Battle Report 125- 2000 pts Ravenwing vs Crimson Fists

This week's battle report sees my Ravenwing take on Maurice's Crimson Fists in a 2000 pts maelstrom of war mission. 

My army consisted of:

Spearhead Detachment

Sammael- Corvex, Plasma Cannon, Twin Storm Bolter (S)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons, Corvus Hammers (BK1)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons, Corvus Hammers (BK2)

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

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

Spearhead Detachment

Librarian- Bike, Force Sword, Bike, Mind Worm, Aversion (L)

Ravenwing Ancient- Plasma Talon (A)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Plasma Guns, Chainswords (RB1)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Chainswords (RB2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Chainswords(RB3)

4 Ravenwing Bikers- Chainswords (RB4)

5 Command Points

Sammael was my warlord and took Tenacious Survivor. My Librarian took Aversion and Mind Worm. 

I changed up my Ravenwing army from its last outing. I got rid of the Apothecary for the Ravenwing Ancient to give me extra attacks in combat with my Characters and Black Knights. I also dropped the Landspeeder in favour of more Biker units. These would be useful for grabbing me the objectives in the maelstrom mission. 

Maurice's army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Pedro Kantor (P1)

Librarian- Force Stave, The Armour Indomitus, Veil of Time, Might of Heroes (L2)
Lieutenant- Primarch's Wrath, Power Fist (L1)

5 Scouts- Camo Cloaks, Sniper Rifles (S1)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Combi-plasma (S2)
5 Scouts- Bolters, Combi-plasma (S3)

5 Scouts- Bolters, Camo Cloaks, Missile Launcher (S4)
5 Scouts- Bolters, Missile Launcher (S5)

3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Astartes Shotguns (SB1)
3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Astartes Shotguns (SB2)

Predator- Twin Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Sponsons (P2)

5 Devastators- 4 Heavy Bolters, Armorium Cherub (D1)
5 Devastators- 4 Missile Launchers, Armorium Cherub (D2)
5 Vanguard Veterans- 5 Power Swords (VV)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (Rh)
Razorback- Twin Heavy Bolters (R)
Landspeeder Storm (LS1)
Landspeeder Storm (LS2)

His Warlord was Pedro Kantor, who took the Crimson Fists warlord trait. He also used a command point to take a second Relic.

The mission was Tactical Escalation using Search and Destroy deployment. In Tactical Escalation, you draw a number of cards up to the current battle round number. In addition, you get to chose one Tactical Objective type and score a bonus victory point if you score this type of objective and lose a point if you discard this type of objective. I chose the Take and Hold objectives (21-26) as I had the mobility to grab these. Maurice chose Annihilation (61-66), hoping to take out much of my forces and score bonus points.

We placed the objectives as shown below:

Maurice began deployment, the deployment order was:

1. Predator
2. Ravenwing Bikers 4
3. Sniper Scouts
4. Black Knights
5. Scouts (Missile Launcher)
6. Darkshroud
7. Scouts (Missile Launcher)
8. Black Knights
9. Devastators
10. Ravenwing Bikers 3
11. Devastators
12. Sammael
13. Landspeeder Storm
14. Ravenwing Ancient
15. Landspeeder Storm
16. Ravenwing Bikers 2
17. Scout Bikers
18. Ravenwing Librarian
19. Razorback
20. Ravenwing Bikers 1
21. Rhino
22. Dark Talon

I deployed most of my Bikers as far forward as possible, hoping to close with the enemy army quickly. I deployed the Dark Talon at the back of my deployment zone. 

Maurice deployed his units a little further back from his deployment edge, but was limited in how far back he could deploy and still shoot. The Predator, Razorback and Devastators went on his right flank. On the left flank he put the Rhino, Scout Bikers, Scouts and Landspeeder Storms. 

I won the roll off for first turn and chose to go first. 

TURN 1- RAVENWING

In my first turn, I drew Defend Objective 5. 

The bulk of the Ravenwing army moved up on the Crimson Fists line, moving down the centre of the battlefield. The Black Knights advanced to get into range of the enemy units. One unit of Ravenwing banked to the right to target the backfield Scout units, while the unit of four Bikers stayed back to secure an objective, while the Plasma Gun Bikers also stayed back.

In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Aversion on the Sniper Scouts. He then cast Smite, killing one of the Scouts in the Bastion.

The Black Knights fired on the Devastators, wounding three of the squad and killing three. The Darkshroud fired at the same unit, killing another two of the squad, wiping them out. The second unit of Black Knights fired on a second unit of Devastators, hitting 6 times, but only wounding them twice (despite wounding on a 3+) and killing one after Maurice made a 6+ save.

