This week's Warhammer 40k battle report is another warfare tournament practice game, featuring my Dark Angels and Deathwatch army taking on Ben's Thousand Sons army.
This game featured a custom mission for warfare called The Ritual. This mission features two objectives, with one on the central line, 18" away from each flank. You score two points for each objective you hold at the end of your turn. In addition, if you have a character within 3" of the objective, you can spend up to two command points to score that many bonus victory points, so lots of opportunity to rack up bonus points.
In addition, each player gets one command point back at the start of each player turn, but you cannot regenerate command points in this game. Deployment is also a bit of a change. Both players secretly bet a number of command points for gaining first turn. The winner loses the command points, but sets up first and gets the first turn (their opponent cannot seize the initiative). Quite an unusual scenario to play.
My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Dark Angels)
Azrael (Az)
Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle, Eye of the Unseen (Relic) (L)
Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles (I)
5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)
5 Scouts- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (S2)
5 Devastators- Heavy Bolter, Armorium Cherub (D)
10 Hellblasters- Plasma Incinerators (H)
Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter (DS)
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC)
10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (DI)
10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)
6 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, 4 Stalker Bolters (DV2)
Auxiliary Detachment
Culexus Assassin (CA)
This is my trial tournament army going forward. It contains a strong firebase and some great reserves in the Deathwatch.
Ben's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Thousand Sons)
Ahriman- Disc of Tzeentch, Prescience, Temporal Manipulation, Warptime (A)
Daemon Prince of Tzeentch- Death Hex, Diabolic Strenght, Helm of the Third Eye, Malefic Talon, Warp Bolter, Wings (DP1)
5 Rubric Marines- Inferno Bolters, Weaver of Fates (RM1)
5 Rubric Marines- Inferno Bolters, 4 Warpflamers, Temporal Manipulation (RM2)
20 Tzaangors- Twistbray (T)
Hellbrute- Plasma Cannon, Power Scourge (H)
Tzaangor Shaman- Glamour of Tzeentch (S)
Chaos Predator- Twin Lascannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Storm Bolter, Havoc Launcher (P)
Mutalith Vortex Beast (VB)
Patrol Detachment (Alpha Legion)
Daemon Prince- Wings, Warp Bolter, Malefic Talon, Delightful Agonies (DP2)
20 Cultists- 12 Autoguns, 8 with Autopistols and Brutal Assault Weapons (C)
3 Obliterators (O1)
3 Obliterators (O2)
A mixed chaos force with a lot of psychic might and a lot of firepower. The Rubric Marines would make a mess of my Marines at close range with their Bolters, while the Cultists and Tzaangors would be good for tying up my units.
We bet for taking first turn, I bid three command points, while Ben only bid one. I would get first turn, but would also need to deploy first.
I put the Dark Angels forces on the left flank, the characters, Intercessors and Hellblasters ready to advance on the objective on the left flank. I put the Devastators in the ruins to the left. I put the Watch Master, Watch Captain and Intercessors on the right flank, with the Stalker Bolter kill team in the ruins in the centre. I was also able to put one Scout unit on each objective. I put the Storm Bolter Kill Team in the Teleportarium.
My plan was to put my characters on each objective on turn 1 to score maximum points. I could then push the Scout units forward to block enemy units from getting into range for perhaps one turn.
In reply, Ben spread out his unit. On the left flank, the two Daemon Princes, a unit of Rubric Marines, the Predator, the Mutilath Beast and a unit of Obliterators were deployed. The Cultists went in the ruins in the centre, while the right flank was held by a unit of Tzaangors, the Hellbrute, the Rubric Marines and the Shaman. He put a unit of Obliterators in reserve to deploy later in the game.
Ben could not seize the initiative, so I took the first turn. Before the game started, Ben used the forward operatives stratagem to move the Obliterators forward on the left flank.
TURN 1- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
On the right flank, the Watch Captain used his Jump Pack to move up onto the objective, while the Scouts moved forward to create a buffer zone for the enemy army. The rest of the Deathwatch forces moved up to support their Captain.
On the left flank, the Dark Angels moved up on the objective. The Lieutenant used a command point re-roll to get into range of the objective. The Scouts once more moved ahead to buffer the enemy army, while the Darkshroud advanced to get its Jink save.
In the shooting phase, the Intercessors fired at the Obliterators with their Kraken Bolts. They wounded the squad 9 times, but Ben failed only a single 3+ save! The Watch Master and Watch Captain fired at the Obliterators, wounding them twice but failing to pierce their armour.
The Scouts fired at the Cultists, wounding them three times, but Ben made all three armour saves once more.
