Crusade log - Intervention force Skytha Alpha

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Today, I had my first game in our crusade group. 

 

We are 18 players with the following factions:

 

Imperium:

• Space Marines (Bellatores Aerea - Ultramarines Successor)
• Space Marines (Pit Hounds - Ultramariens Successor)
• Space Wolves
• Imperial Guard
• Night Lords (Apparently the player has an explanation for that, but I haven't heard it yet)
• 2 x Adepta Sororitas
• Dark Angels (myself)
• And one still undecided since he didn't have time to jump in at the beginning - I will be a jumper next week

Rebels:

• Adeptus Mechanicus (Torchbearer, with Custodes mixed in)
• Adepta Sororitas
• Blood Angels (actually War Hounds, pre-Heresy World Eaters lost in the warp)
• Death Guard
• Genestealer Cults (Bladed Cog)
• 2 x Necrons
• 2 x Tau

My crusade list:

• 1 RP - Relic: The Armour Indomitus
• 1 RP - Relic: Mace of Redemption
• 1 RP - Warlord Trait: Inexorable
• 1 RP - Specialist Reinforcements: Paragon of the Chapter - Brilliant Strategist
• 1 RP - Warlord Trait: Imperium's Sword

HQ:

• Captain Duma, Primaris Captain with master-crafted auto bolt rifle, master-crafted power sword, Rites of Initiation, The Armour Indomitus, Paragon of the Chapter: Inexorable, Brilliant Strategist (115 pts, built for toughness)
• Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armour Artemius Grohm, with storm bolter, Mace of Redemption, Imperium's Sword, Canticle of Hate (100 pts, melee support and oomph)

Elite:

• Redemptor Dreadnought Nestor with 2 storm bolters, Onslaught gatling cannon, Icarus rocket pod, macro plasma incinerator (185 pts , fire support and lieutenant role via CP)
• 5 Deathwing Knights, squad Anafiel (235 pts, deep striking with chaplain to end overbearing threats quickly)

Standard:

• 10 Intercessors with bolt rifles (200 pts, I decided to play a single squad because they will earn exp as if one even if combat squadded, and are more difficult to completely wipe out, i.e. more resistant to battle scars)

Heavy Support:

• 5 Hellblasters with assault plasma incinerators, squad Larathiel (165 pts, for MEQ hunting, and overcharged WftDA backup vehicle popping)

 

A second warlord trait is possible due to Specialist Reinforcements being interpreted as allowing the Paragon of the Chapter and similar stratagems, the organizers ruled that codices have precedence over the base rules.

 

 

Last week I had a practice game against a Space Marine player from my own faction, since we were both severely out of practice, him having played last in 5th edition and myself only having played one or two games in 8th, last time was 2 years ago or so. It was a blast, and we learned a lot, and I ended up tabling him in turn 3.

 

This week's pairings were as follows:

• Space Wolves vs Tau 1 - Space Wolves win
• Space Marines vs Rebel Adepta Sororitas - Adepts Sororitas win
• Space Marines vs Tau 2 - Tau win
• Dark Angels vs Blood Angels - This was my game. Read the results below

List for game 1: 

• Captain Duma
• 10 men Intercessor squad
• Redemptor Dreadnought  Nestor

500 pts

 

Opponent - Warhounds: 

• 1 Smash Captain with Teeth of Terra, Speed of the Primarch and Imperium's Sword
• 4 Sanguinary Guard
• 5 Assault Intercessors with PF sergeant
• Contemptor Dreadnought with Multimelta

493 pts

 

As you can see, I played against the Warhounds, represented by Blood Angels rules, which I find pretty fluffy, and he was a pleasant opponent. Like myself, he hasn't played a lot of 9th edition yet and was only marginally experienced in 8th. Again, we learned a lot together.

 

We played the Tech Relic mission from Plague Purge, with additional hidden mission markers - You can investigate a terrain piece as an action until you find a piece of tech or similar.

After setting up the four mission markers, my opponent first set up his Contemptor in a corner and I decided to completely deny him that flank and set up my Redemptor in the opposite corner. He proceeded to set up the rest of his army in the middle of his zone and I huddled up in my corner to make full use of my captain's aura.

My intercessor squad was set up in two combat squads, one in cover and in range of one of the mission markers.

 

I won the roll-off and took first turn.

My agendas were Angels of Death (+3 exp for all units on the field if the enemy is tabled) and Know no Fear (+2 exp for each tally mark on successful morale tests)

 

Turn 1 DA: In the command phase I activated Wisdom of the Ancients on the Redemptor to give captain & lieutenant rerolls to the whole huddled army. I moved one combat squad and the Redemptor up out of cover to give him a juicy target. The other combat squad searched the mission marker and uncovered the tech relic on a five, giving me the idiot ball.

My intercessors took pot shots at his assault intercessors, causing a single wound. The Redemptor had line of sight to the sanguinary guard and completely deleted it thanks to devastator doctrine and good rolls on my part. 

 

Turn 1 BA: He moved up his captain into a LOS blocking ruin in the center board, and his assault intercessors towards my bait squad. His Contemptor trundled up from his awkward position and searched one of the terrain pieces on the way. His shooting consisted of five heavy bolt pistols, causing one wound on my intercessors. He then charged my captain with his, and reached my bait squad after losing one model to Overwatch fire. He decided to start combat off with his captain and I activated the Armour Indomitus so he bounced off after causing a single wound. 

I spent two CP to interrupt him at this point, and killed two of his assault intercessors, leaving him with only one to attack me, who managed to cause a single wound (after I saved a PF attack on a six) and losing me the wounded model. My captain's counterattack unfortunately failed to wound completely.

His assault intercessors failed the morale test and he was left with only the sergeant.

My morale test was automatically passed, giving me a tally mark for later.

 

Turn 2 DA: Weee! Tactical doctrine. All my models were in engagement range, except the Redemptor. In the command phase I activated Wisdom of the Ancients again and put the Redemptor back into devastator doctrine with Brilliant Strategist. The Redemptor moved into position to attack his captain. Shooting in close combat with Fire Discipline wounded the assault intercessor sergeant once and failed to wound his captain, whom I subsequently charged with the Redemptor and crumped out of existence with five wounds and only two saves on his part. His sergeant managed to wound with the power fist, but I saved again on a six and killed him with the rest of the attacks, leaving only the Contemptor on the table. 

 

Turn 2 BA: He moved up his Contemptor, shot and killed one of my intercessors and successfully charged them from 11" range. They were killed unceremoniously but this left him wide open for my coming counterattack.

