Tyranids! Tyranids!

I received a notification from GW in the email inbox today. It proclaimed the pre-order availability of Tyranid models and codex.

I must say, that I have always liked the Tyranids. Obviously, I haven't liked them enough to play. What I mean is I like their place in the 40k game and fluff. I really think we need the Tyranids. They are a great enemy for the Empire of Man (and the other Xenos for that matter).

I have tried on several occasions to talk my wife into collecting and playing Tyranids. She assures me that if and when she collects a 40k army, it will be Eldar.

I am glad to see the Tyranids getting a new Codex, and what appears to be some really great models and new additions to the force. Maybe I will start collecting some 'bugs' one day. . . .

Angels Sanguine Battle Report

This is the Battle Company Build, or Mass of Marines, list I was referring to in a previous post.

This battle report is for the Aftermath Campaign. This battle takes place on the surface of the planet Prox. Lord Sentikan, sensing that his marines have turned the tide of the Ork Waaagh, presses the attack to drive from the planet surface.

Marshall Malgrim and I had an opportunity to play a second game this weekend, as he had Monday off from work. Following our last game, he adjusted his list slightly. He wanted to try out Razorbacks instead of the Rhinos. As my memory serves, the list was as follows:

-Marshall and 7 Terminators, 4 Lightning Claws and 4 Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield in a Land Raider Crusader
-9 Assault Marines
-5 Tactical Marines with Missile Launcher and Plasma Gun in a Lascannon Razorback
-5 Tactical Marines with Lascannon and Meltagun in a Heavy Bolter Razorback
-Emperor’s Champion and 4 or 5 Crusaders in a Lascannon Razorback.
-Shooty Dreadnought, Lascannon and Missile Launcher

I changed my list. I had been playing with the same list, practicing for tournaments and the like. So, I decided that I would change it up. Run something for fun. I wanted to run Jump Packs. I knew I would need some firepower, and every Marine list needs some Tactical Marines. So, I ran the following

HQ
-Dante
-Lemartes
Elites
-Death Company with Jump Packs
-Furioso Dreadnought, Death Company, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor
-Veteran Assault Squad, 3 Power Weapons, 2 Meltabombs
-Veteran Assault Squad, Powerfist and Storm Shield, 2 Powerweapons, 1 Meltabomb
Troops
-Assault Squad, Powerfist
-Assault Squad, Powersword
-Assault Squad, Poweraxe
-Tactical Squad, 10 men, Meltagun and Missile Launcher
Heavy Support
-Devastator Squad, 2 Lascannons, 2 Plasma Cannons

1850 points
Capture and Control
Spearhead

Malgrim won the roll-off and gave me 1^st turn. I chose my deployment quadrant. Then it hit me. I had never run a list like this one. I had not done any research. I had no idea what to do tactically. I came up with a plan. I put everything with a jump pack, and Furioso, as close to the enemy as possible. Behind them, I placed a combat squad of Tactical Marines: Vet Sgt., 3 Marines, and Meltagun. I placed to other combat squad on my objective in the ruined building: Missile Launcher and 4 Marines. Also, I placed the Devastator Squad in the ruined building.

Malgrim deployed his Heavy Bolter Razorback on his objective. He placed his Land Raider in a position to launch a first turn assault on my jump packers as I came across the table. He bracketed the rear of the Land Raider with Lascannon Razorback.

Top of 1: I had no plan except to Jump and run until I could get everything close enough to assault. So, I jumped forward. I anticipated Malgrim driving around the wooded hill and trying to assault as many units as possible with his Terminators. I expected him to do this, because he has bad luck rolling difficult terrain tests for his tanks. Since he generally immobilizes the tank, he drives around if possible. Knowing this, I lined my left flank with Veteran Assault Squaders. I figured they had the best opportunity survive and perhaps deal some wounds as they died. I fired the Missile Launcher and Devastators at the Emperor’s Champion razorback. They destroyed the Razorback with a Vehicle Explosion which killed two crusaders.

Bottom of 1: Malgrim did the unthinkable, the unpredictable. He decided to drive through wooded hill in order to assault multiple units with his Terminators. He picked up the die and rolled it for difficult terrain. We both watched with anticipation as the die rolled around. The result: 1. The Land Raider immobilized while trying to enter the woods. We both laughed out loud. Then I apologized for laughing at his misfortune. He said, “No, don’t apologize. Watch this. I am pretending to roll for vehicle difficult terrain test.” He picked up another die, rolled it resulting in a 1. He unloaded the Terminators and declared his Assault. He was in range of one Veteran Assault Squad, but was unable to engage multiple squads. He destroyed the five Veterans, but my veterans took one Terminator with them. Heavy Bolter Razorback fired on the Death Company, power armor saved them. The Lascannon Razorback fired on the Devastators. Cover saved them. Land Raider fired on the Assault Squad which Dante had joined. It killed one marine.

Top of 2: I surrounded the Terminators and assaulted them with everything except the Meltagun combat squad: Lemartes and DC, Furioso, Dante and 3 Assault Squads, and a Veteran Assault Squad. It was an assault of epic proportions. Two terminators lasted through the Assault. Missile Launcher fired on the Lascannon Razorback, crew shaken was the result. Devastors destroyed the shooty Dreadnought.

