This week's battle report sees my Deathwatch take on Khyl's Death Guard force in a maelstrom of war mission.
We were playing the Tactical Gambit mission. This is where you have to bet how many cards you will score in your turn (before you draw them) and draw up to four cards per turn.
My Deathwatch army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Watch Master- Tome of Ectoclades, Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC1)
Kill Team 1- 9 Veterans with 9 Storm Bolters, two Storm Shields and Chainswords, Vanguard Veteran with two Lightning Claws. (KT1)
Kill Team 2- 10 Intercessors with Bolt Rifles and Bolt Pistols. (KT2)
Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with Stalker Pattern Bolters. (KT3)
3 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield. (B1)
3 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield. (B2)
Battalion Detachment
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, Bolt Pistol, Lord of Hidden Knowledge warlord trait. (WC2)
Librarian- Force Sword, Bolt Pistol, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress (L)
Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with two Missile Launcher, three Bolters, Chainswords. (KT4)
Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans with two Missile Launcher, three Bolters, Chainswords. (KT5)
Kill Team 6- 5 Veterans with 4 Combi-Meltas, Bolter, Chainswords. (KT6)
Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)
Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter (D)
Venerable Dreadnought- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter
A change up to my regular Deathwatch army. I decided to go with the standard two Battalion detachment, giving me 13 command points in total.
For the characters, I went with the standard Watch Master, accompanied by two Watch Captains with Jump Packs. One had a Storm Shield and Thunder Hammer to go aggressive. The other, I made my warlord to keep safer than the other Captain and Watch Master.
I went with six Kill Team, many of which were my standard roll out. The first two Kill Teams had the firepower boost and would deep strike using the Teleportarium stratagem. I also took one with Stalker Bolters and two Kill Teams with Missile Launchers for some long range firepower. I also took a Kill Team with Combi-Meltas. I gave them a Drop Pod to allow them to get into range to use their firepower.
I also decided to trial out a Venerable Dreadnought to give me some more anti-tank firepower. It would also allow me to use Wisdom of the Ancients to help out the Missile Launcher Kill Teams. I also took a couple of Deathwatch Biker units to give me some much needed mobility for the maelstrom game.
Khyl's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Daemon Prince of Nurgle- Malefic Talon, Wings, Putrescent Vitality, Blades of Putrifaction (DP)
Lord of Contagion- Manreaper (L)
10 Cultists- Autogun (C)
5 Plague Marines- Bolters, Plague Belcher, Sergeant with Power Fist and Plague Knife. (PM2)
5 Plague Marines- Bolters, Plasma Gun, Sergeant with Power Fist and Plague Knife. (PM1)
20 Poxwalker (P)
Biologus Putrifier- Blight Racks, Plague Knife, Hyper Blight Grenades (BP)
3 Blightlord Terminators- Plague Spewer, 2 Combi-Bolters, Bubotic Axe, Balesword (BT)
Chaos Spawn (CS)
Foetid Bloat Drone- 2 Plaguespitters (BD)
Myphytic Blight-Hauler- Bile Spurt, Missile Launcher, Multi-melta (BH)
Heavy Auxiliary Detachmet
Mortarion- Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrifaction, Putrescent Vitality (M)
Vanguard Detachment
Malignant Plaguecaster- Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrifaction (P)
Noxious Blightbringer- Plasma Pistol (NB)
Plague Surgeon- Balesword (S)
Tallyman- Plasma Pistol (T)
A good mix of Nurgle units to bring to the table. First up, the big man himself, Mortarion. I've only gone up against him once before, but I had plenty of Plasma weaponry there to deal with him. He is a beast in combat, so I would try and stop him from getting there. My Special Issue Ammunition should help me deal with him, allowing me to wound him on a 2+.
There were a number of other Death Guard characters who could provide good buffs for the army. He also had a large block of Poxwalkers, who could tie up my units for a while, thanks to their "fearless" nature. The Bloat Drone could also provide some very potent firepower at close range.
We set up the objectives as shown below:
We then rolled off for deployment zone and got Hammer and Anvil. This was great for me, but would force Khyl to have to go further to get to my lines if I deployed further back. He chose the deployment zone, and I was surprised he didn't select the end with the bastion in it. This would give a lot of line of sight blocking terrain to deploy around.
We then set up our forces.
I put the two Missile Launcher Kill Teams on the bastion, giving them good line of sight over the battlefield, as well as cover saves. I put the Watch Captain beside them, out of line of sight and waiting for the enemy army to come to me. I put a unit of Bikers behind the bastion, and one on the right.
The Dreadnought went on the right, while the Razorback was on the left. The Stalker Bolters went on the left, in the ruins next to the objective. I put the rest of my units in reserve, ready to deploy later.
Khyl deployed his two units of Plague Marines on the left, accompanied by the Malignant Plaguecaster and Biologus Putrifier. The Cultists and Poxwalkers deployed in the centre, with the Blightbringer, Tallyman and Plague Surgeon behind them.
The right flank was held up by Mortarion, the Bloat Drone and Blight Hauler.
I finished first and got the +1 to go first. I won the first turn and Khyl failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I bet I would score one card. I drew Behind Enemy Lines, Witch Hunter, Advance and Secure Objective 4. Of those, only Secure Objective 4 would be feasible for this turn, unless I was able to take out Mortarion on the first turn. At the start of my turn, I chose the Furor Mission Tactics to target Troops.
On the right flank, the Bikers moved up on the Plague Marines in the woods, the Librarian advancing to join them and get into range of the Chaos Marines.
On the left flank, the Stalker Bolter Veterans moved up to get into range of Mortarion, the Bikers moving to secure the objective for them. The Deathwatch Captain moved towards the left flank to support the squads there.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Psychic Fortress on the Bikers. The Plaguecaster failed to block the power. He then cast Smite, killing two of the Plague Marines in front of him.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers fired on the Plague Marines with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding 10 times and killing one Plague Marine.
I used the Wisdom of the Ancients stratagem on the Venerable Dreadnought. He fired his Lascannons at Mortarion, hitting twice (thanks to a re-roll from the stratagem) and wounding twice, with another command point re-roll (which I got to keep). Khyl failed one save, using his own command point re-roll, but failed the save once more. I rolled a two for damage, one wound getting through his Disgusting Resilient save.
