Ynnari vs Grey Knights
The Hammers of Titan descended swiftly and in force. Teleportariums blazed to life, sending silver-armoured Terminators to the planet surface from their Battle Barge hovering in high orbit above the battlezone. Already the Grey Knights were in the depths of the battle, Storm Bolters ripping through the jungle, taking bites out of the wildlife.
But it was not the forces of Chaos they were fighting today.
They had been dispatched following distress hymnals sent out by an Imperial ship travelling through the sector. They had been plagued with malfunctions for weeks, ever since they entered its extremities. The Tech-Priests had done their best to keep the ship from flying itself apart, but every time they found one problem and dealt with it, a new one would spring to life to replace it.
Finally, following an almost complete shut down of the drive system, the commanding officer gave the order that the ship was to make orbit of the nearest planet available to them. There, he hoped, they would be able to mine the materials necessary to make repairs before moving on. Fearing Daemonic forces had fallen upon his ship, he sent for aid, and the Adeptus Astartes responded like lightning.
Only when they arrived, the ship was dead. Its crew was gone. Its engines had fallen silent, this time forever. The ship would remain in orbit for a thousand years, and then fall to its final death.
The Grand Master gave the order for the ship to be retrieved, that was when the scanners detected Xenos activity on the planet surface. There were Harlequins present, and they had stolen the ship’s AI core. The force was small, but they had made quick work of the unarmed Imperial ship and its crew. The Hammers of Titan, however, would not be so easily dispatched.
They fell from the sky like iron, striking hard and fast at the Harlequin raiding party. With Bolters and Flamers they pushed deeper into the heart of the jungle to deliver the Emperor’s Justice upon those who would despoil His property and His people.
They did not know they were merely fighting shadows, and that the true Harlequins were lying in wait, setting the perfect trap. It wasn’t the Imperial ship they were after; their prize was going to be much, much bigger. Perhaps they would have the last laugh, or perhaps they had underestimated their enemy this day.
Mission: No Mercy
Points: 1750
Deployment: Hammer & Anvil
++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium – Grey Knights) ++
+ HQ +
Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight: 4: First to the Fray, Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword, Sanctuary, Warlord
Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight: Dreadfist, Dreadknight teleporter, Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Nemesis Greatsword, Sanctuary
Lord Kaldor Draigo: Gate of Infinity
+ Troops +
Strike Squad
. 4x Grey Knight (Sword): 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar: Nemesis Force Sword, Storm bolter
Strike Squad: Gate of Infinity
. 4x Grey Knight (Halberd): 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar: Nemesis Force Halberd, Storm bolter
Strike Squad
. 4x Grey Knight (Falchions): 4x Storm Bolter
. Grey Knight Justicar: Storm bolter, Two Nemesis Falchions
Terminator Squad: Gate of Infinity
. Grey Knight Terminator Justicar: Nemesis Daemon Hammer, Storm bolter
. 2x Terminator (Falchions): 2x Storm Bolter
. 3x Terminator (Halberd): 3x Storm Bolter
. Terminator (Psilencer): Nemesis Force Halberd, Psilencer (Terminator)
+ Elites +
Brotherhood Ancient: Astral Aim, Banner of Refining Flame, Storm bolter
+ Dedicated Transport +
Razorback: Twin Assault Cannon
Razorback: Twin Assault Cannon
Razorback: Twin Assault Cannon
++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari – Ynnari) ++
+ HQ +
Yvraine: 3. Tenacious Survivor, Ancestors’ Grace, Word of the Phoenix, Ynnari Warlord
Masque Form: Ynnari
+ HQ +
Shadowseer: Fog of Dreams, Shuriken Pistol, Twilight Pathways
Troupe Master: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Blade
+ Troops +
Troupe
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
Troupe
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
Troupe
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Fusion Pistol, Harlequin’s Caress
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
. Player: Harlequin’s Caress, Shuriken Pistol
+ Elites +
Death Jester
+ Heavy Support +
Voidweaver: Prismatic Cannon, 2x Shuriken Cannon
+ Dedicated Transport +
Starweaver: 2x Shuriken Cannon
Starweaver: 2x Shuriken Cannon
Starweaver: 2x Shuriken Cannon
+ Fast Attack +
Skyweavers
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
Skyweavers
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
Skyweavers
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
. Skyweaver: Haywire Cannon, Zephyrglaive
Julian begins his turn by moving all of his units up the battlefield. His objective early on is to establish pressure to the few Grey Knight units on the board, as removing them at this stage will increase his chances of success later on. Leading with the Skyweavers, he moves them into threat range of their Haywire Cannons, as each Skyweaver gets D6 shots, which could be absolutely devastating if Julian manages to get some good dice rolls.
