Hi everyone, and welcome to my first battle report from the Rapid Fire 2015 tournament. Rapid Fire is held by the guys from Stirling Wargamers. I'll go into more details in a future post, but I'll just say from the start that I had a fantastic weekend and well done to the guys for running such a great weekend that was very well organised.
The tournament consisted of 6 games of 40k over two days, featuring a mixture of eternal war and maelstrom missions. Lists were 1850 pts and could include units from up to two detachments (which could be formations). Armies could not include "come the apocalypse" allies and a maximum of 600 pts could be spent on Forgeworld/Superheavies/Gargantuan creatures. There were some comp rules including; maximum 18 warp charge dice, re-rolled saves capped at 4+ and invulnerable saves allowed vs destroyer weapons.
Each mission would use a mixture of primary and secondary objective victory points to determine the winner and the differences between the victory points for both players would determine how many tournament points they each scored. For the missions, First Blood was replaced with Draw Blood; select an enemy unit, if they are destroyed by the end of the game, you achieve the objective. A nice change that reduces the importance of going first in missions.
The first game was crusade (5 objectives) using Vanguard Strike deployment and I would be playing against Craig and his Orks.
My army list consisted of:
Kor'sarro Khan- Moondrakken (with CS)
Librarian- Mastery Level 2, Auspex, Meltabombs, Force Sword, Bolt Pistol (with C)
5 Command Squad- Mounted on bikes, 4 grav guns, 2 storm shields, Apothecary (CS)
5 Bikers- 2 Grav guns, sergeant has meltabombs (GB1)
5 Bikers- 2 Grav guns, sergeant has meltabombs (GB2)
5 Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, sergeant has meltabombs (MB)
10 Tactical marines- Meltagun, sergeant has combi-melta and meltabombs (TS1 and TS2)
Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP2)
5 Scouts- Bolt pistols, close combat weapons, sergeant has meltabombs (Sc)
Landspeeder Storm- Heavy Bolter, Cerberus Missile launcher (LS)
Drop Pod- Deathwind missile launcher (DP1)
Stormtalon- TL assault cannons, skyhammer missile launcher (ST)
2 Attack Bikes- Multimeltas (AB)
5 Devastators- 4 Missile Launchers (D)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R)
3 Centurions- Grav amps and grav cannons, hurricane bolters (C)
I have previously posted on my army list choices and the strengths and weaknesses of the list.
Following Lightning Slayer's advice on psychic powers in the post, I decided to roll once on Divination and Telepathy. I didn't like the rolls, so ended up taking Prescience and Psychic Shriek as the primaris powers. I think this gives the Librarian some more flexibility- Prescience should help the centurions wipe out whatever they target and Psychic Shriek may be very useful against Orks with their low leadership. (On a side note, Lightning Slayer has recently got back into blogging after a LONG absence. You should check out his blog, where hopefully I will be finding out more valuable tactical insights).
Craig's Ork army consisted of:
Big Mek- Kustom Force Field (BM1)
Big Mek- Kustom Force Field (BM2)
10 Meganobz- Bosspole, TL shootas (MN)
Battlewagon (B)
6 x 12 Ork Boyz- Nob with power claw and bosspole, sluggas and choppas (M1-M6)
6x Trukk (T1-T6)
15 Lootas (L)
5 Nobz- Sluggas and Choppas (N)
Warlord Trait- Prophet of the Waaagh (warlord gets to Waaagh).
Looks to be a tough Ork army. Lots of mobility and combat potential with all the trukk boyz and the meganobz will wipe out any unit they get into combat with. I will need to use my own mobility to keep away from them and use my firepower to try and whittle them down to a manageable level.
The battle took place on table 16, with a great industrial walkway complex covering most of the board. We agreed beforehand that all models could move under the walkways without penalty, it would be too unfair if the trukks and battlewagon were restricted to only moving on the outskirts of the board.
I won the roll for table edge, choosing the side with the closest objectives, and for deployment, choosing to go first.
