My escalation league experience

[TiguriusX]

Had my first league game tonight.

List can't change too dramatically from week to week so I made decisions based on how/what I can grow.

Week 1 was 500 points.

Space Wolves assemble!!

++ Patrol Detachment (Imperium - Space Wolves) [32 PL, 499pts] ++

+ HQ [6 PL, 85pts] +

Wolf Guard Battle Leader: Jump Packs, Frost sword -> Krackenbone Sword, Storm shield

+ Fast Attack [2 PL, 30pts] +

Cyberwolves

Cyberwolves

+ Troops [8 PL, 111pts] +

Grey Hunters : 4x Chainsword

. Grey Hunter Pack Leader : Chainsword

. 3x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol

. Grey Hunter with Special Weapon: Bolt Pistol, Plasma gun.

Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Combi-plasma, Storm shield

+ Heavy Support [16 PL, 273pts] +

Long Fangs

. Long Fang : Lascannon

. Long Fang : Lascannon

. Long Fang : Boltgun

. Long Fang : Boltgun

. Long Fang Pack Leader: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

. Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Bolt pistol, Storm shield (*missed photo day)

Long Fangs

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Boltgun

. Long Fang Pack Leader: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

As one of 2 newbies in the league I was assigned to play the TO. Special rule is when facing the TO your loss counts as a draw so no harm no foul.

Opponent Nurgle

had a huge unit of plague bearers

chaos spawn

some random psyker hiding in the middle of the horde

Dawn of war deployment (I think...12" rectangle box deployment. I need to improve here)

I rolled a 1 to start my WH40k career and lose deployment.

My army is very flexible with the cyber wolves letting me react. I basically start with WGBL going into reserve then place the wolves. Depending on what is down I locate a good spot for my LFs or decide to send them on the hunt. I decided to only place the GH on the hunt and use the plasma fangs to lure him forward. I was going to pop up in his rear and make him commit in 1 direction.

I made a major mistake here expecting him to come at me. I deployed faaaar away to give me more time to fire. Instead he shuffled forward onto the objectives (was able to cover 2 of them) and never moved again. I SHOULD have simply put my guys in the building b/c the chaos spawn was unable to reach me to do anything there. From there I should have just fired into the mob every turn with everything I had.

So my original battle plan was shot and I dropped here instead

Decided I would fight over this objective and deal with the spawn. WGBL was between lascannon fangs and GH to give aura.

I don't know chaos units well so I was asking lots of questions. Basically he told me his list is a troll build and unstoppable with only 500 points.

My list was not designed for a massive horde let alone one with special rules not to get moved off the objectives. The game went as you would expect.

The plague mob has a passive -1 to hit and he used a spell to make it a further -2. I needed 5s just to hit them. Turn 1 I managed to kill 4 of his guys between the plasma cannons and bolters. He rolled a 1 on morale and brought back 6 more.

Brutal unit to bring in a 500 point game.

I couldn't even kill the damn chaos spawn. Turn 1 before it even moved it generated an additional 6 wounds. That was the pattern all game long.

I made it a personal mission to kill the spawn and ignore the plague guys. Turn after turn of my long fangs pouring it had no effect. Game ended turn 5 and it had 4 wounds remaining.

Now...learning experience. I should have just sat all my units in the buildings and poured fire into the plague guys. Eventually I would knock them down. I could have completely ignored the spawn since it can't climb buildings after me.

Also...now that I am home I looked up the rules on these sneaky chaos units. I was totally cheated hahaha. He was automatically rolling to generate wounds on his spawn every turn. 1 he got D6 6 he got D3 (thats not the rule I was able to find).

Also his plague bearers lose their passive aura if they drop below 17 models. I asked if there were any restrictions on that benefit he said no they just have it.

It wasn't a total loss. I was trying to earn points despite the total failure. I stole a few points from his spawn using my GHs and objective secured before he ate them. I then was able to get my WGBL across the table for linebreaker before game ended.

I need to learn scoring mechanics but he said I got 4 out of max 10 even with the loss.

So the lesson I take away most of all is (1) know your enemy and (2) if you don't know your enemy ask to see the rules...

All that being said I had a real fun time tonight. I have wanted to play 40k and join a group since I was a kid in HS but time and $ never matched up. I was able to bring along a friend as well. The 2 of us will be matched up against one another next week and we are looking forward to it.

In the meantime I need to keep assembling if I am going to keep pace with this weekly point increase.

Edited February 6, 2018 by TiguriusX

[Karack Blackstone]

I am glad to read you had fun in your game!

 

Yes, the single most important part of the hobby is always, show me, or, to a friend of mine, chow me.

 

Always be ready to accept challenges and challenge any odd sounding rule; most often, no one willingly cheats, last I checked. The issue is that, when pressed for time, most often, no one wants to potentially waste time looking up rules, when they arguably should whenever any question comes up.

 

Edit: forgot a word.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Karack Blackstone

[Bulwyf]

I play both space wolves and Death Guard. Feel free to ask questions about them here

[TiguriusX]

Week 2

750 points against Blood Angels (my good friend who is also new. I dragged him along with me)

My points primarily went to adding Bjorn and upgrading a thunder hammer on my WGBL (he lost his storm shield though)

These 2 moves would prove critical in the match to come.

Sorry for the blur...I clearly need a new phone/camera

My 750 list

Patrol Detachment (Imperium - Space Wolves)

• HQ
  • Bjorn the Fell-handed

    Selections: Assault cannon, Heavy flamer, Saga of the Warrior Born, Warlord

  • Wolf Guard Battle Leader

    Selections: Chainsword, Jump Packs, Thunder hammer

• Troops
  • Grey Hunters

    Selections: 4x Chainsword

    • Grey Hunter Pack Leader

      Selections: Power fist

    • 3x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol
    • Grey Hunter with Special Weapon

      Selections: Bolt Pistol, Plasma gun

    • Wolf Guard Pack Leader

      Selections: Combi-plasma, Storm shield

• Fast Attack
  • Cyberwolves

    Selections: Cyberwolf

  • Cyberwolves

    Selections: Cyberwolf

• Heavy Support
  • Long Fangs
    • Long Fang

      Selections: Lascannon

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Lascannon

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Boltgun

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Boltgun

    • Long Fang Pack Leader

      Selections: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

    • Wolf Guard Pack Leader

      Selections: Bolt pistol, Storm shield

  • Long Fangs
    • Long Fang

      Selections: Plasma cannon

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Plasma cannon

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Plasma cannon

    • Long Fang

      Selections: Boltgun

    • Long Fang Pack Leader

      Selections: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

League rule...every week you can remove 1 entire unit and recycle points

Wargear changes to existing units are acceptable

I added Bjorn and made minor wargear changes

WGBL ditched his krakensword and storm shield for a thunder hammer

GHPL got a powerfist upgrade just in case

My friend had the following

++ Patrol Detachment (Imperium - Blood Angels) [54 PL, 747pts] ++

+ Troops

Scout Squad

. Scout : Boltgun

. Scout : Boltgun

. Scout : Boltgun

. Scout : Boltgun

. Scout Sergeant : Bolt pistol, Boltgun

+ HQ +

Captain in Terminator Armour : Power sword , Storm bolter

Librarian Dreadnought : 2. Unleash Rage, 5. Gift of Foresight, 6. Wings of Sanguinus, Furioso fist , Storm bolter , The Veritas Vitae, Warlord

+ Elites +

Terminator Squad

. Terminator : Power fist , Storm bolter

. Terminator : Power fist , Storm bolter

. Terminator : Power fist , Storm bolter

. Terminator : Power fist , Storm bolter

. Terminator : Power fist , Storm bolter

. Terminator Sergeant : Power sword , Storm bolter

+ Fast Attack +

Inceptor Squad : 2x Inceptor , Inceptor Sergeant

. Two plasma exterminators : 2x Plasma exterminator

Mission: No idea what it is called. 5 objectives. 1 in the middle is worth 2. If you take and hold opponent side you get a bonus point every round.

Deployment in opposite corners

He won the roll to determine which corner to use.

Both of us are noobs and we made our mistakes

Mine-I should have put my LF deep in the corner and used range and buffer space. Instead my LF-lascannon were plopped on the objective in cover but pretty far up. I tried to buffer them with GH but everything was too close for my tastes.

His-He could have placed his scouts on any objective and realized it once the game started and he started advancing. His terminators took control of the middle spot easily

I placed LF-plasma and WGBL in reserves

He placed his terminator captain and plasma inceptor in reserves

I won the roll off to go first and chose 2nd (MISTAKE). I have been reading batreps about using 2nd move to go after objectives and play the mission but I keep forgetting at such LOW point values killing is priority. This decision almost cost me the game.

Turn 1 his scouts start advancing for a corner objective

The main formation (dread/terminators/captain) advance forward into the good objective

The plasma inceptors arrive near another objective

He unloads on my poor GH squad in front. Storm bolter fire from the terminators kills 4 of the pack leaving the plasma and WG with combi-plasma alive.

The plasma inceptors join the fun and land 4 wounds. The WGPL raises his shield to tank and fails miserably. He rolls a 1 and another 1 after I use a CP. The entire GH pack is wiped out. First blood/strike whatever point for my opponent.

*Funny note...that particular WGPL has rolled 4 1's in his short career so far using the storm shield.

I advance the wolves as a screen for Bjorn as he angles towards scouts and terminators in the middle

I decide I need to remove the plasma inceptors as a priority target and all my reserves arrive in that corner

Shooting is absolutely miserable

I start with LF-lascannon on the plasma inceptors. A single lascannon blows through a model. I learn they have T5 (not 4) and my bolter fire hits but is not wounding.

I then pour it on with the LF-plasma and they only cause 3 wounds total (I did NOT overcharge).

The unit survives with a single wound

Bjorn is too far away and fires at the scouts dropping 2.

End Turn 1

Primary 1:3

Opponent earned 1st blood/strike but I failed to finish off the plasma inceptor

Me 1 objective held by my LF-lascannon

Opponent has corner objective from inceptors and middle objective

The dread moves towards my WGBL and LF-plasma. He smites 1 of the LF pack.

The lone plasma inceptor maxed his shots and unloaded 6 plasma into the LF-plasma squad wiping them off the map...I'm in a bit of trouble now

The terminators fire at the LF-lascannon but they have a 2+ save from cover and only suffer 1 loss

I respond by maneuvering my exposed WGBL for a charge on the dread. I have a TH and can potentially drop it if I roll well. I ask what weapons it has for overwatch. My friend informs me it has a SB and heavy flamer. I am not rushing a heavy flamer with only 4 wounds on my WGBL. I position myself at 8.00001. My friend and I agree it is stupid a flamer can't be used in overwatch if the charge starts outside of range.

Bjorn and the wolves continue to maneuver left and towards middle objective. 1 cyberwolf rolls a 6 for advance and gets in range of the objective on the far left.

Bjorn fires his assault cannon at the lone inceptor and drops him (the last wound roll was failed and got him).

LF-lascannon fire at terminators but all saves are made.

I survive the SB overwatch and roll a 1 and a 2 for the charge. Super fail. I was going to use a CP here if the roll was close but decline. This could be game changing now.

*Note later in the game my friend realizes he does NOT have a flamer...would have seriously changed this turn

End Turn 2

Primary 2:3

total (3:6)

I have my original objective under LF and the cyberwolf grabs one

He has the middle objective and the librarian dread has closed with the corner one

The librarian dread moves to extreme range for a smite on my WGBL so he can close the gap with the LF-lascannons

The scouts move into rapid fire to clear the single wolf screening Bjorn from the terminators

Smite lands 3 wounds on the WGBL....ouch

He then uses wings and soars towards the LF pack ending about 5 inches away

Scouts fail to kill the wolf

Captain rapid fires and does the job

6 terminators in rapid fire range fire 24 shots at Bjorn

He gets 19 hits thanks in part to captain rerolls

Here is where Bjorn shines. The old man has T8 unlike most other dreads. My friend can't believe he needs 6's to hurt him

1 wound gets through in the end

The librarian dread then declares his charge on my LF

He rolls double 1's

He uses his CP and rolls another 1.

