BoLScon report

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Here is my list (2000 points):

 

Commander Dante

The Sanguinor

 

Furioso dreadnaught/extra armor, Blood Talons, heavy flamer

Sanguinary Priest/infernus pistol & power sword, jump pack

Chaplain/infernus pistol, jump pack

 

Sanguinary Guard/Banner, 2x infernus pistol, power fist

10x assault Marine/2x meltagun, thunderhammer & stormshield

 

6x Vanguard Veteran/3x lightning claw & stormshield, bolt pistol & chainsword, infernus pistol & power weapon, thunderhammer & stormshield (sergeant)

 

Stormraven/extra armor, twin linked multi-melta & twin linked lascannon

 

This was the seven game GT with four games on Saturday and another three today. It was one heck of a tournament, in fact it was by far my favorite I have ever attended. The BoLS guys are awesome people. I believe there was over 150 playing in the GT and only the top 25 percent could make the cut into the upper bracket for the second day.

 

I have been agonizing over my list and ended up going with what I thought would be the most fun to play. My army ended up doing well overall and I quite happy with the results. Here is a synopsis of my games:

 

1st round versus Blood Angels

- my opponent is very new to the game so I had got the luck of the draw. He was running the Sanguinor with 6 full assault squads - 2x meltagun & power fist per unit. He didn't have any long ranged firepower so the Stormraven was pretty much untouchable. I mounted the Sanguinor and the dreadnaught in the Stormraven. I won this game by a massacre scoring full points.

 

2nd round versus Blood Angels

This opponent had a scary list - three squads of five assault Marines with meltagun in razorbacks with twin linked assault cannon, 10 assault Marines with two meltas & a powerfist, flamestorm Baal predator, Librarian, Priest, Stormraven, etc. I had some amazing luck with the dice this game as I was both undermanned and outgunned. I ended up with a major win.

 

3rd round versus Space Wolves

This was a very novel army - Logan Grimnar, Rune Priest, six squads of Wolfguard with storm bolters and two cyclone missile launchers per unit. I ended up with a draw this game.

 

4th round versus mechdar

Awesome opponent. He had four scoring units in serpents. I managed to kill three of them but his last scoring unit made it out alive conga lining to hold two objectives while my Sanguinary Guard only held one. Very smart player who probably had it all figured out before we rolled the first dice. Well at least I made him sweat a bit.

 

So that was the end of the first day - two wins, a draw and a loss. I had done well enough to make it into the championship round. Today I faced off against a Vulcan army (major win), Blood Angels yet again (massacre) and finally mech IG for a draw. I had some really hot dice until the last the last game so I can't complain about my luck. To be honest I am surprised I did as well as I did. It was a great time and I can't ever remember playing so many awesome people. I will definitely be back next year again.

 

0b <_<

[Zeller]

Good to hear and congratulations on your having a great time!

 

How are the VV with LC/SS working?

[calgaryBA]

Good to hear and congratulations on your having a great time!

 

How are the VV with LC/SS working?

 

 

Yeah I'd like to know too. 365 points for 6 models hmm, at least it's 6 really awesome marines lol.

[Morticon]

Well done brother!! Glad you enjoyed it- its most important!

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Vanguard are a great unit for this style of list. They can come in and immediately assault an enemy unit when they arrive. Out of 7 games they misshaped once and scattered out of assault range once. So five games out of seven they were able to assault the turn they arrived. It was a big help versus IG tying up a unit on the enemy objective forcing him to divert resources to eliminate their threat. They always killed at least one unit each game. They didn't always get their points back but the distraction/shock factor was always helpful. I had decided to run this unit over Death Company since they can take stormshields. There was one game they got the Red Thirst and the sergeant got the Sanguinor's Blessing... They were monsters that game. For this type of list I was very happy with their overall performance. I took one veteran with just the standard bolt pistol and chainsword to soak a wound and another with an infernus pistol so they could possibly tank hunt if they survived their first assault. I'll definitely keep this unit for this style of list. I know that due to their high cost a lot of people won't want to use them but they can do some magic. You just have to be willing to except that some games they will mishap or scatter out of assault range, but this should be infrequent.

