Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader - 21 September 2002

	We took the Eldar Craftworld Orken Baharr to this Rogue Trader, for a number of reasons, the largest being that despite being the first army we built, we had never used it in a tournament.
That having been said, this RT was a small point one - just 1500pts. This kind of small point value doesn't allow for a lot of core troops plus toys, and for better or worse we decided on toys. For instance we took 2x Warwalkers, each with twin scatter lasers.
	A Fire Prism! (this one drew a lot of attention, as apparently no one takes these)
and 0 (zero) Wraithlords!. For a complete roster, go here. For the future, here are our notes. We came in 18th of 35 players - winning one battle, and loosing two (although due to a very slow player, our second loss was in part due to the fact that we only got to turn 2 of 6 in two hours! with only 1500pts per side! In all likely hood we would have probably lost - but it would have been nice to have a full game!)For official results, see the DAKKA DAKKA STAT PAGE.
	As a general statement, I must admit that I am getting a little tired of all these cheesy armies (like the Black Templars.) I must say that any player that says the Wraithlord is unbalanced has never fought anything but vanilla marines.......quit your whining. I brought zero wraithlords in this roster and as I faced so much dairy product I should have brought two. Maybe next time I will.

Ok - now on to he battles.

Battle 1: A very bitter loss to the Imperial Guard. I had the good fortune of playing one of the best painted armies on the field, a Petorian Guard Company. It is frightening how much firepower this army put out, and my Eldar forces just could not handle all the incoming fire. This was my first go against the IG, and they are not to be underestimated.

Teamed with the fact that my shooting was horrible (I constantly glanced and penetrated his vehicles, but just as constantly rolled ones and twos on the battle chart!) This battle was doomed. (for more great pictures of this army, see the official DAKKA DAKKA event pictures!)

	A pre-battle press photo of my opponent.
	Another pre-battle press photo. It is always a joy to face a good looking army...
	Eldar forces base their defensive point on a hill top. Here, the two warwalkers, with their 4d6 scatter laser shots, are supported by a guardian defender squad, and the Farseer with guide...
	With a shriek the wave serpent crests a hill and unloads the storm guardians who shoot and assault these sentinels.
	Here comes trouble! The IG command Squad unloads...
	And a single flamer wipes out the entire guardian squad! Ouch!
	My opponent was good sport, and with the battle clearly going his way indulged me with a little one on one action. Here the Farseer Scarpian takes on his powerfist wielding Colonel, the duel belonging squarely to the Eldar.

Battle 2: Another first, this battle against a Tyranid host was a solid victory for the Eldar. In reality, the table and army selection for the Eldar was ideal for fighting Tyranids, what with all the scatter lasers we had brought. The Fire Prism also proved useful, hitting a lot, helping not only to kill a Carniflex, but wounding the Hive Tyrent as well. The Falcon also stepped up to the plate this game, killing three Tyranid warriors outright and forcing the rest to flee off the table in the first turn alone!.

	A chittering mass of omnivorous beasts arises across the battlefield.
	And facing them the brave Eldar are determined not to let this planet fall.
	Only storm guardians would think to attack Tyranids in hand to hand combat. By the end of this battle, between an excellent round of shooting and 3 turns of hand to hand combat, the nids were wiped out, but at a great cost!
	Eldar shooting had whittled down the enemy, but here the guardians prepare for the inevitable charge (they were wiped out). In the lower corner the Striking Scorpions were soon to demonstrate why they are the superior choice on the battlefield for hand to hand combat - counter charging and removing the Tyranid threat.

Battle 3 : Another loss, this one against the Black Templars. The mission did not favor us, and indeed, neither did our opponent. We are always hesitant to criticize another player, but the simple fact is that we only completed two of six turns in 2 hours of game time. This is not good - especially with only 1500pts a size. Not only did this annoy the heck out of us, but when combined with Black Templar cheese (There is this goofy vow that they can advance 2d6 before any other movement when Psychers are on the field) it was simply awful. We ended up being in hand to hand combat in the bottom of turn one! I had lost the warwalkers without even firing a shot, and the Prism only got to fire once (it did kill 4 marines and a rhino, though.) In truth we would have probably lost this one anyways, but it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to play it out!

	Trapped in a defensive pocket, the mobile Eldar prepare for the Mon-Keigh assault.
	This is the start of turn one! Despite having to start within 6 inches of the table edge, these black templars advanced and assaulted almost 20 inches in the first turn! Cry Cheese and unloose the dogs of War!
	By the second turn, the hand to hand assaults were well under way.
	and on the front of the mountain, our hapless scouts find themselves out numbered and in big trouble.

Thanks again to DAKKA DAKKA!