 

Turn 3 DA: Still in tactical doctrine, and I again put the Redemptor into Devastator doctrine + Wisdom of the Ancients. My surviving combat squad of intercessors moved with the tech relic into firing position, and managed to take off 3 wounds off the Contemptor with their bolt rifles. The Redemptor only managed to cause two more wounds with an overcharged macro plasma incinerator. However, that was quickly rectified after I charged into close combat and ripped him apart, tabling my opponent after 1h20min.

 

I used my remaining turns to search terrain pieces until I also had one of the rewards. 

 

Final tally: 

• 100 VP for me
• The reward I found is an orb that gives an additional one exp per game to the unit I give it to. I decided on Nestor.
• 1 + 3 (Angels of Death) + 3 (Marked for Greatness) = 7 Exp for Duma - level up, he is now Keeper of the Unseen Ritual (1 Battle Tactic stratagem per game costs 0 CP)
• 1 + 3 (Angels of Death) + 2 (Know no Fear) = 6 Exp for the Intercessors - level up, they are now Impassive Sentinels (5+ FNP in range of mission markers)
• 1 + 3 (Angels of Death) + 1 (3 destroyed units) + 1 (artefact) = 6 Exp for Nestor - level up, he gains Enhanced Engines (+2 Move, +1 charge and advance rolls)
• Furthermore, as victor bonus, I get to choose a single weapon enhancement, with which I decided to upgrade my captain's master-crafted power sword to give +1 Strength (making it a Heavenfall Blade light)

Next time, I'll probably remember to take pictures, but this time I was too excited for my first game of 9th

I don't know yet what I will do with my next RP, since we will remain on 1000 points max games, but I will give it some thoughts. I might just raise my supply limit to have a bit more flexibility in the lists.

 

Next week's pairings are as follows:

• Imperial Guard vs Death Guard - Death Guard win
• Night Lords vs Necrons - Postponed
• Adepta Sororitas 1 vs Adeptus Mechanicus - AdMech win
• Adepta Sororitas 2 vs Necrons - Necrons win
• Dark Angels vs Genestealer Cults - Dark Angels win

I will be playing as a jumper, i.e. out of competition, earning no experience and not utilizing the exp and battle honors I already gained this week.

 

There are some special rules in play that I will explain if they become relevant.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[nusphigor]

pictures!!!!

Following

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

 

This is my crusade force, all 1000 points.

Today I played out of competition against Genestealer Cults (Bladed Cog), but didn't take pictures because everything was super hectic, hot and honestly, I would like to have painted armies as opponents to take pictures of. Which, unfortunately, was not the case, save 2 models.

 

My opponents list consisted of:

• Acolyte Iconward with Single-minded Obsession, Icon of the Cult Ascendant
• 2 x 10 Neophyte Hybrids with mining laser & 2 grenade launchers each
• Achilles Ridgerunner with spotter and heavy mining laser
• Cult Leman Russ with Battle Cannon, 3 x Heavy Bolter

I decided to start in my same corner as in my first game (the terrain was set up identical so everyone had the same starting point for game 1), and the usual blip shenanigans ensued. 

 

Turn 1 GSC: I won the roll-off and decided to go second (to avoid reshuffling fun), which I immediately regretted because the Leman Russ (with 12 battle cannon shots!) and the Ridgerunner melted my Redemptor in turn 1, while the rest of the squads started doing actions and taking pot shots, killing one of the marines.

 

Turn 1: DA: Since the rebels at this point were three wins up, I was able to take a variety of acts of faith, with which I resurrected my intercessor.

My return fire was not very helpful and I mostly spent my turn maneuvering, exposing my captain to bait fire on him. 

 

Turn 2 GSC: Somewhat useful fire because I flat out forgot to activate Transhuman Physiology, but he managed to expose his Iconward, check a mission marker (unsuccessful) and gain an artifact, as well as bringing his tank in position to check another mission marker for the tech relic.

 

Turn 2 DA: My captain moved up to engage the tank (so he failed his action) and I used an act of faith to move one of the combat squads 3" more than I usually could have (this would turn out the last successful one, so I will not mention them anymore). I fired at and killed the Iconward without his buffs ever getting into play. The first success of the game. The captain took 4 wounds off the Leman Russ tank, and I considered that pretty successful as well.

 

Turn 3 GSC: He revealed was his artifact did and teleported the tank into reserves to reappear in the next turn (no danger of being destroyed due to the wording of the artifact). VERY surprising move and letting me break out in sweat, but on the upside, no bombardment this turn. His Ridgerunner managed to kill another marine, one his neophytes failed to wound my captain, but the other neophyte squad uncovered the tech relic.

 

Turn 3 DA: Both intercessor combat squads moved up in position to assault the neophyte squad with the relic, while my captain did the same with the other surviving neophyte squad. Shooting went into the Ridgerunner, pretty unsuccessful for only a single wound, but the captain managed to kill a few neophytes before charging them. Both intercessor squads charged successfully into the neophytes on the other board side. And murdered most of them. Another ran away in the morale phase, leaving only one of them alive.

 

Turn 4 GSC: Starting this turn, we had WS/BS -1 due to weather conditions. His neophytes stayed in combat with the captain, while the other (reinforced by 5 again via stratagem) squad fell back (after escorting the relic), exposing my marines to the returning tank, which, once again rolled a 6 on his battle cannon shots. Bummer, but that's what Transhuman Physiology is for. Losses were light, and he was in trouble now.

 

Turn 4 DA: I destroyed most of the relic escorting neophyte squad (save two) in shooting and charged the rest with both intercessor squads. Captain Duma failed to kill the remaining neophytes on his board side, but at least they were pinned by him. The other neophytes were handily killed, and I parked one of my models in 1" of the tech relic, blocking access to it, as well as moving in engagement range with the tank. 

 

Turn 5 GSC: He reinforced his surviving neophytes by four models, and the close combat between them and my captain went on. Pretty much suited me. His tank failed to kill in shooting due to close combat and the adverse weather, and he could do nothing to stop me except charging his ridgerunner into my marines. Close combat was again a clear win for captain Duma, but still not over, while the vehicles could not decisively change the outcome.

 

Turn 5 Dark Angels: At the end of my command phase it was clear that I'd win, since I used an action to take up the relic, securing me my VP. Duma destroyed the remaining neophytes (finally!) and his vehicles couldn't do anything to stop me.

 

Final tally was 100 VP to me!

[nusphigor]

Suffer not the Xenos to live!

