Monday, October 31, 2011

My first Battle Report: Space Marines vs Grey Knights



The Battlefield



            Battle scars littered the edge of Forge City Refin. Buildings torn apart in the south overlooked the plains, littered with gunship debris, craters and what was left of the natural rock and forested landscape, of which only a couple patches remained. Dead north was the last rock and concrete Bastille of the renegade Space Marines. Coming from the Northwest, the last company of the Forgotten Champions made haste as the Grey Knights strike team landed.

            In the Northwest, Captain LeMarty of the Forgotten Champions, ordered his Terminator squad to the Eastern rock formation, knowing that under it led to the secret tunnels under the devastated city and led it, while ordering one of his tactical squads to lay down covering fire from the rock formation in the Northwest. He sent his other Tactical squad due South and into the city, hoping to bring cover fire to bear and secure a cache of ammunition left in a building there. He ordered his Assault Terminator Sergeant to take his squad and head for the Bastille, seeing that a squad of Grey Knight Purifiers headed towards this key area.

            Using the Bastille as cover, the Purifier squad quickly scaled the rocks to it, while their Brotherhood Champion, Castellan Crowe headed along the East face of it to provide covering fire for a Terminator squad heading towards the natural rock formation in the East. Meanwhile the dedicated transport of the Purifiers, a Razorback, skirted the edge of the city in the South, heading to delay or cutoff the tactical squad heading there.



Round One



            Knowing that timing was of essence and no clear fire lanes presented themselves, the Space Marines made haste towards their goals. The Razorback going at combat speed along the edge of the city took a pot shot at the Assault Terminators seeking to route out the Purifiers, who continued to climb up and into the Bastille. A terminator fell to the Psybolt ammo of it’s heavy bolters. The Grey Knight Terminator squad continued towards its destination, while Crowe fell back to provide covering fire for the Purifiers.




Round Two



            Still running towards their individual destinations, the Space Marines were annoyed and ready for battle, as no targets presented themselves. Believing the Grey Knights to be falling back because of being outnumbered two to one, they were anticipating the bloodshed to come.

            The Razorback continued at combat speed towards the Tactical squad heading towards the city and firing on the move, brought down a Tactical marine who was too slow to duck and cover. Meanwhile, Crowe having taken cover in a crater shot towards the Assault terminators with no effect. The Terminator Squad, secured the opening to the tunnels and waited for the clash of the incoming Terminators.



Round Three



            Howling in their fury, the Assault Marines finally reached their prey, only to lose one of their number to the Cleansing Flame of the Purifiers and another one to a Nemesis Halberd before they even swung. The Purifiers lost one of their numbers. The Tactical squad heading towards the city made it to the building and took up defensive positioning, while the Terminator squad led by Captain LeMarty closed in on the Grey Knight Terminators who were still under cover.

            Crowe left the crater, heading towards the Grey Knight Terminator Squad, but slipped and fell in the uneven ground. The Grey Knight terminators scaled the rock formation to deny easy access to themselves and to ready a counter attack, while the Purifiers struck back with a vengeance, killing yet another Assault Terminator, without losing one of their own. The Razorback, without a target sped up to cruising speed and popped smoke.



Round Four



            The Assault Marines continued their assault on the Purifiers, now down to only two members and while the clash was mighty, the remaining Assault Terminators fell. The Terminator squad finally came into visual contact with the Grey Knight Terminators, but was ineffective in their shooting and out of range for the assault. Both Tactical squads hunkered down in their individual locations, with no enemy in sight.

            Meanwhile, with the Assault Terminators down, the Purifiers went to the East side of the Bastille and sighting the regular Terminators to the East opened fire. The Psycannon barrage of fire was impressive, but nothing connected. Crowe, picking himself up left the crater and continued to make towards his own Terminators, while the Razorback moved into position to get a firing solution on the Tactical squad in the city – but was unable to connect. The Grey Knight Terminators fired down and into the oncoming Terminators and found one mark and then risking the terrain, charged into them with full force. Terminator against Terminator, but only the sounds of combat, no fatal screams were to bless this field of battle.



Round Five



            The renegade Space Marine Terminators, glad to be in assault with the Grey Knights found nothing to kill, while the same held true for the grey Knights. The clash continued, even as the Grey Knights struck back, standing toe to toe, each not giving an inch, or a life. Meanwhile the Purifiers raced to the West side of the Bastille to find a firing lane towards the Tactical squad in the Northeast, but their range was just too short to be effective. The Razorback slammed into the ruins of the other tactical squad, unleashing the heavy bolter, but was unable to connect.



Round Six



            The clash of the Terminators continued, with the renegades finally losing one of their number. The rest of the battlefield waited with anxious breath to see what would happen, the Razorback being assaulted but to no avail. Crowe, caught up in communication with support from orbit, stood his ground and when the razorback backed out of the ruins, caught one of its tracks, leaving it immobilized.



Round Seven



            The clash of the Terminators continued, finally bringing the squad down to only one Terminator and the Captain. While the Terminator ran, the Grey Knights surrounded the Captain and cut him down.



Winner: Grey Knights

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Current Status of my Grey Knight Army




HQ: Castellan Crowe 150 pts.
  • Still needs painting and assembly.
Troops: 5-man Purifier Squad 146 pts.
  • About 75% painted.
  • 2 Psycannons, 3 Halberds
  • Razorback with twin-linked Hvy. Bolters, Psybolt ammo 50 pts.
Troops: 5-man Terminator Squad 250 pts.
  • About 75% Painted.
  • Subbing in Apothecary for Terminator w/Warding Stave.
  • 1 Warding Stave, 1 Brotherhood Banner, 1 Hammer, 1 Halberd.
Total 596 points.


Book Review: Salamander


If I wasn't already a fan of the Salamanders Space Marine chapter, I would be after reading the first book in this triology. An outstanding tale of Space Marine brotherhood, with insights on how Space Marine chapters react to each other when they aren't immediately known to each other and a ton of lore for the Salamander fan.

Rich in detail, character development and story, this is a worthy title in the Black Library line of Space Marine books and has me ever more excited about this great chapter.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Book Review: Flight of the Eisenstein


Excellent book! The action, emotional quality and character development in this book supercedes or is compatable to the series before it. I was previously a fan of James Swallow with his Blood Angels Omnibus, but this work elevated him even further in my enthusiasm for his stories.

The book concentrates itself around the point of view of one central character - Nathaniel Garro, a member of the Death Guard and his escape from the Istvaan masacre and bringing the message of Horus's Heresy to Terra. An outstanding tale and my new favorite in the series.