Chaplain Otho Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Vanquish is the biggest event in my local area which I have attended 3 times before but never with Space Wolves. I’ve done reasonably well the last two times with Tyranids finishing in the top half and winning 3 out of 5 but this would be my first time with my Space Wolves. The event has attracted up to 100 players before but limited to 60 this year due to change in venue. 5 games at 1750 points, mission are a combination of Maelstrom & Eternal War, kill points as secondary objectives, painting scores count for overall placing. You also got a set of tactical objectives which are similar to the secondary objectives in the main rule book but each are worth 2 TP if completed The army composition had changed a lot this year. No LOW’s, no formations, no duplication of a HQ, 30k armies allowed. The main things for me were no Wraithknights, Knight armies or Stormsurges, no free point formations, hurrah. Previous years had included a limit on the amount of duplication you could include but this year those restrictions had been removed, which I felt was a step backwards as it opened up to a lot of spam abuse. I was expecting to see a lot of Grav centurions, D scythes in wave serpents, shooty heavy Tau and Eldar and also some psyhically buffed Daemon armies. List Here is the list I am using. Wolf Lord; Thunderwolf Mount, (Cavalry) Runic armour, Storm shield, (Relic) Axe of Black Death, 2 x Fenrisian Wolf 231 points Iron Priest, Thunderwolf Mount, (Cavalry) 105 points 10 Grey Hunters, Wolf guard pack leader, Chainsword, melta bombs, 2 melta guns, Drop pod 210 points 10 Grey Hunters, 2 melta guns, Drop pod 195 points 5 Blood Claws, 1 flamer, Drop pod 100 points 5 Bloodclaws, 1 flamer, Stormwolf (Dedicated transport) 2 twin linked Multi Melta’s, 300 points 5 Thunderwolf cavalry, Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack Leader with Stormshield, 2 Stormshields, 2 Powerfists, 295 points 2 x Landspeeder Typhoon 150 pts, Relic Whirlwind Scorpius, Battle of Keylek, (Legacy of Glory) 160 points Total 1,746 points Thoughts Ok, obvious question from everyone is where are the Wulfen? I haven’t bought the book or the models yet. I haven’t played much and have been less involved in the hobby this year so haven’t wanted to spend more money. I also haven’t had much time for painting or modelling so made the decision to go with an army I am familiar with. My original list had a Space Wolf CAD and then a Company of the Great wolf formation with the Thunderwolves and Iron Priest gaining +1 WS but the limit on allies meant that they counted as allies of convenience so the wolf lord couldn’t join the Thunderwolves. Warm up games, not had much practice recently but I got some good practice in against a few tough armies I had struggled against previously. I also developed some tactics against some of the nasty units I expected to face. I also attended the Spring Tides of War event too Spring Tides of War event. 3 games at 1650, 1 LOW allowed, 150 max forgeworld, maelstrom and eternal war missions, kill points are tiebreakers, I basically dropped my Typhoons and the Relic of Keylek from the above list and took a 5 man scout unit to fill the remaining points. Not the most optimised list for this event format but as close as I could get to my vanquish list within the rules set Game 1 Evan + Tau, I went first against a Tau gunline with the hunter cadre and Ghostkeel formation with stealth suits; with a load of fusion shots and pathfinders and formation buffs he was firing 20ish fusion shots at my Thunderwolves at a scarily high BS. I made a good job of playing for maelstrom and dominating the centre of the field but ultimately his volume of fire severely reduced my numbers. Had it ended turn 5 I would have won, turn 6 I would probably still have won and turn 7 was a draw. Learnt a lot about new Tau units and the formations are nasty. Couple of irritating moments where we had different interpretations of what the terrain did and clarity of each other rules. End result draw with Evan winning 10 8 on kill points. (I still hate Tau with their shooting buffs, and supporting fire and thrust moves, fight like a man, not a fish) Game 2, James and Salamanders with knight, I put my anti grav centurion plan into practice and James went for it and did no wounds at all to my lord and fenrisian wolf bodyguard, my turn 1 was brutal gaining first blood, neutering the centurions and taking out the knight in close combat, after that it was mainly a case of taking out James’s other units one by one. My Relic whirlwind had a great game and James conceded turn 4 with his Vindicare assassin his last remaining model with me sitting on all six objectives. End result space wolf win and 12 1 on kill points. Game 3. Jon and chaos marines/daemons. Firstly Jon had a beautifally painted and converted army that was fantastic to play against. What won me this game was 2 things, 1, Jon deployed well away from all the objectives as he was scared of my Whirlwind and Thunderwolves, 2, my maelstrom cards couldn’t have come out any better if I had been picking them rather than randomly drawing them. With Jon hiding in the corner for most of the game I just did laps of the objectives and the Thunderwolves beat up anything that Jon summoned. Jon’s luck was truly abysmal and the poor guy just couldn’t catch a break, it took him 4 turns to get his first maelstrom card. End result was a win to me and 12 to 5 on kill points. At the end of the day I came third which was my best ever tournament result. I also managed to avoid all 4 of the nasty elder lists and the really, really nasty Tau list which tabled the other space wolf player in two turns. Overall I was pretty chuffed with my days work. It was a good boost to my confidence and whilst I made a few mistakes here and there my overall play was good and I learnt a few new tricks. I still hate Tau, Aims for Vanquish. Have a good time Win 3 games (or more) Be top space wolf player Wish me luck guys, reports to follow next week. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amarog Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 best of luck, look forward to hearing how it went! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4352903 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Game 1 Opponent; Ben Army Eldar & Dark Eldar Mission Cleanse and Control Deployment Dawn of War Deploy first & Go First Space Wolves Night fighting Yes Vanguard secret objective; kill an elite unit Warlord Trait, Tactical trait 3, take an extra card turn 1. Secondary objectives, most KP’s, slay the warlord, linebreaker, kill a unit in your first turn, Ben’s list Farseer with jetbike and singing spear Avatar 5 fire dragons + exarch 3 jetbikes 2x 3 jetbikes all with scatterlasers 5 swooping hawks + exarch 6 warp spiders + exarch Crimson hunter Dark Eldar allies Lahmean 2 x 5 man warrior squads 3 venoms 4 jetbikes 1 with a blaster. 2 ravagers, 1 with 3 dark lances. Pre game thoughts Hmmn, Eldar first up, not great, At least it was maelstrom and I got to deploy first and go first so I may be able to grab a quick lead. Also there wasn’t a wave serpent with d scythes so that was a small mercy. My main plan was to control the centre of the board with the Thunderwolves and use my objective secured units to jump on the objectives whilst prioritising shooting at his transports and fast units. 5 reasons why wolves will win 1, I’m going first so can hopefully jump on the objectives before Ben 2, Ben was scared of my Whirlwind so wanted to deploy as far back as possible 3. With the exception of the Avatar Ben didn’t have much close combat 4, I had deployed 3 objectives near one of the others so there was a nice square of 4 objectives which my Thunderwolves could dominate 5, Objective secured drop pods on objectives could be hard to shift 5 reasons why Ben will win 1, It’s Eldar, so many ridiculous advantages in an overpowered undercosted codex meant it was going to be hard 2, Ben had much more mobility and shooting than me 3, I had no psychic defence so Ben would have free rein. 4, With jinking and nightfighting I’d struggle to do much damage early on. 5, The Avatar could act as a roadblock for my Thunderwolves Deployment I deployed the Relic Whirlwind in the centre of my deployment zone with line of sight to 4 objectives and covered by rocks on its left side. The Typhoons went behind rocks on my far right. The Thunderwolves were joined by the lord and the Ironpriest in the centre ready to move up onto the objectives. Everything else went into reserve. Ben deployed a ravager on his far left, then the 3 venoms evenly spaced across his backfield, warriors in the2 central venoms with the third being empty. Fire dragons fairly central. Then his other ravager with 3 dark lances, Avatar, Farseer and 1 jetbike squad on his far right out of range of the Whirlwind. His Lahmean went behind a large rock in his deployment zone totally out of line of sight. Warp spiders and Swooping hawks and other jetbikes in reserve along with the crimson hunter. Turn 1 Both melta hunters drop pods landed bang on objectives. Typhoons moved up to shoot the venoms and the Thunderwolves moved up to the centre of the board but concealed behind a large patch of rocks that almost blocked line of sight. I was hoping that Ben would jink a few vehicles reducing his shooting even if I didn’t kill them off. First melta squad fired on a venom and did 1 hp and it jinked. Other melta squad