Fritz’s Saim-Hann Warhost: Baltimore Grand Tournament 2007 Entry

The Stars themselves once lived and died at our command, yet you still dare to oppose our will…

With my display board complete and only the bases to finish up on my Storm Guardians to match, I give you my Saim-Hann army for the 2007 GT next weekend. Myself and two gaming club mates (one playing Necrons, the other a Lysander led all Terminator Imperial Fist army) are going down to represent our gaming club- Battle for Salvation and local hobby store- Comic Book Heaven.

For the team consideration we all built our display boards to link up with each other with mine on the left with the piping continuing to the Imperial Fist board in the center with ruined buildings / refinery, and the Necron board with more ruins on the right. Turning to face our models it looks like we are all fighting each other as part of a giant battle in a ruined city / refinery.

I’m going to try and get in a few games this week with my team mates to tweak our tactics as the plan is to also play in the Apocalypse event on Friday night before the GT.

Saim-Hann Display Board

Finished up my display board project to showcase my army. I build it on a small poster frame with the plastic cover and backing removed so only the metal frame and particle board backing was left. Covered the particle board with a mix of wood glue, sand, small stones and bits of cork. Cities of Death piping and drums on the corners painted black and dry brushed silver, while the terrain texture was primed black and dry brushed wolf gray with fortress white highlights.

Farseer

(140 Points)

Wargear:

Rune Armor
Ghosthelm
Shuriken Pistol
Witchblade
Runes of Warding
Runes of Witnessing
Spirit Stones

Psychic Powers:

Guide
Mind War

Paired with my ground troops my 1850 list includes a non-jetbike Farseer in a support role. I often start him disembarked from my Wave Serpent and Dire Avengers/ Storm Guardians so he can guide a group of Vypers on the first turn along with my other Jetbike Farseer.

Another option as he is transported with my Dire Avengers (or Storm Guardians) is to guide the Twin Linked Brightlances on my Wave Serpent for some tank busting fire power since even the T-linked 4+ to hit isn’t that great.

Disembarking he adds Guide to the DA’s Bladestorm. Doom with the ‘Avengers is probably a better choice, but Guide gives me more options in assisting my Vypers, Jetbikes, or Fire Prism. Mind War is thrown in with the Spirit Stones to cast two powers a turn and at least take out a model a turn with the Mind War. Runes of Warding are f-u-n! Against Space Marine Librarians and Tyranid Zoranthrope brain bugs I have casued major headaches for my player, especially when they don’t know I’m packing the runes. I always take a set- anybody else agree?

Tactically it seems like he either more then makes his points back or gets completely wiped out. Playing him in such an aggressive role often find him and the ground unit he is with left behind as my Vypers and Jetbikes move according to the battle. I should probably go with another Jetbike Farseer but I like the looks of the bug eye Ghosthelm.

Star Engines

I like to take the Star Engine upgrade on my Wave Serpent full of Dire Avengers. Been working out pretty well by deploying the ‘Serpent as far forward as I can while still behind cover and then moving it 36” to my opponent’s flank or weak spot. Since it can skim over terrain I can pretty much get it to threaten anywhere on the board in a turn keeping it behind cover and then moving and disembarking my Dire Avengers next turn to Bladestorm, etc.

Warlock Jetbike Banner

Leading my Jetbike Guardians to glory are three Warlocks each on a Jetbike. I've added a banner pole and banners for each with Eldar runes and the Saim-Hann cosmic serpent. Click on the picture for a larger view ~700K in size.

Vyper Holo-Fields

Played a few combat patrol-esque missions without Holo-Fields on my Vypers vs. Space Marines, Orks, & Chaos. AV 10 open topped just gets taken down fast even with the skimmer/glance. Looks like I'm keeping the HF's in my list.

Upcoming Projects

I have a few 40K projects nearing completion and ready to post about in the next few days once they are finished- including a display board for my Saim-Hann warhost, a team of Rangers, and some banners to hang on my Jetbikes.

Vyper Loadout: Thoughts?

At 1750 my current Saim-Hann warhost has been rolling with three Vyper units as below for my fast attack choices.

