Bunker War 3: Game 2- Deathwatch vs Ultramarines

The second game of Bunker War 3 would be the No Mercy mission with Hammer and Anvil deployment. This could be a tricky one for me, as very little of my Deathwatch army frequently survives the game in 8th edition. This game would see me facing David and his Ultramarines. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Pair Lightning Claws (W)

Kill Team 1- 5 Veterans, Vanguard Veteran with Pair Lightning Claws, 3 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield. (KT1)

Kill Team 2- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, 2 Stalker Boltguns (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans, 2 Infernus Heavy Bolters, 2 Stalker Boltguns (KT3)

Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans, Meltagun, 3 combi-Meltas (KT4)

Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans, 2 Frag Cannons (KT5)

Rhino (R)

Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)

6 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Pairs Lightning Claws, Power Sword and Bolt Pistol, 3 with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords (VV)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- Power Axe, Power Sword (DB1)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- two Power Swords (DB2)

Corvus Blackstar- Auspex Array, Hurricane Bolter, Twin Assault Cannons, 2 Blackstar Rocket Launchers (CB)

Vindicare Assassin (V)

6 Command Points

My warlord was the Watch Master with the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.



David's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Captain- Bike, Lightning Claw, Storm Shield
Librarian- Force Axe
Librarian- Terminator Armour, Force Axe, Storm Shield
10 Scouts- Missile Launcher, 10 Camo Cloaks, 9 Sniper Rifles
5 Tactical Marines- Meltagun, Combi-melta
5 Tactical Marines- Meltagun, Combi-melta
10 Devastators- 4 Lascannons
10 Devastators- 3 Plasma Cannons, 1 Missile Launcher
2 Honour Guard- 2 Power Axes
Apothecary
5 Vanguard Veterans- 5 Storm Shields, 5 Thunder Hammers
3 Intercessors
Rhino- Storm Bolter
Rhino- Storm Bolter
Rhino- Storm Bolter
Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

His warlord was the Captain on the Bike who had the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.
That was quite a few Marines and vehicles to take on. I would need to try and take out the Devastators first, or my vehicles and Marines would not last that long. Hopefully, the Marines would be easy to take out with my special issue ammunition. Maybe the Vindicare could do a bit better in this game, as there was certainly no shortage of characters to choose from.

David won the side placement and chose his side. The deployment order was as follows:

1. Kill Team 2 (Missile Launchers)
2. Terminator Librarian (reserve)
3. Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans (reserve)
4. Ultramarine Vanguard Veterans (reserve)
5. Drop Pod (reserve, with Watch Master and Kill Team 4)
6. Razorback (with TS1)
7. Kill Team 3 (Infernus)
8. Rhino (TS2, Honour Guard, Librarian and Apothecary)
9. Deathwatch Rhino (Frag Cannon Kill Team)
10. Rhino (Lascannon Devastators)
11. Deathwatch Bikers
12. Rhino (Plasma Devastators)
13. Deathwatch Bikers
14. Intercessor Squad
15. Corvus Blackstar (Kill Team 1 and Watch Captain)
16. Captain on Bike
17. Vindicare Assassin
18. Scouts

I finished deploying first and chose to go first. David then managed to seize the initiative. That was 2 games in a row now! This could be brutal. 

TURN 1- ULTRAMARINES

The Devastator Squads disembarked from their Rhinos, moving up to get in range of the Deathwatch forces. The Rhino transports then moved up towards the enemy lines. 

One Devastator squad turned their Lascannons towards the Corvus Blackstar. As they had move and were shooting at a flyer, they needed a 5+ to hit, so I wasn't too concerned. My luck in this game continued as all four shots hit the flyer! Fortunately, one of them was saved, but the Corvus still took 10 wounds from the shots. 

The second Devastator squad split their fire between the Corvus Blackstar and Deathwatch Bikers. The Ultramarines overcharged their shots, managing to kill two of the Bikers, but losing two of their own squad to overheats. The Missile Launcher hit the Corvus Blackstar, but failed to wound. David used a Command re-roll, but fortunately for me, the re-roll failed to wound as well. 

The Razorback fired its twin Lascannon at the flyer, but both shots missed the target. The two Rhinos targeted the lone Biker, but failed to get through his armour with their Storm Bolter shots. The Scouts fired at the Biker with their Sniper Rifles, but failed to do any damage. The squad's Missile Launcher fired at the Corvus Blackstar, hitting and wounding, but I made my armour save. 