This may be enough to get me back in the game!!

The time has come to pounce. I have setup my maneuvering as best I can and Bjorn is in position to rip the terminators apart and remove the PFs before they can strike

Bjorn makes a beeline for the terminators

The WGBL is still shaking off the psychic beating he took and can only advance 1" in his attempt to rejoin the fight

The cyberwolf closes with the scouts and prepares to charge

The LFs fire into the dread bearing down on them

A single lascannon pierces the armor but only does 2 damage

Bjorn fires at the scouts but only manages to kill 1. The wolf will have to put in some work and secure that objective.

The cyberwolf clears the overwatch and shreds both scouts. AP-1 on the wolf is such a nice bonus. Objective secured. Good puppy

Bjorn rampages into the terminators and lands everything as expected with rerolls for everything

The terminators roll 2 6's and 3 bodies are removed after I roll damage

My friend chooses to focus on daisy chaining the objective instead of piling in. He only gets 1 PF in range to strike me and it misses.

End Turn 3

Primary 2:2

total (5:8)

I have my LF and wolf objectives

My friend holds the middle

I have no more pictures because we got the 30 min warning the store had to close so we hurried things along

Turn 4 he falls back from combat with Bjorn and sits on the objective. I tell him wise choice b/c warrior born bjorn would have let me strike first anyways

His dread casually strolls up to my LF and prepares to wipe them

Smite leaves only 2 LF left. I choose the WGPL with storm shield and a single LC to survive.

The dread charges in and lands 5 blows.

My WGPL saves every single one with his storm shield.

My turn I have the LFs fall back just enough to take the objective (2 models to 1 model)

Bjorn walks up to the terminators to finish the job and is joined by the WGBL from the other side.

The 2 HQs converge on the middle and smash every single enemy to a pulp.

My army now faces a single librarian dreadnought

End Turn 4

Primary 4:0

total (9:8)

I have the middle. My wolf and LFs hold the others

Turn 5 the librarian dread marches towards the middle but can't make us the closest unit. He smites my LF pack out of existence.

He then uses wings to close the gap.

He fires at the WGBL trying to drop the final wound. I am in cover but roll a 1 against the SB wound. I burn my final CP to stay alive.

The dread charges the WGBL.

Bjorn heroically intervenes.

His dread pounds my WGBL to a bloody pulp. I couldn't afford a storm shield this match...

Bjorn exacts revenge and finishes the match. 3 wounds get through I roll triple 6 for damage

Even with an explosion Bjorn is still left standing with his faithful wolf securing another objective.

Victory for the wolves and my first ever table victory.

I'm still learning how scoring works but apparently max score was 11 and I only get 10 (I failed to get first strike/blood whatever).

Edited February 13, 2018 by TiguriusX

[TiguriusX]

Week 3 escalation game at 1000 points

I deleted my WGBL to free up some points to add 2 venerable dreads and brought the following

1000 Escalation (Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition) [56 PL, 1000pts]

Patrol Detachment (Imperium - Space Wolves)

HQ

Bjorn the Fell-handed

Selections: Assault cannon, Heavy flamer, Saga of the Warrior Born, Trueclaw, Warlord

Troops

Grey Hunters (Plasma gun + WGPL with CP/SS)

Elites

2xVenerable Dreadnought w/ Fenrisian Great Axe and Blizzard Shield

Fast Attack

2xCyberwolves

Heavy Support

Long Fangs (3xLC + WGPL w/ SB and SS)

Long Fangs (3xPC)

Tyranids

4xHive Tyrants with wings and gear (devourer something about mindworms...dude was throwing buckets of dice but only S4 no AP)

Neurothrope

3xRipper swarms

I have a picture of the list but it came out blurry as hell

Upon seeing his list I thought well crap...game over I can't assault flying units. I asked the TO to clarify that rule and was told I am wrong. That only applies to "flyers" like vehicles where a specific mode says that rule. Treat them as normal. Woo hoo. I mean I still had to deal with 5 psyker units that could smite me into oblivion but I had a shot.

We set up a fairly balance map and he won the roll to choose map sides.

Dawn of war deployment

Mission: 5 objectives (middle and each corner)

Special rule...if you capture the objective on your opponents side you can "burn" it down for D3 points and destroy it

Nothing special to report here. He put 3 of his HT in reserve. The neurothrope was on the opposite side of the board from his warlord HT.

I setup most of my forces in the corner to force an engagement with my dreads. I left a single cyberwolf on the far side with the objective. The GH pack went on the hunt in reserve

LF-LC were in the cover of the woods with good coverage sitting on the objective

I won first turn and he failed to seize

T1-Top

I advanced the venerables and popped smoke

Bjorn shot at the ripers and killed 4

Plasma shot a few rippers but didn't wipe out the squad. I tell him nuts now I can't shoot your HT.

He says why not? It has 12 wounds he isn't protected (son of a B!!!)

LF-LC put 2 wounds on his warlord

I did NOT deploy the GHs

T1-Bottom

He drops in around me hoping to clear the dreads and wipe Bjorn off the map.

He perils on his first smite attempt but eventually smites 4 wounds off my venerable dread. However, thanks to the chapter approved changes he fails smite on the cyberwolf (needed an 8 and rolled 7).

He unloads buckets of dice at the wounded dread and blows it off the table. I rolled horribly and blew a CP here. The kill earns him First Blood/strike (something I still haven't done in my 3 game career)

He is able to put 3 more wounds on my other dread and 1 on Bjorn himself. He does NOT assault.

Score: 2:2

We each hold our backfield objectives

T2-Top

Bjorn is in the open with no shield. He says YOLO and moves to the nearest HT.

I send the other venerable dread to the only guy he has a hope of charging.

I bring the GH in to assist with this cluster F. Originally I was considering placing them at the diagonal corner and taking his objective but I need that plasma just in case.