The Stalker Marines fired at Mortarion, wounding him 6 times, one of which got through his saves.
The Bikers fired at the Bloat Drone with their Kraken Bolts (for the extra range), managing an amazing 5 wounds of their 8 shots. One got through to damage the Drone.
The Razorback fired its Twin Lascannons at Mortarion, wounding once, but bouncing off his invulnerable save.
I fired the first unit of Missile Launchers at the two remaining Plague Marines. My plan was to try and kill both of them to score first blood. I hit with both shots, but rolled a double 2 to wound, leaving them unharmed.
The second Missile Launcher squad then targeted the Bloat Drone. Both Krak Missiles hit and wounded, doing 11 damage in total. Khyl made 6 Disgustingly Resilient rolls, leaving the Drone on four wounds.
I decided not to charge the Plague Marines with the Bikers. The Power Fist would probably cause a lot of damage, while it would be tough to get past their high toughness.
At the end of my turn, I failed to score First Blood, but did score Secure Objective 4 and my bonus point. I discarded Advance.
TURN 1- DEATH GUARD
In his first turn, Khyl also bet he would score one point. He drew Assassinate, Big Game Hunter, Defend Objective 4 and Behind Enemy Lines. Not the best set of cards for him on his first turn, with Big Game Hunter being the only achievable one realistically.
On the right flank, Mortarion and the Blight Hauler moved up towards the enemy lines. The Bloat Drone advanced only 1". Khyl used a command point to re-roll, but only got a 2. The Plaguecaster did not move, summoning the Daemon Prince into the backfield near the woods. The Malefic powers surging through him were too powerful and he took a mortal wound from the summoning.
The Cultists move up, and the Poxwalkers advanced, the Death Guard characters moving up to support them.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestilence on himself. He then cast Smite, putting two mortal wounds on the Razorback.
The Plaguecaster cast Smite on the Bikers, but the Deathwatch Librarian was able to block the power. The Daemon Prince then cast Putrescent Vitality on the Pox Walkers, followed by Blades of Putrefaction on himself.
The Cultists turned their Autoguns on the Bikers, wounding them twice and one got through their armour. The Plague Marines fired at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage.
On the other flank, the Blight Hauler fired at the Razorback, hitting and wounding with its Multi-melta and taking four wounds from it. Mortarion fired at the enemy vehicle, hitting and failing to wound.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no cards, so I got his bonus point. He discarded Defend Objective 4.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 3
Death Guard- 0
I had taken an early lead thanks to some good cards, with First Blood still being up for grabs.
TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
In my second turn, I bet two points. I would definitely get Behind Enemy Lines with my reserves and hoped to get Witch Hunter too. This turn, I drew No Prisoners and Secure Objective 5 to go with Behind Enemy Lines and Witch Hunter. A really good draw for me, as I would be likely to score all four cards this turn. I kept my Mission Tactics as Troops, choosing Purgatus Tactics (HQ) for the Tome of Ectoclades.
The two Bikers on the right flank moved up on the Malefic Plaguecaster, while the Librarian advanced to grab the objective. On the left flank, the Bikers moved up on Mortarion.
At the end of the phase, I brought in the Watch Master, Kill Team 1 and Kill Team 2 on my left flank, in the enemy deployment zone.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Smite, but it was blocked by the enemy psyker. He then cast Psychic Fortress on the Bikers once more.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers on the right fired at the Plague Caster, wounding him five times, two getting through his armour.
The Storm Bolter Kill Team opened fire on the Poxwalkers. I managed a great 30 wounds on the unit with the Hellfire bolts. However, some great saves from Khyl saw only 13 fall. The Intercessors fired at the Daemon Prince with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding him 17 times. The mighty Daemon took 7 wounds, leaving him on one.
The Watch Master added his firepower, slaying the Daemon Prince.
The Bikers on the left fired at Mortarion, wounding him 10 times. The Daemon Primarch took another four wounds after saves. The Stalker Marines added their firepower, wounding him 7 times, but none got through his armour.
The Razorback fired at the Bloat Drone, hitting and wounding once with the Lascannon, but the Drone made its save.
The Missile Launcher Kill Team fired at Mortarion. I used the Flakk Missile stratagem, taking three mortal wounds from him. The Krak Missile hit and wounded, but Mortarion made his invulnerable save.
The second Missile Launcher squad fired at the Bloat Drone, taking three wounds from it in total, and leaving it on one wound.
In the charge phase, the Bikers assaulted the Plaguecaster. They managed to put three wounds on him and slay the enemy psyker.
At the end of my turn, I scored No Prisoners, Behind Enemy Lines for 3 points, Secure Objective 5, Witch Hunter and my 2 bonus points. That gave me 12 points in my second turn, while Khyl had yet to score.
TURN 2- DEATH GUARD
In his second turn, Khyl bet he would score 3 cards. He had a good chance of doing so, as he was in good position with a good set of cards.
He drew Domination, but used the stratagem to re-draw and get Defend Objective 6. He also had Assassinate, Big Game Hunter and Behind Enemy Lines.
The Poxwalkers, Cultists and Death Guard characters moved back towards the Deathwatch forces in their deployment zone. The Plague Marines on the backfield advanced towards objective 6. The other unit of Plague Marines moved up on the Librarian, while the Biologus Putrifier summoned the Chaos Spawn near the Librarian.
On the right flank, Mortarion and the Bloat Drone moved up on the Razorback, the Blight Crawler moving up towards the Bikers.
At the end of the phase, the Lord of Contagion and Blightlord Terminators teleported behind the enemy lines on the right flank.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestilence on himself, followed by Blades of Putrefaction.
The Plague Marines fired at the Librarian, the Plasma Gun taking one wound, while a Krak Grenade took another wound.
The Cultists fired at the Storm Bolter Kill Team, killing one of them. Mortarion fired at the Bikers beside him, killing one of the squad. The Bloat Drone fired its cannons at the Razorback, wounding 3 times, but I made all my armour saves.
The Plague Crawler fired at the Razorback with the Multi-melta, hitting once with a command point re-roll, but failing to wound.
The Biologus Putrifier threw a Blight Grenade at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. Finally, the Terminators fired at the Stalker Bolter Marines, killing two of the squad.
