Shaezus' 3rd Company 9th Ed reports - game vs new DG

[Shaezus]

Hi folks. With 9th getting into swing for us now our supplement has arrived, I want to share my own journey so to help my fellow players and help improve my game from feedback and suggestions.

I'm going to share a summarised form of batreps, showing the mission type and secondaries but not going into a blow - by - blow account, rather a brief summary of wht stood out, good or bad

the first: todays game vs death guard

I really can't describe how happy I am. My opponent was my most regular oppo, a very strong and smart competitive player who knows how to build and how to use some utterly brutal lists. This was my first win vs DG in 9th. Considering it was against a top tier, recent winning list at ITC events, this is seriously exciting for BA prospects in 9th. Even considering the changes for DG; I feel the change to disgustingly resilient can be worked in our favour. If the new rule had been in play today, things would definitely have been easier. Anyway on to the first report.

My list. I'm aiming for 10 heavy intercessors (executioner rifles and heavies) in place of the intercessors and eliminators. Until then...


Blood Angels battalion
2000 points
Starting CP 7

Captain. Death company. Jump pack. WT: imperiums sword. MC thunder hammer. Grav pistol. 155 2CP
The Sanguinor 150

10 x intercessors. Sgt power sword. Grenade launcher 210
5 x tacticals. Grav cannon. Sgt. Astartes chainsword. 100
5 x tacticals. Grav cannon. Sgt. Astartes chainsword. 100

Sanguinary Ancient. Angelus bolt gun. Power fist. Wrath of Baal. Soul warden. Selfless valour. 125 1CP (warlord)
Primaris Apothecary. Rites of war. Visage of death. 80 2CP
10 x sanguinary guard. Angelus boltguns. 1 x encarmine blade 9 x power fist. 345
5 x bladeguard veterans 175
5 x bladeguard veterans 175

2 x ATV. Multimelta. Twin linked bolt rifle. 170

3 x eliminators. Bolt sniper rifles. 90
Whirlwind 125


His list
foul blight spawn? the one with the fight last aura. arch contaminator
winged DP with 4+++ and 4++ aura for daemon
biologus purifier?
two smaller psykers... sloppity bile pipers?
3 units of 3 myphitic blight haulers
9 plague Marines. 2 with flails
5 units of 3 nurglings
2 units of 5 furies
Mission: surround and destroy
Score: 87 – 75 to BA
Oaths of moment – 14
Raise the banners – 13
Relentless assault – 15
Primaries – 45

What worked

Rites of war & mask of death – this combo on the apothecary flipped a midfield objective. Worth 10VP and that’s including poor positioning of the apothecary by me in turns 1 and 2
Bladeguard – their damage against higher T was low but they soaked up so much damage. Even without using transhuman
6” Heroic intervention – this could be the dark horse of 9th Ed. With the sanguard only able to reach the near edge of the midfield objective, the opponent thought it safe to occupy the other edge with obsec. 6” makes all the difference and gave me the first “hold more” primary
Suppression fire – the whirlwind was worth its points just for that one turn where I could multi – charge the plague marine blob without worrying about overwatch or counter attack. Big winner.
Sang ancient – wrath of Baal made the difference for securing the centre whilst getting cover and being out of range and LoS to all but a few of the plague Marines. The 5+++ rolling was below average but.. made a difference? And... fists hitting on 2s. Yes.
ATVs – here, there, everywhere. Wrecked a unit of myphitic blight haulers and their melee in turn 3 helped towards “hold more” in turn 4. Even without the revival strat they are a great unit to have around
The Sanguinor – miraculous intervention kept the ATVs safe from the blight haulers charge, then “fall forward” and charge the opponents DZ helped get 4VP for relentless assault and kept some heat off midfield

What whiffed

Angel’s sacrifice – perhaps not a whiff but definitely less effective against bigger squads than it is against smaller squads
Tactical squads – their shooting was horrendous. Very weak. They claimed VP for banners but they need help to deal with threats in the home DZ. If I could take cheaper troops, I would.
Smash captain – maybe just wasn’t his day. Missed having the rerolls for his melee attacks



