The final game of the North West Open tournament would see my Deathwatch taking on Toby's Astra Militarum army, featuring a lot of Scions and a lot of Tauroxes.
The mission for game 5 would be ITC scenario 4- The Scouring. For the Eternal War mission, there would be six objectives; two worth one point, two worth two points and two worth three points. The Maelstrom mission also featured 6 objectives; two objective 1's, two objective 2's and two objective 3's. The maelstrom table was:
- Hold either Maelstrom Objective 1.
- Hold either Maelstrom Objective 2.
- Hold either Maelstrom Objective 3.
- Destroy an enemy unit.
- Destroy an enemy unit.
- Destroy an enemy unit.
Nice and simple. As usual, you generate three unique maelstrom objectives by rolling on the table and choose the two you want to perform. If you generate two hold objectives, you can swap them for holding three objectives for 3 points. Equally, if you roll two destroy an enemy units, you can exchange them for destroying three enemy units for three points.
The tertiary objectives were Big Game Hunter (whoever destroys the unit with the highest power level), Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord. We would also be using Search and destroy deployment.
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, 3 Stalker Boltguns (KT2)
Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, 3 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 (VV1)
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, who took the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.
Toby's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Tempestor Prime- Tempestus Command Rod (P1)
Tempestor Prime- Tempestus Command Rod (P2)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S1)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S2)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S3)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Meltaguns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S4)
6 Command Points
My Warlord was the Watch Master, who took the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.
Toby's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Tempestor Prime- Tempestus Command Rod (P1)
Tempestor Prime- Tempestus Command Rod (P2)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S1)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S2)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S3)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Meltaguns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S4)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Meltaguns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S5)
Tempestus Scions- 2 Meltaguns, Hot-shot Lasguns, Tempestor with Hot-shot Laspistol and Chainsword (S6)
Tempestus Command Squad- 4 Plasma Guns (CS1)
Tempestus Command Squad- 4 Meltaguns (CS2)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Battle Cannon, two Autocannons (T1)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Battle Cannon, two Autocannons (T2)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Battle Cannon, two Autocannons (T3)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, two Hot-shot Volley Guns (T4)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, two Hot-shot Volley Guns (T5)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, two Hot-shot Volley Guns (T6)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, two Hot-shot Volley Guns (T7)
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, two Hot-shot Volley Guns (T7)
Vindicare Assassin (V)
Culexus Assassin (C)
Knight Paladin- 2 Heavy Stubbers, Rapid-fire Battle Cannon, Reaper Chainsword (IK)
6 Command Points
His warlord was one of the Tempestor Primes, who also took Tenacious Survivor.
Another Knight to face! What fun. I had played Scions and Tauroxes before with my Deathwatch and it did not go so well (and that was only with 3 Tauroxes, which were able to decimate much of my army on their own). I did not have high hopes for this game, my only hope was to get first turn and try and hit as hard and possible to destroy enough of the Tauroxes to give me a chance. Then I would just have to try and survive the Melta and Plasma spam for long enough to kill them.
We placed the objectives as shown below:
Unfortunately for me, Toby had enough deployment drops in reserve to force me to deploy my entire army before he had to deploy a single unit.
I opted to put the two Missile Launcher squads in the cover of the ruins, with good fields of fire on the vehicles. I put the two Biker units as far forward as possible to allow me to get into rapid fire range quickly. The Rhino went towards the centre, while the Corvus Blackstar deployed further back, as I had the range to move up if necessary. I kept the Assassin in reserve until his characters showed up.
In reply, Toby set up his Knight in the corner of his deployment zone, with three of the Tauroxes nearby. One of the Tempestor Primes was in one and two of the Scion squads were in two of the others. The three empty ones went behind the ruins opposite my deployment zone, the Assassin in the ruins just in front. The rest of the army went in reserve.
We rolled off for first turn, and drew on the dice roll 5 times in a row! On the sixth roll, I rolled a 2 and Toby rolled a 6, meaning he got first turn. Things just went from bad to worse! I failed to seize the initiative and Toby took the first turn. Well, at least I should be able to set off home nice and early.
TURN 1- ASTRA MILITARUM
In his first turn, Toby elected to try and destroy 3 enemy units for 3 points.
The Tauroxes moved into position, moving around the ruins in the centre to get sight on the Deathwatch, while the vehicles deep in the deployment zone moved up to add their firepower. The Imperial Knight moved up as well, supporting the advancing Guard lines.
The Astra Militarum reserves then arrived in force. One the left flank, two of the Scion Squads, the Command Squad with Plasma Guns and one of the Tempestus Primes arrived to harass the Deathwatch. On the right flank, two more Scions units arrived near the Corvus Blackstar, supported by the Culexus Assassin, landing behind the Deathwatch Flyer. Two more Scion squads went beside the Bikers on the right flank.
