9th Edition 40k Battle Report 215- Dark Angels Ravenwing vs Drukhari

This week's battle report sees my Dark Angels Ravenwing take on the Drukhari in a 2000 pts mission in a barn stormer of a game! We were using the new Grand Tournament Missions 2021 rules, so had updates to some of the secondary missions, as well as points costs. We rolled up and got the Retrieval mission. 

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 Fist, Flamer

Landspeeder Typhoon- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher

Attack Bike- Multi-melta

Ravenwing Apothecary- Selfless Healer, Chief Apothecary

5 Black Knights- Corvus Hammers

4 Black Knights- Corvus Hammers

Outrider Detachment

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

3 Bikers- Plasma Gun, TL Bolters, Power Sword

3 Bikers- TL Bolters, Meltagun

3 Bikers- TL Bolters, Grav Gun

Landspeeder- Heavy Bolter, Assault Cannon

Landspeeder- Heavy Bolter, Assault Cannon

A few change ups from last week's army. I dropped the Darkshroud, to add more Black Knights. I just don't think it is worth the points any more, as the -1 to hit bubble is not as essential in the army any more. I also dropped the Champion to fit in the Black Knights. A few units went up in cost (Attack Bike, Apothecary and Talonmaster), while the Chaplain dropped a few points as well. 

Once more, I had a fast and mobile force, with a decent amount of firepower. 

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. 

Hobby Update 06/01/21- Dark Angels Ravenwing Talonmaster

Today's Hobby Update features a Ravenwing Talonmaster for my Dark Angels army. This unit provides some very strong firepower and buffing abilities for the force. I've been thinking a lot recently about running an all-Ravenwing army once more in 9th edition. Can't wait to get playing again to try it out. 

Battle Report 128- 2000 pts Dark Angels Ravenwing vs Death Guard

This week's battle report saw my first outing with the new Dark Angels codex. In this game, my 2000 pts Ravenwing army would be taking on Connor and his Death Guard army, featuring the Daemon Primarch Mortarion. 

We rolled for the mission and were playing the Recon maelstrom mission. This game uses a form of reserves. Each army would be split into three roughly even portions (based on number of units). One portion would start on the board, while the rest would come on from reserve in the first or second turn. 

My army consisted of:

Outrider Detachment

Sammael on Corvex (S)

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

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Power Fists, Chainswords (RB1)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Plasma Guns, Power Sword, Chainswords (RB2)

4 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Chainswords (RB3)

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

Outrider Detachment

Ravenwing Talonmaster- Shroud of Heroes, Twin Assault Cannon, Twin Heavy Bolter, Power Sword,(T)

4 Ravenwing Bikers- Plasma Gun, Power Sword (RB4)

3 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Chainswords (RB5)

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

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

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

I decided to try out my all-Ravenwing army to see how they fared with the new rules and points reductions. 

I decided to take Sammael, the new Talonmaster and a Librarian. The Talonmaster would provide some very nice buffs to my Black Knights, along with Sammael. The Librarian took Aversion and Mind War. I was hoping that Mind War would be able to diminish Mortarion and make him easier to deal with. 

I was able to put another unit of Bikers into the list thanks to the points reductions to the Ravenwing, allowing me to field 5 units of Bikers, pretty much all the Bikers that I had. They would be supported by the Darkshroud, Dark Talon and Black Knights. 

Battle Report 126- 2000 pts Ravenwing vs Chaos Space Marines

This week's battle report sees my Ravenwing take on Andrews's Chaos Space Marines, featuring the big man himself- Magnus.

The Ravenwing launch their attack. 

The maelstrom mission was Cloak and Shadows using Dawn of War deployment. 

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. This game was fought before the release of the new Dark Angels codex.

8th Edition Codex Dark Angels Review: Part 3- Ravenwing

Part three of my 8th edition Dark Angels codex review will take a look at the Ravenwing units in the army. My Ravenwing force is one of my favourite armies and I have been playing them for several editions of 40k. Let's see how the new codex treats the black-clad warriors. 

One thing I have noticed is that almost all the Ravenwing units got some form of points reduction from the Index. As an example, my recent 2000 pts Ravenwing army that I used in several battle reports now comes in just over 200 pts cheaper in the codex. This is great news and something that I think needed to happen. This will allow me to field at least another Bike squad or some Speeders to bulk out my force a bit. 

Special Rules

The main special rule that applies to the Ravenwing is Jink.

Jink
If the unit Advances, it gains a 4+ invulnerable save against all shooting attacks until the start of your next movement phase.