You make the Lion proud my brother!
Keep'em coming! Crusade stuff and stories are always entertaining!

[bigtrouble]

Great looking force!

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Next week's game is going to be Infiltrating the Ring from Plague Purge. I will be defender, and the points level is going to be 550 points. 

Since I didn't expect a 50 point increment, I didn't have units in my crusade roster to fill this up. As a result, I used a Requisition point to raise my supply limit to 1100 points, and added a small squad of company veterans.

 

 

At this point I don't know who my opponent will be, but I hope that a little bit of extra close combat oomph might not go amiss, and the bodyguard ability is also neat to have. 

Unfortunately that also means I have firstborn marines in my list, which I originally didn't want. But I guess this gives me greater flexibility for the future. I'm also considering adding Ezekiel after the next game.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

We found out our pairings for the next two weeks today, and it'll be interesting:

 

• Monday: Night Lords vs. Necrons 1 - Night Lords win
• Wednesday: Imperial Guard vs. Rebel Sororitas - Sororitas win
• Tuesday: Dark Angels vs Death Guard - Dark Angels win
• Friday: Night Lords vs. Necrons 1 - Night Lords win
• Saturday: Space Marines 1 vs. Necrons 2 - Necrons win
• Saturday: Adepta Sororitas 1 vs. Tau 1 - Tau win
• Tuesday: Space Marines 2 vs. AdMech - AdMech win
• Friday: Adepta Sororitas 2 vs Tau 2 - Sororitas win
• Saturday: Space Wolves vs. Blood Angels - Blood Angels win
• Saturday: Space Wolves vs. Genestealer Cults - Space Wolves win

As you can see, I'll be playing against Death Guard on Tuesday. I expect his list to be the following:

• Inexorables Plague Company
• Lord of Contagion with Manreaper / Orb of Desiccation, Leechspore Casket & Foul Effluents - +1 Toughness as Chaos Boon
• 5 Plague Marines
• 10 Cultists (although I'm really confused why he didn't take Poxwalkers instead)
• Helbrute with multimelter / heavy flamer
• Helbrute with twin lascannon

The fact that I'll be defender means several things.

1. I have to set up my units in three separate compartments of my deployment zone
2. I have to set them all up before my opponent deploys anything
3. My opponent gets to choose who has first turn.

All of these things are very inconvenient. I have no way to react to his deployment and I will have to play defensively as a result.

I expect my opponent to take first turn and that his strategy hinges on the helbrutes. As such, I will try to avoid him as long as I can to shoot those down. With a bit of overcharge, Weapons from the Dark Age, Wisdom of the Ancients and luck I should be able to pop one in turn one. 

I'm not exceedingly worried about the rest of the army. 10 cultists should easily die to bolter fire, and the same goes for 5 plague marines in turns 2 and 3 with tactical doctrine, Wrath of the Lion and Rapid Fire, especially since one of these stratagems will be free for me due to my captain's Keeper of the Unseen Ritual honorific.

His Lord of Contagion also shouldn't be a real problem, but he'll be hard to whittle down. The additional toughness doesn't help him against my weapons, with the sole exception of the dreadnought's small gatling cannon. Plus, he's very slow, so keeping him at arms length, if necessary by sacrificing a combat squad, is also an option. Duma is actually pretty comparably tough with his loadout.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[Galloway]

Very cool project- like those last two veterans a lot.

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

 

As I already talked about in a previous post, the mission today was Infiltrating the Ring from Plague Purge.

The Imperial faction was automatically the defender because we lost the first "day" of battle 4:5. 

This meant several things, all inconvenient to me:

• I had to set up all my units equally distributed into three deployment zones
• I had to set them all up before my opponent deployed anything, so he could deploy and find angles at his leisure
• My opponent automatically decided who has first turn, and chose himself, as I expected.

My list was the following:

• Captain Duma, Primaris Captain with master-crafted auto bolt rifle, master-crafted power sword (Brutal upgrade [i.e. +2S]), Rites of Initiation, The Armour Indomitus, Paragon of the Chapter: Inexorable, Brilliant Strategist, Keeper of the Unseen Ritual (Once per battle, one Battle Tactic stratagem is free to use) - 115 points
• Intercessor Squad Lemuel, Impassive Sentinels (5+ FNP if in range of mission markers) - 200 points
• Redemptor Dreadnought Nestor with 2 storm bolters, Onslaught gatling cannon, Icarus rocket pod, macro plasma incinerator, Enhanced Engines (+2 Movement, +1 Charge and Advance rolls) - 185 points
• Company Veterans, Sergeant with Storm Shield & power axe, veteran with power sword & bolt pistol - 50 points

I took the agendas:

• Know no Fear (+2 exp per tally mark, gain one for every passed morale check)
• Priority Targets (+2 exp per killed vehicle or monster)
• Survivor (Duma, +2 exp for surviving, or +4 exp for surviving with more than half wounds)

My opponent played Death Guard, from the 2nd Plague Company, the Inexorables

• Lord of Contagion with Manreaper & orb of desiccation, Leechspore Casket, Rotten Constitution, Chaos boon +1T
• 5 plague marines
• 10 Death Guard cultists
• Helbrute with Multimelta & heavy flamer
• Helbrute with Twin lascannon & heavy flamer

I deployed in a manner to have my intercessors on a mission marker, giving them their FNP, captain and vets in the middle to provide aura support where necessary, and the Redemptor on the edge of his compartment with the cleares firing lanes since I was unable to deploy him in cover.

Since my opponent had noticeably less Crusade Points than I did, he started the game with 8 CP instead of 6. 

 

Turn 1 Death Guard: He started by declaring a Plague Bombardment on my Intercessor's position, forcing me to either move or risk a non-neglectable amount of mortal wounds. He also marked mission target alpha, in my leftmost deployment zone. His lord moved together with his plague marines into cover, doing nothing else. The cultists moved up and investigated the terrain, finding a knowledge item that ultimately meant nothing for the mission at the end of the turn. Both Helbrutes moved up in the center, with the lascannon armed one hanging back a bit. Their strategem supported fire was concentrated on my redemptor and after abysmal saves he went down to 5 remaining wounds, bracketing him.