Fast Attack: 250 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Star Cannon, Shuriken Cannon
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields


Fast Attack: 250 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Star Cannon, Shuriken Cannon
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

Fast Attack: 260 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Brightlance, Shuriken Cannon
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

Now for the past ten or so games I have been pretty much destroying everything with the Spirit Stone / Holo-Field combination against all my opponents except Tau who have been the hardest games I have faced so far. (B. if you are reading this I’m ducking that rematch since I don’t think I can squeeze another victory off you with the past two games being so close and coming down to good dice results.)

Although I can’t deny the results of the HF Vyper I’m wondering if this is the best way for me to play them? Rather then using them as a supporting unit, perhaps staying at the 36” range and firing I have been tending to charge them forward en’ mass to 24” or less range so I can blast away with my Shuriken Cannons also. In total, if my Brightlance group isn’t off tank hunting that gives me 2 Brightlance, 8 Starcannon, and 18 Shurikan Cannon shots with one of the Vyper units often guided by my Farseer- a lot of shots that pretty much wipes out the unit it is shooting at.

Now doing that at the 24” range puts me very close to return fire- sometime bolter rapid fire or at least bolter 24” and maybe some plasma fire which I could completely avoid if I just stayed around 36” away to shoot the Brightlances and Starcannons. My Vypers then take a lot of return fire with the Holo-Fields and Spirit Stones saving them more often then not. My stunned units then move away behind cover for a turn while I turn the rest of my Vypers to the next unit to cut down. Often focusing on my Vypers my opponent’s have tended to ignore or pay less heed to my Jetbikes which then move in and isolate lone units or just gang up on targets and shoot them as the Fire Prism and Wave Serpent / Storm Guardians do what they have to do. Pretty successful strategy so far, so if it isn’t broken don’t fix it right? But, am I missing out on more units by playing my warhost in this way?

What if I used my Vypers as a supporting role instead of a spearhead assault role? If I dropped the Holo-Fields keeping them back and away at 36” for protection so they are out of range of most troop weapons yet can still fire their BL & SC’s. I’d also drop the Shuriken Cannons since I don’t want to be at 24” range or less without Holo-Fields. Doing so saves me 270 points. With that I could throw lot more Jetbikes on the table or Dire Avengers with a guide/doom Farseer in a Wave Serpent with Star Engines to turbo to my opponent’s weak spot and get out Bladestorming and all. I could even throw in those extra Warlock Jetbikes I have as bodyguards for my Jetbike Farseer (but could she now be picked out since she is no longer an independent character but now part of a group?).

Is playing the Vypers a bit different and recouping 270 points to buy other units a better tweak for my Saim-Hann?

Eldar Terrain Ideas

As one of only three Eldar players in the club (out of about twenty or so members) I’ve been thinking about trying to model up some Eldar terrain to represent and maybe compliment our armies when we play. Some ideas I found:


Eldar themed terrain along with a few other boards for a club tournament. I like the crystals and soul stone spheres which I think are some sort of giant seed studded with small glass stones and painted.

http://www.broadsidebash.com/2007/07/14/eldar-terrain/

Amazing terrain all around this gentleman is the master of turning the ordinary into amazing scenery. The painting and small details are perfect- really looks like wraithbone.

http://ironhands.com/eldar3.htm

http://ironhands.com/eldar2.htm

Craftworld Table

http://warseer.com/forums/m-p-t-general-discussion/64168-eldar-craftworld-table.html

Saim-Hann Vs. Tyranids

Seek & Destroy 1200 Points

With 550 points left to work with I dropped two Vypers along with the Holo-Fields, my Fire Prism, and my Wave Serpent with Storm Guardians leaving an all Jetbike & Vyper force. The Tyranid swarm I faced was an all shooty Gaunt swarm backed by some shooty Warriors, a Hive Tyrant and a Lictor.

The board was a snowy waste theme with a group of command bunkers in the center along with some supporting machinery terrain. Tyranids took the first turn and advanced as I moved my Vypers forward with my Jetbikes taking cover behind the machinery…waiting. The Gaunts couldn’t hurt my Vypers and there weren’t enough Warriors to really do anything other then stun one as I kept the Hive Tyrant blocked with line of sight terrain. Continuing to fire away with my Vyper’s Starcannons I target the Warriors as another Vyper was stunned and one destroyed. I then pulled back hoping to fake running away which pulled the remaining Gaunt swarms into the center which I countered with my Jetbikes rushing in blasting at close range with Shuriken Catapults while my Warlocks let loose with Destructor with devastating results- being they were only Gaunts. Assaults followed as my Vypers then circled around and finished off the Warriors groups leaving only the Hive Tyrant and ½ a Gaunt brood by the end of the game vs. a Vyper and a few Jetbike losses.