The Scions targeted the Rhino with their firepower. Both meltaguns from one Scion squad hit and wounded the Deathwatch vehicle (after the use of a single command point re-roll), taking 7 damage from the Rhino. Another squad fired their Plasma Guns, overcharging in relatively safety thanks to the orders of the Prime and destroying the vehicle, killing one of the Kill Team inside.
The other Scion unit on the left flank targeted the Deathwatch Bikers, killing one. The nearby Taurox added its firepower, wiping out the unit.
The Imperial Knight fired its Battle Cannon at the Kill Team that had emerged from the wreck of the Rhino, killing three of the squad. The Vindicare Assassin fired at the lone survivor, but missed with his shot.
Another Taurox fired at the Missile Launcher Kill Team in the front ruins, wounding once, but failing to get past their armour. Another Taurox added its firepower, wounding twice with its missiles. I failed both 3+ saves and two Marines perished.
The third Taurox on the right flank fired at the second Biker unit, killing one of the squad. The two nearby units of Scions fired at the squad, killing another one of the Bikers with their combined firepower.
On the far right flank, the Scion units opened fire on the Corvus Blackstar with their Meltaguns. One squad missed with their two shots. The other squad hit with both their shots, but failed to wound with either. A lucky escape for the flyer. The Culexus fired at the flyer, but failed to do any damage.
At the end of my turn, I passed all my morale tests. That was a brutal first turn, but it could have been a lot worse! Some poor rolling from Toby saw my flyer survive and the Kill Team in the Rhino survived to deny him his maelstrom points for this turn.
TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I chose to kill 3 units for three maelstrom points. I was hoping that the Scion units would fall quite easily, allowing me to go ahead on maelstrom points in turn 1.
The Kill Team and Watch Captain disembarked from the Corvus Blackstar, moving to engage the nearby Scion units. The Flyer moved across the battlefield to target the enemy vehicles. The lone Bike moved up on the Guard infantry in front of him, while the lone Frag Cannon-wielding Veteran moved up on the Scion units near him.
The Deathwatch reserves arrived. The Vanguard Veterans landed on the left flank, near one of the enemy vehicles. The Drop Pod landed on the right flank, the Kill Team and Watch Master disembarking to target more of the Taurox transports.
Kill Team four split their fire between the two vehicles in front of them, firing two Meltagun shots at each Taurox. One of the vehicles was obliterated as the two Meltagun shots hit it. Toby rolled a 1 for the passenger inside and was forced to use a Command Point re-roll to save his warlord from death. The other two Meltaguns hit the other Taurox, doing 8 wounds in total. The Bolter of the last Veteran managed to do another wound on the vehicle. Finally, the Watch Master fired his Guardian Spear at the vehicle and was able to destroy it.
The lone Veteran from Kill Team 5 fired his Frag Cannon at the squad in front of him, but only managed 4 hits, killing two of the squad.
The other Frag Cannons in Kill Team 1 fired at the back squad of Scions, scoring a great 29 hits and wiping out the unit. The Bolters of the rest of the squad managed to kill one of the Scions from the second unit in front of them.
The Biker fired at the Scions in front of him, killing two of the squad.
One of the Kill Team in the ruins fired at a Taurox on the right flank, but both missile launchers missed. The second Kill Team in the ruins fired their missile launchers at the same target, but both their shots went wide as well! The Stalker bolters of the rest of the squad fired at the Scions, killing three of the squad.
The Corvus Blackstar fired all its weapons at the Taurox in front of it. The Hurricane Bolters took two wounds, the assault cannons took another and the missile pods took one more from the vehicle.
The Deathwatch then launched their assaults. Kill Team 1 and the Watch Captain assaulted the Scions in front of them. The Biker assaulted the Scion squad in the woods, while the lone Veteran assaulted the Command Squad. The Vanguard Veterans managed to also assault one of the Taurox. The Corvus Blackstar also assaulted a Taurox, suffering one wound in overwatch.
The Watch Captain struck at the Scions, easily wiping them out. The Biker managed to kill one of the Scions for no damage in return.
The lone Veteran managed to kill one of the Scion Squad, while the Vanguard Veterans did two wounds on the Taurox. They then consolidated around the vehicle to stop it from falling back and saving them from the enemy firepower.
In reply, the Command Squad managed to do a single wound on the lone Veteran. I failed my save, but used a command point re-roll to pass it to deny Toby his maelstrom points for the turn.
In the morale phase, one of the Scions fled the field.
A good turn for the Deathwatch, much better than could be expected. I had managed to take out much of the Scion units and kill a few of the vehicle, but retribution was sure to be coming my way.
TURN 2- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Toby scored no maelstrom points. For his next turn maelstrom points, he chose to once more go for destroying three enemy units for three points.
The Guard units in combat fell back from the Deathwatch. The Knight moved up on the Kill Team and Watch Master, joined by a Taurox, with the Tempestus Prime embarking when it came into range to escape the enemy firepower. The Culexus Assassin moved up on the Kill Team in the ruins.