I need to have ranged fire drop one of these HTs

My LF-PC overcharge and land 5 potential wounds on a HT. The HT makes 4/5 saves

My LF-LC face a similar result and only put 2 more wounds on a HT.

No ranged support helping this round and I need to come up with plan B. The GHs are assigned to clear the rippers off the objectives and play for the primary mission. They only kill 2...

Maybe my assault phase will go better

Bjorn charges in first and puts 9 wounds on his target. That is enough to finish him off thanks to the ranged fire this round. He consolidates to try and block LOS and lure the HTs closer

The venerable dread gets 13 potential wounds using up my last CP but the HT makes enough saves to have 1 wound remaining

The GHs make their 10" charge into the ripper swarm but only kill 2. There is a single ripper left. However they did enough to surround the objective and should secure it if they don't die.

T2-Bottom

2 HTs fly off after Bjorn

The severely wounded one can't get far enough and decides to go after my GH in the corner

The neurothrope and rippers close on my lone dog.

He smites the dog off the objective

He smites a single GH

He fails to smite Bjorn

He then fails to injure Bjorn with buckets of dice (T8 is a big deal)

He tells me he wants to fire his HT in the corner at the GHs. This was my first true sportsmanship test. He had failed to have his ripper swarm fall back in the movement phase. Technically he couldn't fire at me. I let him move the ripper and fire at me expecting to lose all my GHs

Karma smiles at me. He fails to kill any GHs who are in cover against buckets of dice. They make every 2+ roll

In the assault phase he charges his HT in to my GHs

The GHs make every 3+ save

I laugh and tell him the history of this GH unit and how they have rolled nothing but 1's prior to this.

The GHs hear me mocking them and manage to wound the HT (using S4 chainswords against a T7 monster). He fails his save and dies to the GHs.

Score 2(4): 2(4)

I hold my objective and have taken his corner objective.

He has done the same taking my lone cyberwolf objective

T3-Top

Bjorn rounds the corner at the middle objective and prepares to greet another HT

My venerable dread advances towards the fun

The GH rapid fire the last remaining ripper off the board

The LF-LC put 4 wounds on his warlod HT

Assault time!

Bjorn wades in to melee and drops 15 wounds on the HT killing it

He surveys the field and knows he has put in some work.

T3-Bottom

My opponent concedes the match

Victory for the wolves!

Edited February 20, 2018 by TiguriusX

[Dantay VI]

Wow, looks like you did great.

 

The only glaring rules thing I saw was in game 2. Terminators cannot rapid fire 24 shots.

Storm bolters are assault weapons and do not benefit from rapid fire rule. This is for bolt guns only, because they are not assault weapons. Unless that ruling has changed in 8th compared to 7th, that is.

[Karhedron]

The only glaring rules thing I saw was in game 2. Terminators cannot rapid fire 24 shots.

Storm bolters are assault weapons and do not benefit from rapid fire rule. This is for bolt guns only, because they are not assault weapons. Unless that ruling has changed in 8th compared to 7th, that is.

It has indeed changed in 8th! Storm Bolters are Rapid Fire 2 meaning they can fire 4 shots each at close range.

[Havok13]

Wow, looks like you did great.

 

The only glaring rules thing I saw was in game 2. Terminators cannot rapid fire 24 shots.

Storm bolters are assault weapons and do not benefit from rapid fire rule. This is for bolt guns only, because they are not assault weapons. Unless that ruling has changed in 8th compared to 7th, that is.

In 8th storm Bolters are rapid fire.

[Dantay VI]

Are they... I need to get more up to date with the rules... Heresy still runs 7th so hard to keep up :D

[TiguriusX]

Are they... I need to get more up to date with the rules... Heresy still runs 7th so hard to keep up

 

8th is fun you are missing out.  It was all the great reviews and addressing what I hated (super cheese and deathstars) that finally convinced me to start the hobby and play in a FLGS

 

I only have a few gripes currently

-flamers don't ignore cover anymore

-techmarines don't get a free servo arm attack...it is a weapon they may choose to make 1 attack with

[Karhedron]

For sure, 8th edition has its share of bugs and what worked and made sense in 7th doesn't always do so now. However in general I would say I am enjoying 40K more than I have for a while so I think on balance it is good.

[Hear da Lamentation]

Great batreps TiguriusX looks like you are learning very quickly

[Dantay VI]

 

Are they... I need to get more up to date with the rules... Heresy still runs 7th so hard to keep up

 

8th is fun you are missing out.  It was all the great reviews and addressing what I hated (super cheese and deathstars) that finally convinced me to start the hobby and play in a FLGS

 

I only have a few gripes currently

-flamers don't ignore cover anymore

-techmarines don't get a free servo arm attack...it is a weapon they may choose to make 1 attack with

 

 

For sure, 8th edition has its share of bugs and what worked and made sense in 7th doesn't always do so now. However in general I would say I am enjoying 40K more than I have for a while so I think on balance it is good.

 

So if storm bolters are rapid fire, does that mean, if you shoot with them you can no longer assault?

[TiguriusX]

The shoot and assault limitations are gone

 

Only advancing prevents a charge

 

Many things have seep strike too and there is no more scatter. Alpha striking is a thing and screen units meant to die are needed too

 

The mortality rate in 8th is off the charts

[TiguriusX]

Week 4. First half finale. Points jump from 1000 to 1500

I deleted my grey hunters and used all the points to add Njal, WG bikers and polish off my LFs

0 troop selections for those paying close attention

Next week we reset records and can choose a new faction to play and make completely new army lists.

