Blood Angels vs AdMech battle report

[Karhedron]

I had a fun game last night with my Blood Angels against Dave's Admech (although both of us brought significant Knightly support). The mission being played was "Supplies from Above" from CA2018 which features 4 Objectives which move 3" at the start of each battle round. Units with the FLY keyword superscore, even over Troops which was handy for Blood Angels. We played "Dawn of War" deployment with an objective in some ruins on the left flank of my deployment zone and one centrally in Dave's. There was one objective roughly in the centre of the board and another in no-mans'-land on my right flank. The army lists are shown below (my recollection of Dave's army is not quite so detailed).

Blood Angels Battalion (+5CPs)
124 HQ Captain Smash (Warlord) with TH, Storm Shield Death Visions and Artisan of War, Angel's Wing jump pack
100 HQ Lemartes

55 Troop 5 Scouts
85 Troop 5 Intercessors
85 Troop 5 Intercessors

230 Elite 10 Death Company with Jump Packs, 2 PF, 3 PS

Blood Angels Battalion (+5CPs)
160 HQ Mephiston (Smite, Wings, Quickening, Unleash Rage)
66 HQ Lieutenant with storm bolter and power sword. Veritas Vitae (-1CP)

64 Troop 5 Scouts and Serg with Power fist
90 Troop 5 Tactical Marines with Lascannon
90 Troop 5 Tactical Marines with Lascannon

135 Fast 3 Inceptors with assault bolters

Knight Lance: House Terryn (+3CPs)
368 LOW Gallant with Ironstorm Pod and heavy stubber. Armour of the Sainted Ion and Landstrider (-2CPs)
174 LOW Armiger Warglaive with melta
174 LOW Armiger Warglaive with melta

2000 Total 13 CPs



AdMech Battallion (Stygies)

Tech Priest Domus (Warlord)
Tech Priest Enginseer

5 Skitarii Rangers
5 Skitarii Rangers
5 Skitarii Rangers

5 Skitarii Vanguard
5 Skitarii Vanguard
5 Skitarii Vanguard

Dunecrawler with Neutron Laser
Dunecrawler with Neutron Laser

3 Ironstryders with Autocannons

Inquisition Supreme Command Detachment
Inquisitor with Chainsword and Stormbolter
Inquisitor with Chainsword and Stormbolter
Inquisitor with Chainsword and Stormbolter


Knight Lance: House Krast (+3CPs)
Errant with Thermal Cannon and Reape. Sanctuary (-1CPs)
Armiger Warglaive with heavy stubber
Armiger Warglaive with heavy stubber
Armiger Warglaive with heavy stubber
Armiger Warglaive with heavy stubber


Deployment

Dave won the dice-off and chose deployment zone meaning I would deploy first and move first. Without an obvious clue where Dave would deploy, I placed my Knights centrally along with captain Smash, Mephiston and some Intercessors. I placed my Tac squads on the flanks, the squad on the left flank holding one of the Objectives. I reinforced my right flank with the other squad of Intercessors and the Lt. I deployed my Scouts in no-mans land near the 2 unclaimed objectives, making best sue of cover to shield them. This was risky but I know Dave likes to gunline his Admech. If I could keep the Scouts out of LOS as much as possible, I would force him to move forward to contest the objectives where my BAs could then engage him. Lemartes, the Death Company and Inceptors went in Reserve.

Dave deployed his Admech in his favoured gunline but put the Knights on each flank. This made life awkward as my Gallant would have a long walk to get to grips with his favoured foe (although Landstrider would help). The Inquisitors were deployed near the Errant.

Before the first turn, Dave rolled a 6 and seized the initiative. This could be uncomfortable as deploying second meant he had good LOS to much of my army and would get to land the first punch.

Turn 1
Admech

Dave's Armigers moved forward rapidly to bring their melta weapons to bear whilst Admech mostly remained still to maximise their shooting with "Benediction of the Omnissiah" for an army reroll of 1s.

