Strike Force Baptiste (Mortifactors)

[Koyote]

Still not much progress to report...

 

I did, however, get some time to distribute the skulls from GW's Finecast Pack of Skulls to the army's bases. I also textured all of the bases with Fine Ballast from Woodland Scenics.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/WIPMorts.jpg

[Lachdannan]

Nice, it does remind me I need some Aegis Defence lines for my Fists.

[philsminions]

Really nice project. I liked the battle report a lot...it really helps have an experienced player put together detailed reports for those of us that have yet to play very much in 6e. The "thoughts" are very helpful...keep the explanations coming! Look forward to seeing those lovely models completed.

[Bannus]

Looks like it is time to start priming and painting.

[Koyote]

Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, a question popped into my mind: Do Grey Knights have access to the Divination discipline? If so, I could upgrade Inquisitor Baptiste to a psykyer and give my Mortifactors army access to Prescience.

 

Well, it turns out GK Inquisitors do have access to the Divination discipline. So, this morning, I got to work on an alternate Inquisitor Baptiste model. Alt Baptiste exchanges his conversion beamer for the psyker upgrade, a plasma pistol, and digital weapons. I went with the force axe over a force sword because an Inquisitor is only strength 3. A strength 4 power weapon with one re-roll to wound isn't too shabby. :)

 

Fortunately, I had almost all of the pieces I needed to assemble a near duplicate Inquisitor Baptiste. I'm missing the proper 'Grimaldus' backpack, but thanks to eBay, that won't be a problem for too long. For now, the alt model will have to make due with a temporary backpack.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BaptisteWIP.jpg

 

When one imagines an 'Inquisitor,' one doesn't necessarily think 'axe.' Accordingly, I wanted to customize the axe and pose to counter balance the oddness my weapon selection. I have 3 or 4 different types of power axes in my bits box. Because an Inquisitor is human, I wanted the axe's blade to be a bit smaller than the typical SM power axe. Also, because I wanted a different pose, I couldn't use any of the power axes 'straight off the sprue.' After tinkering around for a while, I settled upon an 'at rest' pose rather than a combat pose. I began with the same CSM arm that I used in the original Baptiste model -the CSM heavy bolter arm. I removed the skull knob and attached the arm to the body, slightly rotated. Below the hand I attached the shaft from a 2nd Edition SM power axe. The head of axe is from a more modern SM power axe bit. The blade of the axe is from the WFB Chaos Warriors kit. Once assembled I added an Inquisition 'I' carved from styrene, to either side of the axe head. Finally, a bit of green stuff was used to patch up some cracks and sculpt the articulated armpit armor.

 

After all that I work, I took a photo and began this post. As I was doing so, I paused to look something up in the GK codex and realized that an Inquisitors cannot have a force axe. The unit entry explicitly describes the weapon as a "force sword." :( !!!

 

Oh well, back to the drawing board. :(

 

It's unlikely that Alt Baptiste will permanently replace the original, but from time to time, it will be fun to have the option to switch him out.

[jeremy1391]

Lovely inquisitor, what squad is he going to roll with?

[Koyote]

Lovely inquisitor, what squad is he going to roll with?

I dunno. It will depend upon what Divination power I roll for him. Some of the Divination powers work on the unit the psyker is with and some can be cast on other units, up to 12" away. For instance, Perfect Timing grants the unit the Psyker is with Ignore Cover. Imagine how great that would be if cast upon my Dev squad. It would negate the protection offered by cover, Night Fight, Jink, or even smoke launchers. Similarly, Foreboding (i.e. Counter-Attack and Overwatch at full BS) would be an awesome buff for my Sternguard.

 

Another factor to consider is that the Grey Knight Strike squad is the only squad in the army without the Stubborn special rule. If 'psyker' Inquisitor Baptiste joins the Strike squad, my entire army will benefit from Stubborn.

 

 

 

...After all that I work, I took a photo and began this post. As I was doing so, I paused to look something up in the GK codex and realized that an Inquisitors cannot have a force axe. The unit entry explicitly describes the weapon as a "force sword." ^_^ !!!

 

Oh well, back to the drawing board. :woot:

When life gives you lemons, blind the xenos scum with the lemon juice, steal one of their wraithbone blades, and then suffer not the alien to live!

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/WIPMorts2.jpg

 

Pskyer Baptiste has been reequipped with a blade from an old Eldar model, which seems quite fitting as Baptiste is an Ordo Xenos inquisitor. Keeping with the Ordo Xenos theme, I added an plastic Eldar grenade to the belt of both Baptiste models. You can see the placement of the xenos grenade in the photo, on the hip of Shooty Baptiste.

 

In the hands of an Inquisitor a force sword isn't quite as good as a force axe, but I like the look of the Eldar weapon in the hands of Baptiste. Moreover, I like the that it serves as a strong visual cue identifying the model as an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.

 

The custom axe didn't go to waste either. I replaced Brother Sergeant Ixion's original power axe with the converted axe that I made for Baptiste. The Inquisition 'I' on the axe head works nicely with the model's Deathwatch theme.

[Koyote]

Last night, I played a pick-up game at the Seattle Battle Bunker. Once again, my opponent was a Dark Eldar player. He played a Baron Sathonyx list, which I found to be a refreshing change from the all too common Raider/Venom spam lists.

 

My opponent was unaware of the new FAQ, so when he explained to me how he had designed one unit to take advantage of 'Look Out Sir' shenanigans, I couldn't help but grin as I gave him the bad news.