I put the Devastators on the tower beside the objective. The other biker units deployed on the deployment zone line, ready to advance on the Orks, with the speeder and Rhino on the right flank.
The Orks responded with the Lootas deploying on the platform opposite the Devastators and the trukks and Battlewagon deploying as far forward as possible in a straight line. The Meganobz were in the Battlewagon.
For my Scout moves, I only moved the attack bikes forward towards the Battlewagon. My plan was to try and destroy the Battlewagon with the multimeltas on the attack bike, then take out the Meganobz with the Centurions, who would arrive on turn 1. The rest of the squads would target the trukks to eliminate the mobility of the Orks and deal with them with my superior firepower.
For Draw Blood, I chose a trukk on the far left of the Ork flank and Craig chose the Landspeeder Storm.
With my plan set, I was ready to put it into action, then Craig managed to seize the first turn.
TURN 1- ORKS
Catching the White Scars unprepared, the Trukks and Battlewagons advanced at full speed towards the marine lines.
Seeing the Attack bikes advance on their precious transport, the Meganobz fired on them, causing three wounds with their shootas, one of which made it through their armour. Several other mobs and their trukks added their firepower to the attack, killing one biker and leaving the last on one wound. The barrage was too much for the biker and they fell back 7" towards the deployment zone.
A trukk on the far left fired on the landspeeder storm, penetrating the Jinking skimmer and shaking it. The Lootas fired at a unit of grav bikers. Their storm of fire caused a great 9 wounds on them. Amazingly, I passed every saving throw and the unit survived.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
With a scream of descent thrusters, the drop pod carrying the Centurions arrived, scattering 9" away from the Battlewagon. The Attack Bike renewed its advance on the battlewagon, joined on the right flank by a unit of grav gun bikers and the landspeeder storm.
Khan led the Command Squad and a unit of bikers away from the Orks, while the meltagun bikers moved towards the left flank.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast psychic shriek on the Lootas, but failed to hit the unit. He then cast Prescience on the Centurions to help their considerable firepower.
The shooting phase started with the Drop Pod firing its Deathwind at the Lootas. Four were wounded in the blast, but Craig made three cover saves, so one Loota perished. The Multimelta fired at the Battlewagon, penetrating it. I rolled a four on the table and the Wagon was immobilised (I only realised on writing this up that I forgot to take into account that the Battlewagon is open-topped. A four should have exploded the Battlewagon).
The Centurions added their firepower to the attack bikes, easily wrecking the large transport, the Meganobz spilled out behind the wreck.
The bikers on the left fired their Meltaguns at the trukk in front of them, but were unable to get a bead on the bouncing, ramshackle vehicle (I rolled a double 1 to hit). On the right flank, the grav bikers destroyed a Trukk (giving me Draw Blood) and readied themselves to attack the boyz inside.
The Devastators fired at the Lootas with Frag Missiles, killing two Lootas and one Nob unfortunate to be caught under the blast.
In the assault phase, the meltagun bikers charged the trukk they had targeted, their grenades finishing the job their guns could not. The grav gun bikers assaulted the Ork mob of the trukk they destroyed. Their hammer of wrath attacks killed three, the bikers killing another two in combat. The Orks pulled down two of the bikers, while the Nob slew one with his power claw. The Orks lost, but passed their morale, as the White Scars bikers hit and ran 13" out of combat.
TURN 2- ORKS
The Meganobz turned and made their way towards the Centurions, no doubt wanting revenge for the destruction of their ride, the other Nobz unit moving to join the fun. The Ork Mob on the left advanced on the landspeeder storm, while the rest of the trukks advanced towards the White Scars lines, several mobs spilling out to engage the marines.
