Tidal Wraith: Aeldari Craftworld vs Mantis Warriors

 Having painted all those space elves recently, the last task before posting them was to check they were all working properly. Skype Fight Night!

It's me, Kraken, facing off against Leofa. He's something of a lapsed player these days, 9th ed's ever increasing complexity had turned him off. So we're turning back the clock and playing something more akin to 8th Ed, but porting a few updates in. 

No funny bonus rules, just the Datasheet stuff, is what we're aiming for. No Objectives beyond the basic three (rerolls, interrupts and morale), no armour of contempt, no Strands of Fate dice, no Combat Doctrines, no relics or traits. Our army traits are intact, because our poor middle-aged brains can both cope with those, but otherwise you get what you see!

Mantly Men

For me, it's the Mantis Warriors. Infantry footsloggers here, tons of ObSec and boots on the ground, but with some good mobile punch as well seeing as they can all advance and charge. 

The Tactical Squad will break into combat groups, a multi-melta in one half and the flamer and Sarge in the other. A Land Speeder Typhoon for mobile strike power, and a Vindicator for fire support, then I've got cheap scouts to go up front and hopefully screen out the Eldar deep strikers, especially those damn gates. 

Otherwise, I'm led by nice tame characters and bringing a lot of bolters, but it's a speedy list who should be no slouch to take off capture points. There was a Rhino in the list originally, but I forgot about it when putting out the models and couldn't be bothered to fetch it for the game - it also felt like a friendly concession to the fact that Leofa had no choice at all in his army composition, and was being forced to field a pair of Webway Gates, which is quite a points sink!

Mantis Warriors Battalion Detachment - 1300 points, 6 CPs

• HQ - Gravis Captain with Power Sword 
• HQ - Primaris Lieutenant with master-crafted bolter
• Troops - 10 Tactical Marines, Sarge has plasma pistol and lightning claws, one has a flamer, one has a multi-melta
• Troops - 5 Intercessors with autobolt rifles, Sarge has a power fist
• Troops - 10 Assault Intercessors, Sarge has a power fist
• Elites - 5 Scouts, Sarge has a combat knife
• Elites - 5 Relic Terminators, Sarge has a volkite blaster and chainfist, one has a heavy flamer, one has twin lightning claws, the others have power fists and storm bolters
• Fast Attack - Land Speeder Typhoon with heavy bolter and missiles
• Heavy Support - Vindicator tank, just the cannon
• Dedicated Transport - stayed in the cupboard

Craftworld Cheese

Leofa is getting exactly what he sent me. A squad of Rangers, a Farseer, the aforementioned pair of Webway Gates, five each of Wraithguard and Wraithblades, a Spiritseer to look after them. 

And the Avatar of Khaine. 

If I can survive a Lord of War to the face, there's also a Wraithseer, which is a psychic dreadnought. This one's brought a D-cannon and an angry expression, mostly because he doesn't have the right magnet options for this particular variant, but he's more expensive and more fun, so fits well into this list. 

They're playing as Ulthwe today, who have a tasty selection of army traits. Psykers get +1 to their first cast, everybody can reroll a single wound roll per phase, they all get a 6+ invuln and a 5+ shrug for mortal wounds. What they can't do is their funky Strands of Fate dice nonsense, but their Farseer is going to give them a single free reroll per turn to make up for the lost ability. 

Ulthwe Craftworld Aeldari Patrol Detachment

• HQ - Farseer with Doom and Guide powers
• HQ - Spiritseer with Ghostwalk power
• Troops - 6 Aeldari Rangers with wireweave nets 
• Elites - 5 Wraithguard with D-Scythes
• Elites - 5 Wraithblades with Ghostswords
• Heavy Support - Wraithseer with D-Cannon and Empower/Ennervate power

Fortification Network

• 2 Webway Gates

Reinforcements Detachment

• The Avatar

Mission and Terrain

Frosty Bogs! The new stuff is getting a trial, and although it's not a great match for the plain snow mat, at least it's very clear where they begin and end. 

