Battle Report 45- 2500 pts Orks vs Astra Militarum

A couple of weeks ago, my Astra Militarum took on Seb's Orks in the maelstrom mission, Spoils of War. This week's battle report is a switch around, as my Orks take on Adam's Astra Militarum at Spoils of War. We were playing the game at my house, so decided to up the points level to 2500 as we had no time restrictions on the game. We would both be using race specific maelstrom decks, me with the Ork deck and Adam with the new Cadian deck.

My army consisted of two Combined Arms Detachments, featuring:
 

Warboss- Power Claw, Eavy Armour, Shoota, Bosspole, Da Lucky Stikk (with SB2)

Weirdboy- Level 2 psyker (with SB1)

Big Mek- Eavy Armour, Kustom Force Field (with SB1)

Painboy (with SB2)

30 Boyz- Nob with power claw and bosspole, sluggas, choppas (SB1)

30 Boyz- Nob with Uge Choppa and bosspole, Shootas, 3 Big Shootas (Sh)

18 Boyz- Nob with power claw and bosspole, sluggas, choppas, Eavy Armour (SB2)

30 Gretchin- 3 Runtherds, squighound (G)

12 Tankbustas (T)

Trukk- Armour plates (Tr2)

5 Meganobz- TL shootas (M)

Trukk- Armour plates (Tr1)

16 Stormboyz- Nob with power claw and bosspole (St)

Wartrakk- Scorcha (W1)

Wartrakk- Scorcha (W2)

6 Warbikers (WB)

3 Bubblechukkas- 6 extra crew, Mek (BC)

Deff Dread- 3 Power claws, Scorcha (DD)

3 Killa Kans- Grotzookas (KK)

Battlewagon- Armour plates, 3 Big Shootas (B)

I decided to split my army in two. One part would feature large mobs with the supports of a Dread and Kans to move towards the main force of the guard army, the other featured faster moving elements to swamp the enemy army at speed and take out the biggest threats first. The faster units would also help with the maelstrom objectives that came up.

I started the force with the HQ units; Warboss with power claw, Big Mek with Kustom Force Field, Weirdboy and Painboy. One of each of the big hitters should provide some variety in the army. I then took two large mobs of boyz, one of slugga boyz and one of shoota boyz and a large mob of gretchin. For some firepower, I took three Bubblechukkas. This artillery uses a large blast and variable strength and AP and should be able to damage the guard lines no matter how poorly I roll. The Tankbustas were there to hopefully take care of any of Adam's tanks, while the meganobz should hopefully draw a fair amount of firepower.

My warlord trait was Prophet of the Waaagh, while the Weirdboy got Eadbanger, Warpath and Frazzle.

Adam's army consisted of:
Company Command Squad- Tactical Auto-Reliquery of Tyberius, Wrath of Cadia, Astropath, Master of Ordnance, Officer of the Fleet, Heavy Flamer (CC)
Tank Commander Pask- Punisher tank with heavy bolter sponsons (PP). Vanquisher battle tank with lascannon and plasma cannon sponsons (RV).

Platoon Command Squad (PC)
Infantry Squad 1A- Autocannon, Commissar, Flamer, Vox (S1A)
Infantry Squad 1B- Autocannon, grenade launcher, vox (S1B)
Chimera- Multilaser, heavy bolter, Dozer Blade (C1)
Infantry Squad 1C- Autocannon, grenade launcher, vox (S1C)
Infantry Squad 1D- Autocannon, flamer, vox (S1D)
Infantry Squad 1E- Missile launcher, grenade launcher, vox (S1E)
Special Weapons Team- 3 Sniper rifles, Commissar (SW)

10 Veterans- Grenadiers, 3 Meltaguns (V1)
Chimera- Multilaser, heavy bolter, Dozer Blade (C2)

6 Bullgryns- Inc. Bonehead, Grenadier Gauntlets, Slabshields, Commissar (B)
Vulture Gunship- TL Punisher Cannon, Heavy Bolter (V2)
Wyvern (W1)
Wyvern (W2)
Aegis Defence line
Vengeance Weapon Battery- Battle Cannon (BCV) and Punisher Gatling Cannon (PV)

MILITARUM TEMPESTUS ALLIES
Tempestus Command- Medipack, 3 Meltaguns (SC)
Taurox Prime- TL Taurox Gatling Cannon, Pintel-mounted storm bolter, TL Hot-Shot Volley Gun (T)
6 Scions- 2 Hot-Shot Volley Guns, Vox (S)

His warlord trait gave him Dead Eye Shot (+2 BS for commander and +1 BS for unit). The Primaris Psyker got Prescience, Perfect Timing and Forewarning. The Astropath got Shrouding and Psychic Shriek.