The Meganobz opened fire at the Centurions, their shootas managing to slay one of the squad (I failed two saves from 6 wounds). The boyz in the trukk alongside the attack bike turned their sluggas on the White Scar and managed to slay him with their pistol shots. The Lootas fired at the Devastators opposite them. They managed to cause 3 wounds and I managed to fail all three saves, reducing the squad to two. The other Ork shooting was ineffective, causing no more damage.
In the assault phase, the Meganobz crashed into the Centurions, the other Nobz unit being slowed by the terrain and not making contact. The combat was a forgone conclusion and the White Scars unit and Centurions were easily slain.
The two Ork units attempted to assault the meltagun bikers, one unit lost six of their number to surprisingly accurate overwatch fire and failed the charge. The other unit made it in though. The bikers struck at the Orks, killing on boy and wounding the Nob. The Orks struck back, killing two of the bikers. With a drawn combat, the White Scars hit and ran out of combat.
On the left flank, the Ork mob assaulted the landspeeder, easily wrecking the skimmer and getting Craig Draw Blood.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
The second drop pod arrived, landing on the left flank to support the bikers against the Ork tide, the tactical squad moving out to engage. The Command squad and grav biker unit advanced on the trukks and Orks before them. On the other flank, the two grav bikers and scouts moved to engage the Ork mob in front of them.
In the shooting phase, the Deathwind launcher from the drop pod killed three Lootas on the gantry above. Nearby, the bikers on the right flank killed four Ork boyz before them.
On the left flank, the meltagun unit fired at the Trukk in front of them. One gun penetrated the vehicle, but the Mek's force field saved the vehicle from harm. The bolters in the unit were more successful, glancing the trukk. The grav gun bikers had more success, wrecking the trukk that they faced.
The tactical squad on the left fired at the mob advancing towards them, but poor rolling meant that only two Orks died from the twenty shots. The Devastators fired at the same unit, their frag missiles only killing two thanks to poor scatter rolls.
In the assault phase, the two grav bikers and scouts assaulted the mob that had wrecked the speeder. The hammer of wrath attacks killed two, the scouts following up with four more wounds to finish the unit.
Khan led the Command squad in an assault on another Ork mob, their hammer of wrath attacks sufficient to finish off the unit.
The meltagun bikers assaulted the trukk they failed to destroy, their grenades wrecking the vehicle. The mob failed their pinning test and the Nob slew four of his mob to bring order back to the unit.
The grav gun bikers charged the mob from the trukk they destroyed. Their hammer of wrath attacks slew 4, the bikers killing another three in combat. The Orks struck back, killing one of the bikers. The Orks lost combat, but passed their morale on a double 1! The White Scars hit and ran 16" out of combat to relative safety.
TURN 3- ORKS
The Ork units on the ground advanced towards the White Scars bikers and the Meganobz converged on the drop pod.
In the shooting phase, the Ork shooting was ineffective. The mobs fired their sluggas at the various biker units, but failed to damage any of the skilled riders. The Lootas fired at the Devastators, but were unable to hit any of the marines.
In the combat phase, the Meganobz charged the drop pod, easily ripping apart the marine vehicle and causing it to explode.
The Nob led the ork boyz in an assault on the tactical marines, one boy dying to overwatch fire. The Tactical squad struck at the orks, killing one of their number. In reply, the Orks killed three of the tactical marines and the Nob finished off the other two, wiping out the unit.
Another mob charged the meltagun bikers, two of the orks dying to overwatch fire. The bikers could not bring down any more of the Orks, but the Orks were unable to kill any bikers. The Nob then stepped up, slaying three bikers with his power claw.
Two brave Mobs charged into Khan and the Command Squad. Three of the squad died to the overwatch fire of the unit's bolters. Khan roared a challenge at the Nob, easily cutting him down before he could strike. The Command squad killed another ork in combat. The Orks struck back, killing two of the elite bikers. One mob decided that enough was enough and fled from the combat, the other mob was having too much fun and elected to stay. Khan led his unit away from the rampaging Orks, hit and running from the assault.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
The two grav bikers, scouts and Rhino moved to target the Trukk carrying the Big Mek on the right of the battlefield, while the other bikers moved to engage the Ork mobs in my deployment zone.