The bogs count as difficult and light cover, there's a wood that's similar, two large obscuring hills and a few wrecks that today count as ruins. A fairly open field, though, which could also be a slow one to cross. 

The game is a straightforward Objective fight. Three to grab, one in each deployment zone and one in the middle. You get one point for each one you hold at the end of your own turn, and that's as complex as we're willing to go. If by some miracle it's a tie, then whoever has the most points still on the board wins. 

Deployment

And straight away, it's into deep strike shenanigans. 

My Terminators are in the teleporter, but I also pay command points (of which we both will have plenty, despite Leofa's multi-detachment) to put the Assault Intercessors into strategic reserve, thinking that a nice flank might present itself later on. 

Leofa uses the Webway Gates, because of course you would! This lets him have both Avatar and Wraithblades in reserve for a cheaper price, a mere 1 CP per unit. Then he ends up being Defender and starts down the left-hand side of the map. 

His Rangers go out first, and he puts them into cover at the back, holding his objective. My Scouts go in the middle (in a pond near a tent, exactly like my scout camp experience as a youth), which I'm relieved to be able to do - this screens out the Webway Gates a bit. 

Not by much, though! They quickly appear across the middle of the board, and for those of you who haven't met them yet, they let reserves deep strike in regardless of nearby enemy troops (even letting you appear in engagement range), and there is no way of destroying them. Yikes, although two is still probably a bit silly. 

After that, it's pretty straightforward. I go for a broad line across the field, Leofa sticks a big blob of Wraith types in his top corner, and I pray for first turn so I can at least do something with the Scouts before they all die. 

I get it!

Mantis Warriors Turn 1

No time like the present to dash forward and grab objectives, I reckon. So the Scouts take the centre, and the Gravis Captain and his Combat Squad advance across the nearby bridge, ready to back them up. 

The Vindicator and Land Speeder both move forward too, hoping to put some early holes in the Aeldari. But the tank's cannon can't reach the Wraithguard and has to settle for blowing a pair of Rangers out of their cover, whereas the Land Speeder's rockets entirely bounce off the Wraithseer. I'd have liked to try with the Multi-melta too, but it wouldn't make the range, so stays back in cover. 

It's a decent enough start - I have the middle, so score 2 VPs. 

Aeldari Turn 1

The Wraith constructs advance on the north side, the Rangers and Farseer hold the middle. 

This lets them set up the classic Aeldari combo of Guide and Doom, on the Wraithguard and Scouts respectively. Would you believe it, the 5d6 D-Scythe shots with full rerolls completely annihilate the young marines? Well, they do. 

Adding insult to these injuries, the Rangers snipe three wounds off the Gravis Captain, and the Wraithseer contemptuously blasts the Land Speeder out of the sky. It explodes, but to no effect other than dramatic. 

However, it's only 1 VP for Leofa. You can't charge dead scouts, so he can't steal the middle. Job done! 

Mantis Warriors Turn 2

I suspect I'm not going to last long at holding the middle, so I'd better try and do it while I can. The Gravis Captain advances behind his Tactical Squad, but they sprint faster than him, and I'm back on the middle objective. The Multi-melta team also pop out of cover. 

The Vindicator spots that it's maybe a bit close to those gates, so reverse parks in a swamp as a bit of charge mitigation. Stupidly, I park by the bridge, which we've decided isn't part of the terrain, so it really makes little difference! At least they'll have to go through the Gravis Captain. 

Finally, the Terminators appear on the back line, hoping to make a play for the rear objective. 

Shooting gets off to a great start - the Terminators chew through the remaining Scouts handily enough, and the Multi-melta very nearly kills the Wraithseer, taking it down to a single wound with some rerolled damage. The Wraithguard pretty much shrug the Vindicator's shot, though - snake eyes on the damage that gets in is rubbish, and I can't reroll that! At least one of the spooky boys dies thanks to flamer hits. 

The good news is that the Terminators make their charge (with another reroll) and promptly clobber the Farseer. Guide that, you bastard. 

