9th Edition 40k Battle Report 214- Dark Angels Ravenwing vs Raven Guard

I'm back! So nice to be rolling dice again. Today's battle report sees my Dark Angels Ravenwing take on Ben's Raven Guard in a 9th edition battle report. We were playing the Grand Tournament Mission, Rise of the Machine Spirit. 

My army consisted of:

Outrider Detachment

Primaris Chaplain on Bike- Master Orator, Warlord, Canticle of Hate, Recitation of Focus

Sammael

5 Bikers- TL Bolters, 2 Plasma Guns, Power Sword

5 Bikers- TL Bolters, Meltagun, Power Sword

Landspeeder Typhoon- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher

Attack Bike- Multi-melta

Darkshroud- Heavy Bolter

Ravenwing Apothecary- Selfless Healer, Chief Apothecary

Ravenwing Champion

5 Black Knights- Corvus Hammers

Outrider Detachment

Talonmaster- Arbiter's Gaze, TL Heavy Bolters, TL Assault Cannon

3 Bikers- Plasma Gun, TL Bolters

3 Bikers- TL Bolters, Meltagun

3 Bikers- TL Bolters, Grav Gun, Power Fist

Landspeeder- Heavy Bolter, Assault Cannon

Landspeeder- Heavy Bolter, Assault Cannon

With the new codex released, I had the chance to field my all-Ravenwing army once more. 

The force was led by a Primaris Chaplain on Bike. I upgraded him to Master Orator and gave him the litanies to get bonus moves to charges, and +1 to hit in shooting. I backed him up with Sammael, who provides powerful re-rolls for the army, as well as being pretty solid in combat. My third HQ unit was the awesome Talonmaster. He has the Arbiter's Gaze, allowing him to always hit on a 2+, even in overwatch. This provides some very powerful firepower for the army, as well as the Lieutenant buffs to the nearby units. 

The bulk of the army is Ravenwing Bikers, with five units of varying size, loaded up with special weapons. In the Outrider detachments, they gain objective secured, making them great for grabbing objectives. I also took a unit of Black Knights, to provide potent firepower and some strong combat ability when armed with the Corvus Hammers. I also added an Attack Bike with Multi-melta for some anti-tank firepower. 

I took a Ravenwing Apothecary, as he is an obvious choice. He provides great buffs for the army, bringing back dead bikers. The Ravenwing Champion also gave me some more combat options for taking on enemy units. 

The final parts of the force were the speeders. I took a Darkshroud for protecting my Biker units, with its -1 to hit bubble. I took a Typhoon with some potent anti-tank firepower, as well as two Landspeeders with Heavy Bolters and Assault Cannon. These should provide some fast and mobile anti-infantry firepower to the force. 

The Ravenwing should be a strong force. Mobile and with a lot of good firepower. Their special rules means they get an invulnerable save from shooting attacks on the move, as well as being able to use their firepower while in the Devastator Doctrine. 

Beachhead Brawl Tournament: Game 2- White Scars vs Raven Guard

Game 2 of the Bournemouth Beachhead Brawl would see my White Scars take on an almost identical Raven Guard list, commanded by Simon, in ITC Mission 2. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain on Bike- Twin Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens

Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

Impulsor- 2 Storm Bolters, Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Shield Dome
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Chapter Master, Imperium's Sword

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters

Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate, Warlord
Phobos Librarian- Force Sword, Camo Cloak, Shrouding, Mind Raid

5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Lascannon

Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms

Beachhead Brawl Tournament: Game 1- White Scars vs Raven Guard

A while back, I travelled down to Bournemouth for the Beachhead Brawl, a six-game ITC tourmanent. This was using the old ITC missions, it's just taken me that long to get them written up!

