Monday's Game at the Club

 I played in a 1500 point game against a combined force. My opponents: 750 Vanilla Space Marines and 750 Imperial Guard.

I ran the following list for fun:
-Reclusiarch in Terminator Armor
-Honor Guard with 4 Meltaguns
-Terminator Assault Squad with 4 Lightening Claws and 1 Thunder Hammer in a Land Raider Crusader (joined by the Reclusiarch).
-2x Assault Squad (5 man bare-bones)
-3x Baal Predator with Heavy Bolter Sponsons and Pintle Storm Bolter.


Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Dawn of War

I really had a blast playing this week against to really great sports. They are still learning the game, and I spent some time teaching throughout the game about basic game mechanics, good 40k/table top etiquette, and having a plan for the battle. All this teaching meant that we had to call the game after turn 4, as the 2 hours for the after-school club had expired.

The game ended in a draw, but I know the exact reason for this end. I was tempted into putting my Assault Marines into the assault instead of putting one unit on my objective.

The after game analysis teaches a lesson. Don't give up on your plan for any reason. I planned on fighting the battle with everything except for my Assault Marines. I reserved those Marines in order to protect them from fire and bring on later for objective grabs. However, I was having so much success in killing in the early game. When I made my reserve rolls, I dropped my Assault Marines in on the opponents side of the table to join the battle. The result: when the game was called, I controlled no objective. My opponents controlled none as a result of the killing.

Nevertheless, it was a light and fun game. As usual, I was not pressing hard because this was the teaching environment. Yet, I thought we could all learn (or be reinforced in our good practices) by a little post game analysis.

Do not give up on your plan for any reason. We would each do well to start with a plan and stick to that plan. Pay attention to the mission objectives, and work early enough to put yourself in a position to win the game.

Monday's Game at the Club: Terminator Tactics

 I volunteer with an after-school program over at the High School called the Sci-Fi Club. All gaming and Sci-Fi related stuff is welcome. There are around a dozen up-and-coming 40k gamers who attend. They are at various stages of collecting armies. Any given week, they are scattered between modeling, painting, or playing at the club.

I have been playing each week in various capacities (either solo games or partnering with students). My goal is to teach them the basic rules, help them with codex specific rules, increase tactical and strategic thinking in game, and encourage sportsmanship. On top of that, I get to have fun.

This past week, I joined forces with a Black Templar player in a game against an Imperial Guard player. The young man playing the Imperial Guard is the oldest playing and a bit more advanced in most aspects of the game.


 BT and I split the Force Organization Chart. I threw Assault Termies (1 Thunder Hammer and 4 Lightning Claws), 1 Reclusiarch in Terminator Armor, and a basic Sanguinary Priest in my new Land Raider Crusader. BT brought everything else in the army.

My goal was to demonstrate the value of Mechanized Transport on the table-top. I believe that it worked.

In a Dawn of War situation, I was able to roll on the table at cruising speed, using Power of the Machine Spirit to fire the Multi-Melta on a Leman Russ, and deposit my Terminators into a platoon on Turn 3. This was despite attracting Battle Cannon and Manticore fire while in transit.

Near the end of the game, the following was said (and I quote), "I am beginning to see the value of using Transports."

I would like to add a bit of general Blood Angel terminator tactics. I understand the temptation to run a lot of TH/SS like all the other marines do.

I submit that our codex makes Lightning Claws the stronger option. I would like to qualify that statement by saying that you should sprinkle in some Hammertime to increase survivability. I will let you decide the perfect ratio of LCs to TH/SSs in your unit. I like 4 LCs with 1 TH/SS.

Ok, back to the Lightning Claws: Lightning Claws Terminators used in conjunction with a Sanguinary Priest make an outstanding combination. Furious Charge grants that the LCs are going off on Initiative 5 and Strength 5. We already have a veteran statline. Throw in the Chaplain, and I get the following from my 4 LC termies: 16 attacks at Initiative 5 which re-roll to hit and re-roll to wound (Strength 5) while ignoring armor saves.  It is pretty devastating.