Overall thoughts

Blade of Sanguinius was too risky to take, with the opponent having five characters one of which was cheap and not too influential. Relentless assault worked well with the Dawn of War style deployment.
BA are still brutal going into the charge on turn 3 onwards, but noticeably weaker in protracted melee. Perhaps against non – DG armies this won’t be a thing

Edited March 4, 2021 by Jolemai
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[BrotherAetherick]

Nice summary. Just a fyi. Rules as written, whirlwind suppression fire doesn't stop the counter offensive stratagem. I originally thought so too but it is worded differently than other abilities like Judiciar. The key difference is the other abilities (Judiciar, armour of Russ, SW murderous hurricane power) remove eligibility to be selected while suppression fire does not. This wording difference is important because "cannot be selected" is not enough. If it was, then the counter offensive stratagem would not even work because non chargers (your opponents models) "cannot be selected" until all chargers are done fighting.

 

I wish it weren't so but unless GW clarifies otherwise, they can still counter offensive. It is still useful for protecting against charges (as you would fight first) but doesn't protect multiple activations without being counter offensived on your turn (you would need a Judiciar).

Edited December 12, 2020 by BrotherAetherick

[Shaezus]

It's the other way around though. There was a good discussion here and elsewhere too; the "cannot fight" of the judiciar is overridden when a unit is selected for the counter attack stratagem. The "cannot be selected" of suppression fire prevents the unit from being selected for the stratagem. But yes it would be nice to have GW clarify it Edited December 12, 2020 by Shaezus

[BrotherAetherick]

The Judiciar ability from the indomitus box was the weaker version (which is the same as the Whirlwinds strat wording) - and can be overridden by the counter offensive strat.

 

The Judiciar ability was updated in codex space marines: "Select one enemy unit within 3", that unit is not eligible to fight this phase until after all eligible units from your army have done so"

 

The Whirlwind strat relevant text is: "and cannot be selected to fight until all eligible units from your army have done so." - the same wording as the old Judiciar rule.

 

Effectively the same except the key difference is Judiciar removes the opposing unit's eligibility. Which is important because the counter offensive strat from the main rule book pg. 225 is: "Use this stratagem after an enemy unit has fought in this turn. Select one of your own eligible units and fight with it next."

 

Pg. 229 of the rule book goes over how the fight sequencing works. "Units that made a charge move this turn fight first in the fight phase. This means that units that did not make a charge move this turn cannot be selected to fight until after all units that did mark a charge move have fought."

 

This is the same wording as the whirlwind, and since the counter offensive strat overrides this and lets you select a unit to fight (it would be pointless otherwise), the way the whirlwind strat is worded is nullified in the same way.

 

You can't use it on the new Judiciar rule (and similarly worded rules) because your units are not eligible to fight at all (can't be selected by counter offensive - the strat requires an eligible unit) until after everyone else has fought. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by BrotherAetherick

[Shaezus]

That's a really good find.

 

Suppression fire still effects an enemy unit in its own turn, so that unit, if it charged, can't attack until after the defending unit has fought. Or by using the counter attack strat after a different defending unit has fought.

 

I want to find a place for the judiciary but I'll stick with the whirlwind for now. Besides the overwatch denial - and of course the shooting - it offers more flexibility for the fight last effect.

 

The 3" range of temperomortis is easily avoided, but with the selfless valour warlord trait it can be made impossible to avoid for a charging unit. Definitely a good thing to have

[BrotherAetherick]

Yep. It definitely is super useful for the exact reasons you pointed out. You can essentially protect one of your melee threats from countercharges (unless the opponent is packing their own fight last).

 

I find it hard to find room for the Judiciar as well. I don't really want to give him selfess valour to make him worth it as I feel things like rites of war/Psychic mastery or more influential to a game.