 

The LOS shenanigans unit was the Baron leading 5 Beastmasters accompanied by 5 Clawed Fiends. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dark Eldar, here's how the LoS shenanigans work. Beastmasters (and the Baron of course) are characters. Clawed Fiends have 4 wounds each. The Beastmasters lead the way and when the unit takes wounds, they get distributed via LOS to various Clawed Fiends throughout the unit. Even better, the Clawed Fiends' Bestial Fury rule states that a Fiend gains +1 attack for each wound it suffers. Fiends have are S5 A4 base. Nasty.

 

Even without the LOS shenanigans, the unit is pretty formidable. As soon as the number of Fiends in unit equals or exceeds the number of Dark Eldar, the unit's 'majority toughness' is 5. The Baron also gives the unit Hit and Run.

 

My list was the same that I played before. My opponent's list was as follows:

 

Baron Sathonyx

2 Haemonculus -Hexrifles

5 Wracks -Hexrifle

4 x 10 Hellions -stuff

5 Beastmasters & 5 Clawed Fiends

2 x 10 Scourges -4 Hawwire Blasters

3 Ravagers -3 Disintegrator Cannons

 

We began by randomly generated the mission, deployment, and terrain. We played Purge the Alien (kill points) with a Dawn of War deployment (standard 12"). And while the table had a fair amount of terrain on it (lots of 4+ cover for the DE) and our armies both had roughly the same number of kill points, the confluence of mission, my opponent's army, and my army, gave me an advantage from the start. Without the need to move beyond my Aegis Defense line, I could just sit back and pound away at the Dark Eldar as they approached.

 

Plus, I learned a new trick (at least new to me). Is set up my Aegis Defense Line at the edge of my deployment zone and behind it, during terrain setup, I placed a set of ruins, which I then fortified with my Techmarine's Bolster Defenses rule. This gave me a fortified (3+ cover), elevated platform for my Devastators and extra cover for my tanks. Fortress Morifactors!

 

Here's a photo from Turn 2. My Sternguard are in their Rhino and my Purifiers are in the Razorback that is hidden behind the ruins.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BR2a.jpg

 

 

The game was fairly one sided. My opponent chose to hold all 4 units of Hellions and his Baron/Beastmaster unit in reserve. Unlucky reserve rolls meant that these units trickled on, giving me plenty of time to shoot apart his fire support elements before my Mortifactors become entangled in hand-to-hand. A mistake my opponent admitted and is unlikely to repeat.

 

On Turn 3 a unit of Hellions made a desperate 8" charge, tying up some of my shooting and setting up the Baron/Beastmasters unit for a Turn 4 charge. But alas, the dice gods are fickle, and after losing a few models from shooting at the top of Turn 4, the Baron's unit of Beasties rolled an 11 for their Morale check, turned tail, and fled.

 

The store closed so we had to cut the game short. I was ahead, 7+1 (First Blood) to 3 at the top of Turn 4. All 3 Ravagers were destroyed, as were both units of Scourges, a Haemonculus, and a unit of Wracks.

 

This is how the board looked when time was called.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BR2e.jpg

 

Thoughts:

 

The Quad-gun was worth every point as it shot down 4 times its point value in Ravagers before its untimely demise to Shardcarbine fire on Turn 3. Also, the Aegis Defense line is pure gold! On Turn 1 the Grey Knight Strike squad was hit by a tidal wave of AP2 Disintegrator shots, but by going to ground behind the ADL, and thus gaining a 2+ cover save, the unit escaped without a scratch.

 

I am eager to try out Psyker Baptiste, but the additional fire support I get from Shooty Baptiste's Conversion Beamer is hard to give up.

 

The Grey Knight Razorback with psybolt ammo has turned out to be a strong, point-efficient addition to my army. The twin-linked, S6 shots are pretty good at tackling light vehicles and infantry. Also, Fortitude is awesome.

 

The only questions we had related to the Quad-gun. Because it has a non-vehicle stat line, do Dark Eldar gain a pain token when they destroy it? Also, is it worth a Kill Point? For the purposes of this game, I said yes to both questions, without argument. However, in tournament play, where there's a bit more on the line, I'd like to know for certain.

[jeremy1391]

Hey I learned something recently, your psyker version of Baptiste can only truly benefit your GK squad, since GK are allies of convenience to space marines and not battle brothers they cannot target your space marines as friendly models.

[Koyote]

Hey I learned something recently, your psyker version of Baptiste can only truly benefit your GK squad, since GK are allies of convenience to space marines and not battle brothers they cannot target your space marines as friendly models.

Doh!

 

Thanks for pointing that out. :)

 

I just reread the allies rules and realized something I've done incorrectly. Inquisitor Baptiste cannot join my Mortifactor squads. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/homerdoh.gif

[jeremy1391]

It is heart breaking because I was going to do what you had planned with an inquisitor :)

[Koyote]

It is heart breaking because I was going to do what you had planned with an inquisitor :devil:

It's not all bad news. An Inquisitor is still a cheap way to gain access to Grey Knights allies. Moreover, the Divination psychic abilities still work fairly well on Grey Knights. And since many of them are Blessings, they are used at the beginning of your movement phase and last until the end of your opponent's turn. So, for instance, you cast Prescience on your Grey Knights (who at WS4 probably need it to make up for their low number of attacks) and you get to re-roll to hit in your Shooting Phase, your Assault Phase, and your opponent's Assault Phase. Not too shabby. Misfortune is still equally useful. Armed with all those stormbolters, Foreboding and Perfect Timing still pretty good as well -especially against opponents with a low armor save.