This leaves me in charge of all objectives, and feeling optimistic!

Aeldari Turn 2

At which point the Webway Gate in the middle opens up and spits out all kinds of horror. 

The Avatar leaps out to take on the Gravis Captain, pausing only to fling a spear at him which he luckily takes on his Iron Halo. He's less lucky with the charge, the Wailing Doom sweeps his legs right off and the big lad piles into the Vindicator. 

From the same gate, the Wraithblades pour, making an easy charge into the Terminators and cutting down three in short order. My Lightning Claws pull down one in return, but the Chainfist on the Sarge manages an impressive triple one to wound, killing nothing at all, and the space elves have retaken the back line. 

The Wraithseer dashes through overwatch fire and starts hurling the Tac marines about, but it's the start of a slow and whiffy fight. My guys just need to scrape one wound off the lanky construct, whereas it can't really murder through a large unit reliably, so they're in for the duration. 

Less so the Tac marines in the middle, who are D-Scythed to bits at close range. So much for my ObSec dreams! 2 VPs to Leofa. 

Mantis Warriors Turn 3

Well, I'm on the back foot now! Everybody who is in combat falls back, ready to charge back in later thanks to their White Scar heritage. Except the Vindicator, who might have a White Scar heritage but knows a losing fight when it sees one. 

The Assault Intercessors turn up, but they can't get that near the middle, and instead try (and fail) to charge out of a swamp at the back. And although the Intercessors pour a lot of fire into the Avatar, none of it sticks, and when they boldly charge it thinking to hold it up for a turn, it obviously pastes them without really trying. 

The Terminators claw down another Wraithblade before they fall, and my only moment of triumph is when the Multi-melta marine somehow doesn't die in the ongoing fight with the Wraithseer! I do still have my own back objective, though, so that's nice. 

Aeldari Turn 3

Not for long, of course. The Avatar throws his spear straight through the Vindicator and then slaughters the Lieutenant before realising he's terribly out of position and won't get to kill anything else all game. 

Not that there's much left - the Wraiths start cutting down Assault Intercessors (damn you, Blast, and your additional hits against large units!). Using rerolls, Mr Melta does score a wounding hit on the battered Wraithseer! Leofa has a sticky moment, but the armour holds. So does mine, however, with box cars on a pair of saves, and the plucky heavy weapons guy keeps on fighting. 

Alas, Leofa now holds all the vital points, and I'm looking decidedly shaky on long term survivability. 

Mantis Warriors Turn 4

Sure enough, although the Assault Intercessors can make it into combat, they can't shift enough of the Wraithguard to take the middle. The damn things take less damage than usual, so even if we were playing Combat Doctrines (we aren't), my extra hitting power in turn three and beyond wouldn't hurt them. As it is, I lose another couple to overwatch and am left trapped in combat, facing the D-Scythes. 

Poor old Mr Melta also cops it, meaning the Wraithseer is back in the fight. Uh-oh. 

Aeldari Turn 4

As you'd expect, the shooting phase is not kind. D-Scythes can be fired into your own engagement, and the resulting storm of hits is enough to eradicate the last of the marines. Even as Leofa pulls ahead on VPs at last, he's not going to have to struggle to the end, I've been tabled!

Result: Aeldari Victory!

Locker Room

Hee - that was short and bloody, and a nice simple scrap. I haven't fought Aeldari in a very long time, but they clearly deserve their vicious reputation. 

Leofa liked the simpler game rules, as did I (Strands of Fate is stupidly complicated for what it does, for example). I did find myself missing the strategems a bit, particularly Transhuman, which would have helped against those D-weapons. And probably Doctrines and Armour of Contempt too, really. 

However, those can come back next time - Leofa enjoyed the game and would play again, probably as Mantis Warriors next time, with a slightly expanded deck of Strats to hand. So that feels like a win to me, drawing a fellow player back into the Only War. 

Having proved their mettle, the Aeldari are heading back to the UK. Perhaps they might get a match in against the Crypt Angels while they're there?