In the shooting phase, Scion squad 1 fired on the lone Veteran in front of them, easily killing him. The Plasma Gun command Squad fired at the Veteran in the ruins, killing one of the squad. One of the Tauroxes fired at the squad, wounding four times, but failing to get past their armour. The other Taurox fired at the lone Biker, killing him.
On the left flank, the Taurox fired at Kill Team 4, killing one of the squad only after some great saving throws from me (for once!). The Imperial Knight fired on the squad, killing three with its Battle Cannon.
In the charge phase, the Knight charged the Kill Team in front of it, easily killing the last Veteran. The Watch Master performed a heroic intervention and struck at the Knight, wounding it three times.
The Vanguard Veterans struck at the Taurox, wounding it twice more.
TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored three maelstrom points for killing three enemy units. This turn, I chose to kill a unit and secure objective 1 for my maelstrom goals.
Kill Team 1 advanced into the forest to get into weapons range of the Taurox beside the ruins, while the Watch Captain moved to engage the Scions. The Watch Master fell back from combat into the cover of the ruins, while the Corvus Blackstar moved up on another Taurox. Finally, the Assassin revealed himself, deploying on the ruins in my deployment zone.
The Vindicare fired on the Tempestor Prime, hitting him and wounding him on a 6 (meaning I would do D6 damage). I rolled a 1 for damage, choosing to use a command point re-roll to try and kill him off, but rolled another 1 for the damage!
The lone Veteran with the Missile Launcher fired at the Taurox, hitting and wounding, but I rolled a 1 once more for damage. The other Missile Launcher team fired at the same Taurox, hitting and wounding once, but Toby made his armour save. The Stalker Bolters of the squad fared a little better, wounding the vehicle twice.
The Corvus Blackstar fired at the Taurox in front of it, wounding it 5 times. Kill Team 1 fired at the Taurox beside the ruins, hitting with four of their long range shots. Unfortunately, I only managed a single wound (despite only needing a 3+) and took two damage from it. The Captain threw a grenade at the Scion squad in front of him, killing one of them.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the two Scions in front of him. Both chose to overwatch their Plasma Guns, but both weapons overheated, killing the wielders and leaving the Captain unharmed. The Corvus Blackstar assaulted the Taurox, taking two more wounds to overwatch fire and doing no harm in combat, but at least stopping it from firing next turn.
The Vanguard Veterans continued their assault on the Taurox, wounding it once more and leaving it on three wounds.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 0
Deathwatch- 3
TURN 3- ASTRA MILITARUM
At the start of his third turn, Toby scored three points for killing three enemy units. This turn, he chose to try and kill two enemy units.
The Taurox fell back from combat with the Corvus Blackstar, while the rest of the vehicles on the left flank moved to engage the Watch Master. The Scions and Tempestus Prime also moved towards the Deathwatch Warlord. The Culexus Assassin moved up on the Kill Team in the ruins.
The two Scion units fired on the Watch Master. One of the squad overcharged their Plasma guns, losing one to an overheat. They did a single wound, but it was saved by his invulnerable save. The other squad also overcharged, doing a single wound on the Watch Master.
The Culexus fired at Kill Team 2, killing the lone member of the squad.
On the right flank, the unengaged Taurox fired at the kill team in the woods, killing one of the squad.
On the left flank, the two Tauroxes fired at the Watch Master. Despite doing an impressive 15 wounds in total, the armour of the Watch Master held and he was unharmed. Finally, the Vindicare fired at the Deathwatch warlord, taking two wounds with his Rifle fire.
The Imperial Knight fired at the Corvus Blackstar. Toby rolled a 2 for the number of shots on the Battle Cannon, choosing to use a command point re-roll, but came up with another two shots. Both shots hit and wounded, but I managed to save both wounds on a 5+.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Drop Pod, while the Assassin assaulted the Kill Team in the ruins.
The Knight easily demolished the Drop Pod. The Assassin managed to kill two of the Veterans, while the remaining Veterans managed to put a single wound on the Culexus. The Vanguard Veterans managed to put another two wounds on the Taurox.
TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored two points for my maelstrom objectives from last turn. For my next objectives, I chose to kill an enemy unit and hold objective 2.
The Corvus Blackstar moved up on the enemy vehicles, while the Watch Master moved further into the ruins. On the left flank, the Kill Team in combat with the Assassin fell back, while the Watch Captain moved up one Taurox, while the Kill Team advanced on the other Taurox.
The Kill Team fired at the Taurox, one firing Frag shells and two firing solid shells. The Frag shells hit 8 times, but only wounded once! The solid shells wounded once more, taking two damage from the vehicle.
The Watch Master fired at the Scions, killing one of the squad. The Vindicare fired at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him twice and leaving him on a single wound.
The Corvus Blackstar opened fire on one of the Tauroxes, wounding it five times.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the Taurox held up by the Vanguard Veterans, while the Corvus Blackstar assaulted another Taurox.