[Koyote]

I regret to report that my first Mortifactors test paint mini wsa a failure. It's been dismembered and is currently resting in a cup of Simple Green. I don't know if it was the old primer, the new paints I'm experimenting with, or the fact that I'm 6 beers in, but the model was a comp;llllllte and utter failure. Oh well.

 

You kids out there, listen to me. Don't drink and paint. http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e14106//e14106.gif

[Koyote]

My third game of 6e is scheduled for this afternoon. My opponent is an old friend from out of town. In anticipation of our game, my friend wrote the following introduction to our game on another message board:

 

Despite Captain Artemis' impressive history of faithful service to the Emperor, his recent and well-known communion with the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor known by the name of Baptiste has become a topic of immense intrigue and concern among the ecclesiarchy. It is said that Baptiste sometimes wields a power sword of xenos origin into battle, which he claimed from a dead Eldar. While it cannot deny Baptiste's right to enjoy the spoils of war, nor does it doubt his observance of the proper precautions before operating xenos technology, the ecclesiarchy cannot help but suspect that the soul from the sword's spirit stone escaped during the stone's removal from the sword and now threatens to take host of Baptiste's mind...if it has not done so already.

 

It is the ecclesiarchy's position that the possibility of Inquisitor Baptiste's corruption presents risks that completely outweigh any benefits of his continued service under Captain Artemis, Master of the Marches. The threat posed by this possible infiltration and its potential influence on the mind of one of the Imperium's greatest commanders is not to be underestimated. After Baptiste's removal, Artemis' Fifth Company shall be staffed with a new and pure inquisitor, and the integrity of Artemis' faith evaluated, should he survive.

 

To remove the xenos threat, the ecclesiarchy has dispatched the loyal sisters of the Order of the Brazen Chalice, the intensity of whose fanaticism is matched only by the screams of those who fall subject to their judgment. May the guilty tremble before the light of the Emperor, shining forth from the holy trinity that is bolter, flamer and melta, and kneel in repentance beneath the teeth of the eviscerator.

 

To be continued...

[Koyote]

Missive to the Inquisitorial Fortress on Talasa Prime sent by Inquisitor Baptiste upon learning of the Writ of Capias issued in his name:

 

Preposterous! As anyone with knowledge of these matters can tell you, for an Inquisitor of my experience, the modification in question is the most elementary of procedures. And thus, there was never any threat of corruption to my person or soul.

 

Clearly, the Order of the Brazen Chalice has been deceived and thus reduced to a base and unwitting tool of the Great Enemy. And while it would pain me dearly to spill the blood of the chaste and devout sisterhood, the machinations of N’Kari, arch-fiend of Malan’tai, will not deter me from the commission of my duty.

 

May the Emperor grant mercy on these Sisters' misguided souls.

 

-Inquisitor Lucian Baptiste, Ordo Xenos

[Lachdannan]

I regret to report that my first Mortifactors test paint mini wsa a failure. It's been dismembered and is currently resting in a cup of Simple Green. I don't know if it was the old primer, the new paints I'm experimenting with, or the fact that I'm 6 beers in, but the model was a comp;llllllte and utter failure. Oh well.

 

You kids out there, listen to me. Don't drink and paint. http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e14106//e14106.gif

 

This made my morning!

[Koyote]

The war for the Agrippina Sector still rages. Ravaged by The Despoiler's 13th Crusade, much of the battle scarred planet of Agrippina now lies in ruin. The auguries have revealed that the Great Enemy, in its haste to retreat off world, has left behind something of profound and esoteric value -a tome of prophecies penned by the traitor legionnaire, Anandua. This record along with its author’s remains, lie forgotten, beneath a collapsed manufactorum cathedral, upon a long abandoned battlefield. Within the pages of this dark volume is a foretelling of the return of Arch-fiend of Malan’tai. And if the insane ravings of the Dark Acolyte can be deciphered, Inquisitor Baptiste believes the time and place of N’Kari's return can be known.

 

To claim the Anandua’s tome, Strike Force Baptiste has landed, in force, upon Agrippina only to find the Order of the Brazen Chalice, arrayed for battle. How the Battle Sisters learned of Baptiste’s precise destination is a worrisome mystery, but Baptiste has no time to waste on excoriating Adepta Sororitas.

 

Inquisitors are answerable to no higher power except the Emperor. Thus, by the authority granted to him by Inquisitorial Mandate, Inquisitor Lucian Baptiste has condemned to death any upon Agrippina who attempt interfere with his mission or enforce the Writ of Capias issued against him.

 

 

My third game of 6e was against my good friend Lorin. It was a 2000 point game against a Sisters of Battle army.

 

I played with the same army I used in the first two games.

 

Lorin's army:

 

Saint Celestine

Company Command Squad -lascannon, regimental standard

2 x 10 Repentia

Marbo

3 x 10 Battle Sisters -stuff

2 Rhinos

Infantry Platoon -platoon command squad, 2 infantry squads w/ lascannon, & 1 heavy weapon squad 2/ mortars

Chimera

10 Seraphim -stuff

10 Retributers -4 heavy bolters

2 Exorcists

 

Because I have already played the 'kill point' and "draw" missions, we agreed beforehand to play the Crusade mission with 5 objectives. We randomly generated the Vanguard Strike deployment type and used the Alternating Terrain rule to setup the board. As in my last game, I placed a set of ruins behind my ADL, which I then fortified with my Techmarine's Bolster Defenses ability.