 

0b :tu:

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Hey guys

 

I will try to get up a few batreps over the next couple days.

 

0b :P

[calgaryBA]

I always seem to argue against point sinks on the forums here, but that Vanguard squad just sounds like fun to make, own and use.

 

I did some looking around in my bits boxes and found several storm shields, lightning claws and a good looking thunder hammer, but they're all from left over assault terminator boxes. Are these the parts you ended up using with some trimming down with a knife so you could still use regular shoulder pads?

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I used the thunderhammer and one of the lightning claws plus stormshields from the assault terminator boxed set. You can also use the thunderhammer that comes with the new DC but it's made to be doubled handed which might not work so well with a stormshield. For some of my lightning claws I simply used very ornate power axes and no one seemed to have any issues with that which was cool. I have posted some pictures in my Blood Saints thread so you can go there to have a look. Most people seem to like my Vanguard the most. -_-

 

So I had the opportunity to play seven games this weekend. Here is my army list again:

 

- HQ-

The Sanguinor

Commander Dante

 

- Elites -

Chaplain/jump pack, infernus pistol

Sanguinary Priest/jump pack, infernus pistol, power sword

Furioso dreadnaught/extra armor, heavy flamer & Blood Talons

 

- Troops -

10x assault Marine (jump packs)/2x meltagun, thunderhammer & stormshield

5x Sanguinary Guard/Chapter banner, 2x infernus pistol, power fist

 

- Heavy Support -

Stormraven/extra armor, twin linked assault cannon & twin linked multi-melta

 

- Fast Attack -

6x Vanguard veteran (jump packs)/

* thunderhammer & stormshield (sergeant)

* lightning claw & stormshield

* lightning claw & stormshield

* lightning claw & stormshield

* power sword & infernus pistol

* bolt pistol & chainsword

 

I always opted to start the game with the Sanguinor and the Furioso embarked in the Stormraven. All units were always held in reserve with the Stormraven flying onto the table & all other units deepstriking. Typically I would join Dante and the Priest with the Sanguinary Guard while the chaplain would join the assault squad. Only once did I break the assault Marines into two combat squads. So basically all my units were fearless except for the Vanguard veterans... You can't use Heroic Intervention if a character is attached to the Vanguard veterans. The main purpose of the Vanguard veterans was to create discord for my opponent by assaulting an enemy unit out in the open. While they didn't always get their points back they did serve very well as a distraction and always destroyed at least one enemy unit except for the one game when they mishapped; there was also one game when they scattered outside of their charge arc. To me they did perform very well in 6 games out of 7 so I think they are an awesome unit and well worth their points. The one game when they scattered outside their charge arc they were able to survive a turn of heavy enemy shooting thanks to their stormshields then the next turn they were able to launch an assault.

 

Sanguinor's Blessing was always useful as my two sergeants were both armed with a thunderhammer and stormshield - the +1WS, +1W and +1A is a true blessing indeed! Dante's curse was also very helpful as well, dropping one enemy HQ by -1WS, -1W and -1A... This proved quite useful versus enemy Librarians as my opponents had to seriously consider taking a psychic test since one Perils of the Warp would suicide them.

 

The Sanguinary Guard were great at coming in from reserve, destroying a tank with their infernus pistols. They were also an excellent assault unit lead by Dante. They were also very good at holding an objective towards the endgame due to their 2+ armor save coupled with Feel No Pain due to the Priest. Dante could soak a couple of wounds as well to help keep them in the game.

 

So I was playing an army that could field a maximum up to three scoring units if I combat squadded by assault Marines:

 

 

Here is what I faced off against and the skill level I rank each opponent (1-5, 1 = newb, 3 = intermediate level, 5 = warmaster). Note that each mission had three objectives and the primary always was based upon holding the most objectives.