Finally, the Intercessors fired at the Biker, but failed to kill him. 

That could have been a more brutal first turn for me. David's amazing luck with the Lascannons was tempered a bit in the turn, as none of the rest of his anti-tank firepower could finish it off. In addition, the lone Biker once more shrugged off a number of wounds to survive and deny first blood.

TURN 1- DEATHWATCH

The Corvus Blackstar gunned its engines, moving up towards the Devastator squads that had hammered it previously. The Bikers joined them in their advance. The Kill Team disembarked from the Rhino. moving towards the scouts sheltering in the forest to their left.

The Deathwatch reserves arrived, landing behind the Ultramarines lines. The Watch Master led his unit out behind the Razorback, while the Vanguard Veterans lined up against the Intercessor squad.

The Corvus Blackstar fired at the Devastators in front of it, killing two with its reduced accuracy firepower. Both squads of Bikers added their firepower, killing another four of the squad with their Vengeance rounds. The Vanguard Veterans added their firepower, wounding twice, but failing to get past their armour.

The Meltagun Kill Team fired at the Razorback, hitting and wounding three times. A poor damage roll saw me take only four wounds from it. I used a Command Point re-roll on one of the dice and got up to 7 wounds. The Bolters of the squad did no damage.

The Missile Launchers fired at the Razorback, hitting and wounding with one of the Krak Missiles. I rolled a 1 for damage and only took a single wound from the vehicle, leaving it on 2. The squad's Stalker Bolters fired at the Scouts, but failed to do any damage. The Infernus Bolter Kill Team fired at the Razorback, but failed to do any damage. The Kill Team in front of the Scouts fired their Frag Cannon at them, killing three. The squad's Bolters managed to kill another three of the squad.

Finally, the Vindicare fired at the Captain and managed to take 3 wounds with his rifle shot. Could things be turning around for the inept Assassin?

In the charge phase, the Meltagun Kill Team attempted to charge the Razorback, but failed the charge roll. The Vanguard Veterans also failed a charge on the Intercessor squad. Both squads rolls so low for the charge that a Command Point re-roll still could not help them make it. The Frag Cannon Kill Team assaulted the Scouts, having to use a re-roll to make the distance. In addition, the three-man Bike squad assaulted the Rhino, while the lone Biker and Corvus Blackstar both assaulted the Devastators.

The Kill Team struck at the Scouts. I hit with 7 of my 11 attacks, but failed to cause a single wound against the Scouts! In reply, the Scouts struck and did 4 wounds, but fortunately the black armour of my Deathwatch held up.

The Bikers struck at the Rhino, doing no damage, but managed to consolidate into the second Devastator squad to stop them from firing. The Devastators attacked the Bikers, but failed to harm them.

The Biker and Corvus Blackstar attacked the second Devastator unit, but failed to do any damage. In reply, the Devastators managed to wound the Biker three times, but I made all my armour saves. I was able to consolidate close to the Intercessor squad and Captain to lock them in combat. At the end of the turn, the Morale test wiped out the Devastator unit, giving me First Blood.

Turn 1 had seen the Deathwatch hit back hard, but some poor assault rolls saw only a single unit fall. However, I had managed to tie up much of the Ultramarine's left flank in combat.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 0
Deathwatch- 2 (inc. First Blood)

TURN 2- ULTRAMARINES

On the right flank, the squads in the Rhino disembarked, moving to engage the Kill Team in combat with the Scouts. In the Ultramarine's deployment zone to the left, the Tactical Squad disembarked from the Razorback and moved towards the newly arrived Kill Team.

The Ultramarines reserves arrived, the Terminator Librarian landing between the backfield Kill Team and Corvus Blackstar, while the Vanguard Veterans landed on the right flank, near the Watch Master. The Apothecary was able to revive one of the Scouts, bringing him back to the fight.

In the psychic phase, the Librarian on the right flank cast Smite on the Kill Team in the forest, rolling an 11 on the psychic test and killing three of the squad. He then cast Might of Heroes on the Apothecary. The Terminator Librarian then cast Smite on the Corvus Blackstar. Once again, David rolled an 11 for the psychic test, but fortunately only took 2 wounds from the flyer.