 

I have 17+ thematic objectives, which includes at least one objective for each 40K army type. We took turns choosing objective. Lorin selected the Sisters of Battle Relics, the Fuel Supply, and the Injured Dire Avenger Exarch. I chose the Adeptus Mechanicus survey team and the Chaos Altar & Book.

 

Lorin began by placing the Eldar objective in my deployment zone to represent the alleged "xenos corruption" of Inquisitor Baptiste. In response I placed the Chaos Altar & Book in his deployment zone. Clearly, I wasn't paying very close attention to what was going on after the first two objectives were placed, because it wasn't until deployment that I realized that two of the objectives had been placed in Lorin's deployment zone -giving him a nice advantage from the outset.

 

Lorin's Warlord trait was The Dust of a Thousand Worlds, which was great for him because he had so much terrain on his side of the board. I rolled Master of Defense, which, because of my play style seemed quite fitting.

 

No Night Fighting on Turn 1.

 

Lorin won the roll-off and deployed first. This is what it looked like:

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BR3a.jpg

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BR3b.jpg

 

 

More later...

[Koyote]

Turn 1

 

I failed to Seize the Initiative, so Lorin went first.

 

Lorin began by moving all of his Sisters, except for his Retribution squad, forward while his Guardsmen remained behind to hold the objectives. Those models that didn’t shoot, Ran. Both Exorcists moved out from behind a set of ruins to get a bead on my Thunderfire Cannon.

 

Terrified that my Thunderfire Cannon would lay waste to the Guard units holding his objectives, Lorin fired both Exorcists and every heavy weapon that he had at Sin Eater. I surprised myself by making a few cover saves, but in the end, Brother Techmarine Argus’ pride and joy was destroyed before it could fire a single shot.

 

While the loss of my Thunderfire Cannon was vexing, Lorin’s laser focus on destroying my big gun meant that my transports escaped Turn 1 unscathed, preserving my army's most mobile elements. The lead Rhino transported a combat squad of Tactical marines. I used this Rhino to screen the Rhino carrying my Deathwatch (i.e. Sternguard). Behind them, my Purifiers' Razorback rumbled forward into cover behind my ADL.

 

In my shooting phase I fired everything I had at the 2 Exorcists. My lascannons took 2 hull points off one tank and destroyed its exorcist missile launcher. Artemis (Pedro) called down an Orbital Bombardment, centered upon the second Exorcist, but the blast scattered off the table. My Devastators’ krak missiles were equally ineffective. Inquisitor Baptiste’s conversion beamer scattered a couple of inches, immobilizing the second Exorcist and vaporizing an IG mortar crew.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/BR3c.jpg

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3g.jpg

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 3

Sisters of Battle: 6

 

 

 

Turn 2

 

Lorin began by rolling for his reserves and lo and behold, Marbo arrived. The intrepid Marbo had one mission, assassinate Inquisitor Baptiste. Accordingly, Lorin placed the burly assassin directly behind Baptiste and well within demo charge range. First Blood!

 

Once again, aside from the Retribution squad and IG infantry squads, Lorin moved his Sister squads aggressively forward on my right flank, where I had the fewest number of marines.

 

Marbo’s demo charge landed right on target. Inquisitor Baptiste failed his 2+ Look out Sir roll. Baptiste was removed from the game along with 2 Grey Knights and 2 Tactical marines from a nearby squad. BOOM! The Tactical squad held its ground, but Baptiste’s Grey Knight “bodyguard” fled.

 

The remainder of Lorin’s shooting wrecked the Rhino transporting 5 Tactical marines and poured a TON of wounds onto the Tactical squad holding my right flank. The Tactical squad ‘went to ground,’ gaining a 2+ cover save behind the ADL, but still suffered 3 casualties.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3e.jpg

 

On my turn, I rallied the Grey Knights and moved them in a semi-circular firing squad around Marbo. I also moved a few marines from my Devastator squad so that one could move into base contact with the Quad-gun. The gun was manned by the Tactical squad on Turn1, but since the Tacts had ‘Gone to Ground,’ I wanted the Quad-gun to fire at BS4 this turn.

 

On my left flank, the Tactical marines from the wrecked Rhino, hunkered behind their ruined transport and took control of the Fuel Supply objective. The Deathwatch’s Rhino moved towards the Mechanicus Survey Team objective in the center of the table. The Purifier’s Razorback also moved forward. Both transports fired their smoke launchers.

 

Surrounded by enemies and grossly outnumbered, my Assault Terminator squad, commanded by Artemis and joined by Brother Techmarine Argus, cautiously moved forward.

 

My Shooting Phase was a joke. The rallied Grey Knight Strike Squad inflicted a single wound on Marbo. My Devastators fired 4 frag missiles, bolters, and a Quad-gun into a bunched up Battle Sisters squad but inflicted only 3 casualties. The Sisters easily passed their Morale Check.

 

During my Assault Phase the Strike Squad avenged the fallen Inquisitor and slaughtered Marbo.