My 1500 point list

+++ 1000 Escalation (Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition) [82 PL, 1499pts] +++

++ Outrider Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) ++

+ HQ +

Wolf Guard Battle Leader: Chainsword, Frost sword, Jump Packs, Krackenbone Sword

+ Fast Attack +

5xCyberwolves: Cyberwolf

++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) ++

+ HQ +

Bjorn the Fell-handed: Heavy flamer, Saga of the Warrior Born, Twin lascannon, Warlord

Njal Stormcaller in Runic Terminator Armour: 1. Storm Caller, 2. Tempest's Wrath, 3. Jaws of the World Wolf

+ Elites +

2xVenerable Dreadnought

. Fenrisian Great Axe and Blizzard Shield: Blizzard shield, Fenrisian great axe

Wolf Guard on Bikes

4x. Wolf Guard on Bike: Combi-flamer, Storm shield

. Wolf Guard on Bike Pack Leader: Chainsword, Combi-flamer, Power axe

+ Heavy Support +

Long Fangs

4x. Long Fang: Lascannon

. Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Bolt pistol, Storm shield

Long Fangs

4x. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Bolt pistol, Storm shield

6 CP is more than enough for an index army with no stratagem combos

My opponent was running Imperial Soup

Knight Crusader

-Avenging cannon

-Heavy flamer

-Heavy stubber

-Rapid firing battle cannon thing

Dark Angel battalion

-Azrael

-Ezekiel

-3xScouts

Custodes

3 wardens

3xpraetor jet bikes

This week we played an Eternal War mission

I rolled a 1 for retrieval mission

We fight over 4 objectives and scoring is done at the end. My first time with a non-battle round mission

We ended up with Spearhead deployment

The range will be an issue as his Knight can out range even my LF-LC

The LF-PC can't be left in the rear to shoot either

Deployment was crucial for me and went very well. Objectives skewed towards my side of the table so I planned to sit back and make him come to me. We have plenty of terrain so I was going to use that and avoid his knight.

My first few drops were in reserves

-Njal

-WGBL

I then put single cyberwolves down near objectives hiding behind walls etc

He was forced to put his knight down before I dropped anything significant so I knew where he was and how to counter deploy.

I basically ended up planning a refused flank. 1 grey wolf was placed behind a wall in the bottom right (I literally forgot about him and couldn't find him during cleanup at the end heh)

Everyone else went opposite the knight to keep large LOS blocking terrain between us and him.

I did spend 1 CP to put my plasma fangs on the hunt to outflank

Turn 1 he fails to seize. Game on!

Shield dreads advance (rolled a 1 and a 2 haha) and pop smoke (this was a mistake in hindsight...could have saved it for later)

Everyone else hugs the wall and moves forward.

I know some tricks with Bjorn so I step him out for a shot knowing he is protected by character rules. I have plenty of intervening units out of LOS. Bjorn will be safe for a while.

My WGBL drops down to give aura to LFs

Njal and LF-PC stay in reserve

Shooting is pathetic

Bjorn kills 1 custodes warden...thats it for my shooting

His turn the knight has LOS to the tip of a wolf tail. He unloads on it and I tell him I will be reporting him to PETA.

He does however earn first blood (I have never earned it so far in this escalation league)

T2 I shuffle the WGBL to make sure his reroll aura benefits BOTH bjorn and LF-LC

The troops continue hugging the terrain and advancing

I bring on the LF-PC in the corner and manage to put them all in cover

Shooting is meh

LC only kill 1 Custodes bike

Bjorn puts a single wound on a warden despite using a CP to reroll damage

LF-PC manage 2 wounds on Azrael but he has survived my trick and I don't pull off a warlord ambush

T2-Bottom he sends his Custodes bikes racing after my LF-PC

He shuffles his knight forward and to the left trying to get an angle on Bjorn (and perfect for me b/c he is not advancing on the objectives)

Azrael climbs up in the tower and the scouts move to prevent me from targeting him

Aversion is cast on Bjorn

24 hurricane bolters result in 0 wounds on the LF (2+ rolls in cover prevented the 4 that made it through the toughness)

Azrael shoots his Plasma into the LF killing the LF Pack leader

The Custodes charge into my LF squad. The storm shield WG tries his best but dies leaving 3 wounds to go

The remaining LF-PC roll 6-6-6 and miraculously survive a custodes charge

I am happy b/c that leaves the Custodes in lascannon range out in the open

Turn 3 the dreads take up position on either side of the gate. Earlier we had agreed regardless of the actual size of the hole we would let the dreads charge out through it.

The bikers act like swiftclaws instead of wolfguard and turboboost towards the custodes. Only 1 gets in range to use his combi flamer

Njal finally teleports in between the bikes and dreads

My first psyker phase ever goes flat. I manage to cast Jaws then roll a 3 for potential damage.

My raven familiar does however put a single wound on a Custodes Warden

LF-LC fail to put any damage on the Custodes-Bikes. My bike flamer fails to do anything either (can't shoot because I used turbo)

T3 bottom he shuffles the knight back to the right and lines up my bikers. Uh oh

Gatling only kills 1 bike

Battlecannon kills 3 more

Custodes bikers land 22 HB hits and finish off the LFs

The Custodes charge into the last remaining biker and kill him off

My biker guard have had a horrible debut in my army. They did however draw a ton of attention.

Turn 4 I have the objectives well under my control and decide to take some risks to remove the closest threats to the objectives.

The dreads prepare to roll out

Shooting phase

LF-LC kills the 2 custodes biker

Bjorn puts 5 wounds on the knight

Dreads come bursting out the gate and kill the 2 remaining Custodes Wardens

Ezekiel makes 5/5 invulnerable saves

Ezekiel also manages to overwatch 2 wounds onto a dread

Turn 5 bottom he smites 3 wounds off the shield dread

The shotgun scouts manage to put a wound on the shield dread as well

The Knight unloads on the dread leaving it with 1 single wound

The scouts charge in and actually manage to slip a combat blade past the shield

1 shield dread has fallen

Turn 5 top

I decide to take advantage of the gap the scouts have left and head straight into the Knight with my shield dread

LF-LC drop Ezekiel down to a single wound

Bjorn finishes Ezekiel off with his LC

My dread makes his charge and runs the overwatch to enter a glorious combat that will be part of the sagas

The dread drops 14 wounds on the knight and burns up my last CP in the process

The knight has 5 wounds remaining and has been knocked into his lowest bracket. He now has BS-5

The dread takes 1 wound in return

Turn 5-Bottom

His knight backs off to fire at me but does nothing due to his reduced profile

I roll a 3 and the game continues to turn 6

My LF-LC can't see anything and advance to try and line up a shot

Bjorn begins to advance without fear knowing the end is in reach

I shuffle the cyber wolves to make sure they are all on objectives

Njal casts jaws. I roll another 3 for damage

He does however smite the scouts for 2 mortal wounds (my first ever!!!)