Game 1 would see my White Scars take on James' Raven Guard in ITC Mission 1. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain on Bike- Twin Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens

Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

Impulsor- 2 Storm Bolters, Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Shield Dome
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Chapter Master, Imperium's Sword

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters

Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate, Warlord
Phobos Librarian- Force Sword, Camo Cloak, Shrouding, Mind Raid

5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Lascannon

Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms

NEO Tournament Battle Report: Game 3- White Scars vs Raven Guard

Game three of the North East Open tournament would see my White Scars take on Calum's Raven Guard in this ITC battle report. We would be playing ITC mission 3, with Hammer and Anvil deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain on Bike- Twin Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens

Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Devastator Centurions- Grav-cannons and grav-amps, Hurricane Bolters

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Chapter Master, Imperium's Sword

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters

Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate
Khan on Bike- Khan's Spear

5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters

Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms

Dark Artisan Open ITC Tournament: Game 5- Deathwatch vs Raven Guard

The final game of the Dark Artisan Open ITC tournament would see my Deathwatch take on Jordan's Raven Guard in a 40k maelstrom of war battle report. 

The mission for game 5 was Tactical Gambit. In this game, you must bet how many objective cards you think you will score in your turn (between 1 and 4). If you succeed, you score that number of bonus points, if you do not, then your opponent scores the bonus points. This allows you to wrack up a big score in your games if you bet wisely. 

My Deathwatch army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Captain- Castellan of the Black Vault (warlord trait), Jump Pack, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer

Watch Master- Guardian Spear, the Tome of Ectoclades

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

Kill Team 1- 7 Veterans- Storm Bolters, Chainswords, 2 Storm Shields, Biker with Twin Bolter, Chainsword, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Terminator with Power Fist and Storm Bolter

Kill Team 2- 7 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, Meltagun, Chainswords, 3 Storm Shields, Biker with Twin Bolter, Chainsword, Vanguard Veteran with Chainsword and Bolt Pistol, Terminator with Power Fist and Storm Bolter

5 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, Storm Shield, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords

5 Veterans- 2 Missile Launchers, Heavy Bolter, 2 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

Outrider Detachment

Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Sword, Bolt Pistol, Null Zone, Might of Heroes

4 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Chainswords, Sergeant has Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Teleport Homer

3 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Chainswords, Sergeant has Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Teleport Homer

3 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Chainswords, Teleport Homer

A fairly standard force for my Deathwatch. I decided to take two full Kill Teams, with a Terminator, Vanguard Veteran and Biker in each one to give me lots of options for falling back from combat and still staying active. I also added a couple of Veteran squads with Missile Launchers and Stalker Bolters for long range firepower, as well as a single Heavy Bolter to use the Hellfire Shells stratagem, and a Razorback for some anti-tank firepower. 

I took the Outrider for the extra CP. I decided to try the Librarian, as his powers would be of use to the Watch Captain. I took three units of Bikers. These should be useful for going after objectives and adding some strong firepower to the army. 

London GT Battle Report: Game 2- Dark Angels vs Imperial Soup

Game 2 of the London GT saw my Dark Angels take on a mixed force of Space Marines, including Blood Angels, Raven Guard and Adeptus Custodes, commanded by Phil. This was my first time taking on the dreaded Custodes Shield Captains, so I was interested to see what they could do.

The Eternal War mission was No Mercy, so kill points for each enemy unit destroyed. The Maelstrom of War mission was Spoils of war. This gives you three tactical objective cards per turn, you cannot discard "Secure Objective X" cards and can steal your opponent's "Secure Objective X" cards. We were using Dawn of War deployment.

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Azrael (Az)

Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle (L)

Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifle (I1)

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifle (I2)

5 Devastator Squad- Heavy Bolter, Bolters, Armorium Cherub (D)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Heavy Bolter, Chainsword (S1)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Chainsword (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols, Shotguns (S3)

10 Hellbalsters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Outrider Detachment

Sammael (S)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons, Corvus Hammers (BK)

4 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter (RB1)

4 Ravenwing Bikers- Meltagun, Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter (RB2)
3 Ravenwing Bikers- Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter, Plasma Gun (RB3)

Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

10 Command Points

Double Trouble Tournament: Game 2- Orks/Dark Angels vs Howling Griffons/Raven Guard

The second game of the Double Trouble tournament saw my Orks partnered with Hendrick and his Dark Angels. We would be facing Luke's Howling Griffons space marines (Luke of Darksun Life fame) and Steven with his Raven Guard (yay, more cover saves!).

