WarriorFish's Sunder CSM

[hushrong]

That looks like a bloody meatgrinder of a game! That last pic is pretty epic as it just shows that best of the best still on their feet after so many others were cut down.

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks for another entertaining batrep. As you noted, as the points values of your games goes up you will be able to work in some chaff units to act as screens, speedbumps, etc.

 

A squad of buffed thunder hammer/storm shield termies will usually be a poor matchup for a Maulerfiend. But there will also be some satisfying games where he can munch through 2 or 3 enemy units.

 

I look forward to seeing your cultists' paint job. I'm currently struggling to find a satisfying purple scheme for my World Eaters' plasma and power weaponry. My old standby of Liche/Xereus Purple highlighted up with successive blends of Liche and an off white just doesn't look good. This weekend I bought some more purples and pinks and I'll try out the following recipe:

 

-Basecoat: Liche Purple now called Xereus Purple

-Wash: Carroburg Crimson

-1st Highlight: Pink Horror

-2nd Highlight: Dechala Lilac

 

I'll try this out with my next batch of Bezerkers this week. Hopefully it will work.

[Gederas]

I look forward to seeing your cultists' paint job. I'm currently struggling to find a satisfying purple scheme for my World Eaters' plasma and power weaponry. My old standby of Liche/Xereus Purple highlighted up with successive blends of Liche and an off white just doesn't look good. This weekend I bought some more purples and pinks and I'll try out the following recipe:

 

-Basecoat: Liche Purple now called Xereus Purple

-Wash: Carroburg Crimson

-1st Highlight: Pink Horror

-2nd Highlight: Dechala Lilac

 

I'll try this out with my next batch of Bezerkers this week. Hopefully it will work.

For Plasma Weapons, you should be building up to white with Drybrushing.

 

So, imo, for a Plasma weapon this is what I'd do with that:

• Base: Xereus Purple
• Wash: Druchii Violet/Carrobug Crimson/Drakenhof Nightstade (really it depends on what you want the shadows to come out as)
• 1st Drybrush: Emperor's Children
• 2nd Drybrush: Dechala Lilac
• 3rd Drybrush: White Scar

[Tallarn Commander]

Thanks Gederas, I'll try out your purple scheme.

[WarriorFish]

I had the horrible realisation that I was reducing my Chaos backlog so needed to do something about it:

So that's some MkIV Assault Marines to give me plenty of Raptors and the bits I wanted to spice up my Cultists a little. Looks like I need to get another CSM stabby squad too with the Despoilers :P

[hushrong]

Hello, hello! Anxious to see those goodies put to use!

[WarriorFish]

Me too - but post ETL ;) Along with the MkIV plastic packs I have from my two Sanguinary Guard boxes I should have plenty for a few extra Raptors and packs for my characters. I figured that I'm quite short on long ranged fire power so a faster moving stabby unit or two kind of makes up for that. A bit. Maybe?

[hushrong]

Yeah. Oh yeah that works. If you can shoot just get up close quick and stab it!

[WarriorFish]

Though I'm not working on the Sunder, I can still game with them Time for a classic 2 vs 2 dust up; Chaos vs Imperium 1k per player. To try and expand games, along with the larger point values, two objectives are placed to be captured (on the left is the Pride of the Guard B&C event statue ).

Team Chaos loses deployment, but wins the first turn at least! We have a fair few units around, and the Imperials consolidate with lots of mobile jump troops.

Not much happens to begin with; too far away to shoot the Sunder Advance, while the left flank moves up and takes out three Scouts.

In return, lots of fire is poured into the Chaos lines. A Cultist bites it, and most of the right CSM squad is removed (despite Delightful Agonies). Deathwing Terminators arrive to shoot, charge, and wipe out the Havocs on the right flank. As far as turns go, it's a very bad one for Team Chaos even if the Scouts get overwatched by the Cultists

With lots of space - and guns - Team Chaos calls for a bit of a stop. With the right CSM squad gone the left squad holds back some, as it's unable to move up enough with Warptime denied. The Cultists Tide their way to the right flank as the Kindred deep strike in, hoping to form an anchor for the main line to move up on. Shooting isn't great, but I do pull off the required 11 to charge into craters! Combat goes quite well with Veterans of the Long War reducing the Tactical squad badly. Fire with some psychic might reduces the Deathwing, who are then finished off in combat by the Black Legion with Exalted Champion help.

From one isolated Terminator squad to another, the Cultists are gunned down by the Sanguinary Guard who then charge in and aided by countless buffs easily wipe out the Chaos Terminators. The Vindicator continues to be a bit useless, and the Vindicare (off picture on the left) finally gets through Abaddon's save to plink wounds off.