The Captain struck at the vehicle with his Lightning Claws, finishing it off. The Corvus managed to do a wound on the other Taurox in combat, for no damage in return.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 3
Deathwatch- 5
TURN 4- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Toby scored both his maelstrom points. For next turn, he chose killing two enemy units.
The Scion Command Squad and Tempestor Prime disembarked from the Taurox, moving to engage the Corvus Blackstar. The three Tauroxes moved into position around the objective. On the south of the battlefield, the Knight and Scions moved up on the Watch Master.
The Astra Militarum units fired at the Watch Master, wounding him three times, wounding him once.
One of the Tauroxes fired on the Corvus Blackstar, wounding it twice. The Scion Command Squad fired at the Deathwatch flyer, blowing it up. The Corvus Blackstar exploded, slaying the entirety of the Command Squad, wounding the Prime twice and wounding the nearby Taurox three times.
The Culexus Assassin fired on the Kill Team, killing one of them. The Vindicare fired on the Vanguard Veterans, wounding one, but I made my 6+ save.
The Imperial Knight fired at the Watch Master. The Heavy Stubber wounded him four times, but his armour saved them all. The Battle Cannon wounded him three times. I failed one invulnerable save and the Watch Master suffered a single wound.
In the charge phase, the Knight charged the Watch Master and the Culexus Assassin charged the Kill Team.
The Assassin struck at the Kill Team, killing both of the squad after the use of a single Command Point re-roll. The Knight attacked the Watch Master, wounding him twice. I managed to save both wounds using my own Command Point re-roll. The Watch Master attacked back, causing four wounds on the Knight.
TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my own turn, I scored one point for killing an enemy unit. For the following turn, I chose two lots of destroy an enemy unit.
The Vanguard Veterans and Watch Captain moved into the ruins to target the enemy Vindicare Assassin, while the remaining Kill Team moved to engage the Taurox on the edge of the ruins.
The Vindicare Assassin fired on the Tempestus Prime, finally killing him. The Kill Team turned their Frag Cannons on the Taurox Prime, destroying it. The enemy vehicle exploded, killing three of the Kill Team, one of the Vanguard Veterans and wounding the Watch Captain twice.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain and Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Vindicare Assassin.
The Captain struck at the Assassin, wounding him four times but only getting past his save once. The Vanguard Veterans managed to do one wound on the Assassin, losing one of their squad to his attacks in reply.
The Watch Master attacked the Knight once more, but failed to wound the mighty construct. In reply, the Imperial Knight managed to kill off the Watch Master.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 5
Deathwatch- 6
TURN 5- ASTRA MILITARUM
At the start of his 5th turn, Toby scored two points for his maelstrom objectives last turn. For his next turn, he chose to hold 3 objectives for three points.
The Imperial Knight moved to engage the remaining Deathwatch units, as the Tauroxes moved to secure the objectives. The Vindicare Assassin fell back from combat.
One of the Tauroxes fired at the Kill Team, slaying the last two members of the squad. Another fired at the Vanguard Veterans, killing one.
The Knight fired at the remaining Vanguard Veterans. The Heavy Stubber struck the unit, wounding twice. I failed both my 2+ saves and the unit was destroyed! Finally, the Culexus Assassin fired at my Vindicare, but failed to cause any damage.
TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored both my maelstrom objectives. For the following turn, I chose to kill an enemy unit and hold objective 2.
The Watch Captain moved up on the Vindicare Assassin.
My Vindicare fired at the Culexus Assassin, but could not hit. Finally, the Watch Captain assaulted the enemy Assassin, killing him with his Lightning Claw attacks.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 7
Deathwatch- 8
Toby rolled to see if the game ended and it did. A lucky escape for the Deathwatch!
VICTORY POINTS:
Astra Militarum: Eternal War- 8, Maelstrom- 7, Big Game Hunter, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord
Deathwatch: Eternal War- 0, Maelstrom- 8, Linebreaker.
Toby easily won the Eternal War mission, while I scraped a win on the maelstrom mission. This gave Toby 11 tournament points to my 9 tournament points. A win for the Astra Militarum, but not a huge loss for the Deathwatch.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Well, that did not go as expected. I was fully expecting to have to concede on turn 2.
Toby had a pretty unlucky first turn. All his Meltaguns missed the Corvus Blackstar to allow it and the Kill Team inside to survive till my first turn. The Vindicare was also unlucky to not kill the last member of the Kill Team to earn Toby three maelstrom points for the first turn.
I think having such a poor first turn was the only thing that kept me in the game, allowing me to take on the Scion units and to use the Corvus to go after the Tauroxes. Don't get me wrong, he still did a lot of damage, but it could have been a lot worse on my end.
As it turned out, what should have been a crushing loss was a narrow loss in the end, so quite a good result for the Deathwatch.
So, at the end of the tournament, I went with one win, one draw and three losses, which is actually my best result with the Deathwatch in 8th edition so far. Later in the week I will be posting some photos of the painting competitions, as well as my review of the army and how it performed.