On the left flank, the Scouts fired on the Tzaangors, killing four. The Devastators fired the Hellfire Shells stratagem at the Obliterators, killing one. This now put me out of range of the remaining Obliterators, so I used the Armorium Cherub on the Hellbrute, wounding it once.
The Intercessors fired on the Tzaangors, wounding them four times, but Ben's saves were once more on form, as only one beast fell. The Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma and fired at the Tzanngors, killing 9 for no loss in reply.
The Stalker Kill Team fired at the Cultists, killing one, while I chose to fire two Frag Missiles at the Tzaangors, killing three of them.
In the charge phase, the Scouts on the right flank charged the Obliterators. In the fight phase, the Scouts put one wound on the Obliterators, but it was blocked by their armour. In reply, two Scouts were felled by the Chaos Marines.
In the morale phase, the Tzaangors were wiped out. At the end of my turn, I spent the four command points to score the bonus points, putting me on 9 points for my first turn, with First Blood.
TURN 1- THOUSAND SONS
On the left flank, the Chaos forces moved up on the Scouts, the Rubric Marines advancing towards the Scouts. On the right flank, the Hellbrute moved up on the Dark Angels lines. With moving forward, the Daemon Princes would need an 11-12" charge on the Watch Captain.
In the psychic phase, the Rubric Marines cast Weaver of Fates on the Hellbrute. The Daemon Prince cast Smite, getting an 11 and wiping out the rest of the Scouts, thanks to the help of a command point re-roll.
The Rubric Marines cast Smite, putting a wound on the Watch Captain. Ahriman then cast Prescience on the Predator. The Prince cast Diabolic Strength on himself, then cast Smite, putting another mortal wound on the Captain.
Ahriman then cast Warp Time on the Daemon Prince, but failed to manifest the power. A successful cast would have allowed him to threaten the objective. He then cast Smite, putting another wound on the Captain (who had taken three in total).
The Vortex Beast then used the Beam of Unreality, causing two mortal wounds and killing the Watch Captain.
Both Daemon Princes fired at the Intercessors, killing two of the squad. The Obliterators fired on the Intercessors, killing two of the squad. They then used the Endless Cacophony stratagem to fire once more, but only managed to kill one more of the squad. The Predator fired its Lascannons at the Darkshroud, hitting three times, but failing to do any wounds. Ben used a command point re-roll to do one wound and three damage.
On the right flank, the Rubric Marines fired on the Scouts, killing one of the squad. The Cultists added their firepower, but failed to do any damage. The Hellbrute fired at the Darkshroud, doing a single wound, but I made my invulnerable save, while the Hellbrute took a mortal wound from the overcharged shot.
The Hellbrute was able to rage fire at the Darkshroud once more, taking two more wounds from it.
In the charge phase, the Hellbrute charged the Scout, needing a 10. He rolled a 9" charge, using a command point re-roll to make it in. In the Fight phase, the Hellbrute killed three of the Scouts, for no damage in reply.
In the morale phase, I rolled a double 6 for the Scouts, wiping out the unit. At the end of his turn, Ben scored no points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 9
Thousand Sons- 0
A great first turn for me had seen me take a strong lead, getting to the objectives and holding them against the Chaos forces.
TURN 2- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Deathwatch Intercessors and Watch Master moved up on the objective. On the left flank, the Dark Angels moved up on the objective and Hellbrute. At the end of the phase, the Deathwatch Veterans came in on the right flank, next to the Intercessors.
In the shooting phase, the Assassin fired at the Rubric Marines, killing one. The Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma guns, targeting the Hellbrute and wounding it 13 times, but for the loss of three Hellblasters. The Hellbrute was slain, while the slain Hellblasters were able to fire at the Rubrics, thanks to the Ancient, killing two more.
The Dark Angels Intercessors fired at the Shaman, taking three wounds from him. The Stalker Veterans fired at the Rubric Marines on the left, killing off the unit. The Ancient fired at the Shaman, killing him.
On the other flank, the Storm Bolter Kill Team fired at the Mutilath Beast with their Hellfire shells (wounding on 2+), and doing 32 wounds! The Beast failed 17 saves and was slain.
The Intercessors fired at the Rubric Marines, wounding them 7 times. Ben failed 5 of his 4+ invulnerable saves. He used a command point re-roll, but failed once more and the unit was wiped out.
At the end of my turn, I spent my remaining three command points to score three bonus points, giving me 7 points this turn.
TURN 2- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes moved up on the Deathwatch, supported by Ahriman. At the end of the phase, the Obliterators arrived from reserves, landing next to the Dark Angels. Ben also used the Tide of Traitors stratagem to re-deploy the Cultists in front of the Obliterators, to create a buffer behind the Chaos Marines and the Unforgiven.