As the Skyweavers begin to jet through the battlefield towards the enemy, the diamond patterns that adorn the jetbike hulls begin to flicker, giving off the illusion that the jetbikes are moving in random patterns. Julian spends 1 Command Point to use the Prismatic Blur Stratagem on the unit of Skyweavers, giving them a 3+ Invulnerable Save due to them having advanced. This will be key in allowing them to survive longer, as they are given one of the best saves in the game simply at the cost of 1 Command Point.
The Yvraine strides gracefully forwards along with her Troupe, as the Harlequins nearby her leap and pounce throughout the battlefield, making it impossible for the enemy to target them accurately. With this, she begins to channel her psychic powers. Her gown begins to glow vibrantly in tones of blue and purple alike, scintillating onto the nearby shrubbery as she does so. With an expert grasp of her psychic prowess, she begins to bestow her powers to those around her. Julian begins by casting Ancestors’ Grace on the nearest unit of Skyweavers, giving them re-rolls to hit of 1’s. However, despite the tremendous skill of the Yvraine, the knowing that Grey Knights are nearby unsettle the Psyker, as Julian fails to cast Word of the Phoenix initially, prompting him to spend 1 Command Point to re-roll a die, which allows him to pass. Word of the Phoenix allows a unit of the player’s choice to make a Soulburst action if they have not already done so this turn, with Soulburst allowing a unit to perform one of multiple actions. In this case, Julian chooses to shoot with the unit of Skyweavers, an incredibly good choice considering the buffs that are on them at this moment in time and how powerful they already are.
The Skyweavers begin their first barrage of shots, with Julian managing to get a tremendous amount of shots into the first Razorback. With the help of re-rolls for 1’s, the Skyweavers hit their mark accurately, as Julian delivers a flurry of normal wounds and Mortal Wounds alike. Pardo chooses to spend 1 Command Point on the Truesilver Armour Stratagem, allowing the Razorback to ignore Mortal Wounds on the roll of a 5+. However, despite this attempt by Pardo to keep the Razorback alive, it is a wasted effort, with the transport vehicle falling to a cascade of Haywire Cannon shots, dealing far too many Mortal Wounds for Pardo to be able to save. As a consolation victory for Pardo, no Grey Knights from inside the vehicle are killed, but that is still First Strike secured by Julian and his Harlequins. What is also important to note is that this was done with a Soulburst action during the Psychic Phase, meaning that they can still fire when it comes to the Shooting Phase, brutal!
With the explosion of the first Razorback alerting the Grey Knights to the location of the first unit of Skyweavers, the Harlequins look to fire on all cylinders, and begin their assault on the unassuming Astartes. From all angles, the Harlequins fire frantically, landing well-placed shots throughout the enemy forces without fail. The Voidweaver fires into the middle Razorback, but some unfortunate rolling from Julian this time around sees him only dealing 3 wounds to the vehicle, as the Prismatic Cannon fails to penetrate the thick ceramite plating on the transport vehicle.
After having just finished Soulbursting, the Skyweaver unit presses onwards, firing now in the Shooting Phase at the recently damaged Razorback. This time around, Julian is a little less lucky with the volume of shots, only getting around half of what he got last time, however this did not dissuade him. He manages to roll a hefty number of Wounds and Mortal Wounds onto the Razorback, with Pardo once more spending a Command Point on the Truesilver Armour Stratagem. Some incredible rolling from Pardo sees the Razorback survive the punishing fire on just 1 wound remaining, a huge disappointment for Julian, with Pardo letting out a sigh of relief momentarily. Julian then responds by spending 1 Command Point of his own for the Fire & Fade Stratagem, allowing him to move a unit that has just fired 7″, with Julian choosing to move them backwards and out of harm’s reach.