It is very much make or break now; it's been hard work getting up the table but here it where we can swing it back now the jump horde have made their move. CSM squads scuttle up to charge, with Chaos psychic might blitzing through with excellent rolls for a D6 Smite (sadly only a 3) and Warptime on the left CSM squad to let them close the cap. Combat doesn't go so great as the Sanguinary Guard keep making 5+++ saves from the banner so we do only light damage. Leaving the CSM behind on the objective Abaddon charges to finish off the Vindicator that was badly damaged by the CSM's advancing Lascannon (fiendishly accurate on the move).

The loyalists pile everything in, but not without the banner beared being picked off by the Prince along with the Librarian. The CSM squads are wiped out but not without helping reducing the Sanguinary Guard further. Embattled Dark Angels move up to try and assault the Exalted and reach the second objective but are cut down, the other Tacs are too far away and have been reduced by the bolter CSM squad.

At this stage time has very much run out, so with both sides having had four turns the game ends to a Chaos victory! It certainly wasn't an easy one, we had some terrible rolling and really suffered in the first two turns trying to get up the board. I'm still not getting much from the Terminators, but they had to be pitched in as a bit of a gambit which wasn't ideal as I was hoping to have them come in as support for the main push - not try and bail it out!

Aside from having got quite a few games in (which is good) I'm suffering for lack of choice. The Sunder are still a new army having only recently reached 1500pts so I need to add more units so I can mix up lists and try out new things. In particular get more from my Terminators, as well as help the CSM's advance so I have a few ideas I want to try

Outside of my armies, we need to move beyond the "start up" tables and try and get a bit more going on with the terrain - and start gaming sooner Unfortunately it's hard to terrain when you have so many models you want to paint...

[The Yncarne]

Terrain is a great team sport.

[WarriorFish]

It is yes, some ideas have been bandied around about a BBQ day with some terrain to work on...

[battle captain corpus]

Terrain selection is hampering us a little yeah, though I aim to amend that for our August BBQ day ;)

 

Was a good game, very disappointed at myself for fielding grey minis as my BL is expanding but not getting painted. Still I have plans for that too!

 

On another note it was fun playing at your side WarriorFish as normally, as others may have noticed, its us two going head to head.....could this be the final moment that The Sundered fight at Abaddons side and cause? The history of our matches makes for some cool background already I feel. :D

 

BCC

[hushrong]

Another great bat rep! Congrats on the harrowing victory!

[WarriorFish]

Time to return to my Chaos:

Not sure on the launcher's position, might move it a bit forward and maybe in? Looks a bit silly next to the cupola plus I need space should I put a Marine gunner on. I'd like to put the Slaanesh symbol on it too but not sure where to put it, perhaps the side door. Not sure what angle it's supposed to go at as the Slaanesh symbol is at 45 degrees, but the skull at the bottom would be squiffy by comparison

[hushrong]

Nice to see you back to Chaos!

 

I put mine just a smidge further back on one of my rhinos. Just a smidge behind the door hinge.

[WarriorFish]

I'll play with positioning a bit, as there may be some limitation on where the opposing magnet goes but that's a good point! I'll be back with my hobby knife next week so in the meantime I have some batreps that have awaited write up too long - they will be a little bare on details as it was a few weeks ago now.

1250pts vs 'nids

I'm pretty sure it was just a death match, but deployment was fairly straight forward with the Sunder hoping to thin and marshal the hive mind down:

I manage to steal away first turn, though on reflection I thought that maybe I didn't want it but too late now. I move up conservatively, aiming to get the distance right so I can charge ok next turn. My shooting may have been limited, but the nids were built to stab so couldn't hang back. The Maulershrimp moves up slightly behind the Termies who manage to thin the Termaguants out quite nicely but being so far away there's not much my shooting can do.

The nids go all out to close, so I know it'll make or break turn 2... Not pictured are some Genestealers that popped up on my left, killing two Marines before being chopped into little pieces.

As it turns out, it was definitely break. The Terminators blast the Termaguants to oblivion and the Maulershrimp moves in to finish off the Dichaemaron (or whatever it's called) after it gets a lot of bullets thrown at it and the Terminators greatly reduced it in combat. I used the Daemon Engine stratagem but it wasn't even needed! The Terminators consolidate into the Hormagaunts for a stellar turn 2 for the Sunder.

The nids suffered greatly but still have some tricks up their sleeves as if they can sort out my vanguard my other forces may struggle. Unfortunately the dice gods disagreed, and even with plenty of dice and boons the Maulershrimp endures the attacks from the Tyrant and Warriors, and the Terminators slaughter the gaunts. Sadly the Maulershrimp fails to do anything but at this stage it's not a big deal and I'm mostly expecting him to hold the Tyrant up while I move my forces up.

