Chronicles of a new Ultramarine Commander

[Captain Idaho]

Less is more. I like the job you've done there.

My 5th Company are fairly "plain" for Ultramarines. They're the Company of Death; the Black Company and Wardens of the Eastern Fringe. They are practical and honest in their toil.

[markham82]

classic?

[Dom_]

Dude, those converted Sternguard look fantastic. I love the story behind them, veteran models for a veteran squad. 

 

As far as mobility goes, I find that in smaller games a Storm Talon is great for covering any advances, even on foot. Hits on 2+ and has a low points cost. 

 

Keep up the good work, this thread is great!

[Games-Unplugged]

Time for an update!

@Captain Idaho: Thank you. I would like to see your company, I bet the black trim look awesome.

@Markham82: They were the part of the new era(design) of plastic models that came from GW, I don't know if I would call that classic. Maybe I should look into getting some old pewter beakies (that would be cool).

@Dom_: Thank you. I think its important for player to get invested into their army/characters.

A Storm Talon would be interesting, it does pack a lot of firepower for a small flyer.

Thanks for reading.

-Battle Report-

Dark Eldar Army

1 Beastmaster squad (3 Beastmasters, 5 Khymerae, and 4 Razorwing flocks)

2 squads of 5 Wyches with a razorflails and Venoms

Ravager with 3 Disintergrator cannons and a night sheild.

The terrian is setup the same way as the battle with the Tyranids.

Mission: Purge the Alien
Deployment: Dawn of War

My friend is trying all of his units out to see what he likes. I think that is why he built this list. The Ravager is probably going to cause me the most trouble, but I also need to keep an eye on those assault units.

He wins the roll off and deploys behind the hill with his Beastmaster squad in the center and a venom on each side of the unit. The Ravager is on the right side of the Venom. I deploy onto some hills with line of sight on his skimmers.

He declares that one of the Beastmasters is his warlord and I say that mine is one of the Sternguard.

I roll and steal the initiative.

UT1: A shot in the dark

All of my units are in position from deploment so I don't move. I fire a missile at the Ravager but miss. I fire some heavy bolters at one of the Vemons and cause a glancing hit. He does not jink and fails his save. I fire the other missile launcher at the damaged Vemon and get a penatrating hit. He does not jink and fails his save again. I roll a 6 on the Vehicle Damage table! With the vehicle open topped it Explodes killing 2 of the Wyches inside and wounding one of the Razorwings next to it. I fire at the Beastmaster squad with the other Heavy bolters but fail to do any damage. His Wyches fall back about 7 inches, effectivly taking them out of the game.

Score U:2 D:0

DT1: Disintergration

All of his forces move forward along the far side of the hill and get into position to assault one my Tactical squads next turn. He fires with the Venom to no effect. The Ravager targets my tactical squad with 7 hits and 7 wounds. The hill does not provide any cover and I only have the Night fighting "stealth". I decide to go to ground in the hopes that 1 or 2 might survie. I fail to make a single save. Good news is that he shot the closest target for assault and will have to wait another turn before he can try again.

Score U:2 D:1

UT2: Lets do it again

I activate the Devastator doctrine. I move one of my Devastator Squads back to keep them safe from Assault this turn. I fire a missile at the Ravager and hit, but I fail to even glance it. I aim all my heavy bolters at the last Venom and cause it to explode. 4 Wyches die and one of the Razor wing flocks suffer a wound.

Score U:3 D:1

DT2: Advance

His Beastmaster squad jumps on top of the hill getting ready to assault next turn. His left over Wyches continue to advance. The Ravager fires at the last tactical squad and downs 2 more, but the Missile Launcher is still in play.

Score U:3 D:1

UT3: No man's land

I activate the Tactical Doctrine. I move my Sternguard right behind a Devastator squad on the ground. I fire a Missile at the Ravager again and hit, but I still can't roll a 3 or higher for penatration. I now focus the rest of my firepower on the Beastmaster squad. I kill all but 5 models.

Score U:3 D:1

DT3: So close...

All of his Assault units advance. The Ravager unleashes another deadly attack at the Tactical squad, 6 wounds and I fail to make my cover saves. My opponent start to declare charges. The lone Wyche attempts to have me waste my overwatch on it, I measure and he needs 10 inches. I do not overwatch and he rolls a 9. He then declares a charge with the Beastmasters. With 6 Bolter and 6 Heavy Bolter shots I only hit and wound with one, but it was enough. The closest model was his warlord and he has little in the ways of armor and goes down. He then roles for charge distantce, he needs 6 inches to make the assault. He rolls 5 inches.