A tough army. Lots of firepower with all those Punisher gatling cannons and a good bit of mobility with the Chimeras and Taurox. Not that it would matter too much, as I was probably going to have to go to him for the game.

Adam won the roll off for placing the objectives, the deployment zone and for deploying first. Hopefully, this was not the way the whole game was going to go.

Terrain and placement of objectives.

Adam set up his Aegis line running across the front of his deployment zone. The two weapons batteries went in the middle, the Platoon Command and Company Command deployed behind each one. The Infantry squads went in front, with a Wyvern on either side. The Bullgryns deployed to the left with the Taurox and Scions. Pask and the Vanquisher went to the right, with the Chimeras deployed behind the bunker to the right and the special weapons team in front of them.

I decided to focus faster elements on my right flank- the battlewagons, trukks, bikers and stormboyz ready to move forward. This would hopefully keep them out of range of many of the bigger guns of the Guard army and the Chimera units. The other Ork mobs deployed in the centre and to the left, with the Dread and Kans in front under the protection of the Big Mek. My plan was to advance with the right flank as quickly as possible to harass the enemy units, while advancing with the mobs to take on the infantry units.

Deployment.

I failed to seize the initiative and failed the roll for night fighting, Adam taking the first turn.

TURN 1- ASTRA MILITARUM
In his first turn, Adam drew Blood and Guts (destroy a unit in assault phase), Overwhelming Numbers (control more objectives than your opponent) and Hold your Ground (have at least half your units in your deployment zone).

On the right flank, the Special weapons team climbed up into the bunker, hoping to train their sniper rifles on some choice targets in the greenskin ranks. The bulk of the Guard army in the centre stood firm, with only Pask advancing his unit to get his guns in range. On the left, the Taurox and Scions advanced and Infantry Squad 1C advanced into the cover of the ruins.

The Astropath attempted to summon the energies of the warp to Shroud the Company Command, but his attempt was blocked by the psychic energies of the Orks.

Pask ordered his unit to split fire, the tank Commander targeting the Killa Kans in front of the Ork lines. The Punisher cannon rang out, causing 3 hull points damage and destroying one of the walkers. The heavy bolters accounted for another 2 hull points, destroying a second Kan and leaving one on one hull point.
Infantry Squad 1E opened fire on the last Kan, its Krak Missile flying at the ramshackle walker but veering at the last minute to miss its target.

The Vanquisher fired at the Deff Dread, hoping to further reduce the menace of the Ork walkers. The Vanquisher cannon hit, but failed to roll high enough to penetrate. The Lascannon of the tank penetrated and shook the vehicle.

Infantry Squads 1A and 1D opened fire on the Dread with their Autocannons, but failed to damage the Ork vehicle.

The Battle cannon vengeance battery opened fire on the slugga boyz led by the Big Mek. The powerful shot struck true, wounding the Orks 7 times. The Mek's force field managed to save three of the shots and only 4 of the Greenskins succumbed.

Both Wyverns opened fire on the grots sheltering nearby. The ground shook with the impact of the massive missile batteries that assaulted them. When the smoke cleared, 23 grots and one of the Runtherds had perished. Amazingly, the weedy grots held their nerve and passed their morale check.

On the right flank, the front Chimera and snipers opened fire on the shoota boyz, but failed to cause any damage. On the left flank, the Taurox fired its gatling cannon at the trukk holding the Meganobz, but failed to damage it. The Autocannon from Squad 1C fired at the trukk, but failed to damage it also.

At the end of the turn, Adam scored Hold Your Ground and Overwhelming Number and discarded Blood and Guts.

Not a terrible first turn for me, the Grots and Kans had been hit hard, but most other things were relatively unscathed.