Sammael then fired at the same squad, killing one with his Plasma Cannon. The Librarian fired his Bolters at the Devastators, wounding them once, but failing to get past their armour.

The forward Ravenwing Bikers fired their Meltaguns at the Rhino. Both shots hit and wounded (after using a command point to get a second wound). The Meltaguns reduced the transport vehicle to slag (after I rolled the full 12 damage on the shot). Fortunately for the Crimson Fists, none of the squad inside were casualties of the destruction. The Bike Squad's Bolters fired on the Devastators, killing two and leaving one in the squad. 

The Plasma Gun Ravenwing Bikers fired on the Vanguard Veterans emerged from the destroyed Rhino, killing one with their Bolters. The Plasma Guns of the squad managed to kill another two of the Veterans.

On the right flank, the Bikers fired their Flamer at the Scouts in the Bastion, but failed to do any damage. The squad fired their Bolters at the squad, wounding them 8 times and killing two of the Scout Squad.

The Dark Talon fired at the Sniper Scouts. All of the Hurricane Bolter shots hit and managed a fantastic 19 wounds! Maurice's saves were equally fantastic as only a single Scout fell from failing his 2+ save! The Rift Cannon fired at the Predator, hitting and wounding once, but Marice's saves were still on fire and he made his 6+ armour save.

The Meltagun Bikers charged the Vanguard Veterans. The Veterans overcharged their combi-Plasma guns in overwatch and managed to slay one of the Bikers. The Ravenwing Sergeant struck with his Power Fist, killing the last two Vanguard Veterans. The squad of Bikers consolidated into the Librarian and Apothecary.

The Librarian struck at the Bikers, wounding them 3 times, but I made all my saves. The Apothecary managed another two wounds on the Bikers, but both were saved once more.

At the end of my turn, I scored First Blood and discarded Defend Objective 5.

TURN 1- CRIMSON FISTS
In his first turn, Maurice drew Defend Objective 3.

The Apothecary fell back from combat. The Lieutenant and Pedro Kantor moved up on the Bikers. The Sternguard disembarked from the Razorback, moving up on the Black Knights. On the left flank, the Scout Bikers moved up on the Ravenwing Bikers. The Apothecary tried to revive one of the Devastators, but the Space Marine was too far gone and the Apothecary was forced to recover his geneseed.

The Librarian cast Smite, causing one mortal wound on the Bikers he was engaged in combat with. He then attempted to cast Might of Heroes on Kantor, but failed in the attempt.

The Razorback opened fire on the Black Knights with its Heavy Bolters, wounding them three times. I failed all three saves and one Knight perished.

The Sniper Scouts fired at the Plasma Gun Bikers in my deployment zone, wounding them once. The lone Missile Launcher Devastator fired at the Darkshroud, but failed to hit. Pedro Kantor and the Lieutenant fired on the Darkshroud, wounding it once with their combined firepower.

The Sternguard used the Masterful Marksmanship stratagem (+1 to wound) and opened fire on the Black Knight, causing three more wounds and killing two of the squad. The two Landspeeder Storms fired on the unit, causing one wound each and killing one more Knight, leaving only one of the squad remaining.

The Scout squads in the Landspeeder Storms then opened fire. Both Sergeants fired their Combi-Plasmas at the Darkshroud, hitting three times, but failing to wound with any of their shots (some horrendous rolls from Maurice this turn). The Scouts fired their Bolters at the Black Knights, wounding twice, but failing to get past his armour.

The Predator opened fire on the Darkshroud, the Autocannon managing to take 3 wounds from it. The Scouts in the Bastion opened fire at the Darkshroud, hitting with the missile launcher, but failing to wound.

The Crimson Fist Scout Bikers fired at the Ravenwing Bikers in front of them, wounding them 9 times. I failed four saves and two Bikers perished. The second unit of Scout Bikers also opened fire, wounding them one more time. Finally, the backfield Scout unit fired at the same unit of Bikers. The Missile Launcher managed to kill one of the Ravenwing Bikers with a Krak Missile.

In the charge phase, Pedro Kantor and the Lieutenant charged the Bike Squad in combat with the Librarian. The Sternguard charged the Black Knight, one of the Veterans being slain to overwatch fire. The Scout Bikers charged the Ravenwing Bikers, again one of the Bikers being slain to overwatch fire. The Razorback charged the other unit of Black Knights, suffering no damage to the overwatch Plasma Talon fire.