In yesterdays game, they inflicted 15 wounds off their 16 attacks on a 25 man blob squad. Throw in the Reclusiarch's attacks, and Sgt Hammertime was lucky that anything was left to hit.

In a previous game a couple of weeks back, I went head to head with an opponents Terminators. 5 on 5. His 5 Hammers versus my configuration of 4 LC and 1 TH. Bear in mind that this was without a Sanguinary Priest or Chaplain. My LC termies killed 4 of his TH termies at initiative 4 prior to the hammers ever attempting to strike a blow.

So, put a Sanguinary Priest and Chaplain in a unit with Lightning Claw Terminators, and you will not be disappointed. Remember to sprinkle in the appropriate amount of Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield Terminators to increase survivability. Try it, you'll like it!

As a matter of fact, I have been putting together a Sanguinary Priest in Terminator Armor and another TH/SS Termie in order to fill up my Crusader.

I owe you some finished photos of the Crusader. Also, I will post photos of the Sanguinary Priest in Terminator Armor in the future.

Thanks for viewing and reading, your comments are always welcome.

Tactics: Deployment

In the wake of my latest battle report (found at this link), I wanted to do a bit more analysis of tactics. In my opinion, one of the most important aspects Warhammer 40k is deployment. Sadly, however, this tactical aspect of the game receives little to no attention in the forums and blogs. Perhaps it is more accurate if I say that deployment does not receive the attention that it is due.

I think we can all remember games where we were unable to overcome the advantage we have given our opponent through poor choices in deployment. Reach back into your memory and feel once again victory slipping away from the start of turn one as you continuously visualize the mistakes of deployment thinking, "I should've done this or that."

So in an effort to be helpful, I would like to explain the strategic thought behind my attempt to gain a tactical advantage through deployment.

I play an assault focused Angels Sanguine force. In my most recent match I was playing against the Imperial Guard.

When you are playing an assault force against a shooty army (or shooty list), you need to deploy with the purpose of coming to grips with your enemy as quickly as possible. You must avoid giving your opponent any extra rounds of shooting.

Generally speaking, shooty lists and their generals want to alpha strike. They want to go first and blast you into the stratosphere before you can get started, and a mistake in deployment can give them the extra round or two that they need to neuter your force.

In this situation, I go first if I get the opportunity. Going first creates a little problem. If we choose to go first, we must deploy before our opponent. I call this deploying blind.

Deploy in the wrong place, and you give your opponent an advantage. If you concentrate your force on one flank or the other, then your enemy will deploy on the opposite flank denying you ability to engage. If you are on the right flank, he will deploy on your left flank. He will fight what we call a 'refused flank,' creating precious time for shooting you down in the extra turns it takes for you to get into close combat.

If you spread your force out across the entire deployment zone, then your opponent can still use the refused flank in order to fight only a portion of your army. In this scenario, you have given your opponent the chance to gain numerical  (or firepower) advantage in one portion of the battlefield.

My solution to this problem is the following: I deploy my force in the center of the deployment zone as far forward as possible (while still trying to take advantage of terrain within reason). Deploying in this fashion eliminates the advantages that your opponent might gain from trying to fight a refused flank. If he deploys on one flank or the other, then you still close on him quickly with your units arriving simultaneously. If he spreads his forces out in the deployment zone, then you have the opportunity to divide and conquer.

In this situation, many shooty opponents will divide their force placing half in one corner and half in the other. The reason they do this is to create as much distance between your force and theirs. I still feel that this circumstance gives you, the assault army deployed centrally, the advantage. You can decide whether to divide your force and engage or to send your entire army after one half of your opponents force. This decision will be dictated by scenario and is a discussion for a different article.

One final note: the Spearhead deployment type will alter deployment slightly. However, I fee that the most significant restrictions posed by spearhead deployment fall on the shooty list. The assault army may still deploy centrally in order to get as close to the enemy as possible. Spearhead gives your opponent some extra depth in his deployment zone; however, your opponent may not deploy wide on his flanks to create more space.

Hopefully this small tactical discussion of deployment will be useful to some. Furthermore, I hope that it sparks a larger discussion of deployment throughout the blogosphere.