Bottom of 2: The Emperor’s Champion squad did not join the assault. The assault raged on in the middle of the table. I managed to wipe out the remaining terminators, and consolidated forward.

Top of 3: Following the Assault with the Terminators, I had the following remaining: Lemartes and 5 DC, Furioso, Vet Sgt and 1 Assault Marine, 1 Assault Marine Vet Sgt, Dante and 1 Assault Marine Vet Sgt, and 1 five man Veteran Assualt Squad. Lemartes and DC fire on and Assault the Emperor’s Champion and Crusaders. Lemartes and the Emperor’s Champion kill each other in single combat. The DC wiped out the Crusaders. Furioso fires on and Assaults the Land Raider destroying the Assault Cannon. Dante jumps forward fires on and assaults the Heavy Bolter Razorback. I missed shooting the perdition pistol, and I chose to use a Krak grenade failing to penetrate. Veteran Assault Squad assaulted the Lascannon Razorback, wrecking the vehicle. Since Lemartes was now dead, I had no one to direct the DC and DC Dreadnought. So, I knew that I needed to finish off that Land Raider. It was the closest enemy unit to them. So, Missile Launcher and Devastators fired into the Land Raider.

Bottom of 3: Reserve rolls turned up Malgrim’s Assault Squad. They used deep strike to make an attempt at contesting my objective. They landed close to the ruins and fired on the Devastator squad. Power armor and cover saves were successful. A Hurricane Bolter from the Land Raider and the Heavy Bolter from the Razorback had a devastating effect on the Veteran Assault Marines wiping out the squad. The Tacticals from inside the most recently destroyed Lascannon Razorback assaulted my Powerfist Sgt who was trying to help finish off the Land Raider. Power fist Sgt killed two Templars and made his saves. He won the assault by two. The tactical failed their leadership test and took two more wounds, failing the save on one of them. So Powerfist Sgt effectively killed 3 Templar Tacticals in one round of combat with 2 attacks. I was impressed. Tacticals unloaded from the Heavy Bolter Razorback. They fired on and assaulted Dante. When the dust settled, Dante was locked in combat with two Templar Tacticals.

Top of 4: Malgrims plasma pistol had been in range of the Devastators. So, I moved my Tacticals from the objective over to the edge of the ruin in order to take advantage of Rapid Fire Boltguns. The true damage was done by the Devastators. They lived up to their names when the Plasma Cannons were leveled on those tightly packed Assault Marines. 9 wounds from the Plasma Cannons which denied armor saved. The Assault Marines were no more. Powerfist Sgt and the two remaining Templar Tacticals continued their assault. When the dust settled, all were dead. The Templar Tactical Marine with a Powerfist and my Powerfist Sgt and destroyed each other (and the other Templar Tactical). Dante killed the two Tacticals he was locked in assault with. I jumped two Assault Marines over who assaulted and wrecked the Heavy Bolter Razorback. Furioso and the DC continued to bash away at the Land Raider (DC was not strong enough to accomplish anything, even with rending). Also, the Tactical Combat Squad Meltagun fired on the Land Raider. All of this managed to destroy the last remaining Hurricane Bolter.

We looked at the table and realized that there was nothing Malgrim could do. All he had left was an Immobilized Land Raider without any weapons. Game over after the top of turn 4.

My analysis: We must be fair and honest about the whole ordeal. I did not draw this list up in order to table my opponent. I just wanted to play a mass of jump packers for fun. I had no idea that the game would turn out like this until I had destroyed the Terminators in turn 2.

I attribute the success of the list to the following: Our local group has been following the Mechanized trend. With each army getting more and more mechanized, we have been taking more and more anti-mech heavy and special weaponry. When I throw down an army with no vehicles, then all that anti-mech weaponry becomes a big waste of points. Furthermore, Malgrim is still learning his army and broadening his tactics. He had never faced a Mass of Marines or Battle Company Build before. Next time, I will warn him ahead of time. I feel like it was a dirty trick to play. However, I did not know that it was a dirty trick until I had already played it.

Marshal Malgrim is a fine sport, and he chalked it up as a learning experience. So, in the interest of learning I would like to pose a question. Is this type of list an answer to the current metagame? Is this how we respond to IG’s Chimelta and the increasing amounts of Mech and Melta? Your comments are always appreciated.

Battle Company Build

I tried something the other day in a game (I will post the battle report soon). I ran a list with no tanks, no transports. In fact the only vehicle in it was one Furioso Dreadnought.

The list was comprised of Assault Marines, Veteran Assault Marines, and Death Company all with Jump Packs. Also, there was a Tactical Marine squad and a Devastator Squad. You can see in the picture of my deployment that it was just a mass of bodies.

It worked pretty well. However, this statement needs to be qualified.

Our local play group has been increasingly getting mechanized and more mechanized. So, naturally the special and heavy weapons have become anti-mech. In reality, I guess you could say that I played a dirty trick. I tabled my opponent in turn 4. But, I had no idea that this list would be such a good response to the current meta of mechanized armies.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Jwolf mentioned a few guys playing Battle Company builds down in Texas. Is this sort of thing happening in your neck of the 40k woods? Is it successful? Will this be the trend in response to Chimelta and mechanization in general?

A New Method . . .

These photos are from an old Apocalypse game several months back. I am trying to learn how to use movie making software. I want to try some new and different styles of battle reporting.

This battle featured a combination of my Angels Sanguine and Imperial Guard in a battle against Marshall Malgrim's Traitor Black Templar who were working with his Necrons and O'shavo Roger's Tau.

It was a fun battle.

Let me know if you have any tips on the movie making or battle reports in general.

Angels Sanguine vs. Black Templar

This game featured Marshall Malgrim's Black Templar and my Angels Sanguine.

This battle report is for the Aftermath Campaign. It takes place on the Planet Prox.

1850 points
Sieze Ground
Spearhead

Malgrim was running the following (according to my memory):
-Marshall and 7 Terminators in Land Raider Crusader, 4 Lightning Claws and 4 Thunder Hammer/Shields
-Emperors Champion with 9 Crusaders in a Rhino
-5 Tacticals with Plasma Gun and Missile Launcher in Rhino
-5 Tacticals with Lascannon and Meltagun in a Rhino
-Dreadnought, Twin-Linked Lasacannon and Missile Launcher
-Predator, Lascannon Sponsons and Twin-Linked Lascannon

I was running my usual list:
HQ
-Dante
-Corbulo

Elites
-Death Company, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Furioso Dreadnought, Death Company, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor

Troops
-Assault Squad, Powerfist, Rhino with Extra Armor, Pintle Storm Bolter
-Assault Squad, Powersword, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Assault Squad, Poweraxe, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Tactical Squad, 10 men, Lascannon, Meltagun, Rhino with Extra Armor

Fast Attack
-Attack Bike, Multi-Melta
-Attack Bike, Multi-Melta

Heavy Support
-3x Baal Predator, Pintle Storm Bolter, Sponson Heavy Bolters, Extra Armor

I won the roll-off and gave him first turn.

I forgot to set the camera up until turn 2. So there are no pictures of the set up, deployment or first turn. All pictures are at the end of each turn. Nevertheless, we had 5 objectives to place. I had the first placement which meant I was placing three objectives and my opponent was placing two objectives. I placed three objectives in a tight triangle in Malgrim's deployment zone. He placed two objectives in my deployment zone: one in a ruined building and one in the road toward the center of the table.

I reserved everything. He reserved his Assault Squad for deep strike.

Top of 1: He parked one rhino on each of the three objectives in his zone. He moved his Land Raider forward to the center. He knew that I could come on the entire table edge, and he was preparing to react in either direction.

Bottom of 1: I do nothing waiting for reserve rolls next turn.

Top of 2: He positioned his Land Raider, Predator, and Dreadnought in the position which he thought would give them the best opportunity to react to my reserves as they came on the table. The Rhinos remained parked on the triangle of objectives.

Bottom of 2: Reserve rolls turned up Dante, 2 Attack Bikes, 2 Baal Predators, the Poweraxe Assault Squad, and the Tactical Squad. I brought everything in on the far right corner. This gave me access to his three objectives, provided cover for my units while offering me firing lanes. I fired the Assault Cannons from the Baals and the Multimeltas from the Attack Bikes at his Dreadnought and Predator. Both vehicles were Crew Shaken.

Top of 3: Malgrim moved his Land Raider at combat speed angling to get an Assault Cannon shot on my Baal Predator. He moved his Dreadnought and Predator into coverd position as they were shaken. He fired a Missile Launcher and Lascannon out of the top hatch of their respective Rhinos. They achieved a Crew Shaken on my lead Rhino.

Bottom of 3: Reserve Rolls turned up the 2 remaining Assault Squads and Furioso Dreadnought. Furioso moved on without the control of Corbulo. The closest enemy unit was the Land Raider. Furioso fired his Meltagun and then Assaulted the Land Raider Crusader. When the dust settled, the Multimelta and Assault Cannon were destroyed. Also, the Land Raider was Immobolized. I moved the Assault Squads from reserves on the left side of the table toward the free objectives on that side of the table. I moved the shaken Baal and the Shaken Rhino into positions to provide cover for the other tanks and popped smoke. I fired the Assault Cannon at the Land Raider with no result. I fired the Tactical Lascannon out the top hatch at the opposing Lascannon Rhino achieving a Crew Shaken. Dante jumped of behind the Emperor's champion Rhino and fired the Perdition Pistol into the rear armor achieving a Vehicle Wrecked spilling out the Emperor's Champion and Crusader Squad. Dante assaulted them. The assault would last until the following turn. One Attack Bike put another Crew Shaken result on the Predator. The second Attack Bike fired on the Missile Launcher Rhino missing its target.

