Tactics: Saim-Hann Wave Serpent

I use my Wave Serpent in both a tank hunting role and as a troop transport for my assault troops (Storm Guardians). Armed with a twin-linked Brightlance and Spirit Stones it performs well and the energy field does a good job of keeping it alive- although I do wish you could upgrade it with Holo Fields.

With the Storm Guardians in the hold I usually use it to drop them off the claim an objective or to disembark with their two Fusion Guns to help with the tank hunting.

Keywords: Eldar, Tank, Falcon, Wave Serpent, Tactics

Saim-Hann Vs. New & Improved Chaos

1750 Take & Hold
Cityfight Terrain

My first Eldar match-up against the new Chaos Space Marine Codex. GW has changed everything for Chaos and they are even scarier then before- Thousand Sons with 4+ inv. Saves, and Inferno Bolts standard, Plague Marines with T 5 and Feel No Pain rolls, an entire squad of Chosen infiltrating all with Plasma Guns- this is what I was facing along with a Vindicator, Defiler, and Obliterators.

Deployed out of sight as usual (the board was great with LOS blocking terrain and since my army is all Jetbikes and Skimmers I could pretty much move around and over it at will) with the plan of taking out his troop laiden Rhinos with my Vypers hopefully killing a few inside and pinning the units inside for a turn. This way I pick up some quick victory points and then can concentrate my fire on other targets for the next turn.

Vypers Brightlanced his Vindicator stunning it as I took out two of my opponent’s Rhinos pinning the Plague Marines and Thousand Sons inside. Return fire stunned my Brightlance Vyper squad which quickly darted back behind cover.

Focused my Bladestormed Dire Avengers and my Star Cannon Vypers on his infiltrating chosen wiping them out as my other Brightlances dropped the Defiler. Chaos Terminators then deepstruck with the Obliterators taking the center of the board as the Plague Marines moved and took up position in some ruined buildings- a very smart tactical move since now they all got cover save against my Star Cannons and Brightlances.

Hoping to wipe out a units of Plague Marines in the open I moved one of my Jetbike squads and fired the Shuriken Catapults & Cannons taking down only two of them due to the high toughness and FNP roll. They responded by shooting and assaulting causing my Jetbikes to flee back and 3d6 off the board.

My second Jetbike group shot and killed his Terminators at close range before moving into the assault and taking down the lone survivor without any losses. As the last turn approached we both moved and shot to the center of the board with two of his units taking the center and four of mine + victory points with Saim-Hann taking a victorious slaughter.

Keywords: Saim-Hann, Eldar, Chaos, Battle Report

Saim Hann Vs. Tyranids

1850 Cleanse Omega

Facing 'Nids on an ice world my Saim-Hann squared off against a uber Gaunt army. My opponent's list was two groups of Warriors, three Zoranthropes, a Hive Tyrant, Carnifex and four groups of thirty two Gaunts. Saim-Hann represented with Jetbikes, Vypers, A Fire Prism, and a Wave Serpent with Storm Guardians, and Dire Avengers. Playing with escalation only my Dire Avengers started on the board while my opponent swarmed on with his Gaunts and Warriors.

Tactically I took the table corner that was divided by a deep ice river which made it difficult terrain to slow down their advance as I deployed my Dire Avengers all alone on a hill forward. My plan was to keep them out firing on the Gaunts- which I knew they had no chance of bringing down 50% for the victory points to draw in his hordes. Hoping for my Vypers and Fire Prism to come on the table I planned to ignore the Gaunts and take out all the synapse creatures. With them removed I would then mop up the Gaunts.


Tyranids took the first turn and advanced as my Dire Avengers were just out of the 18" range to fire back. Hitting them with a warp blast from the Zoranthrope a few fell but stood their ground. Rolling for my reserves my first Jetbike unit came on along with my Wave Serpent, two Vyper groups, and the Fire Prism. Keeping my Jetbikes behind a large ice hill the Vypers and tanks moeved out taking down the Zorenthropes with Star Cannnon, Shuriken Cannon, and Brightlance fire.