Please leave a comment and join the discussion, whether you would like to support my position, advocate the contrary, or pose an alternative which I have missed. Let us have a collegial and reasonable discussion for the mutual benefit of all.

750 Point Battle Test Case: Tactics

 I have been running pretty hard this week, trying to show my brother-in-law all over this part of Italy. We went down to bay here in Naples, Sorrento, Rome, Spanish Quarter/Spacanapoli here in Naples, Pompei, etc. and etc.

So, I haven't gotten around to posting this: I went over to the Schoolhouse this past Monday to help with the club. In an effort to coach or mentor a young and developing Black Templars player, we decided to play the following: He and I teamed up 750 point FOC legal lists to make 1500 points in a match against one Imperial Guard player. So, it was a 1500 point match-up, but I had 750 points with which to work. I played what you see in the pictures.
-Librarian: Jump Pack, Meltabombs, Shield and Blood Lance
-2 Sanguinary Priests: Jump Packs
-Assault Marines: 10 Marines, 2 Meltaguns, Powerfist
-Assault Marines: 10 Marines, 2 Meltaguns, Powerfist

I put as much effort as I possibly could into teaching the Black Templar player. However, I also decided to make the most of these 750 point encounters for Blood Angels general strategy and tactics and Descent of Angels specifically.

These small battles really give me the opportunity to get a very solid experience base with the basic obligatory choices from the force organization chart. I have the chance to test a lot of different things with the 1 HQ and 2 Troops sized force.

On this particular occasion, I was working with the very core of the Descent of Angels list: Assault Marines, Priests, and a Librarian.

Tactics used: True to form, I reserved for Deepstrike. I attached one priest to each squad and the Librarian to one of the squads. I did this in order to reduce the number of reserve rolls. This guaranteed that when the Marines arrive, a priest would arrive. Also, the Librarian would not arrive alone. I know that may sound too simple, but I wanted to get it documented in case someone needs to learn it.

I chose to deepstrike aggressively. I feel that this is crucial to the success of the Descent of Angels type of list. Our opponent had two Griffon Mortar Tanks sitting bank in a large ruined building which blocked Line of Sight. Their rear was guarded by an infantry platoon which was combined with a commissar. I dropped in on either side of the tanks. I landed each squad in the 'hot' zone for melta shots on the side armor, one squad firing on each tank. The result was two exploded Griffons. They killed about 8 or so of the rear guarding platoon.

Let me speak for a moment about getting the Meltaguns in the 'hot' zone (within 6 inches). I chose not to combat squad, as we were playing annihilation. I placed the Sgt about 5 inches away from the side of the tank and rolled scatter. When you place the troops in concentric circles around the first model, 10 models on the small bases is going to require two rings around the first model to place everyone (really one complete ring and one partial). Nevertheless, I make sure that I place my Meltagun toting marines last and closest to the target. They are part of the partial circle or ring farthest out from the first model and closest to the enemy vehicle.

Think about it this way. This placement allows me to make up for scatter. We are only rolling one d6 on the scatter. I was 4 to 5 inches away with the placement of the original model. Let's just go with 4 inches. If he scatters 3 inches away, then he is now 7 inches away. The bases are just about 1 inch in diameter. So, each ring or circle of deepstriking models earns an inch of scatter back. So, Meltaguns placed on the second ring closest to the target tank would be 5 inches from the vehicle. If my model scattered 4 inches away, then the meltas would be 6 inches. I am sure that you get the picture.

These are a couple of things that have becoming convincing in my experience with the 750 point test cases. More to come.

On a side note, the Angels Sanguine were really on their game that day. In the following round, we exploded a Chimera with the Command Squad inside (after receiving a load of melta fire), assaulted and destroyed the remaining Command Squad members and assaulted the rear guard platoon destroying them. The day continued in that fashion . . . A good day for the Meltaguns.

As always, your comments are welcome and thanks for reading.

Marines are still Marines

Well, they are. It is worth mentioning. I spend so much of the time in my games with my marines inside their Rhinos trying to protect them and move them. I often forget just how tough and durable they really are until I am forced to remember.

