White Templars vs. Imperial Guard 1500 pts.

[Storm Dragons 3rd Company]

White Templars vs. IG 1500 points

Big Guns (4 objectives)/Hammer and Anvil

IG Warlord Trait – Re-roll 1’s when missed shooting

WT Warlord Trait – Warlord and his unit get Outflank

First turn is in the dark

 

The White Templar force, commanded by Librarian Grammatacus, consisted of:

* Librarian Grammaticus in terminator armor with a force stave and a storm shield (Iron Arm & Enfeeblement)

* Tactical Squad I (10 man) with a plasmagun and a lascannon

* Tactical Squad IV (10 man) with a plasmagun and a missile launcher

* Scout Squad VIII (6 man) with a missile launcher and Sgt. Castle (Telion)

* Terminator Squad III (5 man) with an assault cannon and chainfist

* Sternguard Squad V (10 man) with 2 combi-meltas and a power fist

* A Land Speeder Typhoon from Squadron II

* Brother Veritas the Dreadnought with extra armor

* Brother Zeus and his Thunderfire Cannon

 

The IG force was:

1x a company command with plasmaguns in a Chimera

2x a company of melta vets in a Chimera

1x a platoon command with flamers in a Chimera

2x Leman Russ MBT

1x Manticore

2x infantry squad of 10 men

6x Autocannon teams

1x Vendetta with lascannons

1x Aegis line

 

Some initial notes. When I say left and right, I always mean MY left and right. When I refer to objectives, I will refer to them as belonging to the person who placed them. This game only went for 3 turns b/c turn three ended 20 minutes before the store closed. That said, it was my first game against a flyer and my first 6th Ed. Game vs IG. I took pictures at various points, as you will see below (at least on my blog) which should help you to visualize the battlefield. The pictures were taken 1) midway through T1, after IG move but before IG shooting; 2) midway through T2, after IG move, but before IG shooting; and 3) at the end of T2. With the store closing around us, I didn’t think to take a picture at the end of T3 before we started clearing our stuff off the tables. I am also planing to do a map for this and those images should also be on my blog in a day or three. One other note: the big piece of terrain on my side that you see in the pictures actually had a cave/tunnel through it down its long axis. On the map, this may be confusing because it placed some units under others.

 

As you will see from the pictures, we had fairly dense terrain in both DZs and up the right side, but the left side was relatively open. I placed high terrain in front of the Aegis line, blocking LOS for many of the autocannons. I also placed the big terrain piece in my DZ because it would give my thunderfire and snipers really good sight lines. Finally, I placed really small terrains on the left to keep those sight lines open. In my DZ, on my left was the large multi-level ruin. On my right was a rock formation, a toxic pool, a hill and part of another hill. Midfield had two more rock formations on the left and a tiny one on the right. In the IG deployment, he had a large and small rock formation on the left and the Aegis line on the right. My strategy here was to try to keep a killing ground in front of my best defense and high ground while trying to impede vehicle approach on the right. Thus, I hoped to channel the enemy into the killing ground and make him travel the maximum distance to get to my last objective. I placed my objectives in the back parts of my DZ, kind of in each corner. The left one was deep enough in terrain that he would have to exit his vehicles and approach on foot or risk terrain tests. On the right, I put it within the ruins, out of his LOS, where he could not drive to it except by coming around on my right and going through the ruin’s tunnel. He also placed his objectives in the back of his DZ with one on each side. The left one was behind the Aegis line. The right one was behind the rock scenery.

 

I won the initiative roll and opted to go second because we were in a night fight. I also used my techmarine to bolster the cover save of my big terrain ruin. He deployed 5/6 of his heavy weapon teams and 1 platoon behind the Aegis line. He deployed the other heavy weapon team and another platoon on the right, mostly behind the rock. I assume the platoons are to hold the objectives. He put the platoon command Chimera behind the Aegis line. He put the other three Chimeras on the right between the Aegis line and the right table edge with the Company Command Chimera in the rear of the other two. He put both Leman Russ on his deployment line on the left, facing the big open area.

 

I squadded out one tactical squad and the Sternguard and then deployed as follows. I put the terminators and the librarian in reserve since they had outflank and this was a long table. I put one tactical half squad in the tunnel near my left objective; they were just within 3” range giving them the ability to cover the objective with guns without being exposed to incoming fire. I placed the other half of that squad (with the lascannon) in the ruins on its far left where they could get good shots on the big open area. I placed my other full tactical squad in cover within 3” of my right objective giving them the ability to claim it and giving the missile launcher LOS on anything winding its way through the terrain on the right. I placed the Sternguard halfsquad with the two combi-meltas and the powerfist sgt. forward and hopefully out of LOS on my right, poised to run out into the killing ground on the left if tanks got too close. The other Sternguard half squad was placed in the mouth of the tunnel on the right side of the ruin to run out and support the right side in the even that large amounts of enemy infantry got in that area. I placed the dreadnought on my right, just behind the forward deployed Sternguard. (And, in retrospect, too close to the Sternguard.) I hid my Typhoon behind the large ruin since it was fragile. I placed the scouts and the Thunderfire in the upper level of the ruin with commanding arcs of fire. I had decided that I was going to try to win the secondary objectives while tying the primary objectives. I also had an advantage with this approach because he had vastly more things I could score on by killing that were not in a position to come get any of my objectives. The risk I consciously took was by not using my Thunderfire to hold any objectives, deciding it was more important to maximize its shooting.

 

TURN 1:

I failed to seize the initiative and the IG moved out. He advanced his Chimera trifecta on the right 6” and his Leman Russes moved 6” forward into the killing ground.