My army consisted of (green on the maps):

Warboss- Eavy Armour, Power Claw, Shoota, Bosspole, Stikkbombs (with B2)

Painboy- Urty Syringe, Dok's Tools (with B1)

 25 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, inc. Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole (B1)

11 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, inc. Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole (B2)

Trukk- Big Shoota (T)

Runtherd and 15 Gretchin (G1)

Runtherd and 11 Gretchin (G2)

3 Warbikers (WB)

Warbuggy- TL Rokkit (W)

Warbuggy- TL Rokkit (W)

 Looted Wagon- Killcannon, Ard Case, Big Shoota (LW)

 

For my warlord trait, I rolled on the tactical table and got forward planning, allowing me to discard our first turn maelstrom cards to re-draw 3 new ones.

 

Hendrick's army consisted of (blue on the maps):

Librarian- Bike, Meltabombs, Force Sword, Mastery level 1 (with RB)
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Plasma gun (TS1)

Drop Pod (DP)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters (TS2)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 grav guns, sergeant with meltabombs (RB)

Whirlwind (W)

Deredo Dreadnought- Aiolos Missile Launcher, Anvilus Pattern Autocannon Battery, Twin-linked Heavy Flamer (DD)

 

His warlord trait was Courage of the Lion, giving the Dark Angels a Fearless bubble. His psyker got Hallucination and Psychic Shriek.

Double Trouble Tournament: Game 1- Orks/Eldar vs Raven Guard/Daemons

Welcome to my first battle report from the recent Double Trouble tournament that I attended at the start of June.

 

Double Trouble was the first doubles tournament of its kind being run by Alex at From the Fang. I was a big fan of Alex's Blog Wars tournaments, they were a lot of fun with a great atmosphere and some really tough games to play. Double Trouble was a doubles tournament where each player would be paired with a different, random partner in each game, so no combined list building with a partner as you don't know who you will be playing with. This means you will meet 9 great players and should provide some fun and tactical games. In addition, the missions were different from Blog Wars in that you scored both maelstrom points (from a modified maelstrom deck that rewarded risk and working with your partner) and blood points (essentially kill points, but based on victory points totals for units rather than number of units).

I was looking forward to the event, both for the chance to meet up with some of the fantastic bloggers and players that I have gotten to know online and at Alex's events and for the chance to play in a fun and very different doubles event that I was used to.

It was great meeting up with everyone I chat to online and those I have met before at Alex's events. A big shout out to Alex for running the great event and to Luke (Darksun Life), Rob (30Kplus40K), Dave (40k addict) and Nathaniel (objective secured) who I got to chat with over the weekend- a great bunch of guys and a lot of fun to spend a day of 40k with.

 

Based on community feedback, I decided to take my Orks to the event. I would never normally dream of taking my Orks to a tournament, but I think Double Trouble would be the most forgiving for my greenskins. Given that about half the armies going were Marines, I was confident in outnumbering most opponents, maybe even having the largest army in the tournament (there was actually a Tyranids player with 74 models, just beating my Orks at 72!).

 

I started the first game of the day on table 4, with the mission using Dawn of War deployment. My partner for the first game was Tess and his Eldar. I actually played Tess in my second game at Blog Wars X, so it was nice to be on the same side with a great guy and great player. Our opponents for the first game were Dan and his Daemons and Ian with his Raven Guard Space Marines.

 

My army consisted of (green on the maps):

Warboss- Eavy Armour, Power Claw, Shoota, Bosspole, Stikkbombs (with B1)

Painboy- Urty Syringe, Dok's Tools (with B1)

 25 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, inc. Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole (B1)

11 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, inc. Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole (B2)

Trukk- Big Shoota (T)

Runtherd and 15 Gretchin (G1)

Runtherd and 11 Gretchin (G2)

3 Warbikers (WB)

Warbuggy- TL Rokkit (W)

Warbuggy- TL Rokkit (W)

 Looted Wagon- Killcannon, Ard Case, Big Shoota (LW)

My warlord trait gave me Strategic Genius (+1 to Seize and re-rolls on reserves).