Talking a bit after the game my opponent was surprised as the speed of the Jetbikes as he figured they were farter away then they were and with the terrain in the way he figured I would have to go around as opposed to over it.

Appear far yet remain close? Perhaps a new theme to exploit with the Saim-Hann?

Jetbike Assault

More often or not I find myself assaulting with my Jetbikes. I wonder if this is normal, or perhaps poor tactical use of them? Stat wise they certainly aren’t Assault Marines with only one attack and at a strength of 3. But they do have a toughness of 4, a 3+ save and the twin linked Shuriken Catapults (or Cannons) do tend to bring down a few before the charge. Perhaps another advantage is that it seems that many of my opponents don’t expect me to assault with Jetbikes- they aren’t exactly an assaulty unit.

Besides claiming objectives I often find myself using my Jetbikes to avoid any direct fire skirting the edges of the table before moving in on isolated units/squads and hitting them up with Shuriken Catapult fire from the Jetbikes. Against Space Marines & Chaos it often isn’t enough to wipe the squad out so I assault.

I’ve been working on throwing a Warlock in each of my Jetbike units for some added punch with the Witchblade but I am wondering which power to take. Is Destructor better as a flamer type shot to hopefully take down some more models before the charge or do I go with Enhance to gain a slight edge in the initial assault. Is the upgrade to a Singing Spear worth it? Potentially three attacks against a vehicle- one in the shooting phase and two in the assault phase? Considerations?

Eldar Poll

Although I consider myself a Saim-Hann purist I’m curious as to what some of you other Eldar players use in your lists and how/why? Am I missing out on Rangers and Wraithlords? Sound off in the comments section if you have an opinion and don’t mind sharing it.

Eldritch Storm

With my Farseer I usually take Guide & Mindwar but I’m going to try out Eldritch storm to help increase my tank busting ability in my list. My plan is to keep my Farseer riding along my two Brightlance Vypers using their speed to get in range. I’m then going to try and Guide the Vypers- getting the re-roll to hit with the Brightlances and then use Eldritch Storm on the Tank. If I damage it with the power then great, if not hopefully it spins around either by chance or my choice to expose the back armor or even side which I will then pump with two Brightlance shots.

Saim-Hann Vs. Tau

1750 Cleanse Alpha

I really dislike playing against Tau with my Saim-Hann. I’m supposed to be the one with all the death dealing AP firepower and range- Tau has this above me and their units are way cheaper then mine. Mission was good for me with my Jetbikes to claim table quarters but alpha put me really behind by about five scoring units before the game even started.

With the layout of the board (cityfight) I knew the central building was going to be key to the game. For me it would block line of sight for most of the Tau army to me, and for the Tau I knew he was going to move his suits out, fire away and then jump back 6 in the assault- just as I was planning to do with my bikes.

I took first turn which I didn’t pass as I wanted to wipe out the two Fire Warrior squads that had line of sight to me. With my Farseer guiding the Fire Prism for extra measure I dropped the prism cannon on one squad with Star Cannon and Brightlance fire on the other squad dropping both of them below scoring as they passed their morale and held. On the far end one of my Jetbike squads turbo-boosted to the far end of the board claiming that objective while hiding behind a building. Not bad for a first turn since only my Vypers were in line of sight and that was from the two hurt Fire Warrior squads and the suits.

Tau moved their suits up along with a Hammerhead and fired on my Vypers glancing a bunch of times. I wasn’t sweating it as my Vypers are tricked out with holo-fields and at worst when they were stunned I’d move them behind cover for a turn. My opponent’s dice were hot tonight as there were two double sixes rolled and two 5/6 combos as four out of six of my Vypers went down. Adding to that was a shot at my Farseer who was just visible above some ruins who got hit with a rail cannon shot and failed the invulnerable killing her.

Trying to regroup I positioned my Fire Prism and Wave Serpent behind some terrain to cut down on return fire killing some more Fire Warriors and a Sniper Team but then both of the were destroyed in the next turn also with the Eldar energy field and holo-field trickery letting me down.