6 Command Points
His warlord was one of the Tempestor Primes, who also took Tenacious Survivor.
Another Knight to face! What fun. I had played Scions and Tauroxes before with my Deathwatch and it did not go so well (and that was only with 3 Tauroxes, which were able to decimate much of my army on their own). I did not have high hopes for this game, my only hope was to get first turn and try and hit as hard and possible to destroy enough of the Tauroxes to give me a chance. Then I would just have to try and survive the Melta and Plasma spam for long enough to kill them.
We placed the objectives as shown below:
Unfortunately for me, Toby had enough deployment drops in reserve to force me to deploy my entire army before he had to deploy a single unit.
I opted to put the two Missile Launcher squads in the cover of the ruins, with good fields of fire on the vehicles. I put the two Biker units as far forward as possible to allow me to get into rapid fire range quickly. The Rhino went towards the centre, while the Corvus Blackstar deployed further back, as I had the range to move up if necessary. I kept the Assassin in reserve until his characters showed up.
In reply, Toby set up his Knight in the corner of his deployment zone, with three of the Tauroxes nearby. One of the Tempestor Primes was in one and two of the Scion squads were in two of the others. The three empty ones went behind the ruins opposite my deployment zone, the Assassin in the ruins just in front. The rest of the army went in reserve.
We rolled off for first turn, and drew on the dice roll 5 times in a row! On the sixth roll, I rolled a 2 and Toby rolled a 6, meaning he got first turn. Things just went from bad to worse! I failed to seize the initiative and Toby took the first turn. Well, at least I should be able to set off home nice and early.
TURN 1- ASTRA MILITARUM
In his first turn, Toby elected to try and destroy 3 enemy units for 3 points.
The Tauroxes moved into position, moving around the ruins in the centre to get sight on the Deathwatch, while the vehicles deep in the deployment zone moved up to add their firepower. The Imperial Knight moved up as well, supporting the advancing Guard lines.
The Astra Militarum reserves then arrived in force. One the left flank, two of the Scion Squads, the Command Squad with Plasma Guns and one of the Tempestus Primes arrived to harass the Deathwatch. On the right flank, two more Scions units arrived near the Corvus Blackstar, supported by the Culexus Assassin, landing behind the Deathwatch Flyer. Two more Scion squads went beside the Bikers on the right flank.
The Scions targeted the Rhino with their firepower. Both meltaguns from one Scion squad hit and wounded the Deathwatch vehicle (after the use of a single command point re-roll), taking 7 damage from the Rhino. Another squad fired their Plasma Guns, overcharging in relatively safety thanks to the orders of the Prime and destroying the vehicle, killing one of the Kill Team inside.
The other Scion unit on the left flank targeted the Deathwatch Bikers, killing one. The nearby Taurox added its firepower, wiping out the unit.
The Imperial Knight fired its Battle Cannon at the Kill Team that had emerged from the wreck of the Rhino, killing three of the squad. The Vindicare Assassin fired at the lone survivor, but missed with his shot.
Another Taurox fired at the Missile Launcher Kill Team in the front ruins, wounding once, but failing to get past their armour. Another Taurox added its firepower, wounding twice with its missiles. I failed both 3+ saves and two Marines perished.
The third Taurox on the right flank fired at the second Biker unit, killing one of the squad. The two nearby units of Scions fired at the squad, killing another one of the Bikers with their combined firepower.
On the far right flank, the Scion units opened fire on the Corvus Blackstar with their Meltaguns. One squad missed with their two shots. The other squad hit with both their shots, but failed to wound with either. A lucky escape for the flyer. The Culexus fired at the flyer, but failed to do any damage.
At the end of my turn, I passed all my morale tests. That was a brutal first turn, but it could have been a lot worse! Some poor rolling from Toby saw my flyer survive and the Kill Team in the Rhino survived to deny him his maelstrom points for this turn.
TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I chose to kill 3 units for three maelstrom points. I was hoping that the Scion units would fall quite easily, allowing me to go ahead on maelstrom points in turn 1.
The Kill Team and Watch Captain disembarked from the Corvus Blackstar, moving to engage the nearby Scion units. The Flyer moved across the battlefield to target the enemy vehicles. The lone Bike moved up on the Guard infantry in front of him, while the lone Frag Cannon-wielding Veteran moved up on the Scion units near him.
The Deathwatch reserves arrived. The Vanguard Veterans landed on the left flank, near one of the enemy vehicles. The Drop Pod landed on the right flank, the Kill Team and Watch Master disembarking to target more of the Taurox transports.
Kill Team four split their fire between the two vehicles in front of them, firing two Meltagun shots at each Taurox. One of the vehicles was obliterated as the two Meltagun shots hit it. Toby rolled a 1 for the passenger inside and was forced to use a Command Point re-roll to save his warlord from death. The other two Meltaguns hit the other Taurox, doing 8 wounds in total. The Bolter of the last Veteran managed to do another wound on the vehicle. Finally, the Watch Master fired his Guardian Spear at the vehicle and was able to destroy it.