Turns out that's not really necessary, as my vanguard forces are apparently unstoppable! They butcher their way through the nids, with the Maulershrimp's fists punishing the Tyrant with high damage.

Under such assault the nids have little hope left, a Smite almost kills a Terminator but it's far too little and the last trace of the devourer is fed to Slaanesh!

This game was down to some excellent luck, the Terminators in one game doing better than they've done altogether it feels. You may notice the Sorcerer in the pictures but not the text; this is because he did nothing except use a Command Point to stop him suffering perils... fortunately for him the Terminators and shrimp were on the ball. So much so they pretty much won the game themselves, helped along by some poor rolls by my opponent but such is the nature of the game.

I'll be back in a bit for the second batrep

[WarriorFish]

1250pts vs BA

Another death match, this time against a BA force. I'm heavily outgunned so I try and position to avoid as much as I can. The Terminators await in reserve:

I get first turn and my opponent fails to seize, so in light of the set up I decide to seize the day as there is nothing to gain by waiting! The Terminators arrive near the rear Tactical squad and with bolter and claw finish them off. The rest of my forces try and move up taking cover where they can, taking out a single Scout on the way.

Unfortunately lots of guns and character support close on the Terminators and they are wiped out, but the rest of my army is relatively untouched for it at least.

I was hoping for the Terminators to hold out another turn to help take some heat off my main forces, so it time was not for wasting. I try to send some heavier weaponry against the Quads but it fails to achieve anything sadly.

The Blood Angels focus most of their attentions on the shrimp, and he suffers a lot of wounds but hangs in there which is great news as much rests on his shrimpy shoulders...

Unfortunately the burden is too heavy to bear as an over-watching melta rolls another six for damage With my Sorcerer blowing bubbles again things are not looking very good as the BA have plenty of character support still along with the cannons.

The Marines advance up to get into combat as quickly as possible, but the character auras and attacks are too much so while I manage to take out Corbulo, the Lieutenant and almost the entire Tac squad it isn't enough. The remaining Aspiring Champion gives a good account in the end, holding out longer than expected but it was only going to end one way...

Seems like luck was on the other boot this time, I was in with a good chance as long as I had the Maulershrimp but goes to show how much difference a single shot/roll can make! It's reminded me of the need for good character aura support (didn't help the Sorcerer was completely useless both games by comparison) as well as motivation to diversify my forces. Against shooty heavy armies I'm going to struggle sometimes, so something like a shiny new Rhino to ferry some Marines around should help there

[hushrong]

Great battle reports as always! The bugs just got stomped like grapes under a winemakers feet. Those terminators also put in more work in a single game than any of mine had ever done, ever! Same goes for the mauler. I don't use daemon engines much but I am tempted to pick up the mauler now.

 

The Blood Angels looked ready to gun you done. Those rapiers on the second floor of the building must have been hell.

[Panzer]

Always love to see the Sunders in action. :tu:

[WarriorFish]

Thanks guys The Maulerfiend is a good model I can recommend. He does solid work I just need to make sure there's more armour on the table to help him out. It's still an odd situation to be in for me as I'm used to my Marines and Guard having the pick of models!

 

The launchers on the top of the terrain were unassailable unfortunately, I didn't have the fire power to threaten them so I just had to ignore them and hope for the best. So is the way it goes, once I get the Rhino and Cultists done that should round my forces off some. Then probably Havoks for long ranged fire power.

 

I'm also starting to reconsider on the Helbrutes somewhat too. Not model wise which makes this all the stranger! Perhaps once a Dreadnut always a Dreadnut

[Kierdale]

Great to see/read about the Sundered in action again :tu:

[Arkaniss]

 

With my Sorcerer blowing bubbles again things are not looking very good

This really tickled me The image of the Sorcerer blowing bubbles, ineffectively trying to conjure the power of the warp which was pointedly ignoring him

 

To echo everyone else it's always wonderful to see batrep pics of the Sunder and I'm excited to see a Rhino finally being worked on! I just know it's going to look amazing when fielded with all your other fantastic models

[WarriorFish]

Thanks I spent the weekend at Warhammer World and took the Sunder with me. I only got smaller games in with them (500pts lists) but I did come away with an addition - what started with the Maulershrimp will continue as I add some armour. Still plenty of infantry to do of course, but they could do with some heavier support to cover the advance

[Dragonlover]

Did you grab the autocannon arms for it in the end?

 

Dragonlover

[WarriorFish]

I did, but I still intend on some magnetising for future additions (naturally) :)