Future Wars Play test #1
I thought my solo-play system would be too easy to beat so I added some extra points to the enemy army. Turns out this was unnecessary. Very unnecessary.
Action Report:
Dark Eldar (Player-Controlled) 480pts vs. Necrons (AI-Controlled) 595pts
Mission: Engage and eliminate
Overview
The very first official Field of Fate playtest pitted a fast, vicious Dark Eldar raiding force (approx. 500 pts) against a heavier and more resilient Necron phalanx (approx. 600 pts). With the AI handling the Necrons, the extra points were added as a handicap—an early assumption that the undead machine legions would need a boost in the experimental ruleset.
That assumption did not survive contact with the enemy.
Forces
Dark Eldar (~500 pts)
• Two Warrior squads with splinter cannon support
• Talos engine
• Two Reaver jetbike teams (one carrying a blaster)
• An Archon on skyboard with Hellglaive (the only suitably sinister model available!)
Necrons (~600 pts)
• Necron Lord
• Two large Warrior phalanxes
• Two Destroyers (third missing in action… literally)
• A swarm of Scarabs
Early Turns – A Rough Opening
The Dark Eldar unleashed the traditional opening salvo… and achieved almost nothing.
Splinter fire pinged harmlessly off metallic bodies, and the single valuable anti-tank weapon—the jetbike blaster—was eliminated by Necron fire by Turn 2.
Meanwhile, the Necrons advanced exactly as expected: slow, steady, and unbothered. Their return fire plinked away at jetbikes and chipped away wounds from the Talos.
With ranged options dwindling, the Dark Eldar made the only choice they could:
Charge headlong into melee.
Midgame – A Flash of Hope
This daring maneuver briefly turned the tide.
• A Talos and jetbike squad slammed into the Necron Lord.
• The Archon swept into the Destroyers.
The results were explosive: The Necron Lord fell, A Destroyer was… destroyed and other Necron Warrior casualties mounted in Turn 3
For a moment, it looked as if the Dark Eldar’s ferocity might even the odds despite the points gap.
Endgame – Collapse of the Raid
That moment passed quickly.
Once the Necron Lord and one Destroyer were gone, the remaining Necrons simply refused to go down, or stay down. Their warriors formed firing lines, pouring emotionless volleys into anything still moving.
• The Talos was shot to pieces and finished off in melee.
• The remaining jetbikes were cut down.
• Warrior squads were either blasted apart or overrun in close combat.
• The Archon’s combat prowess was eventually negated by sheer numbers and relentless firepower.
By the end of Turn 4, the Dark Eldar force was effectively wiped out, and the game was called.
Final Result
Overwhelming Necron victory.
A brutal introduction to Field of Fate’s early AI. Not the debut outcome the human player hoped for—but undeniably informative for refining the system