Video Battle Report- Space Marines Primaris Army vs Sisters of Battle

Today I have a new video battle report. In this game, my Space Marine Primaris Army take on the new Sisters of Battle army. 

Battle Report 178- Genestealer Cults vs Sisters of Battle

This week's battle report sees my Genestealer Cults take to the field once more to take on Angus' Sisters of Battle and Astra Militarum force. This was a 1750 pts battle, as Angus wanted to practice for Vanquish, a tournament held in Bristol last weekend. 

We randomly rolled for each mission. For the Eternal War mission, we got Vital Intelligence. In this mission, there are 5 objectives. At the start of each battle round, roll a D6. The corresponding number is the active objective (on a 6, all objectives are active). At the end of each battle round, players scored a point for each objective held, getting 2 points for the active objective. In this game, I think we forgot about only having 5 objectives, so scored for objective 6 as well. We also varied the objective placement, different from the places specified in the scenario. 

The maelstrom mission was Disruptive Signals. In this mission, you draw up to four cards per turn. This mission features the Signal Intercept stratagem. For 1CP, you can select a card in your opponent's hand and they cannot score it for that turn. We were also using Dawn of War deployment. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion (Rusted Claw)

Patriarch- Monstrous Rending Claws, Warlord, The Crouchling, Shadow Stalker, Might From Beyond, Mental Onslaught, Mass Hypnosis

Primus- Alien Majesty

Magus- Familiar, Mass Hypnosis, Psionic Blast, Biomorph Adaptation

20 Acolyte Hybrids- 4 Heavy Rock Drills

10 Acolyte Hybrids- 2 Heavy Rock Cutters, 2 Heavy Rock Saws

10 Acolyte Hybrids- 4 Demolition Charges

Clamavus

Nexos

Battalion (Rusted Claw)

Primus

Magus- Mental Onslaught, Might From Beyond

10 Neophyte Hybrids- 2 Mining Lasers, Autoguns

10 Neophyte Hybrids- Heavy Stubber, Grenade Launcher

10 Neophyte Hybrids- Shotguns, 2 Flamers

Goliath Truck- Twin Autocannon, Heavy Stubber

Heavy Weapons Team- Mortars

Vanguard Detachment (Rusted Claw)

Jackal Alphus- Sniper Rifle

8 Genestealers

5 Aberrants- Power Hammers

Clamavus

Nexos

Sanctus- Sniper Rifle, A Gift From Beyond

For my Cult Creed, I tried Rusted Claw for the first time. This gives my infantry +1 save against AP0 and AP-1 weapons. This gives me a 4+ armour save against Bolters and against most infantry in combat. 

I decided to mix up the army now that I have the new characters to add to the army. I went with double Battalion and Vanguard detachment to give me 14 CP to start with. I took the Broodcoven stratagem to give my three characters warlord traits. The Patriarch took -1 to hit, the Primus took the +3" to aura abilities and the Magus took +1 strength and attacks. I also took an extra Relic, taking the sniper rifle relic on the Sanctus and the Crouchling on the Patriarch. 

The new characters were the two Clamavus, the Nexos, Jackal Alphus and Sanctus. These should hopefully provide some nice buffs and abilities to the army. I decided to take a big unit of Aberrants to take on any vehicle threats in the enemy army, along with trying out a big unit of Acolyte Hybrids. 

Battle Report 172- New Chapter Approved Deathwatch vs Sisters of Battle/Astra Militarum

This week's battle report features my Deathwatch taking on the new Sisters of Battle Beta Codex in one of the new Maelstrom missions from Chapter Approved. 