All things considered I got away very lightly in the shooting phase. Dave's Armigers on my left flank targetted by Gallant with their Thermal spears but I Rotated my ion shields and although I took 9 wounds, I was still on my top profile. The Armigers on my right flank killed most of the Scouts. The Iron Stryders wiped out the squad of Intercessors on my right flank (weight of fire and 2 Damage really hurts Primaris). Fortunately the Neutron Lasers failed to get through my Ion shields and the Skitarii shooting was largely ineffective due to cover.

In the combat phase, one of the Armigers on my left flank charged the 2 remaining Scouts and wiped them out to claim the Objective they had been guarding.

Blood Angels

I had gotten off more lightly than I expected and Dave's Armigers were now withing range of various melee units. Most importantly, moving his Armigers forward had opened a gap in Dave's flank next to his Errant. Captain Smash duly used "Upon Wings of Fire" to redeploy within charge range of the Errant, hefting his Thunder Hammer. My Gallant and one Armiger moved to my left flank to Intercept the Armigers heading towards my tac squad guarding the Objective. Mephiston and my other Armiger headed for the Armiger that had killed the Scouts. My intercessors in the centre Advanced a hefty 11" towards the objective to reinforce the remain Scout squad.

In the Psychic phase, Mephiston cast Wings of Sanguinius on himself and overtook the Armiger, placing himself close to the enemy Armiger than had killed the Scouts. He failed to cast Quickening though.

The shooting phase was modest with most of my heavy weapons chipping wounds off assorted Armigers in preparation for dealing with them in the melee phase. My bolters inflicted some damage on the Skitarii but the Stygies trait protected them from several casualties. A few heavy weapon shots at the leading Dune Crawler also had the same problem.

In the melee phase, my Gallant and Armiger charged the 2 Armigers in front of them and ripped them to pieces. On the right flank, Mephiston and my Armiger failed to kill the Armiger that had killed the Scouts and it was left on 2 wounds. This Armiger struck back and despite being on its lowest profile, managed to kill Mephiston in one round! Captain Smash charged the Errant and used Red Rampage but between poor rolls and RIS+Sanctuary, only managed to take 4 wounds off the Knight. The Errant stomped on the Captain but when the dust cleared, he was still alive on a single wound. I then used "Honour of the Chapter" to attack again but still only did another 4 wounds. This was not looking good.

The first turn ended with both of us having scored a single point for First Strike.

Blood Angels 1 : AdMech 1


Turn 2
Admech

At the start of the Turn, Dave declared Shroudpsalm which would further hinder my shooting but he did not control any objectives. He then disengaged his Errant from Captain Smash and left him to face the wrath of the Admech guns while he moved to intercept my Gallant. His Armiger that had killed Mephsiton withdrew from combat against my own Armiger and moved towards the Tac squad and Lieutenant. His Inquisitors and several squads of Skitarii moved up on my left flank towards the Gallant while another squad of skitarii took the Objective on the edge of his deployment zone.

In the Psychic phase, the Inquisitors all attempted to Smite the Gallant and got wounds though.

In the shooting phase the Dune Crawlers and Errant targeted the Armiger accompanying my Gallant and destroyed it. The Skitarii blew away Captain Smash. The Iron stryders fired on my second Armiger on my right flank and damaged it but it was still alive on 3 wounds. My infantry was left largely unmolested.

In the combat phase, the Errant charged my Gallant but despite getting full rerolls to hit (thanks to Krast), only managed to get a single hit through the Armour of the Sainted Ion. This left my Gallant degraded but still functioning sufficiently to strike back with its Reaper Chainsword and damage the Errant further. This clash of the Titans was rapidly becoming a battle of attrition.