In the charge phase, the Poxwalkers assaulted the Intercessors. Four of the diseased husks fell to the overwatch fire, and also failed to make the charge.
The Terminators and Lord of Contagion failed to charged the Stalker Marines, the Blightlord Terminators taking one wound from overwatch fire.
Mortarion and the Bloat Drone assaulted the Razorback, while the Chaos Spawn and Plague Marines assaulted the Librarian.
In the Fight phase, the Spawn struck at the Librarian, easily slaying the enemy character. Mortarion then struck at the Razorback, destroying it.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored Big Game Hunter, Assassinate, Behind Enemy Lines (for 2 points) and the three bonus points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 12
Death Guard- 7
Khyl had a good round of scoring, but I had an amazing second turn, giving me a big lead at the end of turn 2. However, Mortarion was deep in my lines, along with some Terminators. They would need to be dealt with quickly.
TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
In my third turn, I bet one point. I drew Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 5, Scour the Skies and Overwhelming Firepower. A very good set of cards for me once more.
The warlord Watch Captain moved back into cover, while the other Watch Captain moved up to face the Daemon Primarch. The Stalker Marines moved back to secure the objective. The Biker Squads moved up on two of the Deathwatch Captains. The Venerable Dreadnought moved up on the Chaos Spawn.
At the end of the phase, I brought in the Drop Pod. It landed in my lines, the Combi-Melta Kill Team moving out to target the Terminators.
The Venerable Dreadnought opened fire on the Bloat Drone with its Lascannons, killing it. Khyl used the Putrid Detonation stratagem to blow it up, killing one nearby Veteran. The Dreadnought's Storm Bolter killed one of the Plague Marines in front of him.
The Stalker Bolter Veterans opened fire on the Terminators, wounding them once and killing one Terminator. One Biker unit fired at the Tallyman, wounding him 7 times with their Hellfire Bolts. Khyl failed three 2+ saves and left the Tallyman on one wound.
The other Biker squad fired at the Plague Surgeon, wounding him once. The Watch Master added his firepower, taking two more wounds and leaving the Surgeon on one wound.
The Storm Bolter Veterans fired on the Cultists, killing the squad under a hail of Bolter fire. The Intercessors fired on the Poxwalkers, killing off the unit. This was overkill, but did get me three units for Overwhelming Firepower.
The Missile Launcher Kill Team fired at the Blight Hauler, hitting and wounding twice, but the missiles bounced off its invulnerable save. The second Kill Team fired their Missiles at the Blight Hauler, this time managing to take 7 wounds from it, leaving it on a single wound.
The Kill Team in the backfield fired at the Terminators, but I failed to do any damage with the Combi-Meltas!
In the charge phase, the Venerable Dreadnought assaulted the Chaos Spawn, using a command point re-roll to make the distance. One unit of Bikers charged the Plague Surgeon, while the other unit charged the Tallyman. The Watch Captain then assaulted Mortarion. He used his Phosphorex Blaster in overwatch, but only got 3 shots on his 2D6 roll, failing to do any damage.
The Watch Captain attacked Mortarion, using a Doctrine to give him +1 to wound. I forgot that he had Miasma of Pestilence, so would only be hitting on a 4+. I scored two hits and wounds. Khyl failed one save with a command point re-roll, but only took a single wound thanks to some good Disgustingly Resilient rolls.
The Bikers attacked the Tallyman, slaying him. The other Biker Squad managed to do 3 wounds on the Plague Surgeon, but failed to get past his armour. Finally, the Venerable Dreadnought killed the Chaos Spawn.
Mortarion struck back at the Watch Captain. He managed to do 12 wounds and two mortal wounds (thanks to Blades of Putrefaction). However, I only failed two saves out of 12, leaving the Captain alive on a single wound!
The Plague Surgeon struck at the Bikers, killing one of the squad.
At the end of the phase, I spent 3 command points to attack again with the Watch Captain. He struck at Mortarion once more, taking two more wounds from him.
At the end of my turn, I scored Secure Objective 4, Scour the Skies, Overwhelming Firepower (for only 1 point) and my bonus point. Khyl also scored Defend Objective 6 for 2 points.
TURN 3- DEATH GUARD
In his third turn, Khyl bet he would score 2 cards. He drew Symbol of the Fly Lord (hold only 3 objectives), Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 6 and Defend Objective 5.
The Blightlord Terminators and Lord of Contagion moved up on the Stalker Bolter Marines. The Blight Hauler moved up towards the enemy lines, while the Plague Marines moved into the cover of the woods.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Blades of Putrifaction on himself. He then cast Smite, killing the Watch Captain he was in combat with.
In the shooting phase, Mortarion fired his pistol at the Missile Launcher Veterans, killing one of them. The Terminators fired on the Stalker Marines, wounding them four times and killing the unit, after I failed all my 3+ armour saves!
The Plague Marines fired at the Intercessors, managing to wound them once. The Blight Hauler fired at the Venerable Dreadnought, taking 5 wounds from it with its Multi-melta and killing one Biker with its Bile Spurt Cannon.
In the charge phase, Mortarion and the Terminators assaulted the Watch Captain. Mortarion struck at the Deathwatch Warlord. He managed a great 12 wounds and three mortal wounds. Annoyingly, I only failed three invulnerable saves, so the Captain was slain!
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored Slay the Warlord, Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 5 and two bonus points. He discarded Symbol of the Fly Lord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 16
Death Guard- 14
A great third turn for Khyl had seen him draw back into the game, only two points behind at the end of the turn. Things were getting a lot closer. Oddly enough, we both controlled our opponent's deployment zone!
TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my fourth turn, I bet 1 point. I drew Secure Objective 2, Defend Objective 3 and Big Game Hunter, to go with Secure Objective 5.
In my backfield, the Combi-Melta Kill Team moved up on Mortarion. On the other side of the battlefield, the Intercessors moved up on the Plague Marines, while the Storm Bolter Kill Team moved up on the enemy characters. The Bikers moved to secure the objective, one Biker Sergeant having to fall back from combat.
The Intercessors fired at the Plague Marines with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding them 18 times, but only felling three of the enemy squad.
