Battle Report #29: Lahkers vs Eldar & Medusa Strike Force (ft. Gabe & Ike Double Batrep)

It's all this guy's fault.

This battle took place a while ago.  Ike and Nathaniel teamed up against me in a Relic match.  My commentary is in regular text, Ike's commentary is in italics.

Nathaniel's Craftworld Warhost (auto 6" run)

Guardian Battle Host

3 Guardians W/ Eldar Missile launchers

Farseer W/Spirit Stone of Anath'lan

1 Vaul's Wrath Support Battery W/Shadow Weaver

1  War Walker W/Shuriken Cannon

2 Vyper W/Star Cannon

5 Rangers

Seer Council (Warp charges on 3+)

2 Farseers

5 Warlocks

Ike's Test Force Medusa
Fist of Medusa Strike Force 
(Logical Commander, +1 to FnP rolls and PoTMS in a 12" radius of an Independent Character)

ARMORED TASK FORCE: 355
Techmarine w/ conversion beamer, 2 servitors. 105
Whirlwind. 65 points
Predator w/ TL lascannon and invisible HB sponsons. 120
Whirlwind. 65 points

STRIKE FORCE COMMAND: 340
Chapter master w/ Jump Pack, Gorgon's chain, PF, LC, artificer armor. 250
Techmarine w/ Betrayer's Bane, 2 servitors. 90

HONORED ANCIENT: 135
Dereadnought w/ TL Lascannon, ML. 135

HONORED ANCIENT: 145
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ HB, chainfist, meltagun, Ironclad assault launchers. 145  

TOTAL: 1000

Lahkers CAD
Illuminator Szeras (warlord)
Lord (Nikhyanh) w/Gauntlet of Fire, Solar Staff
2 20x Warrior blobs
5x Immortals
20x Flayed Ones (Marine proxies)
8x Triarch Praetorians w/voidblade and particle caster, in Night Scythe
Triarch Stalker
3x Tomb Blades w/particle beamer, shield vanes
2 2x Heavy Destroyers
Monolith


Warlord Traits: Divide To Conquer, Princepts of Deceit
 Both Ruins within our own deployment zone were bolstered by the techmarines.

The necron themed terrain was decreed during setup to be both Difficult and Dangerous area terrain which granted a 5+ cover save to occupying models.

Test Force Medusa elements deployed the Ironclad Dreadnought and Betrayer's Bane techmarine along the right flank, with our Master of The Forge and 1st Whirlwind taking up position in the central ruins of our own deployment zone, the 2nd whirlwind being placed specifically to deter Infiltrators. The Predator, Chapter Master, and Lascannon Dreadnought were deployed to the left flank, as it lacked bolstered ruins and had comparably few alien gauss sponges. 


Facing us were a unit of necron Immortals to our left, along with a blob of warriors attached to Szeras. Front and center there were several Destroyers who had taken fleeting shelter in the AV 10 building right next to the Legolith, with a trio of Tomb Blades cowering behind them. The Flayed Ones infiltrated just barely outside their own deployment zone.

I deployed the Legolith at the center of my line, shielding the Stalker, with the Tomb Blades sitting behind the building.  I parked both Destroyer squads in the (AV10) building, and had my Warrior blobs sit on the flanks, with the 5 Immortals bolstering the right flank.  Szeras was in the right Warrior blob, the one with +1 Strength, the most meh of the three upgrades (others were +1 BS or +1 Toughness).  I then Infiltrated the Flayed Ones onto the left flank, intending for them to either shield the left Warrior blob, or popping through the Legolith's Eternity Gate to grab the Relic.

I made a passing comment about instadeathing Ike's Techmarine in the ruins with my Heavy Destroyers.  It was part serious, part banter.  He took it absolutely seriously, as you will see soon.