fired on the Ravager without dark lances and did no damage but again made it jink. Typhoons fired on a 2nd venom and knocked off a hp despite a 3+ cover save after jinking. Whirlwind then fired on the dark lance Ravager and did 2 hp and removed a dark lance. I achieved 2 maelstrom cards. I hadn’t killed anything but had made 3 vehicle jinked but probably should have tried to make his ravager with dark lances jink as it was the biggest threat to my Whirlwind. Ben’s turn 1. Venoms and Ravager backed away from the melta hunters. Fire dragons advanced to shoot a drop pod. Ravager with dark lances moved up to shoot the Whirlwind. Farseer and bikes moved over to shoot the nearest grey hunters. Avatar moved over behind the Fire Dragons to provide a fearless bubble. Psychic phase saw the nearest melta hunters misfortuned and then 1 bike squad prescienced. Fire dragons failed to damage the drop pod due to only 2 being within range. Ravager with disintegrators killed 3 grey hunters with snap shots and then firing at the other squad killed off 5 melta hunters including 1 melta gun but they passed morale. Dark lance ravage fired on the Whirlwind but failed to even glance. Don’t think Ben achieved any maelstrom cards. Turn 2 Stormwolf and Bloodclaw drop pod arrived Drop pod landed on a third objective on my left which was unusual as I usually scatter half an inch off objectives. They were also in range to flame and bolt pistol the nearest jetbike unit. Iron Priest ran off on his own to grab an objective. Thunderwovles advanced on the fire dragons. Melta hunters advanced on the retreating vehicles. Typhoons also advanced so they could fire their heavy bolters too this turn. First melta squad stunned and glanced the disintegrator ravager. Other melta squad wrecked the empty venom. Stormwolf and Typhoons wrecked the already damaged venom although the warriors weren’t pinned. The drop pod that had survived the fire dragons then added insult to injury by killing 2 with storm bolter shots. Bloodclaws did enough damage to destroy the entire jetbike squad with the flamer doing most of the damage. Finally, the Whirlwind wrecked the dark lance ravager. In the assault phase the Thunderwolves smashed through the fire dragons without taking any damage but then only consolidated 1 inch leaving them stuck in front of the Avatar and a lot of shooting. I grabbed a couple more maelstrom cards and had killed off quite a lot of units and got all my reserves in, great turn. Eldar turn. The warp spiders arrived from reserve and came in near the newly arrived bloodclaws.1 unit of jetbikes with scatter lasers arrived and came in near the Thunderwolves. Dark Eldar jetbikes arrived too. Crimson hunter arrived from reserve and fired its D weapons at the Whirlwind and took 2 hull points off and stunned it. Mobile venom with warriors and foot warrior squad moved to shoot the Thunderwolves. Farseer and other jetbike unit moved to shoot the Thunderwolves too. Avatar advanced on the Thunderwolves ready to charge when they were whittled down. Psychic phase saw a jetbike unit prescienced. A huge volume of shots saw the Thunderwolves only lose one Thunderwolf, a fenrisian wolf and my Lord take two wounds, could have been a lot worse. Warpspiders then eviscerated the entire bloodclaw squad. Avatar charged in and challenged which was accepted by my Thunderwolf packleader sergeant. Then I realised the Avatar was WS10 so I’d only hit on five’s, hmmn. Still he hit me and my pack leader suddenly developed the world’s biggest storm shield saving 4 instant death wounds. The stormshields failed to do any damage back, The Powerfists then hit an unlikely 7 times and wounded 6 times. Ben was unlucky with his invulnerable saves and then Avatar popped out of existence and back to the Craftworld heart. Overall a rather unlucky turn for Ben. Turn 3 Wolf lord split off to go charge the Darkeldar warriors whilst the Thunderwolves moved to assault the dark elder jetbikes. Melta hunters advanced on the surviving ravager to shoot then assault to bring it down. Other melta hunters advanced on the Eldar jetbike squad to shoot them as did the Typhoons. Stormwolf turned to shoot at the Farseer and his jetbike bodyguard. Whirlwind was stunned so couldn’t shoot this turn so popped smoke. All three Eldar jetbikes were evaporated in a hail of gunfire from the Typhoons and melta hunters. Melta hunters failed to even hit the ravager with shooting. Stormwolf fired 4 twinlinked anti tank weapons at the last jetbike squad with Farseer and killed precisely 2. Rubbish. Wolflord charged the warrior squad and lost his last fenrisian wolf to overwatch and then killed off all five from his 9 attacks. Again he consolidated an inch. Thunderwolves then smashed into the dark elder jetbikes and killed them all off. Melta hunters assaulted the ravage and wrecked it with krak grenades. Another 4 units killed off and a couple more maelstrom points gained for killing units. Eldar turn 3, Swooping hawks arrived and with pinpoint accuracy they arrived close enough to throw a haywire grenade at the Whirlwind. Farseer jumped over to throw his spear at the drop pod. Last jetbike moved to turbo boost to an objective. Venom and Crimson hunter combined to shoot at the Thunderwolves whilst the Warpspiders went for the bloodclaw drop pod. A combination of terrify and psychic shriek on the Thunderwolves from the Crimson hunter killed 2. Swooping hawk haywire grenade hit but then did no damage to the Whirlwind. Warpspiders did 2 hp to the drop pod which was bearable. Farseer then missed with its singing spear. Crimson hunter and venom fire combined with its passengers killed off the last 2 Thunderwolves. Ben’s last jetbike flew off to seize the objective that the relic was babysitting and claimed it due to being objective secured. Ben was now wracking up maelstrom points for killing off enemy units. Turn 4 Due to the previous turns and deployment being a bit slow we only had 20 minutes left so agreed this would be the last turn. Also neither of us had much left. I had two cards that were very important for the game results and this turn. 1 of which was objective 6 which the objective secured drop pod was holding despite the warp spiders being in close attendance and the supremacy card where I needed to hold every objective. I was already holding 4 objectives so only need to move my wolf lord onto one and kill the jetbike for the Whirlwind to claim the objective. Wolflord moved across to grab the objective whilst both melta squads stayed away to claim linebreaker. Stormwolf moved to shoot the Farseer and the Typhoons skimmed over the rocks to shoot the jetbike which they did with aplomb. My Whirlwind didn’t have many targets as the Crimson hunter was flying the warpspiders would just jump away and the swooping hawks were about two inches away so the danger of scattering onto my own tank was too much. Instead I fired on the Farseer. I rolled up 3 shots. I then scattered 6 inches onto my own drop pod hitting a warpspider at the same time. 1 warpspider died but crucially I killed off my own drop pod, denying me objective 6 and preventing me from getting supremacy. The Stormwolf then blitzed the Farseer out of existence with its lascannon. Unless Ben had an amazing turn I had won the game but I had just lost myself a chunk of points. Ben’s turn. His crimson hunter moved to the centre of the battlefield to cast terrify and psychic shriek again. The Venom moved over to fire at the Wolflord. Warpspiders then claimed objective 6. Psychic shriek was denied but terrify was cast which meant my wolf lord needed to take a LD test which he promptly failed. This meant he was then classed as destroyed at the end of the game. Bugger. Swooping hawks missed with throwing a grenade at the Whirlwind but could assault this turn. Swooping hawks finished off the Whirlwind in assault and with that time was up. Results Maelstrom Space Wolves 8, Eldar 5 Secondary objectives Wolves 5, Linebreaker, slay the warlord and 3 for most KP’s (11 to 5) Eldar 2 linebreaker and slay the warlord Total Space wolves win 13 to 8 giving a minor victory. To get a major victory I needed to double out on VP’s so I just missed out I also killed 1,100 points of Eldar compared to 800 of me. We both got our secret objectives as I killed the fire dragons and Ben’s Lahmean (who I had totally forgotten about) seized the terrain piece of the rock which she hid behind all game. Post game thoughts. Overall I was frustrated with my stupid mistake of firing at the farseer with the Whirlwind. Had I considered the danger of scattering I would never have fired at the Farseer and would have earned myself at least 2 vp’s possibly even more, I was also frustrated to fail a ld 10 test on my wolf lord in the final turn to give up slay the warlord. I think my overall game play was good and I was able to move up and dominate the centre ground early on exactly as I planned and with jinking Ben’s firepower was reduced. Whilst he was coming back strong at the end of the game I had killed off a lot of his army. The Crimson hunter with 2 D weapons and psychic shriek was terrifying and was a major thorn in my side. However, on the other hand my Thunderwolves did well to survive so long and his Avatar should have done more damage. Overall though a solid win against a tough army and Ben was a really good guy to play against. Slaanesh Daemons next, lots and lots of them… we’re going to need a bigger wolf Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4354599 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatSmasher Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Great report! Any chance you can use a slightly larger font next time Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4356533 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Game 2 Opponent; Adam Army Slaanesh Daemons Mission 5 objectives each worth 3VPs Deployment Table Quarters Deploy first & Go First Daemons Night fighting No Vanguard secret objective; defend a piece of terrain so I chose the ruins furthest back in my table quarter. Warlord Trait, Command trait 6, reroll 1’s in assault, really handy but I totally forgot about this all game (muppet) Secondary objectives, most KP’s, slay the warlord, line breaker, Adam’s list Keeper of Secrets Daemon prince with Mark of Slaanesh, Grimoire and Wings Belakor 2 x 5 man units of seekers 7 x 10 Daemonettes, (Adam was running 2 CADs so could have more than 6 units). Pre-game thoughts This could be tough with no shooting Adam was going to be running at me and wanting to charge and whilst I would easily take his units 1 on 1 he had lots more close combat units and all his army had rending or AP 2 which was a major concern. Also he had 7 objective secured units even before summoning. At least I was going 2nd so had final say on objectives. 