 

At the end of Turn 2, things were looking pretty grim for our heroes. The Mortifactors held two objectives, but their shooting had been reduced to a trickle, Baptiste had been removed from the game, and 60+ Sisters and their allies were closing in. To make matters worse, the Sisters still had an overwhelming firepower advantage and it appeared as if my elite assault unit, the Terminators, were about to get hit from multiple directions.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3f.jpg

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 6

Sisters of Battle: 10

 

 

Thoughts:

 

Since my Thunderfire Cannon seems to draws so much firepower, when I select a set of ruins to place behind my ADL, I should try to find ruins with an area large enough to deploy my TC. This way it can benefit from a 3+ cover save. Alternatively, if the deployment type is Vanguard Strike or Hammer and Anvil, I should take full advantage of the TC's 60" range and deploy it as far from my opponent's guns as possible. Of course, since most heavy weapons are mobile, this doesn't prevent my opponent from moving guns into range, but it will certainly reduce the number of guns firing on it during the first turn or two of the game.

 

 

More later...

[Koyote]

Turn 3 –Sisters of Battle

 

Emboldened by his superior numbers, firepower, and field position, Lorin moved in for the kill. His Chimera rumbled up to my far right flank and deployed an Infantry Command Squad armed with 3 flamers. Two squads of Battle Sister moved up to within ‘double tap’ range of my Terminators. Lorin used the Sisters as a screen for his 2 Repentia squads and Seraphim squad, enabling him to counter attack any squad that dared to assault his Battle Sisters.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3h.jpg

 

 

Once again, Lorin did an admirable job of prioritizing his targets. Despite their 2+ saves, I lost all 5 of my Assault Terminators and Brother Techmarine Argus. Artemis escaped the torrent of firepower unharmed and I passed his Morale Check.

 

Elsewhere, the combat squad (Roman 2) that was split off from the combat squad (Roman 1) holding the Fuel Supply objective, was also hit. And despite Going to Ground, the squad was reduced to a single Tactical marine armed with a bolter.

 

The Infantry Command Squad scored quite a few wounds with their flamers, but I made most of my saves.

 

 

Turn 3 –Mortifactors

 

At this point in the game, things were looking pretty grim for me. I knew that to turn this game around, I had to act aggressively, and on multiple fronts. So after some deliberation, I moved the Razor towards a squad of Repentia led by Saint Celestine. The Purifiers disembarked into a position where I could pour enfilading fire into the Repentia with the squad’s incinerator and stormbolters.

 

I moved my Deathwatch’s Rhino into the difficult terrain near the Adeptus Mechanicus Survery Team objective. I disembarked both combat squads so they could fire on the Battle Sisters holding the objective.

 

Joined by Artemis, I moved the 7 survivors of Tactical Squad Benedict, over my ADL and towards the waiting Sisters. Devastator Squad Strabo shouldered their heavy weapons and climbed down the ruins. They too were going to join in on the assault.

 

I knew it was a gamble, but I moved the combat squad (Roman 1) that was holding the Fuel Supply objective, out of cover, and towards the IG unit holding the Chaos Altar & Book objective. I’d need to roll a high charge move for this squad to make contact with the IG. I’d be abandoning the Fuel Supply objective, but if my plan succeeded, Lorin would lose an objective that I would then be in control of.

 

My Shooting Phase went extraordinarily well. A concerted effort by Tactical Squad Benedict (pistols, melta, and Artemis’ stormbolter) and Strike Squad Victor, reduced the Battle Sister squad screening the Seraphim to two models. The Devastators scored a couple of IG kills with their bolt pistols. Thanks to some lucky cover and armor saves, the Deathwatch only killed 5 Sisters from the squad they targeted. They also seized control of the Survey Team objective. Lastly, and best of all, the Purifiers completely wiped out the Repentia squad and Instant Killed unlucky Saint Celestine.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3i.jpg

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3j.jpg

 

 

In my Assault Phase, I failed to roll high enough for combat squad Roman to assault the IG holding the Chaos Altar & Book objective. Elsewhere, I had more luck. Both the Devs and Tactical Squad made contact with the enemy. Again, I gambled. I had the Tactical Squad charge both the remnants of the Battle Sister squad and the Seraphim that they were screening. I knew that after this assault, Lorin’s surviving Repentia squad was going to massacre Tactical squad Benedict, so I wanted to inflict as many casualties as I could before the squad’s demise. And while I lost the squad’s charge bonus, Artemis’ (aka Pedro) Inspiring Presence rule essentially negated the penalty.

 

As I expected, Devastator Squad Strabo annihilated the Infantry Command Squad that had the temerity of moving behind my ADL. What I didn’t expect was that Artemis and his Tactical squad defeated both Sister squads and then ran down the fleeing survivors.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3k2.jpg

 

 

After winning the combat, I used my Consolidation Move to move Artemis and the Tactical squad away from the Repentia squad and towards my Deathwatch. I knew that I was still going to be in range of the Repentia squad, but I wanted to draw his Repentia in and set up a likely counter charge with my Devs and maybe my Sternguard.

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/199/br3lw.jpg

 

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 6 (7 pending whether Saint Celestine is alive at the end of the game)

Sisters of Battle: 7

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This was quite a turn for me. While I only managed to crawl up from a 4 point deficit to a ‘draw,’ I killed 33 Sisters in one turn and seized from Lorin his momentum. Yeah-me. :)

 

In hindsight, assaulting the IG with my combat squad was an unnecessary risk, but if things hadn’t gone as well for me elsewhere, taking the objective would have created some additional pressure on Lorin. At the very least, it would have forced him to divert some of his forces from the brawl going on in the center of the table, in order to retake the objective.