 

Turn 1 Dark Angels: Having my dread bracketed and him being my only effective anti-vehicle fire, I decided against moving him, although that would have probably be better in hindsight. Both my captain + vets, and the intercessors moved towards the Redemptor so everyone was in Rites of Battle range and the intercessors held the central mission marker (and, more importantly, gained their FNP). I also positioned my captain in a way that I could only see his Lord of Contagion. Moving towards the shooting phase, I rolled only a 2 for macro plasma shots, so I rerolled that via a CP, and supported with Weapons from the Dark Age for maximised damage. The Redemptor's whole storm of fire unfortunately resulted in only 6 wounds total. The intercessors all fired at the multimelta Helbrute as well, causing an additional wound, leaving him at one wound remaining. My captain fired at the lord of contagion, and failed to wound at all. 

Since I didn't charge, my underwhelming turn ended.

 

Turn 2 DG: His cultists moved up towards a building and into my line of sight. He wasn't close enough to take the mission marker there, though. Lord and plague marines moved towards the center and my table edge, giving them line of fire. His helbrutes moved a bit, but not significantly. Once more he popped a supporting stratagem and made sure that my Redemptor died. An explosion luckily didn't happen. To top it off, I rolled a 1, giving him a battle scar, which turned out to be an Engine Fault, cancelling out his Enhanced Engines. D'oh! The rest of Helbrute and plague marine fire was concentrated on my intercessors, and I lost two to very unlucky rolls, but it could have been worse. Morale was passed automatically, and I marked my first tally. 

 

Turn 2 DA: In my command phase I declared Wrath of the Lion (for free, due to Keeper of the Unseen Ritual). I moved my captain into cover and range of the cultists but made a positioning mistake which meant he would be unable to fire at anything useful. The vets accompanied him, and the intercessors stood still to take full advantage of our chapter tactic. My captain fired his bolter at the cultists, since no other targets were presented, killing one. The same happend with a bolt pistol shot from the vets. My intercessors opened fire on the damaged helbrute and the plague marines. The Helbrute popped, and I managed a total of 3 wounds on the plague marines with 18 bolt rifle shots (due to the Rapid Fire stratagem).

I tried charging the cultists with the captain and the vets, but failed by 1" each, even with a reroll on the captain, which turned 7" into 3".

At the end of the turn, I held a mission marker, and I held more than my opponent, so I gained my first ten victory points.

 

Turn 3 DG: His remaining Helbrute moved into position to assault my intercessors, and the plague marines and their lord moved forward as well. The cultists moved up to mission marker Alpha and started contaminating the ruin there for the agenda Poison the Well. The helbrute, as well as the plague marines, fired at the so far unwounded intercessor combat squad, but only managed to kill one model with all their combined fire. 

The Helbrute charged and my captain heroically intervened. As I had planned that made him target my captain instead of the intercessors, giving them room to breathe, which turned out to be critical. He failed to wound my captain at all, and I did a single wound in return with the captain and intercessors each. He stood near the mission marker, but my troops had obsec, so it was still mine, earning him 5 VP for holding Alpha.

 

Turn 3 DA: I opted to stay in tactical doctrine. My intercessors fell back out of combat, still holding the central mission marker and the second combat squad moved towards the eastern mission marker, taking it, and ensuring their FNP again. My veterans moved towards the western mission marker alpha and the blob of cultists there. In the shooting phase, the vets grenaded and pistoled 3 of the remaining 8 cultists, while the intercessors only caused a single wound on the plague marines, even supported by Intractable and both squads firing at them. I was unable to roll 5+ to wound the pesky plague marines. The vets successfully charged the cultists this time (3", hard to fail, and I rolled an 11) and wiped them out, consolidating back towards the center, but still holding the mission marker alpha. His Helbrute failed to wound my captain, and I chipped away a further two wounds.

At the end of the turn, I held alpha, at least one marker, and more than my opponent, giving me 15 VP, for a total of 25.

 

Turn 4 DG: Things got serious now. His plague marines moved towards my intercessor on the eastern mission marker, and his lord positioned himself to enter the fray between the Helbrute and my captain. He tried to throw his orb of desiccation at my intercessors, but was juuuust out of 6" range. The helbrute fired into close combat, but failed to do any wounds to my captain. His plague marines killed one of my four intercessors. He then charged both the plague marines and the lord successfully, causing a wound on my intercessors in the subsequent combat, and wounding my captain twice, even though I activated the Armour Indomitus, for four wounds total, denying me my top tier Survivor experience. My counterattack killed one of his plague marines and wounded another, still ensuring my suipremacy on the mission marker, while my captain attacked the helbrute and removed one more wound. No VP again for him.

 

Turn 4 DA: I was definitely in a pickle here. The combined might of the Helbrute and Lord of Contagion could now mean the demise of Captain Duma, so I opted to fall back out of combat towards mission marker Alpha, and opened the Helbrute up to counterfire from untangled intercessors and ... a vet squad with a bolt pistol and krak grenade. The vets moved into charge range of the lord and Helbrute, and fired at the walker. The grenade caused two wounds, the intercessor fire was unable to remove the last one. Both vets and intercessors charged the Helbrute, with the vets going first and also binding the lord, to avoid a heroic intervention on the intercessors. Combat was disappointing as both squads failed to remove the last wounds, even though assault doctrine was active. In turn, the vets were killed by the lord, the single storm shield failing miserably. My other intercessors wounded a plague marine, but failed to kill him, and took a wound in return, removing a model. On the upside, the helbrute failed to kill anything, and only wounded one of the remaining three intercessors, due to good FNP rolls on my end. The lord was freed up from combat again, and consolidated towards my other intercessor squad.

I still held two mission markers, even though I gave up Alpha, and I earned another 10 VP, for 35 total.

Only typing this up I now realize that I forgot to fire pistols at the plague marines, which could have swung the whole combat in my favor with a bit of luck but would have been unlikely to change the overall outcome.

 

Turn 5 DG: This is where it went bad for me, in terms of losses. The lord moved towards the fight between plague marines and intercessors, the Helbrute shot and killed one of the remaining two intercessors in engagement range. The lord charged my intercessors, killed two of them, and the Leechspore Casket healed the Helbrute back up to three wounds. I failed to wound the plague marines, the Helbrute killed his opponents and the two plague marines killed my last intercessors. That left only Duma on the field, and he earned 10 VP for his exploits, holding two mission markers, i.e. more than me, totalling 15 now.

 

Turn 5 DA: I could either charge and probably die to the Helbrute if I failed to kill him, or do the sensible thing. So I advanced and took mission marker Alpha, netting me 10 VP for a total of 45. 

 

This ended the game and my opponent earned a further 10 VP for holding at least one mission marker, and 10 for having at least one unit in my deployment zone. This brought his total to 45 including 10 for having a fully painted army.

I earned 10 for holding Alpha, and 10 more for holding one marker, giving me 75 Victory points and winning the game despite the bad rolls.

 

Big shoutout to my opponent: He was also pretty new to 9th edition, and was a gracious and relaxed player. A delight to play against. 

 

In the final tally I earned: 

• 1 + 8 (Know no Fear) = 9 exp on the intercessor squad, bringing them to battle-hardened rank and gaining Battle-tested, giving them the ability to perform actions and shoot.
• 1 + 4 (Winner bonus) + 2 (Survivor) + 3 (Marked for Greatness) = 10 exp on Duma, making him Battle-hardened as well, and gaining, due to his wounds, the Crusade relic Artificer Bionics. These provide him with an additional 5+ FNP, making him even tougher!
• 1 + 1 (Artifact) = 2 exp on the Redemptor
• 1 exp for the company veterans
• 1 Requisition point.

I learned that a good plan can still become a win, even despite unlucky rolls and not to underestimate Death Guard stratagems. I was also surprised by how easily the Know no Fear tally rises if you have two combat squads making (and automatically passing) morale checks. I was further surprised and delighted that this tally isn't lost if the unit is destroyed totally. Definitely one of the best agendas you can take as a Space Marine player. 

 

The current score of Imperium vs Rebels is 5:6, and three of these 5 wins are mine. That makes me pretty happy!

For the Requisition point I am unsure if I am going to repair the Redemptor's battle damage, or expanding my supply limit to include Ezekiel. Luckily I have three weeks to make that decision now before the next round begins. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how my teammates fare against the evil rebels.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Turns out my teammates didn't have much luck in the last weeks. The current score is now 10:6 in favor of the rebels. This crusade is not going well for the Imperium.

 

I have decided on adding Ezekiel to my list, represented by the Turmiel miniature from Dark Vengeance (since they basically have the same equipment, including the bionic eye, and I just like the model better).

 

 

The next battle will be at 600 points, and we're playing the mission Grind from Plague Purge, with the Imperial side being the defender. Luckily, this time there are no shenanigans where I have to set up all my units first or the attacker gets to choose who takes turn one, so this should lead to a more level playing field than in the last mission. 

In addition, due to the Imperial side lagging so far behind, we're probably getting access to old school acts of faith to balance out our predicament. At least until we're only two wins behind again. 

 

I'm not quite sure yet what list I will bring. If I'm getting paired with the Necron player who has a Transcendent C'tan, I'm definitely bringing Zeke, though. I might be letting the Hellblasters out for the first time, since this is a heavily objective dependant mission and I might need boots on the ground. 

 

We will see what I decide when the pairings are out later this week.

 

 

[Vulshra]

How fitting that the noble First is holding the line when all other elements of the Imperium fail. Keep up the good fight!

 

as for the list, I'd say board control is your friend for objective games, but you don't have any RW, so I'm not sure what to suggest there

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

The boards are small enough to just footslog it, and my Intercessors can do actions and shoot, so I'm not too worried about board control currently. My RW collection is too small to really confidently add some elements, but I might bring in an apothecary after the next game :)

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

The pairings are out, and I did indeed draw the Necron player with the Transcendent C'tan. This is gonna be my toughest game yet, I think.

 

• Tuesday: Space Marines 1 vs. AdMech / Custodes (Torchbearers) - AdMech win
• Friday: Sororitas 1 vs. Death Guard - Death Guard win
• Saturday: Dark Angels vs. Necrons 1 - Necrons win
• Saturday: Space Wolves vs. Rebel Sororitas - Soritas win
• Monday: Imperial Guard vs. Necrons 2 - Necrons win
• Tuesday: Space Marines 2 vs. Tau 1 - Space Marines win (forfeit)
• Saturday: Sororitas 2 vs. Tau 2 - Sororitas win
• Saturday: Night Lords vs. Genestealer Cult - Night Lords win
• Saturday: Undecided (probably Space Wolves) vs. Blood Angels - Blood Angels win

My opponent will be bringing at 600 points: 

• Mephrit Dynasty
• Overlord with Sempiternal Weave (+1T, +1W), Voidscythe (finely balanced, +1 to hit), Enduring Will (-1 Damage) and Martial Apotheosis (reroll 1s to hit)
• Technomancer with Photonic Transubjector (first failed save each turn Damage = 0), Canoptek Cloak (M 10, Fly, repair Dynasty models by D3), Enduring Will (I will have to tell him that this doesn't work), Energy Savant (shoot twice once per battle)
• 7 Immortals
• Transcendent C'tan with Untamed Power (S7, A6), Antimatter Meteor (3 Mortal wounds on nearest unit in 24" on 3-5, D3+3 MW on 6), Seismic Assault (1 unit in 18" suffers a mortal wound on each 6 rolled for each model), Unstoppable (+2M, +1 advance & charge rolls)

 

Consequently, my list will contain Ezekiel, since it is paramount to deal with the C'tan. 

• Ezekiel with Mind Worm, Trephination, Aversion
• Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armour with Mace of Redemption, Storm Bolter, Imperium's Sword, Canticle of Hate
• 10 man Intercessor Squad (5+ FNP near objective markers, can perform actions and shoot)
• 5 Hellblasters with assault plasma incinerators

In this mission we have horizontally centered opposing terrain pieces (probably ruins) that we can equip with an additional terrain trait, containing an objective marker each, as well as two more objective markers on the vertical middle of the board.

It's a hold one, hold more, hold enemy marker type of mission, with an additional 30 VP available on game end if the enemy objective is held.

 

My plan is to keep the Chaplain in deep strike reserve and let him deal with my opponent's back field, i.e. probably the Immortals

One combat squad of Intercessors will hold my objective, which is probably going to have light cover (+1 armor saves) and I'll give it dense cover as well (-1 to be hit). The other will move up alongside Ezekiel and the Hellblasters to deal with his characters.

First priority is the C'tan, which I feel confident I'll be able to deal with in turn 1, with mortal wounds from Mind Worm and Trephination, and making it fight last, I should be able to pile on 3 wounds in Psychic, Shooting and Fight phase. 

The next highest priority is, of course, the overlord, and the immortals. Taking away his objective with the Chaplain should be possible, but the Overlord is really tough and I expect that he'll be repaired by the Technomancer as well.

If I can deal with the C'tan and the Immortals I'm confident that I'll be able to win by playing the mission.

 

I will probably want 2nd turn, and set up defensively behind the cover of the terrain, since the deployment zones are only 16" away from each other, and I don't really want a C'tan in my face in his turn 1. 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[nusphigor]

i'm looking forward to see how did the game went brother!