[SnorriSnorrison]

Nice win, Shaezus! Interesting list as well. How do you rate Incursors? Would they have worked better than the tactical marines? Also keen to hear how the eliminators fit your list. :)

[Shaezus]

Thanks Snorri! Incursors are good, that extra AP gives them a killy edge in melee in the first two turns. ferocious if they're still around on turn 3. That was my issue with them though; with the smaller board size perhaps, I found they would die quickly when deployed forwards. Popping CP for smokescreen and transhuman could help but with this list I don't want to spend that CP on a five man incursor squad. So I saved the points and invested in tacticals with more dakka

 

The eliminators... it's funny how those three models can have so much influence on an opponent. If they're not dealt with, they pose a real threat to any characters. BS2 and flat 2 damage, they seem just as strong as they were before. Great value for points. Will probably drop them so I can try out heavy intercessors when they are released

[SnorriSnorrison]

Thanks Snorri! Incursors are good, that extra AP gives them a killy edge in melee in the first two turns. ferocious if they're still around on turn 3. That was my issue with them though; with the smaller board size perhaps, I found they would die quickly when deployed forwards. Popping CP for smokescreen and transhuman could help but with this list I don't want to spend that CP on a five man incursor squad. So I saved the points and invested in tacticals with more dakka

 

The eliminators... it's funny how those three models can have so much influence on an opponent. If they're not dealt with, they pose a real threat to any characters. BS2 and flat 2 damage, they seem just as strong as they were before. Great value for points. Will probably drop them so I can try out heavy intercessors when they are released

Yeah I was thinking similarly, however the scout deploy means you can more favorably choose secondaries that don't only revolve around killing. So I guess the best play with them would be to hunker down on objectives out of LOS if possible and score while your opponent needs to focus on the main threats perhaps. :)

 

I can relate to that though! With most armies fielding 3-4 characters max, every single one of them counts. The threat of picking characters off with relative ease is a big one, especially when playing against them as Blood Angels. Just take the Sang Ancient out of the equation and entire armies fold together, not mentioning Librarians or the chapter master captains...

[BrotherAetherick]

I'm a fan of 1 squad of eliminators with the sergeant equipped with a carbine loaded with quake bolts. It lets you "jump shoot jump" behind obscuring terrain, or move 12 towards an objective and still charge. 

 

The quake bolt sergeant is basically a prescience for your melee units that goes off on a 2+ and has a 30 inch range (24" range and 6" move). You can even advance and still shoot the carbine at -1 if you're really desperate.

 

The other sniper rifles can still shoot characters, and even thought the carbine has a weaker profile it still has 2 dmg. 

 

Another trick is that on turn 2+ onwards, you can use Guerilla tactics to put them on strategic reserve, and arrive on board edges (except your opponent's) to get firing angles that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. This is because the strat puts them into strategic reserves but does not state that they have to enter from reserves the following turn (like upon wings of fire or teleport homer). Unfortunately you can't move afterwards because arriving as reinforcements stops you from moving for any reason for the rest of the turn.

 

The final trick if you use impulsors, is that you can move an impulsor 14, disembark to get extra range, shoot and reembark the impulsor (to protect them from chargers or enemy fire) in the shooting phase as you are making a normal move. You can't normally embark and disembark in the same phase, but since you are doing this in the shooting phase, this is legal in 9th (unless it gets FAQ'd away like fire and fade did for Eldar in 8th).

[Shaezus]

Another game today against the same opponent but with some changes. This is one of a few warm up games ahead of the Shanghai Invitational Tournament in January.