TURN 1- ORKS
This turn, I drew No Prisoners (destroy an enemy unit), Overwhelming Firepower (destroy an enemy unit in the shooting phase) and Domination (control all the objectives).

With a mighty bellow, the Greenskin hordes surged forward, the Shoota Boyz, Slugga Boyz and Deff Dread moving and running to get closer to the enemy army. On the left flank, the trukks, bikers and Stormboyz moved forward as well. The Battlewagon advanced slowly, the Warboss ordering the Boyz to spill out and go for the nearest enemy vehicle.

In the shooting phase, the Bubblechukkas targeted the Guard main lines. The artillery struck true with its strength 6 shells, hitting 21 guardsmen and wounding 14 (I managed to fail 7 of the 21 2+ rolls). The squad went to ground behind the Aegis line and not a single guardsman fell.

The Tankbustas fired at the Scions in front of them, killing one of the squad. The Meganobs' trukk turboboosted right to the front of the enemy lines, while the stormboyz used their bonus pack move to support their advance. This must have been a bad batch of rokkit packs as 4 of the 16 Orks died to their difficult terrain rolls.

The Battlewagon, Warbikers and the Tankbustas' trukk targeted Infantry squad 1C in the ruins and killed 7 of the squad.

In the assault phase, the Warboss led the slugga boyz in an assault against the Taurox, easily wrecking the Guard vehicle and pinning the Tempestus Command as they disembarked.

At the end of my first turn, I scored First Blood and No Prisoners and discarded Domination.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 2
Orks- 2

TURN 2- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Adam drew Witchhunter (kill a psyker), Assassinate (kill a character) and Objective 6.

The Officer of the Fleet failed to communicate his orders clearly on the raging battlefield and the vulture failed to arrive (despite needing a 2+). Pask retreated his unit from the advancing greenskins to hold the line with his men.

The Primaris psyker cast prescience on the Platoon Command manning the Punisher battery. The Astropath cast Forewarning on the Command Squad, then his powers waned as he attempted to Shroud his squad from the firepower of the Ork army.

Pask ordered his unit to split fire once again. The guns of the Punisher tank barked out on the enemy lines, when they had quietened, 7 of the slugga boyz advancing on the Command tank were slain (some great force field rolls from me stopped the devastation being much higher). The Vanquisher fired at the Deff Dread, penetrating the enemy walker and stunning it.

Infantry squad 1A opened fire on the Deff Dread, the squad's Autocannon glancing the Ork vehicle, but once again, the Mek's force field saved the loss of its last hull point.

On the right flank, the Chimera opened fire on the Shoota Boyz, killing three of the squad. The snipers opened fire too, but failed to kill any of the Orks advancing on them.

The two Wyverns opened fire on the Warboss' unit of slugga boyz. The artillery tanks' missiles hit true, causing 14 wounds on the Ork unit. A combination of eavy armour saves and the work of the Painboy meant that only 7 orks succumbed to the barrage. The Battle cannon vengeance battery attempted to add to the carnage, but it shot scattered wide and missed the mob. The unit passed their morale check and kept fighting.

Infantry Squad 1E loosed a krak missile at the Meganobs' trukk, but were unable to hit the bouncing vehicle. The Squad's flamer had more success and was able to glance the Ork trukk. The Scions fired their meltaguns at the trukk, penetrating it once. The ramshackle nature of the Ork vehicle was its saviour as the penetrating hit was downgraded to a glancing hit. The Bullgryns fired their grenades at the trukk, hoping to finish it off. They were unable to harm the vehicle and killed one guardsmen from infantry squad 1C with their friendly fire.

The Company Command squad ordered Infantry Squad 1D back into the fight. They targeted the Stormboyz in front of them, killing two of the squad. The Punisher vengeance battery was trained on the rest of the squad, easily shredding the mob and annihilating them.

At the end of the turn, Adam scored no points and discarded Witchhunter (in writing this up, I realised that Adam should have scored Assassinate as the Nob in the Stormboyz mob was slain this turn, but we missed that as we were playing).

TURN 2- ORKS
This turn, I drew Overwhelming Firepower (destroy an enemy unit in the shooting phase), Harness the Warp (manifest a psychic power) and Objective 1.