Turn 1

Movement in the first turn was a fairly direct advance on out part. The Predator moved the full 12" and the rearguard whirlwind moved 6" while both dreads walked their full 6". After some psychic sparks few off from the Eldar the Chapter Master called in his Orbital Bombardment & nukes the Monolith and two warriors, with the secondary explosion for the Monolith killing two more. Strike Cruiser gunnery crew commended for excellence. The MoTF, having heard the Destroyers talking shit from across the battlefield, fired at the building they were occupying and scored a catastrophic beach which reduced the building to AV8. This opening allowed for the Eldar to breach it twice again, bringing it down to AV 7 and then AV6 for an easy finish. The buildings collapse wiped out one squad of Destroyers and damaged another forcing them to snapfire. Whirlwind barrage ineffective. The Ironclad and forward techmarine killed a combined total of three flayed ones. The Eldar had also used this turn to have their Guardians escort their Warlord to the objective at maximum warp, losing one of their own to a failed dangerous terrain roll.

As Ike describes, he and Nathaniel advanced on the Relic.  Nathaniel got his Farseer squad to the Relic first and grabbed it.  Nathaniel did his Psychic phase, gave his Seers in the ruins a 2+ cover save, and used Eldritch Storm to kill off 9 Flayed Ones.
We went to Shooting, and the first thing Ike did was have his Chapter Master drop his Orbital Bombardment on my Legolith.  The blast scattered slightly and ended up hitting the Legolith and the building.  Ike penned (obviously with the building, it was the Legolith I was concerned about) and blew up both targets.  The building collapsed and killed one of the Destroyer units.  I was salty about that, I'll be honest.  Losing the Legolith or a Destroyer unit (both integral to my plan to keep enemies away from the Relic) would have been bad enough, losing both of them was a major blow to my morale.
That was the opposition's most successful attack during Turn 1.  Further losses were nothing worse than a couple Warriors, but I had lost my only large blast weapon and half my dedicated anti-tank.

Flayed Ones and Warriors continue to advance on our right flank, with the necron Immortals on our left doing the same as the remaining Destroyers huddled in the crater where the monolith was until a moment ago. Venerable Dradnought stunned. The Necron warlord and his unit opened fire un the guardian squad holding the objective and killed 10, followed be the Stalker destroying the Guardian squads weapon platform and the jetbikes finishing off the last of the unit.

I desperately wanted revenge on the Chapter Master, but had no reliable way of hurting him (damn Gorgon's Chain).  I decided to kill off anything that approached the Relic, and grab it with my Praetorians when they came on.  In hindsight, I should have tried to kill the Techmarine, or the Whirlwind dropping barrages on my troops.  Instead, I moved towards the Relic, wiped out the Farseer and his squad (got Slay the Warlord for the Farseer), and took 2HP off the Ironclad Dread.

Turn 2

Ironclad Dreadnought and attendant techmarine advanced through the ruins on our right side while our rearmost Whirlwind advanced a further 6". Venerable Dreadnought and Chapter Master advance on the objective while the Predator navigated the forest to better cover them. Second Whirlwind kills three Flayed Ones and two Warriors. Immortal squad wiped out by Eldar and the Flayed Ones unit is devastated. Lone survivor of  hostile jetbike unit flees the battlefield. All eligible units pass their IWND rolls, units commended for fortitude.

Nathaniel's forces coasted to a stop in cover for the most part.  Ike's Dreadnoughts and Chapter Master headed for the Relic.  Eldritch Storm and multiple blasts killed more Flayed Ones and Warriors, Reanimation rolls saved a few.  I had a laugh when Ike's lascan-missile-launcher-Dread managed to miss my Stalker completely, even with Twin-linked rerolls.  The Tomb Blades were either killed at this point, or failed a morale test and ran off the board.

Flayed Ones move toward remaining Guardian squad on right flank as the Warlord's unit heads for the objective. Necron Praetorian squad drops onto the objective and loses two whole models to failed Dangerous Terrain tests. Splat! Eldar war walker destroyed be fire from Stalker and superficial hull damage sustained by all Dreadnoughts.

My turn, the Praetorians came in on the Night Scythe.  I had them drop onto the Relic immediately.  Another mistake; I should have dropped them back by the Whirlwind and eliminated that first.  Instead, I now had my Praetorians in the middle of the board, vulnerable to everything.  The Flayed Ones veered towards the Guardians in the ruins.  The Stalker killed the War Walker, and the Flayed Ones charged, fought, and wiped the Guardian squad.