 

• 1st game vs. Blood Angels (rating of 1)

So I got lucky and played someone completely new to the game. It's important to rack up the massacres when you have the opportunity so I did. He was running the Sanguinor with six full assault squads. My army has lots and lots of weapons that ignore armor saves in close combat so it was fairly easy to rip through one to two assault squads per turn. I obviously used Dante's curse versus my opponent's Sanguinor which meant my Sanguinor was able to kill him in the first round of assault before my opponent's HQ could swing back. My Stormraven was pretty much untouchable as the only shooty weapons he had were meltaguns and my opponent opted to start with all his squads deployed on the table, so no opportunity to snipe my gunship with a deepstriking melta squad.

 

• 2nd game versus Blood Angels (rating of 3.5)

My second opponent was a good player with a list that scared me:

 

Librarian

 

Sanguinary Priest/power sword

Furioso dreadnaught/extra armor & Blood Talons

 

5x assault Marine/meltagun - razorback/twin linked assault cannon

5x assault Marine/meltagun - razorback/twin linked assault cannon

5x assault Marine/meltagun - razorback/twin linked assault cannon

10x assault Marine (sans jump packs)/2x meltagun, power fist & infernus pistol

 

Baal predator/flamestorm cannon

 

Dreadnaught/2x autocannon

Dreadnaught/2x autocannon

Stormraven/extra armor, twin linked lascannon & twin linked lascannon

 

My opponent was using the Blood Angels codex as a counts as Iron Warriors army and it looked really cool! He started off with the Librarian and Priest joined with the ten man assault squad embarked and Furioso in his Stormraven. He went first and opted to start off deployed in a castle with all his unit on the table. There were five objectives with the Spearhead deployment so I made sure to place my objectives outside of his table quarter so he could not spend the entire game sitting back shooting my units, which worked well since his mobile units quickly left his pair of rifleman dreads behind taking them effectively out of the game. My dice were burning hot this game which really helped a lot. My first task at hand was to destroy his Stormraven so I could stop the mobile assault from happening - my gunship came in from reserve moving 6" onto my table edge and I fired everything into his Stormraven, which had moved fast the previous turn. He blocked all of shots with his cover saves except for one from the multi-melta which glancing wrecked it. To top that off the next turn his Furioso charged my Vanguard veterans in cover, the VV sergeant had the Sanguinor's blessing so he was able to strike simultaneously with the raging dreadnaught and destroyed it. The blast radius was 6" and all three of his five man assault squads took several wounds, failed their armor saves then fled. I melta'd all his tanks the next turn while Dante and the Sanguinor along with my Sanguinary Guard ripped through his Librarian and ten man assault squad. My dice were definitely blessed that game and I felt very lucky to have come away with a major win against a very good player.

 

• 3rd game versus Space Wolves (rating of 3)

This opponent had a very unique list:

 

Logan Grimnar

Rune Priest

6x Wolfguard squads/meltagun*, 7x stormbolter*, 1 power sword*, 2x cyclone missile launcher & power fist**

* power armor, ** terminator armor

 

So basically 6 squad of ten Marines with Logan and the Rune Priest. That was a lot of Marines to handle. This game had 3 objectives with one on the middle and one in each neutral table quarter (Spearhead deployment). My opponent opted to go first. I was banking on my superior mobility to win this game but as it turned out we both ended up holding one objective so it was a draw. The turn I charged Logan with Dante and his Sanguinary Guard, Logan survived the initial onslaught with one wound remaining and was just able to kill all my Sanguinary Guard, then he bit it failing an armor save due to No Retreat. I look back on this game thinking I could have played it a little better foolishly losing a few units early in the game such as my Vanguard veterans and my Furioso. I still scored well overall taking points for the secondary and tertiary objectives plus half points for the primary. My opponent scored a couple more points for tactical bonuses so I slipped back a few tables while he remained on table #3 for the fourth game and was massacred by my buddy's IG. So probably it was a blessing in disguise that I dropped back a bit... Those are the breaks. Hee!