Chapter Approved 2018 saw many of the Deathwatch units get a reduction in points. I was keen to see how the army would perform with the addition of some new units to my force. The mission we were playing was Decapitation Strike, with Angus taking his Sisters of Battle to the field against my Deathwatch. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master- Guardian Spear, Castellan of the Black Vault warlord trait (D)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC1)

Kill Team 1- 9 Veterans with Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, Chainswords, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol. (FT1)

Kill Team 2- 10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Rifles (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with Meltagun, 3 Combi-Meltas, Storm Shield, Chainswords (KT3)

5 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield (B)

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment 

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, Bolt Pistol, The Tome of Ectoclades. (WC2)

Watch Captain- Combi-Melta, Xenophase Blade, Bolt Pistol (WC3)

Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with 2 Frag Cannons, 3 Shotguns, Storm Shield (KT4)

Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Power Fist and Storm Bolter (KT5)

Kill Team 6- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Storm Shield (KT6)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R1)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R2)

Venerable Dreadnought- Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher (VD)

Primaris Apothecary (A)

I decided to mix things up a bit with my Kill Teams, adding some mixed squads to the force. The first one was to add a Vanguard Veteran to my Storm Bolter Kill Team. I would lose some Storm Bolter shots, but the ability to fall back and shoot would be a big boost for the unit. 

I also added a Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher to one of my Missile Launcher Kill Teams. This would give me two extra missile shots, as well as make the unit immune to morale. 

With the points drops, I also decided to try out a Venerable Dreadnought to add more anti-tank firepower, as well as a unit of Bikers to see if the points reductions made them more worthwhile. 

I kept with my standard characters, but decided to change up the warlord trait for the Castellan of the Black Vault on the Watch Master. This would make his Guardian Spear 3 damage from shooting and D3+1 from combat. This should allow him to cause a lot of damage with his attacks. 

Video Battle Report 2- Orks vs Sisters of Battle/Inquisition

Today, I have my second video battle report. In this game, my Orks take on Angus' Sisters of Battle in a 2000 pts maelstrom of war mission. 

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on the last video, I've hopefully incorporated most of the suggestions to try and improve the video. Some of the changes are:

• Less shakycam!- I got a stand to support the camera, which has hopefully improved the standard of the video. This makes panning the table easier and should help prevent motion sickness from viewing the battle report. 
• More overview- I've tried to give more of the battlefield a view with wider shots and some panning shots during the game. 
• Longer maps- I've made the maps last a big longer on the screen to allow you to take in the details. These have also been made full screen to allow more of the details to be picked up. 
• Background music- I've added some background music throughout the turns to reduce some of the noise interference from moving the camera. Let me know if this is too loud or too quiet. 
• Army list- I've added a title screen for each army with a list of the units. This allows you to get an overview of the force before it is described for each army. 
• More tactical overview- The video is a bit longer than the last one. It is still under two hours, I was aiming for closer to an hour to be honest. However, this one features a lot more tactical analysis of the game, rather than just seeing every dice roll. Angus and I discuss any major tactical decisions or choices as they come up to go through our thought processes as the game progresses. We also have a 10 minute wrap up at the end of the game about the choices made during the game and how each side could have been improved. 

As always, I hope you enjoy the report. If you have any more feedback, please don't hesitate to comment below and help me improve as I do more reports.

Battle Report 149- Dark Angels vs Sisters of Battle

This week's 40k 8th edition battle report sees my Dark Angels take on Angus' Sisters of Battle once more in an ETC practice mission. This game was fought before the recent London GT.

The Eternal War mission was Big Guns Never Tire, while the maelstrom mission was Contact Lost (one card on turn 1, then one for each objective held in subsequent turns). We were using Vanguard Strike 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

Battle Report 146- Dark Angels vs Sister of Battle

This week's battle report sees my Dark Angels army take on Angus' Sisters of Battle in an ETC practice mission. 

The Eternal War mission was Resupply Drop. This was a slight modification of the normal mission, where four objectives are left at the end of the game. The maelstrom of war mission was Race to Victory. In this game, the first player to score 10 maelstrom cards stops the maelstrom mission. We were also using Search and Destroy deployment. 

My Dark Angels 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 Tactical Squad- Heavy Bolter, Bolters (TS1)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (S1)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols, Combat Knives (S3)

10 Hellbalsters- Plasma Incinerators (H)

Outrider Detachment

Sammael (S)

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

3 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Twin Bolters (RB1)

3 Ravenwing Bikers- Meltagun, Twin Bolters (RB2)

Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

Dark Talon- Rift Cannon, two Hurricane Bolters (DT)

8 Command Points (this was pre-FAQ).

Battle Report 140- 2000 pts White Scars vs Sisters of Battle

This week's battle report sees my White Scars take on Angus' Sisters of Battle in an ETC tournament mission. 