Turn 3

Victory is within reach, two Praetorians are killed be the Eldar's Psychic Shriek and the remainder are wiped out after their Lord refused the honor of single combat. Flayed Ones wiped out by Ironclad.

Nathaniel Periled in his Psychic phase, and his (other) Farseer lost the Eldritch Storm power.  I was amused by that, and even more amused when Ike's Dreadnought failed to hit my Stalker for the second time in a row.  Massed fire wore my Warriors and Flayed Ones down.  The Ironclad got into my Flayed Ones and wiped them, and the Chapter Master made it into the Praetorians and I believe he wiped them out as well.

I moved in on the Relic, doomed as I was.  I think I gaussed the Ironclad to death, and then focused everything on the Chapter Master.  Not a single wound got through.

Turn 4

Objective taken, geneseed contaminated but successfully denied. Extraction transporter dispatched. Task Force losses minimal. Ironclad Dreadnought rendered inoperative but salvageable, occupant survival rated very likely.

Nathaniel and Ike had their turn of shooting at me, I believe I conceded at the end of their player turn.  Szeras survived, at least I didn't give them Slay the Warlord.

I've run into a gunline before, and I've had it end badly before.  This wasn't the worst at all, but this one hurt, right in my heart, because that damn Chapter Master had to one-shot my Legolith.  Screw the Relic, my precious proxy model never got to fire a shot.

However, the fact that my biggest concern about the battle is so petty, it makes it easier to forget about it.  Except for Maxkillan and the Chapter Master.  There will be a day of reckoning for them.

Extra Pics:

These Flayed Ones take flesh trophies, they wear flesh, like suits. Grimdark taxidermists.

Flayed Ones attempt to buy the army some time, would have succeeded if it hadn't been for that pesky Ironclad.

Battle Report #21: Lahkers vs Eldar, Jan '16 League

The final game of the January casual league.  This time my opponent was Shane and his Eldar.  He was a pleasant guy to roll dice with for an evening.  His list, however, was better for the competitive league, what with the Seer Council(!) and its 3 Farseers and 5 Warlocks(?!?).  I did make some stupid blunders, but still...16-20 psychic dice a turn doesn't seem "casual" to me.

Mission was Spoils of War (either of us could score "Secure Objective X") and deployment was Dawn of War.

Shane's Eldar Craftworld List:

3 Farseers

5 Warlocks

10x Dire Avengers

10x Dire Avengers (Guardian proxies)

10x Dire Avengers (Guardian proxies)

10x Striking Scorpions with Karandras

6x Fire Dragons, in Falcon

6x Warp Spiders w/spinneret rifles

10x Windrider jetbikes

1x Falcon (for Fire Dragons)

1x Crimson Hunter Exarch

I set up evenly across the board, putting my Destroyer Lord on the left and the Lychguard on the right, to send them to make trouble on their respective sides of the board.

Shane placed his Seer Council in the ruins by Objective 1, and deployed everyone else pretty much out of LOS (and range) of me.

Shane stole the initiative, and proceeded to turn my plan on its head.

GAME TURN 1

Turn 1 - Shane

Surprised at getting first turn, Shane nevertheless moved out of cover, and then rolled for psychic powers.  ALL of the psyhic powers.  He put Fortune and Guide on most, if not all, of his army.  Then he proceeded to shooting, and the Falcon and (I think) Windriders collectively killed my Ghost Ark to get him First Blood.  He also killed two of my three Tomb Blades, the last one made his morale check.  He scored Objective 2.

Turn 1 - Me

I rolled Objectives #55 (cause a failed morale check), #54 (issue a challenge), and #62 (kill a psyker).  I tried to close the distance between my army and his, heedlessly sending my Jet- and Jump-pack infantry through cover.  To the Praetorians' shame, two of their number tripped on rocks and failed both their 3+ armor and 5+ Reanimation rolls.  Byrahn and his Lychguard boldly deep-struck over right by the ruins with the Seer Council.  My Heavy Destroyers, with nothing else to shoot at, targeted the Warp Spiders, and sure enough they jump-moved out of LOS.  My Warriors and a Destroyer squad took 2HP off the Falcon, and the Immortals killed one or two Dire Avengers.  I scored no objectives.