 

4th game versus eldar (rating of 4.5)

This was probably my favorite game of the event. I was playing Mike Watkins from Fort Collins, Colorado with his beautiful mechdar:

 

Eldrad

Avatar

 

10x Striking Scorpions/power fist

5x Fire Dragons/wave serpent

5x Fire Dragons/wave serpent

 

5x Dire Avengers/wave serpent

5x Dire Avengers/wave serpent

5x Dire Avengers/wave serpent

10x Dire Avengers/wave serpent

 

3x War Walkers

 

Wow only six wave serpents to deal with this game... Scary. This game the objective was whoever held the most pieces of terrain. There was no way I was going to split my assault Marines into combat squads with all that xenos ranged firepower! I knew the only way to win was to kill all his scoring units so that was my plan. I also wanted to make sure I killed the Avatar for a moral victory. The plan went well but not all the way. I was able to pop all of the Dire Avengers' transports and killed three of the four squads, plus the Scorpions and the Avatar. Unfortunately I wasn't able to reach the 10 man squad and Mike wisely straddled them across two pieces of terrain while my Sanguinary Guard could only claim one. My assault squad lead by my chaplain fought bravely versus the Scorpions and died to the last man. The Sanguinor came in strong though finishing off the last of the Scorpions then assassinated the Avatar before succumbing to torrent from the War Walkers. The last turn my Stormraven swooped in towards the last squad of Dire Avengers then was destroyed by eldar gunfire - the ensuing explosion killed four of the Avengers and they just passed their leadership test by a 9 on 9. It was just that close and a very exciting end to the first day.

 

More batreps to follow.

 

0b ;)

[SamaNagol]

That's why I ALWAYS take Fear Of the Darkness these days. It's top notch for shifting almost anything off an objective.

[JamesI]

BO, wouldn't it be better to make one of the claws the sergeant in the Vanguard? In case he gets the blessing of the sanguinor take advantage of the +1 initiative.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

@ Samanagol - Well in this particular case the Librarian would have to have survived all the way through the top of the 6th turn to boo the Dire Avengers and that would have meant either no Dante or the Sanguinor whom both performed very well. Also there was Eldrad so you have to deal with the extra dice when taking psychic tests... Very iffy and situational at best in my opinion. I just can't help but see the Librarian as a glass hammer unless you equip him with terminator armor and a stormshield. hindsight is alway 20/20 and often goes on the assumption that everything will go exactly according to plan. In this case I think my opponent had thought well ahead and knew what he needed to do to win, which turned out to be easy for him. He shouldn't have shot the Stormraven though as it was the bottom of the last turn and he had the primary in the bag. Would have been quite amusing if those Avengers had run away.

 

@ James - I prefer the thunderhammer due to the +1A. Sure the +1I with a lightning claw & +1A is nice as well but then he wouldn't have been able to destroy the Furioso in the second game.

 

0b -_-

[SamaNagol]

I run a 100pt Librarian in a Rhino with Fear and Shield. He never leaves. He's SUPERB value.

 

At 2000pts I'd definitely run Mephiston as well.

 

But that's my personal choice.

[LordofDeath11]

I always seem to argue against point sinks on the forums here, but that Vanguard squad just sounds like fun to make, own and use.

 

I did some looking around in my bits boxes and found several storm shields, lightning claws and a good looking thunder hammer, but they're all from left over assault terminator boxes. Are these the parts you ended up using with some trimming down with a knife so you could still use regular shoulder pads?

 

I'd cut the TH off the terminator's arm and try and attach it to a normal marines arm, works better that way.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

@ Samanagol

 

I don't think a Librarian in a rhino would made it to a point on the table where he could have utilized FoD. With all those scatter lasers they would have made short work out of one rhino. Like I said you had to factor in first eliminating the Avatar which makes other units fearless then there was Eldrad who would forced the Librarian to take his psychic test on 3d6. The Ld10 psychic hood would have been very helpful though.

[SamaNagol]

Target saturation. 2000pts is a lot to get through before that rhino becomes worth a pop over the Predators, Vindicators, Attack Bikes and Razorbacks.

[Wildfire]

Where was it held?

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

@ Wildfire - Austin, Tx.