Take this last game which I played as an example. I had 4 of my 5 Rhinos popped, forcing the marines outside their protective shell. One Rhino was the Death Company Rhino, and they are not exactly regular marines, so we will not consider them. However, the other three destroyed rhinos forced out one Tactical Squad and 2 Assault Squads.

The Tactical Squad was destroyed, but the Assault Squads (5 man) lasted until the end of the game. One these Assault Squads claimed a game winning objective.

I just felt like stating the obvious here (because if you are like me, you need to be reminded sometimes). We are not talking about Imperial Guardsmen. These are Space Marines. They are durable, tough, and capable warriors. They are able to accomplish their mission and bring death to the enemies of the emperor.

They still have that high stat line, as far as standard troopers are concerned. They still have the best individual equipment that the empire can offer. I have in mind here Power Armor and the Holy Bolter, or Bolt Pistol and Chainsword.

There are many table-top applications to this truth. Here is one: Park that Rhino on top of the objective. Your Tactical (or Assault for Blood Angels) Squad can claim the objective from inside. Your opponent must destroy the Rhino, and we all know the increased difficulty of destroying vehicles in 5th edition. After your opponent destroys the Rhino, he still has a unit of durable, tough, and nasty Space Marines to kill.

Tactica: Assaulting Vehicles

I have found that Assaulting Vehicles is generally the best way to deal with them. Through much game experience, I have noticed that vehicles are extremely difficult to destroy through shooting. Even the weapons that are praised as "Anti-Tank" have difficulty finishing the job.

However, assaulting vehicles has proved to be more fruitful. The reasons being as follows:

*You will generally get more dice to roll. Even a tactical squad using Krak grenades gets 10 attacks, whereas the meltagun, lascannon, or missile launcher in the squad only has one shot. Since I 'grew up' in 40k playing Imperial Guard, I always believe that more dice is better. I have not even mentioned the fact that you get your full attacks when not using grenades. We all know that more dice rolled to hit means more dice rolled for armor penetration. More dice for armor penetration means more dice for the damage table.

*Your attacks are directed at the rear armor. I find it easier to reach the front of a vehicle for an assault against the rear armor, rather than manuevering behind a vehicle for shooting attacks. My opponents are generally very careful about where they point there vulnerable rear armor.

So, I encourage you to assault those vehicles. Especially if you can catch them driving at combat speed or stationary. If the vehicle didn't move, you can't miss.

Since marines come standard with Krak grenades, do it. According to the new Codex, the regular guardsmen comes standard with Frag grenades. So, the lowly guardsmen is not too weak for the AV 10.

After considering this further, the guard army majors on firepower. So, you guard players may do well without having to resort to assaulting vehicles.

Strategy for Tomorrow's Game

The Bible even tells us that no good king commits his armies to battle without first weighing cost. So, I have been thinking about tomorrows games a little. We will be rolling for standard missions.

If I play Capture and Control, then I am going to deploy my HQ, Elites, and Heavy. I will only reserve the Troops. This will be slightly different from my standing rule of RESERVE EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME.

Since I began playing this army list patterned after Jawaballs list and tactics, I have been reserving everything. On a few occasions, I have wished that I had more control over what was coming in when.

A few examples:
I always want to use my assault element in conjunction. I want Dante and Corbulo to be within 12 inches of each and the Death Company (including DC Dreadnought). This way, all of them will have Preferred Enemy and Furious Charge. However, my reserve roles have brought them on the table at different times in a few battles. Since I can't have one of them waiting around for the other to show up, I have ended up using them away from each other on these occasions.

My Death Company showing up on turn 5 of a game that ended on turn 5.

My Furioso Dread showing up on turn 5 of a game that ended on turn 5.

Dante coming in on turn 5 of a game that ended on turn 5.

I suppose that I only notice it with the assault element, because these are the heavy hitters. Also, they are designed for optimal performance when functioning together.

I will probably play sieze ground and annhilation the same as usual, meaning reserving all. However, I am going to be playing against a Seer Council Eldar list (Wave Serpents and all). So, he will probably be reserving. Depending on who goes first or second, and whether or not my opponent reserves all, I may not.