GAME TURN 2

Turn 2 - Shane

Shane got the Crimson Hunter Exarch and Striking Scorpions in, the Hunter on the right side of the board, the Scorpions on the left.  This was the turn the psychic powers got really brutal.  Shane put Guide and Fortune on a few units (his squishier ones, I believe), and then went for a Mind War with Byrahn and dealt four wounds.  Bryahn failed all four invulns, and only made one RP roll.  He was gone just like that.  (Kind of like the Tau Commander last week...)  Eldritch Storm took out five of the Lychguard.  In shooting, the leftmost Dire Avenger squad and Scorpions killed two of my three Tomb Blades, and the Crimson Hunter and Warp Spiders focused down the Destroyer Lord, and the Seer Council and the other Avengers finished off the Lychguard.  And to top it off, the Warp Spiders jet-pack-moved right back into cover at the end of his turn.  Shane scored Kingslayer for 3VP on the d3.

Turn 2 - Me

My single squad of Destroyers came in from reserve, I chose to deep-strike them on the right side of the field, just in front of the ruins housing the Seer Council, and hit dead on.  I moved my army across the board, focusing on the right flank, trying to get someone, anyone in range before they all died.  My lone remaining Tomb Blade moved up for a perfect shot on the tightly packed Scorpions and Dire Avengers, and managed to fail every single one of his 2+ to wound rolls.  My Warriors and a Destroyer squad killed a few Windrider bikes, but Shane's space elf rerolls kept them from running.  No one else was in range of anything, not even to assault.  I had my Heavy Destroyers snap-fire at the Crimson Hunter, but I'd used up all my luck last week, and they didn't do anything.  As on turn 1, I scored no objectives, and discarded the one I could no longer achieve (#54, issue a challenge).

GAME TURN 3

Turn 3 - Shane

Shane eased his guys out of cover and into firing positions.  His Seer Council and Farseers laid down Guide and Fortune everywhere, and then cast Eldritch Storm on the Immortals and killed eight of them.  The Scorpions and Dire Avengers easily killed my last Tomb Blade.  I lost several Destroyers in different squads to combined Eldar shooting.  The one bright spot was the Warriors, now whittled down to five (including the four recently painted models), decided they would stick it out till the end, and passed five Reanimation rolls in one go.  One Destroyer got stuck alone in the middle of the field, was assaulted by the Warp Spiders, and lucked out when they failed to wound him.  He punched one of them to death, won assault, and they Hit & Ran right outta there.

Turn 3 - Me

I did what I could, which wasn't much.  I think I killed a few Dire Avengers in shooting.  Or they might have survived, thanks to Fortune.  Either way, I conceded at the end of Turn 3.

Endgame.

Final score: Shane got First Blood, Line Breaker, and Slay the Warlord for 3VP, and then scored Objectives #32 and #61 for 4VP, for a total of 7VP.  I got Line Breaker for 1VP.

It's been a weird month; no games went close, all went one way or the other.  I much prefer close games, they're fun, you get to hang out, and nobody completely rolls the other guy.  On the other hand, I got the month's "Best Sportsmanship" award, and another player told me he'd been inspired by the colorful Lahkers to start his own Necron army.  That was a nice end to the January league.

Last Thoughts:

- Shane advised taking the Solar Staff and using the solar pulse on Byrahn and the Lychguard next time.  It made perfect sense; no wonder I didn't use it before.  Will remember to do that next time.
- Seer Councils are now vying for Grey Knights as my archenemy.
- Next time, I'll probably try the competitive league.  At least there, I know everybody's in it to win it, and there won't be surprise Seer Councils.

Extra Pics:

Far too many psychic powers for a single game, right?

Battle Report #17: Lahkers vs Eldar, Game 1, Jan '16 League

After a long absence, the Lahkers sent a detachment to join the casual league of the FLGS.  I got to field Lords Byrahn and Nihkyanh, as well as my repainted original Cryptek and my scratchbuilt Cryptek.

The league parameters were Maelstrom missions and 1750pt lists.  The first mission was Cleanse and Control, with Dawn of War deployment.  My opponent was Justin and his Eldar Craftworld army.

