Birthday Spankings--A Hazy Shade of Winter: Part 2   by Kenton Kilgore and Patrick Eibel
So far, the battle was looking pretty even.

Turn 4
Pat’s Farseer cast Guide on the Dark Reapers led by the Exarch and cast Doom on Warrior Squad 3.2, who had dropped Jain Zar. At the other end of the board, the Harlequins advanced on Unit 3.1, who had shot at the other squad of Dark Reapers.

In the Shooting Phase, the Guided Dark Reapers brought down eight Warriors from the Doomed Unit 3.2, with the nearby War Walker taking down another. Unit 3.2’s Morale failed, and because they could not rally, I rook them off the table under the rules for Sustained Attack. Rangers dropped two Warriors from Unit 3.3, and Guardians “killed” (for the time being, anyway) two Warriors from Unit 3.4. 

On the other flank, the Dark Reapers brought down both Destroyers from Unit 4.1, while the Harlequins shot two Necrons from the recycled Unit 3.1. The Harlies then assaulted, slicing down five more Warriors. The survivors clubbed down three Harlequins, and the fight continued.

Three Warriors from Unit 3.1 made their “We’ll Be Back” rolls, as did both Destroyers from Unit 4.1. I recycled Unit 3.2 (which had broken on Pat’s turn) onto the board to help out Unit 3.1, who was engaged with the Harlequins. 

Unit 3.2 got to work, shooting at the Dark Reapers at that end of the table, killing one. The Destroyers combined their fire to finish off the rest of that Aspect Warrior squad. The Monolith’s particle whip hit the Guardians in purple armor, killing seven of them, but their nerve held. The Pariahs fired on the War Walker, destroying it. The Immortals and Unit 2.4 shot dead four Rangers, who fell back 8".

In the Assault Phase, the Harlequins dropped four more Warriors from Unit 2.1, but the Toasters went tit-for-tat and whomped four Harlies. 

Turn 5
Wearying of their dance with the ‘bots, the Harlequins flipped out of close combat, and the Rangers regrouped. The Farseer cast Guide on them and the Guardians in blue armor (the ones that hadn’t been hit by the Monolith).

The Eldar shooting was not particularly good: the Guided Rangers and Guardians only brought down one Immortal, though the Exarch-led Dark Reapers took down another. The lone Vyper shot at Unit 3.2, but didn’t drop a single Warrior. 

The Harlequins shot again at Unit 3.1, futilely this time, then charged, cutting down three Warriors. 

On my turn, all three ‘bots from Unit 3.1 got back up, as did one of the Immortals. The Pariahs and Unit 2.3 wiped out the Rangers, but the Immortals fired blanks at the Dark Reapers and the Monolith’s particle whip missed against the purple Guardians. 

At the other end of the board, the Destroyers nuked the Vyper and Unit 3.2 charged the Harlequins. The Clowns took down two ‘bots from Unit 3.1 and two from Unit 3.2, lost one of their own, and flipped out of combat, retreating 13".

Turn 6
The Farseer cast Guide on the Dark Reapers and the blue Guardians. The Reapers returned fire on the Immortals, taking out four of them, and the Immortals broke and fell back 8". The Guided Guardians fired on Unit 3.3, dropping one Warrior. The purple Guardians ignored the looming Monolith and fired on Unit 3.4, to no effect.

There’s only so long you can bounce off a wall before you get yourself hurt, as the Harlies found out the hard way when they charged Unit 3.2. Though they scythed three Necron Warriors, both Harlequins were hacked down by the rest. 

Two Warriors from Unit 3.2 made their “We’ll Be Back” rolls, as did three Immortals. Continuing to close in on the Eldar, Unit 3.4 killed two purple Guardians, but they remained cool under fire. The Monolith’s particle whip missed the Dark Reapers, and the Destroyers (who had zoomed over from Pat’s right flank) could only kill one Reaper. 

We rolled The Loyal Green Die ™ to see if the game would continue (as per the rules for Random Game Length), but it had decided that it was time for Pat, its master, to receive a birthday seafood dinner. The “Meatgrinder” came to an end with plenty of Eldar left on the board.

Outcome: Eldar win!

Posted June 2008
 

Top