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Work's getting super crazy for me but I want to quickly get this out there, because I haven't reported any of my recent Thousand Sons games, and this was the result of a conversation I had on the forum with some of you about using Magnus because I had been getting kicked around pretty good with my Thousand Sons. If you recall, I wasn't sure if going full Magnus was something I'd regret or not. Well some of you may know I like to start my batrep's with a critical moment.... and that would be right about here.... + " Hold my spear... I got this...." + So here we go: It's Orks vs. Thousand Sons. His list is experimental, he's been having good success with a Morkanaught. He uses a few trucks, and puts 10 boyz in each one. He has a repair dude on a bike to help fix the Morkanaught, and a few Choppas in reserves. Here's my list: Setup and Game: - It's my basic list, but with Magnus this time. I'm sure it was illegal now that I think of it because I put 9 blue horrors and one 1 pink horror as a squad. I haven't really used them in 8th and thought I'd throw them into the list for something to try. They are my 4th troop choice. I guess I could have made it legal by simply making the Rubrics an elite choice. Oh well... no biggy. - We play Spoils of War, and I go first because I'm awesome. Spoils of War dictates you can never throw away "secure Objective X" cards. (not to be confused with "Defend Objective X" which I see some people still accidentally putting in the same category). - The deployment looks like this: + There be green men on Mars, but they ain't martians. Ahriman surveys the battle ground. The Tzaangors spread out. Magnus is off camera to the left, and some Orks aren't quite in the picture. + Early Game: + I figure I should hold Magnus back. I explain him to my opponent. I decide in turn 1 NOT to use Magnus. I move him with his beautiful acid trip looking wings, but no psychics, no Weaver of Fate, no Warp Time. This would be a severe under estimation on my part, and I should know by now. + My lascannon Preds open up on the Dorkbot, and I do nothing. T8 isn't that bad, but out of 4 lascanons, and 3 Autocannon shots I do 3 damage total. This doesn't look good. + I score one point for grabbing an objective, but I don't even get first blood. I have to advance a bit with Tzaangors or as usual Orks will dominate the table space. + In his turn he picks up first blood, and a point.for something else, but he puts out horrendous firepower while advancing his trucks. He smokes a squad of Tzaangors... a squad that Ahriman cast Fate on and even with rerolling 1's, I lose all but 2, and Ahriman is assaulted T1. I thought I was deep enough to protect him, I know that Orks can, advance + assault, but I didn't think it would end up on Ahriman in T1. He dies quickly to a pile of attacks. Slay the Warlord goes to Orks. I'm losing 2-1. + After the Orks kill off Tzaangors and Ahriman, I get the Rubrics out and with 4 flamers, and bolters and I kill only about 10 orks in total. They get around the moral test ,and the orks are fine. I realize the trucks are advancing on my endges, trying to leverage the Predators. I fire on them.... get this... I finally get a Pen- 6 DAMAGE, and he Ramshackles it down to 1 DAMAGE! He does it again on another lascannon shot from 5 DAMAGE down to 1! Ugh. Man is that ramshackle annoying when it kicks in. + I realize after the Morkanaught finished firing, and his army finished assaulting, I was out gunned, and probably out assaulted, but I had the psychics. On the right flank my disk sorc went to town on some dreadnoughts, but I really had trouble killing them. I had to rely on SMITE a LOT this game for vehicle damage. Too many walkers, and trucks. + Magnus is angry, and I can't blame him, I still do not cast Fate on him because I just want to see what happens.... He swoops in and joins a pile of Tzaangors in the middle. I've been here before and if you don't contain Orks early they will own the real estate and you can't get them off of stuff with Warbosses and large mobs around. + I decide to drop in the Scarab Occult (7 termies) in behind the scene to set up some reinforcement for Magnus.... + Magnus, Goats, and Scarab Occult! Now we have a game going.... or do we? + Well Magnus does what he can but the trucks are all full, and the Orks on the ground are wasted pretty good. I thoguht I'd try to put some dents into the Morkanaut but the Orks keep repairing him about as much as I can damage him. Magnus spanks down a large mob, and surprisingly the bladed Tzaangors blow up a trukk... but 10 dudes come out without losing a guy. + + The Scarab Occult fire up Smite, Hellfyre Missiles, bolters, and Soulreaper cannon.... on the Morkanaut and do one damage. Ouch. This is looking uglier and uglier. Late Game: + The Orks counter with everything they can. What this does is buy my back lines some time. I knew he'd do this... he has to, but this way I have some breathing room. I get some valuable points. He has very doable cards though, but he can't do them without killing some stuff first.... + The Ork Morkanaut opens up it's belly button and a squad of Boyz with Big Choppa's comes out. I hate these things.... sure enough he piles them into my Scarab Occult termies..... + And here we are.... the Morkanaught pours everything into Mangus..... + + The Morkanaught hits a ton. There's an Ork banner I cannot get to that has him re=rolling 1's in a radius. He hits Magnus pretty hard, and he's quickly down to half wounds even with my Invulns, re-rolling 1's. + + Magnus interrupts and splits his attacks against the two most damaging units I can see.... two Warbosses with fists. He kills both of them... barely. But the Orks continue with boyz galore, and a dreadnaught. Even without fists, Magnus goes down. + The Scarab Occult get owned pretty hard. This is why I don't like Terminators in 8th. Everything affects them... heavy bolters, fire, assault cannons, etc. In this case a cheap squad of boyz... with Big Choppa's hits a ton, and they are S7 I believe, wounding easily, reducing my save to a 3+. Each Big Choppa does 2 Damage. The Scarab Occult are easily diced up here. + So things are going pretty bad for the Thousand Sons as usual.... but it's okay, I still have... .Tzaangors! And predators (which have done nothing even with prescience running). They plink some more wounds off of the Morkanaut. The Disk Sorc I have gets me "scour the Skies" by killing a chopper, and he directs Tzaangors to take down some cheap troops for another victory point. + I'm playing for points here, it's all I have.... the Rubrics use good ol' fashioned Rhino wall to stay alive... I'm still shocked people don't play more Rhino's. This Rhino literally keeps the Rubrics alive for 2 additional turns. + The demise of Magnus has acted as distraction keeping my Rubrics alive.... The Rhino blocks the Morkanaught buying me 2 turns+ + I snag a few more points here. The Morkanaught cannot get through to the Rubrics who are roasting the Orks trying to get close... I can't kill them all, but he can't get within 8" of me for the assault without melting..... + so here we are at the end. I've been down a Primarch since T2, and I have the points to win.... I'm purely playing the objectives, and somehow my Rhino lasts through all shooting... down to 1 wound, this forces the Morkanaught to assault the Rhino instead of the Rubrics which he desperately wants to kill to so he can move around mid table easily, but it won't happen... the game ends and Thousand Sons literally win by one point.... wow, what a close one. I never thought I had a chance. Thanks for checking out the batrep!