The Meganobz clamoured out of their Trukk to engage the Guard lines, backed up by the advancing Warbikers. The Warboss led his squad against the Scion Command. The Slugga Boyz and Shoota boyz on the left contined their advance on the enemy tanks. Both Wartrakks arrived, one moving in from each flank to engage the guard lines.

In the psychic phase, the Weirdboy cast warpath on the slugga boyz to bolster their attacks in readiness for the assault. He then cast Frazzle on Infantry Squad 1D. The guardsmen went to ground, but one still died to the psychic attack. Finally, he managed to cast Eadbanger on Infantry Squad 1A, but failed to hit them.

The Warboss saw his boyz readying for the attack and bellowed in glee, the sound being heard across the whole battlefield and signalling the Waaagh. At the sound, the Shoota boyz and slugga boyz on the left flank surged ahead, eager to get into range of their foes.

The Bubblechukkas opened fire on the Guard lines, killing one member of Infantry Squad 1E. The Tankbustas opened fire at the Wyvern, the destruction of the enemy vehicle causing whoops of joy from the greenskins.

The Wartrakk on the left targeted the Special Weapons squad. Its Scorcha belched liquid flame at the squad, slaying the Commissar and 4 of the squad. The survivors broke, falling back 7" away from the Orks. The other Wartrakk fired at the Scions, wiping the squad out and killing two of the Guardsmen from Squad 1E.

The Tankbustas trukk and the battlewagon targeted the survivors of Squad 1C, their big shootas wiping out the rest of the squad. The Warbikers fired on the Bullgryns, but failed to wound them.

The Orks then began their assaults against the Guardsmen. The Warboss led his unit in a charge on the Scion Command. The Meganobz split their charge between Infantry Squad 1E and the Bullgryns. The Warbikers charged the Bullgryns to support the Meganobz. The excitement of combat was too much for half the squad and they crashed their bikes on the way (I managed to fail 3 of my 6 difficult terrain tests and half the squad died).
The Slugga boyz assaulted Pask's unit and Infantry Squad 1A, while the Shoota Boyz managed to assault the front Chimera.

The Scion command struck at the Orks as they assaulted, killing two of the squad. The slugga boyz attacked with great ferocity, causing nineteen wounds on the Scions. My jaw dropped as Adam failed only two of the nineteen 4+ saves. Fortunately, the Nob with the power claw was able to wipe out the unit and the mob consolidated towards the rest of the Guard army.

The Slugga Boyz consolidate towards the main guard lines.

Infantry Squad 1E struck at the Meganobs, wounding them once but failing to get past the tough armour of the Orks. The Warbikers struck at the Bullgryns but failed to cause any wounds. The Bullgryns struck back, killing two of the bikers. The Meganobz attacked, wounding the Bullgryns three times and killing 4 of the Infantry squad. I won the combat. The infantry squad failed their morale check, the squad's Commissar executing the sergeant to keep the squad in check. The Bullgryns passed their morale check, they were simply having too much fun fighting the Orks.

Infantry Squd 1A struck at the Orks, killing one of the squad. The greenskins struck back with great ferocity, wiping the unit out. The Nob struck at Pask's tank, hitting twice and glancing the vehicle twice.

The Shoota Boyz attacked the Chimera, glancing it to death. The Veterans spilled out of the wreck and were pinned.

At the end of my turn, I scored one point for overwhelming firepower, one point for harness the warp (I managed to roll a one for both D3 rolls) and got objective 1.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 2
Orks- 5

TURN 3- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Adam drew objective 3 and objective 6 and had assassinate from last turn.

The Vulture gunship arrived, moving on to engage the Shoota boyz thanks to its vector dancer rule. Pask and the Vanquisher retreated from the slugga boyz, moving towards the right flank. Infantry Squad 1B disembarked from their Chimera, moving to engage the Orks.

The Primaris psyker cast Prescience on the Platoon Command. The Astropath tried to cast Shrouding and Forewarning on the Company Command, but failed to manifest the powers.

The Company Command squad ordered Infantry Squad 1D back into the fight. The squad trained their guns on the Big Mek's unit, slaying 4 of the boyz. Pask then opened fire on the slugga boyz, both tanks killing 8 Orks, the Weirdboy and wounding the Nob. The surviving Wyvern opened fire at the unit, killing another 3 Orks, including the Nob. The Platoon Command then turned their attention on the unit with the Punisher battery. Thanks to Prescience, they scored an impressive 15 wounds and wiped the unit out.