Blood Angels

At the start of my turn, I scored 2 Victory points for holding the objective on my left flank with the Tac squad and the objective in the centre with my Scouts. The Gallant disengaged from the Errant, preparing to charge again. The Intercessors in the centre moved up to take the Objective the Scouts had been holding while the Scouts moved out of cover to face the Skitarii holding the Objective in Dave's deployment zone. Lemartes and the Death Company dropped in behind the Errant to threaten the Dune Crawlers while the Intercessors deployed behind the Intercessors in the centre to target the assorted skitarii.

In the shooting phase, the Tactical squad on my right flank opened fire on the damaged Armiger and destroyed it. Unfortunately the resulting explosion wiped out half the squad and seriously injured the Lietenant. My own Arimger fired on the surviving Armiger facing it and managed to kill it with multiple melta hits, despite being on its lowest tier. Other shooting was largely uneventful. I killed a handful of skitarii across various squads but it was slow going thanks to the Stygies trait and Shroudpsalm.

In the combat phase, the Death Company and Lemartes both made 11" charges and hurled themselves into the Dune Crawler and nearby Skitarii without even needing their rerolls. The Gallant hurled itself back into the fray against the Errant and the Scouts charged the Skitari holding Dave's deployment zone objective. The combat phase was pretty decisive as my Gallant finally slew the Errant. The Death Company slew one squad of Skitarii and badly damaged the Dune Crawler. The Scouts killed most of the Skitarii facing them and morale took care of the rest.

At the end of the turn, I had scored 2 VPs for the objectives but Dave had slain my Warlord.

Blood Angels 3 : Admech 2



Turn 3
Admech

Once again, Dave had no Objectives under his control as my Scouts were busy fighting for the one his Skitarii had taken. He withdrew his damaged Dune Crawler to try and bring his guns to bear on the Death Company while the Skitarii lined up as best they could to target the Blood Angels whilst shielding the Inquisitors.

In the psychic phase, the Inquisitors again Smited the Gallant and managed to knock it down to its lowest profile.

In the shooting phase, the unengaged Dune Crawler tried to finish off the Gallant but its neutron laser missed. A hail of shooting targeted the Death Company, killing half of them. The Iron Stryders targeted my last Armiger and finished it off. The rest of the skitarri wiped out the Scouts.

With his Knights dead Dave decided not to risk charging any of my angry Blood Angels.


Blood Angels

Again I managed to score 2 VPs for the Objectives under my control. Lemartes and the surviving Death Company jumped over the damaged Dune crawler to face the undamaged one and the Tech Priest Domus. The Gallant limped forward towards the damaged Dune crawler. The Intercessors in the centre shuffled slightly on the objective to bring themselves into charge range of the Skitarri who had fired on the Death Company whilst the Inceptors boosted on top of the ruins to get some good LOS.

The shooting phase was largely uneventful again as I continued to whittle down the Skitarii slowly.

In the melee phase, I charged the undamaged Dune crawler and the Tech priest Domus with Lemartes and the surviving Death Company. The Gallant charged into the damaged Dune Crawler and the Intercessors charged the skitarii but neither side inflicted damage on the other due to poor rolls. The Gallant promptly stomped the Dune Crawler flat, despite being on its lowest tier. Unfortunately the Death Company rolled poorly to wound and failed to kill either the Domus or the other Dune Crawler. The Domus struck back with his axe and promptly killed 3 Death Company. That wasn't in the script!

I had scored 2 more VPs but I had not done the damage I had hoped to the centre of the Admech lines and now the Death Company were looking like they might be too depleted to finish the job.

Blood Angels 5 : Admech 2



Turn 4
Admech

Much to Dave's annoyance, I had manged to tri-lock his Dune Crawler meaning that he would not be shooting my Death Company this turn. With little left to move, he jockeyed his few surviving infantry for lines of sight and opened fire.

In the Psychic phase, the powers of the warp obviously favoured the Inquisitors as they called down Smite after Smite and blew my Gallant to smoking pieces. Sadly it failed to explode.