A Tactical Survey

I wanted to mention a phenomenon that occurred during my games at 'Ard Boyz. The reason that this is a survey and not tactical advice, is because it is really only an observance from a limited number of games. I thought I would mention it to you and see if you have experienced something similar.

You all know that I run a mechanized list. For the big 2500 pts at 'ard boyz, I added 2 veteran assault Squads and one honor guard, all with jump packs. Partly because those are the models that I had, and partly because I wanted to see them in action.

As part of my mechanized tactics, I was reserving everything for last second objective grabbing. The funny thing that I observed (and I was not expecting this at all) was that my opponents came close enough to my board edge (in search of objectives) that the Jump Troops could assault on the turn that they entered play.

I suppose it is obvious then that I was not deepstriking them, but jumping in from the table edge.

Well, it worked out really well. I call it a phenomenon, or merely an observance, because I have not tested it over enough games to know if it is truly effective or something that you can count on.

In reality, there are an infinite number of variables that could influence your opponent to come close to your table edge or to stay away from it.

So, I wonder if this is your experience? What do you think? Is this viable, or was it just a fluke? Please post your comments, and lets collect our thoughts on this gaming phenomenon.

Smoke and Mirrors, er . . . uh Transports

Here is another battlefield tactic. A quick tip, a battlefield tactic that will serve you well in your games.

The availability of cover in 5th Edition has changed the game greatly. However, if you do not take full advantage of this aspect of the game, then your opponent will have an edge on you. It is one thing to make a good army list, but you must play well on the table to win the day.

Here is the quick tip: Make cover for your transports where there is none.
You must learn to move your tanks your in a way that will provide cover.

In the first picture, you see how two rhinos traveling together are stronger than one. The first Rhino pops smoke, and the second takes cover behind the first. Make sure that you obscure the vehicle by keeping it tucked in behind the first. On the next turn, drive the rhino in the back out full speed ahead. Pop smoke, and drive the rhino which smoked on the previous turn up behind the new lead rhino.

Be sure to tuck the Rhino in behind to maximize its cover. With this method, two Rhinos can cover much more distance, and they can benefit from the smoke launchers for two turns.

In the second picture, you can see a rhino parked on an objective in the edge of a ruin. I placed the Rhino so that its side armor facing was 50% obscured to provide a cover save. Also, the Tactical Squad inside can fire the lascannon out of the top hatch. In this scenario, my opponent must either change his plans and move to another part of the table to change armor facings that he is targeting, give up on firing at the rhino, or allow me the cover save.

In the last picture, you can see another use of terrain to get that cover save. You have to think about the saves as you make your moves. Use every bit of the terrain to your advantage.

There is a right way and a wrong way to move. Hanging your transports out in the wind is the wrong way to move.

Tank Shock!!!

I want to share a quick tip on battlefield tactics.

For all you veterans out there, this will be nothing new. However, I want to share some of these tactics that a lot of us take for granted, just in case someone has not heard it yet.

Ok, here is the tip:
Tank Shock objectives.

If your opponent is holding his objective with infantry, he may have done well to keep them in cover and keep them alive. He may have spaced them out so that you cannot get within 3" to contest.

Well, that may be correct for some of your models. However, that is not correct for you tanks. If you tank shock and they pass their leadership test, they will not run away. However, they must move out of the way to let your tank go by. They cannot stop you from getting on the objective.

Even if they decide to 'death or glory,' you may still get close enough to contest.

As a matter of fact, that was the difference between a minor victory and a massacre in the first round of 'ard boyz last month. On the bottom of the last turn, my opponent held 2 objectives, and I held 2 objectives. I had the advantage in Kill Points. Well, I tank shocked one of his objectives with on of my Baal Predators. He passed his leadership test, and chose to 'death or glory' with his meltagun. He immobolized the Baal Predator. However, it was stopped within 3" of his objective. As a result, I won the Massacre by canceling one of his objectives with a shocking Baal Predator.

So, don't forget to Tank Shock on the final turn. Use your Heavy Support tanks to help contest objectives. Use your guys loaded up in Tank Transports.

This is a tactic that needs to be second nature. It needs to become part of your normal way of conceiving the game.