 

 

1 Chimera targeted the dreadnought with his multi-laser doing nothing to it but illuminating it with a searchlight. Neither other Chimera had LOS. The Russes then shot their battle cannons at the dread. The first shot landed right on target and also hit a Sternguard (hence my earlier comment that the dread was too close). I went to ground with the Sternguard and he made his cover save. The dread got glanced and lost its melta-gun arm. He shot the Manticore at the scouts and scattered back towards his line for no effect. That was all the shooting he could do. My opponent told me the Sternguard needed to make a leadership test which I elected to fail, falling back.

 

Photo after IG movement T1

 

On my turn, the Sternguard rallied (being Space Marines) and consolidated and moved back to their original position. The dread moved up the right side, keeping terrain between it and the two tanks. The Typhoon zoomed out to line up a side shot on a Russ or a front shot on a Chimera. That was all I moved. I then fired my Lascannon at the front armor of a Russ, not expecting a whole lot. I hit, rolled a 6 for penetration and a six for an explosion. First blood and a dead heavy support to me. I then fired a missile (using Tellion’s BS), two typhoon missiles, the thunderfire, and another missile at the lead Chimera causing a glance and an immobilization. Nothing else had range so Turn 1 ended and dawn broke. I should note my opponent is the one who told me I could target his units that fired in nightfight and I have not looked that up.

 

WT: 8 / IG: 6

 

TURN 2:

He got his Vendetta in and it came in from the left almost right on top of the remaining Russ. His still mobile Chimera on the right with a melta vet squad advanced another 6” providing a cover save for his wounded companion. The command Chimera could not squeeze in the remaining gap and maneuvered to the left 6”, staying in cover behind the immobilized one. His Russ stayed put.

 

Photo after IG movement T2

 

On his shooting, he shot multi-lasers and the Vendetta at the Dread, having the net effect of wrecking it. He then shot his Russ and Manticore at the lascannon half squad, but they made their cover saves. One autocannon which could see shot at the Typhoon with no result because it jinked.

 

I got my terminators in the reserve roll and I got the choice of where they came in. I picked the left because the Manticore would give me cover from his Aegis firebase. It also put me behind the Vendetta so it could not pivot to shoot me without going into hover and then eating missiles. I came in as close to right on top of the squad covering his objective as I could. The Sternguard with the combi-meltas advanced into the area terrain in front of them, but rolled 2 3’s so didn’t get very far. The Typhoon moved forward and to the right to get a shot at the Manticore’s or the Russ’s side armor. I began shooting with the lascannon again hitting the Russ, rolling a 5 to penetrate and then another 6 to explode it for another point. (that guy is getting a marksman bullet medal!). With no Russ to shoot at, the Typhoon shot at the Manticore, penetrating twice which shook it and stunned it. The two troop held missile launchers fired at one of the Chimera’s and knocked off its multilaser. I seriously thought about firing the terminator’s assault cannon at the Vendetta’s rear armor, but decided against it. Instead, the terminators fired at the squad on the objective killing all but 3 who made their leadership. I completely forgot to fire the thunderfire! The combi-melta Sternguard ran forward 5”.

 

Photo of my terminators after shooting T2

 

Photo of the board after T2

 

 

WT: 10 / IG: 6

 

TURN 3:

The Vendetta advanced 18”. The melta Chimera and both command Chimeras turned to come towards the terminators. The Manticore turned to bring its heavy bolter to bear on the terminators. The Manticore snap fired one hit and I made my save. The platoon command Chimera also fired a heavy bolter getting 2 wounds and I rolled snake eyes, losing two terminators. The 3 infantry guys rapid fired with the first rank order and got three wounds through, I rolled another 1 on my save and took it on the librarian. The Vendetta tried to shoot the Sternguard but it had no effect since they went to ground again.

 

On my turn, I advanced the terminators to be in position to assault. The speeder moved up to get LOS on the back armor of the company command Chimera. The pinned Sternguard elected to fail and run then auto rallied almost off the terrain towards the Vendetta and then used its move to advance (still not sure how that all works). The other Sternguard half squad came out of its cave and moved up towards the Vendetta. The terminators shot at nothing. The Typhoon managed to stun the company command Chimera. I forget what the lascannon did. The thunderfire obliterated the troops sitting on my opponent’s right objective behind the Aegis line using airburst shots. The two Sternguard half squads ran forward to be underneath the Vendetta. The terminators assaulted the Manticore and wrecked it, keeping the cover it provided. And at that point we had to call the game since the store was going to close in 20 minutes.

 

WT: 11 / IG 3

 

Clearly my lone lascannon guy was my MVP. The Thunderfire turned in a solid performance. The dread almost cost me first blood. I think my opponent’s MVP was probably his platoon command’s heavy bolter, though he didn’t get much production out of his army. I got lucky – no other word for it – destroying those Russes like I did otherwise they would have been a major problem, especially if they had killed my lascannon. I got unlucky on my terminator saves, but not enough to balance the two Russ kills. I deployed my dread to close to the Sternguard and should not have. I maybe should have shot at the Vendetta with the terminators, hoping for a lucky 6 or two. In T1, I should have fired the Typhoon at the Russ’s side armor, before I fired the lascannon. The Typhoon might have gotten the Russ, letting the lascannon go after the other one which the Typhoon could not have shot in the side. The outflanking terminators were a godsend in this scenario. Otherwise, I’d have had to deep strike them to get them down field and downfield is where I needed them to be. I thought about putting the librarian with some tacticals to get scoring units in the enemy DZ and deep striking the terminators without the librarian, but since I was not really playing to capture his objectives, I figured I should keep my tacticals at home. In retrospect, I could have parked two five man half squads on my objectives and then tried to deep strike/outflank with the Typhoon, one tactical squad, and the terminators for a much more in his face threat. Do you think that would have been a better move?

 

Thanks for reading!