On the right, the three squads fired at the trukk, but the Mek's force field saved the vehicle from harm.
On the right, the other grav bikers fired at the mob in front of them, killing 5 of the squad and forcing them to fall back. The Command squad targeted the unit they had just left in combat, killing another two and forcing the mob to fall back. The Devastators and tactical squad fired at the mob that had wiped out the other tactical squad, their weapons killing four of the Orks, but the mob held firm.
In the assault phase, the two grav bikers assaulted the Big Mek's trukk. Their grenades found weak spots in the vehicle and penetrated it, leaving it on one hull point.
TURN 4- ORKS
The three Ork mobs continued to fall back, their will to fight broken. The surviving mob on the right flank advanced on the tactical marines, while the Meganobz started the slow walk towards the enemy deployment zone.
The Lootas decided to advance on the central objective, while the Nobz continued to move towards the objective high in the tower.
The Mob in the Big Mek's trukk spilled out, eager to take on the bikers that had just assaulted their transport.
The Mob advancing on the tactical marines fired their sluggas at the unit, killing one marine. The Lootas fired at the Devastators. For the first time in the game, they unleashed their full firepower, but only hit with two of the 30 shots. They were unable to penetrate the armour of the Devastators and the unit was fine.
The Ork mob on the left charged the two bikers, the overwatch fire killing one and the bikers killing another Ork before they could strike. The squad then vented their fury on the White Scars, slaying both bikers before the Nob could bring his power claw to bear.
On the other end of the field, the Nob led his unit in an assault on the Tactical squad. One Ork died to overwatch fire and another two were cut down by the tactical marines, leaving only the Nob. The Nob struck back, killing one tactical marine. The lone Ork passed his morale check and the White Scars hit and ran out of combat.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The Bikers advanced on the objectives as the Stormtalon arrived to support the ground troops. The scouts climbed into the protection of the nearby Rhino as a bike squad moved to support them.
The newly arrived flyer fired at the Big Mek's trukk, wrecking the vehicle. Seeing the enemy Warlord spill out of the wreck, the Devastators targeted him, the two Krak missiles killing him instantly. The Command Squad killed the lone Nob with their bolters.
That was the end of a short turn for the White Scars.
TURN 5- ORKS
The Lootas continued their advance on the central objective as the three mobs below them continued to fall back. The single trukk remaining moved forward to escape the view of the Devastators and get into the enemy deployment zone.
The Lootas fired at the Stormatlon and managed to penetrate the Jinking flyer, destroying its assault cannon. The Ork mob on the left charged the Rhino, easily wrecking the enemy vehicle and causing the Scouts to spill out.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
With the end in sight, the Command squad moved up to engage the Meganobz, while the other units manoeuvred to grab the objectives. The Stormtalon went into Hover mode to claim the central objective.
In the shooting phase, the Command squad fired their grav guns at the Meganobz, killing two of the Ork elite. The grav bikers and scouts fired at the last Ork mob still fighting, killing 4. In the assault phase, the bikers crashed into the Mob, slaying 7 Orks and wounding the Nob. The Nob killed one in return before being run down by the White Scars.
With that, the game ended. The totals were:
White Scars- 12 Primary VP (4 objectives) and 3 Secondary VP (Slay the Warlord, Linebreader, Draw Blood)
Orks- 3 Primary VP (1 objective) and 2 Secondary VP (Linebreaker and Draw Blood).
This gave me 18 tournament points to Craig's 2 tournament points.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Craig for an exciting game and for being such a sporting opponent.
Craig had some good luck with seizing the initiative at the start of the game, but after that his luck petered out as he had real trouble harming many of my units while I could just not stop making saves.
