Blood Angels Vs Eldar II – Battle report.

 

Hello Reader.

 

And it’s time for another battle report here on the blog. We’ve recently published our first battle report in video here on the blog, but this time I’m getting back to the narrative style of reporting on games I normally use here, however, if you haven’t checked our video, please do check it our today and let me know which kind you prefer.

 

Today’s battle is another sequel to the battles I’ve been playing with my friends and trying to sew into a larger narrative campaign soon. It all began with the Black Templars Vs Blood Angels conflict that saw the Blood Angels stealing some sort of relic from the grasp of the Templars, and followed by the battle featuring the Black Templars Vs Imperial Guard , now known as the “Massacre of Thraxx where the Templars started their mad crusade to expunge their failure in securing the relic. There was a 3rd conflict featuring the Black Templars Vs The Legion of the Damned where the Black Templars continued their mad attempt to silence an entire planet, but word of their doing got out with the surviving Salamanders that escaped their wrath.

And that brings us to todays conflict which sheds some light onto the relic’s true nature as the Blood Angels try to counter the Eldar scouting the outskirts of Thraxx. The battle was played a couple of weeks ago between my own Eldar army and my friend Ton’s Blood Angels.

 

Here it is:

 

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Something felt incredibly wrong about their last orders, Eimon felt it in his bones as he bent over to fetch another butchered corpse. Brother Sergeant Cleon had assured them these orders came from Commander Dante himself, and to question them would be nothing short of heresy, so he carried on doing as he was told.

 

Thus Eimon and the rest of the Blood Angels’ detachment under the command of Librarian Theocles continued their grisly work of rounding up the bodies of the victims of the “Massacre of Thraxx” as the battle between the Black Templars and the Imperial Guard on the city had been named. Thousands had died there, and the casualties weren’t only from the ranks of the Imperial Guard. The populace of the ruined city had also been put to the sword by the Templars, every single living being on the hive killed by the very Space Marines they thought were there to deliver them from the forces of Chaos.

 

It was difficult to see the point of this assignment. They were Astartes of the Blood Angels, suited to wage war in the name of the Emperor, to fight the enemies of the Imperium delivering retribution and vengeance with bolter fire and sword, not to cart bodies to some grotesque obelisk left behind by Chaos cultists. If something felt heretical here it was the very work they were doing thought Eimon, not for the last time, while he tossed another corpse into the wheeled mechanic contraption that ferried the corpses to the obelisk.

 

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Seeing that the men would carry on their assigned orders, Sergeant Cleon left them to their chores and started the long walk toward the ruined Administratum building the Librarian had claimed for his command centre. Not much of the city was left after it was bombarded in sequence by the Word Bearers, the Imperial Guard and the Black Templars, however the Administratum office building had remained largely unscathed and the techmarines that accompanied the Blood Angels task force in the system had performed an admirable job in reinforcing what was left.

 

The automated Tarantula sentry guns that guarded the perimeter trained their weapons on the approaching Space Marine, until the augury devices in each machine recognized him as a Blood Angel and resumed their target acquiring routines

 

He found Brother Librarian Theocles in his control centre surveying the work of the Space Marines in the distance through a reinforced plasteel window. He toyed with a large crystal shard of oily appearance in his left hand, atop the metallic table laid discarded a stasis containment field with the markings of the holy Inquisition, the very thing they had taken from the Black Templars some weeks ago.

 

“ – Ah, Sergeant” said the Librarian “You’re here at last. How goes the task I’ve set you to?”

 

“ – The men are doing as ordered sire, tough they fail to see the point of it, as I do”.

 

“ – Really?” the Librarian sounded amused “Fetch your men then. I’ve had word from the scout companies, they report some activity of an Eldar foraging party in the outskirts of Thraxx. Perhaps fighting the Xenos will be a more pleasant task to you and your men”.

 

“ – Who will have command on the field sir” asked the sergeant.

 

“ – I will” replied the Librarian while storing the crystal shard in a pouch hanging from a delicate silver chain on his belt.

 

The Space Marine sergeant had a quick glimpse of the crystal shard as it was put away inside the pouch and he could swear he’d just seen ghostly screaming faces swirling inside the oily surface of the crystal. Shaking thouse thoughts away he saluted and left the room to round up his men.

 

Left alone, the Librarian resumed his watch over the work the Blood Angels performed in the ruins below. He was grinning in anticipation.

 

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Aerial view of the battlefield.

 

Different angle.

 

A ruined building has been fortified in the outskirts of Thraxx.

 

Even the Ultramarines felt the wrath of the Black Templars.

 

The Blood Angels force arrives on the battlefield ready to counter the Eldar’s advance.

 

The central bunker is occupied by a Dreadnought.

 

Meanwhile the Eldar scouting forces take positions.

 

Refusing one of the flanks the Eldar occupy a corner of the battlefield.

 

One of the Rhino transports.

 

The Dreadnought ready to unleash a hail of Autocannon shots into the Eldar.

 

The second Rhino.

 

The Eldar Guardians occupy the ruins of an old cathedral.

 

Another unit of Guardians prepare themselves to advance into the fortified ruins.

 

The Blood Angels initiate hostilities openinf fire with the Dreadnought. It immobilized the Eldar Falcon turning it into a wreck before it fired a single shot. The Rhinos advance towards the Eldar positions.

 

The Predator starts pouring Lascannon fire into the Eldar positions.

 

Having lost his transport, the Farseer disembarks from the wrecked Falcon.

 

The Blood Angels prepare their advance.

 

The Eldar forces on foot start advancing towards the safety provided by the fortified ruins, firing some shots from its weapons mounted on grav-platforms to no effect.

 

The Wraithlords leave the meagre cover provided by the small bunker…

 

… clearly intent on hunting down the enemey Dreadnought.

 

Harnessing the energies of the warp the Farseer manages to conjure psychic energies to protect the Dire Avengers.

 

The end of the Eldar’s advance this turn.

 

The Predator lost a hull point to Bright Lance fire.

 

Hostilities began anew, but the Dreadnought had already been rattled by the Wraithlords’ combined fire (losing two hull points).

 

The first Blood Angel assault unit, led by Sergeant Cleon, disembarks ready to advance.

 

The Rhino with Brother Librarian Theocles and his accompanying squad approaches as well.

 

“Ready your weapons brothers!”

 

“We’ll cover your advance Sergeant Cleon” came the Librarian’s voice over the comms feed.

 

The Rhino with the Librarian gave up their shots and sped into the hill…

 

… surprising the Eldar before they could make into the safety of the ruins.

 

The second Rhino moves as well…

 

… giving Cleon and his men some room to move.

 

The Eldar lost some men to Bolter shots from the Blood Angels.

 

The Wraithlords also find themselves under fire.

 

The Autocannons’ punishing fire exacts a heavy toll on the poorly armoured Eldar.

 

Having survived the pummeling from the previous turn, the Eldar prepare to mount a counter-offensive.

 

The Eldar occupy the ruined fortifications.

 

The Wraithlords continue their advance…

 

… and manage to blow apart the Blood Angel Dreadnought.

 

The Guardians and Dire Avengers try to eliminate one of the Rhinos, but manage little other than scratching the transport’s paintjob.

 

The second Assault Squad disembarks from their Rhino accompanied by the Librarian.

 

Taking advantage of the distraction provided by their brethren Squad Cleon advances towards the ruins.

 

The advance starts shaping up, the second Rhino advances to cover the Space Marines from the Wraithlord’s fire.

 

The combined fire of the Blood Angels almost wipes out one of the Guardian squads.

 

The surviving Eldar prepare to deliver a, opefully, crippling blow to the Blood Angels’ advance.

 

The sole surviving Guardian fires the Bright Lance at the Rhino but misses.

 

The Blood Angels make good use of cover to block line of sight.

