Battle Report - 750 vs Salamanders

[bulley]

2nd Game tonight a small "quick game", again against a very pleasant chap, who I've seen eating some of the other players at 750 points with this list, but I felt confident.

 

I'll keep this report short and sweet much like the game was.

 

The Lists

 

I used my normal 750 list:

 

Libby - Rage / Shield

Sang Priest

 

x5 RAS w/ PW/MG - AssCan Razor

x5 RAS w/ PW - AssCan Razor

x5 RAS w/ MG - HB Razor

x5 RAS - HB Razor

 

His list:

 

VULKAN!

 

x5 TH Terms!

x1 MM/CC Dread w/ EArmor

 

x5 Tacticals

x5 Tactiacls w/ Rhino

 

His list has been doing well against the slower guys - and even the guys popping DE up, as he just BBQ's people with Vulkan then charges if he can. So was wery of that,

 

The Setup

 

Big terrain piece (ruin) in middle of a "valley" and then not much else, was on a 4x4 board so just smatterings of small cover on the flanks/table edges.

 

DEPLOYMENT: Spear Head

Mission: KP's

 

I win first turn.

 

I setup the 4 razors in a line on my 12" edge of the center, I knew he'd LOS me by going sort of near the center line of his 1/4 but being fast I was hoping for a few shots first turn.

 

The Game

 

First turn I move up 12" where I can, 1 HB finds a hole w/ LOS through the ruin to the tacticals (which meant he went backwards), the AC and HB "peak" around the corner to get LOS @ the terms/ Dread/ tacticals. The final AC just sits behind them as he wouldnt get range. I fire my HB's at his tacticals and drop 1. The AC fires at his Dread - get x2 rendings and roll a 5 and a 6, I do apolagise because that was a bit crappy for him, but he does admit he didnt place it well.

 

His first he just has to plough forward, his rhino goes 12 (with vulkan and x5 tacticals) and his termies just run (get about 11").

 

In the second I just establish now that he has no anti-tank and start to run circles. I pop the AC's at the terms and drop 1 or 2, and try to use the HB's on them I think, but he just makes saves.

Again he moves forward, trying to get vulkan near me, he gets his rhino beyond the mid way point, I am now pearched with the 2 AC's on the hill in the center back, and the HB's on the center left. He really still cant fire.

 

In turn 3 I fire again at the terms and drop them now to 2 - which makes me think about assaulting then. The second AC imob's the rhino but I've not moved my HB razor very well and know it will get assaulted, which he does in his T3, however he doesnt do anything.

 

In turn 4 I just move the HB away and let rip onto his tacticals with a AC and HB. The other HB tank shocks (more because I was bored) his terms and gets wrecked (death or glory!), however they get out and kill the other two terms w/ melta and bolt pistol fire. In his T4 he gets vulkan and the last couple of his squad right up to my command razor and assaults, but again nothing.

 

In turn 5 I get my command squad out, take a wound of vulkan via shooting (he allocated) and the rest of his squad, and assault and manage to finish him off.

 

He calls it at this stage - he has nothing that can demech w/ out getting combat and I can just move and finish is final tactical squad.

 

KP - 3 to 1 in my favour.

 

Though he does try and say that the transports arent KP - but I am sure they are? Yet to look it up - if not it was 3-0.

 

Conclusion

 

Was a quick fire game, which just allowed me to playtest again before we do this 750 tourney. My list is probably one of the worst for him to face as there is no way I'd let him get those TH into combat (I tank shocked for giggles, I'd never have done that if Vulkan wasnt about to die!). He's had a good run against a few of the other guys, so was interesting to scope him out. I think he's going to find a bit of a way to get better anti mech in as there is another guy that is running x2 wave serpents x1 falcon at 750 which will give him an even harder time.

 

The AC's keep doing it for me, I keep thinking about going las plas, but they are dropping the AV12 dreads each time I face them.

 

I am contemplating blood lance, but not sure if I want to replace rage, as it nearly cost me a game not having it the other week. Shield very rarely seems to do anything for me these days as I do really concentrate on getting cover saves for my tanks and tbh could pop smoke if I was desperate.

 

May do a bit of tweaking here and there, but generally, except the 1 game where my dice failed me (and realised I made a rules error which would have at least given me a fighting chance) the list has served me well.

[Drachnon]

Nice victory though I do feel like your list is very vunerable against auto cannons. Still I think your opponents list wasn't that great either seems very slow and with the only thing that can take out armor at range being the dreads MM he probably be'd better off trading in the terminators to expand his tactical squads to 10 so he can field some weapons other then bolters.

[bulley]

Thats what I said to him. I gave him a couple of idea's. I felt that the dread with a MM isnt really "anti mech" - due to being only 24 inch range. I did say drop Vulkan which free's up 190, use 100 to get a libby with gate of infinity for the terms and then 90 to get the remainder tacticals w/ a ML and MG - put the MG in the rhino and the ML at the back field. But since there is a "fluff" element to the tourney (well vague fluff), he wants Vulkan to be off searching for relics or something. In that case I suggested dropping the dread, giving him 120 odd points and beefing up the tacitcals again (MG in the rhino w/ rerolls on the melta should be decent enough), or grabbing a small dev squad w/ x2 or x3 ML's. I did give him a fair few list improvements.

 

I am vulnerable to autocannons - fortunatly there is not a lot of them knocking around. Also without "demeching myself" there is not much I can do, I typically have 4+ or at worst 5+ cover saves, so I do protect myself, and due to being a small game, if I dont get first I can hide pretty easy from anti mech - and I pretty much always target that first turn.

 

I am almost tempted to drop the priest (though furious charge has won me 2 games out right) and get extra armor on 3 tanks - or 2 and get another MG or PW in there. Or Get 1 EA on the "front tank" and upgrade 1 HB to a lasplas or twin linked lascannon for some str9 action. I have options anyway. Though this is why I am thinking about Rage/Lance rather than shield/rage - as I can try and lance his "tougher" things in the first couple of turns before I set up my charge.

 

I am yet to play the eldar guy, and he is about the only guy I worry about. With x3 grav tanks he could be an issue. Think he's still using Yuriel and then x5 avengers x5 avengers.