Angus was wanting to test his army list for the upcoming London GT, and I was happy to comply. After my last outing with the White Scars, I modified my list to make some changes for another upcoming tournament I would be attending in a few weeks.

The ETC mission would use an Eternal War and Maelstrom mission used at the same time. The Eternal War mission was No Mercy, so we would score kill points for each unit destroyed. The maelstrom mission was Spoils of War. This consisted of 3 maelstrom cards per turn. You could also score your opponent's "Secure Objective X" cards and could not discard these during the game. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Bike, Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal, Imperium's Sword Warlord Trait (C1)

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, Master-crafted Bolter (L1)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols, Combat Knives (S3)

5 Tactical Marines- Heavy Bolter (TS1)

10 Vanguard Veterans- 5 with Plasma Pistols and Chainswords, 5 with two Chainswords (VV)

10 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Bolters (SV)

Stormraven Gunship- Twin Assault Cannons, Twin Heavy Bolters, Two Stormstrike Missiles, two Hurricane Bolters (SG)

Outrider Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Combi-Melta (C2)

3 Bike Squad- Twin Bolters, 2 Meltaguns (B)

3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB1)

3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB2)

Spearhead Detachment

Lieutenant- Master-crafted Bolter, Chainsword (L2)

5 Devastators- 2 Missile Launchers, Lascannon (D1)

5 Devastators- 2 Heavy Bolters (D2)

Thunderfire Cannon (TC)

Techmarine Gunner- Flamer, Plasma Cutter, two Servo-arms (T)

As you can see, a bit of a change for the army. The tournament does not allow multiple detachments of the same type, so I went with three to give me 8 command points. Otherwise, I probably would have gone with two Battalions. 

The core of the army was very similar, with two Captains and three units of Scouts. I added two Devastator Squads and a Tactical Squad in order to help block off my deployment zone and block enemy deep strikers. The Thunderfire Cannon was also a key addition, as it was really useful to my list.

The Meltagun Bikers were then to provide me with some more anti-tank firepower. I also took a big unit of Sternguard Veterans, Vanguard Veterans and a Stormraven to give the army a bit more punch. Hopefully, the army would perform well. 

Fall of Cadia Review: Part 1- Celestine, the Living Saint

Hi everyone, welcome to the first part of my review of the new Gathering Storm, Fall of Cadia book. I rushed down to the local GW this morning to get my copy of the new book (as well as some other choice goodies), eager to read the new story and some of the new rules. 

First up, we have Saint Celestine of the Sisters of Battle. Celestine was originally feared lost with the recent release of Imperial Agents, but she is now back and stronger than ever. 

Celestine, the Living Saint

Celestine can be taken as a HQ choice in any Army of the Imperium. She costs 200 points, but is well worth the cost. Expect to see her in a lot of armies. 

Celestine comes essentially as a character consisting of 3 models. She is accompanied by two Geminae Superior, but they do not prevent her from joining another unit, the Geminae Superior simply join the unit as well. 

Celestine is insanely durable. She comes with Eternal Warrior (great as she is only toughness 3), 5 wounds, a 2+ armour save and 4+ invulnerable save. On her own, she would be pretty tough. Even though she is only T3 and easy to wound, she does get Eternal Warrior along with a very good armour save and decent invulnerable save. However, she comes with a number of special rules that significantly boost her durability. 

Hero for a Day: Game 6- White Scars/Blood Angels vs Chaos Space Marines/Sisters of Battle

Game 6 of Hero for a Day was another doubles game. This time, I was paired up with Rob (of 30Kplus40K fame) and his amazing Death Company Blood Angels army. We would be facing Jack with his Sisters of Battle and James with his Chaos Space Marines. 