Swarming over the hill the first mass of Gaunts over-ran my Dire Avengers killing them in the assault as the Hive Tyrant fired its Venom Cannon on the Wave Serpent hitting, but failing to glance due to its energy shield reducing the strength of the attack. Rolling for the rest of my reserves my last Vyper unit didn't arrive as my second Jetbike group entered and turbo-boosted to the far side of the board behind a another large ice hill. Guiding my Vypers my Farseer on a Jetbike kept pace as my Fire Prism and first Vyper group wiped out the first unit of Warriors as my second Vyper unit wiped out the Hive Tyrant with Brightlance help from the Wave Serpent.


Fleeting the Gaunts contined to surge forward as they assaulted my first Jetbike unit with both sides failing to score any wounds. Venom Cannon fire from the Carnifex hit my Wave Serpent destroying it on the glance killing a few Storm Guardians inside and pinning the rest. I had wanted to get my Storm Guardians out before knowing the danger of keeping them inside, but there was just too many Gaunts all around for them not to be swarmed.


With the last of my Vypers arriving I took down the last of his Warriors and wounded his Carnifex as his Gaunts lost combat in the assault with my Jetbikes. Out of synapse they failed thier leadership and ran with my unit of Jetbikes pusuing and running down all 31 of them! Let none survive!


Visually with all the Tyranid models what appeared to be a hopless mission for the Eldar now turned as his Gaunts either stood around unable to do anything with no Hive Mind creatures on the board or they failed and ran. Bringing both of my Jetbike units around I tore into them with Shuriken firepower as my Fire Prism and Vypers laid down fire wiping out another two groups. Finishing the game at the end of turn 7 (random game length) my opponent only had one group of Gaunts left on his table corner as I had mine and controlled the other two for a victorious slaughter.



Keywords: Battle Report, Tyranids, Eldar

Saim-Hann Vs. Tau

1500 Cleanse

Rematch against B.'s Tau using our same 1500 point lists. Learning from the last game I was going to do my best to stay away from his Fire Warriors with my Vypers and again try to concentrate my fire with my Jetbikes and Vypers. Terrain was a blasted battlefield with lots of craters and demolished buildings with a trench network running down the center which was both good and bad for me. More ruined buildings meant more LOS blocking terrain for me, but the trenches meant his Fire Warriors would get a cover save against my Star Cannon fire if I strafed them with it.

Rolling for mission it came up Cleanse which was ok for me, but we rolled for escelation which meant all my units would be starting off the board since everything is either Jetbikes, vehicles, or mounted in a transport. For the Tau this was an advantage since only their Stealthsuits, Hammer Head tank, and XV8 suits would have to roll to come in. With nothing for me to deploy the Tau dug into the trenches with their Fire Warriors and Sniper units and moved forward pushing into my table corner by turn two- the only saving fact was that I won the dice roll to see who goes first and passed it off to the Tau so I would get last turn to hopefully clean up and contest and corners. Rolling for the rest of his reserves all Tau units came into play on the board.

On my turn for reserves everything came in except for my Wave Serpent with its Dire Avengers. Bringing my units onto the table they moved to get the glance and concentrated all their fire power into a unit XV8 suits and Stealthsuits. My Fire Prism hit both units and killed two Stealthsuits and wound on one of the XV8'. The first group of Vypers with Star Cannons and Shuriken Cannons failed to spot the Stealthsuits as the second group of Vypers tore into them completly wiping them out with Star and Shuriken Cannon Fire. My last group of Vypers hit the XV8's with Brightlance fire killing one more.

Opening up with Sniper, missile, and Rail Gun fire my Fire Prism was stunned, bikes wiped out, (I played them stupid going for the glory trying to kill a Sniper unit) the Wave Serpent had its T-linked Bright Lance destroyed (when it came on the table), and I lost a Vyper- thanks to the Holo-Fields again I suffered minimal losses with two Vypers being stunned. Boxed in pretty well I just isolated my fire on the suits and Snipers taking them down unit by unit moving out any stuned Vypers behind cover for a turn with the other out, moving, and shooting. Seeing a chance for some major vicotry points I moved my Wave Serpent ahead and dropped off my Dire Avengers who Bladestormed into the Tau commander (one of the speacial character suit guys) since he was hanging out behind another unit but was not joined to it. Even with the 3+ save and 4 wounds the Tau commander couldn't stand up to 30 Avenger Shuriken Catapult shots. Still boxed in I moved my Fire Prism out and hit the first group of his Fire Warriors with the dispersed Prism Cannon killing five as we traded shots back and forth. Moving into turn 7 since we rolled for another turn on the 4+ I kept my units hidden behind cover as best I could since both of us contested the opposite table corners. Ending the game it came down to victory points with the Eldar coming ahead and taking the field.

