Fix bayonets and wax those moustaches - the Mordians are back!
The thin red lines of the Imperium do their best to hold back the tide of the 13th Black Crusade.
My hobby is on a bit of a roll at the moment - last weekend, I was back at Bristol Independent Gaming to take on the classic Mordian 29th,
This was the army I'd faced at Weekend at Burnies with my Thousand Sons. This time, the Black Legion wanted a crack at them.
Level: 79 | Points: 1500 |Battle-forged + Battalion: 8 CPs
Where it gets interesting is that, if a character is slain, you have to discard one of your objective cards (if the warlord is killed, you have to discard D3 objectives).
So unlike typical maelstrom missions where it's in your interests to discard cards that are difficult, you should be able to keep a few in your hand for scoring in the long-term, or have a couple of 'sacrificial' cards that you're happy to discard when characters die.
In terms of characters, the Black Legion has two, the Mordian 29th has five. Theoretically, that makes them more vulnerable, but my guys will be smashing into the front line, not cowering in the rear with a gin & tonic, so it should level out.
I set up first (doesn't take long). The Raptors and Obliterators go into deepstrike. The Melta Squad goes in the left-flank ruins, accompanied by the Spawn. In the centre, trying to stay screened, is the Berserker Rhino with Exalted Champion, then the Helbrute, then the Rhino with the Assault Chaos Marines and Chaos Lord, and finally the Heavy Bolter Squad in the right-flank ruins.
Then the Mordian 29th deploys in parade-ground order. Essentially three lines of red, bolstered by some iron bulwarks.
On the left-flank (my perspective) are three infantry squads, Platoon Commander, Commissar, a Leman Russ and an Armoured Sentinel. In the centre are two infantry squads.
The real nugget is in the centre-right: another three infantry squads, Leman Russ Punisher, Tank Commander, Warlord Company Commander ('The Colonel'), Astropath, Platoon Commander, and an Armoured Sentinel.
To the right of them, mostly screened by ruins, is another infantry squad, the heavy weapons mortar teams, another Company Commander ('The Adjutant') and the third Armoured Sentinel.
As I had to deploy first, I get to choose who get the first turn - I take it for myself, since I want my reserves on the board asap.
Since I get to decide who gets the first turn, I did briefly consider putting everything I had down on the table, and having a load more shooting in the first turn. But I'm not sure the loss in mobility would be worth it, and if the Mordians stole the initiative from me, my battle plan would be over.
But before I even get a chance to make my first mistake, the Imperium calls down a Preliminary Bombardment on my army (kind of glad I tucked my best stuff into deepstrike now). With the first roll of the game, I lose a Chaos Marine from my Heavy Bolter Squad (this is ominous), but the rest of my force gets through unscathed.
I can’t really turn down the only point I’m going to score, so I hold back with both squads of Chaos Space Marines and the Spawn.
My other three units go for it: the Berserker Rhino races forward up the left flank, and the other Rhino takes the right flank, closely followed by the Helbrute. I would have preferred to concentrate on one flank, but the ruin in the centre is quite a block.
In shooting, I pop smoke on both the Rhinos, which should help their survivability, and plink off a few Guardsman with the Helbrute’s combi-bolters – but not enough to trigger a morale test.
So I score one point for Hold the Line (at least, I thought I did), and discard Defend Objective 6
A note on discarding: this showed my inexperience with this scenario: you can hold up to six objective cards in this mission, so it’s not essential to throw away difficult cards to make space for more – I was heading in the direction of Objective 6, anyway, so it’s not impossible for a late-game grab. Also, as we shall see, it can come in handy to have a few duff cards in your hand.
Objectives secured: I made the rookie error and forgot that you can’t get Hold the Line in your first turn, so those units hung back for nothing and I start the battle with a goose egg.
As my task was simple in the first turn, so is the Mordians: crack the Rhinos open and keep enough firepower in reserve to kill the occupants. One squad also runs up to grab Objective 4 in the middle of the field.
Opening the Rhinos – especially smoke-shrouded ones – proves to be more difficult than expected for the Imperial gunline. The Berserker Rhino takes massive whack from a squad’s Lascannon but is able to weather most of the shots thereafter. All until a lone Guardsman with a grenade launcher sends a krak grenade down its exhaust and blows it open. I lose a Berserker in the wreck and the rest stumble out with their Exalted Champion (as close to the nearest squad as possible – they are Khorne, after all).