Angels of Death Codex Review- Part 6: Raven Guard Formations

Welcome to Part 6 of my Angels of Death codex review. This part will look at the formations for the Raven Guard (that can also be used by other Space Marine chapters) that were first introduced in the Kauyon supplement.

Pinion Battle Demi-Company
This formation consists of:
1 Captain/Chaplain (no Terminator armour, but can be replaced by a special character Captain/Chaplain)
0-1 Command Squad
3 Units of Tactical Squad
1 Assault Squad
1 Devastator Squad
1-5 Scout or Scout Bike Squads

The command benefits for this formation are:
Scout Support- Each Scout sergeant (or veteran sergeant) can spot for a unit in the formation if in range of the enemy unit. The unit from the formation gains Ignores Cover. This is a nice bonus for the formation, but will force your Scout units to get in close to the enemy in order to do the spotting, so makes them more vulnerable to charges. This will be very useful for a tooled up Command Squad or Devastator Squad or for Tactical Squads targeting light infantry in cover. This might be more useful for Scout Bikers, enabling them to close with the enemy quickly and for added durability if they are charged.

EDIT- As Nick pointed out below, I misread the rules for Scout Support. The Scouts have to be within 9" of YOUR unit, not the enemy unit. This obviously makes a big difference to the durability issue as you will probably not need to close quickly with the enemy, but will need to stay close to your own forces. Also, check out Nick's Review of the Raven Guard formations (from someone who can actually read the rules before they review them!).

Wayfinders- Each Scout or Scout bike unit can "lead" another unit on from reserve. You only make one roll for reserves, but the led unit can outflank along with the Scouts and gets Stealth if within 9" of the Scouts. This can be a great way for getting in on the White Scars' outflanking fun with your Raven Guard and ensure that your reserves arrive in force. This would be useful for units embarked in a transport or on bikes for added mobility in the enemy deployment zone, as well as giving your led units a 3+ Jink or 4+ smoke launcher save the turn they arrive.

A decent battle company formation for the Raven Guard (or other chapters), though you will want to take a lot of Scouts or Scout Bikers in order to maximise the benefits of the formation, potentially making this a very expensive force. If only this formation gave you Objective Secured as well, it would be extremely powerful.

Angels of Death Codex Review- Part 5: Raven Guard Rules

This part of my Angels of Death Codex review features the rules and formations for the Raven Guard. These were first released with the Warzone Kauyon book and have now been grouped together with the rules for the White Scars and the rules for the other Space Marine Chapters.

The masters of Stealth and planning get some nice rules to help bring their unique flavour to the battlefield. I plan to use this post to cover the rules and Relics and take a look at the new formations and detachments in another post.

CHAPTER TACTICS
The chapter tactics for the Raven Guard are Strike From the Shadows and Winged Deliverance.

Strike From the Shadows gives all Raven Guard models that are not vehicles or embarked in vehicles with shrouded until the start of turn 2. In addition, you may add +1 to the roll for Night Fighting (so will get it on a 3+). This is a really nice bonus for an army. If you can get Night Fighting (a decent bet with a 1 in 3 chance), your infantry units will get a 4+ cover save in the open and could easily get a 2+ cover save in cover for the first turn, plus jinking bikers will get a 2+ cover save. This should greatly increase the durability of your army against all but Ignores Cover weapons.

Winged Deliverance provides a nice boost for your Raven Guard jump infantry. This rule allows them to use their jump packs in both the movement and assault phases (essentially getting fleet in the assault phase) and even allowing them to re-roll failed Hammer of Wrath wounds. This should provide a great bonus for any jump infantry, helping to ensure that they get into combat and helping with more of their automatic hits to wound.

I really like the Chapter Tactics for the Raven Guard. I don't think they are as good as the White Scars, but they certainly provide a great bonus for your army during the first turn of the game. The bonuses to assault marines (and Vanguard veterans) are useful, but assault marines are not seen as a competitive choice for many players.