This mission was "Ambush". Rob and I would need to deploy in the centre of the board, at least 12" from all four table sides. The Attackers (Jack and James) would then deploy second, within 12" of any board edge. For this game, victory points were awarded for each unit destroyed; HQ units were worth 3 pts. Elites, Fast Attack and Heavy Support units were worth 2 points each, Troops were worth 1 point each. The secondary objectives were Slay the Warlord and First Strike (like First Blood, but could be scored by both players, but only on turn 1). 

My army consisted of:

Khan- Moondrakkan (with B3)

5 Bikers- Meltabombs, 2 Grav Guns (B1)

5 Bikers- Meltabombs, 2 Grav Guns (B2)

5 Bikers- Meltabombs, 2 Meltaguns (B2)

6 Scout Bikers- Meltabombs, 2 Grenade Launchers (SB)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Meltabombs (S)

Landspeeder Storm (LS)

Khan is my warlord and gave me Scout.

Hero for a Day: Game 4- White Scars vs Sisters of Battle

Game 4 of Hero for a Day was an 1850 pts single game featuring my White Scars taking on Jack's Sisters of Battle. I had last played Jack in the Kill Team game in mission 2, so was keep to see how I would fare against the full army. 

The mission was "Outflank". Players deployed in table quarters with three objectives on the table; one in the centre and one in the centre of each unoccupied table quarter. In this mission, only fast attack units could be deployed at the start of the game. Any vehicles could arrive on turn 1 on a roll of a 4+. Secondary objectives were First Strike (like first blood, but could be scored by both players on turn 1), Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord. 

My army consisted of:

Scarblade Strike Force

Stormlance Battle Demi-Company

Khan- Moondrakkan (with BS1)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Flamer, Meltabombs (T1)

Rhino (R1)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Grav gun, Meltabombs (T2)

Rhino (R2)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Meltagun, Meltabombs (T3)

Rhino (R3)

5 Devastators- 4 Grav Cannons, Combi-grav (D)

Razorback- TL Assault Cannon (Rz)

Attack Bike- Multi-melta (AB1)

Hunting Force

Chaplain- Bike, The Hunter's Eye, Meltabombs (with BS2)

6 Bikers- 2 Grav guns, Power Axe, Meltabombs (BS1)

6 Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Meltabombs (BS2)

6 Scout Bikers- Meltabombs, 2 Grenade Launchers (SB)

Attack Bike- Multi-melta (AB2)

Stormbringer Squadron

Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L)

5 Scouts- Meltabombs, Combat weapons, Bolt pistols (S1)

Landspeeder Storm (LS1)

5 Scouts- Meltabombs, Bolters (S2)

Landspeeder Storm (LS2)

Khan was my warlord. I was lucky in this mission as the majority of my army was fast attack choices, the rest were vehicles that could potentially arrive on turn 1.

Hero for a Day: Game 2- White Scars vs Sisters of Battle

The second game of Hero for a Day was a Kill Team mission.

The Kill team set up was 200 pts to spend on your force. No 2+ armour saves, no flyers and certain vehicles were disallowed. The mission was Covert Strike. You scored a point for each enemy model you killed that was within 6" of the table centre and one point for each of your models within 6" of the board centre at the end of the game. Three of your kill team were specialists and could be given certain special rules.

My White Scars would be taking on Jack and his Sisters of Battle kill team.

My kill team consisted of:
Biker- Power Sword, Rage (B1)
Biker (B2)
Biker (B3)
Scout Biker- Grenade Launcher (SB1)
Scout Biker- Grenade Launcher (SB2)
Scout Biker (SB3)
Scout- Bolter (S3)
Scout- Bolter (S4)
Scout- Combat weapon and bolt pistol, Fleshbane (S1)
Scout- Combat weapon and bolt pistol (S2)
Scout- Camo Cloak, Sniper Rifle, Shred (SS)

I decided to go for my numbers with my Kill Team. Bikers and Scout Bikers would be great, giving mobility and toughness for the force. I also took 5 Scouts with a variety of weapons, including a sniper rifle and camo cloak.