Keep it up!

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Unfortunately, this game was my first loss in 9th edition. Despite a very strong turn 1, I was tabled in turn 4.
 
This happened due to a series of circumstances and errors on my part, but also due to very bad dice rolls.

• There were warp portals in each of our ruins in the deployment zones, allowing instant travel into our opponent's deployment zone. Very game deciding, since that meant I had to be super aggressive or face dire charges.
• Rounds 2-4 had weather effects: -1 to hit in both shooting and close combat. Without a captain, I had no sources of rerolls.
• I forgot to utilize Transhuman Physiology as well as the Litanies of Hate from my Chaplain.
• I rolled abysmally on wound and hit rolls from turn 2 onwards.
• I forgot to play the mission for points, and made stupid mistakes allowing my opponent to take victory points.

I came late to the game due to traffic and had my puppy with me, so I was already not able to fully concentrate. Despite puppy cuteness, I would not recommend playing games in this condition. This also made the game take pretty long overall.
 
Before deployment, we both opted for dense cover in our ruins, which turned out to be entirely irrelevant for the whole game (until I forgot about it in turn 4 and realized only now that I write this).
I surrounded the warp portal in my deployment zone with an Intercessor combat squad (to avoid anything other than flyers coming through), and set up the rest of the units in close vicinity to use the portal myself with the Chaplain staying in the teleportarium. My opponent put his C'tan into the ruin, and the rest outside. Due to severe discrepancies in Crusade points, I started out with 3 CP more, which I immediately utilized in turn 1.
We rolled off, and I won, taking the first turn.
 
My agendas were Know no Fear, Assassins, and Dark Rumour.
 
Turn 1 Dark Angels: In the command phase I declared an orbital bombardment on his clump off units. One Intercessor combat squad guarded the portal and home objective, the rest used the portal and got in position to wreck the C'tan's day. Ezekiel successfully trephinated and mind wormed, dealing the max of 3 mortal wounds to the C'tan. Shooting was less successful with no wounds from the intercessors, but the Hellblasters managed to deal their 3 wounds and the shooting phase was a success. I then spent 2 CP to let the Intercessors rapid fire on the Immortals, killing one, which promptly came back. Close combat saw all three units charge the C'tan. The Intercessors dealt 2 wounds, and the Hellblasters finished it off. Very successful, super high rolling, zero casualties.
 
Turn 1 Necrons: The flipside of this coin means that I was pretty exposed for the rest of his army to shoot at my units and charge them, which is exactly what happened. Still, my Intercessors weathered a fully buffed up round of shooting from his immortals with only a single wound. Close combat was not as fun, and I lost three Intercessors and two Hellblasters. 

 

Turn 2 Dark Angels: The bombardment failed to cause any mortal wounds with a 1. My Intercessors fell back through the portal to my home objective and were replaced by a full combat squad, who's shooting  later in the turn failed to do anything spectacular. The chaplain teleported down with the Immortals as a target. Ezekiel successfully cast Mind Worm and Aversion at the lord. I couldn't target his Technomancer with the Intercessors and thus had to shoot at the Immortals as well. The only casualty promptly got back up. The chaplain successfully charged the Immortals, but now my bad rolls started, and even with S9 and 6 attacks nothing much happened. The fight phase saw the lord reduced to two wounds, but unfortunately, from this moment on, I couldn't do anything at all anymore.

 

The rest of the game: Every wound I caused was either healed or resurrected, and the rest of the game was very one-sided, although my Intercessors were super tough and survived until turn 4. This didn't help me from gradually getting whittled down, however, and I lost 20 VP to 60 or so. 

 

Not all was bad, I passed 5 morale tests on the Intercessors and two on the Hellblasters. Unfortunately, the Intercessors also rolled a battle scar, and were Disgraced. Gives me a good hook for the next game, where I hope they'll be able to redeem themselves via Agenda.

The Intercessors are now Heroic rank (and are Headhunters, gaining +1 to hit and wound characters), and the Hellblasters accumulated enough to be Blooded (which made me choose Impassive Sentinels once more. The 5+ FNP near objective markers is simply too good to pass on).

 

The Dark Rumours agenda failed to be achieved. Fitting really, since I imagine it's pretty hard to interrogate a Necron lord regarding the whereabouts of any Fallen.

 

In summary, not my grandest hour, but it was still a fun, if somewhat frustratingly swingy game, and a very nice opponent.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[nusphigor]

that's a bummer
but the good thing is that you created a nice narrative tieing the results of this battle with the next one!

Please keep the bat reps comming! It's nice to read those each morning with a cup of coffee :p

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

The Imperium has fallen behind with 17 vs 10 wins only, after this round. One of these wins is a forfeit, due to a player not being able to make it.

 

The next mission has been decided, and it's going to be a homemade one with the following map: 

 

Red are deployment zones, stars are objective markers, and the tan areas are impassible terrain, since white are floating platforms. The portals in the corners can be used to access the other areas, and the mission is a Hold One, Hold Two, Hold More type, with Secure and Sweep (i.e. you keep holding objectives if you move off them until the opponent controls them).

 

We are going to play at 650 points and I will probably go back to my base block of 500 (Captain, Redemptor, Intercessors) bolstered by the two veterans and the Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator armour. I might utilize the latter's deep strike ability in the late game to snatch away an objective, if the circumstances swing that way. Since I don't know my opponent yet, this plan might change depending on requirements.

 

I will also use my Requisition Point to repair the Redemptor now, and choose the Quest of Atonement agenda to try and redeem the Intercessors, meaning I have to kill an enemy character, warlord, monster or vehicle worth at least 100 points in melee. Tricky to do, but if I can't hack it, I'll just use the next RP to remove their disgrace.