This rule applies to Ravenwing units in the army. To me, this is a big boost to the Ravenwing units. In the index, they only got a 5+ invulnerable save, but it is now boosted to a 4+ invulnerable. This actually makes a big difference and makes Jink a good prospect for a unit of Bikers and will really help in certain missions, particularly maelstrom ones, I think. You can turbo-boost onto an objective to score it and get a reasonably level of durability against enemy fire. I think this will be a big boost for my Ravenwing army.

Forces of the Ravenwing

Sammael on Corvex
The Grand Master of the Ravenwing has seen some useful upgrades in 8th edition. As with many characters, he is a lot tougher in the new edition of the game.

Sammael has T6 and 6 wounds, a 3+ save and 4+ invulnerable. He also has WS and BS 2+, with 5 attacks, making him quite potent in combat. His Raven Sword thankfully gets a strength boost in 8th edition, being +1S (so 5 in combat), AP-3 and 2 damage with each wound. It also gives him double strength if Sammael charges, taking him up to S9 in combat. This gives him some pretty potent attacks on the turn that he charges into combat.

He comes with a twin Storm Bolter and Plasma Cannon, giving him some strong firepower (8 Bolter shots at short range). He also has Fly, enabling him to fall back and still fire.

He also provides some really nice buffs, giving re-rolls of 1's to hit with Dark Angels within 6" and full re-rolls for Ravenwing within 6". This makes him a great addition to a Ravenwing army, making the most of the powerful weapons the Ravenwing can field.

I will definitely be including him in my Ravenwing army in many games.

Hobby Update 11/12/17- Ravenwing Rebasing and Dark Angels Information

This weekend, I decided to re-base the remaining members of my Ravenwing army. With the Dark Angels codex coming out on Saturday, I was eager to get the army matching bases with the rest of the force, so that I could get some games in with them with the new codex. 

I am very excited for the new Dark Angels codex. They were my first army in 40k and have been one of my favourites for as long as I have been playing. I hope to get a lot of my games in with my Ravenwing army (and perhaps some of the other wings as well). 

Battle Report 122- 2000 pts Ravenwing vs Ynnari

Today's battle report features my Ravenwing taking on Adam's Aeldari force in a 2000 pts Eternal War mission.

This game was fought at a Bunker War tournament at Battle Bunker in Sunderland. This game was Big Guns Never Tire using Vanguard Strike Deployment.

My army consisted of:

Outrider Detachment

Sammael on Corvex (S)

Ravenwing Apothecary (A)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK1)

Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB1)

Outrider Detachment

Librarian- Bike, Force Sword, Mind Worm, Aversion (L2)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Plasma Guns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Chainswords (RB3)

Dark Talon- 2 Hurricane Bolters, Rift Cannon (DT)

Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L1)

5 Command Points

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

Battle Report 121- 2000 pts Ravenwing vs Necrons

This week's battle report sees the first outing for my Dark Angels Ravenwing army in 8th edition, taking on Adam's Necrons in a 2000 pts Eternal War mission. 

This game was fought at a tournament at Battle Bunker in Sunderland. I was not planning on attending the tournament, but Justin (who runs Battle Bunker) put out the call on facebook the morning of the tournament. He was one player short and needed someone to make up numbers. Two free games of 40k awaiting, so I showed up for round 2 and was placed at the bottom table as if I had lost the first game. I decided to try out my Ravenwing in 8th edition, so made up a list to test a few units. 

My army consisted of:

Outrider Detachment

Sammael on Corvex (S)

Ravenwing Apothecary (A)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK1)

Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB1)

Outrider Detachment

Librarian- Bike, Force Sword, Mind Worm, Aversion (L2)

5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons (BK2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Plasma Guns, Chainswords, Power Sword (RB2)

5 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Chainswords (RB3)

Dark Talon- 2 Hurricane Bolters, Rift Cannon (DT)

Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L1)

5 Command Points

Two Outrider Detachments allowed me to take an all Ravenwing army. Sammael is a tough character in combat (doubles his strength on the charge) and allows full re-rolls for Ravenwing units. Two units of Black Knights would also be a potent force, as their Plasma Talons and Corvus Hammers would prove to be potent in combat and the shooting phase. 

I then took three units of Bikers, each with different special weapons. I took a Librarian and Apothecary to provide some useful psychic boosts and potentially heal some Black Knights. 

Finally, a rounded out the army with a Darkshroud (who provides -1 to hit against nearby units), a Landspeeder for some tank hunting and a Dark Talon. Two Hurricane Bolters combined with Strafing Run (+1 to hit) should provide a lot of anti-infantry firepower, and the Rift Cannon would also be good for hunting monsters and vehicles. My warlord was Sammael, who took Tenacious Survivor. 