Small-arms fire takes care of another four Berzerkers, and that flank (and my warlord!) is looking in trouble.
Things don’t go so well on the right flank – despite having twice as much firepower available, they can barely take off more than a few wounds from the Rhino. So at least I have one melee unit intact, and that’s a lot of lasgun fire gone to waste.
In the Assault Phase, I try a cheeky tactic: since my characters are allowed the heroically intervene once the Imperium have completed their charges (in this case: no charges), my Exalted Champion Varro Bloodearth decides to jump headfirst into the squad in front of him (I figure my warlord is a gonner anyway, and I might nab psychological warfare if he kills enough).
My Exalted Champion slaughters four Guardsman, but with a Fight to the Death stratagem, they can’t fail morale.
The same can’t be said for my Berserkers, who drop another guy to morale, leaving me with an elite squad of two.
Objectives secured: No Prisoners (1), Supremacy (2) and First Strike (1).
Wait, what? The mission allowed us to remove six objective cards and I left in the one that required me to cast psychic powers, even though I have no psykers? Guess there were even worse ones in the deck I wanted rid of.
Back to business: I keep Varro Bloodearth where he is: happily killing Guardsman, and thread the last two Berserkers into an easy charge of the Sentinel. The left-flank Chaos Marine squad moves forward (but doesn’t yet leave their cover) and the Spawn scuttles behind.
The other Chaos Marine squad on the right flank advance onto Objective and start defending it. The Rhino disgorges its passengers and reverses onto Objective 3, just in case that comes up.
Cimber the Enkindled, the Chaos Lord who's already showing better leadership skills than the warlord - leads the Assault Chaos Marines out of their Rhino in one piece. They move close enough to the Mordian front lines to smell the boot polish, and the Helbrute is not far behind.
And now the deepstrikes! The Plasma Raptors come down on the extreme left of the Mordian deployment zone, the Melta Raptors come down on the extreme right, ready to shoot off a Sentinel, and the Obliterators drop down right in the middle, screened from the left Leman Russ, but with a perfect bead on the other two.
The shooting opens with a bang: I roll the maximum effect for my Obliterators (S9 -3AP and D3) and to make them even more deadly, put Let The Galaxy Burn (reroll 1s) and Veterans of the Long War (+1 to wound). I point them at the Leman Russ Command Tank and it's taken out with the kind damage that would have felled an Imperial Knight.
The Black Legion aren’t known for holding off putting the boot in. So at the end of the phase, I use the Endless Cacophony stratagem to do it all over again on the Leman Russ Punisher. Shooting isn’t quite as effective (this one had Psychic Barrier cast on it), and it’s left smoking on two wounds.
Wow! There’s not much else in my shooting phase that’s going to top that. My Plasma Raptors rapid-fire into the closest Mordian squad, knocking off a couple of them. The Melta Raptors only manage to singe the Armoured Sentinel. The Helbrute’s combi-bolters and Marines’ bolt pistols do useful work, blasting one of the central squads down to a couple of guys left.
In the Assault Phase, it’s all go. The Melta Raptors make a long charge into the Sentinel, but the Plasma Raptors have foolishly lengthened their charge with their shooting, and don’t fancy that Overwatch (5+ for the discipline Mordians) for a long-bomb.
The Helbrute smashes into the front-line-squad and, with the Overwatch neutralised, the Chaos Space Marines also charge into the squad and the Sentinel behind, getting enough of a charge to tie up the Punisher too.
That leaves the Cimber the Enkindled free to charge the Punisher with impunity, and see what his sword can do against the near-ruined hull.
On the other side of the field, the two Berserkers charge into the Sentinel (it’s the only thing whose Overwatch isn’t guaranteed to kill them) and the Mordian Platoon Commander heroically intervenes (the Commissar would have liked to join in, but it was standing room only on the front line).
I start combat with the Helbrute, who mashes up a number of Guardsmen. The Mordians then pay 2CP to interrupt combat and have the Platoon Commander strike down one of my Berserkers. Thankfully, that leaves me the champion with the power fist, but he then fails to kill the Sentinel.