 

My list:

 

BA Battalion 2000 points

Starting CP 6

 

Smash captain. death company. jump pack. thunder hammer. inferno pistol

Chief Librarian - wings, unleash rage, null zone. jump pack. psychic mastery. tome of malcador

 

10 x intercessors. stalker bolt rifles

5 x tacticals. HB

5 x tacticals HB 

 

primaris apothecary. rites of war. death mask

sanguinary ancient. fist. wrath of baal. soul warden. selfless valour. (warlord)

10 x sanguinary guard. 9 fists 1 sword

5 x bladeguard veterans

5 x terminators. assault cannon

 

2 x ATV multimelta

 

3 x eliminators. sniper rifles

3 x eliminators. sniper rifles

 

His list:

 

Nurgle patrol det.

Mamon transfigured

5 x nurglings

3 x nurglings

3 x nurglings

5 x furies

 

DG outrider det

winged DP

3 x MBH

3 x MBH

3 x MBH

1 x PBC

1 x PBC

 

Word Bearers patrol det.

sorcerer - daemonic whispers, death hex

12 x cultists

 

Mission: vital intelligence

Final score 57 - 52 to DG

 

BA primaries VP: 25

BA secondaries:

Data intercept 4

Oaths of Moment 11

Bring it down 13

 

DG primaries: 20

Assassinate 12

Engage on all fronts 10

while we stand we fight 15

 

Two things to note: 1. i played like an absolute banana. made key mistakes right from the start

2. The dice were utterly bi -polar. Seriously hideous. As always happens, the dice compound my errors and i find i am battling my own mistakes and the dice rather than battling the opponent.

 

I missed the whirlwind and suppression fire. This was my first time playing this mission and on paper the mission secondary, data intercept, looks good but in reality it is tricky to pull off. This is a "hold 2, hold 3" primaries mission so I should have considered that.

 

That aside...

 

What worked:

Wrath of Baal -again made the difference. the sanguard could deploy out of los but just able to reach the midfield objective

Rites of war & death mask combo -again flipped on objective, for 10VP swing. Had a significant influence on the opponent's movements, drawing units away from my weaker DZ forces

 

what whiffed:

null zone librarian. perhaps more suited to a list with more ranged firepower. I feel the sanguinor synergises better

 

CP count: all those relic and warlord trait options has a down side!

 

Again this is just meant to be an overview rather than a detailed tactical account. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please chip in!

Edited December 28, 2020 by Shaezus

[Shaezus]

Absolutely awesome game vs a solid and experienced custodes player today. It seems BA are a tough matchup for custodes, I've 3 wins from 3 games against them in 9th so far, but the final score of 100 - 52 doesn't reflect how tight the game was. BA whiffed the first turn and took heavy losses, but then they showed what they can do and the score does at least reflect this. A few changes from the last game.

 

BA Battalion 2000 points

starting CP 8

 

Captain. death company. master crafted thunder hammer. inferno pistol. jump pack. imperiums sword

Sanguinary priest. rites of war. death mask

the sanguinor

 

10 x intercessors. stalker bolt rifles

5 x infiltrators. helix

5 x incursors. haywire mine

 

sanguinary ancient. fist. wrath of baal. selfless valour. warlord

9 x sanguinary guard. 5 fists. 4 swords

5 x bladeguard veterans

5 x terminators. 1 assault cannon

5 x scouts. bolt pistols. combat knives. sgt dual astartes chainsword.

 

2 x ATV multimelta

 

whirlwind

 

Custodes vaguard 1998 points

starting CP 6

 

Trajann Valoris

Shield captain on dawneagle

 

 

5 x allarus terminators

5 x aquilon terminators

5 x prosecutors

5 x prosecutors

vexilus praetor

 

venatari custodians

 

telemon dreadnought

 

rhino

 

 

mission: sweep and clear

final score: 100 - 52 to BA

 

BA primaries: 45

oaths of moment 15

relentless assault 15

direct assault 15

 

custodes primaries 25

while we stand we fight 10

assassinate 3

engage on all fronts 10

 

what worked

 

sanguinary ancient & sanguinary priest - hard to single them out individually, because it was their combined buffs that had the sanguard fists on turn 1 hitting on 2s with 5 attacks each at AP4 then same for the bladeguard on turn 2. Utterly brutal. Thanks to the ancient the sanguinor was able to hit the opponent's objective on T2, kill the Vexilus Praetor the next turn and claim that objective