Leaving only my Jetbikes left I turbo-boosted them into the charge assaulting Fire Warrior, Stealth Suit, and Battlesuit units. Wishing I had not swapped my Jetbike Warlocks for more Jetbikes I actually did very well in the assault killing two more groups of Fire Warriors and the Stealth Suits as my Jetbikes held their own against the Battlesuits who were joined by the Tau commander. We ended the game on turn five with only one of my Vyper units remaining and one Jetbike squad left locked in the assault. A disastrous day for the Saim-Hann.

Mindwar Tactics?

Farseer (1)Wargear: Ghosthelm, Shuriken Pistol, Witchblade, Rune Armor, Jetbike, Runes of Warding, Runes of Witnessing, Spirit StonesPsychic Powers: Guide, Mindwar

Fellow Eldar players- do you take Mindwar with your Farseer and how / who do you use it on? I’ve started to take it again but it seems hit and miss on the d6 roll off with everybody seeming to have leadership 10 these days.

Tactics? 18” range isn’t that bad, I’ve been doing the usual start behind cover, move out, Mindwar, and then move back behind cover with the Jetbike’s assault move.

I’ve been thinking about building an assault unit with my Farseer and a bodyguard of Walocks to move into assault range, Mindwar the independent character or power weapon model in the enemy squad and then hit the squad with Destructor before charging in with the Witchblades.

Storm Guardian Strike Team

I often load up my Wave Serpent with Storm Guardians to use in claiming table corners or objectives depending on the mission. I also use them as an counter assault squad incase one of my Jetbike squads gets caught up in an assault somehow- often from a mistake I make or misjudgment of my opponent’s unit’s ability to assault.

Another role I often find my Storm Guardians in is that of a tank hunter. Supporting the twin linked Brightlance on the Wave Serpent I move the ‘Serpent up to my opponent’s tank/Dreadnought/vehicle and then drop off the Storm Guardians- two of which have fusions guns. Although the 4+ to hit isn’t great at all, I often have good results with the three shots bringing down or at least stunning/shaking the targeted vehicle.

Countering The Rhino Rush

Recently it seems I have been playing a lot of games vs. the old Rhino rush. Khorne Berzerkers, Battle Sisters, and Black Templars all loaded up heading into my deployment zone. Working with my Jetbikes and Vypers I have been countering them (or using my opponent’s Rhino to my advantage) with the following tactics.

The first is the pretty well know tactic of surrounding a transport and then causing the passengers to disembark thus killing them since they can’t exit and be in proximity to your models. With the given speed of my Jetbikes and the range of my Vyper Starcannons & Brightlances this idea has worked out quite well. I deploy my Jetbikes ahead of the Vypers and then turbo boost them into position around the Rhino. I then open up with fire from my Vypers dropping the Rhino hoping for a non destroying penetrating hit. If the Rhino is destroyed the unit is entangled/pinned so I then rip into them next turn with Starcannon and Shuriken fire from my bikes as my Warlock leading the Jetbike squad hits them with Destructor.

The second strategy I have had good results with is when I am playing an opponent with a lot of lanes of fire from support squads thus making my Jetbike rush risky in that I don’t want to leave my Jetbikes out in the open next turn. Again I keep my Jetbikes ahead and move the bikes with the Shuriken Cannons into position hopefully aided by Guide from my Farseer. With the Vypers behind this I first shoot my Jetbike Shuriken Cannon into the transport hoping to glance or pen it causing the troops inside to come out. Once they disembark I then hit them up with Starcannon and Shuriken Cannon fire from my Vypers ending my turn with my Jetbikes moving back behind cover with their 6” assault move.

1750 Saim-Hann Warhost

HQ: 170 Points

Farseer (1)
Wargear: Ghosthelm, Shuriken Pistol, Witchblade, Rune Armor, Jetbike, Runes of Warding, Runes of Witnessing, Spirit Stones
Psychic Powers: Guide, Mindwar

Troops: 142 Points

Guardian Jetbikes (6)
Wargear: Jetbike, Twin Linked Shuriken Catapults, Shuriken Cannon (1)

Troops: 142 Points

Guardian Jetbikes (6)
Wargear: Jetbike, Twin Linked Shuriken Catapults, Shuriken Cannon (1)

Troops: 120 Points

Guardian Jetbikes (5)
Wargear: Jetbike, Twin Linked Shuriken Catapults, Shuriken Cannon (1)