The lone Veteran from Kill Team 5 fired his Frag Cannon at the squad in front of him, but only managed 4 hits, killing two of the squad.
The other Frag Cannons in Kill Team 1 fired at the back squad of Scions, scoring a great 29 hits and wiping out the unit. The Bolters of the rest of the squad managed to kill one of the Scions from the second unit in front of them.
The Biker fired at the Scions in front of him, killing two of the squad.
One of the Kill Team in the ruins fired at a Taurox on the right flank, but both missile launchers missed. The second Kill Team in the ruins fired their missile launchers at the same target, but both their shots went wide as well! The Stalker bolters of the rest of the squad fired at the Scions, killing three of the squad.
The Corvus Blackstar fired all its weapons at the Taurox in front of it. The Hurricane Bolters took two wounds, the assault cannons took another and the missile pods took one more from the vehicle.
The Deathwatch then launched their assaults. Kill Team 1 and the Watch Captain assaulted the Scions in front of them. The Biker assaulted the Scion squad in the woods, while the lone Veteran assaulted the Command Squad. The Vanguard Veterans managed to also assault one of the Taurox. The Corvus Blackstar also assaulted a Taurox, suffering one wound in overwatch.
The Watch Captain struck at the Scions, easily wiping them out. The Biker managed to kill one of the Scions for no damage in return.
The lone Veteran managed to kill one of the Scion Squad, while the Vanguard Veterans did two wounds on the Taurox. They then consolidated around the vehicle to stop it from falling back and saving them from the enemy firepower.
In reply, the Command Squad managed to do a single wound on the lone Veteran. I failed my save, but used a command point re-roll to pass it to deny Toby his maelstrom points for the turn.
In the morale phase, one of the Scions fled the field.
A good turn for the Deathwatch, much better than could be expected. I had managed to take out much of the Scion units and kill a few of the vehicle, but retribution was sure to be coming my way.
TURN 2- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Toby scored no maelstrom points. For his next turn maelstrom points, he chose to once more go for destroying three enemy units for three points.
The Guard units in combat fell back from the Deathwatch. The Knight moved up on the Kill Team and Watch Master, joined by a Taurox, with the Tempestus Prime embarking when it came into range to escape the enemy firepower. The Culexus Assassin moved up on the Kill Team in the ruins.
In the shooting phase, Scion squad 1 fired on the lone Veteran in front of them, easily killing him. The Plasma Gun command Squad fired at the Veteran in the ruins, killing one of the squad. One of the Tauroxes fired at the squad, wounding four times, but failing to get past their armour. The other Taurox fired at the lone Biker, killing him.
On the left flank, the Taurox fired at Kill Team 4, killing one of the squad only after some great saving throws from me (for once!). The Imperial Knight fired on the squad, killing three with its Battle Cannon.
In the charge phase, the Knight charged the Kill Team in front of it, easily killing the last Veteran. The Watch Master performed a heroic intervention and struck at the Knight, wounding it three times.
The Vanguard Veterans struck at the Taurox, wounding it twice more.
TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored three maelstrom points for killing three enemy units. This turn, I chose to kill a unit and secure objective 1 for my maelstrom goals.
Kill Team 1 advanced into the forest to get into weapons range of the Taurox beside the ruins, while the Watch Captain moved to engage the Scions. The Watch Master fell back from combat into the cover of the ruins, while the Corvus Blackstar moved up on another Taurox. Finally, the Assassin revealed himself, deploying on the ruins in my deployment zone.
The Vindicare fired on the Tempestor Prime, hitting him and wounding him on a 6 (meaning I would do D6 damage). I rolled a 1 for damage, choosing to use a command point re-roll to try and kill him off, but rolled another 1 for the damage!
The lone Veteran with the Missile Launcher fired at the Taurox, hitting and wounding, but I rolled a 1 once more for damage. The other Missile Launcher team fired at the same Taurox, hitting and wounding once, but Toby made his armour save. The Stalker Bolters of the squad fared a little better, wounding the vehicle twice.
The Corvus Blackstar fired at the Taurox in front of it, wounding it 5 times. Kill Team 1 fired at the Taurox beside the ruins, hitting with four of their long range shots. Unfortunately, I only managed a single wound (despite only needing a 3+) and took two damage from it. The Captain threw a grenade at the Scion squad in front of him, killing one of them.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the two Scions in front of him. Both chose to overwatch their Plasma Guns, but both weapons overheated, killing the wielders and leaving the Captain unharmed. The Corvus Blackstar assaulted the Taurox, taking two more wounds to overwatch fire and doing no harm in combat, but at least stopping it from firing next turn.
The Vanguard Veterans continued their assault on the Taurox, wounding it once more and leaving it on three wounds.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 0
Deathwatch- 3
TURN 3- ASTRA MILITARUM
At the start of his third turn, Toby scored three points for killing three enemy units. This turn, he chose to try and kill two enemy units.