In the psychic phase, Infernal Gateway was cast on the Deathwatch Intercessors, failing to do any damage, even with a command point re-roll. He then cast Smite on the Intercessors, wounding them once. Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator, then failed to cast Smite. The Daemon Prince then cast Diabolic Strength on himself, then Warptime on the Daemon Prince to move to the other side of the Intercessors.
In the shooting phase, the Predator fired at the Darkshroud, hitting twice and wounding once. I failed my save. Ben rolled a 1 for the damage, using a command point re-roll to get a 5 and destroy it. The Darkshroud exploded, forcing me to use a command point re-roll to stop the explosion. The Havoc Launcher fired at the Storm Bolter Veterans, wounding them twice. I rolled a double 1 for saves and two perished. The Storm Bolter on the Predator then managed to kill another two, after more terrible saves from me.
The two Daemon Princes fired at the Deathwatch Intercessors, killing one of the squad. The Obliterators added their firepower, only managing to wound four times and killing two of the squad.
The Cultists opened fire at the Devastators, wounding them five times but failing to pierce their armour. The Obliterators behind them fired on the Hellblasters, killing three of the squad. Two were able to fire back at the Obliterators (thanks to the Ancient), killing one of them.
In the charge phase, one Daemon Prince charged the Intercessors and Watch Master, while the other charged the Storm Bolter Kill Team. Once Prince took three wounds from the Watch Master and Intercessors in overwatch, while the other took two wounds from the Veterans.
The Daemon Prince split its attacks between the Watch Master and Intercessors. The Intercessors were slain and the Watch Master took four wounds. I failed all four invulnerable saves and the Watch Master perished.
The other Daemon Prince managed to slay 5 of the Deathwatch Veterans, as my Storm Shields saved none of the damage.
In the morale phase, the last Deathwatch Veteran fled. Ben used a command point to gain a bonus point, as well as two for holding the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 16
Thousand Sons- 3
Two turns of holding the objective had put me well in the lead in victory points. However, Ben now had control of one flank. I had hoped the Deathwatch would slow them down for at least another turn, but some truly horrendous saving throws for the Deathwatch had seen the flank fall with ease.
TURN 3- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Dark Angels Intercessors moved up on the Cultists, while the rest of the forces moved to secure the objective.
In the shooting phase, the Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma Incinerators at the Obliterators. I managed to do four wounds for the loss of one Hellblaster. Ben then made three out of 4 invulnerable saves on the unit. Azrael added his firepower, killing one of the squad.
The Devastators used the Hellfire Shells stratagem and fired at the Obliterators, doing one mortal wound. I used Azrael's re-roll and only managed to roll another 1. The Bolters in the squad fired at the Cultists, killing two.
The Intercessors fired at the Obliterators, wounding them once. The Assassin fired at the last Obliterator and was able to kill him.
The last Deathwatch squad fired their Stalker Bolters at the warlord Daemon Prince, doing 7 wounds, only one getting through the armour. The Missile Launchers then both hit and wounded with the Krak missiles. Ben failed both invulnerable saves, using his command point re-roll to pass one. I then rolled a 1 for damage, so the Daemon Prince survived.
The Dark Angels Intercessors assaulted the Cultists, slaying four of the squad. The Cultists were able to kill one of the Intercessors in reply.
In the morale phase, four more Cultists fled the battlefield. I scored two victory points for holding one objective.
TURN 3- THOUSAND SONS
The two Daemon Princes moved up towards the Deathwatch in the ruins, while the Predator and Obliterators moved towards the Dark Angels lines.
In the psychic phase, Ahriman cast Temporal Manipulation on the warlord Daemon Prince, healing 3 wounds on him. He then attempted to cast Warptime on the Obliterators, but failed to manifest the power. He also failed to cast Prescience on the Predator, using a command point re-roll, but failing to manifest the power.
The Daemon Prince cast Smite, killing three of the Deathwatch Veterans. He then cast Infernal Gateway, killing off the rest of the squad.
In the shooting phase, the Predator was able to target Azrael, thanks to some poor positioning from me. The Chaos vehicle managed four hits and two wounds. I failed the invulnerable save, even with a command point re-roll. Ben then rolled a 6 for damage and slaying the enemy warlord outright!
The Daemon Princes fired at the Devastators, killing one of them.
In the fight phase, the Cultist did one wound on the Dark Angels, but failed to get past their armour. I only managed to do one wound in reply, killing one Cultist.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored two points for holding the objective and one for Slay the Warlord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 18
Thousand Sons- 6
I was still well in the lead. Ben was going to have to play for the tabling in order to win the game.
TURN 4- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Assassin moved to secure the objective, while the Hellblasters moved in front of the remaining characters.