 

infiltrators - the helix kept them on a midfield objective for an extra two rounds of combat, effectively removing 3 x their points of enemy from the game for 3 turns

 

relentless assault - in this mission it was easy points. impossible for the opponent to screen out, at least not without sacrificing their hopes of gaining midfield objectives,

 

what whiffed

 

smash captain - again those rerolls. death vision rerolls only work if there's an enemy character nearby and with the loss of the old red rampage strat, he's not so smashy as he was. More suitable to support than missile beatstick role

 

Overall it's hard to fault any one unit from this game. Really enjoying how they feel as an army, and if they can make such bloody work of the custodians then they can surely be a match for anything in melee, given the right support and buffs.

[Shaezus]

Happy to report another strong win for BA! 98 - 54 against necrons this time. Well happy because the opponent was last year's winner of the ECO, a very strong and savvy player who only plays with necrons. BA list was the same as yesterday's.

 

necron list

 

overlord. resurrection orb. enduring will

chronomancer. veil of darkness. 2 cryptothralls

 

20 warriors. gauss reapers

6 skorpekh destroyers

10 Lychguard

triarch stalker

5 praetorians

5 praetorians

5 scarabs

4 scarabs

4 scarabs

6 wraiths

 

mission: overrun

final score: 98 - 54 to BA

 

BA primaries 45

oaths of moment 15

relentless assault 15

raise the banners high 13

 

necron primaries 30

assassinate 6

engage on all fronts 8

deploy scramblers 0

 

what worked

 

Sanguinor – miraculous saviour describes it perfectly. His small base is great for taking advantage of gaps and catching as many models as possible with Angel’s sacrifice. Took the heat off the surviving infiltrators when a unit of praetorians charged them on a flank home DZ objective. killed all 4 of the praetorians thus securing the objective, then ran off killing stuff for the rest of the game. Absolutely love this guy.

 

Bladeguard – did exactly what they’re meant to do. Stormed up the field, shook off a hail of heavy fire and gauss, destroyed a full unit of praetorians then went on to claim and hold a flank objective in the necron DZ. Heroic and efficient.

 

Helix adept – worth every point and worth at least 5 – 10 VP for keeping objectives secured

 

Suppression fire – really made the a difference against a fearsome melee centred army. Held a squad of praetorians back, convincing the opponent to leave them out of combat for a turn, then focused on the 10 – man Lychguard. This kept the sanguinary guard alive and ensured they were a constant thorn in the necron DZ from turn 2 until the game’s end. Between SF and miraculous saviour / 6” heroic intervention, BA can utterly dominate the fight phase.

 

Scouts – that 70 points. Came in from reserve and kicked a bunch of scarabs off their DZ objective. 10VP swing for 70 points? Fair trade!

 

What whiffed

 

No real whiffers as such but choosing a third secondary after oaths and relentless assault wasn’t easy. The 2 dropped points come from me forgetting to raise banners with the intercessors instead of shooting on turn 1, and in this turn not having any infantry spare to raise on the centre objective. I whiffed because I should have kept the ancient back to do that. As it was i flew him back on turn 2 to make sure those points racked up. His presence in the assault would have made a difference. More a weakness of the list, with nothing specifically there to perform actions.

 

 

Necron warriors - his reanimation rolls were obscene. By game's end I killed about 30 warriors but he still had 20 remaining. Dangerous because of the free movement this effectively gives them

[keeblerartillery]

Happy to report another strong win for BA! 98 - 54 against necrons this time. Well happy because the opponent was last year's winner of the ECO, a very strong and savvy player who only plays with necrons. BA list was the same as yesterday's.