The Storm Bolter Kill Team split their fire between the Plague Surgeon and Noxious Blightbringer, killing both characters with their massed firepower.
The Venerable Dreadnought fired its Lascannons at the last of the Plague Marines, hitting and wounding twice, but Khyl made all his saves! The Storm Bolter failed to do any damage.
I used my last command point on Flakk Missile to fire at Mortarion, hitting and doing one mortal wound on him. The second Missile Launcher failed to hit, while the squad's Bolters did one wound. The second squad fired at Mortarion with their Missiles and Bolters, but failed to do any damage.
The Combi-Melta Kill Team fired both parts of their Combi-weapons at Mortarion. The Meltaguns only managed a single hit and wound, but Khyl made his invulnerable save. The Bolters managed to do 7 wounds. Khyl failed three armour saves, but made one Disgustingly Resilient save, leaving Mortarion on a single wound! So close! The Drop Pod added its firepower, but failed to do any damage.
I had a dilemma. If I could take Mortarion's last wound, I would score Slay the Warlord, Big Game Hunter and would get Secure Objective 2 to give me 3 points with one squad. I could not charge and simply keep Secure Objective 2.
I decided to go for it. The Missile Launcher Kill Team on the lower level of the Bastion attempted to charge, but I rolled a double 1 for the charge distance. I was out of command points, so couldn't re-roll it. The Combi-Melta Kill Team charged the Daemon Primarch. The Dreadnought charged the Plague Marine.
The Kill Team attacked Mortarion with their 15 attacks. I managed a great 5 wounds on the enemy warlord, but Khyl made all his saves for once. The Venerable Dreadnought easily killed the last of the Plague Marines.
In reply, Mortarion struck with his scythe, easily cutting down the Kill Team. My gambit had failed!
At the end of my turn, I scored Secure Objective 5 and one bonus point. I discarded Secure Objective 2.
TURN 4- DEATH GUARD
In his fourth turn, Khyl bet 1 point. He drew Death March (have 3 infantry units in the enemy deployment zone), Grandfather's Gift (kill a unit with a Plague Weapon), Disgusting Devotions (pass 7 disgusting Resilient saves) and Spread Contagion (have one nominated character alive at the end of the game, for which he chose the Lord of Contagion).
There was little movement in the Death Guard lines. The Terminators moved up to the first level of the Bastion, while Mortarion hovered nearby.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestillence. Khyl rolled a double 1 for the psychic test and was out of command points. Mortarion took 3 mortal wounds and was slain. The resulting psychic fall out caused three mortal wounds each on the nearby Blightlord Termintors and the Deathwatch Veteran. Mortarion then exploded in his destruction, killing the last of the Deathwatch Veterans from one squad. That was one hell of a failed psychic test!
In the shooting phase, the Blight Hauler fired at the Biker Sergeant, but failed to do any damage. The Plague Marines fired at the Intercessors. The Plague Marine with the Plasma Gun overcharged, killing himself and one Intercessor.
The lone Plague Marine charged the Intercessors taking 7 wounds in overwatch fire, but none got through its armour. The Plague Marine failed to make the distance.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no points, discarding Disgusting Devotions. I scored Defend Objective 3, Big Game Hunter, Slay the Warlord and his bonus point.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 23
Death Guard- 14
A horrendous perils roll had seen me take the lead by a big margin once more. The fall of Mortarion had certainly swung the game in my favour, going into the final turn, as Khyl only had 5 models left.
TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
In my final turn, I bet one point. I drew Mission Critical Objective (objective 2), Supremacy, Secure Objective 3 and Defend Objective 1.
The Intercessors and Watch Master moved up on the Plague Marine and the objective he was holding, while the Storm Bolter Kill Team moved up to get in range of the Plague Hauler.
The Venerable Dreadnought fired at the enemy vehicle, destroying it. The Intercessors fired at the Plague Marine, killing him.
The end of a quick turn saw me score Secure Objective 3, Supremacy (for 2 points) and one bonus point.
TURN 5- DEATH GUARD
Khyl bet 1 point to score. He drew No Prisoners to go with Death March, Grandfather's Gift and Spread Contagion.
The Termintor moved up to engage the Veterans. He fired his Plague Spewer at the squad, but failed to do any damage. He then assaulted the unit, killing two of the Veterans for no damage in return.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no points. I scored the bonus point.
We rolled to see if the game ended, and it did. We both scored Linebreaker and Khyl scored Spread Contagion. The final score was:
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 29
Death Guard- 16
A win for the Deathwatch.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Khyl for a fun game against his great looking Death Guard army.
I think this was always going to be a tough one for him with his army. Normally, the Death Guard can rely on their high toughness, good armour and Disgustingly Resilient rolls to create an incredibly durable army that most forces have trouble dealing with.
Unfortunately, the Deathwatch have a lot of tools to help them deal with high toughness units. The Hellfire Bolts were wounding just about every unit in his army on a 2+. This made the toughness bonus of his units and psychic powers pretty useless against the majority of my units. It also helped me to take out Mortarion. I think my Bolters did more damage overall than the Lascannons and Missile Launchers.
Looking at my list, it performed pretty well. My original plan with the Dreadnought was to sit him with the two Missile Launcher squads to make use of Wisdom of the Ancients for the re-rolls. However, once I saw my deployment zone, it made more sense to put the Kill Teams in cover with good line of sight and leave the Dreadnought to his own worries.
The Bikers actually performed much better than expected. I think this was due to Khyl's army having quite a low firepower count. They only had to deal with the odd, high-strength, single shot weapon, for which the Storm Shield was quite good at blocking.
Khyl played a good game, despite the odds being against him. Not getting first turn did hurt, as it allowed me to do some damage before I was really threatened by his army.
I might have held the Cultists back to defend the backline, to stop my reserves from coming in. I was also unsure why he decided to summon the Daemon Prince on turn 1 and put it at the back of his deployment zone. This just made him an easy target for my reserves to destroy. Had he waited a turn or 2, the Daemon Prince would have been a big threat to my backline, maybe even taking out the Dreadnought. This would have perhaps forced me to bring my reserves further forward to deal with them.
The maelstrom cards were certainly a lot kinder to me than they were to Khyl. I do like the randomness of maelstrom games, but it can seem unfair at times when you are drawing easily scored cards and your opponent is not.