With but a moment of brief respite, the Grey Knight Razorback trundles into place, having sustained damage beyond repair at this moment in time. However as stated, the break was indeed minuscule, with perhaps a space of around one second where the Grey Knights could count their blessings, before they were put under heavy fire once more. The Starweaver transports all fire their Shuriken Cannons into the heavily damaged Razorback, looking to remove the final wound from it. Some very average dice rolls from Julian sees him comfortably meeting the mark, managing to remove a second transport from the battlefield. To his dismay, the vehicle once more does not explode, anf the Grey Knights aboard are unscathed. To finish off a relatively successful Shooting Phase for the Harlequins, the other unit of Skyweavers shoot at the last Razorback. With only 3 of them in range to fire however, Julian is not quite able to remove the final transport, leaving it on 4 wounds. And with that, we move over to Pardo’s Turn 1!
Having lost a hefty amount of his transports, Pardo is forced to foot-slog his forces up the battlefield. Plodding through the dense jungle terrain is no simple task, as simply navigating through areas that show no signs of differentiation prove difficult for the Grey Knights. They finally emerge from the thick forest, and begin to obscure themselves from the Aeldari forces as best they can, whilst ensuring they are in range to fire in retaliation in the coming Shooting Phase. Pardo needs to deal as much damage as possible in his turn, unless he fancies taking another brutal turn of shooting from a fresh Harlequin force.
Orchestrating the move towards the Aeldari, Kaldor Draigo resides near the entirety of the currently deployed army, imbuing all of his Battle Brothers with righteous zeal. This allows for all of the units to benefit from the re-rolls to hit, increasing Pardo’s chances of success dramatically. The unit of Grey Knights in the forefront cast Hammerhand on the Nemesis Force Sword unit, granting them a +1 to all of their wound rolls, just in case they get assaulted in the coming turn. Unfortunately for Pardo, all of his Smites are out of range this turn, meaning he needs to wait for the enemy to get closer before he can begin firing off all of the tools in his psychic arsenal.
All of the Grey Knights that are currently present fire into the closest unit of Skyweavers. A heavy hail of lead flies in the direction of the frail Jetbikes, as it peppers them violently in repeated fashion. Re-rolls to hit from Draigo means that 2 of the Skyweavers fall from the shooting in total, not bad! The Razorback then tries its luck against the closest Starweaver, however this is far less fruitful, as some bad rolling from Pardo sees just 2 wounds being dealt to the transport.
Coming back to the Aeldari, and their Turn 2, the Yvraine orders a nearby unit of Harlequin Players to protect her. Without question, the Players surround the Warlord fervently, each of them prepared to give their life for the High Priestess of the Whispering God. They continue to move up along the battlefield, closing the gap between themselves and the enemy.
The Harlequins hover in the general vicinity of the middle of the battlefield, still ensuring to keep a safe difference from the Grey Knights. Despite the good close combat capabilities of the Harlequins, it would be much more beneficial to soften up the Grey Knights beforehand, allowing him to finish them off in combat after.
In the exact same fashion as the previous turn, the Yvraine casts the same two psychic powers on the big unit of Skyweavers; Ancestors’ Grace and Word of the Phoenix. Allowing a unit to Soulburst in the Psychic Phase is an awesome addition to the army, as it provides yet another avenue for a shooty list such as this one to get more shots in before the Shooting Phase even begins.
And with the Soulburst activated once more, the large unit of Skyweavers fire at the final Razorback. Another torrent of Haywire fire goes directly into the hull of the transport vehicle, which sees the final Razorback fall to the Harlequins. This now means that all of Pardo’s forces have to walk up the battlefield, allowing Julian to keep himself at a safe distance for the majority of the battle.
Julian then begins targeting the Strike Squads, knowing that they are the next most threatening units on the board for Pardo, as each unit can put out a large amount of attacks as well as lay down good shooting beforehand. With this in mind, he begins splitting up his shooting, with the remaining Skyweavers targeting one unit of them, managing to remove them entirely from the board. Following up, the Starweavers all fire their Shuriken Cannons at another unit of Grey Knights, which sees all of them slain too in one swift round. This is not looking great for Pardo so far.