The Hellblasters fired at the Obliterators, using Weapons of the Dark Age and overcharging. They managed to kill one of the squad for no loss in return.
The Devastators fired at them, managing to do one wound on them. The Ancient and Lieutenant fired at them, but failed to do any damage.
In the fight phase, the Intercessors did three wounds on the Cultist, but Ben made two of his armour saves, so only one perished. The Cultists managed to do one wound in reply.
In the morale phase, one more Cultist fled, and I scored two points for holding an objective.
TURN 4- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes continued to move up on the enemy lines, while the lone Obliterator also moved up.
Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator. The Daemon Prince then failed to manifest Smite, using a command point re-roll to pass and kill one Hellblaster. The other Prince then failed to cast Infernal Gateway. He then cast Smite, perilling and taking three mortal wounds, but killing another Hellblaster.
Ahriman then cast Warptime on himself, moving to the other side of the objective to cast Temporal Manipulation on the Daemon Prince to heal a single wound on him.
The Daemon Princes fired at the Hellblasters, but failed to kill him. The Obliterator fired at him, finally killing him. The Cultist fired their pistols at the Intercessor in combat, wounding one of them.
The Predator fired its Havoc Launcher at the Devastators, while splitting the Lascannon fire at the Ancient and Lieutenant.
The Havoc Launcher managed to kill two of the Devastators. One Lascannon wounded the Ancient, killing him outright with 5 damage. The Lieutenant was also wounded, but only took one damage.
In the fight phase, the Cultists did no damage on the Dark Angels, while the Intercessors killed two of the Cultists.
At the end of the turn, Ben spent one command point to score a bonus point, giving him three in total.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 20
Thousand Sons- 9
TURN 5- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Lieutenant advanced behind the Devastators to save himself from the enemy firepower. The Assassin moved up to get into range of the Daemons.
The Culexus Assassin fired at the non-warlord Daemon Prince, wounding him twice. The Devastators fired on the Obliterator, but failed to do any damage. The Intercessors fired their Pistols at the Cultists, killing one.
In the fight phase, the Intercessors were finally able to wipe out the last of the Cultists, consolidating towards the enemy army.
I used two command points to score two bonus points, on top of the points for the objective.
TURN 5- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes moved up on the Assassin, while the Obliterator continued to move up on the Dark Angels.
Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator. The Daemon Prince tried to cast Diabolic Strength on himself, thanks to the nearby Culexus Assassin. The other Prince then managed to cast Delightful Agonies.
The Predator fired at the Assassin and the Devastators, managing to kill the Devastators and leaving the Assassin unharmed. The Obliterator fired at the Assassin, but failed to do any harm.
In the charge phase, both Daemon Princes assaulted the Assassin. They struck at the Assassin, but only managed two hits and two wounds. I failed one save and the Culexus took two damage. In reply, the Assassin was unable to harm the Daemons.
At the end of his turn, Ben spent two command points to score two bonus points and held both objectives.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 24
Thousand Sons- 15
We rolled to see if the game would end and it did. A win for the Dark Angels.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Ben for a fun game, I think the odds were just stacked against him based on our army lists.
My army is pretty well designed for this mission (purely by accident). The Scouts can hold the objectives from the start of the game, and getting first turn allows me to push them forward to create a buffer, while my characters can move up to score bonus points.
At the end of turn 2, I was up 16 pts to 3 pts. Based on this scenario, it would take a lot for Ben to come back from that. He did get unlucky though in his turn. Failing Warptime on the Daemon Prince was a big blow. Had it gone off, he would have been able to get to the objective on my right, gaining him 4 points and putting the score at 9 to 4. I probably would have been able to get the objective back and score it in my turn, but it would have put him in a much better position for the counter attack.
As well as the game went, there were a few things I could have changed. I should have deployed the Assassin more centrally. This would allow me to go after whichever flank Ben put most of his psychic might on the opposite flank, meaning the Assassin's abilities were not used to maximum. On my right flank, he might have been better at blocking the psychic might of the Thousand Sons (though Ben's dice did a good enough job of this on their own). This may have saved me from a few Smites.
I also shouldn't have charged the Scouts into the Obliterators. I forgot about all the Smite attacks that Ben could use with his squads, so losing a couple of Scouts to the Obliterators in combat was a big deal. Had they stayed alive, they would have soaked up a couple more wounds from psychic attacks, allowing my Watch Captain to survive. If he survived, I could have sent him after the Predator or Ahriman, taking out a couple of potent threats to my army.
I think in the tournament game, I can play much the same way if I win the bid for first turn. I think having 4CP left on turn 1 is key, allowing you to get maximum points on turn 1 for the objectives and going up 9 to 0 is a big boost. I can then afford to bet up to 5 or 6 command points (if I don't put anything in reserve with the Teleportarium stratagem).
