The losses continue...

So the first test of my 500 point Eldar list didn't go quite as planned. I issued a challenge vs an Imperial Guard army consisting of:

Company commander with snipers

Heavy weapon squad with heavy bolters

Veteran squad shotguns and melta gun in a Chimera

Platoon command with some stuff that I never really saw.

2 x Guard squads with grenade launchers.

Spearhead deployment with 5 objectives. Considering I only had 2 troop choices I was in for a fight! Moreso since a draw went to the defender in our challenge league. I failed to steal initative.

Guard player combined the 2 guard squads. I chose to reserve all my jetbikes for some unfathomable reason. Sniper and Heavy bolter fire raked my Rangers and Autarch. Each was set up across the board from one another. The massed guard squad took control of a building near my left objective and the vet squad disembarked on the center board objective. By the time my jetbikes arrived on my turn 2 only my Autarch remained on the objective on my right flank.

My Guardian bikes went in on the left flank to try and deal with the big squad, but fell short of catapult range, the shuriken cannon managed to kill one guardsman. Assault moved me back out of rapid fire range, and kept me alive through the next shooting phase. The Shining Spears turbo boosted down the right flank, and the veterans only managed to get the melta gun in range, but he missed. The chimera multilaser failed to kill any thankfully. The Autarch ducked sniper fire, but heavy bolter rounds killed him before he could assault the veterans. With all of his guard hiding in ruins, I had little choice with the spears. I hadn't taken 'skilled rider' with the exarch either, only withdraw. The guardians moved around the left and got within shuriken range and managed to kill another couple of guardsmen and again assaulted backwards, but two of them died to the following heavy bolter, sniper and lasgun fire. The Spears assaulted the vets and woe!! two of them died on the way in. Charging through cover the vets attacked first. They managed to put 4 wounds on the remaining two spears. The Exarch passed his saves, but the last shining spear didn't. The Exarch only killed one guardsman with 3 S8 power weapon attacks. grr. In the Imperial assault phase no guardsmen were wounded but the Exarch was, and managed to fail his save. Pouty faced, my remaining two Guardian bikes surrendered to the enemy.

It was readily obvious that I shouldn't have reserved the bikes. My thinking was that the guardsmen would be running towards my side of the board in an attempt to secure the objectives. I also failed to place my rangers out of LoS of his sniper and heavy weapons. These both would have helped my chances had I been more mindful of placement. My opponent 'mobbing up' the guard squad was a very good thing and the vets in that chimera were a good choice to have. There were a LOT of guardsmen on the board for 500 points. All in all a fantastic list and excellent opponent.