Shooting phase goes poorly

Bjorn fails to wound the Knight

Time to charge in again!

This time the shield dread is an embarrassment. He fails to wound on 4/5 hits. The knight makes his armor save on that one.

Maybe there will be no saga afterall

My opponent takes a long moment to consider then concedes the game before Njal has his combat phase.

Victory for the wolves!!!

I am now 3-0-1

The league resets next week for the 2nd half. I feel I have successfully traversed "tutorial mode" and am ready for the next challenge.

After cleaning up all my models I was confused....1 of my wolves was missing

Thats right...I hid them all during deployment. Hid him so well I forgot where he was...time to go home pup

My thoughts...

When I first saw the knight I thought oh crap...but I was able to keep it at bay. Play the mission not the models.

LOS blocking terrain is crucial and I basically played keep away all game relying on my LC to keep him scared. He had nothing that could approach my LC without being intercepted so it made for an odd standoff.

His lack of any deepstrike threat made my movement much easier during the match.

I was too aggressive with the bikers but I enjoyed the dread v knight combat

Bjorn had a boring match as well. He just popped off lascannon shots all game. His true claw had been getting a ton of action previously. I bet he was disappointed.

The cyberwolves worked exactly as I hoped they would this game. Another army might have more tools to deal with them but this match was ideal for them.

I won't be able to stop troops with objective secured using the cyberwolf approach but I should be hunting them down before they have a chance to swoop in.

I predict fast units like eldar could be problematic in the future

Edited February 27, 2018 by TiguriusX

[TiguriusX]

Week 5 is a league restart

1500 points pick your faction and make your list from scratch.

I kept my 1500 Space Wolves force from the prior week but deleted 1 CW and upgraded the WGPL Biker to a PF

Space Wolves army

++ Outrider Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) [10 PL, 130pts] ++

+ HQ +

Wolf Guard Battle Leader [6 PL, 70pts]: Chainsword, Frost sword, Jump Packs, Krakenbone Sword

+ Fast Attack +

Cyberwolves [1 PL, ]: Cyberwolf

Cyberwolves [1 PL, ]: Cyberwolf

Cyberwolves [1 PL, ]: Cyberwolf

Cyberwolves [1 PL, ]: Cyberwolf

++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) [71 PL, 1369pts] ++

+ HQ +

Bjorn the Fell-handed [14 PL, ]: Heavy flamer, Saga of the Warrior Born, Twin lascannon, Warlord

Njal Stormcaller in Runic Terminator Armour [9 PL, ]: 1. Storm Caller, 2. Tempest's Wrath, 3. Jaws of the World Wolf

+ Elites +

Venerable Dreadnought [8 PL, ]

. Fenrisian Great Axe and Blizzard Shield: Blizzard shield, Fenrisian great axe

Venerable Dreadnought [8 PL, ]

. Fenrisian Great Axe and Blizzard Shield: Blizzard shield, Fenrisian great axe

Wolf Guard on Bikes [14 PL, ]

. Wolf Guard on Bike: Combi-flamer, Storm shield

. . Bike: Twin boltgun

. Wolf Guard on Bike: Combi-flamer, Storm shield

. . Bike: Twin boltgun

. Wolf Guard on Bike: Combi-flamer, Storm shield

. . Bike: Twin boltgun

. Wolf Guard on Bike: Combi-flamer, Storm shield

. . Bike: Twin boltgun

. Wolf Guard on Bike Pack Leader: Chainsword, Combi-flamer, Power fist

. . Bike: Twin boltgun

+ Heavy Support +

Long Fangs [9 PL, ]

. Long Fang: Lascannon

. Long Fang: Lascannon

. Long Fang: Lascannon

. Long Fang: Lascannon

. Long Fang Pack Leader: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

. Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Bolt pistol, Storm shield

Long Fangs [9 PL, ]

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang: Plasma cannon

. Long Fang Pack Leader: Boltgun and Bolt Pistol, Chainsword

. Wolf Guard Pack Leader: Bolt pistol, Storm shield

Night Lords army

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Chaos Space Marines) [50 PL, 900pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Gifts of Chaos (2 Relics)

Legion: Night Lords

+ HQ +

Chaos Lord with Jump Pack [6 PL, ]: Claws of the Black Hunt, 2x Lightning Claw, Night Haunter's Curse, No Chaos Mark, Warlord

Sorcerer with Jump Pack [7 PL, ]: Bolt pistol, Combi-plasma, Force sword, No Chaos Mark, Prescience, Warptime

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

+ Elites +

Chaos Terminators [28 PL, ]: No Chaos Mark

. Chaos Terminator Champion: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

. Terminator: Combi-plasma, Lightning Claw

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Chaos Space Marines) [33 PL, 588pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Legion: Night Lords

+ HQ +

Dark Apostle [5 PL, ]: Bolt pistol, No Chaos Mark, Power maul

Sorcerer with Jump Pack [7 PL, ]: Bolt pistol, Combi-plasma, Death Hex, Diabolic Strength, Force sword, No Chaos Mark

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

Chaos Cultists [3 PL, ]: 9x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun, No Chaos Mark

. Cultist Champion: Autogun

+ Fast Attack +

Raptors [6 PL, ]: Mark of Slaanesh

. 2x Raptor

. Raptor Champion: Bolt pistol, Chainsword, Combi-melta

. Raptor w/ special weapon: Meltagun

. Raptor w/ special weapon: Meltagun

Raptors [6 PL, ]: Mark of Slaanesh

. 2x Raptor

. Raptor Champion: Bolt pistol, Chainsword

. Raptor w/ special weapon: Meltagun

. Raptor w/ special weapon: Meltagun

++ Total: [83 PL, 1488pts]

ITC Champion's mission #5

Dawn of war deployment

I choose the following secondary missions

-Old School

-Headhunter

-Behind enemy lines

This is ALL completely new to me. I've read ITC but never played a competitive game. Lots of things floating around my head in this match as a result

I deploy first. He basically has his first 7 drops in reserves

He is going to be able to alpha strike the hell out of me so I setup defensively

The LF-PC are on the hunt and cost me 1 CP (6 remaining)

T1-Top

I spread the wolves out...drop the dreads to protect Bjorn a bit and decide the bikers will make the push for middle

In hindsight I didn't need the wolves on the far left to do that. Should have kept them with the main formation. The far left one could have been more useful elsewhere.

