumb, dumb, dumb. I did manage to kill a lot of Tau (including the Ethereal) in hand-to-hand, but that's not the point of the mission. In the end, Dwayne had two quarters, I had one, and one was contested.

Outcome: Tau win.

"Everything and the Kitchen Sink," Version 1
Though my Scorp army is planned out for about 2300 points, I currently have just under 2000 actually assembled and usable (even if it isn't all painted). Still, I wanted to try out my Archon figure (below) for the first time, so I came up with a list that uses everything I currently have, plus a little "padding," to get it up to 2000 points.

HQ
Syryx Lynatharr. Archon w/ Reaver jetbike, shadow field, combat drugs, tormentor helm, hell mask, power weapon	170 pts
Dr. Jheste. Haemonculus w/ webway portal	80 pts
Dr. Fybze. Haemonculus w/ destructor, scissorhands, and webway portal	95 pts
Vulnavya. Haemonculus w/ stinger	30 pts
Elites
Silver Scorpions. Succubus (Blygos) w/ agonizer and splinter pistol. 7 Wyches w/ Wych weapons, 2 w/ shredders	178 pts
Sky Scorpion. Raider w/ disintegrator. Transport for Silver Scorpions	60 pts
Warp Beast Pack. Beastmaster Wormwood and 5 Warp Beasts	75 pts
Troops
Squad Everhate. Sybarite Malekyth the Accursed has hell mask, splinter pistol, and poisoned blades. Two Warriors have shredders, two Warriors have splinter cannons, 15 Warriors have splinter rifles.	216 pts
Flyte Alyval. Sybarite Vhlondryll w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ shredder, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 5 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex. May accompany Dr. Fybze and Vulnavya.	160 pts
Flyte Moryl. Sybarite Kharynydia w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ shredder, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 6 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	168 pts
Flyte Tormtyr. Sybarite Eylservs w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ shredder, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex	176 pts
Flyte Despyna. Sybarite Relonarr w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ shredder, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	176 pts
Flyte Noqyr. Sybarite Eklavdrah w/ agonizer, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ shredder, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 6 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex. May accompany Dr. Jheste.	168 pts
Fast Attack
Lynatharr's Guard. 2 Reavers w/ bike-mounted blasters; 3 Reavers w/ bike-mounted splinter rifles	145 pts
Heavy Support
Jheste's Joy. Talos	100 pts
Total	1997 pts

So how did it do?

Battle results for "Everything and the Kitchen Sink," Version 1
Mission: Recon (page 142 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Ulthwe Eldar (Jeanette Hill)
Points per Player: 2000

What happened? Like a proper Ulthwe battle force, Jeanette's army has lots and LOTS of Guardians, and she fed them to my close-combat-happy Death Twinkies. While she stalled my heavy hitters with her scrubs, she used her superior firepower to shoot up anything of mine that wasn't in base-to-base contact with anything of hers. I was so pleased with how Syryx did in close combat that I really didn't notice--and frankly, I didn't really much care: I was having too good a time to wonder about who was actually winning!

Though my Archon performed well, he needs some improvement. At one point, Jeanette's Shadow Weavers pinned him--a trophy rack (to up his Leadership to 10) would definitely help out, would only cost 5 points, and would make for a cool conversion. 

Outcome: Ulthwe win (2153 Victory Points to 1481 Victory Points).

"Everything and the Kitchen Sink," Version 2
This version is similar to the first, but geared towards fighting heavy infantry, like Space Marines (Loyalist or Chaos) and Necrons. Most of the shredders have been swapped out for blasters, and with the savings, I've included another agonizer. 
 

HQ
Syryx Lynatharr. Archon w/ Reaver jetbike, shadow field, combat drugs, tormentor helm, hell mask, power weapon	170 pts
Dr. Jheste. Haemonculus w/ webway portal	80 pts
Dr. Fybze. Haemonculus w/ destructor, scissorhands, and webway portal	95 pts
Vulnavya. Haemonculus w/ stinger	30 pts
Elites
Silver Scorpions. Succubus (Blygos) w/ agonizer and splinter pistol. 7 Wyches w/ Wych weapons, 2 w/ shredders	178 pts
Sky Scorpion. Raider w/ disintegrator. Transport for Silver Scorpions	60 pts
Warp Beast Pack. Beastmaster Wormwood and 5 Warp Beasts	75 pts
Troops
Squad Everhate. Sybarite Malekyth the Accursed has hell mask, splinter pistol, and poisoned blades. Two Warriors have blasters, two Warriors have splinter cannons, 15 Warriors have splinter rifles.	206 pts
Flyte Alyval. Sybarite Vhlondryll w/ agonizer, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 5 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex. May accompany Dr. Fybze and Vulnavya.	170 pts
Flyte Moryl. Sybarite Kharynydia w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	171 pts
Flyte Tormtyr. Sybarite Eylservs w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex	171 pts
Flyte Despyna. Sybarite Relonarr w/ poisoned blades, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 7 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ disintegrator	171 pts
Flyte Noqyr. Sybarite Eklavdrah w/ agonizer, splinter pistol, and trophy rack. 1 Warrior w/ blaster, 1 Warrior w/ splinter cannon, 6 Warriors w/ splinter rifles. Sky Scorpion (Raider) w/ dark lance and horrorfex. May accompany Dr. Jheste.	178 pts
Fast Attack
Lynatharr's Guard. 2 Reavers w/ bike-mounted blasters; 3 Reavers w/ bike-mounted splinter rifles	145 pts
Heavy Support
Jheste's Joy. Talos	100 pts
Total	2000 pts

So how did it do?

Battle results for "Everything and the Kitchen Sink," Version 2
Mission: Cleanse (page 139 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Blood Angels (Mike Somerville)
Points per Player: 2000

What happened? Like me, Mike is a hardcore Washington Redskins fan. Seeing as how his Marines wear red and the nickname for my army is "Drowboys," we decided to have some fun with this battle. As we went along, we decided whether various actions were "touchdowns" (and thus worth 7 points) or "field goals" (and thus worth 3 points). We also assigned real-life NFL names to various characters in our armies. Here's a breakdown of the scoring:

Bloodskins 7, Drowboys 0: Blood Angels shoot down 5 of 6 Raiders by the bottom of Turn 2.

Bloodskins 14, Drowboys 0: "Coach Syryx Johnson" fails shadow field save and is killed by a melta gun.

Bloodskins 14, Drowboys 3: Full Warrior Squad and full Raider Squad shoot and assault 10-man Tactical Squad, wiping them out. 

Bloodskins 21, Drowboys 3: Silver Scorpions (Wyches) wiped out.

Bloodskins 28, Drowboys 3: Warrior Squad and all three Haemonculi killed in hand-to-hand combat against Tactical Squads and "Librarian Spurrier." Drowboy fans head for the exits.

Bloodskins 35, Drowboys 3: All Drowboys slain and all table quarters held by Bloodskins. 

Outcome: Blood Angels win. A complete rout of "The Maelstrom's Team;" I really must learn to deploy my Raiders better. But the Bloodskins did not escape unscathed: Terminator Arrington's assault cannon exploded, putting him on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season. Still, a lot of fun against a very cool opponent. 

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© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, September 2002
 

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