Overall, a good game for the Deathwatch.
Remember to check out the blog giveaway, where you can win an Imperial Knight Valiant.
Daemon Prince of Nurgle- Malefic Talon, Wings, Putrescent Vitality, Blades of Putrifaction (DP)
Lord of Contagion- Manreaper (L)
10 Cultists- Autogun (C)
5 Plague Marines- Bolters, Plague Belcher, Sergeant with Power Fist and Plague Knife. (PM2)
5 Plague Marines- Bolters, Plasma Gun, Sergeant with Power Fist and Plague Knife. (PM1)
20 Poxwalker (P)
Biologus Putrifier- Blight Racks, Plague Knife, Hyper Blight Grenades (BP)
3 Blightlord Terminators- Plague Spewer, 2 Combi-Bolters, Bubotic Axe, Balesword (BT)
Chaos Spawn (CS)
Foetid Bloat Drone- 2 Plaguespitters (BD)
Myphytic Blight-Hauler- Bile Spurt, Missile Launcher, Multi-melta (BH)
Heavy Auxiliary Detachmet
Mortarion- Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrifaction, Putrescent Vitality (M)
Vanguard Detachment
Malignant Plaguecaster- Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrifaction (P)
Noxious Blightbringer- Plasma Pistol (NB)
Plague Surgeon- Balesword (S)
Tallyman- Plasma Pistol (T)
A good mix of Nurgle units to bring to the table. First up, the big man himself, Mortarion. I've only gone up against him once before, but I had plenty of Plasma weaponry there to deal with him. He is a beast in combat, so I would try and stop him from getting there. My Special Issue Ammunition should help me deal with him, allowing me to wound him on a 2+.
There were a number of other Death Guard characters who could provide good buffs for the army. He also had a large block of Poxwalkers, who could tie up my units for a while, thanks to their "fearless" nature. The Bloat Drone could also provide some very potent firepower at close range.
We set up the objectives as shown below:
We then rolled off for deployment zone and got Hammer and Anvil. This was great for me, but would force Khyl to have to go further to get to my lines if I deployed further back. He chose the deployment zone, and I was surprised he didn't select the end with the bastion in it. This would give a lot of line of sight blocking terrain to deploy around.
We then set up our forces.
I put the two Missile Launcher Kill Teams on the bastion, giving them good line of sight over the battlefield, as well as cover saves. I put the Watch Captain beside them, out of line of sight and waiting for the enemy army to come to me. I put a unit of Bikers behind the bastion, and one on the right.
The Dreadnought went on the right, while the Razorback was on the left. The Stalker Bolters went on the left, in the ruins next to the objective. I put the rest of my units in reserve, ready to deploy later.
Khyl deployed his two units of Plague Marines on the left, accompanied by the Malignant Plaguecaster and Biologus Putrifier. The Cultists and Poxwalkers deployed in the centre, with the Blightbringer, Tallyman and Plague Surgeon behind them.
The right flank was held up by Mortarion, the Bloat Drone and Blight Hauler.
I finished first and got the +1 to go first. I won the first turn and Khyl failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I bet I would score one card. I drew Behind Enemy Lines, Witch Hunter, Advance and Secure Objective 4. Of those, only Secure Objective 4 would be feasible for this turn, unless I was able to take out Mortarion on the first turn. At the start of my turn, I chose the Furor Mission Tactics to target Troops.
On the right flank, the Bikers moved up on the Plague Marines in the woods, the Librarian advancing to join them and get into range of the Chaos Marines.
On the left flank, the Stalker Bolter Veterans moved up to get into range of Mortarion, the Bikers moving to secure the objective for them. The Deathwatch Captain moved towards the left flank to support the squads there.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Psychic Fortress on the Bikers. The Plaguecaster failed to block the power. He then cast Smite, killing two of the Plague Marines in front of him.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers fired on the Plague Marines with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding 10 times and killing one Plague Marine.
I used the Wisdom of the Ancients stratagem on the Venerable Dreadnought. He fired his Lascannons at Mortarion, hitting twice (thanks to a re-roll from the stratagem) and wounding twice, with another command point re-roll (which I got to keep). Khyl failed one save, using his own command point re-roll, but failed the save once more. I rolled a two for damage, one wound getting through his Disgusting Resilient save.
The Stalker Marines fired at Mortarion, wounding him 6 times, one of which got through his saves.
The Bikers fired at the Bloat Drone with their Kraken Bolts (for the extra range), managing an amazing 5 wounds of their 8 shots. One got through to damage the Drone.
The Razorback fired its Twin Lascannons at Mortarion, wounding once, but bouncing off his invulnerable save.
I fired the first unit of Missile Launchers at the two remaining Plague Marines. My plan was to try and kill both of them to score first blood. I hit with both shots, but rolled a double 2 to wound, leaving them unharmed.
The second Missile Launcher squad then targeted the Bloat Drone. Both Krak Missiles hit and wounded, doing 11 damage in total. Khyl made 6 Disgustingly Resilient rolls, leaving the Drone on four wounds.
I decided not to charge the Plague Marines with the Bikers. The Power Fist would probably cause a lot of damage, while it would be tough to get past their high toughness.
At the end of my turn, I failed to score First Blood, but did score Secure Objective 4 and my bonus point. I discarded Advance.
TURN 1- DEATH GUARD
In his first turn, Khyl also bet he would score one point. He drew Assassinate, Big Game Hunter, Defend Objective 4 and Behind Enemy Lines. Not the best set of cards for him on his first turn, with Big Game Hunter being the only achievable one realistically.
On the right flank, Mortarion and the Blight Hauler moved up towards the enemy lines. The Bloat Drone advanced only 1". Khyl used a command point to re-roll, but only got a 2. The Plaguecaster did not move, summoning the Daemon Prince into the backfield near the woods. The Malefic powers surging through him were too powerful and he took a mortal wound from the summoning.
The Cultists move up, and the Poxwalkers advanced, the Death Guard characters moving up to support them.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestilence on himself. He then cast Smite, putting two mortal wounds on the Razorback.
The Plaguecaster cast Smite on the Bikers, but the Deathwatch Librarian was able to block the power. The Daemon Prince then cast Putrescent Vitality on the Pox Walkers, followed by Blades of Putrefaction on himself.