 

Pedro’s (Artemis) Inspiring Presence rule is pure gold. It gives Tactical and Dev squads the same number of attacks as an Assault squad. And while he isn’t a monster in combat, like Lysander or Calgar, the buffs he provides his army (i.e. Stubborn, +1 attack 12” radius, and ‘scoring’ Sternguard) make him a top notch HQ pick.

 

 

More later...

[Koyote]

Turn 4 –Sisters of Battle

 

Lorin began his turn by making a Miraculous Intervention test to determine if Saint Celestine returned from the dead. He failed and she remained a pile of ash and smoking armor.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/haha.gif

 

 

As expected, during the Movement Phase, Lorin moved the Repentia squad towards Artemis and Tactical Squad Benedict. Then, correctly identifying my Deathwatch and Purifiers as a threat to multiple Sisters and IG squads, Lorin shuffled around his squads to create fire lanes and protect his most vulnerable units. The Battle Sister squad that my Deathwatch had mauled retreated and was reinforced by a squad of 10 Battle Sisters. The Infantry Squad that combat squad Roman failed to charge also made a tactical withdrawal. The Exorcist with the destroyed missile launcher was moved up to help screen the retreating guardsmen.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3m.jpg

 

During the Shooting Phase, Lorin divided most of his fire between the Purifiers and the Deathwatch. One Deathwatch combat squad lost 4 marines and the other only 1 marine. The Purifiers were reduced to a single model, the Knight of the Flame (i.e. the squad’s Justicar).

 

Back at my ADL, the Chimera fired at the marines holding my objective, but it failed to cause any casualties.

 

All squads required to test passed their Morale Check.

 

As expected, the Assault Phase did not go well for Tactical Squad Benedict. Artemis challenged and killed the Mistress of Repentance, but not before suffering a wound from her neural whips –ouch!. The Tactical squad was annihilated. Aside from their Mistress, the Repentia suffered no casualties. I lost by ‘3’, but thanks to Artemis’ (Pedro’s) Stubborn rule, I passed my Morale Check with ease.

 

 

Turn 4 –Mortifactors

 

I began my turn by advancing my Devastators and Deathwatch combat squads towards the Repentia and the embattled Artemis. I recognized that even if I were to rescue the Mortifacators captain from the eviscerators of the Repentia, after the Repentia were dead or driven off, Artemis would remain a single model unit during Lorin’s turn. As my Warlord, he’d be an enticing and vulnerable target for the Sisters’ shooting, so to provide him some additional protection, I moved the Deathwatch’s Rhino to screen him.

 

Combat squad Roman was cut off from most of my army and the Sisters still had way too many guns for my liking, so the Tactical squad retreated back behind their wrecked transport.

 

During my Shooting Phase, Combat Squad Roman fired at the Exorcist with a melta gun, but scored only a glancing hit. The Grey Knight Strike squad, back behind my ADL, fired at the Chimera, destroyed its heavy flamer and scored a glancing hit, reducing the tank to 1 hull point. My Grey Knights’ Razorback, fired at the Company Command Squad, and because the Company Commander and lascannon crew were the closest models to the Razor, both were removed as casualties -Instant Killed, thanks to the Razor’s psybolt ammunition.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3n.jpg

 

 

Predictably, the assault against the Repentia was one sided and the squad was destroyed without the loss of a single marine. Artemis and the 3 squads which had come to his rescue, consolidated around the Survey Team objective and behind the cover of the Deathwatch’s Rhino.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3r.jpg

 

 

The desperate charge by the Purifier against the Infantry squad didn’t go nearly as well. The guardsmen fired Overwatch and scored a hit with a lascannon and 2 lasguns. Lorin failed to wound with the lascannon, but scored a wound with one of the lasguns. I failed the armor save and Justicar Roland, Knight of the Flame, was knocked out of the game by a fricking flashlight.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/haha.gif

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3o.jpg

 

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 9 (10 pending whether Saint Celestine is alive at the end of the game)

Sisters of Battle: 7

 

 

Thoughts:

 

While I was ahead in VPs, I recognized at the time that my lead was tenuous. The Eldar objective was held by 1 Tactical marine and 3 Grey Knights. The Fuel Supply objective was held by 5 Tactical marines, who were far away from my other squads, so essentially on their own. The squads holding the Survey Team objective had all suffered casualties and Lorin still had quite a few Sisters nearby. Plus he still had several fire support squads remaining to support said Sisters. To make matters worse, if Saint Celestine were to return, her speed would allow her to reach any one of my objectives and tip the game balance in Lorin’s favor. Lastly, by scoring the First Blood VP, all that Lorin had to do to win the game was resurrect Saint Celestine and contest the Survey Team objective.

 

 

More later...

[Koyote]

Turn 5 –Sisters of Battle

 

Lorin began Turn 5 by once again failing to resurrect the smoldering saint. Then he rolled to see if the Night Fighting rules began –nope.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/haha.gif

 

In his Movement Phase, Lorin embarked the 5 surviving Battle Sisters onto a Rhino and moved the transport toward to Fuel Supply objective.

 

Over at the Fuel Supply objective, Combat squad Roman was Tank Shocked by the Exorcist. The squad passed its Morale Check and the marine armed with a meltagun stood his ground –Death or Glory. .