5 reasons why wolves will win 1, I’m going second so have last say on claiming objectives. 2, Adam doesn’t have any shooting to whittle me down before combat 3. Most of his army was toughness 3 with a 5++ so fairly fragile. 4, Adam would have to leave units to sit on objectives and with no shooting they wouldn’t be putting out any damage 5, My helfrost cannon could instant kill his MC’s as could my Str 10 Powerfists. 5 reasons why Adam will win 1, Multiple rending wounds would rip through my units or vehicles. 2, Lots of psychic buffs could make his army even tougher. 3, His MCs would be really tough to handle if they stuck together. 4, Adam was going first so I’d only get 1 shooting phase in first. 5, Adam army was very intimidating due to the number of models and I don’t think that psychological advantage should be underestimated. Deployment Adam deployed his seekers at the front flanking Belakor and the Daemon Prince, Keeper of secrets just behind and Daemonettes spread out holding two objectives and ready to move forwards. Three of the objectives were on Adam’s side of the table so whilst he was advancing some units would probably be staying home. I deployed my Whirlwind and Typhoons far back and the Thunderwolves and Iron Priest and Lord screening them. Everything else went into reserve. Turn 1. Adam moved everything forward now covering 3 objectives with warm Daemonettes bodies. His seekers raced forwards and his Daemon Prince moved straight ahead to the centre of his lines and used the grimoire. Belakor flew up high on his left. He then cast Cursed Earth from his Daemon Prince and invisibility on a unit of Daemonettes and then summoned another unit of Daemonettes, great. Finally, he rolled a 4 on the Warpstorm table to give -1 invul save to all Daemons. Nice. He then ran most of his army further forwards. Wolves turn 1. Both melta drop pods came in aiming for the objectives on my right flank but true to my usual scattering form both scattered off the objectives by about two inches. With a lot of Adam’s army now only having a 6++ save I resolved to do a lot of damage to those units. Thunderwolves advanced thinking it was better to charge then be charged. Typhoons and Whirlwind readied themselves to fire. Typhoons fired on the closest unit of seekers and killed 3. Whirlwind fired on the invisible unit (due to the tournament rules anything attacking an invisible unit counted as WS 1 or BS 1) and killed 4. One squad of melta hunters eliminated the other seeker unit and the other meltahunter unit killed off 6 Daemonettes from the nearest unit. My Thunderwolves then attempted to charge both the invisible Daemonettes and the last 2 remaining seekers but didn’t roll high enough to could only charge the Daemonettes. Daemonettes caused a wound on a Stormshield dude and then were smashed apart in return, due to some good to hit rolls and daemonic instability I consolidated a mighty 1 inch, great, oh well 1 unit down. Daemons turn 2 Belakor kept flying and flew into my deployment zone. The Daemon Prince hopped over to charge the newly arrived melta hunters. Keeper of secrets advanced on the Thunderwolves as did the remaining seekers and another squad of Daemonettes. Other squads of Daemonettes surrounded the melta hunters. Cursed earth was cast again but other powers were dispelled or failed to cast. Daemon prince and a squad of Daemonettes charged 1 melta hunter unit and a squad of Daemonettes charged the other unit losing two to overwatch. Keeper of secrets, seekers and Daemonettes charged the Thunderwolves. Combat saw the Thunderwolf pack leader slain by the Keeper of Seeker in a challenge and a Fenrisian wolf killed and the Wolf lord took two wounds from the Daemonettes. In return all the Daemonettes were killed and the seekers died to instability but the Keeper of Secrets survived on 2 wounds. Melta hunter pack leader died in a challenge with the Daemon Prince and then 7 others died from the Daemonettes and Daemon Prince. I lost combat and fled but was kept in through the ‘and they shall know no fear rule’. Other melta hunter squad saw 6 hunters killed and 4 Daemonettes killed in return but I passed morale. Wolves turn 2. Hmmn many grey hunters dead and being locked in combat with the Keeper of Secrets was unfortunate but could have been worse. Bloodclaws in drop pod arrived and came in near the objectives on my right flank ready to flame and shoot some Daemonettes, naturally the droppod scattered too far to context the objective. Stormwolf came in ready to shoot Belakor. I did no damage on Belakor due to poor to hit rolls and 3++ invul. Typhoons and Whirlwind combined fire to shoot Daemonettes they could see but with Adam spreading them out well I didn’t kill many. Bloodclaws killed 6 with flamer and bolt pistols. Combat saw the Keeper of Secrets killed and then the Daemon Prince cut down the remaining melta hunters. Other melta hunters were killed off in their combat too. Daemon Prince consolidated towards the Thunderwolves who consolidated back towards the Whirlwind and Typhoons. Daemonettes consolidated towards the Bloodclaws. Daemons turn 3. Daemon Prince advanced on the Thunderwolves. Belakor landed ready to assault the Whirlwind or Typhoons next turn. Daemonettes advanced on the Bloodclaws whilst 3 other units moved and sat on objectives. In the psychic phase the Daemon Prince cast grimoire and then gained a 4++ save, it also cast invisibility on itself. Belakor then took a wound from perils. Bloodclaws were surrounded by the Daemonettes they just shot and another 10-man unit that just killed my melta hunters. Overwatch was pathetic without any Daemonettes wounded then all Bloodclaws were killed by rending at initiative 5. Ouch. Daemonettes then consolidated onto objectives. Daemon Prince charged the Thunderwolves and challenged which was accepted by the iron Priest. his invul save saved 3 wounds before he died. I then put two wounds on the Daemon Prince but all the auto death wounds from the Powerfists were saved on his invul save. Again this was another combat that my Thunderwolves should have won but ended up being locked in. Wolves turn 3. Things weren’t looking for the brave followers of Russ. Daemons were sitting on all 5 objectives. Thunderwolves were locked in combat. I was down to only a few units and Belakor was now sitting in my deployment zone. Typhoons and Stormwolf moved to shoot Belakor. Whirlwind and Drop pod storm bolters fired on the Daemonettes killing off a handful. Stormwolf somehow managed to take all 3 wounds off Belakor killing him, success. This meant the Typhoons were now out of line of sight so had nothing to shoot at. Daemon Prince now challenged my Warlord who had no one left to hide behind so accepted the challenge. I reasoned that his storm shield might save him and some of the remaining unit. Wolf lord was struck down and a Power Fist took a wound. In return though the two Powerfists smashed the Daemon Prince dead. I then consolidated forwards to the objectives. A bit better turn for me. Daemonettes turn 4. With no shooting or psychic powers left there wasn’t much Adam could do. He spread his units out as much as possible to avoid templates and then covered every objective possible. He debated moving up to charge the Thunderwolves as there were only 3 left and 2 were wounded but decided against it. Wolves turn 4. Thunderwolves advanced on the nearest Daemonettes. Stormwolf and Typhoons moved up to fire at the other Daemonette units. Whirlwind moved to claim the terrain piece in my deployment zone as it didn’t have good line of sight to anything. Shooting saw 1 Daemonette unit reduced to 2 models and another take 3 casualties. The Thunderwolves charged in and lost a Stormshield wolf but wiped out the 7 remaining Daemonettes in return. It was 4 objectives to 1 with both having slay the warlord and nobody having line breaker. I was easily winning on kill points but that wasn’t enough to change the game result. Slaanesh was very happy. Daemonettes turn 5. Again Adam was down to simply sitting on the objectives and spreading out. Wolves turn 5. Thunderwolves moved up to charge the nearest Daemonettes unit. Whilst the drop pods combined fire to shoot at the last 2 Daemonettes on one unit killing both. Stormwolf then turbo boosted on the objectives. Whirlwind and Typhoons fired on the unit to be assaulted killing 4 leaving only 3 alive but the Thunderwolves now had a 10-inch charge. I rolled the charge range, failed and re rolled with fleet and failed again. Bugger. We rolled to see if we had a turn 6 and the roll came up a 1, game over. Game results Primary objectives Daemonettes 3 = 9 pts Wolves 2 = 6 pts Secondary objectives Both got Warlord 1pt each, nobody got linebreaker. Kill points Wolves 10 Daemons 5. 