Speaking of power fists that can’t kill Sentinels, the one facing the Melta Raptors has a similarly fortunate escape and is left on two wounds.
Things go better in the centre, as the Chaos Space Marines follow on from the work done by the Helbrute and kill all-but-one of the squad, whom they then envelop (meaning if the Mordians want to shoot at them next turn, they’ll have to let him fail his morale).
Varro Bloodearth continues to thresh away at the squad, taking them down to two left, though losing a wound in the process. What he really needed to do was kill the lot, then consolidate into the neighbouring squad, who are now lining up their lasguns on him menacingly.
Leaving the best until last, Cimber the Enkindled rams his Spineshiver Blade into the hull of the Leman Russ Punisher and destroys it.
In the Morale Phase, the Mordians pay 2CP to retain the services of the central bolter squad, but allow the lone survivor of the melee to flee – crucially, that makes three units gone.
That was a hell of a good turn! My Obliterators really did the business and I’ve taken out two of the three tanks that could actually threaten them. I score 3 CP for The Long War (in a perfect world, I could have destroyed the maximum six units, but I won’t complain). I am also likely to collect Defend Objective 1, and I discard Master the Warp (once again, I didn’t need to, and it was silly of me).
Objectives secured: The Long War (3)
Despite that last order, the movement phase is mostly spent getting out of combat: all thee Sentinels break free and move forward. The lone sergeant fighting the Exalted Champion backs away (does he know something?) and two squads in the centre line up to clear out the Assault Chaos Marines.
The Tech-Priest, finding himself standing before the ruins of two tanks, sprints across the field to try and find a vehicle he can maintain.
Shooting is something of a blur of orders and stratagems. Suffice to say that, with the Volley Fire stratagem (6+ creates more hits), and the First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire (double-rapid fire), Vengeance for Cadia (rerolls hits and wounds), and Form Firing Squad (characters can be targeted), I’m looking at a lot of lasgun shots coming my way.
As the dust settles, I’ve lost six of my Assault Chaos Marines in the centre, two from the Melta Squad to the left, and three Melta Raptors to the right. The last Leman Russ seemed a bit shaken but the fate of his armoured brothers, and only managed to account for three Plasma Raptors.
But the main firepower on that flank is reserved for my warlord, Varro Bloodearth. Amazingly, he dodges or soaks all the damage on his power armour. After the squad’s autocannon misses him, I think I’ve improbably managed to avoid certain death. Then, with the last shot (why is it always the last shot?) the squad’s plasma gunner overcharges and takes him down. Warlord kill!
To finish off the collapse of my left flank, the Commissar steps forward with his power sword and beats the Berserker Champion at his own game.
In the moral phase, the extra leadership of being Black Legion pays off and my squad of Assault Marines only lose one more. They’re still pretty battered, but that’s a champion with a power sword and a flamer that I fully expected to lose. They'll help me screen my Chaos Lord, who's got a nasty squad-killing sword and his eyes on promotion in the warband.
In the wrap up, it’s a bumper crop of points for the Mordians. And, because of the mission rules, I must now chose an objective to discard. If I have been wise enough to keep Master the Warp in my hand, I could have happily thrown that away. But all I’ve got is Defend Objective 1 – which I was about to claim – so I wave goodbye to my 2CP.
Objectives secured: Slay the Warlord (1). Kingslayer (3), Troops on the Ground (3), Blood And Guts (1)
At least my cards give me a steer: Secure Objective 1 (that’s some consolation for losing the Defend 1), Behind Enemy Lines (I’m almost there) and Mission Critical Objective 6.
Objective 6 is the one the Mordians are camped on, and I get extra points for taking it from them (and another update from Captain Hindsight: I probably shouldn’t have chucked Defend 6, now that I’m heading in that direction).
My turn boils down to how I want to use my Obliterators. In a cat-and-mouse style, they don’t have eyes on the final Leman Russ – and those two heavies are the only thing that can hurt each other. So do I sent them tank-hunting, or squander their massive firepower in shooting Guardsman in the centre?
Advised by the finest tactical minds of the Mordian Academy, I decide that the battle is in the centre, so that’s where I need to push.