The Cultists turned their Autoguns on the Bikers, wounding them twice and one got through their armour. The Plague Marines fired at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage.
On the other flank, the Blight Hauler fired at the Razorback, hitting and wounding with its Multi-melta and taking four wounds from it. Mortarion fired at the enemy vehicle, hitting and failing to wound.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no cards, so I got his bonus point. He discarded Defend Objective 4.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 3
Death Guard- 0
I had taken an early lead thanks to some good cards, with First Blood still being up for grabs.
TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
In my second turn, I bet two points. I would definitely get Behind Enemy Lines with my reserves and hoped to get Witch Hunter too. This turn, I drew No Prisoners and Secure Objective 5 to go with Behind Enemy Lines and Witch Hunter. A really good draw for me, as I would be likely to score all four cards this turn. I kept my Mission Tactics as Troops, choosing Purgatus Tactics (HQ) for the Tome of Ectoclades.
The two Bikers on the right flank moved up on the Malefic Plaguecaster, while the Librarian advanced to grab the objective. On the left flank, the Bikers moved up on Mortarion.
At the end of the phase, I brought in the Watch Master, Kill Team 1 and Kill Team 2 on my left flank, in the enemy deployment zone.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Smite, but it was blocked by the enemy psyker. He then cast Psychic Fortress on the Bikers once more.
In the shooting phase, the Bikers on the right fired at the Plague Caster, wounding him five times, two getting through his armour.
The Storm Bolter Kill Team opened fire on the Poxwalkers. I managed a great 30 wounds on the unit with the Hellfire bolts. However, some great saves from Khyl saw only 13 fall. The Intercessors fired at the Daemon Prince with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding him 17 times. The mighty Daemon took 7 wounds, leaving him on one.
The Watch Master added his firepower, slaying the Daemon Prince.
The Bikers on the left fired at Mortarion, wounding him 10 times. The Daemon Primarch took another four wounds after saves. The Stalker Marines added their firepower, wounding him 7 times, but none got through his armour.
The Razorback fired at the Bloat Drone, hitting and wounding once with the Lascannon, but the Drone made its save.
The Missile Launcher Kill Team fired at Mortarion. I used the Flakk Missile stratagem, taking three mortal wounds from him. The Krak Missile hit and wounded, but Mortarion made his invulnerable save.
The second Missile Launcher squad fired at the Bloat Drone, taking three wounds from it in total, and leaving it on one wound.
In the charge phase, the Bikers assaulted the Plaguecaster. They managed to put three wounds on him and slay the enemy psyker.
At the end of my turn, I scored No Prisoners, Behind Enemy Lines for 3 points, Secure Objective 5, Witch Hunter and my 2 bonus points. That gave me 12 points in my second turn, while Khyl had yet to score.
TURN 2- DEATH GUARD
In his second turn, Khyl bet he would score 3 cards. He had a good chance of doing so, as he was in good position with a good set of cards.
He drew Domination, but used the stratagem to re-draw and get Defend Objective 6. He also had Assassinate, Big Game Hunter and Behind Enemy Lines.
The Poxwalkers, Cultists and Death Guard characters moved back towards the Deathwatch forces in their deployment zone. The Plague Marines on the backfield advanced towards objective 6. The other unit of Plague Marines moved up on the Librarian, while the Biologus Putrifier summoned the Chaos Spawn near the Librarian.
On the right flank, Mortarion and the Bloat Drone moved up on the Razorback, the Blight Crawler moving up towards the Bikers.
At the end of the phase, the Lord of Contagion and Blightlord Terminators teleported behind the enemy lines on the right flank.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestilence on himself, followed by Blades of Putrefaction.
The Plague Marines fired at the Librarian, the Plasma Gun taking one wound, while a Krak Grenade took another wound.
The Cultists fired at the Storm Bolter Kill Team, killing one of them. Mortarion fired at the Bikers beside him, killing one of the squad. The Bloat Drone fired its cannons at the Razorback, wounding 3 times, but I made all my armour saves.
The Plague Crawler fired at the Razorback with the Multi-melta, hitting once with a command point re-roll, but failing to wound.
The Biologus Putrifier threw a Blight Grenade at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. Finally, the Terminators fired at the Stalker Bolter Marines, killing two of the squad.
In the charge phase, the Poxwalkers assaulted the Intercessors. Four of the diseased husks fell to the overwatch fire, and also failed to make the charge.
The Terminators and Lord of Contagion failed to charged the Stalker Marines, the Blightlord Terminators taking one wound from overwatch fire.
Mortarion and the Bloat Drone assaulted the Razorback, while the Chaos Spawn and Plague Marines assaulted the Librarian.
In the Fight phase, the Spawn struck at the Librarian, easily slaying the enemy character. Mortarion then struck at the Razorback, destroying it.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored Big Game Hunter, Assassinate, Behind Enemy Lines (for 2 points) and the three bonus points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 12
Death Guard- 7
Khyl had a good round of scoring, but I had an amazing second turn, giving me a big lead at the end of turn 2. However, Mortarion was deep in my lines, along with some Terminators. They would need to be dealt with quickly.
TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
In my third turn, I bet one point. I drew Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 5, Scour the Skies and Overwhelming Firepower. A very good set of cards for me once more.
The warlord Watch Captain moved back into cover, while the other Watch Captain moved up to face the Daemon Primarch. The Stalker Marines moved back to secure the objective. The Biker Squads moved up on two of the Deathwatch Captains. The Venerable Dreadnought moved up on the Chaos Spawn.
At the end of the phase, I brought in the Drop Pod. It landed in my lines, the Combi-Melta Kill Team moving out to target the Terminators.
The Venerable Dreadnought opened fire on the Bloat Drone with its Lascannons, killing it. Khyl used the Putrid Detonation stratagem to blow it up, killing one nearby Veteran. The Dreadnought's Storm Bolter killed one of the Plague Marines in front of him.
The Stalker Bolter Veterans opened fire on the Terminators, wounding them once and killing one Terminator. One Biker unit fired at the Tallyman, wounding him 7 times with their Hellfire Bolts. Khyl failed three 2+ saves and left the Tallyman on one wound.
