As I mentioned at the beginning of this little series, I’m counting playing games as Hobby Streak time because as a Dad of 3 with very, very little free time I have to make a choice on game days between playing a game and painting or building stuff.
This particular game was against my regular opponent and good friend Chris running a Plague Company list experimenting with a Land Raider. We played on Lynchpin and Raise Banners, with the Dawn of War deployment. I’ve only played a couple games on Dawn of War in this edition, it’s very strange.
Windrider List
- FACTION KEYWORD: Xenos – Aeldari
- DETACHMENT: Windrider Host
- TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 2000pts
+ - WARLORD: Char1: Eldrad Ulthran
CHARACTER
1x Eldrad Ulthran (110 pts)
- 1x Mind War
- 1x Shuriken Pistol
- 1x Staff of Ulthamar and witchblade
- Warlord
1x Lhykhis (120 pts)
- 1x Brood Twain
- 1x Spider’s Fangs
- 1x Weaverender
BATTLELINE
11x Storm Guardians (100 pts)
- 1x Serpent’s Scale Platform
• 1x Close Combat Weapon - 6x Storm Guardian
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Pistol - 2x Storm Guardian with Flamer
• 2x Close Combat Weapon
• 2x Flamer - 2x Storm Guardian with Fusion Gun & Power Sword
• 2x Fusion Gun
• 2x Power sword
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
6x Windriders (160 pts)
- 6x Windrider with Shuriken Cannon
• 6x Close Combat Weapon
• 6x Shuriken Cannon
OTHER DATASHEETS
5x Rangers (55 pts)
- 5x Ranger
• 5x Close Combat Weapon
• 5x Long rifle
• 5x Shuriken Pistol
5x Rangers (55 pts)
- 5x Ranger
• 5x Close Combat Weapon
• 5x Long rifle
• 5x Shuriken Pistol
5x Warp Spiders (95 pts)
- 4x Warp Spider
• 4x Close Combat Weapon
• 4x Death spinner - 1x Warp Spider Exarch
• 1x Close Combat Weapon
• 1x 1 Powerblade array - Aspect Shrine Token
3x Shining Spears (120 pts)
- 2x Shining Spear
• 2x Laser Lance
• 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult - 1x Shining Spear Exarch
• 1x Shuriken Cannon
• 1x Star Lance
3x Shining Spears (120 pts)
- 2x Shining Spear
• 2x Laser Lance
• 2x Twin Shuriken Catapult - 1x Shining Spear Exarch
• 1x Shuriken Cannon
• 1x Star Lance
3x Shroud Runners (80 pts)
- 3x Shroud Runner
• 3x Close Combat Weapon
• 3x Long rifle
• 3x Scatter Laser
• 3x Shuriken Pistol
1x Warlock Skyrunners (45 pts)
- 1x Warlock Skyrunner with Singing Spear
• 1x Destructor
• 1x Shuriken Pistol
• 1x Singing Spear
• 1x Twin Shuriken Catapult
1x Warlock Skyrunners (45 pts)
- 1x Warlock Skyrunner with Singing Spear
• 1x Destructor
• 1x Shuriken Pistol
• 1x Singing Spear
• 1x Twin Shuriken Catapult
1x War Walkers (95 pts)
1x War Walker
• 1x War Walker feet
• 2x Missile Launcher
Plague Company List
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- FACTION KEYWORD: Chaos – Death Guard
- DETACHMENT: Plague Company
- TOTAL ARMY POINTS: 1995pts
- ALLIED UNITS: Legiones Daemonica
+ - WARLORD: Char1: Mortarion
- SECONDARY: – Bring It Down: (3×2) + (2×4) – Assassination: 8 Characters
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CHARACTER
1x Mortarion (300 pts)
- 1x Rotwind
- 1x Silence
- 1x The Lantern
- Warlord
1x Typhus (80 pts)
- 1x Master-crafted manreaper
1x Death Guard Chaos Lord (85 pts)
- 1x Twin lightning claws
- Living Plague (+20 pts)
1x Foul Blightspawn (60 pts)
- 1x Close combat weapon
- 1x Plague sprayer
1x Foul Blightspawn (60 pts)
- 1x Close combat weapon
- 1x Plague sprayer
1x Foul Blightspawn (60 pts)
- 1x Close combat weapon
- 1x Plague sprayer
1x Lord of Contagion (95 pts)
- 1x Plagueblade
- Deadly Pathogen (+15 pts)
1x Tallyman (45 pts)
- 1x Close combat weapon
- 1x Infected plasma pistol
BATTLELINE
10x Plague Marines (180 pts)
- 1x Plague Champion
• 1x Plasma gun
• 1x Heavy plague weapon - 9x Plague Marine
• 2x Blight launcher
• 9x Plague knives
• 3x Bubotic weapons
• 2x Heavy plague weapon
• 2x Meltagun
5x Plague Marines (90 pts)
- 1x Plague Champion
• 1x Plasma gun
• 1x Heavy plague weapon - 4x Plague Marine
• 1x Bubotic weapons
• 4x Plague knives
• 2x Heavy plague weapon
• 1x Plasma gun
5x Plague Marines (90 pts)
- 1x Plague Champion
• 1x Plasma gun
• 1x Heavy plague weapon - 4x Plague Marine
• 1x Bubotic weapons
• 4x Plague knives
• 2x Heavy plague weapon
• 1x Plasma gun
OTHER DATASHEETS
10x Death Guard Cultists (50 pts)
- 1x Cultist Champion
• 1x Brutal assault weapon
• 1x Cultist firearm - 9x Cultist
• 9x Brutal assault weapon
• 9x Cultist firearm
3x Deathshroud Terminators (110 pts)
- 1x Deathshroud Terminator Champion
• 1x Manreaper
• 1x Plaguespurt gauntlet - 2x Deathshroud Terminator
• 2x Manreaper
• 2x Plaguespurt gauntlet
3x Deathshroud Terminators (110 pts)
- 1x Deathshroud Terminator Champion
• 1x Manreaper