Overall, an interesting scenario. I would be interested to see how this game goes against a faster force that could have threatened the objectives more from the start.
We bet for taking first turn, I bid three command points, while Ben only bid one. I would get first turn, but would also need to deploy first.
I put the Dark Angels forces on the left flank, the characters, Intercessors and Hellblasters ready to advance on the objective on the left flank. I put the Devastators in the ruins to the left. I put the Watch Master, Watch Captain and Intercessors on the right flank, with the Stalker Bolter kill team in the ruins in the centre. I was also able to put one Scout unit on each objective. I put the Storm Bolter Kill Team in the Teleportarium.
My plan was to put my characters on each objective on turn 1 to score maximum points. I could then push the Scout units forward to block enemy units from getting into range for perhaps one turn.
In reply, Ben spread out his unit. On the left flank, the two Daemon Princes, a unit of Rubric Marines, the Predator, the Mutilath Beast and a unit of Obliterators were deployed. The Cultists went in the ruins in the centre, while the right flank was held by a unit of Tzaangors, the Hellbrute, the Rubric Marines and the Shaman. He put a unit of Obliterators in reserve to deploy later in the game.
Ben could not seize the initiative, so I took the first turn. Before the game started, Ben used the forward operatives stratagem to move the Obliterators forward on the left flank.
TURN 1- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
On the right flank, the Watch Captain used his Jump Pack to move up onto the objective, while the Scouts moved forward to create a buffer zone for the enemy army. The rest of the Deathwatch forces moved up to support their Captain.
On the left flank, the Dark Angels moved up on the objective. The Lieutenant used a command point re-roll to get into range of the objective. The Scouts once more moved ahead to buffer the enemy army, while the Darkshroud advanced to get its Jink save.
In the shooting phase, the Intercessors fired at the Obliterators with their Kraken Bolts. They wounded the squad 9 times, but Ben failed only a single 3+ save! The Watch Master and Watch Captain fired at the Obliterators, wounding them twice but failing to pierce their armour.
The Scouts fired at the Cultists, wounding them three times, but Ben made all three armour saves once more.
On the left flank, the Scouts fired on the Tzaangors, killing four. The Devastators fired the Hellfire Shells stratagem at the Obliterators, killing one. This now put me out of range of the remaining Obliterators, so I used the Armorium Cherub on the Hellbrute, wounding it once.
The Intercessors fired on the Tzaangors, wounding them four times, but Ben's saves were once more on form, as only one beast fell. The Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma and fired at the Tzanngors, killing 9 for no loss in reply.
The Stalker Kill Team fired at the Cultists, killing one, while I chose to fire two Frag Missiles at the Tzaangors, killing three of them.
In the charge phase, the Scouts on the right flank charged the Obliterators. In the fight phase, the Scouts put one wound on the Obliterators, but it was blocked by their armour. In reply, two Scouts were felled by the Chaos Marines.
In the morale phase, the Tzaangors were wiped out. At the end of my turn, I spent the four command points to score the bonus points, putting me on 9 points for my first turn, with First Blood.
TURN 1- THOUSAND SONS
On the left flank, the Chaos forces moved up on the Scouts, the Rubric Marines advancing towards the Scouts. On the right flank, the Hellbrute moved up on the Dark Angels lines. With moving forward, the Daemon Princes would need an 11-12" charge on the Watch Captain.
In the psychic phase, the Rubric Marines cast Weaver of Fates on the Hellbrute. The Daemon Prince cast Smite, getting an 11 and wiping out the rest of the Scouts, thanks to the help of a command point re-roll.
The Rubric Marines cast Smite, putting a wound on the Watch Captain. Ahriman then cast Prescience on the Predator. The Prince cast Diabolic Strength on himself, then cast Smite, putting another mortal wound on the Captain.
Ahriman then cast Warp Time on the Daemon Prince, but failed to manifest the power. A successful cast would have allowed him to threaten the objective. He then cast Smite, putting another wound on the Captain (who had taken three in total).
The Vortex Beast then used the Beam of Unreality, causing two mortal wounds and killing the Watch Captain.
Both Daemon Princes fired at the Intercessors, killing two of the squad. The Obliterators fired on the Intercessors, killing two of the squad. They then used the Endless Cacophony stratagem to fire once more, but only managed to kill one more of the squad. The Predator fired its Lascannons at the Darkshroud, hitting three times, but failing to do any wounds. Ben used a command point re-roll to do one wound and three damage.
On the right flank, the Rubric Marines fired on the Scouts, killing one of the squad. The Cultists added their firepower, but failed to do any damage. The Hellbrute fired at the Darkshroud, doing a single wound, but I made my invulnerable save, while the Hellbrute took a mortal wound from the overcharged shot.
