For the Founding Father! Kallas' UM Log

[Kallas]

Hi folks,

 

So since I'm back in the Ultramarines' fold, I thought I would start a new thread to chronicle my battles and modeling/painting progress. My painting has, previously, been pretty damn slow and done in fits and starts; but now that Contrast is here, I'm hoping to get my models up to snuff much more quickly and efficiently.

 

As for battle reports, I'll be joining up with my local community's league within the next month (possibly even next week) so should be able to get some reports in quite soon! Hopefully they'll be entertaining, at the very least, and might even give someone some ideas for their own lists.

 

I'll keep this post updated with links to my battle reports as they come out, just for reference. I won't do that for my painting progress, though I might get some group shots in for here. I shall apologise up front for the potato quality of my photos: they're from my phone camera, which is hardly of the highest caliber!

 

Battle Report Links:

League Game #1, vs Astartes (Ultramarines Successors) [22nd October 2019]

League Game #2; vs Nurgle Daemons [29th October 2019]

[Kallas]

Without further ado, here's what's on my painting desk just now:

A horde of Primaris, sprayed Wraith Bone:

Primaris Characters:

That's six Aggressors, twenty one Intercessors (got an extra one randomly as a separate sprue, so converted it a little!), an Apothecary, an Ancient (converted from the Primaris Lieutenant), a Phobos Librarian, and a Phobos Captain; as well as two Thunderfire Cannons along with their attendant Techmarine Gunners, and two Stormhawk Interceptors.

And here is the first Intercessors after a layer of Flesh Tearer's Red and Iyanden Yellow (and a Nuln Oil wash on a few areas to prepare them for future metallic-ising):

The Contrast took about an hour and a half to do, as I was being quite careful in application to try and get the quartered yellow/red from being too untidy, to make my future job a little easier. Regardless, I think it's a solid start and is much quicker than my previous methods, which took a damn long time for each model.

[Prot]

Wow. You don't mess around. That's a serious start. I have a Stormhawk that I rarely use. Interesting to see you've got 2!

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Ishagu]

Nice pile, don't get overwhelmed. I get stressed when I see a single vehicle on my painting table lol

[Kallas]

Wow. You don't mess around. That's a serious start. I have a Stormhawk that I rarely use. Interesting to see you've got 2!

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

I like the Stormhawks, they perform pretty well, and with the changes in Codex 2.0 they should be pretty solid!

 

I have managed to keep doing some painting at a reasonable pace, though I think I'm going to be mostly trying to get the contrast down on the models before getting them fully finished (rather than getting a few fully completed before moving on). I'll get some more pictures up tomorrow!

 

Nice pile, don't get overwhelmed. I get stressed when I see a single vehicle on my painting table lol

 

Thanks, yeah, it's a little daunting, my problem is that I do really enjoy the actual building of models!   Makes it difficult to not want to get everything built up; I do actually have ten more Intercessors still in the box!

 

+++

 

On Tuesday, I'll be getting my first League game in against this list:

 

Brigade: (Ultramarines: Stealthy, Master Artisans)

Phobos Captain (Hero of the Chapter: Marksman's Honours, Vox Espiritum)

Primaris Lt (MC Stalker; Lament)

Primaris Lt (Warlord: Adept of the Codex, MC Stalker, Hellfury Bolts)

 

1x 5 Incursors

5x 5 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

1x 10 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

 

Redemptor (2x Storm Bolters, Heavy OGC, OGC)

2x 5 Reivers (Bolt Carbines, Grav Chutes)

 

3x 3 Suppressors

 

3x 3 Eliminators (Bolt Sniper Rifles)

 

 

Quite a nasty horde of Primaris. I'm not quite sure what my list will be (for reference, out League is ITC with lists posted up and only allowed to be changed after a loss). I'm considering my 'Rolling Thunder' list:

 

Ultramarines (Inheritors)

Battalion:

Captain (Storm Shield, Relic Blade, Warlord: Calm Under Fire, Chapter Master)

Librarian (Jump Pack, Storm Bolter, Scryer's Gaze, Psychic Shackles)

 

2x 5 Scouts (Bolters)

1x 5 Tacticals (Bolters, Storm Bolter/Chainsword Sergeant)

 

2x 5 Company Veterans (Storm Bolters/Storm Shields)

Apothecary

 

Spearhead:

Lieutenant (Chainsword, Storm Bolter)

 

3x Land Raider Helios

2x Thunderfire Cannon

 

I've played one game with that list (well, very similar) against Orks, and it did very well (unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures to make a decent battle report!), remaining in Devastator Doctrine almost the whole game. It could be solid against the above list, as it can conceal all of the squishy troops, and while Lascannons are semi wasted against infantry, they should shred Primaris troops pretty damn quickly - once the Redemptor and Suppressors are gone (quite easy with so much long range, ignore LoS firepower) the Raiders should be pretty much untouchable.

 

Anyway, need to have a consider, as if I use it I'll be locked in until I lose, so don't want to be too hasty, but I think it's an interesting list (and honestly, it's so that I can have more time to paint up my Primaris  )

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I have a question for you -

 

"Brigade: (Ultramarines: Stealthy, Master Artisans)"

 

Are you able to stack traits on top of chapter tactics? How does that work? It seems powerful.

[Kallas]

I have a question for you -

 

"Brigade: (Ultramarines: Stealthy, Master Artisans)"

 

Are you able to stack traits on top of chapter tactics? How does that work? It seems powerful.

 

Ah, no. By Ultramarines, I meant Successor. So they get Stealthy and Master Artisans, as well as Scions of Guilliman, but they don't get the Codex Discipline Chapter Tactic. I, on the other hand, will be using Codex Discipline thanks to Inheritors.

[Ishagu]

That is a tasty combination of rules you have there!

[Prot]

I don't want to muttle your thread with my musings about some of the typical choices, but out of curiosity why no Infiltrators for the league play? (something to keep the ugly stuff a little further back?)

 

Also, I'm not sure I understand what you've taken for rules since I play purist Ultra, but why stay in Dev mode all game?

[Kallas]

I don't want to muttle your thread with my musings about some of the typical choices, but out of curiosity why no Infiltrators for the league play? (something to keep the ugly stuff a little further back?)

 

No worries, happy to answer questions! 

 

No Infiltrators because I simply don't have any! Once they drop in a week and a bit, I'll be grabbing a box.

 

Also, I'm not sure I understand what you've taken for rules since I play purist Ultra, but why stay in Dev mode all game?

 

Well, it's partly just because I really like Land Raiders (and the Helios is a solid variant). As the list is built, there's not much incentive to switch to Tactical Doctrine until Turn Three or Four, since the Land Raiders already have Power of the Machine Spirit. Similarly, because of their PotMS, they synergise with Calm Under Fire/Codex Discipline well, meaning that they can fire at full effectiveness even when falling back, which in the one game I've used that combo proved to be very damn useful (Ork Boyz managed to tag one; it fell back, Company Veterans and some extra firepower just blew them away while the TFCs and Helios Launchers just kept on pounding away at other stuff).

 

Honestly, it's mostly just about trying to use Land Raiders, but Ultramarines do have some useful rules/stratagems. Hell, I wouldn't even be able to run something like this with, say, Iron Hands, because they'd just get tagged by something in melee and I'd lose 300pts of firepower for most of the game. There's also Rapid Deployment for some mind games; Inspiring Command to keep them a bit further apart/to hold more ground.

 

There is definitely a lot of stuff that I'm not utilising fully (like Scions of Guilliman), but I'm still testing the list out, so I guess I'll see how much of an impact that is!

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Ultramarines are strongest in tactical mode. We are also amazing in melee. I can’t wait til I can buy a box of Infiltrators.

 

Kallas I’m glad to have you here with us. I very much respect your tactical prowess. Hail brother.

[Kallas]

Sorry for the delay in posting up my progress, I got distracted and the length of time it takes to cover Land Raiders in paint is pretty damn time consuming even with contrast! But anyway, here's what I've gotten done on them since Thursday!

Thunderfire Cannon:

Land Raiders:

Sprayed

First set of quartering

Fully quartered

The third, grey, Land Raider is as it is because I am going to have it black: I have already painted up some veterans with the black Night World Camo scheme, so I will keep some units in that scheme. My Vanguard units and Scouts are going to have some brown camo patterning on them/their camo cloaks, for some added variety.

Yes, the colours are a little blotchy at the moment, but I will be going over them with a layer (Vallejo Ochre Brown and GW Mephiston Red). On the Intercessors I was working on before the Raiders, a single coat of each went on very well, so I am extremely pleased with Contrast, as the timed saved on these Raiders has been massive already (previously it would've been a brown spray, Agrax shade, then multiple, careful layers of yellow/red before highlighting - would've taken years!!)

+++++

Tomorrow I'll be playing a League game against the list I posted earlier

Brigade: (Ultramarines Successor: Stealthy, Master Artisans)

Phobos Captain (Hero of the Chapter: Marksman's Honours, Vox Espiritum)

Primaris Lt (MC Stalker; Lament)

Primaris Lt (Warlord: Adept of the Codex, MC Stalker, Hellfury Bolts)

1x 5 Incursors

5x 5 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

1x 10 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

Redemptor (2x Storm Bolters, Heavy OGC, OGC)

2x 5 Reivers (Bolt Carbines, Grav Chutes)

3x 3 Suppressors

3x 3 Eliminators (Bolt Sniper Rifles)

I put my list idea up, but have made some modifications that I think should do pretty well:

Ultramarines Successor: Inheritors of the Primarch

Battalion:

Phobos Captain (Warlord [Calm Under Fire], Chapter Master)

• Will likely give him Exemplar of the Chapter with Lord of Deceit to redeploy himself, the Phobos Librarian and, with the Rapid Redeployment stratagem, the three Land Raiders, if necessary

Phobos Librarian (Mind Raid, Tenebrous Curse)

• Mind Raid is useful for a targeted mortal wound, as well as possible CP generation; Tenebrous Curse is great combined with the TFC's Tremor Shells. May give him the Hero of the Chapter for Shoot and Fade, so that he can dodge about to avoid being too far forward on his own.

2x 5 Bolters Scouts

1x 5 Knife Scouts

• Useful for stepping forward to deny enemy concealed positions, but will depend on the deployment type (ITC is either all deploy/all deploy, or sequential, so could end up being pointless!), although they're still potentially useful for putting some melee pressure on Eliminators

Apothecary

• A tweaked addition to give my characters a little more resilience. Regular (ie, non-Raven Guard) Eliminators shouldn't be able to drop my Phobos Captain too quickly, so keeping him topped up with the Apothecary should help. Also a bonus unit to throw on an objective, if I don't need him in future games.

3x Land Raider Helios

• The core of the list. With Codex Discipline and Calm Under Fire they can't just get tagged in melee to stop them shooting, which is damn good. Their Helios Launchers, combined with the TFC, should be able to strip out the Suppressors or Eliminators to remove threats to themselves/the characters. Lascannons should be solid against most armies, and even against that Primaris horde they should do work with the full rerolls to hit.

1x Thunderfire Cannon

• More ignore LoS firepower is good, and Tremor Shells/Suppression Fire is damn powerful, especially when combined with Tenebrous Curse/Psychic Shackles. Techmarine also adds extra resilience to the Land Raiders, which is damn useful.

Second Battalion:

Librarian (Jump Pack, Force Stave, Bolter, Scryer's Gaze, Psychic Shackles)

• Scryer's Gaze gives me a second power to recoup CP, and if Mind Raid gets one then the reroll is useful. Psychic Shackles isn't as potent as Tenebrous Curse, but with the TFC I can either slow four units a good amount, or two units massively. Jump Pack gives me a little extra mobility (and I honestly couldn't think of anything else to purchase with the points!)

Lieutenant (Storm Bolter, Chainsword)

• Barebones, there for the reroll 1s to wound aura. Can deploy in a Land Raider to protect him from an alpha strike.

3x 5 Tacticals

• Barebones again; mostly there to hop out of the Raiders to grab objectives and add supplementary firepower. Can tie up some units in combat if need be.

Let me know what you think, I welcome all comments and criticisms! (And yes, Prot, I would love to have some Infiltrators )

Cheers,

Tom.

[Prot]

So the thing I would add is Infil...errr... Just kidding. :)

 

The models are looking pretty good. Like you said evening them out a bit will go a long way. When metallics are done and washed I bet it ends up looking very striking on the tabletop too. I'm impressed how far you got.

 

As far as your second list, I love the fact you're making use of the Landraider (Helios). I've always loved them, and really very few armies can get away with out fearing them being bumped in close combat.

 

As a side note until the new codex came out I often played my Las Centurions  in a Landraider, and my Aggressors in a Repulsor. Or even the heavy Repulsor.

 

The reason I mention this, and people keep telling me I'm crazy about this, but I swear I think because we are UM, we get better mileage out of the Landraiders over Repulsors. The 2+ is just really nice to have. Especially if you start with Prepared Positions in round 1. But even otherwise, there's so much Damage 2, -1 AP stuff, it just feels huge around turn 2-3.

 

I know everyone says the Repulsors are just far better for shooting but even so, once UM have their troops set, we typically have a lack of that tank / - AP weaponry. I'm very curious how you make out with all those Landraiders.

[Kallas]

So the thing I would add is Infil...errr... Just kidding. 

 

The models are looking pretty good. Like you said evening them out a bit will go a long way. When metallics are done and washed I bet it ends up looking very striking on the tabletop too. I'm impressed how far you got.

 

Thanks!

 

I would've done some of the layers...but hit a little of painting fatigue, so figure I'll probably pick back up after my game. I washed one's tracks, and even that helps as the white is no longer as glaring and helps mute them down a touch.

 

As far as your second list, I love the fact you're making use of the Landraider (Helios). I've always loved them, and really very few armies can get away with out fearing them being bumped in close combat.

 

As a side note until the new codex came out I often played my Las Centurions  in a Landraider, and my Aggressors in a Repulsor. Or even the heavy Repulsor.

 

The reason I mention this, and people keep telling me I'm crazy about this, but I swear I think because we are UM, we get better mileage out of the Landraiders over Repulsors. The 2+ is just really nice to have. Especially if you start with Prepared Positions in round 1. But even otherwise, there's so much Damage 2, -1 AP stuff, it just feels huge around turn 2-3.

 

I know everyone says the Repulsors are just far better for shooting but even so, once UM have their troops set, we typically have a lack of that tank / - AP weaponry. I'm very curious how you make out with all those Landraiders.

 

Yeah, Land Raiders aren't too bad in and of themselves, a lot of their issues come from the meta: getting tagged in combat by melee stuff and Knights/similar firepower crushing them easily. The T8/Sv2+ is definitely solid, though, and going second with UM means we can at least pop Prepared Positions and/or Rapid Redeployment to minimise alpha strikes, as well as being able to fall back and shoot (and PotMS really helps keep them relevant).

 

Being able to fall back and shoot is huge for such a massive points investment. It's still strangely fragile, but you're absolutely right that UM give them a lot of benefits. That's one of the reasons I want to make them work, and I think target saturation is important - which is of course difficult with such expensive models! Sv2+ really is much better than Sv3+.

 

I've used Land Raider Helios with Deathwatch, and they were solid (Watch Master plus Tome of the Ectoclades was great) but they suffered from melee bumping; the one game with UM against Orks was much, much more solid as Codex Discipline and Devastator Doctrine were enormously helpful. Rest assured, I will put my report in the thread - it'll be posted either right after the game (so about 30hrs from now!) or the day after, depending on how long/exhausting it is 

[Kallas]

Oh, actually, there's something I'd appreciate some advice on: I'm not sure what Relic(s) would be useful to take for the game vs the Primaris Horde.

 

I was thinking that the Soldier's Blade could be solid vs so many Intercessors: the Phobos Captain would get 6A (5+1 from Shock Assault) hitting on 2s rerolling, wounding on 3s (probably rerolling 1s) and outright killing Intercessors/Incursors, and being quite a threat to enemy characters in melee. Lieutenant could take the Teeth of Terra for something similar, but not quite as effective.

 

The Vox Espiritum could be useful on the Captain too, meaning I don't need to use the Inspiring Command stratagem for a 9" bubble.

 

Ghostweave Cloak on either the Captain or Phobos Librarian could be useful to stave off Eliminator shots, as could the Armour Indomitus/Artificer Armour; similarly the Sanctic Halo could work too (the deny is irrelevant against no Psykers, but a 3++ means he's basically suffering no minus to his save). Adamantine Mantle could also be worth it too. Tarentian Cloak is also a possibility, in the same vein that the Apothecary is useful, particularly for the Jump Librarian or Lieutenant.

 

Any thoughts?

 

The reason I ask is because this is ITC format, I can spend the CP before the battle, rather than needing to declare it on my submitted list.

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

Cheers,

Tom.

 

 

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Looking forward to a batrep.

[Seahawk]

Helm of Censure!

[Kallas]

Helm of Censure!

While I can see the appeal, I don't think the Helm is worth it. My main threat character is the Captain, and even with Marksman's Honours it's taking two shots to kill one of his characters. Helm of Censure improves the wound chance, but that doesn't really seem worth it for a single attack (or for 7x 4/0/1 attacks in melee).

 

I mean, I assume you were suggesting putting it on the Captain anyway

[Kallas]

Hi folks, here's my first battle report from the League. I'm going to apologise for the potato pictures right now: they're awful. There were a bunch that were unusable and my phone camera was acting up all night. I've tried to label some of the initial ones, at least, so that people can get a semi-decent idea of what the board looked like to start with.

So, first up, the lists:

Mine:

Ultramarines Successor: Inheritors of the Primarch

Battalion:

Phobos Captain (Warlord [Calm Under Fire], Chapter Master)

Phobos Librarian (Mind Raid, Tenebrous Curse)

• 2x 5 Bolters Scouts
• 1x 5 Knife Scouts
• Apothecary

3x Land Raider Helios

1x Thunderfire Cannon

Second Battalion:

Librarian (Jump Pack, Force Stave, Bolter, Scryer's Gaze, Psychic Shackles)

Lieutenant (Storm Bolter, Chainsword)

3x 5 Tacticals

On top of those listed already, I spent 3CP pre-game:

1. Captain got Exemplar for Lord of Deceit
2. Captain paid one for the Soldier's Blade
3. Phobos Librarian got Hero of the Chapter for Shoot and Fade

CP to start the battle with: 8.

Opponent's List:

Brigade: (Ultramarines Successor: Stealthy, Master Artisans)

Phobos Captain (Hero of the Chapter: Marksman's Honours, Seal of Oath [Grey Land Raider])

Primaris Lt (MC Stalker; Lament)

Primaris Lt (Warlord: Adept of the Codex, MC Stalker, Hellfury Bolts)

1x 5 Incursors

5x 5 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

1x 10 Intercessors (Bolt Rifles)

Redemptor (2x Storm Bolters, Heavy OGC, OGC)

2x 5 Reivers (Bolt Carbines, Grav Chutes)

3x 3 Suppressors

3x 3 Eliminators (Bolt Sniper Rifles)

My opponent switched up the Captain's Relic from the Vox Espiritum to the Seal of Oath, choosing one of my Land Raiders.

CP to start the battle with: 12.

The mission we rolled up was #6, Crucible of Champions (five objectives in a + shape; bonus VP for holding three with three different characters). My opponent "won" the deployment roll off getting #2 Dawn of War (standard 12" in on the long edge), choosing his side; I chose to deploy first (and hopefully go first).

Secondary:

Howling Griffons:

Butcher's Bill: I figure that he's got multiple small units, even with Stealthy I should be able to drop two units a turn with my firepower

Ground Control: My intention is to outlast him with the Raiders and then dump Tacticals out to hold objectives at the end of the game

Recon: Probably not a great pick, but I figure I can get at least a few points once the back of his force is broken

Silver Skulls:

Headhunter: Solid choice, I have six characters!

Behind Enemy Lines: I thought this would be a bit difficult, but he does have plenty of Concealed Positions and Grav Chutes, so it's not too bad I suppose

Recon: He's got good midfield pressure and reserves, so pretty solid

Deployment:

We weren't sure how to resolve us both potentially using Rapid Redeployment/Lord of Deceit, so we rolled off with him winning and ultimately deciding not to use it. I made a huge, huge mistake here, as I chose to redeploy a Land Raider (but not the Seal of Oath target) and the TFC/Techmarine. I barely shifted them at all and should have moved the SoO target to the other side of the middle Raider (at the very least).

Oh well.

Howling Griffons Turn 1

Movement: I double down on my redeployment blunder by not moving away from his midfield block. Rightmost Raider moves up to get a good line on the Suppressors; rightmost Scouts move up to shoot up the Intercessors; leftmost Scouts advance (hoping to pull back) but roll low to just hop up into the ruin instead.

Psychic: Scryer's Gaze fails. Wah.

Shooting: I gun hard for the Suppressors, as his primary anti-tank units. It takes all three Land Raiders and the TFC to remove them...hmm. Some mildly whiffed rolls and some annoying saves cost me a lot of firepower: I'd been hoping to use some on the Eliminators or big unit of Intercessors, but it all had to go into the Suppressors. Maybe that was also a mistake.

No charges/fights: the rightmost Scouts are going to get pummeled, but there's always the chance he whiffs, so I don't want to give him more attacks for free.

Silver Skulls Turn 2

Movement: Eliminators stay still, as do the Incursors. The big unit of Intercessors move up, with Tactical Squad Doctrines, into range of the grey Raider. Central units push up too, holding their back objective, one lining up to charge the left Scouts. Redemptor and Intercessors move in on the Scouts on their flank.

Shooting: Oh God-Emperor. Intercessors Rapid Fire into the Raider, under Seal of Oath and strip off ten wounds (to be fair, I also failed 10/15 of the saves, which was more than a little frustrating; but it's my own damn fault for leaving it there!); the Hellfury Lt and Eliminators (with Guided Fire and SoO) strip it down. It doesn't explode, but one Tactical dies. Not good. Redemptor and right flank Intercessors try to shoot up the TFC, causing two wounds but thankfully leaving it alive. Central Intercessors kill off another of the disembarked Tacticals. Incursors plink away two of the left Scouts.

Charge/Fight: One of the central Intercessor squads charges up into the left Scouts, killing them easily. Right flank is overrun as the Redemptor and Intercessors charge the Scouts, with the Redemptor getting some good extra movement in through the charge, pile in and consolidate. Er, whoops, that's another mistake.

End of Round 1 Scores:

HG: 4

Kill 1, Hold 1, Butcher's Bill and Recon

SS: 4

Kill 1, Hold 1, Hold More and Recon

Ok, so we're tied. Could be worse, but I'm down a third of my firepower, which is very much Not Good^TM

Battle Round 2

Silver Skulls shift into Tactical Doctrine.

Howling Griffons Turn 2

Movement: I bring the remaining Raiders in closer to try and get some cover from the Bolt Rifle volleys and Eliminators. Librarians move right to try and put out some mortal wounds on the Redemptor to soften it up. Tacticals shift right to offer some character protection and maybe get away from the Bolt Rifles. Techmarine repairs the TFC back to full.