Kantor struck at the Bikers, only wounding them twice after some terrible rolling. I managed to save one wound and a single Biker was struck down. I used two Command Points to then interrupt with the Black Knights. The squad did 11 wounds on the Sternguard and was able to wipe them out before they could strike.

In the other combat, the Lieutenant attacked the Bikers, killing two with his Power Fist. The Scout Bikers managed to wound the Ravenwing Bikers four times, but only one got through their armour.

The Librarian struck at the last remaining Biker in combat, wounding him twice, but I made both my armour saves. The Biker Sergeant attacked the Librarian in reply, wounding him once with the Power Fist and causing three damage on the enemy psyker.

The Black Knight and Predator failed to do any damage to one another.

The Ravenwing Bikers struck at the Scout Bikers, but failed to do any damage.

In the morale phase, I rolled a double 6 for morale and the last of the Black Knights in one unit perished. The rest of my squads passed their morale tests.

At the end of his turn, Maurice scored no points and discarded Defend Objective 5.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ravenwing- 1
Crimson Fist- 0

TURN 2- RAVENWING
In my second turn, I drew Supremacy (hold at least 2 objectives and twice as many as your opponent) and Mission Critical Objective (Objective 1).

The Black Knights and Ravenwing Biker fell back from combat towards the backfield objectives, the Darkshroud moving to support them. On the left flank, the Ravenwing Bikers also fell back towards the objective.

The Plasma Gun Bikers moved up to support the Librarian, as did Sammael and the Ancient, moving to the right flank to target the Scout Bikers. The Dark Talon also moved over to support the Ravenwing push. The flyer loosed its Stasis Bomb at the Crimson Fists Librarian, slaying the enemy psyker.

The Ravenwing Librarian cast Smite, wounding the Scout Bikers three times.

The Dark Talon opened fire on the Scouts, killing off the entire squad with its Hurricane Bolters. The Rift Cannon fired at the Predator, hitting and wounding it twice. With the Vortex wounds, the enemy tank took 9 wounds in total.

The Librarian fired at the Scouts on the Bastion, wounding them twice, but failing to get past their armour saves. The Ancient fired at the Scout Squad, killing one. Sammael fired his Plasma Cannon at the Predator, wounding it once. He fired his Storm Bolter at the Scout Bikers, but failed to do any damage.

The nearby Bike squads fired at the Scout Bikers. The squad overcharged their Plasma Guns, killing one of the Scout Bikers. The Bolters fired at the last member of the squad, wounding them 12 times and killing him.

The Darkshroud fired its Assault Cannon at the Predator, hitting three times but failing to wound.

In the charge phase, the Ravenwing on the right flank assaulted the Scout Bikers en masse. Sammael struck at the squad, killing two of them. The Ancient and Librarian attacked the squad, but failed to kill the last Biker. The Ravenwing Bikers killed the last Scout Biker in combat.

At the end of my turn, I scored Supremacy for 3 points and Mission Critical Objective.

TURN 2- CRIMSON FISTS
In his second turn, Maurice drew Secure Objective 4 and Mission Critical Objective (Objective 1).

The Landspeeder Storms moved over to the left flank, joined by Pedro Kantor and the Lieutenant. The Razorback moved up to shield the Devastator and Apothecary. At the end of the phase, the Apothecary managed to revive one of the Devastators.

The Scout Snipers opened fire on the Dark Angels Librarian, hitting him three times, but failing to wound. The Devastators opened fire on the Flamer Bikers holding the objective, killing one of the squad.
The Predator fired at the Plasma Gun Bikers, wounding twice, but failing to get past their armour with its Heavy Bolters. It fired its Autocannons at the Darkshroud, but failed to score any hits (he was hitting on 6's).

On the left flank, the Crimson Fists opened fire. Pedro Kantor fired at the Bikers, wounding them once. The Landspeeder Storms both fired at the Squad, wounding them 3 times, but I made all my armour saves. The Scouts inside fired on the Ravenwing, killing one with their Combi-Plasma.

The other squad of Scouts fired on the Bikers, killing another with their Combi-Plasma. The Bolters of the squad managed to do 3 wounds and I failed all three saves to lose another Biker and leave one on one wound.

In the charge phase, one of the Storms assaulted Sammael, taking a wound from overwatch fire. Pedro Kantor assaulted the Librarian. The Lieutenant attempted to charge the Librarian, but failed the charge (9"), even with a command point re-roll. The second Landspeeder Storm charged the Ancient.

In the fight phase, Kantor struck at the Librarian, hitting and wounding him three times and killing him.
The Landspeeder Storm attacked the Ancient, wounding the Biker once. The other Landspeeder Storm could not cause any harm on Sammael.