 

Having dealt with the enemy Dreadnought the Wraithlords were freed to help the rest of the Eldar force.

 

The Dire Avengers and the other Guardian squad vent their anger on the newly disembarked Space Marines.

 

The Wraithlords rush to the rescue.

 

Four Blood Angels perish to the accurate shuriken fire.

 

Shots from the Wraithlords had already damaged the closest Rhino, but one of them charges it…

 

… taking away the last hull point and destroying it in a huge explosion. Sensing the dire peril he was in Brtoher Librarian Theocles started fumbling inside a pouch on his belt.

 

The Blood Angels from squad Cleon advance into the ruins.

 

The second squad of Assault Marines, undaunted by their losses pushes forward.

 

Brother Librarian Theocles accompanied the Space Marines moving away from the Wraithlord, he already had a crystal shard of some sort grasped firmly in his hands.

 

The Predator wasted no time and fired against the unsuspecting Wraithlord…

 

… obliterating it from existance.

 

Squad Cleon charged into the Dire Avengers…

 

… the Dire Avenger Exarch challenged Brother Sergeant Cleon…

 

… while the last of the Dire Avengers faced the fury of the Blood Angels.

 

The more agiler Exarch made short work of the Space Marine Sergeant…

 

… while the combat between Space Marines and Dire Avengers issued a casualty for each side. The Eldar won the combat by 1 wound but the Space Marines held their ground.

 

The second squad of Assault Marines prepared their charge, while suddenly Brother Librarian Thecles separated himself from their unit, plunging the crystal shard he held deep into his chest, the crystal going through the ceramite armor as easily as a heated knife through wax…

 

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! He screamed as his flesh was ripped apart giving way to a warp spawned monstrosity, a Bloodthirster daemon.

 

The daemon charged the Guardian squad nearby…

 

… the Guardians could only watch incredously as they were ripped apart by the warp entity…

 

… the entire unit being decimated by axe and whip.

 

The rest of the Space Marines charged into the Dire Avengers.

 

The combined assault made short work of the Eldar.

 

The surviving Wraithlord fired against the Predator, destroying it in a powerful explosion, as the reactors that powered the Lascannons cooked-off.

 

The only surviving Eldar surveys the destruction on the battlefield…

 

… as the daemon turned into the Space Marines.

 

Not understanding what had just transpired, the surviving Space Marines fire against the daemon…

 

… bullets unable to penetrate his armor. The Bloodthirster resumed the carnage on the battlefield…

 

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The vey ground fumed and crumbled in revulsion as the daemon took steps toward the sergeant that crawled on the floor. Eimon contemplated how reality itself seemed to resist and repel the warp spawned creature, before unloading a fresh clip from his Boltgun at the approaching creature.

 

The daemon laughed maniacally as each projectile ricocheted from his armor and skin, it flicked his wrist quickly making the barbed whip he carried on his left hand hit the Space Marine behind his legs, flipping the Blood Angel into the air as he pulled the whip back, only to hit it mid-fall a split second latter with his two headed axe.

 

The severed torso of the Space Marine fell with a wet thud on the ground next to Brother Sergeant Cleon as he turned with difficulty to face the daemon. He was the last surviving Blood Angel on the field and that wouldn’t last long.

 

The sergeant crossed his hands over his chest in the sign of the Aquila right muttering “The Emperor protects” a moment before the daemon tore off his head.

 

“SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!” roared the daemon over the devastated battle ground, before unfurling his mighty wings and lauching itself in the air, heading in the direction of the ruined city of Thraxx.

 

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And I guess that’s it for today guys. Hope you have enjoyed it, and if you could spare a moment to let me know whether you prefer this style of battle reporting over the video one, commenting on this article.

 

Over and out.

 

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Salve Leitor.

 

O post de hoje é a versão em inglês de um battle report sobre uma batalha disputada entre os meus Eldar e os Blood Angels do Ton. Como de costume amanhã sai a versão em português.

 

Grande abraço e até amanhã.

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