His Iron Stryders killed 2 of the Inceptors while the skitarri killed a single tactical marine on my left flank.

In the combat phase, the Tech Priest Domus killed the last of the Death Company Lemartes damaged the Dune crawler but failed to finish it off. The Skitarii and the Intercessor lost one model each and the combat continued.

Blood Angels

Due to the movement of the Objectives, the Intercessors were now out of range so I only claimed 1 VP this turn.

With little left to move, the surviving Inceptor jumped down to target the Tech Priest Enginseer while the Survivors of the Tactical squad and the Lieutenant left their cover to make a dash for the objective on my right flank.

In the shooting phase, I shot at the Inquisitors who had finally been robbed of their skitarii shield but with 4 wounds each, they were not going to die to a few bolter shots and the lascannon predictably missed. The Inceptor failed damage the Engineseer and also failed his 4" charge.

In the combat phase, Lemartes and the Domus exchanged blows but neither could finish off the other. The Intercessor finally managed to kill the skitarii and reclaimed the central objective. Dave concede at this point as I was well ahead on VPs and so I got Line Breaker.

Blood Angels 7 : Admech 2

[Morticon]

Well recovered!! Very impressed you managed to take it considering the few first turn slip-ups. 

How have you found Mephiston? Why do you choose him over the Libby dread?

[Lynnean]

Nice report mate! Really enjoyed reading it. Close calls too. If only he wouldve played more on objectives instead of just shooting you down haha.

Well deserved win!

[Karhedron]

Well recovered!! Very impressed you managed to take it considering the few first turn slip-ups.

Thanks, I didn't highlight it but I made another slip in Turn 3. When my Gallant charged the Dune Crawler, I could easily have multicharged the Tech Priest Domus as well. A few stomps from the Gallant would have squashed him flat and left the Death Company free finish off the other Dune Crawler.

 

How have you found Mephiston? Why do you choose him over the Libby dread?

Mephiston is rather hit-and-miss. Some battles, he carves through everything in his path. Others (like this one) he whiffs and gets embarrassingly splatted. I have a Libby Dread in the works but it is not finished yet. When the Codex came out, I stuck with Mephiston since they were similar in capability but he was cheaper. Now the prices are practically reversed after CA18, I think I am leaning in favour of the Libby Dread. The Libby Dread would still have been wounded by the Armiger attacks but would have still been alive on 2 wounds so would definitely have been better in this instance.

[Karhedron]

Nice report mate! Really enjoyed reading it. Close calls too. If only he wouldve played more on objectives instead of just shooting you down haha.

Thanks. Dave was in a quandary because he had taken the Stygies trait (-1 to Hit over 12"). He wanted to preserve the benefit of his trait as long as possible. Moving his Skitarii up would have risked losing his trait as well as making it easier for me to charge them. His plan was for his Armigers to tackle my BA infantry I think but he underestimated the counter-charge that the BAs and my own Knights delivered.

 

Ultimately, you are right. By the time he started moving his Skitarii up, I had established a VP lead that was hard for him to claw back.

[Majkhel]

Was your opponent using Rotate Ion Shields in melee? I thought it's impossible, as the stratagem increases the original invulnerable save of a Knight. However the said invulnerable save from Ion Shield works only against ranged weapons. 

[Karhedron]

Was your opponent using Rotate Ion Shields in melee? I thought it's impossible, as the stratagem increases the original invulnerable save of a Knight. However the said invulnerable save from Ion Shield works only against ranged weapons.

Normally you are correct, however the Relic "Sanctuary" provides a 5++ in melee. RIS just boosts Knight's the invulnerable save, it doesn't specify it is against shooting only. So in the specific case of this Relic, a Knight can get a 4++ in melee.

 

In a world of Smash Captains, Daemon Princes and other melee heavy hitters, it is a good defensive relic for a Knight.

[Majkhel]

Aaah, ok. Thanks! :)