The Taurox fell back from combat with the Corvus Blackstar, while the rest of the vehicles on the left flank moved to engage the Watch Master. The Scions and Tempestus Prime also moved towards the Deathwatch Warlord. The Culexus Assassin moved up on the Kill Team in the ruins.
The two Scion units fired on the Watch Master. One of the squad overcharged their Plasma guns, losing one to an overheat. They did a single wound, but it was saved by his invulnerable save. The other squad also overcharged, doing a single wound on the Watch Master.
The Culexus fired at Kill Team 2, killing the lone member of the squad.
On the right flank, the unengaged Taurox fired at the kill team in the woods, killing one of the squad.
On the left flank, the two Tauroxes fired at the Watch Master. Despite doing an impressive 15 wounds in total, the armour of the Watch Master held and he was unharmed. Finally, the Vindicare fired at the Deathwatch warlord, taking two wounds with his Rifle fire.
The Imperial Knight fired at the Corvus Blackstar. Toby rolled a 2 for the number of shots on the Battle Cannon, choosing to use a command point re-roll, but came up with another two shots. Both shots hit and wounded, but I managed to save both wounds on a 5+.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Drop Pod, while the Assassin assaulted the Kill Team in the ruins.
The Knight easily demolished the Drop Pod. The Assassin managed to kill two of the Veterans, while the remaining Veterans managed to put a single wound on the Culexus. The Vanguard Veterans managed to put another two wounds on the Taurox.
TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored two points for my maelstrom objectives from last turn. For my next objectives, I chose to kill an enemy unit and hold objective 2.
The Corvus Blackstar moved up on the enemy vehicles, while the Watch Master moved further into the ruins. On the left flank, the Kill Team in combat with the Assassin fell back, while the Watch Captain moved up one Taurox, while the Kill Team advanced on the other Taurox.
The Kill Team fired at the Taurox, one firing Frag shells and two firing solid shells. The Frag shells hit 8 times, but only wounded once! The solid shells wounded once more, taking two damage from the vehicle.
The Watch Master fired at the Scions, killing one of the squad. The Vindicare fired at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him twice and leaving him on a single wound.
The Corvus Blackstar opened fire on one of the Tauroxes, wounding it five times.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the Taurox held up by the Vanguard Veterans, while the Corvus Blackstar assaulted another Taurox.
The Captain struck at the vehicle with his Lightning Claws, finishing it off. The Corvus managed to do a wound on the other Taurox in combat, for no damage in return.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 3
Deathwatch- 5
TURN 4- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Toby scored both his maelstrom points. For next turn, he chose killing two enemy units.
The Scion Command Squad and Tempestor Prime disembarked from the Taurox, moving to engage the Corvus Blackstar. The three Tauroxes moved into position around the objective. On the south of the battlefield, the Knight and Scions moved up on the Watch Master.
The Astra Militarum units fired at the Watch Master, wounding him three times, wounding him once.
One of the Tauroxes fired on the Corvus Blackstar, wounding it twice. The Scion Command Squad fired at the Deathwatch flyer, blowing it up. The Corvus Blackstar exploded, slaying the entirety of the Command Squad, wounding the Prime twice and wounding the nearby Taurox three times.
The Culexus Assassin fired on the Kill Team, killing one of them. The Vindicare fired on the Vanguard Veterans, wounding one, but I made my 6+ save.
The Imperial Knight fired at the Watch Master. The Heavy Stubber wounded him four times, but his armour saved them all. The Battle Cannon wounded him three times. I failed one invulnerable save and the Watch Master suffered a single wound.
In the charge phase, the Knight charged the Watch Master and the Culexus Assassin charged the Kill Team.
The Assassin struck at the Kill Team, killing both of the squad after the use of a single Command Point re-roll. The Knight attacked the Watch Master, wounding him twice. I managed to save both wounds using my own Command Point re-roll. The Watch Master attacked back, causing four wounds on the Knight.
TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my own turn, I scored one point for killing an enemy unit. For the following turn, I chose two lots of destroy an enemy unit.
The Vanguard Veterans and Watch Captain moved into the ruins to target the enemy Vindicare Assassin, while the remaining Kill Team moved to engage the Taurox on the edge of the ruins.
The Vindicare Assassin fired on the Tempestus Prime, finally killing him. The Kill Team turned their Frag Cannons on the Taurox Prime, destroying it. The enemy vehicle exploded, killing three of the Kill Team, one of the Vanguard Veterans and wounding the Watch Captain twice.
In the charge phase, the Watch Captain and Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Vindicare Assassin.
The Captain struck at the Assassin, wounding him four times but only getting past his save once. The Vanguard Veterans managed to do one wound on the Assassin, losing one of their squad to his attacks in reply.