Keywords: Eldar, Tau, Battle Report

Tactics: Fire Prism

I have mixed feelings on the Fire Prism since it is really a one shot wonder which is very vulnerable to a “weapon destroyed” hit. Point wise it isn’t bad for a strong template or focused shot with 60” range and as a skimmer that means moving 6” should keep the tank around for a bit.

Tactically deployment is pretty straight forward- either off to the side and far away as possible with a long lane of fire, or in the center of the board way back ready to move to one side or the other based on how my opponent deployed. A 3+ to hit is pretty good but you only get one shot a turn, and upgrading the Shuriken Catapults to a Shuriken Cannon is a waste of points- the Fire Prism shouldn’t be within 24” of anything given the long range of the Prism Cannon.

Good against tanks and infantry the Fire Prism looks like an uber-weapon but it should be used to add to your fire support and not as the only fire support for your forces. Use it to add an extra punch to your Star Cannon Vypers or given it’s fast movement as a scoring unit to move in at the last turn to claim objectives.

Finally, another reason to take a Fire Prism- the big crystal on the model. To a non-Eldar player the think looks scary and even if they don’t know the AP or S of the shot it will draw their attention to the model when you shoot it- more “smoke” for your Vypers and Jetbikes.

Keywords: Eldar, Warhammer 40,000, Tactics, Fire Prism, Tank

Battle Report: Tau Vs. Saim-Hann

1500 Seek & Destroy Victory Points
Agri-World Terrain

Making the rounds around the club it was only a matter of time before I faced B. again. Long time player since Rogue Trader his Tau have been on a winning streak and it was time to face my Saim-Hann. With a few days to work up my list and come up with a plan I was anxious to play him since he destroyed my Necrons with his own Eldar last time we played, and as a fellow Eldar player there would be no surprises as he knew what my units could do.

Getting to the club a bit early we had a choice of two tables- a forge world theme and an agricultural themed world. Rolling the D6 we went with the agri-world which other then a medium sized building to the side was all light cover bushes with no hard or LOS blocking terrain. Curse the d6!

My list ran three groups of Vypers, one large Jetbike unit led by a Farseer, a Fire Prism, and Wave Serpent with Dire Avengers. The Tau fielded two groups of Fire Warriors, three Sniper Drone teams, a Hammer Head, two groups of XV8 Crisis Battlesuits, and a XV25 Stealthsuit Team. His army was painted top notch and even though I dislike Tau (so broken) they did look amazing on the table.

Deployment had the Tau setting up with the Sniper Drones set out at both ends and the center of the board. Fire Warriors and XV8’s were spread out in-between with the Hammer Head at the far end side of the table and infiltrated Stealthsuits as close as they could get to me behind the only building on the table.

No much I could deploy with my Vypers and Jetbikes in the center to try and draw him in before making the breakaway and with my Wave Serpent and Fire Prism off to the side. Rolling to see who went first was critical for me- given the terrain setup and the long range of the Tau I needed that first turn to get my skimmers moving so they could only be glanced. Even before the game started the Tau had range on me so I needed to close the distance and get moving.

Of course I didn’t get the first turn…

Incoming fire dropped one Vyper and immobilized another as his XV8’s moved up. Rail gun fire from the Hammer Head hit catching all my Jetbikes which at first really disheartened me but then rallied as I actually made all their saves. (Huzzah!)

Needing the mobility I ditched the immobilized Vyper and began my movement- already down 250 victory points from the Vyper losses. With no LOS blocking cover I moved my mass of Vypers to the far right trying to at least stay out of return fire from his far ended Sniper Team as they unloaded all their Star Cannon, Brightlace, and Shuriken Cannon fire into the suits- killing all three of the first squad dealing a solid blow to the Tau fighting spirit. I turbo boosted my Jetbikes behind the only building to get them away from the Hammer Head as my Wave Serpent advanced and my Fire Prism missed a sot on the Fire Warriors.