Storm Guardian Transport: 145 Points

Wave Serpent (1)
Weapons: Twin Linked Shuriken Catapults, Twin Linked Brightlance
Upgrades: Energy Field, Spirit Stones

Troops: 100 Points

Storm Guardians (11)
Wargear: Shuriken Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Fusion Gun (2)

Fast Attack: 250 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Star Cannon, Shuriken Catapult
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

Fast Attack: 250 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Star Cannon, Shuriken Catapult
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

Fast Attack: 260 Points

Vyper (2)
Weapons: Brightlance, Shuriken Catapult
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

Heavy Support: 170 Points

Fire Prism (1)
Weapons: Prism Cannon, Shuriken Cannon
Upgrades: Spirit Stones, Holo-Fields

New List Ideas?

Looking over the past few games I’ve been thinking about dropping my Dire Avengers and Storm Guardians from my list completely. Tactically I justified them in a Saim-Hann list in that they were transported in a Wave Serpent and then dropped off to secure objectives or cause some havoc. In actual game play the Dire Avengers did very well with Bladestorm and the Storm Guardians had their moments of glory before dying a horrible death. What happened almost every time is that as foot soldiers they were often left behind as my Jetbikes and Vypers adapted to the game resulting in them either being isolated and killed or so far behind they weren’t much use tactically after their deployment. Either way I’m wondering if the points can be better spent in line with the Saim-Hann theme.

So, if I drop the troops and Wave Serpent I’m thinking about going with another Jetbike squad (bringing the total to 4) with each unit being lead by a Farseer with Destructor while additionally taking a Falcon tank. It would even give me a few points left over at 1740 to give my Farseer another power- maybe a Doom / Guide combo- might be devastating when applied to my Vyper Brightlance squadron?

Eldar Jetbike Prototype

Saim-Hann Vs. Black Templars Space Marines

2000 Points Take & Hold

Adding to my usual list of Vypers, Jetbikes, & Skimmer Tanks was a group of Storm Guardians and Dire avengers lead by another Farseer. Setting up behind cover with my tanks in the middle, my Vypers on one side and my Jetbikes on the other the plan was to let my opponent take the center piling up and then circle around from both sides catching him in the center.

Templars brought out the heavy armor with a Land Raider Crusader and a Vindicator along with Terminators, an Assault Squad led by a Chaplain, two Tactical squads, and two Drop Pods with a Dreadnought and a Tactical Squad. Templars took the first turn and advanced the Land Raider and Vindicator as their Tac. squads advanced on foot and Razorback.

As the Land Raider rumbled forward towards my Storm Guardians I figured there were the usual ‘termies inside so I brought out my Fire Prism and Brightlance Vypers to take it down. The Fire Prism missed and the Vypers hit but the blessed hull of the Land Raider negated my lance weapons- a sneaky upgrade knowing he faced the Eldar. One the opposite side of the board my Jetbikes swarmed forward with the other Vypers and obliterated the Razorback and the squad inside it.

On the next turn the Templars took the center of the field with two squads as the Land Raider destroyed my Fire Prism with some heavy assault cannon shots as it disgorged the Assault Squad led by the Chaplain who assaulted a group of Vypers destroying them! I returned Star Cannon fire and Shuriken Cannon fire into the Assault Marines with my other Vyper unit killing four. Knowing my Storm Guardians would be next I moved and charged them into the assault against the Templar Assault squad tying the first round of combat and then breaking and running with five Eldar left in the unit (no VP’s for my opponent) vs. the Chaplain and two assault marines left (VP’s for me).

Loosing a squad of Jetbikes as the Drop Pods came in things were looking grim for the Saim-Hann as the Templars were swarming everywhere. Fighting on my Jetbikes swooped into the center of the board taking his two units there down to non-scoring units along with wiping out his Terminator squad with fire from my Vypers and Jetbikes. Taking some return fire my last two Jetbike squads were down below fifty percent as the broke and ran.

Moving into the last turn the Templars had a Dreadnought and the Vindicator as scoring units in the center vs. my one group of Vypers. Swinging my Brightlance Vypers and Brightlance Wave Serpent around I immobilized the Vindicator as my Farseer on foot charged the Dreadnought and immobilized it with his Witchblade while making his invulnerable save from the return attacks.

Ending the game with no scoring units for the Templars in the center and one Vyper unit for the Saim-Hann it came down to victory points resulting in a draw with the Saim-Hann coming out ahead with thirty or so points.