In the shooting phase, the Devastators fired their pistols at the Bikers they were engaged with, wounding them once, but I made my armour save. The Intercessor squad then fired their pistols at the Biker they were engaged with, hitting and wounding him three times. I failed two of my saves and the Biker perished.

The Razorback fired its Storm Bolter at the Meltagun Kill Team, failing to do any damage. It then fired its Twin Lascannons at the Corvus Blackstar, but failed to hit (it did need 6's at this stage).

The Rhino then fired at the Meltagun Kill Team, causing four wounds with its Storm Bolter and felling one of the squad. The nearby Tactical Squad fired its two Meltaguns at the Corvus Blackstar, hitting twice, but failing to wound. David used a Command Point re-roll and succeeded, taking the Corvus' last two wounds and blowing it up! I used a Command Point re-roll to kill the Captain on the Bike, gaining slay the warlord. The explosion also managed to take out the Razorback, wound the Intercessors three times and kill a Devastator. Vehicle explosions in 8th edition can be brutal! The Kill Team and Watch Captain disembarked, suffering no casualties from the destruction of their transport.

On the right flank, the squads from the Rhino fired their Pistols at the Kill Team in the forest and were able to wipe out the rest of the squad.

In the charge phase, the Rhino gunned its engines and headed for the Meltagun Kill Team. One of the Meltaguns managed to hit in overwatch, but then failed to wound. The Tactical Squad followed the Rhino into combat, but the Vanguard Veterans were unable to make the charge.

The Tactical Squad struck at the Kill Team, wounding four times, but I made all my saves. The Watch Master was able to do a Heroic Intervention, killing three of the Tactical Marines, while the Deathwatch Veterans took out the last two of the Ultramarines' squad.

The Devastators then attacked the Bikers, managing to do one wound. The Bikers then struck at the Devastators, killing two of the squad. Finally, the Rhino was able to wound one of the Bikers and finish him off.

TURN 2- DEATHWATCH

The Kill Team and Watch Captain from the Corvus Blackstar moved up on the Intercessor squad on one side, as the Vanguard Veterans closed in on them from the other side. The Watch Master and Meltagun Kill Team fell back from combat towards the Drop Pod, and the Bikers fell back from combat with the Rhino and Devastators.

The Kill Team fired their Frag Cannons at the Intercessor squad, scoring 24 hits and 20 wounds, easily wiping out the unit. The rest of the squad fired at the Devastators, killing two of them.

The Vindicare fired at the Terminator Librarian, hitting with his Rifle (but forcing me to use a re-roll to hit) and taking a single wound from him. The Infernus Kill Team in the nearby crater trained their weapons on him, taking two more wounds from him. I decided to try and finish him off so that he would not be Smite-ing my more valuable units. The other Kill Team fired their weapons at the Librarian. One of the Missiles hit and wounded, taking 6 wounds and killing him.

In the assault phase, the Kill Team, Watch Captain, Bikers and Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Devastators. They Ultramarines were easily wiped out by the massed attacks, the Deathwatch then consolidated around the Rhino, making it impossible for the vehicle to fall back. The Rhino's attacks did no damage.

At the end of turn 2, things were looking good for the Deathwatch. The exploding Corvus Blackstar had done more damage to the enemy army than its shooting and my own turn had seen more Space Marine units fall.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 3
Deathwatch- 8 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

TURN 3- ULTRAMARINES

On the left flank, the Rhino and Vanguard Veterans moved to engage the Watch Master and Kill Team. On the right flank, the Ultramarines continued their advance towards the Deathwatch deployment zone, moving up to engage the Kill Team in the crater. The Apothecary tried to revive another Scout, but failed to do so.

The Librarian cast Smite on the Kill Team in front of him, killing one. He then failed to manifest Might of Heroes on the Apothecary.

The Tactical Squad fired at the Kill Team in front of them. One of the Meltaguns hit and wounded, but I made my 6+ save and the squad was fine. The rest of the Squad's Bolters could find no weakness in the Deathwatch armour either.

The Scouts fired their Missile Launcher at the Deathwatch Rhino, hitting but failing to wound. The rest of the squad's sniper fire rained down on the Infernus Kill Team, slaying one of the squad.

The Rhino charge the Meltagun Kill Team in the Ultramarines' deployment zone. Some amazing overwatch fire saw three of the four Meltaguns hit, completely obliterating the Transport vehicle. The Vanguard Veterans attempted to charge the Kill Team, but failed to make the 8" charge.

On the other side, the Rhino charged the Missile Launcher Kill Team, fortunately for David, it did not share the same fate and made it in to combat. Neither side was able to damage the other in the combat.

In the other combat, the Watch Captain took three wounds from the Rhino, the Vanguard Veterans took 2 wounds and the Kill Team managed to take a single wound. The Rhino did no damage to the Deathwatch.

TURN 3- DEATHWATCH

The Deathwatch in combat with the Rhino on the right flank fell back from combat. The Kill Team and Bikers moved towards the enemy Vanguard Veterans, while the Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans moved up the flank. The Deathwatch Rhino moved away from the approaching Ultramarines.

The Vindicare fired at the Apothecary, wounding him four times. Fortunately, three of the wounds were passed onto the nearby Honour Guard, slaying one of them. The Rhino opened fire at the Honour Guard, but failed to do any damage. The Infernus Bolter Kill Team added their firepower and were able to slay the last of the Honour Guard.

Kill Team 1 trained their Frag Cannons at the Rhino, bathing it in fire and destroying it. The rest of the team's Bolters targeted the Vanguard Veterans, killing one. The Meltagun Kill Team fired the Ultramarines Vanguard Veterans, killing three with their Meltaguns and Bolters.

The Watch Master fired at the last Vanguard Veteran with his Vengeance shells, wounding him once. David failed his Invulnerable save, using a Command Point re-roll but failing once more.

At the end of turn 3, things were looking very good for the Deathwatch. My right flank had been pretty much cleared of Ultramarines forces, with a few units left to finish off if I had time.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 3
Deathwatch- 12 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

TURN 4- ULTRAMARINES

The Ultramarines moved up on the Kill Team engaged with the Rhino. The Apothecary used his skills to heal himself.

The Librarian cast Might of Heroes on the Apothecary, then used Smite to kill two of the Kill Team in front of him.

In the shooting phase, the Tactical Squad fired at the Infernus Kill Team, but failed to do any damage. The Scouts fired at Kill Team 1 with their Sniper Rifles, killing one. The Missile Launcher fired at the Bikers, but failed to hit.

The Tactical Marines assaulted the lone member of the Kill Team, easily killing him.

TURN 4- DEATHWATCH

Seeing their deployment zone being threatened, the Deathwatch moved to support their forces. The Vanguard Veterans, Watch Captain and Kill Team 1 advanced towards the Scouts. The Bikers move up into range with their Twin Bolters. The Watch master led his Kill Team towards the Drop Pod, there was little they could do now to influence the battle.

The Infernus Kill Team fired at the Scouts, killing two of the squad. The Bikers fired at the last Scout, their Vengeance shells proving sufficient to kill off the squad.

The Vindicare fired at the Apothecary, using a Command Point re-roll to hit, but failing to wound on a 2+.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 4
Deathwatch- 13 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

TURN 5- ULTRAMARINES

The remainder of the Ultramarines forces moved towards the Assassin. The Librarian cast might of Heroes on the Apothecary. He then tried to manifest Smite at the Vindicare, but failed in the attempt.

The Rhino, Librarian and Apothecary fired on the Infernus Kill Team, but failed to do any damage with their Bolt weapons. The Tactical Squad then fired on them, killing one with their Meltagun.

The Rhino and Tactical Squad charged the Vindicare, suffering no damage in overwatch. Both squads failed to harm the Assassin, while one of the Tactical Marines was slain by the Vindicare.

TURN 5- DEATHWATCH

The Vindicare fell back from combat. The Vanguard Veterans, Watch Master and Kill Team 1 advanced on the Librarian, while the Bike squad moved up.

The Infernus Kill Team turned their Heavy Flamers and Heavy Bolters on the Tactical Squad. The Flamers killed three of the squad, the Heavy Bolters killing the last member of the squad.

The Kill Team fired their Frag Cannon solid shells at the Librarian, wounding him once. The Deathwatch Bikers added their firepower, wounding 3 times but failing to get past his armour.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 4
Deathwatch- 14 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

We rolled to see if the game would end and it did not.