On the left flank, what remains of my Melta squad move towards Objective 4, followed by the Spawn. The Plasma Raptors swoop in to threaten both the backline squad and Leman Russ. On the other side of the battle, the Melta Raptors bounce over the lines to pick on the Adjutant Commander (I feel I need to take out some of these officers, as the orders are killing me).
The Obliterators stand still, holding the centre, and the Rhino moves to back them up on Objective 5, since I still need to block Area Denial. The Helbrute steams forward into the deployment zone to threaten the next squad and the middle Sentinel.
Cimber the Enkindled and his two Chaos Space Marines move towards the squad holding Objective 6 (and fortunately, are on the other side of a ruin, out of line of sight, so can charge without Overwatch).
In the Shooting Phase, the Obliterators wipe out a backline squad with ease, leaving the Company Commander and Astropath looking somewhat exposed.
On the left flank, bolter fire whittles down some of the squad on Objective 4, while the melta shots can only scorch the paintwork of the Sentinel. In the centre, the Helbrute's combi-bolters wipe out the Command Squad (I'm enjoying the impact of these small arms to augment the Helbrute's ... big arms).
But that’s about it for shooting this turn – excepting the champion of the Heavy Bolter Squad who saw the right-flank Sentinel on two wounds and is tempted into an overcharged shot. Which of course, kills him.
In the Assault Phase, the Melta Marines and Spawn charge into what remains of the squad on Objective 4, the two Melta Raptors charge into the Adjutant Commander, and the two Plasma Raptors charge into the backline squad (then consolidate into Leman Russ).
In the centre, the Helbrute takes on the final squad in the centre, while Cimber the Enkindled and remains of the Assault Squad crash through the ruins into the full-strength squad on Objective 6.
Assault kicks off, and I roll high for the Spineshiver Blade and the Chaos Lord tears into the squad with a whopping ten attacks. What remains is easily mopped up by the two Chaos Space Marines and the objective is mine!
The Helbrute smashes up the squad that he’s facing, and saves a sharp elbow for the Sentinel.
The Raptors don’t fare so well. One of the Plasma Raptors is cut down by the Commissar (but the other survives to lock down the Leman Russ) and one of the Melta Raptors is dragged to earth by the Platoon Commander, leaving the power fist champion to whiff his attacks.
On Objective 4, the Marines chop up a fair number of Guardsman. The Spawn achieves not much more than to look disturbing, but that’s enough to make the remainder run from morale.
And that’s the turn over. I needed a good one to push back and I got it. Now to see how the Mordians reply.
Objectives secured: Secure Objective 1 (1), Behind Enemy Lines (2), Mission Critical Objective (2)
There’s not much combat to break away from (since I killed most of what I connected with last time), but the Leman Russ pulls away from the solitary Plasma Raptor (though the Adjutant Commander fancies his chances against the Melta Raptor).
With an eye already on Linebreaker (or at least drawing my attention), all three Sentinels start racing across the board. The Commissar and Platoon Commander on the left flank run up to engage the Spawn, while the Colonel exercises the better part of valour and scrambles for the relative safety of the Mortar Squad.
Before he goes, and with a cold calculation that is classic Mordia, he sends the blind Astropath stumbling into the central ruins to face the Cimber the Enkindled and his escort.
Shooting is a fairly quiet affair (for the Guard), since my efforts to kill all the Guardsmen are finally starting to show. The only kills of note are a few wounds off the Spawn and Helbrute respectively, and the entire Chaos Space Marine squad guarding Objective 4.
One of the Sentinel’s lascannons finally scores a wound on the Obliterators, but only causes 3 wounds, just one short of killing it. Desperate to remove even one of these monsters, a reroll CP is spent – and the damage is rerolled as a 1 (moral of the story: don't mess with the dice gods).
In combat, the Tech-Priest Enginseer charges the lone Plasma Raptor and chops him down (so there’s now nothing left to tie up the tank). The Commissar attempts to execute the Spawn for appearing on duty with his coat unbuttoned, but neither make any progress. The duel between the Adjutant Commander and Melta Raptor is a similar whiff.
The Astropath, smelling the promethium in the Chaos Squad’s flamer, decides not to risk the charge after all.