With non-stop relentlessness and wave after wave of shooting, the large unit of Skyweavers now fire as well, removing some of the third and final Strike Squad unit that Pardo has. Immediately after, Julian spends 1 Command Point to use the Fire & Fade Stratagem once again, allowing him to move himself again into safety. This Fire & Fade is far more important than the one last turn, as this turn Pardo will be looking to bring in his reserves, which contain a huge bulk of his force, including some of his more powerful units.
Just as the Grey Knights face demise, the clouds part, and from them, their much needed reinforcements arrive onto the battlefield. With the locations set to the Grey Knight Terminator pilots, the Dreadknight Teleporter allows them to swiftly enter the battlefield, as they arrive in a thundering crash, parting the very ground they land on. Two Dreadknights enter the fray side by side! Just what Pardo needed.
As the Dreadknights move into position, the Harlequins quickly turn their attention to the hulking walkers. This allows the Grey Knights to relay in more reinforcements, this time in the form of a 7-man Terminator Squad. They arrive onto the battlefield in similar fashion, via Teleport Strike, the presence of these heavily clad warriors inspires the few that fill the ranks of the Grey Knights on the battlefield. This is the first time Pardo runs one large unit of Terminators, so it will be interesting to see how well it does.
As the newly arrived retinue of Psykers flood the battlefield, the Harlequins become weary of the now looming presence. They all begin channeling their power simultaneously, with bolts of pure psychic energy being flung in the direction of the Harlequins. The closest unit of Skyweavers suffer 2 wounds, not quite enough to kill off any of them. However, the Nemesis Dreadknight then casts Sanctuary on itself, giving itself a +1 to it’s Invulnerable Save, making it a 3+ now.
And finally, the Grey Knights are able to retaliate accordingly. The Dreadknights begin the Shooting Phase, as one of them targets the large unit of Skyweavers. An incoming torrent of Psycannon and Gatling Psilencer fire alerts the Skyweavers to the attack, as they fire off their Mirage Launchers in an attempt to evade the attack. Between the Mirage Launchers and the fact that the Dreadknight is firing Heavy Weapons, the Grand Master is hitting on 4+. This is made even worse as Julian opts to spend 2 Command Points on the Lightning-Fast Reactions Stratagem on the Skyweavers, making any units attempting to hit them, to do so at a further -1, bringing the Grand Master to 5+ to hit. In order to counteract this, Pardo spends 2 Command Points of his own on the Psychic Onslaught Stratagem, increasing both the Strength and AP of the Heavy Psycannon and Gatling Psilencer by 1. Due to this trade-off that Pardo is able to make, he sees a total of 4 Skyweavers removed from play with the shooting, not bad! Not bad at all….
A combination of Bolter Fire, and Psilencer fire is shot into the final Skyweaver from the large unit. Despite the pilots best attempts to evade all of the incoming fire, one sole rider is not able to outmaneuver the large volley of shots from such a close range, resulting in it being removed. That is one key threat out of the way for Pardo, and he still has the Assault Phase left. Unfortunately, both of the Dreadknights fail to make their charges, even at the expense of a Rerolls from the Warlord trait! Finally, the Terminators look to charge into the Starweaver which was wounded earlier, but also fail to do so. The Starweaver then fires Overwatch, but does not manage to deal any damage, as the Shuriken weaponry cannot penetrate the thick carapace which encases the Terminators.
At the bottom of Turn 2, the score currently sits at 6-1 in Julian’s favour. This is not looking good at all for Pardo, but he has a feeling that he can somehow make a comeback into the game if he manages to get a couple of things going in his favour in the next turn.
With the turn bouncing back to Julian and the Aeldari, we get a movement overview of the battlefield. The final remaining one wound Skyweaver from the unit of 3 falls back all the way into the ruins, keeping itself safe and denying Pardo an easy kill point. Meanwhile, the fresh 3-man unit of Skyweavers move forwards towards one of the Nemesis Dreadknights, supported by the damaged Skyweaver. At the same time, the Yvraine moved up ever so slightly, hoping to be able to cast all psychic powers to any of the units that Julian might feel necessary to cast it onto.