I decided to chill out, run a CAD, and bring out the models that hadn't seen the gaming table for months (namely, the Doom Scythe and Deathmarks).

The fact that I named this list after a Weird Al song tells you just how deadly serious it is.

Justin's Combined Arms list (recalled from memory)
Farseer w/Executioner, Mind War, Guide, and Fortune
10x Guardians w/3x Monofilament artillery platforms
10x Dire Avengers
10x Dire Avengers
10x Warp Spiders
5x Fire Dragons in a Wave Serpent
5x Dark Reapers w/Reaper sights
2x Fire Prisms
Wraithknight w/2x Wraithcannons

Maelstrom objectives were placed as follows: #1 on the far left center in the woods, #2 in the center woods on my side of the board, #3 in the cathedral, #4 by the square-topped tower on Justin's side, #5 in the small building on Justin's left flank, and #6 in the ruins on my right flank.

I won the deployment roll-off.  Remembering painful lessons of games past, I put the Stalker and five Immortals in cover, and put the Annihilation Barge and other Immortals farther to the right.  Byrahn, Nihkyanh, Nahz, and the Crypteks went with the Lychguard in the center, ready to advance to the cathedral or deep-strike across the board.

Justin set up with his Fire Prisms up to cover my left flank, had his Wraithknight cover my right flank, and put his infantry between them.  Guardians and artillery went behind the wall on his side, with the Farseer.

He stole the initiative.  I blame the Warp Spiders.

GAME TURN 1



Turn 1 - Eldar

For tactical objectives, Justin drew Secure Objectives 5 and  Big Game Hunter.  The Fire Prisms and Reapers opened up first; they failed to deal any damage.  The Wraithknight fared better, decided to turn the overkill dial to full, and one-shotted my Stalker.  The Wave Serpent moved towards the Annihilation Barge, and it and the Monofilament artillery hosed the Immortals, killing three Immortals total.  Justin achieved Big Game Hunter for 1VP, got First Blood, and achieved Objective 5.

Turn 1 - Lahkers

I drew tactical objectives and got Secure Objectives 1 and 4 and Kingslayer.  I decided to use Byrahn's one-use deep-strike to drop over by Objective 1, and Run to it during Shooting.  The Barge fired at and failed to damage the Wave Serpent.  That was it for me.  The real punch of my list was still in reserve, and nothing on the field could shoot beyond 24".  I achieved Objective 1 for 1VP.

GAME TURN 2

Turn 2 - Eldar

Justin's Turn 2 objectives were Secure Objective 1 and 5, and the Eldar-specific Combined Strike (I believe it was kill 1 unit in Shooting and Assault phases each).  His Warp Spider came in, and landed on my side of the board.  (I tried to bring in my Deathmarks with Ethereal Interception, but they scattered, rolled a mishap, and went back into reserve.)  The Wraithknight and one squad of Avengers headed towards my right flank, the other squad of Avengers moved towards my Lychguard, and the Wave Serpent drove up to the Barge and dropped off the Fire Dragons.  In the Shooting phase, the Fire Prisms killed a Lychguard, and the Immortals were mauled by the Monofilament artillery, broke, and ran off the table.  The Fire Dragons shot at my Barge, and it jinked the Dragons' meltas, but not the Wraithknight.  It went boom.  And then Lord Nahz died to the Wave Serpent's shuriken fire because I was too lazy for Look Out rolls and went straight to rolling for saves.  Justin achieved Combine Strike for 1VP.

Turn 2 - Lahkers

I still had Secure Objective 4 and Kingslayer, and the new one I drew was the rather unlikely Overwhelming Firepower.  I got one squad each of Deathmarks and Praetorians in, and the Doom Scythe as well.  The Deathmarks I dropped to the left of the Guardians and Monofilament artillery, and the Praetorians scattered but managed to land right up against the cathedral's wall, in LOS of the Fire Prisms though.  The Doom Scythe flew on by the cathedral and aiming at the Prisms.  The Deathmarks cleaned up half of the Guardian squad (thank you for 2+ wounding, Hunters from Hyperspace).  The Praetorians fired at the Warp Spiders, and discovered Warp Spiders can jump-move when fired on.  They hopped out of their 12" range, and the Doom Scythe discovered it was out of range of the Eldar tanks, targeted the Spiders, and the Spiders hopped away again.  (Apparently there's no limit on how far they can hop, time to put flypaper in my next list.)  The Royal Court and Lychguard closed with the nearby Avengers, hosed them with the fancy Necron S7 AP2 one-shot flamer, assaulted them, and cleaned them right up, consolidating towards the Guardians.  I achieved no tactical objectives.