The turn ends – not as dramatic as others before it, but with so much destroyed already, we’re definitely nearing the endgame.
Objectives secured: Hammer of the Emperor (1), Chain of Command (1)
So the Assault Squad, Heavy Bolter Squad and the Rhino all stay put on their objectives. To lend them his reroll aura, the Chaos Lord jogs towards the Obliterators, who don’t move (they’re so slow that their medium range guns now can’t reach the Leman Russ on the far side of the board). The Melta Raptor remains in combat with the Platoon Commander (a triumph of optimism over experience), the Spawn continues to flail around, and the Helbrute continues its rampage across the back lines.
In shooting, each of the three Obliterators turn to face a separate Sentinel and with a pop!-pop!-pop! all three are briskly destroyed.
The remaining Assault Squad gun down the Astropath in a torrent of flame and plasma. The Helbrute’s combi-bolters mow down the unengaged Platoon Commander. These are the first characters the Mordians are losing, which means I no longer have to worry about Area Denial or Defend Objective 1, as they are both discarded.
The Helbrute charges into the Heavy Weapons Mortar teams and promptly turns them into pâté, but not before the Colonel heroically intervenes, pays their last 2 CP to interrupt, and still fails to bring him down with his power fist.
The Melta champion and Adjutant Commander continue their epic (slightly ineffective) duel and the Spawn is finally run through by his alter-ego.
So it was an efficient turn for me, and made even better when I roll maximum points for Supremacy.
Objectives secured: Secure Objective 6 (1) and Supremacy (3)
There’s very little left for the Mordians to move. The Platoon Commander and Commissar consolidate around Objective 4 with the half-squad that remains. A lone sergeant starts sprinting towards the enemy deployment zone (and is likely to get it, as he is well screen by the ruins, and I don’t have much to catch or shoot him).
The Adjutant Commander finally gives up on his duel and falls back, ordering his last squad to open fire. Amazingly, the Raptor Champion dodges and weaves past every shot. The Mordian Plasma operator adds to the general shambles by blowing himself up.
Elsewhere, all the Mordian firepower is put into denying me points, so the Leman Russ and any assorted heavy weapons are put into the Rhino, which is promptly destroyed, forcing me to start defending Objective 4 all over again.
The only combat is the Colonel, who still fails to kill the Helbrute and is rolled into a ball of play-dough by those massive crushing fists.
That’s another character slain, and the natural objective to discard is Priority Orders.
Objectives secured: none
The Obliterators move forward into the ruins, onto Objective 5, joined by Cimber the Enkindled, doubling-down on the objective and still giving them rerolls.
The last two Assault Marines advance over into flamer range of one reduced-squad in front of the Leman Russ (able to reach Objective 4 if they somehow survive), and everything else is where it needs to be.
In the Shooting Phase, in a spectacular example of overkill, the Obliterators single out and murder the Platoon Commander, Commissar, and half-squad. The Assault Marines also finish off the penultimate infantry squad with their flamer.
Over by Objective 2, the Helbrute opens his combi-bolters on the duellist Adjutant Commander and guns him down. The Melta champion and Helbrute then charge into the final Mordian squad and destroy it, denying them Objective 2 and starting to defend it themselves.
As the dust settles, we tot up that I’ve made a massive 6 unit kills, and I roll well for the objective, giving me 6 VP. Moreover the loss of three more characters means that all the Mordians' objective cards have to be discarded, so there’s no scoring opportunity for them either.
Objectives secured: No Prisoners (6)
This last one is easily achieved. We don’t roll for it, but agree that the Leman Russ would have blown away the two Assault Marines, and the lone sergeant would have achieved Linebreaker. However, I would also have Linebreaker and, at the end of this turn, secured Defend Objectives 2 and 5.
At this point, the Mordians concede without rolling to see if the game prolongs. It’s been a bloodbath!
Objectives secured: Overwhelming Firepower (1), Linebreaker (1)
Black Legion Objectives secured: Defend Objective 2 (2), Defend Objective 5 (2), Linebreaker (1)
Wow, those Obliterators were my MVP. Two tanks, three sentinels, a couple of infantry squads and some characters all fell beneath their guns. I did roll obscenely well on their fleshmetal gun stats, but they did all that damage and only had to use Endless Cacophony once (I was saving the points to use it again – but ran out of targets!).