Top of 4: Malgrim's Dreadnought destroyed a Baal Predator, Vehicle Explodes. He also destroyed one Attack Bike with a Krak Missile from the top hatch of a Rhino. His Predator withdrew to cover popping smoke. He unloaded his Terminators and moved them towards my Baal Predator. They attempted to assault the Baal, but they were too far away. This mistake would prove to be fatal, in my oppinion. The assault ended. Dante killed the Emperor's Champion, but his squad killed Dante.

Bottom of 4: Reserve rolls turned up the Death Company and Corbulo. They drove on to the table near the Furioso. Furioso moved toward the Terminators and fired on them. Following the shooting, Furioso assaulted the Terminators. On the left side of the table, my Assault Squad parked on two objectives. On the right side of the table, I manuevered a Baal Predator to fire on the Terminators. I began the run towards Malgrim's objectives with my Rhinos. The Attack Bike fired on Malgrim's Rhino exploding the transport.

Top of 5: Reserve rolls turned up his Assault Squad. They landed in a good spot. It provided cover, and it gave them opportunity to contest my objectives on the left side of the table. Furioso and Terminators continued their battle. He stopped both of my transports on the right side of the table with shooting (wrecked and immobolized). I unloaded my Assault Squad on the opposite side of the Rhino so they could not be assaulted. They failed the pinning test. He used the Predator, Dreadnought, and Missile Launcher. He knew that he had to stop those transports in order to keep his objectives. Well, done Marshall Malgrim. His Lascannon/Meltagun squad killed my remaining Attack Bike.

Bottom of 5: I had to get him off those objectives. He was ahead 3 to 2. Reserves gave me the final Baal Predator. I fired one on the Crusader Squad and the other on his Missile Launcher squad's Rhino (out of range for the Assault Cannon and no penetration for the Heavy Bolters). I unloaded the Tactical Squad and assaulted the Crusader Squad. I lined it all up on the initial move to have a minimum number of my troops in contact with their assault moves. This would require his using all his reaction move in order to reach close combat. I hoped to draw them off of the objective. My Assault Squad was recovering from the pinning wreck and could not do anything. Also, I moved the DC through a ruined building toward that Missile/Launcher squad and unloaded them. However, they were not close enough to contest the objective. By the end of this turn, the Furioso had been immobolized and both of his DCCW's had been destroyed, but the assault continued.

At the end of this turn, we checked the objectives. My attempt to draw the Crusader Squad away had failed. One of them was still close enough to control the objective. So, the Black Templars controlled 3 objectives, and the Angels Sanguine controlled 2 objectives. Malgrim rolled the die, and the result was a 4. The game would go on to turn 6. If it had ended here, Malgrim would have won. Congratulations to him on a game well played. He did a good job of putting himself in a place for a turn 5 victory. However, the game went to turn 6.

Top of 6: Malgrim jumped over to one of my objectives on the left. He assaulted the Rhino with meltabombs and blew it apart. I was left with 3 Assault Marines and their Powerfist Veteran Sgt. Objective contested. The Crusader Squad finished off my Tactical Squad and settled back toward their objective through consolidation. The Furioso and Terminators continued slugging it out.

Bottom of 6: I was now losing 3 objectives to 1. On the left side of the table, my Powerfist Squad fired on and assaulted Malgrim's Assault Squad. The assault was a draw. The DC assaulted his Rhino in the middle. They wrecked the rhino and forced the Marines out the other side of the vehicle. More importantly, they were now contesting the objective. I moved the Assault Squad which had been pinned over, fired on and assaulted his lascannon squad. I won the assault, but the Templars held their ground. However, this objective was now contested. I drove a Baal Predator around the bunker and pulled alongside the wrecked Rhino contesting his third objective.

Malgrim rolled the die. The result was a 2. The game was over. The objective count was as follows: Angels Sanguine: 1 and Black Templars: 0.

My analysis: Marshall Malgrim played a grand game. He was in position to win on turn 5. That is the position that I want to be in. So, congratulations to him on a great game played well.

Marshall Malgrim uses his Land Raider and Terminators as a Spearhead. He tries to ram it down his opponents throat and disrupt things. I generally try to avoid it and slow it if possible. However, this time I was able to use the Furioso Dreadnought to tarpit that unit. If Malgrim had unloaded and assaulted the Dreadnought, things may have been very different. However, he went for Baals. It was close, but they were out of assault range. This allowed Furioso to get the advantage in the first round. He was unable to destroy the Terminators, but they were unable to destroy him. Both were effectively removed from the game. That trade-off is in my favor.

Also, remember to use Extra Armor. Their were many Crew Stunned results on my vehicles throughout this game. However, Extra Armor kept all those tanks rolling. It is definitely worth the points. Especially on those Rhinos which are carrying troops accross the table toward objectives. This army realies on the Blood Angels speed. You must keep those Over-Charged Engine Rhinos rolling.

In the end, it was a great game. If one die roll (at the end of turn 5) had gone another way, I would have lost the game. Someone once said, "Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good."

Angels Sanguine vs. Eldar 1850pts

This battle report is for the Aftermath Campaign. Click on the link and check it out. I find it to be good fun. Lord Sentikan, supreme commander of the Angels Sanguine, lead the 2nd Company in an assault on the planet Prox in order to defeat the enemies of the Emperor and restore order.