Battle Report 101- 1500 pts Ravenwing vs Space Wolves

During my time at Warhammer Fest, I was able to observe some of the Grand Tournament games and write them up as battle reports. The first game that I observed was Ben's Ravenwing taking on Lewis' Space Wolves.
I'd met Ben at the Birthday Bash, where his Ravenwing army had done rather well in the maelstrom missions. It was great to catch up again and see him use a force very similar to one I would normally field.

The first mission was Crusade with 3 objectives, using Hammer and Anvil deployment.

Ben's army consisted of:
Ravenwing Strike Force
Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Mace of Redemption. (with CS)
Librarian- Level 2 Psyker, Bike, Conversion Field. (with CS)
Librarian- Level 2 Psyker, Bike, Conversion Field. (with CS)
5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Combi-Grav, Meltabombs (RB1)
5 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Combi-Grav, Meltabombs (RB2)
5 Black Knights- Grenade Launcher, Meltabombs (BK)
5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)
Ravenwing Support Squadron- Darkshroud with Heavy Bolter, 3 Landspeeders with Heavy Bolters and Typhoon Missile Launchers. (SS)

Ben's warlord was the Chaplain, who got Furious Charge for his Warlord Trait. One Librarian rolled on Telepathy, getting Invisibility, Terrify and Psychic Shriek. The other rolled on Divination and got Perfect Timing, Prescience and Forewarning.
As I said above, a very similar army to one that I would field with my Ravenwing. I was interested to see how the support squadron would perform with the Heavy Bolters and Typhoon Missile Launchers (I normally go for Heavy Bolters and Assault Cannons). Ben also got a good range of powers on his Librarians and could seriously buff the Command Squad.

Fluffageddon 2016: Army Review

This post will review my army for the recent Fluffageddon tournament, how it performed and how it could be improved. 

Army Review

As a reminder, my army was:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher 

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist 

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter 

Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

In order to put the reviews in context, my battle reports for game 1, game 2 and game 3 can be found in the tournament tab. 

Fluffageddon Battle Report 3- Ravenwing vs Eldar

The final game of Fluffageddon 2016 saw me playing at the top table against Danny and his Eldar army. This mission would be a variation of kill points, where the units destroyed would be worth Blood Points equal to their points value (with half points available for a unit taken below half strength/starting wounds/starting hull points). 

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)

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

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

My warlord trait was Rapid Manoeuvre, giving me +3" to charge and turbo-boost moves.

Fluffageddon Battle Report 2- Ravenwing vs Astra Militarum

After a great first round game, I found myself at the top table facing off against Lewis and his tank-heavy Astra Militarum army. This mission was the Eternal War mission Crusade with 5 objectives. 

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)

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

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

My warlord trait gave the Chaplain Courage of the Lion, giving him a 12" Fearless bubble.

Fluffageddon Battle Report 1- Ravenwing vs Blood Angels

Welcome to the first battle report from my games at Fluffageddon 2016. The tournament was billed as a more relaxed event with a moderate degree of comp and emphasis on building an army that fit with the background of the relevant race. 

Overall, the tournament was good fun. I got some really nice compliments on my army, which was great considering some of the standard of painting there. There were a few issues though that I will get to in a later post, but it was generally a fun day. 

My first game saw my Ravenwing army take on Tom and his Blood Angels in the Contact Lost Maelstrom mission (3 cards per turn). 

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)

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

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

My warlord trait gave the Chaplain and his unit furious charge. You can find some of the army restrictions and my thoughts on my list in my previous post.

Hobby Sunday 13/11/16- Ravenwing Bikers and Deathwatch

This week for my hobby progress, I finished re-basing my Ravenwing army and assembled some more of my Deathwatch marines. 

Most of my Ravenwing army has now had their bases updated to match my White Scars. This army was the one that I took to Fluffageddon yesterday (this post was written in advance, so I have no idea how I did at the time of writing). 

Battle Report 83- 1500 pts Ravenwing vs Astra Militarum

This week's battle report sees my Ravenwing take on Chris' Astra Militarum force. This was another practice game for Fluffageddon that I managed to fit in the same gaming night as the previous battle report for my first visit to Heaton Games Society.

As we were getting a little short on time, we decided to play an Eternal War rather than maelstrom mission. We played Crusade with 4 objectives.

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)

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

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

Once again for my Warlord Trait I managed to get Rapid Manoeuvre, giving me an extra 3" on my charge.

Battle Report 82- 1500 pts Ravenwing vs Dark Eldar

This week's battle report comes from a recent visit to Heaton Games Club. I was wanting to get some practice in with my list for Fluffageddon, as I had not played my Ravenwing in some time. I would be going up against Adam and his Dark Eldar list in the Contact Lost maelstrom mission (the one where you get a card for each objective you hold). 