Moving his Stealthsuits around the Tau fired on my Jetbikes with them again making their saves- thanks to the 3+ inv., while the other group of Battlesuits was now behind the building ready to strike next turn. Massed Fire Warrior shots and Sniper Team Shots with markerlights dropped another Vyper and stunned one more.

With the Tau forces starting to come out ahead for the greater good I needed to create a diversion to draw away shots from my Vypers. I advanced the Wave Serpent dropping off my Dire Avengers as they Bladestormed into the first group of Fire Warriors wiping them out with help from the Wave Serpent. Steeling themselves for the return fire I fired my Fire Prism missing again- which at this point would miss every turn till the final turn.

Moving my Jetbikes out and around they fired on the other Battlesuit group before moving into the assault- assaulting with Jetbikes! Yes! Against the measly Tau with a lower Ini. and less attacks I took that gamble. Vypers moved 6” and fired on the Stealthsuits wiping them out.

With the battle starting to turn the Tau split their fire on the Dire Avengers- taking them down to the last Eldar which stood his ground and weapon destroyed / stunning a Vyper. Finishing off the Battlesuits my Jetbikes moved to his far Sniper Team and shot them before assaulting and wiping them out as my Vypers wiped out the other his other Sniper Team.

Winding down the game was close with the Hammer Head shooting my Fire Prism and glancing it with a glance roll of 6- which was reduced to a 1 with the Holo-Field. This is where the game came down to the win thanks to the +35 point Holo Field with it denying the victory points for destroying my Fire Prism. Although I lost two more Vypers I wiped out the last of his Sniper Teams with my Jetbikes and brought the last group of Fire Warriors down to 50% with my Fire Prism finally hitting his tank blowing off its Rail Cannon. Adding up the victory points I came out just ahead to score a major victory. A very close and hard fought out game.

Keywords: Eldar, Warhammer 40,000, Tau, Battle Report

Tactics: Jetbikes

If you are playing Saim-Hann you need to be styling with Jetbikes.

Lots of Jetbikes.

The key to Jetbike tactica is not to play them like MEQ (Space Marines) with a 12" move. Vs. a Space Marine Bike they are not as tough 4 vs. 5, and only have a 12" not 24" range. The key to using them is to capitalize on their speed and 6" move in the assault phase. In terms of unit size I like 7-10 Jetbikes with a Shuriken Cannon, lead by a Warlock (on a Jetbike) with Destructor. With the template blast, Shuriken Cannon, and twin linked Shuriken Catapults the unit is leathal at close range.

Deployment is similar to other units- out of sight and out of range. Being able to turbo-boost means I can even deploy them a bit further back if needed to free up some space. Tactically the Jetbikes are used to capture table quarters or objectives at the last turn or as quick hitting assault squads. (Yes, Jetbikes as assault squads!)


Scope out your best target, one on either side of your opponent's board to limit angles and range of fire from his other units and begin to move over to it staying to the edges of the board using terrain. If you have to cross open ground turbo boost so you get the 3+ inv. save. Get as close as you can to the unit and fire everything you have into it, hopefully bringing it down to 2-3 men. From there assault with the Warlock and other bikes and take the squad down with numbers. If you can't do this, or there is to much potential return fire from other units, try to attack a unit that you can move, shoot on, and then move back around LOS blocking cover with your 6" free move in the assault turn. Against Devestator squads this works wonders. Sniping the backsides of tanks with 10 AV. is also viable if your Brightlances are gone or an opportunity presents itself.

Keywords: Eldar, Warhammer 40,000, Jetbikes

Battle Report: Tyranids Vs. Saim-Hann

1750 Take & Hold Alpha
Cityfight Terrain

Saim-Hann:

1 Jetbike Farseer W/ Guide
7 Jetbikes W/ 1 Shuriken Cannon
7 Jetbikes W/ 1 Shuriken Cannon
7 Jetbikes W/ 1 Shuriken Cannon
1 Wave Serpent W/ 10 Dire Avengers
2 Vypers W/ Star Cannon, Shuriken Cannon, Holo Field, & Spirit Stones
2 Vypers W/ Star Cannon, Shuriken Cannon, Holo Field, & Spirit Stones
2 Vypers W/ Brightlance, Shuriken Cannon, Holo Field, & Spirit Stones
1 Fire Prism

Tyranids:

2 Hive Tyrants 1 W/ Wings
3 Warriors
3 Warriors
2 Zoranthropes
6 X 10 Genestealers

Setup was pretty straight forward with Tyranids deploying Genestealers across the board with Warriors on either side for synapse. Hive Tyrants and Zorenthropes in the center to support.