He puts cultists all over the buildings and has TDA a Lord 2xSorcerors and 2xRaptors in reserve

I win the roll to go first. He fails to seize.

GAME ON!!

Turn 1 I begin moving forward planning for him to drop in front of me.

It isn't until I finish moving that I realize I left a HUGE void in my rear (right next to Bjorn) by moving up. Rookie mistake. I deployed to protect my DZ and forgot to fill in the gaps. This forces me to drop my LF-PC to fill the hole

In future games I need to forget trying to string out my wolves and keep them in tighter formation for this exact purpose. The 2 wolves on the far left of my lines aren't doing a damn thing more important than this job would have been.

I am forced to drop my WGBL on the 2nd floor b/c I didn't plot out my 9" bubble using VERTICAL distances. If I don't drop him here my opponent can land whatever he wants on the roof

Bikers only kill 1 cultist

LF-LC kill 3 culstists

Bjorn kills 2 more

LF-PC do nothing at all

I only manage to kill 6/10 in the unit

He spends 2CP to pass his morale (6 remaining)

My lack of first blood continues

I get 1 point for holding an objective

T1-Bottom

He advances his cultists to contest the point my wolf has on the right flank near Bjorn

He uses a stratagem to restore his cultists that I shot and move them to my back lines (2CP 4 remaining)

He brings in his large mob of terminators and lord + sorceror

I didn't leave him any gaps in the rear so he comes from the middle of the map near my bikers

He casts prescience on his TDA but fails the roll

He manages to cast Warptime

The terminators get even closer to the middle objective

Cultists on far right flank that didn't move shoot my wolf. I pass all 3 saves

Cultists in the middle kill 1 biker (failed 2 saves)

Cultists who outflanked rapid fire my rear wolf. I make the 1 save I need

The TDA rapid fire my bikes and the dice go cold. 14 plasma wounds and I only saved 5. I have 1 biker left with a single wound.

The TDA charge in and finish the bike off and the wolf near him

He scores a kill and holds objective

BR scoring he has more kills and more objectives and starts to pull ahead

T2-Top

Time to set up my counter charge. The closest dreads moves in while his twin heads towards the cultists

Bjorn tries to stay in the middle of many troops b/c there are 2 raptors waiting to drop still

LF-PC shuffle forward while the PL and WGPL fan out to keep a deep strike buffer

Njal drops in using the building height to get in the thick of the action.

My WGBL charges forward and is ready for a charge after the Dread eats overwatch

Njal smites 1 W off a terminator

I cast jaws but have to burn a CP (5 remaining)

The roll is only a 6...single W to the terminators killing one

I declare I am firing with my LF-PC

He uses a stratagem to gives all units that target his unit (TDA) -1BS

The LF-PC inflict a single wound (need 5s due to moving and the stratagem)

Bjorn kills 1 more TD with his twin LC

The shield dread charges in first and takes a bucket of rapid fire dice from the terminators.

2 wounds make it pass his invuln save.

However...I make both 6+ venerable saves

I roll a 5-1 missing the charge by 1. I spend a CP to fix it (4 remaining)

The WGBL charges in right after him

Njal rolls a 9 but we agreed he needed 10 due to the vertical height of the building. He won't be joining in.

My other dread charges into the cultists

I carefully plan who will activate first in charge phase b/c he can interrupt

I decide to use the WGBL first

WGBL only manages 2 wounds on the terminators using kraken sword

Shield dread kills 4 more. He couldn't kill a 5th despite me spending another CP (3 remaining) for the damage roll of 1)

My other shield dread kills 4 cultists

The WGBL dies horribly in the return attack of terminators. I forgot he does NOT have his usual storm shield. The lightning claws tear him to shreds. Stupid stupid move on my part. I was expecting him to do much much more but ended up throwing him away to get a single terminator. Bad trade.

Morale kills 2 more TDA leaving 1 alive. He pulls the guys near the dread ending combat and leaving the dread exposed

I still have not killed a single enemy unit but I do get a point for holding an objective

T2 Bottom

His raptors with melta guns drop in and aim at my dread

His 2nd sorceror (with death hex) drops in about 20" from the fight in the middle

Warp time goes off and he moves a unit of raptors point blank with the dread

I deny prescience

4 melta hits land on my dread.

I roll all the invulns

The invulns also stop the plasma rapid fire from the terminators

Cultists kill a wolf and manage to squeeze a wound through my shield dread

His lord jumps up next to Njal and charges him. Njal fails 2 4++ and is left with a single wound

I spend CP to interrupt with the shield dread (1 CP remaining).

Dread kills 3 of the raptors

He spends a CP for veterans of the long war (3 CP remaining)

1 wound gets through but I make another 6+ venerable save

My other dread kills 3 more cultists in his fight

The single wolf he killed gives him more kills

He also holds more objectives

His lead continues to grow

T3 Top

I move bjorn onto the objective and get LOS for the LC

Njal runs away from combat. My shield dread is locked in combat with a single TDA and 2 raptors but I have a plan. If I can free up the dread he can charge the HQs standing nearby

In my psychic phase I cast jaws and get a single wound on the TDA (rolled 6 for the mortal wounds)

It is enough to kill him

I then fail smite but burn my last CP to get it off

I roll 2 wounds and finish off the raptor squad

Success!