3pts to Wolves End result draw 10 pts all. I also got my secret objective of capturing the terrain piece in my table quarter. I also killed off 1500 pts of Daemons compared to 700 pts of Wolves lost. Adam got his secret objectives of killing off my Iron Priest. Post-game thoughts. I could bitch and moan about that failed charge at the end or not having another turn but overall this was a great game and my favourite game of the event. Adam was a great chilled out opponent and his army was beautiful. It was really nicely painted and had glitter on many of the models making them very eye catching. I voted for it in the best army voting but Adam didn’t win. It was a novel experience fighting that many Daemonettes and was a real fun game. I’d happily play that game again. I think my tactics were sound I was just a bit unlucky that I had a few failed charges early on and couldn’t get out of the combats with the MC’s earlier. Adam was also unlucky that he couldn’t do much in his last two turns due to not having any shooting or other ranged attacks and being stuck on the objectives. Spoilers. Over my next 3 games. I had 1 game against an army list I really feared going into the event! I had a game against an army firing 30 lascannon shots per turn! I had a game where an army was tabled turn 3! I had a game with the least bloody turn 1 ever! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4357076 Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatSmasher Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Great update, thanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4357836 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konnavaer Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Really enjoying these reports brother, thanks for sharing them :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4357861 Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulfgar hammerfist Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Excellent reports! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4357999 Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHowler Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Really enjoying the batreps as well. I'm curious, do you record your games? Take notes? Or do you just have an amazing memory? I've always wanted to do reports of my games, but I don't normally remember them well enough to do more than say who won. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4359479 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Really enjoying the batreps as well. I'm curious, do you record your games? Take notes? Or do you just have an amazing memory? I've always wanted to do reports of my games, but I don't normally remember them well enough to do more than say who won. Cheers for the feedback guys. I take some notes. I have an army list for each game and note down things like warlord trait on the sheet and note kill points and when important things happen like slay the warlord. I take mission details from the mission pack. I usually don't record maelstrom cards as I don't want to slow the game down too much. To be honest writing the battle reports get easier as you get into them as you start to remember what follows what. I really should take more photos though. Game 3 Opponent Ben Army Space Wolves Company of the Great Wolf Deployment Table quarters; deploy nine inches from the table centre, so armies could start only 18 inches apart… Mission Unique mission; each unit scored 1 VP if they were in your deployment zone at the end of the game, 5 VP per unit in your opponent deployment zone and 3 VP per unit for being in the other table quarters. Secondary objectives, Slay the Warlord, Kill a unit in your first turn Night fight No Deploy first go first Ben Warlord Trait Units within 12 of my warlord use his leadership Secret Objective; Vanquish Kill off 4 named units from your opponent list Ben’s list Harald Deathwolf Wolf Guard Battle Leader, Thunderwolf, Stormshield, Fellclaw teeth, Krakenbone sword 4 Thunderwolf Cavalry, Thunderhammer, storm shield, dual lighting claws, 2 bare bones 4 Thunderwolf Cavalry, Thunderhammer, storm shield, dual lighting claws, 2 bare bones 2 x 5 man wulfen units each with 2 axe, 1 dual lightning claws, 1 hammer and storm shield, Blizzard Venerable dreadnought with massive axe and storm shield 5 terminators, combi plasma and combi melta, can’t remember the rest. 5 grey hunters, melta gun Pre- game thoughts. Hmmn, I hadn’t actually played Wulfen before but I knew their reputation and with their move boost and lots of Thunderwolves Ben would be on me in a flash. Worse still he was going first. There was a big patch of rocks in the centre but very little cover elsewhere. I would have been much happier going first. I knew that if Ben hit my lines turn 1 or all at once it would be over very quick. I also knew that I needed to distract his units and split him up. To win I needed to kill the Thunderwolves and both Wulfen packs so I declared these as the four units for my secret objectives as I reasoned that If I killed them I would win the game If I didn’t I’d probably lost anyway. Having last turn and say on objectives was good but in reality the game was likely to be decided much sooner than that. 5 reasons why Ben would win 1. Wulfen 2. Lots of Thunderwolves 3. Going first 4. More Wulfen 5. More Thunderwolves 5 reasons why I would win 1. More mobility with drop pods and flyers 2. Str 8 shooting to double out Wulfen and ignore FnP 3. My Thunderwolf unit would take his 1 on 1 (or so I thought) 4. Apart from snap shots he had nothing to take on my flyer 5. I was going second so would have last say on claiming table quarters, Deployment. Ben deployed his two characters in one Thunderwolf unit as far forwards as possible. The other Thunderwolf unit behind and the two Wulfen unit just behind that unit. Dreadnought and grey hunters deployed as far forward as possible on the other side of the rocks to move into the opposite table quarter. Terminators went into deep strike reserve. Ben then rolled for his Wulfen roll and got the result that gave an extra 3 inch move. In contrast I deployed my Whirlwind and Typhoons as far back as possible and then screened with my Thunderwolves and characters. Everything else went into reserves to jump into different table quarters later on. I tried to avoid a first turn charge by deploying behind cover where possible and going as far back as possible but with only 18 inches between deployment zones and extra 3 inches to move and charge I would really struggle, thank god for the seize the initiative roll. Ben turn 1, I rolled to seize the initiative and failed. Was that game over? Dreadnought and grey hunters moved up 6 inches forward round the cover. First Thunderwolf unit with characters went 15 inches forwards and then other unit did the same behind. Wulfen moved and then ran forwards. He then measured the charge with his first unit and realised he would need a 16 inch charge. I was safe, phew. Thunderwolves ran forwards instead. My turn 1. Both melta hunter units came in either side of his main Thunderwolf unit. I planned to throw everything at this main unit and whittle them down a bit with shooting. They also looked a bit isolated so a good round of shooting and combat could see them killed off. Typhoons and Whirlwind fired on the Wulfen as str 8 and toughness 4 is fun for all the family. Whirlwind killed 2, 1 from each unit and then the krak missiles killed 2 more from the nearest unit who then failed morale and fell back 6 inches. Not bad but they’d be back next turn. Firing boltguns first at the Thunderwolves I killed 1 with each unit of melta hunters. A pretty good shooting phase killing 2 Thunderwolves and 4 Wulfen. I then realised that in my excitement to shoot I’d forgotten to move up my own Thunderwolf unit. I then needed a 9 inch charge which I managed to pass with the reroll from fleet. Hammer of wrath attacks did nothing. I considered challenging but decided not to. At that point a mighty voice cried out. “I, Sigurd Sigmundsson thane of the Vika Fenryka challenge thee to mighty combat. Thine presence on my world is an insult that cannot go unpunished”. As this was only an upstart wolfguard battle leader my Wolf Lord responded ‘I, Jarl Thorkild Thunderm victor of many mig,hty bouts, a champion of many battlefields and a warrior of unsurpassed valour and skill of arms I accept thine challenge and will slay thee where thee stand.” Hammer of Wrath attacks did nothing. Ben then attacked with his initiative 5 ap 2 powersword rerolling to hit but with my 3++ invul save Ben did no damage. We then attacked with our initiative 4 guys with the result that my stormshields were a bit dented and one of Ben’s Thunderwolves died. Harald attacked and dented said storm shields a lot further then my Iron Priest got bored pushed his way to the front of the combat and struck down another Thunderwolf. My 10 powerfist attacks