The Ravenwing Master attacked the Landspeeder Storm, easily dispatching it. The transport blew up, wounding Sammael twice and taking a wound on the other Landspeeder Storm. One of the Scouts in the transport perished.

The Ravenwing Ancient attacked Pedro Kantor, wounding him three times. He failed two saves and took four damage, leaving him on 2 wounds.

At the end of his turn, Maurice scored Secure Objective 4 and discarded Mission Critical Objective.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ravenwing- 5
Crimson Fists- 1

TURN 3- RAVENWING
In this turn, I drew Secure Objective 1, Behind Enemy Lines and Assassinate.

The Black Knights, Biker Sergeant and Darkshroud moved up to engage the Razorback. On the other flank, the Dark Talon moved to engage the Scouts, while Sammael moved up to target Pedro Kantor.

The Dark Talon fired at the Scouts, wiping them out with its Hurricane Bolters. The Rift Cannon fired at the Landspeeder Storm, destroying the unit.

The remaining Ravenwing Bikers fired at the Scouts from the destroyed transport, killing one of them. Sammael fired on the squad, killing two with his Storm Bolter. The Plasma Cannon hit twice, but failed to wound.

On the other flank, the lone Sergeant fired on the Devastators, killing one of the squad. The Black Knights fired their Plasma Talons at the Razorback, wounding it three times. The Darkshroud fired at the Predator, wounding it once, but could not get past its armour.

In the charge phase, the Black Knights assaulted the Razoback (I only rolled a 2" charge, but luckily was close enough to get in). Sammael charged Pedro Kantor, backed up by two of the Ravenwing Bikers.

In the fight phase, Sammael struck at Kantor, wounding him 5 times and killing him. On the other flank, the Black Knights struck at the Razorback, wounding it once. The enemy vehicle did no damage in reply.

At the end of my turn, I scored all three of my objectives and one bonus point for Secure Objective 1 and Slay the Warlord.

TURN 3- CRIMSON FISTS
In his third turn, Maurice drew Domination (hold all objectives), Supremacy and Advance (have no units in his deployment zone).

The Razorback fell back onto an objective, while the Lieutenant moved up on the Ravenwing. At the end of the phase, the Apothecary brought back a Devastator (after using a command point re-roll).

The Lieutenant opened fire on Sammael, but failed to do any damage. The Devastators fired at the Darkshroud, hitting once but failing to wound (yet again!). Maurice's rolling in this game was truly abysmal.

The Apothecary fired at the lone Biker Sergeant, but failed to hit. The Predator fired at the Black Knights, but failed to do any harm. The Scout Snipers fired at the lone Biker Sergeant, but failed to kill him.

In the charge phase, the Lieutenant charged Sammael, suffering no damage from overwatch fire. In the fight phase, the Lieutenant attacked the Dark Angels' Warlord. He hit and wounded Sammael three times. I failed two saves, using a command point re-roll to pass another. With only two wounds left on Sammael, I was anxious to see if he would survive. Maurice rolled the D3 damage roll and his poor luck continued as he only caused a single wound. Sammael cut down the impudent Lieutenant in reply.

At the end of his turn, Maurice scored Supremacy for 2 points and discarded Domination.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ravenwing- 10
Crimson Fists- 3

TURN 4- RAVENWING
In my fourth turn, I drew Domination, Defend Objective 2, Defend Objective 4 and Psychological Warfare.

The Ravenwing moved up on the remaining Crimson Fists forces, and grabbed the objectives. The Dark Talon remained in hover mode.

Sammael fired at the Scouts, killing them with his firepower. The Dark Talon targeted the Devastators, wiping out the squad. The Rift Cannon fired at the Predator, destroying the enemy tank.

The Black Knights fired at the Apothecary, wounding him twice.

At the end of my turn, I scored Domination for 5 points. I think this is the first time I had ever scored that card in a maelstrom game.

At this point, we called the game there. Maurice had little of his army left and I was well ahead on maelstrom points.

VICTORY POINTS:
Ravenwing- 15
Crimson Fists- 3

End of the game.

A victory for the Ravenwing.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Ouch, that was a tough one. Maurice seemed to have my level of dice rolling in that game, where just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong. For once, my rolling was actually on fire as I rolled well for damage results and saves during the game.

Not too much to talk about for this one. My plan to rush the enemy army and overwhelm them was pretty successful, and I was able to keep a few units back to go after objectives and take pot shots at other units.

I think against certain armies, the all-Ravenwing force is pretty solid. I look forward to seeing how it works with the new rules and Stratagems in the codex (plus hopefully a few points reductions!).