In my shooting phase he uses the midnight cloud stratagem again to save his raptors

My shooting is minimal and I only kill his 2 chainsword guys. All meltas remain.

The shield dread charges into the nearby sorceror and makes his roll

My wolf gets killed by a melta overwatch trying to reach the raptors

In combat the dread rips the sorceror to shreds and I get a headhunter point

The raptors come after Njal while his Lord drops down to challenge the dread

He casts death hex with a 10 but I deny with an 11

He pops diabolical strength on his lord

Cultists manage to shoot 1 W off the dread

3 meltas his. He rolls two 1's for wound roll and I save the 3rd

The lord launches a TON of attacks (was like 8 or so)

Dread saves all but 1....takes 3 wounds

The raptors shred Njal and he dies

In return the dread drops 5 wounds on the lord leaving him with 1

My dread is the last wolf standing in the massacre over this middle objective marker

T4-Top

Bjorn and the shield dread earn me behind enemy lines by crossing into the enemy DZ

Bjorn flames 4 cultists and shoots another with his LC

The LF-PC wipe out the rest of the unit

The LF-LC pick off 2 cultists from the middle area

My dread kills his lord and 1 raptor in melee

T4-Bottom

He casts death hex and my dread is screwed

A melta finally drops the dread

T5-Top

Bjorn and my remaining shield dread continue to clear the backfield but I can't kill things fast enough

We call it here

Space wolves lose

25 points to 15 points

The dread combat in the middle of the table was worthy of a saga but I don't have the right tools to chase and secure objectives or secondary missions.

Need to let this loss sink in and think about what I could have done differently.

Charging my WGBL early was a major mistake.

The hole in my backfield requiring my LF-PC top drop in the rear was another major mistake. I could have used them in his DZ where I was originally planning to drop them.

I like the change in approach ITC requires. So many more things to juggle. I also need to be more aggressive with Bjorn. Firing 2LC all game is not worth his points. I have been trying to protect him too much.

Edited March 6, 2018 by TiguriusX

[The Saint Ragnar]

What secondaries did your opponent choose? I think I can see Kingslayer written but cannot really make the rest out.

[TiguriusX]

Behind enemy lines

Old skool

Kingslayer (bjorn)

[TiguriusX]

I forgot to mention who my opponent was. The TO same as my week 1 loss.

 

His list building shows his experience with the scoring formats and playing them out has felt completely different from when i bash heads with the other new guys

[TiguriusX]

My first game at 2000 points. I built it for ITC...ended up not playing an ITC mission

My list

Outrider Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves)

Edited March 13, 2018 by TiguriusX

• Dantay VI and ChargerIIC
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[ChargerIIC]

Hello,

 

I was Tigurius X 's opponent and thought I add my own quick notes about the battle. They already have an excellent write up on the blow by blow so I won't repeat it. This was my second drop against Space Wolves after facing a Pure SW list last week. The losses in trying to outshoot space marines (not something nids are known for) convinced me to rebuild the list towards what I hope will be my eventual 'official' 2k list. Deep Strike has worked wonders in getting things into melee (and not concentrating fire on my synapse models) and Invul saves are quickly becoming my bread and butter (I suspect this is what is leading to all the flyrant spam lists - there's a lot of high AP weapons out there and flyrants/neurothropes don't care)

 

From my previous 1500 list I dropped the broodlord (5++ wasn't cutting it on something that big) and added a third flyrant (with Boneswords/Rending Claws). To meet the new points I decided to try the Trygon/Genestealer combination to see if I could get around them getting shot off the board so quickly.  I also did some work with pliers and a ebay pruchase to change my Balethorn flyrant to another double scythe and instead field a hive tyrant with a venom cannons and no wings. 

 

As you can see from the list, I'm generally building a variant of the classic Carnifex spam list, but with Carnifexes swapped for Hive Tyrants. This works out for me since the 40-60pt cost increase is worth the invul save and extra psychic powers. I'm probably overloaded on psychic powers right now - my neurothropes often have nothing to cast other than smite since I'm burning through all the others by the time I get through my psychic phase. 

 

I met my opponents drops by putting a giant blob of termagaunts/venomthropes/zoanthropes backed by Neurothropes and the ranged hive tyrant. Unfortunately my opponent wasn't so foolish as to put anything facing them and they got to the battle late - In the future I need to probably dedicate to dropping everything on one flank instead of trying to cover the board. The termagaunts have a bad habit of only getting there after all the chaff is gone. 

 

I dropped my units anywhere and everywhere, which was probably a mistake, but had the advantage of forcing the dreadnoughts to operate those first two turns unsupported. He had to kill the Raveners and other dropped stuff before folding back to help them out. The problem with this strategy became clear - Space Wolf dreadnoughts don't suck in close combat. Nids struggle with T8 and Invul saves and being only T6 themselves are vulnerable to those giant axes. His Dreadnaughts were killing a flyrant a turn with a third dreadnaught chewing through genestealers. This was a bad points trade and doubling down on killing them didn't help me. 

 

I learned a lot in this match - I'm still dedicated to including a lot of deepstrike, but probably going to cap the number of flyrants to 3. It's hard to fit more than that in any part of the board and they clearly need to work together to get things done. The biovores probably should just have the rippers deployed around them - this is twice deepstrikers have taken them out before they could earn their points back. I'm still up in the air about genestealers. It's a ton of attacks with AP-1, but the low STR means they are really only good at assaulting infantry. Still I had a lot of fun and it's nice to be able to see a list come together like this over the league.

Edited March 13, 2018 by ChargerIIC

[TiguriusX]

Escalation continued up to 2250

I didn't really want to go over 2k since the leagues etc. I am interested in cap at 2k anyways. I shoehorned upgrades in all my existing units to get up to 2250

My opponent didn't get the league memo that we were playing at 2250 so I was more than happy to simply use my list from the previous week and play at 2k instead

So...my army is the exact same as last week

Outrider Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves)

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