 

@ Samanagol - w/e. >.<

 

0b :D

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

= 2nd Day =

 

• 5th game versus Salamanders (player rating = 3)

Wow for some reason I am drawing a blank on this game. I guess being old and having to get up at the crack of dawn after a night of serious drinking will do that to you. What I do remember is my opponent's army was a classic Salamander list lead by Vulkan. All that twin linked melta is not that effective versus an army such as mine, seeing I had very little in the way of armor. His thunder termies with Vulkan in a Crusader got heavily toasted by Dante and his Corp of Sanguinary Guard then charged; the thunder termies were wiped out to the man before they could swing then Vulkan whiffed and ran off the table. I scored a major victory this round and it was good to a win under my belt for the start of the second day.

 

• 6th game versus Blood Angels (player rating = 3)

This was an interesting mission with one objective placed in the center of the table. You scored points toward the primary each turn you ended with a scoring unit on the objective uncontested during your opponent's turn. Here is my opponent's list:

 

Librarian/Might of Heroes & Unleash Rage, terminator armor & stormshield

 

Sanguinary Priest

6x assault terminator/3x pair of lightning claws & 3G thunderhammer & stormshield - landraider Crusader/pintle mounted multi-melta

 

5x assault Marine/meltagun - landraider redeemer/pintle mounted multi-melta

5x assault Marine/meltagun - landraider/pintle mounted multi-melta

10x assault Marine/2x flamer, hand flamer & power fist - landraider Crusader/pintle mounted multi-melta

 

This was another game wherein my dice were burning hot. My Stormraven wrecked three of my opponent's landraiders on glancing hits from either the Bloodstrike missiles or twin linked multi-melta. It was crazy. I knew I needed to massacre my opponent to win since he went first and had a scoring unit on the objective starting on the first turn. This was the game in which my Vanguard veterans scattered into a squad of assault Marines and mishapped. It was okay though since by then it was the 3rd turn and I wiped him out to the last Marine the following turn. So this game I scored full points moving up to table #7 for the seventh and final round.

 

• 7th game versus IG (player rating = 4)

The primary for this mission was the one where you place one objective in each deployment zone with Dawn of War. Massacre if you hold both objectives, minor win if you hold one and contest the other, draw if both players hold one objective and a big fat loss if you control neither objective. My opponent had a classic mech IG list:

 

CCS/MotF, 3x meltagun - chimera

CCS/Astropath, 3G plasmagun - chimera

 

Battle Psyker Squad - chimera

 

Several squads of vets - some mounted in chimeras & some riding in the Vendettas

 

3x Vendetta

 

2x Demolisher

2x Hydra

 

This game I felt I would have to play for a draw versus all that firepower placing my objective close to my table edge beside a building that was walled up, excellent for blocking off enemy LOS. This was the game in which I combat squadded by assault Marines attaching the Chaplain to one squad that would deepstrike; the other combat squad I placed behind the building close to the objective so they could make a run onto my objective on turn 6 (I got to go second). There was a big hill providing intervening terrain in the center of the table and my opponent placed his objective behind it. It was a bloody game for sure with both sides taking lots of causalities over the course. I kept the Sanguinor and the Furioso in the Stormraven and when it came in from reserve I parked my gunship beside my building blasting away at incoming chimeras. I sent commander Dante and his Sanguniary Guard out to contest the enemy objective along with the Vanguard veterans. They both blew up a chimera, killed some vets then were tormented to death. The rest of forces holed up around my objective fighting off wave after wave of incoming guardsmen. By the last turn all I had left was the Furioso and two assault Marines. There were two remnant squads of vets and one CCS holding my objective. The Furioso came out from behind the building dosing two squads of guardsmen with the heavy flamer then charged the remainder slicing them apart with it's Blood Talons. Only two guardsmen left for my two assault Marines to tackle and I would secure the draw. Bolt pistols fired, both missing then I charged in routing them and consolidated onto my objective. I didn't score any points for the secondary or tertiary nor any of the tactical bonuses. This opponent was quite cagey and played it very well using the strengths of his army to their best. The Sanguinor must have been tired out as he did squat this game and was torrented off the table by the Hydras.

 

So that was it. I finished in the 24th position out of over 160 players. I had a great time and would recommend BoLScon to anyone. All the missions were well designed, great staff of TOs and some fantastic opponents.

 

0b

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I'll post up batreps from the team tourney over the weekend. We were running my JLA DC army.

 

0b :wacko: