A Newb'd 1st Game in 6th

The short version:

Grey Knights vs IG. 90 minutes, 3 full rounds before store closing. GK 10 win over IG 7. If the game had gone on though, GK would of lost I’m pretty sure.

The long version:

IG makeup – a ton of troops. Couple Chimera’s, couple Hellhounds, couple Leman Russ’s. Warlord had Divide to Conquer trait (-1 to opponents Reserve rolls). GK’s had expensive troops like Paladins, a Fortress of Redemption, Purifiers, couple Dreadnoughts. GK’s Warlord had Intimidating Presence (effects leadership of opponent within 12”). Deployment was Hammer and Anvil (short table edges) and the Mission was Crusade with 5 primary objectives. GK held 3 objectives (9 points) and got First Blood (1 point) while IG held 2 objectives (6 points) and got Linebreaker (1 point).

As severely outnumbered that I was and with very limited ability to shoot AV14 I turtled up behind the Fortress and on my 3 objectives. Thus in 3 rounds of play I did very little other than survive. My Dreadnought managed to destroy a Chimera in round 3. While at the time of play this was rather a frustrating battle as I was playing in a style not normally mine and limited at what I could shoot at during the turns we played, review did prove what a cinematic play 6^th edition offers though and I think turned out really well.

IG concentrated on the first 3 turns to moving his tanks up the battlefield and taking out my Fortress of Redemption, which ended up doing very little against IG. In a final gambit, IG shot out 4 of 5 Purifiers on one of my objectives, but the 5^th unit managed to survive at least 20 wounds between cover and armor saves. The big moment was the very end. IG needed to roll 6 inches or better in order to get the assault off and rolled 4, leaving his unit just short of being able to assault, therefore didn’t get the assault off, allowing  GK to hold the objective at the end of the turn – otherwise would have been a tied game.

Lessons of note:

Fortress of Redemption – I’m not sure if this is a point sink or not. While it didn’t last long under the fire of IG, it did take a lot of firepower to break it and since I was turtled up, was one of the few targets IG had. Not quite sure yet how it would hold up against other armies. Anyone with difficulty against AV14 though would have problems.

AV14 and GK – This is a weakness but one that can be overcome with Allies.

Turtling – Just not my style.

IG – wow they can hurt.

Missions, battlefield, deployment – A++ in 6^th Edition!!!

Grey Knights vs Orks

Last Monday I got a game in with riotbat from CAGE who brought out his new Orks. Very exciting game though it did take us a bit longer than what it has been.

Having more firepower in this game than I have had in the past, we were both surprised (me pleasantly so) when the first 3 rounds were pretty much nothing more than a Turkey shoot.

However, not understanding how badass Orcs are in close combat and completely forgetting to use my Cleansing Flame power of my Purifiers, the bottom of the 3rd round turned the whole game around and became a race for a tie. In which I lost. Lost big time. Was an exciting match though and had a lot of fun. Most importantly - I learned a couple of things. Such as using my superior firepower and not to forget to use my special powers!

Battle Report: City Fight

This last Sunday I got in a 900 pt. game playing Grey Knights vs Vanilla Space Marines (list below). My opponent was a newb like me and we had some pretty funny/fail moments in our game, but we had fun and learned a lot. Despite the fact that we declared it a tie, upon further review, I have to admit I lost 2-1. It was an Anhiliation mission with Dawn of War deployment, I got to go first.

As you can see from the pic above, the far red tower was on my side of deployment and made a great camping spot for half of my Purifier Squad that I had combat squaded. The other half of my Purifiers deployed in the street below in a Psyback. Near the "park" my Dreadnought and Castellan Crowe too up residence, with the Terminator Squad behind the building near them. My opponent hid his Terminators, Devastators, Tactical Squad and Chapter Master behind buildings well into his territory. Again, upon review it looks like he took too much form his 1,500 pt Army and gave me the advantage in points, as I think his pts would of only added up to maybe 800 or so pts.

First turn was a complete disaster. After getting my numbers wrong on how many shots a Twin-Linked Autocannon has (don't ask), I ended up missing with the Dreadnought. The Razorback failed at seeing anyone for the night rule effect and everybody else was also out of range... except more on this in a minute.

After this fail round of shooting I moved. Yes, we realized after this that I had done the steps backwards and what a difference that would of made, also considering I forgot to shoot with my 3 Psycannons from the building to the next street over - a feat that even with a casual roll for seeing I would of had range. Realizing this, I declare popping smoke from the Psyback though it was to do no good.

My opponent began by getting sight on my Purifiers with his Chapter Master and called down an orbital bombardment onto my Purifier squad that immediately scattered... directly onto the Psyback, which exploded and killed 2 of my Halberd-toting assault Purifiers. His Tactical Squad that had a flamer opened up from their new vantage point looking through a window and fried the 3rd Halberd-guy. So much for my assault force there. They failed leadership and ran, though the following turn got everything under control, took cover in a building and began to take pop shots for the remainder of the game. In the meantime, his Devastators took out my Dreadnought with equal ease and turn passed back to me.

I ended up moving Crowe and the Terminators (seperately) into assault position, where my Terminators ate his Devastators for breakfast. I forgot to make my consolidaiton move, which would haunt me during the final turn of the game and missing by literally only 2 inches into a final assault with his Terminators, which had been whittled down to 2 by then (thanks to Purfier Psycannons) and my squad still completely full.