My army consisted of:

Ravenwing Strike Force

Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)

5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)

6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)

6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)

Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)

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

Ravenwing Support Squadron

Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)

3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters

For my warlord trait, I got Rapid Manoeuvre, giving me +3" to any charges. This would be great for my Command Squad, helping to ensure they get into combat. In order to use the rules for Fluffageddon, I would be limited to a 4+ for any re-roll save on the re-roll.

Hobby Sunday 30/10/16- Bike, Bikes, Bikes

This week, I have been working on my bikers for my various armies. I decided that I would re-base my Ravenwing for the upcoming Fluffageddon tournament. 

The reason for this is that my Interrogator-Chaplain was based in the same fashion as my White Scars as he is a part-timer who works for both armies. Rather than rebase him to match the Ravenwing once more, I decided I would do up the bases on my Ravenwing bikers, as they were a bit plain and could use some work. 

First I removed all the bikers from their bases and then scraped off the flock that was there. 

Battle Report 81- Death in the Skies: Massive Flyer Battle

This week's battle report features a whole host of fabulous flyers! With my recent move down to Newcastle, I was saddened to leave the great guys and girls at Dundee Wargames Club. As a sort of leaving-do/game, I decided to host a massive 40k flyer battle based on the scenario in Death from the Skies.

I had done the same game a few weeks earlier with two of the players from the club to test the rules. It was an absolute blast and we decided to add some additional special rules as the game went on to make it even more fun.

The rules for the scenario followed the Fighter Sweep air war rules, with the following changes:

• Flyers are not allowed to leave the board. There can be nowhere to hide in this game and I wanted a ton of flyers on the board at once.
• At the end of their move, flyers are allowed to make an additional 90 degrees turn. If they choose to do so, roll a D6. On a 1-2, the G forces rip the aircraft apart and it is destroyed. Flyers with Vector Dancer can turn without penalty as normal.
• Flyers that Jink suffer -1BS the following turn for each enemy flyer they jinked for. E.g. if you are fired upon by two enemy flyers and jinked twice, you suffer -2BS the next turn. This was to stop one side from being too powerful and forcing multiple flyers to jink and snap fire next turn while doing little damage.
• Any time a flyer is destroyed, it careens out of control. Roll 2D6 and a scatter dice, the aircraft moves in this direction, stopping if it hits another flyer. If it collides with another flyer(s), both players roll a D6. If the player with the destroyed aircraft beats the roll of the player with the flyer it hit, both flyers are now destroyed!
• "Janked" is the official past tense of "jink" for this game, i.e. "I'm at -1BS as I janked last turn".
• When a flyer is destroyed, it get to come back on in the players next turn. 

This time round, I managed to get a whole host of players to sign up for the game. I split us into 4 teams based on the number and type of flyers that were available. These were:

Players would score 1 point for each destroyed enemy flyer (2 points for the massive Tigershark). If a destroyed flyer crashed into any other and destroyed them, the points would go to the player who shot down the original plane.

We decided that the four teams would roll off for priority each turn, the highest roll going first, the second highest going second, etc. This would create even more chaos as players could potentially get two turns in a row.

The game was fought on a 8x6 feet board. Based on the additional special rules in effect, I expected lots of carnage on all sides!

Guest Post- Powerfist and Psykers ITC Tournament Report

The latest guest post comes courtesy of Darren Tse. Darren is a recent returner to 40k after a long break. He decided to attend a ITC tournament with only a couple of games played and decided to write up his experiences from his games. Over to Darren for his thoughts on his games. 

Powerfist and Psykers Tournament Wrap Up

By Darren Tse

So I’m pretty new to 40k. I actually started playing in the early 90s as a broke teenager, but stopped shortly after that. Picking it back up now has been awesome, and with just a few games under my belt, I decided to try my hand at some competitive play.

Our local scene runs a bi-monthly ITC-based tournament called Powerfist & Psykers. It’s 1850 pts, 4 rounds, straight ITC. This was Powerfist & Psykers 5. There were 16 players, so I was really looking forward to a day of good gaming and learning lots about how to play my army and 40k better.

Our local meta, from what I can see, is a lot of Tau-Dar (Eldar with Riptide Wing mostly), and Imperial Knights, as well as Chaos Demons. We have very little in the way of other xenos races, and also a lack the usual battle company heaviness.

Using the models I have, I decided to go with my favourite army, my Ravenwing! I had at first thought of bringing pure Ravenwing (which is mostly black knights with speeders and darkshrouds), but decided that against such a meta, I did not want to get tabled for 4 games, so decided to add a little bit of “cheesiness” to my list and bring my own riptide wing. I also knew that winning in ITC requires holding objectives, so I needed some objective secured. In the end, I decided to run a double Dark Angels CAD and a Riptide Wing.