Saim-Hann deployed with all units in the center behind a large ruined building blocking LOS and with the Fire Prism over to the far right with a long fire lane. I took the first turn and given the mission I normally would have passed it to my opponent to go first I wanted to try and kill as many bugs as I could outright before they were on top of me with their fleet of foot move.

Knowing they would have to advance I kept my Jetbikes in place for a counter attack as my Vypers moved out to the left and opened up on two Genestealer units wiping them out. My Wave Serpent moved center and fired its t-linked Brightlance and Shuriken Cannon and another Genestealer units downing a few as my Fire Prism missed another unit of ‘stealers with its Prism Cannon. Could not have asked for a better first turn- given that none of my opponent’s Genestealers were upgraded with extended carapace any wound killed outright with no save.

Holding nothing back the Tyranids advanced moving towards the center to both claim it outright with a swarm of units and to start pushing me back or risk getting into the assault with the Genestealers. The winged Hive Tyrand charged right up the center blocking some LOS as a monstrous creature and now forcing me to deal with it or let it run rampant. Devourer, Zoranthrope Warp Blasts, and Venom Cannon fire brought down one of my Vypers and stunned another, of which the Holo Fields saved me given the amount of dice rolled my way.

With my turn up I decided to go after the Hive Tyrant. Knowing it was purely a distraction to take some fire off from his other ‘nids I went after it for the morale effect as I know it was an important model to my opponent and one of his favorite.

Pumped more Star Cannon and Shuriken Cannon fire into another unit of Genestealers bringing them below scoring as Bright Lance fire wounded the Hive Tyrant followed by me taking the risky move of dropping off my Dire Avengers with the Wave Serpent and Blade Storming the Hive Tyrant to no effect. Fire Prism missed again (!) as my Jetbikes held fast and waited…

More Tyranid shots stunned my Vypers but didn’t bring any down as the Hive Tyrant shot into my Dire Avengers before assaulting them resulting in casualties on my side but passing morale and holding strong. Despite my ever moving Vypers the Genestealers were closing on me with their fleet moves and I figured they would be into assault next turn.

Now time to spring the trap I moved my Jetbikes forward and out of cover coming to face his two Warrior groups as they fired at point blank wiping both of the out with their Shuriken shots. My Fire Prim actually hit taking down a few ‘stealers as the Vypers fired on the closest broods next to them.

Finishing off the last of my Dire Avengers the Hive Tyrant began to head towards my Vypers as the other Hive Tyrant fired on my first Jetbike unit causing them to fail morale and run off the board. (Hate that 3d6!) Genestealers assaulted my Vypers en mass but did nothing but destroy one Star Cannon given the need for two sixes- to hit and to glance.

Continuing to move and shoot I stayed one step ahead as best I could taking down the two Hive Tyrants with my Vypers and Wave Serpent and then the remainder of the Genestealers while only loosing one more Vyper, a squad of Jetbikes, and the Brightlance on my Wave Serpent. At the top of turn six there were no Tyranid scoring units even left and only the odd two or three Genestealers here and there.

Keywords: Eldar, Tyranids, Battle Report, Warhammer 40,000

Tactics: Vypers

At the core of my Saim-Hann army lies the Vyper with three squads of two Vypers each (2 Starcannon groups and 1 Brightlance group). Upgraded with Spirit Stones, Shurkien Cannons, and Holo Fields they are expensive but worth it. Before reviewing the tactics I use let me offer two observations about the Vyper.

1. Don't mix your Star Cannon Vypers with your Brightlance Vypers as it is a wasted shot against enemy armor.


2. Upgrade the Shuriken Catapults to Shuriken Cannons as it gives the Vyper an additional anti-infantry punch and still keeps it a viable threat if the Star Cannon or BL is weapon destroyed.