Once more, the Yvraine proves her usefulness and contribution to the battle, by providing the fresh 3-man unit of Skyweavers with both the Ancestors’ Grace and Word of the Phoenix Psychic powers, allowing them to once more Soulburst, but more importantly, now that they are within close proximity, to benefit from the re-rolls to hit of 1’s in combat if they so wish to jump in. Whilst she has not managed to get into combat herself, the tremendous value of allowing a unit to Soulburst each turn makes her worth her points in pretty much any list. Buffing a unit such as the Skyweavers means that you essentially get two turns of shooting with one potent unit, which can spell disaster for your enemies most of the time.
All of the Skyweavers target the closest Nemesis Dreadknight, that one being the Warlord of the entire force. Due to the Dreadknight being categorised as a vehicle, Pardo is in for a world of hurt, one where not even a 3+ Invulnerable Save is helpful. With a full round of Soulburst AND actual shooting, the Skyweavers launch a seemingly endless cacophony of Haywire shots at the Dreadknight, the pure violence launched with each round pounding into the armour of the walker, knocking it backwards over and over again, as the Haywire components begin to short-circuit various parts of the Dreadknight, leaving the suit a huge, immobile statue for the most part. Luckily for Steven, the Dreadknight is not removed from the battle just yet, as it survives with 1 measly wound left. These Haywire Cannons are no joke; the ability to essentially deal straight Mortal Wounds against armoured units makes them incredibly useful. A good turn of rolling can easily see them taking down an Imperial Knight. With that being said, they are a relatively large point sink, but definitely worth it if you need to crack through armour.
Frustrated that the Nemesis Dreadknight did not fall between both the Soulburst and the Shooting Phase, the Skyweavers jolt from their stationary position into the Warlord. They zoom in and out of formation in an attempt to confuse the enemy, as they duck and dodge through the trees, using the terrain to their advantage as much as they possibly can before reaching combat. However, the Grand Master keeps his cool, as he estimates the whereabouts of the Harlequins, before unleashing one final spray of ammunition in the Overwatch. The rounds of both the Heavy Psycannon and the Gatling Psilencer tear through the trees with ease, blasting apart the landscape. As the dust settles and the now toppled trees finish falling onto the ground, a clear path is carved, and it is quiet. The remnants of one Skyweaver are seen lodged into a nearby tree, the front half concave into itself. The Grand Master takes a moment of respite, believing that all of the Skyweavers are slain. However this rest is cut short, as the sound of a jet engine begins to roar exponentially. One Skyweaver remains, flying directly towards the Warlord. The pilot continues to forge ahead, before turning off to the left, making a large sweep around the battlefield, before veering right again. In the meanwhile, the pillion rider launches himself from the back of the jetbike, holding the Zephyrglaive in both hands and driving it right through the throat of the Grand Master himself, as the Harlequin lands on the Dreadknight. The massive structure begins to topple backwards, with the Harlequin driving the Zephyrglaive as deeply as possible, before toppling the giant walker. Julian manages to kill off the Dreadknight, getting him 1 Victory Point. However, there was a price to pay; that being 2 of his precious Skyweavers.
Wanting to tie up the second Nemesis Dreadknight in combat so that it cannot fire next turn, Julian looks to charge the Starweaver into it, in hopes that it would be able to survive at least one round of combat with a Dreadknight. His wishes however, do not come true, as Pardo manages to roll yet another awesome Overwatch, with the Nemesis Dreadknight laying waste to the Starweaver before it even managed to get into combat with him. What an incredible Overwatch for Pardo honestly. After this, Julian has nothing more to do this turn, so it goes back over to Pardo, with the score now being 7-3, still in Julian’s favour.
Looking to make up some lost ground from the previous turns, the Grey Knight Terminators all march ahead, accompanied by Lord Kaldor Draigo, a Brotherhood Ancient, and what remains of the final Strike Squad. Knowing that he does not have all that much left on the battlefield, Pardo opts to mobilize his small force together, allowing him to focus down individual aspects of Julian’s army at each time.