GAME TURN 3

Turn 3 - Eldar

Justin still had Secure Objective 1 and 5, and drew Behind Enemy Lines.  The Wraithknight moved ominously towards the Royal Court and Lychguard, and the Fire Prisms scooted towards Objective 1.  The Warp Spiders, Wave Serpent, and Fire Dragons moved within 12" of my table edge, the latter two units also angling to pick off my last Immortals on the right flank.  It was then I discovered that the Dark Reapers' Reaper sight disallows jink saves against their attacks, and also gives them twin-linked against flyers.  In short order they penned my Doom Scythe and it crashed.  The Wraithkknight shot at the Royal Court, and vaporized Nikyanh.  The Fire Dragons and Fire Prisms killed my Praetorian squad.  Justin got d3+1 VP for Behind Enemy Lines, rolled a 3, and got 4VP total for it.

Turn 3 - Lahkers

With barely anything left, I decided to try to kill the Farseer and Guardians at least.  The last Deathmarks and Praetorians came in; I dropped the Praetorians near the Avengers coming up my right flank, they scattered and landed right in front of the Guardians.  This suited me fine.  I dropped the Deathmarks by the Avengers, and this time they landed dead on.  They shot and killed enough Avengers to force a morale test (they passed), and the Praetorians failed to wound the Guardians because the artillery platforms tanked the hits.  I moved the other Deathmarks towards Objective 4, remembering only later that the Reapers were contesting it.  The Royal Court decided to go out gloriously and charged the Wraithknight.  They got into combat, and miraculously lost only one Lychguard and Cryptek, but then broke and ran.  I achieved no tactical objectives.

GAME TURN 4

Turn 4 - Eldar

Justin had his Farseer mind-war Byrahn and won it.  Byrahn got his WS penalized, but saved the wound, thanks to his 4++.  Justin moved his troops to surround my remaining forces (Warlord and squad, 2 Deathmark squads, 1 Praetorian squad), and at the end of his player turn I conceded the game.

Final score: Eldar victory, Eldar 8VP, Lahkers 2VP.

Lahkers achieved one objective (1VP) and got Line Breaker on the second Praetorian squad (1VP) for a total of 2VP.  Eldar got Behind Enemy Lines (4VP), First Blood, Big Game Hunter, and Combined Strike (1VP each, 3VP total), and secured Objective 5 (1VP).  He got one more from either Objective 2 or Line Breaker, bringing his total to 8VP (maybe nine if he got both of those.)

A bit of a rough first game, but I've had worse (cough, mass flyrant, cough).  Justin had a painted army too, which I appreciated.  Three colors at least, with especially good work on the Reapers, Fire Dragons, and Fire Prisms (with translucent crystal cannon bits!).  Best part was being back at the gaming store and rolling dice with a bunch of people who appreciate 40k.  Looking forward to next week's match, come what may.

Extra pics:

Justin's paint job was excellent, however my camerawork was not...

Guy on the table by us had a badass Fire Raptor.

The Fire Raptor had a friend.

Very nice Caestus Assault Ram on another table. 

Battle Report #14: Lahkers vs Wraithdar

Having had a narrow loss to my pal Nathaniel's Wraith army months earlier, I told him I wanted a rematch.  He asked if I was sure.  That should've been warning sign number one right there.  Warning sign number two was my list, and its lack of AP3.  (I cannot fathom why I forgot about the Destroyer Cult.  It didn't have the numbers it does now, but I could've fielded it.)