This game was the re-scheduled game against Silchias Ruin's Eldar.

1850 pts; Capture and Control; Dawn of War

My opponent ran the following list: (seer council jetbikes were proxied with foot models)
-Farseer, Jetbike, Forturne, Guide
-5 Warlocks, destructor, enhance, witchblades, jetbikes
-Autarch, Jetbike, Laser Lance, Mandiblaster
-5 Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent, T/L Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, Star Engines
-8 Dire Avengers w/ Exarch, Diresword & Pistol, Bladestorm and Defend, Wave Serpent, T/L Shuriken Cannons, Shuriken Cannon, Star Engines
-8 Striking Scorpions w/ Exarch, Claw Weapon, Wave Serpent (Falcon Proxy) w T/L Shuriken Cannons, Shuriken Cannon, Star Engines
-8x Warp spiders w/ exarch, dual spinners
-Fire Prism w/ holofields
-Fire Prism w/ holofields

I ran my usual list:
-Dante
-Corbulo
-Death Company, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Furioso Dreadnought, Death Company, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armor
-Assault Squad, Powerfist, Rhino with Extra Armor, Pintle Storm Bolter
-Assault Squad, Powersword, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Assault Squad, Poweraxe, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Tactical Squad, 10 men, Lascannon, Meltagun, Rhino with Extra Armor
-Attack Bike, Multi-Melta
-Attack Bike, Multi-Melta
-3x Baal Predator, Pintle Storm Bolter, Sponson Heavy Bolters, Extra Armor

My opponent won the roll-off and passed me first turn. So, I decided to deploy my Tactical Squad in their Rhino on my objective. I reserved only my Assault Squads. Everything else would come on in turn one. My opponent was faced with a difficult decision. He was running a Jetbike Seer Council with an Autarch. However, he could not start both HQs on the table together. We all know that the Seer Council needs to start on the table to get fortuned up. He deployed his small Dire Avenger Squad in Wave Serpent on his objective. The Seer Council was deployed behind the ruins directly across the table from my Tactical squad. His Autarch would come on during the first turn along with everything except for his Warp Spiders (reserved). The pictures presented were taken at the end of each turn.

Top of 1: I turbo-boosted two Attack Bikes on the right side of the table headed towards the Wave Serpent holding an objective. 3 Baal Predators enter at cruising speed headed toward the center of the table. I chose a route for them which would both provide cover and allow them to react to either side of the table as needed. I brought Dante, Corbulo and DC, and Furioso on near my objective. Night Fight rules prevented me from shooting the Lascannon at the Wave Serpent.

Bottom of 1: Silchias brought on two Wave Serpents and the other large Dire Avenger Wave Serpent near my objective. Fire Prisms fired on my Tactical Rhino and DC Rhino. Both shots scattered off. The Jetbike Council turboed across the table edge toward the center of the table in order to allow the Autarch to join the unit. Striking Scorpions entered the table and moved laterally flat out toward the right side of the table to gain a cover save. The Wave Serpent on his objective wounded one Attack Bike.

Top of 2: Reserve rolls turned up two Assault Squads. I drove them onto to the right flank at cruising speed. They would be heading toward my opponents objective. I moved the Attack Bikes up and fired Multi-meltas on the Wave Serpent holding his objective. One miss and one Vehicle Explodes. The explosion killed one Dire Avenger. I rolled for over-charged engines on all three Baal Predators. Two stalled, but the farthest right passed the roll. I moved it up 6". I fired killing the remaining Dire Avengers on my opponents obective. The other two Baals were out of range for everything. I moved Dante, DC, and Furioso up 6" waiting to counter-charge whatever approched my objective. I fired the Rhino storm-bolter to no effect.

Bottom of 2: My opponent began encircling my objective. He moved his remaining Dire Avengers in their Wave Serpent to the left hand corner in the rear armor arc of my Tactical Rhino. Fire Prisms continued firing on Rhinos resulting in a Crew Shaken on the Tactical Rhino. The Jetbike Council turboed into the ruin directly across from my objective. The Striking Scorpion Wave Serpent moved flat-out plus the star engine move in order to arrive between my Tactical Rhino and the Jetbike Council.

Top of 3: Reserve rolls turned up the remaining Assault Squad. I drove them into the ruin on my objective behind the Tactical Rhino. On the right, I moved the Assault Squads at cruising speed towards my opponents objective. The Attack Bikes turbo boosted to the center of the table. Baal Predators moved into range and LoS on the Jetbike Council. I unloaded the Tactical Squad from their Rhino and moved them toward the Jetbike Council. I unloaded the DC and moved them around the other side of the intervening Wave Serpent toward the Jetbike Council. Dante jumped up and joined their squad. Corbulo stayed in the Rhino and drove over to offer Furious Charge to everyone. Furioso moved up following the DC. I fired 3 Baal Preds, 14 Bolt Pistols (DC and Tactical), and the Perdition Pistol into the Jetbike Council. I killed 3 Warlocks. The Furioso fired on the Scorpion Wave Serpent I aimed the heavy flamer template so that it fell over the Autarch in Jetbike council as well. Furioso's shooting did nothing. So, Furioso assaulted the Wave Serpent exploding the vehicle. The explosion killed one of the Striking Scorpions. The DC and Dante declared assault on the Jetbike Council. I rolled too low on the difficult terrain test and could not reach close combat. I decided to declare the Tactical Squad assault without their help. Tacticals made it into CC. They killed one worlock and put one wound on the Farseer. The Jetbike council killed two marines. The assault was a draw.

