Rapid Strike Tournament: Game 5- Deathwatch vs T'au

The final game of the day at the Rapid Strike 40k tournament would see my Deathwatch take on Chris' T'au on the top table. 

This mission was Cloak and Shadows. In this mission, we get three cards per turn, but keep your cards secret from your opponent until you score them. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

I get 6 command points for the army thanks to the tournament special rules.

Chris' army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (T'au, Viorla)
Coldstar Commander- Airbursting Fragmentation Launcher, 2 Fusion Blasters, Shield Generator
Ethereal- Academic Luminary (warlord trait), Equalisers,
Shield Drone
10 Breachers- Pulse Blasters
10 Kroot- Kroot Rifles
3 Crisis Suits- 4 Plasma Rifles, 2 Shield Generators, 2 Cyclic Ion Blasers, Advancing Targeting System
6 Gun Drones
6 Stealth Suits- 6 Burst Cannons, Advanced Targeting Systems
8 Pathfinders- 5 Markerlights, 3 Rail Rifles, Pulse Carbines
Piranha- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones
Devilfish- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones

A mixed T'au army with a lot of firepower. I was going to have to hope my power armour could keep me safe for long enough to hit the T'au lines hard with my own firepower and combat prowess.

Rapid Strike Tournament: Game 4- Deathwatch vs Black Templars Space Marines

The fourth game of the Rapid Strike 40k tournament saw my Deathwatch taking on Alex's Black Templars Space Marines. 

This game was Spoils of War. In this mission, you get three cards per turn. You cannot discard any "Secure Objective X" cards and your opponent can score any of these cards in your hand at the end of the turn. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

As per the tournament rules, I would have 6 command points to spend.

Alex's army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (Space Marines, Black Templars)
Chapter Master- Terminator Armour, Thunder Hammer, the Shield Eternal, Iron Resolve
10 Primaris Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistol, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher
10 Terminators- 3 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields, Pairs of Lightning Claws
10 Terminators- Storm Bolters, Power Fists, Power Sword

A small, elite force, mostly consisting of Terminators. When was the last time you saw that many Terminators in a tournament army? The Black Templars chapter tactics gave re-rolls to charge moves, which should help the Terminators get into combat. Alex spent 3 of his 6 CP to make a Chapter Master of his Captain, giving him full re-rolls to hit.

Rapid Strike Tournament: Game 3- Deathwatch vs Drukhari

Game 3 of the 40k Rapid Strike tournament saw my Deathwatch take on a tough Drukhari force featuring a ton of Grotesques and Talos engines. 

This game was Tactical Escalation, where you get one card on turn 1, two cards on turn 2, etc. This means you need to keep your army alive for longer in order to grab the objectives later in the game. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

Joe's army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (Drukhari, Haemonculus Coven)
Haemonculus- Diabolical Soothsayer, Electrocorrosive whip, Stinger Pistol, The Vexator Mask
7 Wracks- Acothyst, Haemonculus Tools
9 Grotesques- Monstrous Cleavers, Flesh Gauntlet
5 Mandrakes- Baleblast, Glimmersteel Blade
5 Scourges- Haywire Blasters, Shardcarbine
3 Talos- Chain Flails, Macro Scalpels, 2 Haywire Blasters each
Venom- Bladevanes, Flickerfield, Night Shield, 2 Splinter Cannons

A combat-heavy army with a lot of Haywire firepower for taking on my one tank. Much of the army would have a 4+ invulnerable save, so my high AP rounds were of little use in this game. However, the Hellfire Bolts would prove invaluable to taking on the tough Drukhari units. I would need to hope that my superior firepower could make a dent in the enemy army before they get to my lines.

Rapid Strike Tournament: Game 2- Deathwatch vs Black Legion Chaos Space Marines

Game 2 of Rapid Strike would see my Deathwatch take on Khyl's Black Legion Chaos Space Marine army in the Contact Lost maelstrom of war mission. In this mission, you get one card to start with, then draw one card for each objective you hold (up to 6) from turn 2 onwards. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

Khyl's army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Black Legion)

Lord Discordant- Helstalker, Autocannon, Mark of Tzeentch, Indomitable

Master of Possession- Cursed Earth, Force Stave, Infernal Power, Mark of Tzeentch

10 Cultists- Autoguns

10 Chaos Space Marines- Mark of Slaanesh, Bolters, Autocannon

Greater Possessed- Mark of Slaanesh

Forgefiend- 2 Hades Autocannons, Daemon Jaws, Mark of Tzeentch

2 Obliterators- Mark of Tzeentch

Auxiliary Support Detachment (Chaos Space Marines)

Sorcerer- Terminator Armour, Combi-Bolter, Force Stave, Warptime, Weaver of Fates, Mark of Tzeentch

A Chaos force with a lot of infantry. The army featured a number of units from Vigilus that I had not faced yet. The Lord Discordant could prove to be a tough proposition, as could the Obliterators. It was a great looking Chaos army, and actually came in second in the best painted army competition. 

Rapid Strike Tournament: Game 1- Deathwatch vs Astra Militarum

The first 40k battle report from Rapid Strike 3.1 saw my Deathwatch take on James' Astra Militarum army in the Cleanse and Capture maelstrom of war mission. This was the standard 3 cards per turn maelstrom mission. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

James' army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Vigilus Defiant Emperor's First Tank Company
Tank Commander- Battle Cannon, 3 Heavy Bolters, Heavy Stubber, Old Grudges (warlord trait), Hammer of Sunderance (Relic)
Tempestor Prime- Chainsword, Command Rod
Infantry Squad- Mortar, Lasguns
Tempestus Scions- 4 Plasma Guns, Hotshot Lasguns
Tempestus Command Squad- 4 Plasma Guns
Hellhound- Heavy Flamer
Leman Russ- Battle Cannon, 3 Heavy Bolters, Heavy Stubber
Wyvern- Stormshard Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter
Taurox Prime- Taurox Gatling Cannon, 2 Autocannons

A vehicle-heavy army for my first game, not what I was looking for! This could be a tough contest, as I didn't have a lot of firepower to take on the Leman russ tanks. Hopefully, I could hide from their firepower for a while and take on the weaker infantry elements. The Tempestus units could also be a problem, with a lot of Plasma firepower to take out my Marines.

Rapid Strike Tournament- Army Overview and Tournament Format

Welcome to my army overview from the Rapid Strike 3.1 tournament that I recently attended. This was a one-day, 5 games, 1000 pts tournament held in Reading. Each mission would be maelstrom of war, and had some tight restrictions for army selection. 

At Rapid Strike, armies can consists of a single Patrol Detachment, with up to one auxiliary support detachment. The armies were "highlander" format, so each unit selection can only be used once in the army. Unit entries that were allowed multiple units per force organisation slot, such as Leman Russ battle tank squadrons, were only allowed to take a single unit in each case. Marine units were still allowed to combat squad. 

Each army also started with 6 CP instead of 3 to make up for the limited detachment selections. However, players could not use a command re-roll stratagem with their CP. Instead, players received 5 free command point re-rolls that could be used over the course of the 5 games. That was it, only 5 CP re-rolls for the entire day! 

This sounded like a fun format to try. I'm a big fan of maelstrom of war missions, and liked the army choice restrictions. I figured the Deathwatch would be a nice force to take to the event. The additional wargear choices for units and the special issue ammunition should allow me to deal with a wide range of threats I could deal with. That and the fact there would be no Imperial Knights meant I was looking forward to this one. 

My army consisted of:

Patrol Detachment (Deathwatch)

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter