WATC Round 4 is here and we are undefeated as a team – and I am yet to drop a game with Harlequins! Talk about little engine that could! That said, we now had potentially our toughest opponents to face. 3 of them are ex-ATC (Australiasian Team Challenge) state reps and all of them know their stuff. They had a great set of lists as well – but there was one I thought was my best chance of success… and I got it…
Detachment: Space Marines (White Scars)
Detachment Name: Scarblade Strike Force
Command: WARLORD Kor’sarro Khan (125) Moondrakkan(25) 150 Points
Core: Hunting Force
Captain (90) Artificer Armour (20) Thunder Hammer (30) Storm Shield (15) The Hunter’s Eye (20) Space Marine Bike (20) 195 Points
Command Squad (18×5) Melta Bombs (5×4) 4Grav Guns (15×4) Apocethary (15) Space Marine Bikes (7×5) 220 Points
Space Marine Bikes (21×5) 2 Grav Guns (2×15) Combi-Grav (10) 145 Points
Space Marine Bikes (21×5) 2 Grav Guns (2×15) Combi-Grav (10) 145 Points
Scout Bikers (18×5) 3 Astartes Grenade Launchers (3×5) 105 Points
Attack Bikes (2×40) 80 Points
Auxillary: Speartip Strike
Space Marine Bikes (4×21) 2 Meltaguns (2×10) Melta Bombs (5) Attack Bike (40) Multi-Melta (10)159 Points
Space Marine Bikes (4×21) 2 Meltaguns (2×10) Melta Bombs (5) Attack Bike (40) Multi-Melta (10)159 Points
Land Speeder (45) Typhoon Missile Launcher (25) 70 Points
Land Speeder (45) Typhoon Missile Launcher (25) 70 Points
Neil (who plays this army) and I have quite a history when it comes to tournaments. My Dark Eldar and his White Scars have fought out many an event with me sneaking a win by a point or 2 nearly every time – and the odd time he wins its always by a similar margin. This would be an epic game for sure! My main interest in playing this army is that it wants to close the gap with you – and being close is fine by me. With veil active he would have to get really close… and really close is what harlequins do best.
The mission is Hammer and Anvil – this is even better. It’s less room for him to surround me which allows me to hopefully multi charge units later in the game. I change my strategy this game psychic power wise and opt for Psychic Shriek and Veil on all 3 psykers. Veil will keep me going early game while shriek will decimate bikes late game thanks to no cover saves being allowed. My warlord gets the rerolls warlord trait from his D3. I get first turn.
I start by moving up and dumping 4 haywire blasts and a death jester into a landspeeder – netting me first blood. Veil is active on 2 troupes but crucially I fail the roll for the unit that had advanced to get the death jester in range. The jetbikes to their assault move to get back out of range of the incoming hail of bolter fire. Neil advances cautiously. He is already feeling tense – we discussed his special rule not working at all as I have no HQ which threw him a little. Veil and rising crescendo also made him cautious once I explained them. He advances up on the troupe without veil, and lets rip. Despite them being in cover I lose all bar the Troupe Master, Shadow Seer and 1 player.
Turn 2 is more caution from me – hoping to draw him in using veil. He is quite clustered up now thanks to terrain so after popping veil I dump 4 haywire blasts and the void weavers small blast into the mass of bikes – killing a couple but crucially reducing the captain to a single wound. The solitaire manages a charge, taking a wound on overwatch, another in combat in exchange for 2 dead bikes and then hit and runs past the whitescars lines. Neil goes aggressive now and advances on me – killing a bike and reducing the wounded troupe to just a shadowseer! The solitaire is also slain after 2 bike squads and the scout bikes do a 180 and kill him with massed fire.
Turn 3 and its go time. All the harlequins bound forward as do the bikes in what would be the single most glorious charge of the game – perhaps even the weekend! I ping the second land speeder with the void weaver and then it’s time to charge. I charge my lone shadowseer into a unit of bikes while attached to my single skyweaver while the second unit of sky weavers hits another unit of bikes. The 2 troupes barrel into the command squad together. It’s at this point Neil discovers just how brutal harlequins are in combat as the 2 sky weavers kill the first unit of bikes, the skyweaver-shadowseer combo kill everyone but the attack bike (who manages to hit and run away!) while the command squad is utterly devastated – I killed the whole unit bar the apothecary with the first unit alone! Neil elects for the lone attack bike to try and gain line breaker by hiding but I know my sky weavers can get him. The other bikes all the way back down field move to claim objectives while the scout bikes move up to lob grenades, inflicting a few casualties.
Turn 4 and I move up again on the scout bikes while the 2 sky weavers move back to deal with the attack bike. I split the shadowseer from the remaining sky weaver and he joins the warlords troupe. The sky weaver is preparing to gain line breaker late game but it frees him up this turn for his assault boost move. Psychic phase and I am left with extra dice as I only have 2 troupes left – so I push out a psychic shriek at the scout bikes with my warlord (and his lovely mask of secrets). I roll a 17 on 3d6 and wipe the squad!
At this point, Neil concedes. He has the remains of 1 bikes squad left plus a second whole squad but only has access to one objective while I control the rest. Coming any closer to try and push me from them will result in a charge and that won’t end well. On the mission scoring it’s a max win 20-0 for me!
4 for 4 – the Harlequins have managed to go undefeated!
I have so many thoughts about the force but they will go into the final thoughts – next post!