As to my own army, the Centurions did well. Wrecking the Battlewagon and distracting the Meganobz for a turn was a necessary sacrifice. Had the Meganobz been allowed to rampage through my lines, it would have been a very different game. The grav guns probably would have taken care of them, but that would have left the Ork mobs and power claw armed Nobs to run riot as well.
Unfortunately, there was little the Orks could do about my massed bolter fire and Hit and Run on all my units. This is one of the only games where I don't think I failed a single Hit and Run roll, quite unusual for my Scars. This allowed me to fire to full effect each turn and really punished the Orks for it.
Craig was a great opponent, happy even when nothing was going his way and always trying to assault the next turn, a true Ork!
Hope you enjoyed the report, the next post will cover my second game of the tournament.
I have previously posted on my army list choices and the strengths and weaknesses of the list.
Following Lightning Slayer's advice on psychic powers in the post, I decided to roll once on Divination and Telepathy. I didn't like the rolls, so ended up taking Prescience and Psychic Shriek as the primaris powers. I think this gives the Librarian some more flexibility- Prescience should help the centurions wipe out whatever they target and Psychic Shriek may be very useful against Orks with their low leadership. (On a side note, Lightning Slayer has recently got back into blogging after a LONG absence. You should check out his blog, where hopefully I will be finding out more valuable tactical insights).
Craig's Ork army consisted of:
Big Mek- Kustom Force Field (BM1)
Big Mek- Kustom Force Field (BM2)
10 Meganobz- Bosspole, TL shootas (MN)
Battlewagon (B)
6 x 12 Ork Boyz- Nob with power claw and bosspole, sluggas and choppas (M1-M6)
6x Trukk (T1-T6)
15 Lootas (L)
5 Nobz- Sluggas and Choppas (N)
Warlord Trait- Prophet of the Waaagh (warlord gets to Waaagh).
Looks to be a tough Ork army. Lots of mobility and combat potential with all the trukk boyz and the meganobz will wipe out any unit they get into combat with. I will need to use my own mobility to keep away from them and use my firepower to try and whittle them down to a manageable level.
The battle took place on table 16, with a great industrial walkway complex covering most of the board. We agreed beforehand that all models could move under the walkways without penalty, it would be too unfair if the trukks and battlewagon were restricted to only moving on the outskirts of the board.
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| Terrain set up and placement of objectives. |
I won the roll for table edge, choosing the side with the closest objectives, and for deployment, choosing to go first.
I put the Devastators on the tower beside the objective. The other biker units deployed on the deployment zone line, ready to advance on the Orks, with the speeder and Rhino on the right flank.
The Orks responded with the Lootas deploying on the platform opposite the Devastators and the trukks and Battlewagon deploying as far forward as possible in a straight line. The Meganobz were in the Battlewagon.
For my Scout moves, I only moved the attack bikes forward towards the Battlewagon. My plan was to try and destroy the Battlewagon with the multimeltas on the attack bike, then take out the Meganobz with the Centurions, who would arrive on turn 1. The rest of the squads would target the trukks to eliminate the mobility of the Orks and deal with them with my superior firepower.
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| Deployment. Arrow represents Scout moves. |
For Draw Blood, I chose a trukk on the far left of the Ork flank and Craig chose the Landspeeder Storm.
With my plan set, I was ready to put it into action, then Craig managed to seize the first turn.
TURN 1- ORKS
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| Turn 1- Orks |
Catching the White Scars unprepared, the Trukks and Battlewagons advanced at full speed towards the marine lines.
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| Sight from the White Scar lines. |
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| The Ork vehicles advance. |
Seeing the Attack bikes advance on their precious transport, the Meganobz fired on them, causing three wounds with their shootas, one of which made it through their armour. Several other mobs and their trukks added their firepower to the attack, killing one biker and leaving the last on one wound. The barrage was too much for the biker and they fell back 7" towards the deployment zone.