 

necron list

 

overlord. resurrection orb. enduring will

chronomancer. veil of darkness. 2 cryptothralls

 

20 warriors. gauss reapers

6 skorpekh destroyers

10 Lychguard

triarch stalker

5 praetorians

5 praetorians

5 scarabs

4 scarabs

4 scarabs

6 wraiths

 

mission: overrun

final score: 98 - 54 to BA

 

BA primaries 45

oaths of moment 15

relentless assault 15

raise the banners high 13

 

necron primaries 30

assassinate 6

engage on all fronts 8

deploy scramblers 0

 

what worked

 

Sanguinor – miraculous saviour describes it perfectly. His small base is great for taking advantage of gaps and catching as many models as possible with Angel’s sacrifice. Took the heat off the surviving infiltrators when a unit of praetorians charged them on a flank home DZ objective. killed all 4 of the praetorians thus securing the objective, then ran off killing stuff for the rest of the game. Absolutely love this guy.

 

Bladeguard – did exactly what they’re meant to do. Stormed up the field, shook off a hail of heavy fire and gauss, destroyed a full unit of praetorians then went on to claim and hold a flank objective in the necron DZ. Heroic and efficient.

 

Helix adept – worth every point and worth at least 5 – 10 VP for keeping objectives secured

 

Suppression fire – really made the a difference against a fearsome melee centred army. Held a squad of praetorians back, convincing the opponent to leave them out of combat for a turn, then focused on the 10 – man Lychguard. This kept the sanguinary guard alive and ensured they were a constant thorn in the necron DZ from turn 2 until the game’s end. Between SF and miraculous saviour / 6” heroic intervention, BA can utterly dominate the fight phase.

 

Scouts – that 70 points. Came in from reserve and kicked a bunch of scarabs off their DZ objective. 10VP swing for 70 points? Fair trade!

 

What whiffed

 

No real whiffers as such but choosing a third secondary after oaths and relentless assault wasn’t easy. The 2 dropped points come from me forgetting to raise banners with the intercessors instead of shooting on turn 1, and in this turn not having any infantry spare to raise on the centre objective. I whiffed because I should have kept the ancient back to do that. As it was i flew him back on turn 2 to make sure those points racked up. His presence in the assault would have made a difference. More a weakness of the list, with nothing specifically there to perform actions.

 

 

Necron warriors - his reanimation rolls were obscene. By game's end I killed about 30 warriors but he still had 20 remaining. Dangerous because of the free movement this effectively gives them

 

What are your impressions of the ATVs? I'm torn on whether or not to take the dive.

[Shaezus]

@keebleartillery funnily enough I'm just starting to think my list could use those points more effectively. They're a very flexible unit, great for chipping wounds off vehicles and whittling a few models down here or there, and can add pressure where needed in the mid - late game. I'm aiming to swap them out to upgrade the intercessors to heavy intercessors and add another unit of scouts. I guess it depends on your list but they're definitely useful Edited January 1, 2021 by Shaezus

[keeblerartillery]

I would strongly recommend plasma inceptors. I have used 3-5 for most of 9th and they have shown every time. Now with descent of angels providing a built in way for them to overcharge safely without tying them to dropping by a buff character/dread they are even stronger.

[Drunken Angel]

I would strongly recommend plasma inceptors. I have used 3-5 for most of 9th and they have shown every time. Now with descent of angels providing a built in way for them to overcharge safely without tying them to dropping by a buff character/dread they are even stronger.

More goodness.  Plasceptors can be redeployed with Upon Wings of Fire and if the Sanguinary Ancients Banner of Baal is nearby plus 2 to movement.

Edited January 1, 2021 by Drunken Angel

[BrotherAetherick]

I would strongly recommend plasma inceptors. I have used 3-5 for most of 9th and they have shown every time. Now with descent of angels providing a built in way for them to overcharge safely without tying them to dropping by a buff character/dread they are even stronger.

 

There is no safe overcharging anymore as plasma is unmodified 1's. You will need a captains rerolls if you don't want to explode.