The Hellbrute was able to rage fire at the Darkshroud once more, taking two more wounds from it.
In the charge phase, the Hellbrute charged the Scout, needing a 10. He rolled a 9" charge, using a command point re-roll to make it in. In the Fight phase, the Hellbrute killed three of the Scouts, for no damage in reply.
In the morale phase, I rolled a double 6 for the Scouts, wiping out the unit. At the end of his turn, Ben scored no points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 9
Thousand Sons- 0
A great first turn for me had seen me take a strong lead, getting to the objectives and holding them against the Chaos forces.
TURN 2- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Deathwatch Intercessors and Watch Master moved up on the objective. On the left flank, the Dark Angels moved up on the objective and Hellbrute. At the end of the phase, the Deathwatch Veterans came in on the right flank, next to the Intercessors.
In the shooting phase, the Assassin fired at the Rubric Marines, killing one. The Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma guns, targeting the Hellbrute and wounding it 13 times, but for the loss of three Hellblasters. The Hellbrute was slain, while the slain Hellblasters were able to fire at the Rubrics, thanks to the Ancient, killing two more.
The Dark Angels Intercessors fired at the Shaman, taking three wounds from him. The Stalker Veterans fired at the Rubric Marines on the left, killing off the unit. The Ancient fired at the Shaman, killing him.
On the other flank, the Storm Bolter Kill Team fired at the Mutilath Beast with their Hellfire shells (wounding on 2+), and doing 32 wounds! The Beast failed 17 saves and was slain.
The Intercessors fired at the Rubric Marines, wounding them 7 times. Ben failed 5 of his 4+ invulnerable saves. He used a command point re-roll, but failed once more and the unit was wiped out.
At the end of my turn, I spent my remaining three command points to score three bonus points, giving me 7 points this turn.
TURN 2- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes moved up on the Deathwatch, supported by Ahriman. At the end of the phase, the Obliterators arrived from reserves, landing next to the Dark Angels. Ben also used the Tide of Traitors stratagem to re-deploy the Cultists in front of the Obliterators, to create a buffer behind the Chaos Marines and the Unforgiven.
In the psychic phase, Infernal Gateway was cast on the Deathwatch Intercessors, failing to do any damage, even with a command point re-roll. He then cast Smite on the Intercessors, wounding them once. Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator, then failed to cast Smite. The Daemon Prince then cast Diabolic Strength on himself, then Warptime on the Daemon Prince to move to the other side of the Intercessors.
In the shooting phase, the Predator fired at the Darkshroud, hitting twice and wounding once. I failed my save. Ben rolled a 1 for the damage, using a command point re-roll to get a 5 and destroy it. The Darkshroud exploded, forcing me to use a command point re-roll to stop the explosion. The Havoc Launcher fired at the Storm Bolter Veterans, wounding them twice. I rolled a double 1 for saves and two perished. The Storm Bolter on the Predator then managed to kill another two, after more terrible saves from me.
The two Daemon Princes fired at the Deathwatch Intercessors, killing one of the squad. The Obliterators added their firepower, only managing to wound four times and killing two of the squad.
The Cultists opened fire at the Devastators, wounding them five times but failing to pierce their armour. The Obliterators behind them fired on the Hellblasters, killing three of the squad. Two were able to fire back at the Obliterators (thanks to the Ancient), killing one of them.
In the charge phase, one Daemon Prince charged the Intercessors and Watch Master, while the other charged the Storm Bolter Kill Team. Once Prince took three wounds from the Watch Master and Intercessors in overwatch, while the other took two wounds from the Veterans.
The Daemon Prince split its attacks between the Watch Master and Intercessors. The Intercessors were slain and the Watch Master took four wounds. I failed all four invulnerable saves and the Watch Master perished.
The other Daemon Prince managed to slay 5 of the Deathwatch Veterans, as my Storm Shields saved none of the damage.
In the morale phase, the last Deathwatch Veteran fled. Ben used a command point to gain a bonus point, as well as two for holding the objective.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 16
Thousand Sons- 3
Two turns of holding the objective had put me well in the lead in victory points. However, Ben now had control of one flank. I had hoped the Deathwatch would slow them down for at least another turn, but some truly horrendous saving throws for the Deathwatch had seen the flank fall with ease.
TURN 3- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Dark Angels Intercessors moved up on the Cultists, while the rest of the forces moved to secure the objective.
In the shooting phase, the Hellblasters overcharged their Plasma Incinerators at the Obliterators. I managed to do four wounds for the loss of one Hellblaster. Ben then made three out of 4 invulnerable saves on the unit. Azrael added his firepower, killing one of the squad.