then hit and smashed Harald so far into the ground that even Russ himself would struggle to find him again. The instant death wounds then passed onto the challenge and the unmighty upstart thane then met the same fate. The wolflord was a bit upset that he didn’t get the chance to win the combat himself but was happy to have won the combat; so happy that he ordered an immediate round of ale with the result that my Thunderwolves then staggered round in a drunken haze for a while. (I rolled a 1 to consolidate) Hyperbole aside this was a great start for me. Ben turn 2, Ben was reeling somewhat from my turn as that was a lot of points to lose without inflicting any damage in return. He rolled for his terminator reserves but after seeing what my Thunderwolves could do they decided that the battlebarge was a safer option. Blizzard dread and the grey hunters advanced on one squad of melta hunters as did the larger pack of Wulfen. Other Thunderwolves and fleeing Wulfen turned and advanced on the other squad of melta hunters who were now looking round for an escape route which wasn’t there. Melta gun shot from Ben’s grey hunters failed to hit the drop pod. Dreadnought then charged in and killed one melta hunter with hammer of wrath after overwatch did nothing. Wulfen then charged in and eviscerated all 10 melta hunters. Ouch. Overwatch from the other melta hunters put a wound on a Thunderwolf before hammer of wrath killed 2. Combat was equally bloody with the Thunderwolves killing three in return for an unsaved wound which finished the wounded Thunderwolf. Wulfen and Thunderwolf thunderhammer then tore the remaining melta hunters to pieces. Ouch that was a lot of points to lose, but with my shooting and Thunderwolf unit I was still in the fight. My turn 2. Fortunately both the Stormwolf and the Bloodclaws in droppod came down to join the party. Bloodclaws in drop pod podded in as far as possible into Ben’s deployment zone meaning he would need at least two turns to chase them down if he decided to go after them. Stormwolf flew in in a perfect position to shoot the venerable dread in the back. I know some people are saying that’s not a fair fight but to be honest a Stormwolf would lose a fair fight vs the Blizzard dread so took every advantage it could get. My Thunderwolves decided Ben’s Thunderwolves were the biggest threat due to their range and resilience. Everything else decided that shooting Wulfen was the best policy. Typhoons and Whirlwind killed off the unit of 2 Wulfen after some good storm shield saves. Stormwolf then blew the venerable dreadnought apart with its multi meltas. Score for the good guys. My Thunderwolves then charged into Ben’s last 3 Thunderwolves and my Wolf lord rashly accepted a challenge from the Thunderwolf pack leader with Thunderhammer. Somehow I forgot that he was str 10, but my Wolf lord was desperate to shed bloodand who was I to argue? Combat saw one of my storm shield brothers fall and then two of Ben’s wolf riders died. My Wolf lord chopped down his opponent in the challenge but not before he was pulped in return and both his Fenrisian wolves went down too. Whoops. Still, with another 3 dangerous units wiped out and my reserves on the table things were looking good for the space wolves. (Although a space wolf victory was guaranteed as soon as this match up was arranged, one way or the other). Ben’s turn 3. Ben’s terminators again failed to arrive. Ben’s force was now 5 grey hunters and 4 Wulfen. The grey hunters advanced into cover by the nearest drop pod and again fired with their melta gun doing a single hull point. Wulfen advanced on my Thunderwolves and charged in like a pack of howling blood maddened wolves. Combat was bloody in the extreme with all four Wulfen killed in return for the IronPriest, and the 3 remaining Thunderwolves killed as the Wulfen got to attack at both initiative stages. That really hurt but with the Wulfen all dead the Thunderwolves had done their job. My turn 3. With five grey hunters his last unit on the board Ben was now really up against it. The Stormwolf went into hover mode and moved 6 so the bloodclaws inside could disembark. They did so and then killed 2 hunters with flamer and bolt pistols. Stormwolf then killed off two more and then the Typhoons finished off the last one. With the Terminators still in reserve poor Ben was tabled turn 3. Results With Ben being tabled and only killing my Warlord for a point I achieved a mighty victory I had also killed all 4 units I had marked for death. Ben also got his secret objectives for killing off my Iron Priest. Postgame thoughts. Ben was unlucky with his Terminators failing to come in and more importantly not doing any damage to my Thunderwolves turn 1. I got really lucky with my invul saves. Ben couldn’t really have played it any other way as I would have just fired into his Wulfen if he had stayed back as I had a big shooting advantage. I think the only mistake Ben made was not charging my Thunderwolves turn 2 with both Wulfen packs and his Thunderwolves, had he done so and won combat I would have been in real trouble. I now have a much healthier respect for Wulfen than I did before as I have never seen a unit chew through my Thunderwolves so easily. A unit or two in my force would be very useful but getting them into combat looks like the real trick. With a big win I should move up the ranking table. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4364379 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Game 4 Opponent Owen Army Inquisition Mission Relic Secondary objectives Slay the Warlord, Kill an enemy in your first turn, line breaker. Deployment Hammer and Anvil Night fighting No Deploy first and go first Me Warlord trait reroll to hit rolls of 1 in assault, would have been really useful but I totally forgot about this all game. Muppet. Secret mission Survive, I chose to keep my Stormwolf alive as Owen could only snap fire at it and his multimelta didn’t get the extra D6 due to ceramite plating. Owen’s army list Inquisitor (Warlord) Inquisitor Coteaz 2 x psychers. 6 x 5 man units of jokaero weapon monkeys, monkeys can choose to fire a lascannon, multimelta or heavy flamer and had some extra buffs. 6 x chimera with multi laser and heavy bolter with psybolt ammo Pre-game thoughts This was probably a good draw for the relic mission, with Owen needing to stay back and shoot I should be able to claim the relic and with a lot of small squishy units I should get the secondary objective for killing off most units. The main thing was I was going first so should only have to weather 1 turn of shooting before making combat but that really depended on how far back Owen deployed. I also knew that Coteaz’s ‘I’ve been expecting you’ rule would be a problem. The terrain was fairly sparse so my best bet would be to advance up a flank with the Thunderwolves and make best use of the cover. I would either drop the melta pods on the relic or, depending on where they deployed, on the Chimeras to try and pop them open. Owen was able to fire all the weapon monkeys from the fire points on the chimeras so I needed to blow up or pin the units inside. However, if Owen seized the initiative I was in big trouble. 5 reasons why wolves would win. 1, I was going first so had 1 less shooting phase to survive. 2, I had some high strength shooting to knock out or disable some chimeras before they got to shoot 3, If I reached Owen’s battle line in good order I was going to make a big mess 4, My Stormwolf should easily be able to take a chimera apart with shooting 5, I should win the primary as Owen admitted he was scared of my Thunderwolves so was unlikely to be advancing forwards. 5 reasons why Inquisition would win. With 30 lascannon or multimelta shots per turn I needed to rely on Stormshields and good saving rolls. Owen totally outclassed me in the psychic phase too I needed to kill the chimeras before I could assault the squishy monkeys giving them an extra turn of grace. Some of his heavy flamers were rending so would do a lot of damage in overwatch. If Owen seized the initiative I was in big trouble. Deployment. I deployed my Thunderwolf star on the left where there was most cover. Typhoons went behind some rocks and jungle on the right and the Whirlwind went behind a big patch of rocks in the centre covering most of the board. Everything else went into reserve. Owen deployed Coteaz and his chimera in the centre of his line and far forward with the warlord chimera next to it. Two chimera’s together on his right centre and the last two chimeras one on each flank. Owen then rolled to seize the initiative failed, rerolled and failed again. Phew. Wolves turn 1. First drop pod with melta hunters and pack leader tried to come in just left of the relic but scattered 7 inches towards Coteaz and now within range of his I’ve been expecting you rule. We then had a debate over whether Coteaz and unit would hit the drop pod before the unit disembarked, I said the unit disembarked first but Owen said Coteaz would fire on the drop pod with the squad inside. We called a ref who read both the drop pod rules and Coteaz’s rules and then said roll off with Owen winning. Drop pod then survived with two hps left after some poor to hit rolls. Melta hunters disembarked backwards onto the relic and claimed it. Other melta squad then came in left of that drop pod and moved forwards slightly but stayed out of Coteaz range. Thunderwolves moved then ran up the left flank leaving themselves about 14 inches away from the