The other Biker squad fired at the Plague Surgeon, wounding him once. The Watch Master added his firepower, taking two more wounds and leaving the Surgeon on one wound.
The Storm Bolter Veterans fired on the Cultists, killing the squad under a hail of Bolter fire. The Intercessors fired on the Poxwalkers, killing off the unit. This was overkill, but did get me three units for Overwhelming Firepower.
The Missile Launcher Kill Team fired at the Blight Hauler, hitting and wounding twice, but the missiles bounced off its invulnerable save. The second Kill Team fired their Missiles at the Blight Hauler, this time managing to take 7 wounds from it, leaving it on a single wound.
The Kill Team in the backfield fired at the Terminators, but I failed to do any damage with the Combi-Meltas!
In the charge phase, the Venerable Dreadnought assaulted the Chaos Spawn, using a command point re-roll to make the distance. One unit of Bikers charged the Plague Surgeon, while the other unit charged the Tallyman. The Watch Captain then assaulted Mortarion. He used his Phosphorex Blaster in overwatch, but only got 3 shots on his 2D6 roll, failing to do any damage.
The Watch Captain attacked Mortarion, using a Doctrine to give him +1 to wound. I forgot that he had Miasma of Pestilence, so would only be hitting on a 4+. I scored two hits and wounds. Khyl failed one save with a command point re-roll, but only took a single wound thanks to some good Disgustingly Resilient rolls.
The Bikers attacked the Tallyman, slaying him. The other Biker Squad managed to do 3 wounds on the Plague Surgeon, but failed to get past his armour. Finally, the Venerable Dreadnought killed the Chaos Spawn.
Mortarion struck back at the Watch Captain. He managed to do 12 wounds and two mortal wounds (thanks to Blades of Putrefaction). However, I only failed two saves out of 12, leaving the Captain alive on a single wound!
The Plague Surgeon struck at the Bikers, killing one of the squad.
At the end of the phase, I spent 3 command points to attack again with the Watch Captain. He struck at Mortarion once more, taking two more wounds from him.
At the end of my turn, I scored Secure Objective 4, Scour the Skies, Overwhelming Firepower (for only 1 point) and my bonus point. Khyl also scored Defend Objective 6 for 2 points.
TURN 3- DEATH GUARD
In his third turn, Khyl bet he would score 2 cards. He drew Symbol of the Fly Lord (hold only 3 objectives), Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 6 and Defend Objective 5.
The Blightlord Terminators and Lord of Contagion moved up on the Stalker Bolter Marines. The Blight Hauler moved up towards the enemy lines, while the Plague Marines moved into the cover of the woods.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Blades of Putrifaction on himself. He then cast Smite, killing the Watch Captain he was in combat with.
In the shooting phase, Mortarion fired his pistol at the Missile Launcher Veterans, killing one of them. The Terminators fired on the Stalker Marines, wounding them four times and killing the unit, after I failed all my 3+ armour saves!
The Plague Marines fired at the Intercessors, managing to wound them once. The Blight Hauler fired at the Venerable Dreadnought, taking 5 wounds from it with its Multi-melta and killing one Biker with its Bile Spurt Cannon.
In the charge phase, Mortarion and the Terminators assaulted the Watch Captain. Mortarion struck at the Deathwatch Warlord. He managed a great 12 wounds and three mortal wounds. Annoyingly, I only failed three invulnerable saves, so the Captain was slain!
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored Slay the Warlord, Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 5 and two bonus points. He discarded Symbol of the Fly Lord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 16
Death Guard- 14
A great third turn for Khyl had seen him draw back into the game, only two points behind at the end of the turn. Things were getting a lot closer. Oddly enough, we both controlled our opponent's deployment zone!
TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my fourth turn, I bet 1 point. I drew Secure Objective 2, Defend Objective 3 and Big Game Hunter, to go with Secure Objective 5.
In my backfield, the Combi-Melta Kill Team moved up on Mortarion. On the other side of the battlefield, the Intercessors moved up on the Plague Marines, while the Storm Bolter Kill Team moved up on the enemy characters. The Bikers moved to secure the objective, one Biker Sergeant having to fall back from combat.
The Intercessors fired at the Plague Marines with their Hellfire Bolts, wounding them 18 times, but only felling three of the enemy squad.
The Storm Bolter Kill Team split their fire between the Plague Surgeon and Noxious Blightbringer, killing both characters with their massed firepower.
The Venerable Dreadnought fired its Lascannons at the last of the Plague Marines, hitting and wounding twice, but Khyl made all his saves! The Storm Bolter failed to do any damage.
I used my last command point on Flakk Missile to fire at Mortarion, hitting and doing one mortal wound on him. The second Missile Launcher failed to hit, while the squad's Bolters did one wound. The second squad fired at Mortarion with their Missiles and Bolters, but failed to do any damage.
The Combi-Melta Kill Team fired both parts of their Combi-weapons at Mortarion. The Meltaguns only managed a single hit and wound, but Khyl made his invulnerable save. The Bolters managed to do 7 wounds. Khyl failed three armour saves, but made one Disgustingly Resilient save, leaving Mortarion on a single wound! So close! The Drop Pod added its firepower, but failed to do any damage.
I had a dilemma. If I could take Mortarion's last wound, I would score Slay the Warlord, Big Game Hunter and would get Secure Objective 2 to give me 3 points with one squad. I could not charge and simply keep Secure Objective 2.
I decided to go for it. The Missile Launcher Kill Team on the lower level of the Bastion attempted to charge, but I rolled a double 1 for the charge distance. I was out of command points, so couldn't re-roll it. The Combi-Melta Kill Team charged the Daemon Primarch. The Dreadnought charged the Plague Marine.
The Kill Team attacked Mortarion with their 15 attacks. I managed a great 5 wounds on the enemy warlord, but Khyl made all his saves for once. The Venerable Dreadnought easily killed the last of the Plague Marines.
In reply, Mortarion struck with his scythe, easily cutting down the Kill Team. My gambit had failed!
At the end of my turn, I scored Secure Objective 5 and one bonus point. I discarded Secure Objective 2.