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3p.jpg

 

 

The Exorcist exploded spectacularly, but the unfortunate meltagunner suffered a wound from the explosion and failed his armor save.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3q.jpg

 

 

Lorin then used the Sisters’ Rhino that Artemis and the Devs had been sheltering behind to Tank Shock Artemis and the Deathwatch. All 3 units passed their Morale Check, but it mattered little to Lorin. The purpose of the maneuver was to push the Mortifactors away from the Survey Team objective and to screen the full strength Battle Sister squad.

 

During his Shooting Phase, Lorin destroyed both the Razorback and the Deathwatch Rhino. With the Rhino out of his way, he Ran his Sisters squad up to the Survey Team objective.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3s.jpg

 

 

Turn 5 –Mortifactors

 

I was running out of toy soldiers on the table, so I didn’t have much to do on my turn.

 

Back behind the ADL, I separated the lone Tactical marine from the remnants of Grey Knight Strike squad. With some distance between both squads and one squad on either side of the objective, if Lorin tried to Tank Shock with his Chimera, he could only hit one squad, ensuring that at least one scoring unit remained within 3” of the Eldar objective.

 

At the Fuel Supply objective, I moved the remnants of Tactical squad Roman behind the barricades. Next turn the Sisters would disembark from their Rhino and I wanted as much cover for the squad as possible.

 

At the center of the table, Artemis joined the larger of the two Deathwatch combat squads (4 marines) and along with the Devs, moved around the Sisters’ Rhino, towards the Battle Sisters holding the Survey Team objective. The Deathwatch combat squad comprised of a single marine, remained behind, sheltered in cover. It was only one model, but I didn’t want to lose the valuable scoring squad in the combat.

 

During my Assault, Artemis, the Deathwatch, and the Devs smashed into the Battle Sisters squad. The Sisters fled, but were caught and destroyed by my Sweeping Advance.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3t.jpg

 

 

A die was cast and the game continued for another turn.

 

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 9 (10 pending whether Saint Celestine is alive at the end of the game)

Sisters of Battle: 7

 

 

Thoughts:

 

Once again, the game was still very close. All that Lorin had to do was to resurrect Saint Celestine and contest one of my objectives and the game would be his. I, on the other hand, had to hold onto all three objectives or by some miracle, contest or take from Lorin, one of his objectives. The former wouldn't be easy as 2 of my objectives were held by a few marines each. The latter seemed nigh impossible as I didn't have anyone close enough to his IG Infantry squads to ensure an assault.

 

More later...

[Koyote]

Turn 6 –Sisters of Battle

 

Turn 6 began by night falling and a Saint rising from the ashes.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/saintcelestine2.jpg

 

Over at the Fuel Supply objective, the Sisters’ Rhino moved 6” towards the Combat squad Roman and disembarked –bolters at the ready.

 

Blade drawn and eager for revenge, Saint Celestine took to the skies and landed beside Brother Captain Artemis.

 

In the Shooting Phase, the Battle Sisters opened fire on Squad Roman. One marine failed his armor save, but the steadfast squad held firm.

 

The remainder of Lorin’s shooting was directed primarily at the Deathwatch squads, as these were the only squads capable of holding the Survey Team objective. When the smoke cleared, the Deathwatch were no more.

 

During Lorin’s Assault Phase, Saint Celestine struck down the wounded Captain Artemis before he had a chance to attack with his power fist.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3z.jpg

 

 

Thoughts:

 

At this point, the Mortifactors were in dire straits. The Sisters held 2 objectives and contested a third, while the Mortifactors held only 1 objective. And while it was not improbable for me to take back the contested Fuel Supply objective, and return it to a 2 objective vs 2 objective game, my Slay the Warlord victory point had dissolved. To make matters worse, by striking down Captain Artemis, Lorin had gained a Slay the Warlord victory point for himself.

 

On my turn I needed to take back the Fuel Supply objective, contest or deny one of Lorin’s objectives, and then pray that the game didn’t go to Turn 7.

 

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 3 (1 objective)

Sisters of Battle: 8 (2 objectives, First Blood, and Slay the Warlord)

 

 

More later...

[Koyote]

I can tell you without ruining the ending of the battle report that I was disappointed by my Terminators' performance. In fact, I was disappointed in all 3 games. And while I understand that Terminators are not an optimal unit type to use against DE and Sisters, I'm beginning to think that I should replace them with a better 200 points of 'all comers' units.

 

One unit I'm looking at is the an Inquisitional Henchman Warband. Since it doesn't use up a force org slot, it won't conflict with my Purifiers squad. I like this choice because the models are fun, the unit can be effective at range, and it's relatively cheap (in points not dollars). Plus, when combined with Psyker Baptiste and his Divination power, the squad can become even more deadly or survivable.

 

This is what I'm thinking:

 

1 Jokaero Weaponsmith

4 Psykers

7 Warrior Acolytes w/ hot-shot lasguns

 

The Jokaero buffs the unit and provides a heavy weapon. The Psykers create a S6 AP3 Large Blast with a range of 36". The Acolytes are bullet catchers. Also, I'd love to use Voystroyan models to represent them. This squad is 138 points.

 

I'm not sure what to do with the remaining 62 points. One idea is to purchase a Chimera for the squad to use as a bunker for the Henchmen or at the very least, to add some additional firepower and mobility to my army.

 

Another choice is to add 3 models to my Grey Knight Strike squad, increasing it to 8 models. This increases the size of scoring squad, and unlike the Chimera choice, it doesn't add an additional Kill Point to the army.

 

Thoughts?