Bottom of 3: Reserve rolls produced the Warp Spiders. They landed, via deep strike, behind Furioso and fire into him resulting in two destroyed weapons and an immobolize. He was now effectively useless. They used their special warp to move into a ruined building during the assault phase. The Striking Scorpions fired on and assaulted Dante and the DC. This resulted in 6 dead Striking Scorpions and 1 dead DC. The Exarch remained alone and passed his morale test. Jetbike council killed a couple of Tactical Marines, but they held. A Wave Serpent wrecked my Assault Rhino on my objective. The Marines piled out the rear door and passed the pinning test.

Top of 4: Assault Rhinos on the right flank continued at cruising speed toward the enemy objective. 2 Baal Predators moved into position and unloaded everything on the Warp Spiders destroying them completely. The last Baal Predator moved to complete a triangle of tanks around my objective. The Assault Squad which had been forced from their Rhino last turn embarked into the empty Rhino in the same ruined building which had once held the Tactical Squad. The Assaults continue. Dante and DC kill the Scorpion Exarch. Jetbike Council kills another Tactical Marine, but they hold. The Attack Bikes move from the center of the table to fire on a Fire Prism resulting in a crew stunned.

Bottom of 4: Large Dire Avenger Wave Serpent moves flat out from my objective toward the enemy objective. A Fire Prism hits but fails to penetrate. Jetbike Council kills another couple of Tactical Marines, but they hold.

Top of 5: Assault Squads on the right flank park their Rhinos on top of the enemy objective. I move 2 Baal Predators and 1 Attack Bike over to attack the only remaining Wave Serpent. They achieve an immobilized result. The Wave Serpent moved flat out previously. So, the immobilize turned into a wreck. 1 Attack Bike fired on a Wave Serpent, shaking the crew. Dante and DC finally get to join the CC with the Jetbike Council and Tacticals (something I intended to do in the top of turn 3). By this time, there remained only the Veteran Sgt. and 1 Tactical Marine. At the end of this combat, the Autarch was all that remained of the Seer Council.

Bottom of 5: The Dire Avengers moved closer to the enemy objective. Shaken Fire Prism moved toward the right side of the table. The other Fire Prism fired on the Assault Squad Rhino which was holding my objective shaking the crew. The CC continued. The Autarch died; the Jetbike Seer Council was no more. All that remained was Dante, 3 DC, and the Tactical Squad's Veteran Sgt. standing in the remains of his Xenos enemies.

The game ended on turn 5. The result: Angels Sanguine: 2 objectives, Eldar: 0 objectives.

My analysis: Well, the game turned out better in the end than I thought it would about the second turn.

I was able to create just the tar-pit that I needed on the third turn. The tar-pit was designed for the Seer Council. However, the tar-pit ended up swallowing the Seer Council, a Wave Serpent, and the Striking Scorpions. I was able to get the charge, and I brought along the Tactical Squad for more wounds.

One of my goals was to keep the Seer Council from destroying my Baal Predators. That goal was a success. The Baal Predators' firepower served me well throughout the game.

Another important factor was the destruction of one troops selection and its transport on the second turn. After that, the pressure was really on my opponent. He had one troops choice, and I had four troops choices. Furthermore, there were only 2 objectives.

The decision to reserve only the Assault Squads proved beneficial. This goes back to another battle report in which I reserved everything for a Capture and Control mission. I was only able to squeak out a draw. This method (using all elites, hq, and heavies to defend my objective) made it much easier to go for the win. As a matter of fact, Silchias stated after the game that the most difficult thing was trying to get me off of my objective.

The longer I play this army list without making changes to it, the more comfortable I feel with the list on the table. I would suggest using your list in several games (at least 5) without making changes to it. The problem may not be the units (like my attack bikes). It may be that you haven't learned to use them together properly (as in my case).

A Battle Report!

This is a battle report for the Aftermath Campaign. This battle was waged on the planet Prox. As Lord Sentikan arrived in the Prox system commanding the Angels Sanguine 2nd Company, he dispatched a small contingent to destroy some traitors on the planet Prox.

I have been so long without a game of 40k, that I talked my wife into playing. She will only play small points values. So, she selected 500 points from my Imperial Guard. We will call them Traitor Guard for the Aftermath Campaign.

Army Lists:
Traitor Guard
-Company Command Squad: Regimental Standard
-Platoon 1-Command Squad: Platoon Standard
-Infantry Squad: Flamer, Heavy Bolter
-Infantry Squad: Flamer, Heavy Bolter
-Platoon 2-Command Squad
-Infantry Squad
-Infantry Squad
-Basilisk

Angels Sanguine
-Corbulo
-Death Company (2 men): Jump Packs
-Assault Squad
-Tactical Squad: 10 Men, Lascannon, Rhino

As I looked at the two armies on the table together, I felt like it couldn't be fair. My marines were seriously outnumbered. However, the exact opposite proved to be true. The small points value seemed to favor the marines.