A trukk on the far left fired on the landspeeder storm, penetrating the Jinking skimmer and shaking it. The Lootas fired at a unit of grav bikers. Their storm of fire caused a great 9 wounds on them. Amazingly, I passed every saving throw and the unit survived.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
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| Turn 1- White Scars |
With a scream of descent thrusters, the drop pod carrying the Centurions arrived, scattering 9" away from the Battlewagon. The Attack Bike renewed its advance on the battlewagon, joined on the right flank by a unit of grav gun bikers and the landspeeder storm.
Khan led the Command Squad and a unit of bikers away from the Orks, while the meltagun bikers moved towards the left flank.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast psychic shriek on the Lootas, but failed to hit the unit. He then cast Prescience on the Centurions to help their considerable firepower.
The shooting phase started with the Drop Pod firing its Deathwind at the Lootas. Four were wounded in the blast, but Craig made three cover saves, so one Loota perished. The Multimelta fired at the Battlewagon, penetrating it. I rolled a four on the table and the Wagon was immobilised (I only realised on writing this up that I forgot to take into account that the Battlewagon is open-topped. A four should have exploded the Battlewagon).
The Centurions added their firepower to the attack bikes, easily wrecking the large transport, the Meganobz spilled out behind the wreck.
The bikers on the left fired their Meltaguns at the trukk in front of them, but were unable to get a bead on the bouncing, ramshackle vehicle (I rolled a double 1 to hit). On the right flank, the grav bikers destroyed a Trukk (giving me Draw Blood) and readied themselves to attack the boyz inside.
The Devastators fired at the Lootas with Frag Missiles, killing two Lootas and one Nob unfortunate to be caught under the blast.
In the assault phase, the meltagun bikers charged the trukk they had targeted, their grenades finishing the job their guns could not. The grav gun bikers assaulted the Ork mob of the trukk they destroyed. Their hammer of wrath attacks killed three, the bikers killing another two in combat. The Orks pulled down two of the bikers, while the Nob slew one with his power claw. The Orks lost, but passed their morale, as the White Scars bikers hit and ran 13" out of combat.
TURN 2- ORKS
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| Turn 2- Orks. |
The Meganobz turned and made their way towards the Centurions, no doubt wanting revenge for the destruction of their ride, the other Nobz unit moving to join the fun. The Ork Mob on the left advanced on the landspeeder storm, while the rest of the trukks advanced towards the White Scars lines, several mobs spilling out to engage the marines.
The Meganobz opened fire at the Centurions, their shootas managing to slay one of the squad (I failed two saves from 6 wounds). The boyz in the trukk alongside the attack bike turned their sluggas on the White Scar and managed to slay him with their pistol shots. The Lootas fired at the Devastators opposite them. They managed to cause 3 wounds and I managed to fail all three saves, reducing the squad to two. The other Ork shooting was ineffective, causing no more damage.
In the assault phase, the Meganobz crashed into the Centurions, the other Nobz unit being slowed by the terrain and not making contact. The combat was a forgone conclusion and the White Scars unit and Centurions were easily slain.
The two Ork units attempted to assault the meltagun bikers, one unit lost six of their number to surprisingly accurate overwatch fire and failed the charge. The other unit made it in though. The bikers struck at the Orks, killing on boy and wounding the Nob. The Orks struck back, killing two of the bikers. With a drawn combat, the White Scars hit and ran out of combat.
On the left flank, the Ork mob assaulted the landspeeder, easily wrecking the skimmer and getting Craig Draw Blood.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
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| Turn 2- White Scars. |
The second drop pod arrived, landing on the left flank to support the bikers against the Ork tide, the tactical squad moving out to engage. The Command squad and grav biker unit advanced on the trukks and Orks before them. On the other flank, the two grav bikers and scouts moved to engage the Ork mob in front of them.
In the shooting phase, the Deathwind launcher from the drop pod killed three Lootas on the gantry above. Nearby, the bikers on the right flank killed four Ork boyz before them.