• 1x Plaguespurt gauntlet - 2x Deathshroud Terminator
• 2x Manreaper
• 2x Plaguespurt gauntlet
1x Death Guard Land Raider (240 pts)
- 1x Armoured tracks
- 2x Soulshatter lascannon
- 1x Twin plague heavy bolter
- 1x Plague combi-bolter
1x Foetid Bloat-drone (90 pts)
- 1x Plague probe
- 2x Plaguespitter
1x Death Guard Rhino (75 pts)
- 1x Armoured tracks
- 1x Havoc launcher
- 1x Plague combi-bolter
- 1x Plague combi-bolter
1x Death Guard Rhino (75 pts)
- 1x Armoured tracks
- 1x Havoc launcher
- 1x Plague combi-bolter
- 1x Plague combi-bolter
ALLIED UNITS
1x Beasts of Nurgle (65 pts)
- 1x Beast of Nurgle
• 1x Putrid appendages
3x Nurglings (35 pts)
3x Nurgling Swarm
• 3x Diseased claws and teeth
I have a bunch of proxies in my list and partially built conversions. Big raptors are Shroud Runners, little raptors are windriders, as are the partially built windriders. The Harlequin bikes are Shining Spears with the white one in each unit being an Exarch.
The gigantic Triceratops with half a War Walker on its back is obviously the War Walker, and the unit of Space Marine Scouts is standing in for my unbuilt second unit of Rangers.
I have a lot of conversions to do okay 😛
Anyway, I won attacker/defender and took defender, dropping my Rangers in the center right to screen out his Nurglings. I also put three units of Windriders into reserves.
Chris put a unit of Deathshroud into deep strike alongside Typhus.
Critical deployment moment – I waited to see where his Land Raider went down, and deployed the War Walker and one unit of Shining Spears across the zone from it in case I got to go first.
The ten man unit of Plague Marines is in the center U on his deployment line, and the two small units are in the Rhino.
I did get to go first, and after doing some measuring I realize that the Shining Spears needed to move 9″ with 3d6 between an advance and stratagem assisted charge to get into combat with the Land Raider.
I drew Recover Assets and Extend Battle Lines, and then gave my Spears Advance and Charge with a strat before rolling a 5 on the advance.
The War Walker and a unit of Windriders moved up to shoot the Land Raider, the second unit of Windriders moved up to get a bead on the Beast of Nurgle – I needed it gone so the Riders targeting the Land Raider would get full rerolls to hit – and pulled my Shroud Runners central to screen from the inevitable follow up from the Deathshroud inside the Land Raider.
My shooting phase went very well, the first unit of bikes picking up the Beast, the Shroud Runners killing most of the Cultists, and the War Walker giving the second unit of Bikes AP -2 against the Land Raider. Even through popping -1 to hit from a stratagem, I dropped the Land Raider to 6 wounds with the Windriders, which let the Shining Spears charge in and murder it.
I used the 7″ move stratagem plus a Battle Focus for 6″ consolidate to let the Spears get very far away from the disembarked Deathshroud and tag the far right unit of Cultists.
Chris drew Recover Assets and Bring it Down, and decided that going after the War Walker was pointless, and pushed forward with the Deathshroud, a Drone in each other zone, and the Rhino. The Deathshroud took out all the Rangers and the Shroud Runners. My Spears polished off the cultists and consolidated 6″ to the objective.
I pulled the unit of Windriders in the right side ruin into reserves at the end of the turn.
On my second turn, I was able to shoot down the Rhino, the stuff inside the Rhino, and charge and kill the left side drone, as well as shooting the Deathshroud to death on the right and kill the Tallyman with a unit brought in from reserves.
We played on to see what could happen, and Chris had two turns of perfect rolls to get multiple coin flips to happen in a row, but at the end of the game I was just too fast and the Shuriken Cannons a little too efficient.
Mortarian tanked the world, but the game ended here with Typhus dying to Windriders and Chris having nothing left on the table.
Mortarion was able to score him about 10 points the last turn after this picture with a Storm Hostile objective and ending the game controlling an objective, but the game ended 75-57 in my favor.
Unlike the last time I played this list on TTS – same scenario actually, which is interesting – my opponent didn’t have the ability to run at me and this let me pick off targets at will. I think this is interesting, because I believe Death Guard is a pretty weird matchup for most Aeldari lists, but this should rip through a lot of their builds. I don’t think it solves the World Eaters/Space Wolves/Custodes problem though.
Anyway, thanks for reading, we’ll see you next time!