The Devastators used the Hellfire Shells stratagem and fired at the Obliterators, doing one mortal wound. I used Azrael's re-roll and only managed to roll another 1. The Bolters in the squad fired at the Cultists, killing two.
The Intercessors fired at the Obliterators, wounding them once. The Assassin fired at the last Obliterator and was able to kill him.
The last Deathwatch squad fired their Stalker Bolters at the warlord Daemon Prince, doing 7 wounds, only one getting through the armour. The Missile Launchers then both hit and wounded with the Krak missiles. Ben failed both invulnerable saves, using his command point re-roll to pass one. I then rolled a 1 for damage, so the Daemon Prince survived.
The Dark Angels Intercessors assaulted the Cultists, slaying four of the squad. The Cultists were able to kill one of the Intercessors in reply.
In the morale phase, four more Cultists fled the battlefield. I scored two victory points for holding one objective.
TURN 3- THOUSAND SONS
The two Daemon Princes moved up towards the Deathwatch in the ruins, while the Predator and Obliterators moved towards the Dark Angels lines.
In the psychic phase, Ahriman cast Temporal Manipulation on the warlord Daemon Prince, healing 3 wounds on him. He then attempted to cast Warptime on the Obliterators, but failed to manifest the power. He also failed to cast Prescience on the Predator, using a command point re-roll, but failing to manifest the power.
The Daemon Prince cast Smite, killing three of the Deathwatch Veterans. He then cast Infernal Gateway, killing off the rest of the squad.
In the shooting phase, the Predator was able to target Azrael, thanks to some poor positioning from me. The Chaos vehicle managed four hits and two wounds. I failed the invulnerable save, even with a command point re-roll. Ben then rolled a 6 for damage and slaying the enemy warlord outright!
The Daemon Princes fired at the Devastators, killing one of them.
In the fight phase, the Cultist did one wound on the Dark Angels, but failed to get past their armour. I only managed to do one wound in reply, killing one Cultist.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored two points for holding the objective and one for Slay the Warlord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 18
Thousand Sons- 6
I was still well in the lead. Ben was going to have to play for the tabling in order to win the game.
TURN 4- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Assassin moved to secure the objective, while the Hellblasters moved in front of the remaining characters.
The Hellblasters fired at the Obliterators, using Weapons of the Dark Age and overcharging. They managed to kill one of the squad for no loss in return.
The Devastators fired at them, managing to do one wound on them. The Ancient and Lieutenant fired at them, but failed to do any damage.
In the fight phase, the Intercessors did three wounds on the Cultist, but Ben made two of his armour saves, so only one perished. The Cultists managed to do one wound in reply.
In the morale phase, one more Cultist fled, and I scored two points for holding an objective.
TURN 4- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes continued to move up on the enemy lines, while the lone Obliterator also moved up.
Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator. The Daemon Prince then failed to manifest Smite, using a command point re-roll to pass and kill one Hellblaster. The other Prince then failed to cast Infernal Gateway. He then cast Smite, perilling and taking three mortal wounds, but killing another Hellblaster.
Ahriman then cast Warptime on himself, moving to the other side of the objective to cast Temporal Manipulation on the Daemon Prince to heal a single wound on him.
The Daemon Princes fired at the Hellblasters, but failed to kill him. The Obliterator fired at him, finally killing him. The Cultist fired their pistols at the Intercessor in combat, wounding one of them.
The Predator fired its Havoc Launcher at the Devastators, while splitting the Lascannon fire at the Ancient and Lieutenant.
The Havoc Launcher managed to kill two of the Devastators. One Lascannon wounded the Ancient, killing him outright with 5 damage. The Lieutenant was also wounded, but only took one damage.
In the fight phase, the Cultists did no damage on the Dark Angels, while the Intercessors killed two of the Cultists.
At the end of the turn, Ben spent one command point to score a bonus point, giving him three in total.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 20
Thousand Sons- 9
TURN 5- DARK ANGELS/DEATHWATCH
The Lieutenant advanced behind the Devastators to save himself from the enemy firepower. The Assassin moved up to get into range of the Daemons.
The Culexus Assassin fired at the non-warlord Daemon Prince, wounding him twice. The Devastators fired on the Obliterator, but failed to do any damage. The Intercessors fired their Pistols at the Cultists, killing one.
In the fight phase, the Intercessors were finally able to wipe out the last of the Cultists, consolidating towards the enemy army.
I used two command points to score two bonus points, on top of the points for the objective.
TURN 5- THOUSAND SONS
The Daemon Princes moved up on the Assassin, while the Obliterator continued to move up on the Dark Angels.