The large bubble of Grey Knight Terminators enter the Psychic Phase, as the Grand Master casts Sanctuary on them, bringing the unit to a 4+ Invulnerable Save. Imbued with the holy might of the God Emperor Himself, the Terminators prepare to assault into what is left of the frontlines of the Xenos force, before cutting deeply through their ranks until reaching the dreaded High Priestess herself; the Yvraine.
Understanding the dire situation, the Brotherhood Ancient nominates himself to aid the cause. He communicates his wishes to the Terminator Squad to be sent directly into the Harlequin back line. Unwillingly, but understanding that it is for a just cause, the Terminator Squad use their psychic power to open up the Gate of Infinity. Within a moment of hesitation, the Brotherhood Ancient steps into it. Swirling through the nothingness of the Warp, the Brotherhood Ancient waits for the perfect moment to reemerge from the deep abyss, finally picking the perfect location. Pardo in this situation is simply thinking of gaining points wherever possible. He attempts to do this to pick up Linebreaker at the end of the game, whilst also giving him close proximity to the wounded Skyweaver, as he looks to clear it out and grab himself another Victory Point. With the wrist-mounted Storm Bolter, the Brotherhood Ancient fires two well placed shots, which travel directly through the head of the Skyweaver, dropping the pilot to the ground instantly. This alerts the rest of the Aeldari of the Ancient’s location, as he hopes that he will be able to weather the storm, until his Battle Brothers come to his aid. Pardo is slowly managing to turn this around!
On its last whims after seeing the fall of his beloved Battle Brother and Warlord, the second Grand Master fires both ranged weapons at the Harlequin Troupe which evacuated the recently destroyed Starweaver. The unassuming Troupe manage to gather their bearings, before being abruptly disrupted by a barrage of Psychic ammunition. The combined fire of both weapons are more than enough to kill off the frail unit of Players, clearing out yet another unit from the battlefield. Following up directly after, the Grand Master pilots his Nemesis Dreadknight directly into yet another Starweaver, as a clean shoulder barge into it knocks it off balance, with the Starweaver attempting to regain its balance. It has very little time to gather itself, before the Grand Master drives his Nemesis Greatsword through the entire hull, wrenching it out with a violent tug, sending scrap heaps which were once working parts of the transport vehicle scattering all over the vicinity. Yet another unit removed from the board and another point picked up by Pardo!
A Starweaver moves around the battlefield, attempting to lay suppressive fire down on the Terminators, as they close the gap between themselves and the Voidweaver in the background. They press the attack, firing their Storm Bolters whilst running into combat, dealing 2 wounds in the Shooting Phase. However, once they reach combat, the Terminators prove how powerful they truly are in a large unit, getting a wide variety of attacks with their weapons, they manage to remove the Heavy Support choice from the Harlequins. In a phenomenal turn of events, Pardo has managed to bring the score back around, as we now sit at 7-7!
With the Troupe now out of the most recently destroyed Starweaver, they begin by moving themselves up towards the Nemesis Dreadknight, followed closely by the Yvraine, as she prepares to sink her teeth into the foe. She channels her psychic energy once more, casting a Smite at the Dreadknight and dealing a massive 6 wounds to it. She then casts Word of the Phoenix on the Troupe, however the Grand Master intercepts the psychic relay, denying the cast of the spell on the roll of a 9. Coming into the Shooting Phase, the Troupe fire their Fusion Pistols at the Dreadknight, hoping to finally kill it off. Some unfortunate rolling from Julian sees him only removing 4 wounds from the huge walker, leaving the Dreadknight down at 2 wounds left!
In a coordinated assault, the Starweaver charges into the Dreadknight first, in order to shield the rest of the Harlequins from the Overwatch. Hoping that it does not suffer the same fate as the previous one, the pilot reluctantly flies in, making into combat successfully. This allows the Harlequin Troupe to charge in too, as they look to remove the final 2 wounds. The Harlequins jump about the area, disorienting the Grand Master as much as possible. When they find the opportune moment, the Players begin to launch themselves towards the walker. The Grand Master expertly pilots the Nemesis Dreadknight, using the flat side of the Nemesis Greatsword to deflect the incoming strikes from the Harlequins. No damage is dealt to the Grand Master, as all of the Harlequins fail to wound! However Pardo is no luckier, with the Grand Master failing to deal any damage himself either, with some great Invulnerable Save rolling from both sides.