TURN 6- ULTRAMARINES

The Rhino, Apothecary and Librarian moved up on the Vindicare. The Apothecary healed a wound on the Librarian.

In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Might of Heroes on the Apothecary and Smite on the Infernus Kill Team, killing one.

The three units fired at the Infernus Kill Team, but failed to do any damage.

The three units then attempted to charge the Vindicare, but only the Rhino made it in to combat. The Rhino did a single wound that was saved by the Assassin's Invulnerable save.

TURN 6- DEATHWATCH

The Deathwatch forces moved up to surround the last of the Ultramarines' army. The Vindicare fell back from combat once more.

The Kill Team turned their Frag Cannons on the Librarian, easily killing him with the flamer shots. The Infernus Kill Team then fired at the Apothecary with their Heavy Flamers, wounding him 7 times, but David passed all his armour saves! The Heavy Bolters managed to do a single wound.

The Bikers then fired at the Apothecary, wounding him twice. The Vanguard Veterans were able to finish him off with their Bolt Pistols.


VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 4
Deathwatch- 16 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

We rolled to see if the game would end and it continued once more.

TURN 7- ULTRAMARINES

The lone Rhino moved up on the Assassin. It fired at the Infernus Kill Team, but failed to do any damage. The vehicle then assaulted the Assassin, doing no wounds, but taking a single wound from the Vindicare's attacks.

TURN 7- DEATHWATCH

The Assassin fell back from combat, as the Deathwatch moved up on the last of the Ultramarines' vehicles.

The Kill Team fired their Frag Cannons at the Rhino, wounding it 5 times. The Infernus Kill Team managed to take another two wounds. Finally, the Bikers fired their Bolters, destroying the Rhino. David used his last Command Point re-roll to try and make the vehicle explode, but failed to do so. With that, the game was over.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ultramarines- 4 points, 662 Kill Points
Deathwatch- 19 (inc. First Blood, Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord), 2000 Kill Points

End of the game.

A victory for the Deathwatch.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to David for a great second game of the tournament. I really did not think it would be as one sided as it was, especially after I was seized on.

When the game first started, I thought that I was in serious trouble. First off, David managed to seize the initiative on his first try. Then with his first shots of the game, he managed to hit the Corvus Blackstar with all four of his Lascannons, despite needing a 5+ to hit. Fortunately, I managed to save one of them and some average rolling saw it lose only 10 wounds. Had he destroyed it on turn 1, I think the game could have gone very different. This would have stranded my Kill Team effectively in my own deployment zone, meaning I would have a decent walk to get the Frag Cannons in range. This may have helped out his left flank, but I probably would have moved quickly towards the Rhino on his right flank that was moving up.

This was another game that showed what devastation exploding vehicles can cause. In the last game, an exploding Raider managed to take out three units. In this game, an exploding Corvus Blackstar killed two units, including his Warlord, and seriously harmed the Intercessor Squad. These things can be brutal when they do blow up.

Again in this game, my Frag Cannons seemed to do really well, rolling above average for number of hits with the two and three cannons. This is in contrast to Caledonian Revolution, where I seemed to be rolling well below average most of the time. These weapons are very effective when they get up close and you are rolling well.

Unfortunately for David, he failed two key charges with the Vanguard Veterans. This unit would most likely have chewed through my Kill Team and even given the Watch Master pause. With the charge failed, I was able to devote much of my firepower to silencing them the following turns.

My Vindicare did ok in this game. After his abysmal performance in game 1, he actually managed to take most of the wounds from the Captain, allowing the exploding flyer to take him out. He also would have killed off the Apothecary with a single shot, were it not for the nearby Honour Guard taking wounds in his place.

Overall, I think my plan worked well. I was able to focus on one flank, landing my reserves behind his main army and forcing him to split them if he wanted to take them on. Oddly enough, Deathwatch seem very well suited to take out Marine armies, rather than the Xenos threats they are supposed to deal with. Coming up against an army with fewer models is great, as I don't have many shots to begin with. Add in the special issue ammunition and suddenly the 3+ save of a Marine is now a 5+, making them much easier to kill off.

With one win and one loss so far, I was hoping that my final game of the day would see me away with a win.

Bunker War 3:
Game 1- Deathwatch vs Aeldari
Game 2- Deathwatch vs Ultramarines
Game 3- Deathwatch vs Tyranids