Annihilation; Dawn of War; 500 points

The Traitor Guard won the roll and chose to go first. My opponent combined her platoons, and deployed one 20 man infantry unit along with the company command squad on a wooded hill. The platoon command squad deployed at the edge of the deployment zone in order to push my units back. I deployed a combat squad with the lascannon in some area terrain on the opposite side of the table. No one reserved any units. Everything would be coming on in turn 1.

Top of 1: The second platoon marched onto the table on the lefthand side. They obviously intended to overwhelm my combat squad. The basilisk came on behind the infantry on the wooded hill. It fired at the lascannon squad, but the night fight rules saved me. The forward deployed platoon command squad withdrew.

Bottom of 1: I drove on the other combat squad. I jumped in the Assault Squad and the Death Company using the Rhino to block line of sight. I tried to shoot the Basilisk with the lascannon, but the night fight rules stopped me.

Top of 2: The Basilisk laid a pie-plate down on my rhino which also covered my tightliy packed jump troops. However, it scattered off target. The platoon which entered on the left side of the table fired two heavy bolters at the lascannon combat squad. Power Armor saved the marines.

Bottom of 2: Lascannon penetrated the Basilisk resulting in a destroyed earthshaker cannon. I tank shocked the infantry squad in the woods, but the passed their morale check. The Death Company and the Assault Squad jumped forward and assaulted. I was able to assault the twenty man infantry squad with both DC and Assault Marines. Furthermore, two of the Assault Marines were able to assault the Platoon Command Squad. My marines won the assault by nine wounds. Both guard units broke and my marines cut them down as they tried to flee.

Top of 3: The Company Command Squad moved out of the woods in order to blast the DC with their lasguns. Power Armor saved the marines. The Basilisk backed into the corner and fired the Heavy Bolter at the Assault Marines. Power Armor saves the marines. The left flank platoon fired the Heavy Bolters into the lascannon combat squad. Bad Dice rolls and the power armor saved the marines again.

Bottom of 3: The DC fired bolt pistols into the Company Command Squad and followed with an assault. They won the combat and broke the squad. One of the DC was killed. However, the remaining DC cut down the Fieldmarshal as he fled the field of battle. One Assault Marine died jumping out of the woods. The Assault Squad assaulted the Basilisk resulting in a crew shaken. The lascannon combat squad moved out of their cover towards the platoon which had been firing the heavy bolters.

Top of 4: The Basilisk tank shocked the Assault Squad breaking their morale. They fled from the tank as it powered up its engines. The remaining platoon moved forward to gain rapid fire range on the lascannon combat squad. One Marine was killed in lasgun fire.

Bottom of 4: The Assault Marines regrouped and assaulted the Basilisk again. The Krak Grenades effected a Crew Stunned result. The Lascannon Combat Squad assaulted the platoon, while the DC and Rhino moved in close for assaulting on the following turn. The Combat squad won the combat by 3 wounds, and the combined infantry squad fled. The Tactical Marines cut them down as they fled the battle.

Top of 5: The Basilisk was stunned and could do nothing. The remaining Platoon Command Squad angled to fire on the lascannon combat squad. They were unable to inflict casualties.

Bottom of 5: Corbulo and Combat Squad disembarked. They, together with the DC and the Lascannon Combat Squad, encircled the Platoon Command Squad. They fired bolt pistols and assaulted destroying all the guardsmen. The Assault Squad managed another Crew Stunned on the Basilisk.

We rolled the dice for the end of the game, and the game would proceed to turn six.

Top of 6: The Basilisk was stunned and could do nothing.

Bottom of 6: The Assault Marines were finally able to take out the Basilisk. The result of this turns Krak grenading was Vehicle Explodes.

In the end, I had wiped out my opponent. So, according to the rules I won regardless of mission objectives. However, the Annihilation objective goes hand in hand with a wipe out. By my count, I won 6 Kill Points to none: 2 Combined Infantry Squads, 2 Platoon Command Squads, 1 Company Command Squad, and 1 Basilisk.

My Analysis: I honestly thought that the Guard would have an advantage, as they outnumbered me 55 guardsmen to 18 marines. However, the Marines were worth well more than twice their number in guardsmen. I believe that the low points value favors the marine. His superior equipment and statline really shine at this level. I found that the Power Armor was able to overcome the numbers of shots fired. Also, the Guard's flak armor is useless against even the most basic Marine weaponry. With jump pack troops, I had superior mobility.

My opponent may have done better to keep her troops together so they could support one another. Instead, she split her forces. This allowed me to take on half of her army at a time.

In the final analysis, I am sure that superior equipment and stats did more to win this battle than any tactics on my part.

Aftermath Campaign

I joined the Aftermath Campaign. I am linking it up here. Go and check it out.