Score U:4 D:2

With his forces diminished we shake hands and call the game. We both agree that I would be hard pressed to even make it into range of his Ravager because of the night shield. I didn't think that he could change the outcome though.

[markham82]

Well done!

 

Looks like you know how to use your units to their best effect. Knowing what you can do with what you have in every instance is half the battle( the other half is knowing how to roll good)

[Captain Idaho]

Ah you flatter me because my models are average. Thanks for showing the courtesy matey.

 

Nice games. What sorts of opponents do you particular get worried about in your group?

[Ishagu]

Just a suggestion - Talons only work well in pairs or threes...

[Mr. Bleak]

This is a really cool log Games-Unplugged, I'm really enjoying reading the battle reports, and great job on painting those Sternguard, they look great. 

 

Ishagu, I have to disagree with you. If you're using Talons in a purely offensive/mainline tank hunting role, you're right, they really need some saturation in order to offset their measly 2 HP. However, I find that my single Storm Talon works great in a purely Anti-Air role, and in larger games (lke 1850 or so) it largely gets ignored because of how small it is, leaving it free to pop backfield tanks if there are no enemy fliers around. 

[markham82]

I'm with Ishagu on the stormtalon. However under 1500pts one would do the job especially going second. Over 1500pts two are better, and have them work together for awesomeness. these guys can take on anything( in my opinion) with success.   

[Games-Unplugged]

Thanks to all who has contributed so far. I plan to do a better job keeping this thread updated in the future.

 

This update has been long overdue.

 

No new games played yet, but I do have some updated pictures of my army. (I can proved close ups for units/models upon request.)

 

Updated Army Picture

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/Games-Unplugged/WP_20150803_10_55_54_Pro_zpsm5lajcvc.jpg

 

This guy who failed to make it in time for ETL. (and the only successful use of a transfer so far.)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/Games-Unplugged/WP_20150803_10_58_09_Pro_zpslkshr2gj.jpg

 

ETL IV may be finished but I still have some steam left to paint some Ultramarines.

 

Work in progress picture

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/Games-Unplugged/WP_20150803_11_29_35_Pro_zpsa6tbod4s.jpg

 

Some conversions to the AoBR sergeants (I can't have the same leader in all of the squads.)

http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/Games-Unplugged/WP_20150803_11_32_37_Pro_zps7ayynwyr.jpg

 

As fellow brothers have suggested I have added a Storm Talon to the armory.

 

Is there anything else I should add at the moment?

 

Other than that, the only other update is a new enemy has appeared, Skitarii. Is there anything that I should look out for?

[librisrouge]

Wonderful blog. Have you looked into Tyrannic War Veterans? Might fit your force a bit.

[Dread0]

You might want to consider a thunderfire cannon. Brilliant against blobs like Nids and they work great against DE with ignore cover shells (no jink)

[Toxichobbit]

Nice looking army and your reports are a fun read, very succinct. There were a couple of mistakes made in your first game though (given it's been a month and a half since that game, you may already have spotted these errors).

I activate the devastator doctrine.

*snip*

The brood of 2 gaunts charges at one of my devastators but are shot down by the overwatch with rerolls.

Doctrines only apply to your shooting/assault phases, so you can't use them to get re-rolls for Overwatch.

You asked for community feedback - can't shoot into assault so he couldn't use Psychic Shriek. The Emperor protected you from that dirty move however.

Strictly speaking you're correct, but given the context of the game in question, you're also incorrect (though purely due to a mix up of psychic power names in the battle report - I mix them up all the time too ). Psychic Shriek (Telepathy discipline) is a Witchfire so cannot target a unit locked in combat. Psychic Scream (Powers of the Hive Mind discipline) is a Nova so can affect a unit locked in combat. Tyranids only have access to Powers of the Hive Mind, so the Tyranid player was actually manifesting Psychic Scream (not Psychic Shriek), which could hit the Sternguard even though they were locked in combat.

[Games-Unplugged]

@ librisrouge: Thanks, glad you like it. I have read the data slate for the Tyrannic War Veterans and its interesting. The loss of the other special ammunition types would be a big blow for me, However when I get some more Storm Talons I might try it out.

@ Dread0: I want a Thunderfire cannon, but the price and finecast make me hesitant. I dread the finecast models that I still need to clean up. They are part of the reason I haven't posted an update.

@ Toxichobbit: Thank you for that. Unfortunately the battle reports were played during 6th edition, so a year and a month and a half ago... I think the old Dev Doctrine did work for overwatch.

You are correct on the Psychic Scream, my mistake for calling it Psychic Shriek.

[Toxichobbit]

Hah, I noticed the month but not the year :p.