Psychic: Tenebrous Curse and two Smites land on the Redemptor for...zero damage. He used Armour of Contempt and stopped every single one. Urgh. I then promptly failed to cast Scryer's Gaze. Again. Yay...

Shooting: Phobos Librarian declares himself for Shoot and Fade, manages to slip a damn Bolt Pistol round through the Redemptor's contemptuous armour and then sprints 12" off in the opposite direction! Duty Eternal is popped as the first Land Raider opens up with its Lascannons (Helios Launcher going after the right flank Intercessors). After the smokes and freems clear, the Redemptor has eight damn wounds remaining, thanks to terrible damage rolls, and only three of the targeted Intercessors are dead. Gulp. I did Tremor Shells the big unit of Intercessors, but due to my poor manoeuvring a Land Raider is still in range of them.

No charges/fights for me, it's not looking great, to be honest.

Silver Skulls Turn 2

Movement: Redemptor slouches forward 4", the left flank begins marching into the centre and towards my deployment zone for Behind Enemy Lines. Reivers drop in behind my Librarians.

Shooting: Jump Librarian is gunned down by the Redemptor and one unit of Reivers; the Tacticals are killed off by the central Intercessors. Left flank dumps shots into the Raiders (Eliminators with Guided Fire Mortis Rounds) dropping one by a good few wounds (I think it lost 8-10, I forget). My Lieutenant gets polished off by the other unit of Reivers.

Charge/Fight: Redemptor crushes the last of my Scouts with some help from a unit of central Intercessors.

End of Round 2 Scores:

HG: 5

I scored a measly 1 thanks to the objective a Raider is sat on. Didn't kill a single damn unit.

SS: 12

All four primaries, two on Headhunter, and another Recon.

This is looking pretty bad...

Howling Griffons Turn 3

Movement: Captain moves to engage the Reivers with the Soldier's Blade; Librarian and Raiders hold in the centre (again, probably a bad move: with my mobility I should have been moving them a lot more). Techmarine repairs a single wound on the most damaged Raider.

Psychic: Smite goes into the Redemptor for a few wounds; Tenebrous Curse fails.

Shooting: Redemptor gets annihilated by the first Raider and promptly explodes. It deals six mortal wounds to my Raider (dropping it to five left...) and a measly one to his Intercessors. Bleh. One Reiver is shot to death by the Captain, and maybe some other stuff is shot up, I forget.

Charge/Fight: The Captain draws the Soldier's Blade, taking one wound in overwatch, but dispatches the full five man squad of Reivers. He's unfortunately unable to consolidate into the other unit thanks to a poor charge roll (only barely made it into the target).

Silver Skulls Turn 3

Movement: Reivers move in, surrounding the Captain; left flank continues to make its way in on my centre; central units move up a little.

Shooting: I think Rapid Fire is used one last time to shave off some more wounds on the crippled Raider - then a Hellfury Bolt kills up...which then triggers an explosion! Yay... Last Raider takes a few, Librarian and Techmarine both take three each; but at least his unit of Intercessors gets caught for a full six, so that's something. TFC is killed by Eliminator Mortis rounds. Captain takes two more wounds from the Reivers.

Charge/Fight: Reivers charge the Captain, putting two more wounds on him but the getting cut down in turn! The last Intercessor that survived the two explosions tries to charge the Tacticals, surviving the overwatch but dies in melee after killing one.

End of Round 3 Scores:

HG: 9

I managed to pull out Kill 1 and More, thanks to the Captain's melee prowess, and I clung on to the one objective for Hold 1.

SS: 17

Kill 1, Hold 1/More, third Recon and first Behind Enemy Lines.

Ouch. The game is pretty damn far out of my grasp at this point.

Battle Round 4 - 6

I shift into the Tactical Doctrine to try and get some value out of the two remaining Tactical Squads.

Turns 4-6 Summaries:

I'll keep these short with just some highlights:

• My Captain advanced back towards the centre in turn four, Apothecary healed him up to three wounds, he popped off a shot and then catapulted himself 12" with Shoot and Fade to go hunting for his centre/back Intercessors/Warlord Lt. Turn five he cut down two more Intercessors and almost reached the Lt, but got gunned down by Lament when he failed his save.
• Librarian smote some Intercessors that charged in. Did little else.
• Tacticals were crap, killed about one and a half Intercessors between them.
• Techmarine repaired the Raider up into its top bracket.

+++

• Eliminators eliminated. Librarian and Techmarine go down to Executioner rounds.
• Tacticals get completely punked by Intercessors.

+++

My last Land Raider is all alone. There are still about twenty Intercessors, seven Eliminators, a pair of Lts and some Incursors. He's not going without a fight, however! It drives out to meet them, Lascannons claiming a mighty, uh, two Intercessors (1 damage, second wound kills, then another 1 damage ). Not to worry: charge!