Was a slow game, with both of us having to look up our stats and such for everything but we had a blast. My Psycannon squad was really good, chipping away at both his Tactical and Terminator Squads, while my Terminator Squad got my only kill-point for the game. Unfortunately, since I lost both the Psyback and the Dreadnought, final score would be 2-1, my opponents favor. That said, if I was to get a re-do of this game, I'm fairly confident I could of owned him. Perhaps next time!

My Army list for this game:

HQ: Castellan Crowe (Did nothing).

Heavy Support: Dreadnought w/Twin-linked Autocannon x2 w/Psybolt ammo (Died).

Troops: Terminator Squad (5) with a variety of weapons. (Killed opponents Devastators).

Purifie Squad (10) combat squaded into:

3x Halberds, 1 Psycannon, 1 Hammer in Psyback (Hammer and Psycannon survived to do nothing).

3x Psycannon, 1 Hammer, 1 Sword and Gun (gave opponents Termies and Tact. Squads a beating, no losses taken).

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

Battle Report: GK vs IG

Capture and Control mission. Pitched battle deployment. Grey Knights vs Genestealer fluff, Imperial Guard. 2,000 point game. 1 objective in each deployment zone, no kill-points, only objectives matter. GK's get to deploy first and move first, IG does not take intiative.

So round one and I'm already forgetting almost all of the strategy I've learned so far in the game. Seeing him set his objective in a corner of his deployment area, I get this sudden urge to deploy all of my forces to take the edge of the table and hold him off. Least thats the plan that pops in my head. Gone is the tactic of "go second when you can" and I totally forget that I can Deep Strike with nearly all of my forces (20 regular Grey Knights and Interceptor squad), so I combat squad one of my 10-man Strike Squad, one to hold my objective, the other in a Rhino to run up the edge.

I send out one of my two Dreadknights into the middle of the table, nearly into his deployment zone via teleporter and unleash my Heavy Incinerator, forget that I could of used my Gatling Psilencer and then didn't cry when it got hosed down during his turn. Meanwhile my 3 Rhinos, 1 carrying 10 Purifiers move all out up the side of the table and blow smoke. My other Dreadknight and Dreadnaught take some pot shots and my Grand Master and Interceptor squad hang out and the GM takes an Orbital Relay Strike to.... nowhere. Yeah, not impressive at all.

Round 2 comes, I've lost a Rhino, half of a 10-man squad of regular Grey Knights, one of my Dreadknights and a couple of my interceptors and purifiers. This was the low point in the game for me. Half my army is taken out, my Orbital Relay Strike now seems like a horrible idea and have to waste it by getting my squad behind cover, cause ZOMG the tanks, I'm nowhere near assault range and I'm barely 24" to maybe a 1/10th of his troops.

The 2 remaining Rhino's move forward and pivot, offering some cover for the squads that are now deployed. Some shots and psycannon shots ring out and some things die, but nothing big, nothing major, no fireworks yet. His turn. More of my guys die.

Round 3 and I am now optimistic. I walked into this game knowing I wouldn't win. Not against my brother-in-law who has played this game forever and not against his IG that was designed perfectly to play against the GK weaknesses. He could outshot me, out distance me, and I had very little anti-tank and he had more maneuverability. But then, all I needed to do was hold onto my objective, even though I knew it would be contested and contest his objective. Another Orbital Relay Strike. Fizzled. Dual Tank Shock! with the Rhino's. Wrecked. Returned fire kills off one of my squads, nearly obliberates my purifiers and only a single guy is left from yet another squad and he's taking heavy fire. Missile launcher on my Dreadnaught goes bye-bye and it is obvious my other Dreadknight isn't a threat.

Round 4. I jump. Too soon. The other Dreadknight that wasn't a threat to him now becomes one and misses as he teleports into the back 40 of his deployment area near his objective. The returned fire... I did not cry. Only 2 regular Grey Knights are left, from different squads, one has engaged in melee assault and is doing well, making saves. The other is making pot shots and missing, but making saves like crazy. My interceptor squad is about to be in trouble and now I've only 1 regular Grey Knight left in my deployment objective. His tanks are coming and has tank shocked me.

Round 5. I breathe a sigh as I survive the round with 1 regular Grey Knight on his objective in combat, 1 regular Grey Knight on my objective and the Grand Master coming in to save that guy from the tanks. The Dreadnaught got in a lucky shot, buying me some time but it is dead now too.

Round 6 happens and the Grand Master is in range of my objective but the regular GK there dies. The other regular GK is still alive, contesting his objective. The game ends.

I have my Grand Master on my objective between two of his tanks. I have a regular Grey Knight surrounded by troops on his objective. Both objectives are considered contested. Tie game.

I cheer, as in this point of my 40K career, a tie vs my brother-in-law is a moral victory to me. I made some serious flawed mistakes, but I am happy to say I held out to the bitter end. I think the best three quotes of the night were:

Brother-in-law in response to like my 10th cover/armor save in a row: "of course you make it."

My 3rd use of Orbital Strike Relay: "What a fu-king waste of points."

My response to the bottom of the third round, when he looked at me and asked how I was doing, my reply: "I'm actually optimistic about this game." The disbelief in his eyes was awesome.

Anyway was a lot of fun and looking forward to our next match.