The Big Mek's squad are obliterated.

The newly arrived Vulture gunship targeted the shoota boyz, killing 7 of the squad. The damage would have been more severe, but some decent cover saves saw me escape some of the wrath of the flyer. The Chimera and Veterans fired at the unit, killing another 3. The shoota boyz had taken a big hit, but passed their morale check (I forgot that they should have been Fearless thanks to my Warlord trait).

The Infantry Squad that piled out of the Chimera targeted the Wartrakk, but failed to damage the Ork vehicle. Finally, the Battle Cannon Battery targeted the Warboss' unit, hitting the unit and the nearby Wartrakk. Some good cover saves saw only one boy die and the wartrakk survive unharmed.

In the assault phase, the Commissars and Infantry squad struck at the Meganobz, but failed to cause any damage. The Bullgryns attacked the Meganobz, wounding them 7 times. My confidence in my 2+ armour save was short lived, as I managed to roll four 1's and two of the Meganobz died. The Orks struck back, wiping out the Infantry squad, the Commissars and one of the Ogryns. I won the combat, but the Bullgryns managed to pass their morale check on a 5 and stayed in the fight.

At the end of the turn, Adam scored 2 points for Assassinate.

TURN 3- ORKS
This turn, I drew Objective 4, Blood and Guts (kill a unit in the assault phase) and Grab da Loot (score a random objective at the end of the turn).

On the Ork left flank, the shoota boyz scrambled up the side of the bunker to grab objective 4. The Killa Kan continued to advance on the Guard infantry, while the Deff Dread moved to grab objective 6.

On the right flank, the Meganobs' trukk moved to claim objective 3, while the Tankbustas moved up to engage the enemy tanks. The Warboss moved his unit to go after the Bullgryns, glad that there was a fight finally worthy of his attention, but annoyed that it had taken the Meganobz so long to deal with them.

In the shooting phase, the Deff Dread ran through the cover of the forest to grab the objective. The Scorcha on the left fired at the Infantry Squad, killing 8 and leaving only the Autocannon team behind. The shoota boyz fired at the Veterans, killing 4 from their superior firing position. The other Wartrakk fired at Infantry Squad 1D, killing 7 of them.

The Tankbustas targeted the second Wyvern. Some fantastic rolling saw 8 of the 12 boyz hit their target and all 8 penetrated the enemy tank. Some equally impressive cover saves from Adam saw only two of the penetrating hits make it through to the tank. The trukks big shoota fired at the wyvern and was able to remove the last hull point (there was obviously a reason the gunner was chosen for the tankbustas' transport).

The Bubblechukkas fired at Infantry squad 1D, but failed to harm them thanks to the cover of the Aegis line. The squad passed their morale check and held firm.

In the assault phase, the Warboss led his unit in a charge on the Bullgryns. The Bullgryns struck, killing two of the slugga boyz assaulting them. The boyz attacked back, wounding one Bullgryn twice. The Warboss had had enough and stepped forward to slay the rest of the unit easily with his S10 attacks.

The Killa Kan assaulted the remnants of the infantry squad, but failed to do any damage, remaining locked in combat with the unit.

At the end of my turn, I scored Blood and Guts, Objective 4 and Grab da Loot (objective 5). I also scored Adam's Objective 3 and Objective 6.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 4
Orks- 10

TURN 4- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Adam drew Objective 1, Objective 3 and Fix Bayonets (make a successful charge).

The Vulture continued to harass the shoota boyz, using its high manoeuvrability to swing round for another attack. The lone guardsmen on the right flank fled from the board, while the surviving Veterans moved to engage the Wartrakk. In the centre, Pask moved to target the Meganobz.

In the psychic phase, the Primaris attempted to use Force on his weapon, but I was able to block it. He then cast Forewarning on the platoon command, successfully manifesting the power, but taking a wound when he periled on the casting. He then cast Prescience on the Platoon Command manning the Punisher battery.