nearest chimera. Typhoons moved right to shoot Coteaz’s chimera in the flank. I did 2 hp, Whirlwind then fired on Coteaz chimera but scatted off and hit the chimera next to it and did 2hp with glancing hits. Melta hunters that were closet fired on the only chimera they could see and did 1 hp. Not a great first turn in terms of damage but I had the relic and my Thunderwolves could charge next turn. Hopefully I had given Owen enough targets to mess with his target priority. Inquisition turn 1. Chimera’s stayed still to shoot to maximise firepower. Psychic phase saw some minor powers go off with the main one being a 5++ save from the centre of his lines which covered 4 chimeras. Shooting started with the damaged drop pod being destroyed by lascannons and then three grey hunters died in the explosion. Shooting then saw another 4 grey hunters killed with the result that my unit dropped the relic and ran away. Not good. Shooting at the Thunderwolves saw the closest Stormshield guy killed and 2 wounds on my warlord as well as a wound on a second storm shield guy. Other drop pod was then blown up and 2 grey hunters died in the explosion then 2 more died from Str 6 shooting from the chimeras. I was so glad I had gone first as the shooting phase was brutal. Wolves turn 2. Thunderwolves moved up giving themselves a choice of 3 chimeras to assault. Bloodclaws drop pod came in behind 2 chimeras at the back ready to flame the rear armour. Stormwolf also came in from reserve and flew 36 inches to line up on Coteaz’s chimera. Typhoons continued to move forwards so they could fire their heavy bolters too. Melta hunters rallied and jumped back on the relic. Bloodclaws demonstrated why they are better at hitting things rather than shooting them by only doing a single hp on an undamaged chimera. Typhoons wrecked Coteaz’s chimera and the unit disembarked but wasn’t pinned. Stormwolf then wrecked the other damaged chimera and this time the unit was pinned. Other melta hunters moved up to shoot the nearest chimera but only 1 melta gun was in melta range and did no damage. Whirlwind fired blind at the disembarked jokaero monkeys in the 5++ bubble but did no damage due to scatter rolls and 5++ saves. Thunderwolves considered a multi charge but due to having to move round the cover I was looking at a 1-inch charge on the nearest chimera or a 6-inch charge on the next nearest chimera which was more central so I went for that. I only managed to roll a 6 for the charge range and easily smashed it apart but the unit inside jumped out and weren’t even pinned. Doh. Melta hunters attempted to charge the chimera next to it but were out of range. Inquisition turn 2. Owen was down 3 chimeras and 1 monkey unit pinned but still had a lot of shooting. The chimera with the rending heavy flamers moved to shoot the Thunderwolves. A unit of jokaero monkeys that had just been evicted from their chimera moved to shoot the blood claws. Other chimeras moved to fire at the Thunderwolves. Owen then cast a psychic power which was Str 10, ap 1 barrage attack this then hit bang on the Thunderwolves. It landed on a Stormshield dude he tanked 5 wounds and then died. This was fantastically lucky for me and a blow to Owen. Rending wounds from heavy flamers were tanked by the wolf lord though one of his Fenrisian wolf buddy’s was much more flammable and died. Jokaero’s that could shoot the Bloodclaws fired on them with heavy flamers and killed 4 with 1 running away. Owen’s last chimera fired on my Stormwolf which jinked and took no damage. Owen did a bit of damage but really I got off very lightly there. Wolves turn 3. Bloodclaw rallied. Melta hunters with relic moved 6 inches backwards towards cover and the Whirlwind. Other melta hunters moved up to shoot a chimera in the rear and the Stormwolf flew over to shoot another chimera. The Typhoons moved up to shoot some of the disembarked monkeys. Thunderwolves and IronPriest split off from the Lord so I could assault two units. Melta hunters fired into the rear of the chimera and exploded it. Typhoons then fired into the disembarked unit and killed off 3. Stormwolf got lucky with its snap shots after jinking and blew up the chimera, unit inside then failed morale check and ran off. Whirlwind fired on the pinned unit and killed 3 that unit also then ran off. Thunderwolves charged into the squad that just killed the Bloodclaws and wiped them out. Bloodclaw charged the unit with the rending heavy flamers died to overwatch then the Wolf lord charged in and only killed 2 which was really poor for 9 attacks on the charge, hitting on 3’s and killing on 2’s, Owen made some really good 4++ invul saves. With a few more units killed off and only one chimera left and the relic in my possession this was a really good turn for me. Inquisition turn 3. Owen moved his last chimera up to the Typhoons and then disembarked the squad. Both fleeing squads of monkeys rallied. Owen cast force on his inquisitor in combat with the Wolf lord which was a concern. Again Owen prioritised firing on the Thunderwolves knocking them down to the Iron Priest on 1 wound and a Power fist dude. Heavy flamers vs the Typhoons saw one wrecked and 1 left on one hull point. The combat with the Wolf lord saw my lord wounded and 2 more monkeys killed. My Wolf lord was now on 1 wound and looking vulnerable. Space wolves turn 4. Taking stock, I had the relic and I was winning on units killed. I had a good chance at Slay the Warlord and Linebreaker too. However, my forces were dwindling and the relic was only held by 3 grey hunters. The Stormwolf went into hover mode and moved back over towards the relic. Typhoon moved in front of the jokaero monkeys to present a tempting distraction. Melta hunters with relic moved over into cover and the Whirlwind drove forwards to screen the melta hunters. Other squad of grey hunters moved across to shoot Coteaz’s squad and the Thunderwolves moved over to join combat with the Wolf lord thinking that two more Thunderwolves would swing the combat in my favour. Typhoon killed two monkeys. Stormwolf took 1 hull point off the last chimera with snap shooting. Grey hunters without relic killed 3 monkeys from Coteaz’s squad and wounded Coteaz leaving him last man standing but he passed morale. Thunderwolves charged in and the Iron Priest issued a challenge which was accepted by the inquisitor. Inquisitor failed to do any damage and the Iron Priest killed him in return to give me Slay the Warlord and my Thunderwolf and Wolf lord killed the remainder of the squad. I consolidated out of cover and hopefully out of line of sight of Owen’s remaining shooters. Inquisition turn 4. Owen moved his chimera back to shoot the Thunderwolves and then moved his mobile unit of monkeys away from the Typhoon. Final unit of monkeys moved round cover to snap shoot the Thunderwolves and finally Coteaz moved up to shoot the Thunderwolves too. Mobile unit of monkey became very mobile when they cast a psychic power that moved them 12 inches so they had linebreaker and could shoot the squad on the relic. Shooting from them killed the last Typhoon and then all shooting on the Thunderwolves killed off the power fist guy but I passed morale. Space Wolf turn 5. Due to time we agreed this would be the last turn. Stormwolf moved 6 to disembark the Bloodclaws to provide more cover for the grey hunters whilst the Whirlwind moved forwards to fully screen the hunters. Wolf lord and Iron Priest debated charging and killing Coteaz but instead moved back to move out of line of sight to get linebreaker and deny Slay the Warlord. Shooting saw a 2nd hull point put on the chimera but no other damage caused. Inquisition turn 5. Owen moved his monkey squad up to grab linebreaker. His chimera moved forwards to shoot the Thunderwolves as did Coteaz and the other monkey squad. Monkey squad that was close to linebreaker cast the psychic jump power to make sure of linebreaker. Shooting was all directed at the Thunderwolves but they survived unscathed mainly due to the monkey squad that could shoot at them having to snap fire. With that the game was done. Results. Wolves Relic = 3 points Inquisition 0 Secondary objectives Wolves, Linebreaker, Slay the warlord, killing most enemy units 4 points Inquisition, Linebreaker, First Blood 2 points. Wolves 7, Inquisition 2. I got my secret objective for keeping the Stormwolf alive. Owen failed to achieve his as the Iron Priest survived. Post-game thoughts. This game was really decided with the roll for first turn. If Owen went first he could possibly inflict crippling damage. If I went first I could possibly disable a couple of tanks and guarantee a 2nd turn charge. This mission really favoured me and I could have done a lot worse with the type of army I was facing. Overall I think I played it well though and running the Thunderwolves up the flank worked well, apart from forgetting my Warlord trait all game. Owen was very unlucky with his shooting and particularly his Str 10 ap 1 large blast which did very little damage. The only thing I would have done differently if I had been Owen though was to make more attempt to shoot me off the relic as he could have denied me the relic but ultimately I think that I was killing enough to win on secondary objectives. I also killed off 1300 points of Owen’s army which was satisfying. I knew my next game would be tough though as I was still undefeated and had taken maximum points in my last 2 games. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4371233 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 Game 5 Opponent Mike Army Eldar Mission Maelstrom 6,5,4,3,2,1, Deployment Dawn of War Night fighting No Deploy first and go first Me Warlord Trait Redraw all maelstrom cards turn 1. Secret objective, hold all objective markers in my table half for 1 game turn Mike’s army Autarch with dark reaper missile launcher Farseer with jetbike and psychic gubbins; Prescience, Misfortune; Scriers gaze Avatar of Khaine (Warlord) 5 x 3 man scatterbike squads 5 Wraithguard with d cannons in wave serpent 3 x 5 man warp spider squads with exarchs 6 dark reapers with exarchs D cannon battery, 2 guns Imperial bunker with comms relay 5 reasons why I would win 1. I was going first so could grab a maelstrom lead early on 2. My Whirlwind would instant death most of what it hit 3. My Thunderwolves would smash anything in close combat 4. I had a flyer and Mike didn’t 5. I should be able to get the secondary points for killing off most units 5 reasons why Mike would win 6. Eldar have so many rerolls and buffs and extra abilities 7. Mike had some serious firepower with scatterbikes and D weapons 8. Mike had lots of turboboosting objective secured units so could shoot then turbo boost onto objective to ‘steal’ them from me 9. Lots of D weapons could instant kill my thunderwolves 10. His Farseer could psychically buff his units to make them more effective. Pre game thoughts. Well after maximum points in my last 2 games I had shot up the rankings table and now I had a good shot at a high placing. However I had come up against an extremely powerful list. Mike had also beaten two of my friends at the event too. Still, I’d rather be at the top end fighting a tough army than at the bottom end. I needed to go first and if I could grab a big lead in the maelstrom objectives then I might be able to hang on. I would prioritise his jetbikes but overall I needed to see how the cards fell out to decide on my plan. My Thunderwolves could be an area denial unit but Mike was faster with longer range shooting so I wasn’t confident they could get into combat. He could also throw small expendable units in their way for me to overkill whilst his other units grabbed objectives. This was going to be tough. I won the roll for placing first objectives and placed a triangle near the centre of the board but nearer one table side so my Thunderwolves could dominate that section of the board. Mike deployed 3 objectives as far as possible into corners. I won the roll for table side and for deploying first which was a good start. I chose the side nearer the triangle of objectives with a fourth objectives in my left corner. Deployment I deployed the Whirlwind in the centre protected by cover on one side but almost on my board edge to try and prevent his units deepstriking in behind it. Thunderwolves went just in front with both characters. Typhoons went over to the left. With 3 objectives in my table half and going first I should be able to grab my secret objective early on. Everything else went into reserve. Mike then deployed his bunker far back in a corner with the comms relay next to it and the D cannon battery with attached Farseer behind it on the table edge. Avatar went just in front but totally hidden behind terrain. Everything else went into reserve. Mike’s Warlord trait allowed a reroll on reserves so his reserves were coming in on a rerollable 2+ from turn 2. Great, so his army was either 30+ inches away or ready come in turn 2 from anywhere on his table edge. Wolves turn 1. I picked up some good cards including 3 for holding objectives in my table half and one in the far corner away from Mike’s army. The Typhoons moved left to grab an objective. One melta unit dropped to the middle but their drop pod scattered half way between two objectives but the unit could move and run to grab one. Bloodclaws in drop pod came in for the far corner objective and again the drop pod scattered off the objective but the Bloodclaws could move and claim it. I deployed this unit as they would be totally isolated on that objective and would be expendable. Thunderwolves with characters moved up and Iron Priest split off to grab a separate objective. Typhoons had to turboboost to grab their objective and Whirlwind was out of range of Mike’s army so my turn was pretty short. I did grab 4 maelstrom card for holding objectives. It was irritating that the drop pods scattered off objectives as that meant I had use my infantry to hold objectives rather than being able to use them more offensively. It also meant my drop pods were now just scrap metal. Eldar turn 1. Mike started off by moving his Avatar slightly but keeping him in the corner and out of line of sight. He then cast Scriers gaze with his Farseer which gave him +1 to his reserve rolls and allowed him to swap a maelstrom card. Due to only being near one objective and some tricky cards Mike didn’t pick up any points. Both turns combined this was probably the least bloody, eventful and quickest turn 1 ever with nobody even firing a shot. Wolves turn 2. I had another good hand of Maelstrom cards with most of them being objectives I already held. Stormwolf and other unit of Melta hunters arrived from reserve. Stormwolf flew on to shoot the bunker whilst the Melta hunters tried to guide their drop pod down to an objective but missed so again they had to huddle round an objective and sing rowdy drinking songs to keep their spirits up. Typhoons also moved up to shoot the bunker or the Farseer behind it. Thunderwolves were rejoined by the Iron Priest and moved up to dominate the centre of the board. If I had moved and run straight towards the Avatar last turn I would have been able to charge it this turn but I felt it was more important to rack up maelstrom points than go chasing him round the board. Bloodclaws stayed put in the far corner to try and distract some of Mike’s units and also I had a card for having a unit in Mike’s deployment zone. Stormwolf fired at and blew up the bunker. Typhoons then blew apart one of the D cannons and 2 crew. Due to the presence of the Avatar though the remainder and the Farseer stayed put. Whirlwind was again out of range to shoot. I really should have moved it up in turn 1. I grabbed another 3 maelstrom points and I had all my units on the table. Things were going well but it really depended on what Mike could do next. Eldar turn 2. Mike’s reserves arrived, almost all of them due to Scriers gaze, his warlord trait and the comms relay they were coming in on a 2+ with a reroll. All 5 scatter bike squads came on with 3 clustering round the Bloodclaws and 2 by the Stormwolf. Dark reapers and Autarch came on by the Stormwolf as did the Wave serpent with D cannon Wraithguard. 2 units of Warpspiders came in but one unit failed to come in. 1st unit of Warpspiders deep struck near my board edge and the Whirlwind but scattered off the board and went into ongoing reserve. The 2nd unit then landed in the same spot and hit bang on just within range and line of sight of the Whirlwind’s rear armour. Farseer then cast misfortune on the Stormwolf and then prescience on a scatter bike squad. He also cast scriers gaze again. Three jetbike squads combined to wipe out the five blood claws then they turboboosted onto the objective to claim it. Warpspiders only did a single hp of damage to the whirlwind and then only jumped a few inches away and still well within the Thunderwolf charge range. Dark reapers fired at the Stormwolf, firing normally as they are slow and purposeful, hitting normally as they can shoot normally at flyers, ignore jinking because they are dark reapers, and rending because of misfortune, somehow I only took 1 hp of damage. The Wave serpent then did another hp of damage after I jinked. Last 2 scatter bike squads fired on the Typhoons which jinked killing one and leaving the other on 1 hp. Mike then picked up 3 maelstrom cards. I was suddenly down a few bodies and a lot of firepower and there wasn’t much I could do about it. Wolves turn 3. I drew a couple of cards that were useful; killing unit in assault and issuing a challenge but no more hold objective cards. I drew the card for Kingslayer and seriously considered going for the Avatar. I was confident I could kill it if I reached it but it would be a 10” charge and unless I stayed locked in combat I was facing down Wraithguard with D cannons, wave serpent, D cannon battery, Dark reapers with exarch and Autarch, Farseer and 2 scatter bike squads so I would expect to lose most of my unit. I decided the Warpspiders were a better target. Stormwolf flew over to its right to target jetbikes and to get away from the very shooty corner. Typhoon pulled back out of line of sight hoping to draw the jetbikes forwards. Melta hunters edged forwards into cover to be able to shoot any units that came near their objectives. Thunderwolves led by the Iron Priest moved over towards the Warpspiders with Exarch. Whirlwind failed to hit the jetbikes cluster round an objective. With their large bases and being well spread out I could only get one under a template anyway. Stormwolf failed to even hit the other jetbikes due to snap shooting. Everything else fired at the closest jet bike units and did no damage at all. Thunderwolves then charged the Warp spiders. IronPreist issued a challenge and killed the exarch then the rest of the unit smashed them apart. I then consolidated 3 inches back towards the centre. 