Now at 250 points for 2 Star Cannon Vypers it is important to use these units to the fullest without any mistakes. During deployment you need to place them so they will be within 24" and 36" range with its weapons after moving, yet still be behind cover or LOS blocking terrain incase you don't get the first turn. You don't want your Vypers hanging around having not moved on the first turn and taking a ton of pen. hits against their 10 armor value. If the board is set up so you can't do this (!) then place your Wave Serpent or Fire Prism ahead of it so at least the firing units will have to take a LD test- but the same should go for your tanks- out of sight and range on turn one.

When you move with the Vypers it is tempting to play them as three seperate units, but with hitting on 4+ you won't score many kills this way. The key to using them is to have the four Star Cannon Vypers move more then 6" (glancing hits only) and fire all on one unit. If there is a tank hanging out for an easy shot I'll target it with my Brightlances if not, they will add their shots in with the Star Cannons. In this way you have a very good change of wiping out a ten man Space Marine squad with considerable ease each turn- and this is what you should do- make your way down the board targeting and wiping out one unit at a time. Tau suits...gone, Genestealer Broods...gone, Space Marine Squads...gone. With that setup you are getting 8 Star Cannon shots, 2 Brightlance shots, and 18 Shuriken Cannon shots. Remember: "Their arrogance is matched only by their firepower." Fight the emptation to split your Vypers and fire on different units and wipe out one at a time.


Now the next tactica to understand is how to keep your Vypers alive (with or without Holo Fields) since even a bolter can take them down with some good D6 rolls. You need to keep them moving no matter what and use terrain and distance to block line of sight. Since they are fast attack you get to deploy them last at the start of the game. Deploy them on either one end of the board or the other. Attack from the flanks with their speed so enemy units from the other side of the board will not have range.


Finally, Vypers are also the "smoke" of the Saim-Hann army. Once your opponent sees all that Star Cannon dice downing your Vypers will become target # 1. This is the time to move your Jetbikes into position to deliver their killing shots without being fired upon.

Keywords: Eldar, Warhammer 40,000, Vypers

Tactics: Storm Guardians

With the new Eldar codex it seems that Storm Guardians have fallen out of favor over regular Guardians with their heavy weapons platform. For almost half the points of a Space Marine squad the Eldar player can get ten troops with a killer Star Cannon or Brightlance. In keeping with the wild and daring theme of the Saim-Hann I take Storm Guardians in my list. 100 points buys 11 Guardians with 2 Fusion Guns.

On the table Storm Guardians are a tricky unit to play. With their 5+ armor save they will be quickly cut down if they come under fire out of cover and with their 12" Shuriken Pistol and Fusion Gun range one has to get close enough to get the shots off. Depending on the level of points I will either transport them in a Wave Serpent or advance them on foot.

On foot they start the game either out of LOS or in heavy cover as far forward as possible. Being troops they get deployed mid way through so I try to start them off heading towards a tank or smaller enemy troop squads. In this manner they are either used as tank hunters or as an assault squad. Using cover, fleet of foot, and terrain to block my opponent's fire lanes the Storm Guardians make the fast dash towards their target. If they happen to draw my opponent's fire that is fine due to their large size and small point cost- thus keeping shots away from my more expensive Vyper and Jetbike units. Acting as tank hunters they have the two fusion guns (AP 1 so a glance turns to a pen. hit) and the numbers to hang around for a turn or two if they miss or fail to destroy the target. In the role of an assault squad they are a bit different.

With their pistols and Fusion Guns they get a round of shots in before the assault and this is where working in conjunction with other units is very important. Despite their size (11 Eldar) the Storm Guardians are only an average assault unit when compared to Assault Space Marines. With their weak 5+ armor and S 3 attacks they shouldn't be assaulting that uber strong unit holding the center of the table. Play the Storm Guardians as a finisher squad- meaning the squad that assaults a unit to mop up and deliver the final killing blow. Soften up your assaulting target with some Vyper Star Cannon shots first bringing down a few before you move in for the kill- just be sure your Storm Guardians are close enough to their target so your opponent doesn't deny you the assault by pulling off the closest models to your Storm Guardians. Using Storm Guardians in this manner has yielded me some great results for a mere 100 point unit.

Keywords: Eldar, Warhammer 40,000, Troops, Storm Guardians