The Watch Master attacked the Knight once more, but failed to wound the mighty construct. In reply, the Imperial Knight managed to kill off the Watch Master.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 5
Deathwatch- 6
TURN 5- ASTRA MILITARUM
At the start of his 5th turn, Toby scored two points for his maelstrom objectives last turn. For his next turn, he chose to hold 3 objectives for three points.
The Imperial Knight moved to engage the remaining Deathwatch units, as the Tauroxes moved to secure the objectives. The Vindicare Assassin fell back from combat.
One of the Tauroxes fired at the Kill Team, slaying the last two members of the squad. Another fired at the Vanguard Veterans, killing one.
The Knight fired at the remaining Vanguard Veterans. The Heavy Stubber struck the unit, wounding twice. I failed both my 2+ saves and the unit was destroyed! Finally, the Culexus Assassin fired at my Vindicare, but failed to cause any damage.
TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
This turn, I scored both my maelstrom objectives. For the following turn, I chose to kill an enemy unit and hold objective 2.
The Watch Captain moved up on the Vindicare Assassin.
My Vindicare fired at the Culexus Assassin, but could not hit. Finally, the Watch Captain assaulted the enemy Assassin, killing him with his Lightning Claw attacks.
MAELSTROM POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 7
Deathwatch- 8
Toby rolled to see if the game ended and it did. A lucky escape for the Deathwatch!
 |
| End of the game. |
VICTORY POINTS:
Astra Militarum: Eternal War- 8, Maelstrom- 7, Big Game Hunter, Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord
Deathwatch: Eternal War- 0, Maelstrom- 8, Linebreaker.
Toby easily won the Eternal War mission, while I scraped a win on the maelstrom mission. This gave Toby 11 tournament points to my 9 tournament points. A win for the Astra Militarum, but not a huge loss for the Deathwatch.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Well, that did not go as expected. I was fully expecting to have to concede on turn 2.
Toby had a pretty unlucky first turn. All his Meltaguns missed the Corvus Blackstar to allow it and the Kill Team inside to survive till my first turn. The Vindicare was also unlucky to not kill the last member of the Kill Team to earn Toby three maelstrom points for the first turn.
I think having such a poor first turn was the only thing that kept me in the game, allowing me to take on the Scion units and to use the Corvus to go after the Tauroxes. Don't get me wrong, he still did a lot of damage, but it could have been a lot worse on my end.
As it turned out, what should have been a crushing loss was a narrow loss in the end, so quite a good result for the Deathwatch.
So, at the end of the tournament, I went with one win, one draw and three losses, which is actually my best result with the Deathwatch in 8th edition so far. Later in the week I will be posting some photos of the painting competitions, as well as my review of the army and how it performed.
I thought I recognised that Taurox scheme! Toby's a lovely guy to play against isn't he - his Scions got a real boost from 8th Ed rules but he's a good player anyway, you'll see him a lot if you start coming to the Greetings from the Warp tournaments.
ReplyDeleteA tough matchup for you again I think, redundancy being the key to that scion list, doesn't matter if you kill a few taurox, there's plenty more where they came from! I was impressed at how the watch master did against the knight though!!
Haha, small world Nick! We need to get you to more of these events, we haven't had a proper tussle in a while. Toby was a great guy, I think I was just smarting a bit from my run of losses.
DeleteI was seriously impressed with the Watch Master as well. If you keep making Invulnerable saves, he can really hold his own and put a lot of damage on a range of opponents. He is pretty much guaranteed to hit with all four of his attacks and still gets to wound a Knight on a 5+ with D3 damage. A few more turns and I might have even taken him to half wounds!
Wow, a tough set of matches. I was good to see that a positive turn of dice luck for you better show cased your army's effectiveness! Making the saves when they count is BIG. Great to see you avoid a tabling in a match-up like this. Those Scions can really put out a weight of fire.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed seeing how you manage the objectives to keep in your games to the extent possible. Even when it seems like your force is being taken apart, those maelstrom points come in. Really well fought for this type of small force - one that does not benefit form the spamming of effective cheap unit choices...
Cheers Dave. Yeah, I always try to focus on the objectives in my games. With a small, elite army like the Deathwatch, you kind of have to do that, you will never win the attrition game. They certainly did very well for me in maelstrom games in 7th. 8th is a bit more of a struggle, but I am enjoying learning the game once more.
DeleteHm Deathwatch really seems to need a bit of a boost. Or maybe you caught some bad matchups? I'd be interested to know what the Astra Militarum lost against as the list seems to be quite optimized and spammy, something that normally should do well in a tournament.
ReplyDeleteEither way, I hope you weren't too disappointed with the tournament, and better luck next time! Normally you do a lot better, it's strange to see you loose more than you win.
Yeah, they really need a points drop and some nice stratagems to make them semi-competitive in 8th edition. I was really surprised to see that Astra Militarum list so far down for my last game. He must have come up against some really bad match ups, as the list seemed quite solid.
DeleteDon't worry too much for me, my recent games with the White Scars have been much better (reports due in the following weeks).
That's good to hear, looking forward to those!
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