Nathaniel's list:

Iyanden Eldar
Lianna Arienal (custom character from 2E lore, balance-approved by Ike)
Farseer
Spiritseer
2x Skyweaver Jetbikes
5x Wraithblades with Ghost swords
5x Wraithblades with Ghost axes and Force shields
5x Wraithguard w/wraithcannons (proxy models)
5x Wraithguard w/wraithcannons
1x Wraithknight w/heavy wraithcannons

Harlequins
Solitaire
Shadowseer
Death Jester

This was the first game played on my new gaming "table", a.k.a. a huge piece of unwanted styrofoam that almost exactly fit 40k standard table dimensions.  Mission was Emperor's Will with Dawn of War deployment.  I won initiative and chose to set up first.  I heavily weighted my left flank, intending to crush him with weight of fire, and put the Canoptek Harvest on the right flank, to either hold that flank, or hook left if I needed their support.  I positioned my objective in the ruins on the left flank.

Nathaniel set up evenly spread across the board, with the Wraithknight, Skyweaver Jetbikes, and Solitaire tucked in his right corner.  The Farseer set up with his farthest-left Wraithguard squad, the Spiritseer with the proxy-Wraithguard, and the Shadowseer squatted on his objective, which he put behind the gray rock on top of the green hill.

Full deployment.

Nathaniel failed or didn't try to steal the initiative, and the game went ahead.

Turn 1

I moved up.  That was it.

In hindsight, letting the army with the 12" guns go first may have been the better idea.

Way too late now.  Anyway, I moved up, had the Lychguard run towards the Wraithblades for a throwdown, consolidated firing positions, and failed to put the Stalker in cover.  This would come back to bite me.

Nathaniel's turn, he moved up, and did a whole lot more.  In his psychic phase he got Eldritch Storm off on my Wraiths, which...did something, I just remember their ++3 saved their robot butts.  Lianna got the Conceal power off, but Periled, rolled on the table, and got the epic 6.  Vale of Tears was cast on the Termie-Wraiths.  The Wraithknight hopped forward, fired its cannons, and got First Blood by killing my Stalker.

Turn 2

For reserves, the Tomb Blades came on from reserve on my left flank, to help out and eventually hold the objective there.  Both squads of Triarch Praetorians also came in, I had them deep-strike near the Wraithlord.  There wasn't much movement, aside from my right flank moving up and my left flank backing away frantically from the giant spirit-death-robot.  My shooting killed a Skyweaver jetbike, and took a single wound from the Wraithlord.  In assault, Kobeh and the Lychguard charged the Wraithblades, and in the center the Canoptek Wraiths charged the Wraithguard and killed two.  Too many Wraiths to keep track of.

Nathaniel's turn 2.  He slogged his unengaged Wraithguard towards me, and his Wraithknight hopped towards my left-flank Immortals.  One of his psykers got Horrify off on the Lychguard, meaning I had to deal with a Ld7 squad for a turn.  The Death Jester hidden in the shadow of that megalith in Nathaniel's deployment zone put some punishing fire into Rynkelyh's Immortal squad.  Nathaniel then assaulted everything.  The Wraithknight vaporized my helpless Immortals on the left flank; the Lychguard-Wraithblade combat continued to the next turn; the Wraithlord assaulted the nearer squad of Praetorians and that turned into ongoing combat; and the Wraiths-Wraithguard combat was also ongoing, though in my favor.

Turn 3

The Ghost Ark put on his turn signal and backed around the building, staying as much out of sight of those strength D Wraithcannons as possible.  The warrior squads nearby consolidated into cover and let the Wraithknight have all of their rapid-fire gauss.  Not one wound.  On the right flank, Rynkelyh rallied his Immortals, and they killed the Death Jester at range.  In assault, the Lychguard-Wraithblade combat turned in my favor, with two or three 'blades going down.  My Wraiths killed the Wraithguard and hung around, waiting to get into combat with the Wraithlord.  Both Praetorian squads were engaged with the Wraithlord by now, losing models but doing nothing to it.  S5 vs T8 is not fun for the S5 half of the equation.

Nathaniel's turn, his Crimson Hunter entered the battle on my right flank.  The Farseer decided to mind-war with my Canoptek Spyder, and got royally served by a robot half his points cost.  (His WS and BS was reduced to 1 until the end of the following turn, if I remember correctly.)