In the shooting phase, Pask ordered his unit to split fire, his Punisher targeting the Meganobz. The Punisher cannon fired, wounding the Nobz 8 times and I failed one save (the three Rending wounds were fortunately saved by the intervening cover).

The Vanquisher fired at the Tankbustas' trukk, the Tank's Lascannon penetrating the flimsy vehicle and causing it to explode. Five of the squad died in the explosion. Seeing the mob falter, the Punisher battery opened fire, easily slaying the rest of the squad in a hail of bullets.

The Tankbustas' trukk is blown up.

The Company Command targeted the Warboss' unit, killing three of the Orks in the mob.

On the right flank, the Vulture fired on the Shoota boyz, its Punisher cannon killing 13 of the orks. The Chimera fired at the mob, killing another one of the boyz. The squad failed their morale check, but the Nob managed to keep the squad in check with some liberal head bashing.
The Autocannon team opened fire on the Wartrakk, but failed to damage it. The Veterans were able to use their meltaguns to wreck the vehicle, ending the carnage it was causing.

In the assault phase, the Killa Kan slew two of the Guardsmen. This was too much and the lone survivor broke, easily outrunning the rampaging Kan.

At the end of the turn, Adam scored no points and discarded Fix Bayonets.

TURN 4- ORKS
This turn, I drew More Speed, Go Fasta (turbo-boost a unit), Assassinate (kill a character) and Ascendency (score 3 objectives).

The Meganobz and Warboss' unit moved to engage the Weapons battery, while the lone biker moved to turoboost (he just likes speed). The Battlewagon moved up to fire on the Guard and secure Linebreaker. The Killa Kan moved to the left flank to target Pask's unit.

In the shooting phase, the Wartrakk targeted the Company Command, killing the Primaris psyker. The Battlewagon followed up the attack, killing another 2 of the squad. The Meganobz fired on the Platoon Command, killing 2 of the unit with their twin-linked shootas. The lone survivor broke, fleeing the battlefield.

The Warboss led his unit in an assault on the Vengeance Battery, his power claw attacks proving sufficient to detonate the building and reduce it to rubble.

The Killa Kan assaulted Pask, hitting the tank twice, but failing to remove its last hull point.

At the end of my turn, I scored Ascendency, Assassinate and More Speed, Go Fasta. I also scored Adam's Objective 1 and Objective 3.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 4
Orks- 15

TURN 5- ASTRA MILITARUM
Adam drew Objective 1, Overwhelming Firepower (destroy a unit in the shooting phase) and Storm of Fire (destroy a unit in the shooting phase).

The Command Squad abandoned the destroyed Battle Cannon Battery and moved to the Punisher Battery. The Vulture Gunship moved around to engage the main Ork lines. The Astropath channelled his powers to cast Shrouded on the Company Command.

In the shooting phase, the Command Squad targeted the Meganobz, their Heavy Flamer struck two of the Meganobz. When I rolled my saves, the dice came up snake eyes and I lost another Meganob. Pask then fired his Punisher cannon at the unit. The cannon wounded they Meganobz seven times. I rolled my saves and somehow managed to fail 4 of them and the unit was wiped out!

I know I am bad with armour saves, but that must be a record even for me. Out of nine 2+ armour saves this turn, I managed to fail 6 of them!

The vulture fired at the Warboss and his unit, wounding them 11 times with the Punisher cannon. I went to ground behind the Aegis line for the 2+ cover save. In a shocking turn of events to absolutely no-one this turn, I managed to fail 7 of the eleven 2+ cover saves. Fortunately, the Lucky Stikk allowed me to re-roll some of the saves, so I only lost 2 boyz and 2 wounds on the warboss.

The Chimera fired at the Shoota boyz, wounding them twice, but the cover of the bunker saved them from harm.

At the end of his turn, Adam scored Overwhelming Firepower and Storm of Fire.

TURN 5- ORKS
This turn, I drew Scour the Skies (kill a flyer), Witchhunter (kill a psyker) and Kingslayer (kill the enemy warlord).

The Killa Kan advanced on Pask's unit once again, while the Warbuggy and Biker moved to engage the Company Command.

The Wartrakk fired its Scorcha at the Company Command squad, killing two and putting two wounds on the Commander. The Warbiker fired at the unit, killing the Commander, while the Battlewagon managed to kill the Master of Ordnance.