[Koyote]

Turn 6 –Mortifactors

 

I’d be lying if I were to say that I didn’t begin Turn 6 with a tremendous amount of pessimism as to my chances of pulling off a win.

 

I began my Movement Phase by declaring that my Devs would make a Difficult Terrain test. If I didn’t roll 5 or 6, my chances of a successful charge against the Infantry squad holding the Chaos Altar & Book objective would be slim to none. The dice gave me a whopping 2” of movement so I shuffled around a couple of marines armed with bolters, but didn’t move the Devs armed with missile launchers.

 

After reading a BoLS article a couple of days later and then rechecking the rules, I have since realized that before rolling a Difficult Terrain test, one must declare specifically which models intend to move. Oh well. For both of us it was our third game of 6e and neither of us knew any better. Plus, not declaring was how we had played the rule prior to this instance.

 

Without much else to do, I moved on to the Shooting Phase. I began by firing on the Chimera with my Grey Knights’s psycannon, but failed to do much more than scratch the paint. Combat squad Roman, now reduced to two models, fired their pistols at the Battle Sisters which were contesting the Fuel Supply objective, but were equally ineffective.

 

Lastly, Devastator Squad Strabo trained their gun sights on the Infantry squad controlling the Chaos Altar & Book objective and rained down upon them righteous bolter rounds and burning shrapnel. I scored fifteen hits and to my utter amazement, all 15 dice wounded!

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3v.jpg

 

 

Because some of the hits were AP5 bolter wounds, Lorin had no choice but to declare that the squad would Go to Ground. In addition, I didn’t need to destroy the entire squad nor did I need the squad to flee the table. If 5 or 6 of the closest models were removed, then the remainder of the squad would be more than 3” from the objective and Lorin would no longer hold it.

 

A few of the models received cover saves, but it wasn’t enough. After saves were made, only a single guardsman survived the firestorm. The squad failed its Morale Check and since the sole guardsman was more than 12” away from the Company Command squad’s Regimental Banner, no re-roll. The Guardsman fled off the table.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3w.jpg

 

 

At this point the score was 5 to 3 in the Sisters favor. The Assault Phase would determine who lead in VPs at the end of Turn 6.

 

Over at the Fuel Supply objective, the two surviving members of Combat squad Roman, leapt over the barricade and assaulted the 3 remaining Battle Sisters.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3x.jpg

 

 

Once again, I was very lucky with my dice rolls. One Sister was clubbed to the ground with the butt of a bolter and the remaining two were hacked apart by Veteran Sergeant Roman’s power axe.

 

After the combat, Combat squad Roman consolidated back behind the barricade.

 

 

At the end of my turn a die was cast and the game ended.

 

 

This is what the table looked like at the end of the game:

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/BR3y.jpg

 

 

VICTORY POINTS:

 

Mortifactors: 6 (2 objectives)

Sisters of Battle: 5 (1 objective, First Blood, and Slay the Warlord)

 

 

Thoughts:

 

This was an absolutely amazing, close fought game against a terrific opponent.

 

Lorin and I have played many games over the years, so I can say from firsthand experience that I have as much fun losing to Lorin as I do winning against most other opponents. Moreover, Lorin is as gracious in defeat as he is in victory.

 

Lastly, I want to thank Lorin for being a great sport and putting up with all my picture taking and even posing for a few. Cheers.

[Koyote]

I put together some models to serve as my Inquisitional Henchmen Warband.

 

The Psykers are simply Empire Flagellants. Some have simply had their weapons removed from their hands and the tops and bottoms of their hands carved out a bit to create fists. Others have had hand swaps from other "donor" Empire models. The holstered laspistols come from an old, OOP IG vehicle accessory sprue.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIPPsykers_zps5ace7452.jpg

 

I like that these models are masked, blindfolded, and bound with chains and restraints. The GK codex describes the Henchman Pskyers as "rogue psykers." As such, they have not been trained at the Scholastia Psykanaor. Nor have they undergone the Soulbinding ritual. This leaves some doubt as to their loyalty and their ability to guard against daemonic possession. Hence the need for the restraints and blindfolds.

 

Keeping with the theme of potentially dangerous rogue pskyers, I wanted the squad's Warrior Acolytes to look like the rogue psykers' guards or wardens rather than seconded IG vets or mercenary scoundrels recruited by Inquisitor Baptiste.

 

The Warrior Acolyte design that I finally settled on are inspired by Dave Taylor's Genswick 33rd Rifles army. As I was assembling the Acolytes, I remembered that one of Dave's Genswick models incorporated an Arbite cyber mastiff. I also remembered that I have a cyber mastiff in my bitz box, so I couldn't resist adding it to my squad. The mastiff 'counts as' a Warrior Acolyte without any upgraded wargear, and thus it's equipped with a chainsword and laspistol. Not arming the fifth Acolyte with a bolter gives me one extra point, which I will spend on a search light for the Chimera.

 

You can't see it in this photo, but I;ve attached pouches and sheathed combat knives from the Catachan kit to the rear of each Genswick model.

 

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIPAcolyte_zps614ee1da.jpg

 

As the members of the same squad, I think that the Genswicks' low-tech, medieval appearance compliments my Pyskers' low-tech appearance quite nicely. Also, the wide brimmed helmets and gorgets give the models a brooding appearance, which provides the guard/warden feel that I wanted to convey. Likewise, the torch and hound add to this theme as both are symbols of early American posses and trackers who hunted down escaped prisoners and slaves.