On the left flank, the meltagun unit fired at the Trukk in front of them. One gun penetrated the vehicle, but the Mek's force field saved the vehicle from harm. The bolters in the unit were more successful, glancing the trukk. The grav gun bikers had more success, wrecking the trukk that they faced.
The tactical squad on the left fired at the mob advancing towards them, but poor rolling meant that only two Orks died from the twenty shots. The Devastators fired at the same unit, their frag missiles only killing two thanks to poor scatter rolls.
In the assault phase, the two grav bikers and scouts assaulted the mob that had wrecked the speeder. The hammer of wrath attacks killed two, the scouts following up with four more wounds to finish the unit.
Khan led the Command squad in an assault on another Ork mob, their hammer of wrath attacks sufficient to finish off the unit.
The meltagun bikers assaulted the trukk they failed to destroy, their grenades wrecking the vehicle. The mob failed their pinning test and the Nob slew four of his mob to bring order back to the unit.
The grav gun bikers charged the mob from the trukk they destroyed. Their hammer of wrath attacks slew 4, the bikers killing another three in combat. The Orks struck back, killing one of the bikers. The Orks lost combat, but passed their morale on a double 1! The White Scars hit and ran 16" out of combat to relative safety.
TURN 3- ORKS
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| Turn 3- Orks |
The Ork units on the ground advanced towards the White Scars bikers and the Meganobz converged on the drop pod.
In the shooting phase, the Ork shooting was ineffective. The mobs fired their sluggas at the various biker units, but failed to damage any of the skilled riders. The Lootas fired at the Devastators, but were unable to hit any of the marines.
In the combat phase, the Meganobz charged the drop pod, easily ripping apart the marine vehicle and causing it to explode.
The Nob led the ork boyz in an assault on the tactical marines, one boy dying to overwatch fire. The Tactical squad struck at the orks, killing one of their number. In reply, the Orks killed three of the tactical marines and the Nob finished off the other two, wiping out the unit.
Another mob charged the meltagun bikers, two of the orks dying to overwatch fire. The bikers could not bring down any more of the Orks, but the Orks were unable to kill any bikers. The Nob then stepped up, slaying three bikers with his power claw.
Two brave Mobs charged into Khan and the Command Squad. Three of the squad died to the overwatch fire of the unit's bolters. Khan roared a challenge at the Nob, easily cutting him down before he could strike. The Command squad killed another ork in combat. The Orks struck back, killing two of the elite bikers. One mob decided that enough was enough and fled from the combat, the other mob was having too much fun and elected to stay. Khan led his unit away from the rampaging Orks, hit and running from the assault.
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
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| Turn 3- White Scars |
The two grav bikers, scouts and Rhino moved to target the Trukk carrying the Big Mek on the right of the battlefield, while the other bikers moved to engage the Ork mobs in my deployment zone.
On the right, the three squads fired at the trukk, but the Mek's force field saved the vehicle from harm.
On the right, the other grav bikers fired at the mob in front of them, killing 5 of the squad and forcing them to fall back. The Command squad targeted the unit they had just left in combat, killing another two and forcing the mob to fall back. The Devastators and tactical squad fired at the mob that had wiped out the other tactical squad, their weapons killing four of the Orks, but the mob held firm.
In the assault phase, the two grav bikers assaulted the Big Mek's trukk. Their grenades found weak spots in the vehicle and penetrated it, leaving it on one hull point.
TURN 4- ORKS
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| Turn 4- Orks |
The three Ork mobs continued to fall back, their will to fight broken. The surviving mob on the right flank advanced on the tactical marines, while the Meganobz started the slow walk towards the enemy deployment zone.
The Lootas decided to advance on the central objective, while the Nobz continued to move towards the objective high in the tower.
The Mob in the Big Mek's trukk spilled out, eager to take on the bikers that had just assaulted their transport.
The Mob advancing on the tactical marines fired their sluggas at the unit, killing one marine. The Lootas fired at the Devastators. For the first time in the game, they unleashed their full firepower, but only hit with two of the 30 shots. They were unable to penetrate the armour of the Devastators and the unit was fine.