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

The next pairings are decided:

 

Monday: Night Lords vs. Tau 1 - Night Lords win

Friday: Dark Angels vs. Genestealer Cults - GSC win

Saturday: Sororitas 1 vs. Rebel Sororitas - Rebel win

Saturday: Space Wolves vs. Tau 2 - Space Wolves win

Monday: Imperial Guard vs. Necrons 1 - postponed

Wednesday: Space Marines 1 vs. AdMech - Space Marines win

Saturday: Space Marines 2 vs. Blood Angels - Blood Angels win

Saturday: Sororitas 2 vs. Necrons 2 - Sororitas win (forfeit)

Saturday: Someone (probably Sororitas 2) vs. Death Guard - Death Guard win

 

I'm playing the Genestealer player whom I already played against, and I expect the following list:

 

HQ

Acolyte Iconward

• Icon of the Cult Ascendant
• Single-minded Obsession
• Deep Concussion (Battlescar: Can't use stratagems for this unit nor command re-rolls)

Jackal Alphus

• Oppressor's Bane

Troops

Neophyte Hybrids x 2

• 2 Grenade Launchers
• 1 Mining Laser

Fast Attack

Achilles Ridgerunners (2)

• Spotter
• Heavy Mining Laser

Atalan Jackals

• 5 Jackals with knives & shotguns
• Wolfquad with Mining Laser & shotgun

Heavy Support

Heavy Weapons Team

• 3 Autocannons

Dedicated Transport

Goliath Truck

 

According to his Crusade list, he has the Ridgerunners listed separately so if he wants to play them both he'd either be out of FA slots or has to use a spearhead detachment giving him less CP. 

 

Another (and probably more likely) possibility would be: 

 

HQ

Iconward as above

Primus

• Amulet of the Voidwyrm
• Alien Majesty

Troops

Neophyte Squads as above

 

Fast Attack

Achilles Ridgerunners x 2, as above 

 

Heavy Support

Heavy Weapons Team as above

 

Dedicated Support

Goliath Truck x 2

 

I have two possible lists in mind:

• Captain
• Interrogator Chaplain
• 2 Company Veterans
• Redemptor Dreadnought
• 10 men Intercessor Squad 

Or:

• Captain
• Interrogator Chaplain
• 5 Deathwing Knights
• 10 men Intercessor Squad

I will have a tough time dealing with up to four vehicles, and the number of enemy units is also not to be scoffed at. I am leaning towards the first list, due to the Redemptor's firebase and Wisdom of the Ancients abilities, but letting my knights out to play is tempting, especially with the mission requirements.

Having two units to potentially deep strike and snatch objectives from an unsuspecting opponent might be helpful, especially considering my opponent's mobility. On the other hand that might turn out pretty costly if they do nothing on abandoned table quarters, and if I can't deal with the enemy vehicles, I might be looking at a loss through being outmaneuvered anyways.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[nusphigor]

The next pairings are decided:

 

Monday: Night Lords vs. Tau 1

Friday: Dark Angels vs. Genestealer Cults (my game)

Saturday: Sororitas 1 vs. Rebel Sororitas

Saturday: Space Wolves vs. Tau 2

Monday: Imperial Guard vs. Necrons 1

Wednesday: Space Marines 1 vs. AdMech

Saturday: Space Marines 2 vs. Blood Angels

Saturday: Sororitas 2 vs. Necrons 2

Saturday: Someone (probably Sororitas 2) vs. Death Guard

 

I'm playing the Genestealer player whom I already played against, and I expect the following list:

 

HQ

Acolyte Iconward

• Icon of the Cult Ascendant
• Single-minded Obsession
• Deep Concussion (Battlescar: Can't use stratagems for this unit nor command re-rolls)

Jackal Alphus

• Oppressor's Bane

Troops

Neophyte Hybrids x 2

• 2 Grenade Launchers
• 1 Mining Laser

Fast Attack

Achilles Ridgerunners (2)

• Spotter
• Heavy Mining Laser

Atalan Jackals

• 5 Jackals with knives & shotguns
• Wolfquad with Mining Laser & shotgun

Heavy Support

Heavy Weapons Team

• 3 Autocannons

Dedicated Transport

Goliath Truck

 

According to his Crusade list, he has the Ridgerunners listed separately so if he wants to play them both he'd either be out of FA slots or has to use a spearhead detachment giving him less CP. 

 

Another (and probably more likely) possibility would be: 

 

HQ

Iconward as above

Primus

• Amulet of the Voidwyrm
• Alien Majesty

Troops

Neophyte Squads as above

 

Fast Attack

Achilles Ridgerunners x 2, as above 

 

Heavy Support

Heavy Weapons Team as above

 

Dedicated Support

Goliath Truck x 2

 

I have two possible lists in mind:

• Captain
• Interrogator Chaplain
• 2 Company Veterans
• Redemptor Dreadnought
• 10 men Intercessor Squad 

Or:

• Captain
• Interrogator Chaplain
• 5 Deathwing Knights
• 10 men Intercessor Squad

I will have a tough time dealing with up to four vehicles, and the number of enemy units is also not to be scoffed at. I am leaning towards the first list, due to the Redemptor's firebase and Wisdom of the Ancients abilities, but letting my knights out to play is tempting, especially with the mission requirements.

Having two units to potentially deep strike and snatch objectives from an unsuspecting opponent might be helpful, especially considering my opponent's mobility. On the other hand that might turn out pretty costly if they do nothing on abandoned table quarters, and if I can't deal with the enemy vehicles, I might be looking at a loss through being outmaneuvered anyways.

 

If you play with the first list, which weapons will the Company Veterans have?

Maybe you can equip them with meltas or plasmas, pairing them alongside the dreadnought it can help you against the vehicles.

 

Keep them comming! i really like reading your batreps and league advances :)

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Unfortunately the veteran's equipment is locked in, they're armed with a power sword and axe + storm shield respectively. I originally added them in to fill up a 50pts gap.

That said, the vehicles are pretty flimsy, and my captain and chaplain wound them on 3+, so I have backup capability in close combat. I'll also have to remember krak grenades.

[nusphigor]

Unfortunately the veteran's equipment is locked in, they're armed with a power sword and axe + storm shield respectively. I originally added them in to fill up a 50pts gap.

That said, the vehicles are pretty flimsy, and my captain and chaplain wound them on 3+, so I have backup capability in close combat. I'll also have to remember krak grenades.

 

Maybe the veterans have access to the meltabombs strat? I have no idea if they can use those.

If so, maybe have that in mind ;)

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Only Black Knights, Tactical Squads and Assault Squads, unfortunately, but good thought :)

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

Our Night Lords player shared a bit of intel with us (before his win yesterday) and this is how the table looks.

 

As you can see, there is very little cover in the deployment zones (marked with red lines).

This makes me unhappy, because it will be impossible to hide the Redemptor, and he'll be exposed to at least 4 mining lasers and 7 autocannons, even if I put him in the longest diagonal. Playing against GSC, I cannot make a lot of use of having turn 1, and he might even opt to put all of his army underground. If he learned anything from our first game, he'll be playing the mission this time, and I doubt that I can compete with his ability to deep strike and the fast units he has.