The shoota boyz fired at the Autocannon team from Squad 1B and finished them off.

In the assault phase, the Killa Kan assaulted Pask's Punisher and finally succeeded in glancing and destroying the tank.

At the end of my turn, I scored Kingslayer and Slay the Warlord and discarded Scour the Skies.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 6
Orks- 17

TURN 6- ASTRA MILITARUM
This turn, Adam drew Objective 1, Objective 2 and Objective 5.

The Vanquisher retreated from the Killa Kan, while the Vulture continued its assault on the Warboss. The lone Astropath moved to secure objective 1 and the veteran squad moved towards the centre of the battlefield.

The Vanquisher tank fired at the trukk in the centre of the field. The Lascannon hit, but the damage was saved by the cover of the trees. The vulture fired at the Warboss' unit, causing 15 wounds. Fortunately, the cover saves of the unit were more successful this turn and no boyz fell. The Punisher battery fired at the unit as well, killing an Ork. The Warboss decided he had enough and fell back towards his own lines.

The Chimera on the right fired at the shoota boyz, killing two of them. The unit passed their morale check and stayed put.

At the end of the turn, Adam scored a point for Objective 1.

TURN 6- ORKS
This turn, I drew Objective 3 and Objective 5 and had Witchhunter from last turn.

The Warboss and his unit rallied, moving to the safety of the trukk in the centre of the battlefield. The Scorcha and wartrakk moved after the lone astroptath, while the Killa Kan moved to engage the Veterans.

In the shooting phase, the Wartrakk fired its scorcha at the astropath, easily slaying the lone psyker. The Killa Kan fired at the Veterans, killing three of the squad. The Veterans broke, falling back off the table.

With that, the game was over. I scored all my objectives, as well as scoring Adam's Objective 5 and Linebreaker.

End of the Game.

Victory Points:
Astra Militarum- 7
Orks- 22

A decisive victory for the Orks.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
That's it, I give up on 2+ saves. Someone else is going to roll them for me now! As many regular readers will know, my rolling can be quite comical when it comes to saving throws, but even for me, turn 5 was unbelievable. Of the twenty 2+ saves that I had to make in Adam's 5th turn, I managed to fail 13 of them! I don't remember an instance where I rolled so many ones a single game.

Thanks to Adam for a great game, much closer than the score would suggest. I was really worried when I saw the number of Punisher cannons that I would be facing, as these do terrible things to an Ork army.

I think that overall my plan worked well. By concentrating my faster elements on one side, I was able to overwhelm the Guard defenders on that side, who simply did not have enough firepower to take out all the threats before I could get into combat. I was also fortunate enough to get a turn 1 charge with my Warboss' unit on the Taurox and a turn 2 charge with most of my units in the second turn thanks to the Waaagh.

Adam's first turn of shooting wasn't too bad for me, only the grots took a real beating. I don't know why he decided to focus on them over the shoota boyz or slugga boyz with the two Wyverns, but I was lucky that any of them survived the barrage. After the decimation of the first turn, they never really took part in the battle and hid at the back (like proper grots).

Even though he did not have a lot of bodies on the table, the Guard shooting was very powerful. When Adam focused fire on a unit, that unit was pretty much eliminated from the army. In the end though, my luck with the maelstrom cards and greater numbers proved key to victory.

I don't think I would change too much about my army selection. It was great taking all 4 HQ units and they generally performed very well. I might even start taking the Weirdboy in normal games as his powers proved quite useful.

The Tankbustas did really well in the game, thanks to some really good to hit rolls for their shooting. They were able to deal with both Wyverns quite quickly and stop them from devastating my army.

In theory, the Bubblechukkas should have been really good against the guardsmen. The three large blasts with an average strength of 3 or 4 should have been well equipped to deal with massed ranks of guardsmen. However, the defence of the Aegis line meant that they did very few casualties. It might have been worth swapping them for Kannons to give me a bit more anti-tank firepower or a traktor cannon to deal with the Vulture.

Yet another win for my Orks. Perhaps my displeasure with the recent codex has mellowed with time and I should bring them to the table more often. Saying that, the first time I come up against Marines, Eldar or Tau may remind me why I stopped playing them for a while in the first place.