[Shaezus]

I ran plas ceptors a few games back and whiffed the rolls so bad, even with the captain nearby they all killed themselves in the first volley. I think they killed a necron menhir but whatever it was it was a really bad trade. rIsk - reward puts me off them

[Majkhel]

I ran plas ceptors a few games back and whiffed the rolls so bad, even with the captain nearby they all killed themselves in the first volley. I think they killed a necron menhir but whatever it was it was a really bad trade. rIsk - reward puts me off them

In case of those, you should really roll to hit for each individual guy to avoid the situation when one guy's fails kill-off the entire squad.

[Shaezus]

In case of those, you should really roll to hit for each individual guy to avoid the situation when one guy's fails kill-off the entire squad.

That's what I did

[Leonaides]

Risk-reward for overcharging is always there. I try and look at normal fire as the default unless I am in a 'kill it now situation or if I feel that the unit im firing with is expendable based on what the rest of the battlefield situation is. Some days, the dice hate you though and thats just how it goes. Speaking from the guy who once lost 4 terminators to guard veterans with shotguns in an era of 2d6 saves - it happens.

[Shaezus]

Just some thoughts ahead of the Shanghai Invitational this weekend.

 

My list is the list used in the previous two games, with the addition of quake bolts on the blade guard sergeant.

 

I already regret not giving the sang priest a jump pack. I don't intend him to run with the sanguard, rather as back - midfield security with bladeguard and or terminators. But that extra movement would make a difference particularly in late game for denying the 10VP or hold more primary.

 

Forlorn Fury as a defensive move: have the captain positioned so if I go second i can still use FF to put the captain behind a phobos or the scouts on a midfield objective. Use HI and then Angel's sacrifice to deny that objective to the opponent. Otherwise to put the captain in an Los - safe position to allow him a turn 1 charge and get turn 1 relentless assault

 

Primaries: focus on the 10VP primary. Make certain to hold the minimum necessary. Four turns of this means the "hold more" is only needed once. Just a matter of setting this up and timing it right

[Shaezus]

Very happy to report that BA are currently in 1st place at the Shanghai Invitational! After 3 games its 3 wins with 286 battle points.

 

I'll write more detailed reports than previously about these games, to give an idea of how things went down, and because I am just so, honestly excited to be playing with this army. I've never been happier with BA. It's fun, it's tricksy and it's shockingly brutal. Absolutely loving it, no matter what happens tomorrow. A brief summary for now.

 

Game 1 vs BA.

 

The first round had a bunch of mirror matches, with custodes vs custodes, sisters vs sisters and BA vs BA. Steve's list was a powerhouse combo of DC and San guard with phobos, null zone libby and redemptor dread. I gave him first turn and almost regretted it at first but by turn 4 only the redemptor was alive from his army

 

Game 2 vs Necrons

 

Against Damien again, the same player and same list as last week. He took first turn and I stormed right into the fray but smash captain had a whiffer; combined with strong re animations, Damien wrecked the sanguard in the centre and he totally steamrollered me down one flank. I thought this game was a goner, but the bladeguard were stubborn and refused to let him pass. Their stand was the pivot for a table - wide surge by the BA. Again by the end of the game,the opponent had only one model remaining. A praetorian on one wound.

 

Game 3 vs Chaos Daemons

 

This was a mixed list with solid nurgle beasts and nurgling swarms, flamers, bloodletter bomb, Mamon and a lord of change. BA took first turn. They combined the priest and ancient buffs with supression fire and turned the centre of the board into a bloody bottleneck. With the whole board soon covered with raging close combats, and despite turn 2 being an utterly bipolar dice experience, the opponent had only a skull cannon and a few bloodletters remaining

 

Tomorrow's first game is against another Necron list and the only other player with 3 wins.

 

The ability of BA to bring strong plays in the mid to late game has surprised everyone. Lots to write about so here's hoping tomorrow goes just as well!

[Rhavien]

Wish you the best. Hot dice and cool mind! For Sanguinius and the emperor!