Raider charges the Intercessors, making a decent distance and then piling in/consolidating into some Eliminators and the Captain. Kills nothing.

Last stand: waves of bolts come in, followed by a final charge, but the Raider stands firm with two wounds remaining!

Great Victory!

End of Game Scores:

Howling Griffons: 13

Silver Skulls: 32

Post-Game Thoughts:

Oh man I made a heap of mistakes:

• My initial deployment was pretty weak. My TFC was too central, my Scouts weren't taking up enough real estate to prevent him from establishing a midfield presence, and my Raider battle pile should have been concentrated on one flank to make a redeployment more impactful.
• Pre-game CP expenditure was too high. Lord of Deceit and Shoot and Fade were fun (ish: S&F was, LoD wasn't) but the 2CP could've been used much better elsewhere. The Soldier's Blade was solid for this match up in particular, but I think I should have been more aggressive - I'll touch on that in a moment.

I Am An Idiot:

My redeployment was utter crap! I could have easily left the TFC in the centre, as it wasn't going to be hugely impactful. Instead, I should have either:

• Shifted the centre and left Raiders over to the right flank and pulled the leftmost Scouts out of their precarious position to make my right flank much stronger and given my opponent far fewer targets in turn one, or:
• Shifted all three Raiders over to the left flank to drive up aggressively. While the Seal of Oath could have still been painful, I shouldn't have been so shy about the Raiders getting into melee: with such big hulls, a joint charge of the three of them could quite easily tie up a large amount of units while remaining functionally unwrappable. Additionally, it would have given the Captain the opportunity to put the Soldier's Blade to active use rather than merely reactive use. Also also, shifting left would have meant his rightmost units would be out of position for a large part of the game, making them basically useless.

I think I made two huge mistakes this game:

1. Very poor deployment, which I then added insult to injury with by not utilising my superior mobility to maintain the firefights that would work in my favour
2. Terrible redeployment

Basically, I think I lost this game in the deployment by not playing to my lists' strengths, and by letting my opponent utilise his fully. I took on the fight on too broad a frontage: all of his units were contributing, and many of mine weren't (the Scouts were massacred easily due to poor placement; the Tacticals were cowering in the Raiders; and most of the characters were used too timidly). Simply, I messed up big time, and my opponent didn't make any serious missteps.

Well, there you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed reading that, and apologies again for the terrible photos - I promise I'll take better ones in future*

I've got a few ideas for list iterations, which I'll share here in due course, but I would very much like to hear your thoughts on the list and the game as a whole (including all of my terrible decisions!)

Thanks for reading,

Tom.

_{*No promises: it's all down to my potato phone camera...}

[Ishagu]

Each game is a learning experience, and deployment is often underestimated in it's importance. There is a skill to it that you build up through more games.

 

I enjoyed the batrep, and I'm sure you'll do better next time

[Kallas]

Each game is a learning experience, and deployment is often underestimated in it's importance. There is a skill to it that you build up through more games.

 

I enjoyed the batrep, and I'm sure you'll do better next time

 

Yeah. I had some ideas about deployment going into the game..and then just kind of abandoned them which messed up a lot of my plans and gave my opponent a lot more opportunities than I should have. Deployment is definitely a skill I need to work more on: I some fundamentals down, like deep strike screening, but I'm not great at multiple-turn-ahead planning, really.

 

But, you enjoyed the batrep, so that's something! 

 

+++

 

As I mentioned, I do have some list iteration ideas, and having discussed the game and my list with my opponent we think that the core concept is solid, but there's room to trim the fat some. After some tinkering, this is the core that I'm going to go forward with:

 

Battalion

Phobos Captain (Warlord, Chapter Master)

• WLT will probably be Adept of the Codex; Scryer's Gaze was very disappointing, and AotC will probably help as an additional source of CP farming. My opponent pointed out that with the Chapter Master rerolls Calm Under Fire isn't really that necessary: 3s rerolling vs 4s rerolling isn't a huge difference, and with the mobility of the Raiders I should be able to avoid getting buried in bodies and thus avoid needing to fall back too much anyway. Relic would probably be the Vox Espiritum for general use (keeps the Raiders a bit further apart, so I'm not as vulnerable to multi charges and should be able to use/not use Rapid Redeployment shenanigans more effectively.

Phobos Librarian

• Not sure what powers he'd have for general use, likely Tenebrous Curse and Mind Raid (as a possible second source of CP).

3x 5 Scouts

• Scouts are fine. Three units are solid, as they can either be forward deployed to deny enemy positioning, or they can sit in the Raiders for later in the game.

Spearhead

Lieutenant (Chainsword, Storm Bolter)

• Basic Lt. For Lt stuff.