2 more cards achieved and I had finally killed a unit. Eldar turn 3. Another unit of Warpspiders tried to come in by the Whirlwind and again scattered off the board and back into ongoing reserve. The third unit arrived and materialised by the Typhoons. Mike then picked up a couple of maelstrom cards that gave D3 points for killing off enemy units or holding objectives. Avatar started to move forwards towards the centre of the board. 3 jetbike squads that had clustered by the objective spread out to shoot the melta hunters or the Thunderwolves. Wave serpent, dark reapers and a jetbike squad turned to shoot at the Stormwolf. Farseer cast misfortune on the Stormwolf again and Scriers gaze. Scriers gaze was doing a good job of allowing Mike to redraw maelstrom cards. Warp spiders killed off the Typhoon despite it jinking. Somehow the luckiest Stormwolf in the history of the imperium survived unscathed after some good jink saves and some poor rolling on Mike’s part. Jetbikes at the other end of the board killed a Powerfist Thunderwolf and put a wound on the Iron Priest. Mike then turboboosted bikes onto 3 objectives and picked up 4 maelstorm points for holding objectives and killing a unit in the shooting phase. Wolves turn 4. I was still in the lead but Mike was clawing me back and we had time for at least turn 5. Stormwolf decided enough was enough and flew off the table into ongoing reserves. Melta hunters advanced shoot the nearest jetbike squad and the Whirlwind rotated its turret to shoot jetbikes strung out on the board edge hoping to kill one and make them run off. Thunderwolves moved up to the centre of the board thinking that Mike would have to come into assault range soon if he wanted to claim any of the centre objectives. I also hoped to deter his firebase units and Avatar from advancing any further. Whirlwind again missed and scattered off the table by 11 inches. Melta hunters then wiped out a jetbike squad. Thunderwolves ran closer towards the Avatar but still about 20 inches away. I spread out into a big line to allow a charge against another jetbike squad if they stayed in their corner. Eldar turn 4. 1 unit of jetbikes moved and then turboboosted into my back corner, ready to claim linebreaker or shoot the undefended Whirlwind next turn, or more likely, do both. Wraithguard in wave serpent swept forwards and disembarked then were joined by the Farseer. Avatar trundled forwards, the big coward was still scared of the Thunderwolves so he stayed well away, I think he was afraid of getting his hands dirty. Warpspiders came in from reserves by the other unit of Warpspiders and they moved to shoot a grey hunter squad as did two units of jetbikes. Final unit of jetbikes hung out by the objective in the far corner littered with the broken bodies of the bloodclaws from about two hours ago. Dark reapers moved then shot the Thunderwolves. Dark Reapers killed the nearest Thunderwolf with a storm shield but did no other damage. Wraithguard killed off 5 melta hunters. Jetbikes on objectives killed nothing. Warpspiders and jetbikes then killed off all ten members of my other grey hunter squad. Jetbikes in my backfield turboboosted to get into the rear arc of my Whirlwind. Finally, Warpspiders jumped onto the objective the grey hunters had held and the jetbikes grabbed another objective. Mike grabbed another 4 points for holding objectives. The tide was turning (had turned?). Wolves turn 5. Stormwolf came back inform ongoing reserves and lined up on the wave serpent. Melta hunters and Thunderwolves lined upon the same unit. Iron Priest split off to charge the jetbike unit on the objective that the Bloodclaws had briefly occupied, if I could win that combat I should be able to claim linebreaker too. Whirlwind tried to shoot jetbikes but again failed to hit. Stormwolf and Melta hunters blew up the Wave serpent. Iron Priest survived overwatch from the three man jetbike unit and killed them all in close combat consolidated further into Mike’s deployment zone to grab linebreaker. Thunderwolves attempted to charge the Wraith guard and Farseer but failed the charge and lost a Fenrisian wolf and a Powerfist guy to Overwatch. Eldar turn 5. Mike moved his Warpspiders over to a drop pod. Whilst his jetbikes that had just turbo boosted across the board moved back to shoot the Iron Priest. Wraithguard and Avatar advanced on the Thunderwolves, melta hunters and Stormwolf. Dark reapers blew the Stormwolf out of the sky then the Warpspiders rended the Bloodclaws apart. Melta hunters lost 4men leaving 3 remaining but they passed morale. Wraithguard shot the Thunderwolves with the Wolf Lord being the closest model but he looked out sir and lost the other Thunderwolf and a colleague with a stormshield. Iron Priest somehow survived the shooting phase. Final jetbike squad and warp spider squad killed off another drop pod. Mike then turboboosted and jumped units onto objectives and for linebreaker to claimmore maelstrom cards. With that the game was done. Results Maelstrom Wolves 15 Eldar 16 Secondary objectives, both get linebreaker, nobody got Warlord, nobody got lightning strike but mike got 3 vps for killing most units. I got my secret objectives but Mike failed to get his as he again tried to kill my Iron Priest. Final score Eldar 20, Wolves 16 Minor win to the Eldar. Post-game thoughts. Mike and I had a discussion after the game and Mike said I should have rushed him turn 1 or turn 2. If I had moved and ran as far as possible across the table turns 1 and 2 I would have been in combat against his Avatar which would also have given me Warlord. At the time I felt this was the wrong approach as I had some good cards to score points and I was worried about getting stuck in the corner whilst all his reserves came on somewhere else and I didn’t want to chase Warp spiders and jetbikes for the remainder of the game. However, writing up this report now I think that would have been the better approach. Mike’s army was too mobile and had too much firepower for me to try and stay away so getting in close early and hitting stuff would have been a better approach. The other main mistake I made was not moving up the Whirlwind turn 1 had I done so it would have meant that Mike’s units couldn’t hide out of range. I was also lucky that the Stormwolf and Whirlwind survived as long as they did. Had I realised how influential his Farseer would have been I would have gone after him a lot sooner. Interestingly when I looked at the full event results I realised that I went into this game at a higher position than Mike did. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4374494 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Otho Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Post event thoughts Overall I came 10th, 40 points out of a possible 51, (25 for gaming, 12 for secret objectives and 14 for painting) with me scoring 16, 12 and 12 respectively . I also killed over 6,200 points of enemy units and came top space marine player. Daemons came 1st and 2nd and Eldar with Space wolf allies came third. (But as they allied with Eldar I’m not counting them as true space wolves. This was my best finish at the event and also achieved all three aims of winning 3 games, having a good time and being top space wolf player. I played some great opponents and some beautiful armies, Mike’s Eldar and Adam’s Daemons were both nominated for best army and Ben’s wolves were unlucky to miss out on a nomination. All of my opponents did well with Eldar Ben finishing 8th, Eldar Mike 9th and Space Wolf Ben and Inquisition Owen about 20th. So I certainly didn’t feel like I was picking on any beginners. My luck was good all weekend with good rolls to go first or second when I wanted to and my reserves turning up early every game. I made a couple of mistakes with the biggest being blowing up my own drop pod game one costing me a mighty victory and then being too cautious in game five but overall my play was fairly solid. Overall my list performed well. It had a good balance and the combination of Whirlwind and Thunderwolves worked really well. The stars of the list were the Whirlwind, Typhoons and Thunderwolves. Whirlwind was frightening enemies away and the Typhoons put out a lot of firepower, not bad for a last minute substitution. The Thunderwolves killed pretty much everything they touched. On the other hand the Stormwolf was decent but probably not worth its points, and the bloodclaws were a mixed bag, the drop pod unit did well securing objectives but lacked numbers and the unit in the Stormwolf barely came out to play. Maybe those points could be better spent elsewhere? Vanquish was great fun; well organised with good refereeing and great terrain. Less admin on the results forms would be really appreciated though. I’ll definitely be back next year. Until next winter Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4378620 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacepup Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 I enjoyed the reports of the battles. Sounds like it was a very fun event! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4379011 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Can't thank you enough for taking the time to write up these VERY detailed and well written reports and evaluations! I've not only enjoyed reading them but found myself looking forward to the next installment. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321021-vanquishtournament-report/#findComment-4379037 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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