That delicious moment aside, this was the turn the balance of the battle began to noticably slip away from me.  Nathaniel decided he was tired of my Lychguard trouncing his Wraithblades, and sent the Termie-Wraithguard, the Solitaire, and the Wraithknight in.  I was honored and appalled to earn such a measure of overkill.  Inevitably, by the end of that turn the Lychguard were dust on the wind, and to add insult to injury, the Solitaire challenged, Kobeh accepted, and then was immediately instakilled by the Solitaire's stupid-powerful weapon.

Turn 4

At long last, massed gauss-fire took 2 wounds off the Wraithknight.  Desperate to try and finish it off, or even lock it down, I sent in my remaining Wraiths, and they knocked 1 more wound off it in assault.  The Scarabs, having lost their accompanying Spyder a turn ago, dove into the Praetorian-Wraithlord combat.

On Nathaniel's turn, he had the Solitaire Blitz behind my lines, right by the two warrior squads in the woods.  Rynkelyh and a single Immortal somehow hung on through the shooting phase by the narrowest of margins.  The Solitaire assaulted my warriors with Lord Nahz, and the Termie-Wraithguard joined the Praetorian-Wraithlord-Scarab cluster.  Despite the confusion, the Praetorians and Scarabs rallied and brought the Wraithlord down to 1 wound.

Turn 5

Seeing that Nathaniel's forces had advanced away from his objective, with only his Shadowseer guarding it, I hopped Rynkelyh and the unengaged and understrength warrior squad into the Ghost Ark, and had it cruise and move flat-out to Nathaniel's objective.  The Ark immobilized itself landing on the difficult terrain (the hill), but it had done its job.  I put my lone surviving Tomb Blade on my objective in the ruins.  In assault, the Solitaire challenged and fought my new Cryptek model, and both survived.  The Solitaire may have then Hit & Run that turn to get away from combat.  The Scarabs, praised be the Spyder that maintained them, finally slew the Wraithlord.

His turn, Nathaniel had the Wraithknight blow up the Ghost Ark.  Rynkelyh and the warriors survived without a scratch.  Nathaniel's army, having advanced out to cover the board, began to contract back towards his objective.  The Shadowseer bravely but foolishly charged Rynkelyh's squad, and was cut down in overwatch.

Turn 6?

My notes do not record whether there was a turn 6; photo evidence shows the Solitaire jumping on my objective, and fighting my Tomb Blade for it.  The crazy-melee-equipped Eldar with the super-killy-weapon won over the one-attack-WS4 Necron jetbike.  Inevitable, but it hurt nonetheless.  And the Solitaire only had one more wound, too!

The game ending bottom of Turn 5/6.  Final score: Lahkers had the Wraithdar objective for 3 VP, 1 VP for Line Breaker, for a total of 4 VP.  The Wraithdar had the Lahkers objective for 3 VP, 1 VP for Line Breaker, and 1 VP for First Blood for 5 VP.  (Slay the Warlord is listed for the Wraithdar, but photos show Rynkelyh alive and well at the end...not sure what's going on there.)  Either way, it was a WRAITHDAR VICTORY that day.

So, Gabe, what did we learn from this second defeat from the same foe?

- Kill the WraithGUARD, the WraithBLADES, the WraithLORD, and THEN you can kill the WraithKNIGHT.  Eliminate the smaller, shorter-ranged guys before they get in your face.

- You can never have enough medium-to-long-ranged AP3, otherwise known as a Destroyer Cult.

- Kill the Spiritseer before you start whaling on the Wraithknight, otherwise it gets its obnoxious wound-recovery rolls.

- Praetorians with Rods of Covenant (S5 AP2) are best used against MEQ.  Against larger, tougher things, their other weapon options, a Particle Caster (12" pistol, S6 AP5) with a Voidblade (S-user, Entropic Strike and Rending) give you the same chance of wounding T8 along with an extra attack (two one-handed weapons).

Extra pics:

Very cleverly disguised Wraithguard.

Coincidental theming with the gaming table and the Wraith bases.

Come on, Kobeh.

Pictured: Bug of the Match, Slayer of Wraithlords.