3x Land Raider Helios

• These are solid tanks. They can go down quickly, but their amassed firepower is flexible and pretty potent. I need to leverage their mobility more, as Mv10" is not shabby; I also need to bear in mind that I can use them somewhat aggressively to shut down some shooting units, depending on the match up, since I can just fall back and shoot anyway.

1x Thunderfire Cannon

• Always useful. Ignore LoS and Tremor Shells are just brilliant. Techmarine's repairs are also useful.

 

That list is 1,404pts, leaving me with 346pts to play with. I could do with some feedback/suggestions for what to fill those points with. Some packages I think could be useful:

1. Ironclad Dreadnought (Chainfist, Hurricane Bolter, Heavy Flamer, and Assault Launchers), gives the list a little bit of a melee punch, increase threat saturation as it's also a T8 vehicle, and a little bit of anti-infantry firepower; and a Stormhawk (Typhoon and Las-talon) for some great mobility and anti-air punch (and it's not terrible against ground targets), plus they're another vehicle to contribute to target saturation (with a -1 to hit instead of T8). That's 328pts, so still another 18pts spare.
2. Two Stormhawks (Typhoons and Stormcannons) which is 342pts. Lots of extra mobility and a fair amount of anti-air firepower. Can be fairly independent if I switch into Tactical Doctrine, and can get Chapter Master rerolls turn one quite easily (and possibly turn two, depending on how they need to move). Could be useful for dropping a bunch of firepower where it's needed, and flyers can still move block to a degree.
3. ???

That's what I've got so far, but I would welcome any comments on the above ideas, or entirely new packages to slot into those spare points.

 

Cheers,

Tom.

[Ishagu]

Hmmm it's a tough call. You have the vehicles with Anti tank punch. Perhaps more infantry would be the best addition to the army? Large squads of Intercessors are durable and pack a punch in terms of output.

[Prot]

Great batrep. I enjoyed the breakdown.

 

I think you know a lot of what you did in error, but you still had some great cinematic moments! The librarian must have been disappointing... I only use Tigurius fir that reason. At the very least he’s reliable!

 

Thanks for the entertaining read.

[Joukernaut]

Interesting list with the three landraiders. Good analysis of your match, you'll probably do a lot better next time.  I must say I am very surprised the intercessors managed to strip so many wounds of your landraider even with the seal of oath and the double tap stratagem. Wounding on 6's usually doesn't bring too much even with rerolls. I'm very much in love with the thunderfire cannon, it keeps performing very well for me.

[Kallas]

Hmmm it's a tough call. You have the vehicles with Anti tank punch. Perhaps more infantry would be the best addition to the army? Large squads of Intercessors are durable and pack a punch in terms of output.

 

Intercessors are obviously solid, but they might open up the list in its vulnerabilities. What I mean is, in its current form there's very little for anti-infantry weapons to target, meaning they'll generally get wasted on the Raiders. They could fit, certainly, I'm just in a bit of a rut on where to develop the list; I want to keep the core of the Raiders, as I do think they're solid enough to warrant it, but I don't want to dilute it too much.

 

My opponent suggested that I could use Assault Cannon Razorbacks, as that would give me more anti-infantry firepower while maintaining the vehicle saturation, as well as giving me more mobile units (and more rides for the Scouts to hide in, while possibly spreading out important targets).

 

Great batrep. I enjoyed the breakdown.

 

I think you know a lot of what you did in error, but you still had some great cinematic moments! The librarian must have been disappointing... I only use Tigurius fir that reason. At the very least he’s reliable!

 

Thanks for the entertaining read.

 

Glad you enjoyed it, and yeah, I'm pretty certain about some of my mistakes leading to some big changes in the flow of the game. I definitely didn't stick to my ideas, and I misused the redeployments I had.

 

Librarians were fine, and Tigurius is clearly potent, but I still expect Scryer's Gaze to be decent - it just didn't get much of a chance, to be honest! Two turns then he died. The Redemptor tanking all of the mortal wounds was very annoying...

 

Interesting list with the three landraiders. Good analysis of your match, you'll probably do a lot better next time.  I must say I am very surprised the intercessors managed to strip so many wounds of your landraider even with the seal of oath and the double tap stratagem. Wounding on 6's usually doesn't bring too much even with rerolls. I'm very much in love with the thunderfire cannon, it keeps performing very well for me.

 

Statistically, the Intercessors got triple the average wound they "should" cause with the Seal of Oath (I think the math works out to an average of 5.5 successful wound rolls; they caused 15), and then I failed ten of the fifteen saves at 4+. It was definitely an abnormal spike, but it made a huge difference.

 

Thunderfire Cannon is definitely solid - less important in that game, as there wasn't a huge amount for it to affect with Tremor Shells, and it was coming up against effectively Sv2+, but it was still very good.