Ahriman cast Prescience on the Predator. The Daemon Prince tried to cast Diabolic Strength on himself, thanks to the nearby Culexus Assassin. The other Prince then managed to cast Delightful Agonies.
The Predator fired at the Assassin and the Devastators, managing to kill the Devastators and leaving the Assassin unharmed. The Obliterator fired at the Assassin, but failed to do any harm.
In the charge phase, both Daemon Princes assaulted the Assassin. They struck at the Assassin, but only managed two hits and two wounds. I failed one save and the Culexus took two damage. In reply, the Assassin was unable to harm the Daemons.
At the end of his turn, Ben spent two command points to score two bonus points and held both objectives.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels/Deathwatch- 24
Thousand Sons- 15
We rolled to see if the game would end and it did. A win for the Dark Angels.
 |
| End of the game. |
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Ben for a fun game, I think the odds were just stacked against him based on our army lists.
My army is pretty well designed for this mission (purely by accident). The Scouts can hold the objectives from the start of the game, and getting first turn allows me to push them forward to create a buffer, while my characters can move up to score bonus points.
At the end of turn 2, I was up 16 pts to 3 pts. Based on this scenario, it would take a lot for Ben to come back from that. He did get unlucky though in his turn. Failing Warptime on the Daemon Prince was a big blow. Had it gone off, he would have been able to get to the objective on my right, gaining him 4 points and putting the score at 9 to 4. I probably would have been able to get the objective back and score it in my turn, but it would have put him in a much better position for the counter attack.
As well as the game went, there were a few things I could have changed. I should have deployed the Assassin more centrally. This would allow me to go after whichever flank Ben put most of his psychic might on the opposite flank, meaning the Assassin's abilities were not used to maximum. On my right flank, he might have been better at blocking the psychic might of the Thousand Sons (though Ben's dice did a good enough job of this on their own). This may have saved me from a few Smites.
I also shouldn't have charged the Scouts into the Obliterators. I forgot about all the Smite attacks that Ben could use with his squads, so losing a couple of Scouts to the Obliterators in combat was a big deal. Had they stayed alive, they would have soaked up a couple more wounds from psychic attacks, allowing my Watch Captain to survive. If he survived, I could have sent him after the Predator or Ahriman, taking out a couple of potent threats to my army.
I think in the tournament game, I can play much the same way if I win the bid for first turn. I think having 4CP left on turn 1 is key, allowing you to get maximum points on turn 1 for the objectives and going up 9 to 0 is a big boost. I can then afford to bet up to 5 or 6 command points (if I don't put anything in reserve with the Teleportarium stratagem).
Overall, an interesting scenario. I would be interested to see how this game goes against a faster force that could have threatened the objectives more from the start.
Tense game, Ben was having to go for tabling after the first turn push, so it was fun reading to see if he got there, alas the dice gods ended the game on Turn 5. Great report, fun read. Both armies looked great on the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't close in terms of points, but another turn and I could have potentially been tabled.
DeleteBen has a lovely looking army, it is a joy to play against.
Bro... I am interested in your experience on using this unit "10 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (DV1)" How many times have you fielded them and have them serve you well?
ReplyDeleteI tend to take them every time I use Deathwatch. The 40 shots are generally overkill and will demolish any unit that is not a vehicle in most cases.
DeleteI tend to stick to the wound on 2+ shells, as the sheer volume of shots is generally enough to wipe out whatever you aim them at.
Their durability can suffer a bit, it just depends how good you are at making the Storm Shield saves.
I find they tend to arrive, eliminate whatever they fire at, and then are killed off pretty quickly. Most opponents can't allow a 40-shot unit to survive too long. Paired with the Watch Master, they are incredibly, averaging about 30 wounds with the 2+ shells.
The Storm Bolters are just amazing. Great report, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex! Yeah, they do a lot of work in the army. The volume of shots, combined with re-rolls are simply awesome.
DeleteWell played. I was getting kind of worried about those Daemon Princes maybe managing to tear up midfield earlier, but you managed to keep a presence there to maintain your lead.
ReplyDeleteSpace Marine Scouts are very strong now, since they didn't get nerfed like Alpha Legion's Infiltrate, or anyone's Deep Strike options.
I think Scouts are still a solid basis for the army, their ability to control the board early on is pretty much unique in the game at the moment.
DeleteThis is an unusual mission. It really does force you to concentrate on two flanks and ignore the centre for the most part.
Honestly, I think Scouts (along with Nurglings, and I think Ratlings, who are the only other ones that can still get more than 7" out into midfield before the game starts) might be kind of OP now. The Big FAQ leaves only those couple of Factions capable of getting that kind of pre-game zoning/board control.
DeleteThabns for putting that together, it was a fun read. Even of the Thousand Sons lost.
ReplyDelete