TURN 4- DEATH GUARD
In his fourth turn, Khyl bet 1 point. He drew Death March (have 3 infantry units in the enemy deployment zone), Grandfather's Gift (kill a unit with a Plague Weapon), Disgusting Devotions (pass 7 disgusting Resilient saves) and Spread Contagion (have one nominated character alive at the end of the game, for which he chose the Lord of Contagion).
There was little movement in the Death Guard lines. The Terminators moved up to the first level of the Bastion, while Mortarion hovered nearby.
In the psychic phase, Mortarion cast Miasma of Pestillence. Khyl rolled a double 1 for the psychic test and was out of command points. Mortarion took 3 mortal wounds and was slain. The resulting psychic fall out caused three mortal wounds each on the nearby Blightlord Termintors and the Deathwatch Veteran. Mortarion then exploded in his destruction, killing the last of the Deathwatch Veterans from one squad. That was one hell of a failed psychic test!
In the shooting phase, the Blight Hauler fired at the Biker Sergeant, but failed to do any damage. The Plague Marines fired at the Intercessors. The Plague Marine with the Plasma Gun overcharged, killing himself and one Intercessor.
The lone Plague Marine charged the Intercessors taking 7 wounds in overwatch fire, but none got through its armour. The Plague Marine failed to make the distance.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no points, discarding Disgusting Devotions. I scored Defend Objective 3, Big Game Hunter, Slay the Warlord and his bonus point.
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 23
Death Guard- 14
A horrendous perils roll had seen me take the lead by a big margin once more. The fall of Mortarion had certainly swung the game in my favour, going into the final turn, as Khyl only had 5 models left.
TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
In my final turn, I bet one point. I drew Mission Critical Objective (objective 2), Supremacy, Secure Objective 3 and Defend Objective 1.
The Intercessors and Watch Master moved up on the Plague Marine and the objective he was holding, while the Storm Bolter Kill Team moved up to get in range of the Plague Hauler.
The Venerable Dreadnought fired at the enemy vehicle, destroying it. The Intercessors fired at the Plague Marine, killing him.
The end of a quick turn saw me score Secure Objective 3, Supremacy (for 2 points) and one bonus point.
TURN 5- DEATH GUARD
Khyl bet 1 point to score. He drew No Prisoners to go with Death March, Grandfather's Gift and Spread Contagion.
The Termintor moved up to engage the Veterans. He fired his Plague Spewer at the squad, but failed to do any damage. He then assaulted the unit, killing two of the Veterans for no damage in return.
At the end of his turn, Khyl scored no points. I scored the bonus point.
We rolled to see if the game ended, and it did. We both scored Linebreaker and Khyl scored Spread Contagion. The final score was:
VICTORY POINTS:
Deathwatch- 29
Death Guard- 16
 |
| End of the game. |
A win for the Deathwatch.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Khyl for a fun game against his great looking Death Guard army.
I think this was always going to be a tough one for him with his army. Normally, the Death Guard can rely on their high toughness, good armour and Disgustingly Resilient rolls to create an incredibly durable army that most forces have trouble dealing with.
Unfortunately, the Deathwatch have a lot of tools to help them deal with high toughness units. The Hellfire Bolts were wounding just about every unit in his army on a 2+. This made the toughness bonus of his units and psychic powers pretty useless against the majority of my units. It also helped me to take out Mortarion. I think my Bolters did more damage overall than the Lascannons and Missile Launchers.
Looking at my list, it performed pretty well. My original plan with the Dreadnought was to sit him with the two Missile Launcher squads to make use of Wisdom of the Ancients for the re-rolls. However, once I saw my deployment zone, it made more sense to put the Kill Teams in cover with good line of sight and leave the Dreadnought to his own worries.
The Bikers actually performed much better than expected. I think this was due to Khyl's army having quite a low firepower count. They only had to deal with the odd, high-strength, single shot weapon, for which the Storm Shield was quite good at blocking.
Khyl played a good game, despite the odds being against him. Not getting first turn did hurt, as it allowed me to do some damage before I was really threatened by his army.
I might have held the Cultists back to defend the backline, to stop my reserves from coming in. I was also unsure why he decided to summon the Daemon Prince on turn 1 and put it at the back of his deployment zone. This just made him an easy target for my reserves to destroy. Had he waited a turn or 2, the Daemon Prince would have been a big threat to my backline, maybe even taking out the Dreadnought. This would have perhaps forced me to bring my reserves further forward to deal with them.
The maelstrom cards were certainly a lot kinder to me than they were to Khyl. I do like the randomness of maelstrom games, but it can seem unfair at times when you are drawing easily scored cards and your opponent is not.
Overall, a good game for the Deathwatch.
Remember to check out the blog giveaway, where you can win an Imperial Knight Valiant.
Congrats on the win. I was super psyched to see the bastion make an appearance after having collected dust for so long in my basement!
ReplyDeleteCheers! They are great pieces of terrain. Hoping to showcase some of them in my future video battle reports.
DeleteI'm not sure if it was an issue with note-taking, or him not being familiar enough with his Army or what, but there was quite a bit of sketchiness going on there. First off, Summoned Models aren't part of your Army list. So the Daemon Prince couldn't both fill the required second HQ slot for the Battalion and be Summoned. Secondly, Spawn can't be Summoned at all, as they don't have the Daemon Keyword. I also didn't see any mention of Mortarion's Host of Plagues ability, which does Mortal Wounds to Enemy Units within 7" at the start of every Fight Phase, regardless of whether or not he's in combat.
ReplyDeleteI think I would have held the Culties back, too. With only 10 of them, they're not going to do much on the front line, but that's enough to block off a huge chunk of his backfield. The PoxWalkers would have been plenty for a forward screen.
Also, if there were a Maelstrom card for getting Units down to 1 Wound, you would have *really* cleaned up in Turn 3! ;)
Also, I love seeing those old Bastions. I have the pattern and the Bulkheads to make one from scratch, just need to get around to it.
DeleteKhyl was just getting back into 40k, so wasn't too familiar with all the rules of the army. I'm not that familiar with Death Guard myself, having only played them a couple of times, so would have reminded him had I known.
DeleteHaha, yeah, turn 3 had a lot of single wound models left, frustratingly!
It happens. My buddy Nate plays Mortarion all the time, and still sometimes forgets about Host of Plagues.
Delete