As the Grey Knights inch themselves closer and closer to victory with each passing turn, they continue to press on, clearing out as many units as possible, before turning back eventually to aid the Grand Master. However, knowing that Kaldor Draigo and the few Grey Knights that still stand are still near enough to help, the Terminators continue to make their way to help get the Brotherhood Ancient out of the enemy lines safely. Sanctuary is once more cast onto this unit in similar fashion to last turn.
Kaldor Draigo, who has been somewhat of a lacking piece throughout this battle finally looks to join the fray too. A channel of his psychic power to cast Gates of Infinity is successful, only for it to be denied immediately. This is disheartening, but Pardo is then disappointed further as Draigo fails to make a 10 inch charge, which while optimistic, was needed. No other units are able to shoot at this point, as nothing is in range to do so, which takes us to the Fight Phase. The Dreadknight manages to clear out all of the Harlequins, which comes at a price yet again. The Nemesis Dreadknight is finally felled, as the Troupe Soulburst upon dying, managing to bring the second Dreadknight along with them. Who do you think came out winning in that one?
Noticing that Pardo has managed to catch up with him in Points, Julian opts to move the final Starweaver well away from the Grey Knight forces, picking up Linebreaker himself, as he notices that with the way that the game is going, it will certainly end incredibly close.
The Troupe Master notices the Grey Knight Chapter Master on his lonesome, picking him as a worthy target. He leaps and bounds effortlessly, as if floating through the air, with each step covering more ground than even the heavily augmented superhumans that are the Space Marines. The elegance and grace of the Troupe Master is unrivaled, as he closes in on Draigo, the two of them meeting at a deadlock.
Keeping herself at a relatively safe distance now that the Players are dead, she once more casts Smite, this time targeting Kaldor Draigo, as he is the nearest unit to her. A massive bolt of energy strikes the Chapter Master in the centre of the chest, melting through the armour to expose his bare flesh, now charred from the immense heat. The Smite manages to deal 5 Mortal Wounds, bringing him down to just 2 wounds in one go!
With the bolt of psychic energy staggering Draigo, the Troupe Master flies in immediately. Holding his sword with a reverse grip, the nimble Master closes the proximity with the Chapter Master, who throws a wild swing with the Titansword. He deftly dodges by ducking under the swipe of the blade, running his own sword across the exposed chest of Kaldor Draigo, the stinging of the Harlequin’s Blade revitalizing Draigo, as he returns another swing in the Troupe Master’s direction, slicing open the Harlequin’s chest. The Troupe Master manages to deal 1 more wound on Draigo, leaving him straggling on his very last one, whilst Draigo manages to deal 3 in retaliation.
The Terminators arrive to the locale where the Brotherhood Ancient should be, only to find him unscathed. He quickly tells the Terminators to return to the battlefield, as the Yvraine is still lurking throughout the jungle area. With this order, the Terminator Squad turn and make haste find the High Priestess. The close the gap after a long search, finally setting their sights on her.
Once they have her in their sights, they stalk their prey. Understanding that the death of the Yvraine means a complete victory, the Grey Knight Terminators begin to unleash a monstrous torrent of Storm Bolter Fire, accompanied by the Psilencer. They all hit their mark, with the hefty rounds from all of their ranged weaponry tearing through her flesh and clothing, leaving the Aeldari Warlord a bloody heap on the ground. Meanwhile, Draigo continues to fight with the Troupe Master. He throws his Storm Shield at the Troupe Master, the giant slab of metal slamming into the Harlequin’s chest violently, knocking him to the ground, which gives Kaldor Draigo enough time to pierce the chest of the Troupe Master with the Titansword. A few momentary twitches signal the death of the Harlequin, as he now lays motionless on the floor, akin to that of the Yvraine!