As a mitigating factor, all units will have -1 to hit in the first round, and if I stand still, I still get my 3+ with Captain reroll, while he's only hitting on 5+ (although with probable Primus rerolls).

 

It's going to be really tough, and I think this forces me to take my setup with the DWK, although I still have until Friday to ponder this.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

As it turned out, the terrible deployment wasn't as much of an issue as I thought it would be, since we rolled for weather effects and had -1 to hit for most of the game, resulting in a -2 for turn 1. 

 

My opponent brought almost what I expected, but instead of the Primus, an additional acolyte squad. He deployed his neophytes inside the goliaths, the acolytes in deep strike, and set them all up on the far side of his deployment zone (upper right quarter) towards the portal.

I opted for the DWK variant, in the assumption that everything footslogging would never get anywhere. This assumption turned out correct. I set up the DWKs and chaplain in the teleportarium, and put Duma and his two intercessor combat squads as far to the left as I could, in order to reach the portals and make use of the objective marker FNP for the squads.

 

I had access to acts of faith, because our faction is so far behind. I have a feeling that this will not change anymore.

The game was cut short because we had to start late due to work, so we only got to play 3 turns and talked out the rest to distribute experience points.

My agendas were Survive for Captain Duma, Quest of Atonement for the intercessors and Priority Target due to the amount of vehicles.

My opponent took Breakthrough, Reaper, and Assassins.

 

GSC turn 1: He moved both his ridgerunners and goliaths through the portals, to the upper left and lower right board quarters, blocking any access there. His iconward took his home objective. He also used an action to check the reactor piece in his deployment zone for artifacts or knowledge (house rule).

DA turn 1: I moved up my intercessors behind the building, advancing one combat squad and the captain (disappointing 2"), and using an action to check terrain for artifacts and knowledge.

After this, we both drew two knowledge cards: His made every unit have +2 leadership, while mine reduced all advances and charges by 1". This basically broke my neck even further.

 

GSC turn 2: Both neophyte squads got out of their respective goliaths and did exactly what I expected them to do: One blocked the upper right portal to deny me access, while the other took the objective in the upper left quarter. His acolyte squad meanwhile dropped onto the lower right objective. A bit of shooting from his goliath autocannons killed one marine but with all the penalties nothing else happened.

15 VP earned here. 

DA turn 2: At the beginning of the move phase I resurrected the intercessor with one wound left (act of faith) and I moved further towards the portal with the combat squad and Duma, since the intercessors had to kill the Iconward in close combat. My chaplain dropped together with the DWKs to clear out the neophytes blocking the upper right portal. A bit of shooting killed a neophyte and failed to damage a goliath, but that was pretty much expected. At the beginning of the charge phase I played Commanding Oratory to give additional charge range, but the DWKs failed their 8" charge with a 4, including another 4 on a command reroll. The chaplain got in and demolished the neophytes, killing 3. 

5 VP for me.

 

GSC turn 3: The acolytes went back into deep strike, the Iconward hid behind the building and 3 of the neophytes I had just killed came back to life via stratagem. Shooting targeted the DWKs but failed to wound them. Another intercessor near my home portal died (again). In close combat, my Chaplain smashed another three neophytes, which would turn out to be crucial. 

Another 15 VP for my opponent. 

DA turn 3: The three dead neophytes made space for me to move both Duma and the intercessor combat squad through the portal, the latter of which had to advance. My shooting from my home objective ruin managed to damage one of the goliaths, and I wiped out the rest of the neophytes with Duma and the DWKs. 

5 VP for me.

 

At this point we had to cut it short, but it was clear that a win would be impossible for me. We rolled the hand flamers and evil heavy rock cutters aimed at my chaplain and Duma, but no wounds were caused. We agreed that I would absolutely kill the acolytes with the DWKs in return, and gave my intercessors a 50/50 chance to kill the iconward, but they failed to achieve this agenda. The final tally would be 50 to 30 VP for my opponent.

 

Duma survived with full wounds, gaining him his agenda bonus, but nothing else really mattered in terms of experience. 

My opponent also would have an easy time to break through to my deployment zone, so he got the corresponding experience for 3 of his vehicles.

 

I went into the game to just try and atone my intercessors and max out experience, because it was clear I couldn't win without having a radically different army list (which my crusade roster simply did not allow me). Unfortunately, none of my plans worked, mostly due to the DWKs failing their charge in turn 2. I definitely would have been able to kill the iconward otherwise.

At least I only lost a single model in the whole battle, which was funny considering how everything else worked out.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn

[Cpt. Bannockburn]

The next mission will be Choke Point, an Onslaught mission from Plague Purge. It's Hold Two, Hold More, Hold Opponent's Deployment Zone Objective, with a total of seven objective markers, 4 of which are marked as Alpha in the back of the deployment zones. Additional points are awarded for every objective marker outside the own deployment zone and inside the enemy's at the end of the game.

We're playing at 700 points, and the table size seems excessively large, so that will bring its own challenges. 

 

The pairings are as follows:

• Monday: Space Wolves vs. Necrons 1 - Necrons win
• Tuesday: Unknown vs. Necrons 2 - Necrons 2 left the campaign due to health reasons
• Thursday: Ultramarines vs. GSC - Ultramarines win
• Friday: Sororitas vs. Rebel Sororitas - Sororitas (Imperial)
• Saturday: Dark Angels vs. Tau 1 - Dark Angels win
• Saturday: Space Marines vs. Blood Angels - Blood Angels win
• Tuesday: Night Lords vs. AdMech
• Wednesday: Imperial Guard vs. Tau 2 - IG win
• Saturday: Sororitas vs. Death Guard

My opponent is playing a list heavy with Crisis suits, and will definitely bring a Coldstar commander. I'm also pretty sure that I'll be facing a Hammerhead with a High Capacitance Railgun (i.e. double the shots). A low amount of ObSec troops is favoring me, as well as the fact that he'll want to generally avoid close combat, despite the commander's Fusion Blades (which are pretty much useless against my more or less unkillable captain). 

I hope to lure him into attacking my captain with his Coldstar, who's maneuverable enough to reach wherever needed. 

 

I'm not sure of my list yet, but I may leave the Redemptor at home (again, unfortunately) considering the amount of easily applicable Fusion Blasters my opponent is going to have. 

This would probably result in something like this:

• Captain
• Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armour
• 2 Company vets
• 10 Intercessors
• 5 DWKs

The Chaplain and the DWKs to arrive from Deep Strike to ensure a bit of maneuverability, while Intercessors are combat squadded and on objective duty

Edited November 3, 2021 by Cpt. Bannockburn