The concept behind this campaign is really cool. It takes the form of an online forum, and narrates a monumental war in the Aftermath Sector between the Forces of Order and the Forces of Disorder. It gives the players an opportunity to take part in a larger narrative than just the game you are playing on the table. However, you continue to play your regular games with your registered army. Then, you post a battle report. Each win that you post contributes to the story of the conflict in the Aftermath Sector.

It is great fun all around. I recommend that you check into it. Especially if you are loyal to the Emperor and want to dispatch traitors and evil xenos.

Game Scheduled!!!!

After nearly a month of frustration, I have scheduled a game for tomorrow morning. Everyone in our small gaming group has been busy with real life for the past 6 weeks or more.

Personally, game night was overcome by my oldest daughter's birthday. A couple of weeks later, my wife's birthday. Don't misunderstand me, I hold these yearly events to be more important than my bi-weekly game of 40k. That explains why I observed the birthdays instead of playing. For others in the group, it was different things. However, I am going to play tomorrow.

The game will be an 1850 point battle between Silchias Ruin's Eldar and my Angels Sanguine.

Death Company

We all love the Death Company. What could be better than some raging space marines who have been overcome with blood-lust and have no care in life besides coming to grips with their enemy.

I absolutely love the Death Company. I find them to be powerful and effective.

I have been playing with the number of Death Company which I get for free. I have not been spending extra points for more Death Company. In my current tourney list, that means 4 members in my DC.

When I first started playing BA, I bought and painted 10 DC. I payed the extra points in order to always have 10 DC.

As time passed, I went down to 7 DC. Even more time passed, and I stopped paying for extra DC. I just ran with the free DC.

Here are the facts: They cost 30 points, if you buy any extras. They have a Veteran stat line, rending, fearless, furious charge, and feel no pain. They require leadership from Corbulo or a Chaplain.

Are they worth it? Do you pay the points for extras? Do you only use the free DC? (Incidently, I know that they are not really free, as we pay for them in the cost of other units.) What do you all think on the issue?

Lightning Claws List

A little while back, I mentioned an idea for a BA list featuring Lightning Claw Terminators in a Land Raider. Well, I worked out something that I think might work. Regardless, it should be real fun to play.

HQ
-Dante
-Lemartes

Elites
-Death Company w/ Jump packs
-5 Terminators w/ Lightning Claws

Troops
-Assault Squad (10 men) Powerfist, Plasma Pistol
-Assault Squad (10 men) Powerfist
-Assault Squad (10 men) Powerfist

Fast Attack
-2 Attack Bikes w/ Multimelta
-2 Attack Bikes w/ Multimelta

Heavy Support
-Land Raider w/ Extra Armor


That comes out to the standard tourney size (1850) here on the local scene. I am really interested to try it out. You may have noticed that there are no Rhinos and a lot of jump packs. This is a totally different philosophy from the previous list I was running. I refer you to Jawaballs for the inspiration to try the jump packs back out again.

Let me know what you think.

A trip to a Games Workshop Store

Sadly, I must say that this weekends scheduled game of 40k did not materialize. As Friday dawned, I was receiving telephone calls from 2 of our players who had to back out because of last minute family matters.

Well, you cannot blame a guy for keeping his priorities straight and taking care of his family before his hobby. I applaud them in fact. So, I decided to spend time with my family Friday evening.

However, I am happy to report that I was able to make a trip to the closest Games Workshop retail store. It took just under 2 hours of driving to reach the store.

No, I did not drive 2 hours just to visit the store. My wife's sewing machine had malfunctioned, and the warranty required that we take it to a certain repair shop. That repair shop was a half-hour's drive from the store. So, we made a day of it.

Well, the store was fun. I endured an friendly argument with one of the GW staff, as he tried to tell me that I could spend points somewhere better than Dante. He was dead wrong. They tried to sell me a Space Wolves codex. Furthermore, they could not believe that I shelved my Imperial Guard army just as the new codex had come out.

Some mysteries are never solved, I suppose.

40k Tomorrow

I have a game scheduled for tomorrow evening. However, one of our usual 4 players had to cancel due to family obligations. This occurrence leaves us in the familiar place we were in two weeks ago: a Three Way Scenario.

Since playing the last time, I noticed that the Big Rulebook has a Three player scenario in it. We may try to incorporate some of the rules from that scenario with the one we used previously.

I will write a battle report over the weekend.

I play one game of 40k every 2 weeks.
I am just curious. How often do you play 40k?

Apocalypse Pictures

I just found these pictures on my wife's computer. I played the game 5 months ago. I forgot that I took pictures of the game until just yesterday. My wife's screen saver was running through all the pictures of our daughters. Suddenly, a picture of 40k popped up on the screen. Naturally, I
grabbed the flash drive and transferred the pictures over to my computer.

I thought I would post a few of the pictures up for your enjoyment. I am not going to try a battle report, as I do not remember the details of what happened this far removed from the game.

I do remember that this particular game pitted a combined imperial effort (my Angels Sanguine and my Imperial Guard) against a traitorous branch of the Black Templars who had joined with the Tau to fight for the greater good (High Marshal Hunter's Templars and O'shavo Roger's Tau).

It was a load of fun. I hope we can get another apocalypse battle dialed up.