The Ork mob on the left charged the two bikers, the overwatch fire killing one and the bikers killing another Ork before they could strike. The squad then vented their fury on the White Scars, slaying both bikers before the Nob could bring his power claw to bear.
On the other end of the field, the Nob led his unit in an assault on the Tactical squad. One Ork died to overwatch fire and another two were cut down by the tactical marines, leaving only the Nob. The Nob struck back, killing one tactical marine. The lone Ork passed his morale check and the White Scars hit and ran out of combat.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
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| Turn 4- White Scars |
The Bikers advanced on the objectives as the Stormtalon arrived to support the ground troops. The scouts climbed into the protection of the nearby Rhino as a bike squad moved to support them.
The newly arrived flyer fired at the Big Mek's trukk, wrecking the vehicle. Seeing the enemy Warlord spill out of the wreck, the Devastators targeted him, the two Krak missiles killing him instantly. The Command Squad killed the lone Nob with their bolters.
That was the end of a short turn for the White Scars.
TURN 5- ORKS
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| Turn 5- Orks |
The Lootas continued their advance on the central objective as the three mobs below them continued to fall back. The single trukk remaining moved forward to escape the view of the Devastators and get into the enemy deployment zone.
The Lootas fired at the Stormatlon and managed to penetrate the Jinking flyer, destroying its assault cannon. The Ork mob on the left charged the Rhino, easily wrecking the enemy vehicle and causing the Scouts to spill out.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
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| Turn 5- White Scars |
With the end in sight, the Command squad moved up to engage the Meganobz, while the other units manoeuvred to grab the objectives. The Stormtalon went into Hover mode to claim the central objective.
In the shooting phase, the Command squad fired their grav guns at the Meganobz, killing two of the Ork elite. The grav bikers and scouts fired at the last Ork mob still fighting, killing 4. In the assault phase, the bikers crashed into the Mob, slaying 7 Orks and wounding the Nob. The Nob killed one in return before being run down by the White Scars.
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| Unit placement at the end of the game. |
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| The Stormtalon holds the central objective. |
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| The Nobz stake claim to the communications array. |
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| The Devastators claim the objective. |
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| The Tactical marines rescue the stranded guardsmen. |
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| The Scouts and Bikers claim the final objective. |
With that, the game ended. The totals were:
White Scars- 12 Primary VP (4 objectives) and 3 Secondary VP (Slay the Warlord, Linebreader, Draw Blood)
Orks- 3 Primary VP (1 objective) and 2 Secondary VP (Linebreaker and Draw Blood).
This gave me 18 tournament points to Craig's 2 tournament points.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Craig for an exciting game and for being such a sporting opponent.
Craig had some good luck with seizing the initiative at the start of the game, but after that his luck petered out as he had real trouble harming many of my units while I could just not stop making saves.
As to my own army, the Centurions did well. Wrecking the Battlewagon and distracting the Meganobz for a turn was a necessary sacrifice. Had the Meganobz been allowed to rampage through my lines, it would have been a very different game. The grav guns probably would have taken care of them, but that would have left the Ork mobs and power claw armed Nobs to run riot as well.
Unfortunately, there was little the Orks could do about my massed bolter fire and Hit and Run on all my units. This is one of the only games where I don't think I failed a single Hit and Run roll, quite unusual for my Scars. This allowed me to fire to full effect each turn and really punished the Orks for it.
Craig was a great opponent, happy even when nothing was going his way and always trying to assault the next turn, a true Ork!
Hope you enjoyed the report, the next post will cover my second game of the tournament.
Rapid Fire 2015:
Game 1- White Scars vs Orks
Armies on Display
Nice battle report. What software do you use for the maps? I like the retro White Dwarf feel and I'd love to make some like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Philip. The maps are made using Battle Chronicler http://battlechronicler.com/ its available online for free.
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