To be honest, they feel a little too good for my comfort – certainly in a 1500pt game. Knocking out those two tanks on their arrival was game-changing – although they might have easily whiffed and done half as much damage. But any army that faces Chaos is going to need to come up with an answer for them, because when they get going, they can really be flat-track bullies.
Other notables were my Chaos Lord – his new Spineshiver Blade relic does wonders at clearing out troops (and I only picked it because it suited the model). I like the fist + combi-bolter loadout on the Helbrute – who enjoyed everything else being a Distraction Carnifex and got to rampage properly for once.
My Raptors did a good job – more in disruption than actual shooting damage – and in defiance of New Model Syndrome, the Melta Champion survived until the end!
Nothing could be done for my poor Berserkers – like Genestealers, they die quickly to concentrated firepower and everyone knows how good they are in combat to allow them to get there.
For all that, I was quite happy with how the list performed. Even after the Obliterators had taken out the heavy armour, I had over a hundred redcoats to kill using little more than bolters and chainswords, and they wiped them all out bar one (you always have to leave one survivor), so well done heretics!
As for the Mordians, they were a treat to watch in action. They put out such a relentless pounding of low-level firepower, interspersed with the occasional heavy shot. Orders pile upon stratagems and can make a 50pt unit such a threat that you need to take out each one. And there are just so many of them. Kudos to my opponent for keeping everything organised on the field – there’s a lot of administration in the Astra Militarum!
The pictures speak for themselves about what a gloriously-painted army this is – and it was an excellent game. Can’t wait to play them again once some more volunteers take the Emperor’s shilling and the redcoated ranks are refilled!
My hobby is on a bit of a roll at the moment - last weekend, I was back at Bristol Independent Gaming to take on the classic Mordian 29th,
This was the army I'd faced at Weekend at Burnies with my Thousand Sons. This time, the Black Legion wanted a crack at them.
29th Mordian - Astra Militarum
This is a similar force to the once I'd previous fought, only a Leman Russ had been removed to make room for even more - even more! - redcoats.
With a hundred pairs of boots on the ground, backed up by three Leman Russes, three Sentinels, and a whole mess of officers shouting orders, this was already looking like quite a tough nut to crack.
What's more, Mordians have higher morale, some character-killing orders, and an Overwatch that hits on 5+. Individually, my heretics are more than a match for them, but I don't have the numbers to absorb that much damage from all those heavy weapons.
With a hundred pairs of boots on the ground, backed up by three Leman Russes, three Sentinels, and a whole mess of officers shouting orders, this was already looking like quite a tough nut to crack.
What's more, Mordians have higher morale, some character-killing orders, and an Overwatch that hits on 5+. Individually, my heretics are more than a match for them, but I don't have the numbers to absorb that much damage from all those heavy weapons.
- The Colonel - Company Commander (HQ) (Warlord)
Plasma pistol, Power fist,
Relic: Order of the Iron Star of Mordia
Trait: Iron Discipline - The Adjutant - Company Commander (HQ)
Plasma pistol, Power sword - Tank Commander (HQ)
Heavy Bolters, Lascannon, Battle Cannon - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Grenade Launcher, Heavy bolter, Sergeant: Power sword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Grenade Launcher, Heavy bolter, Sergeant: Power sword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Grenade Launcher, Autocannon, Sergeant: Power sword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Grenade Launcher, Autocannon, Sergeant: Chainsword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Plasma gun, Missile Launcher, Sergeant: Chainsword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Plasma gun, Missile Launcher, Sergeant: Chainsword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Plasma gun, Missile Launcher, Sergeant: Chainsword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Plasma gun, Lascannon, Sergeant: Chainsword - 10 x Infantry Squad (Troop)
Plasma gun, Lascannon, Sergeant: Chainsword - Astropath (Elite)
Telepathica Stave
Powers: Psychic Barrier - 4 x Command Squad (Elite)
Laspistol & Chainsword, Medi-pack, Regimental Standard, Lasgun - Commissar (Elite)
Bolt pistol, Power sword - Platoon Commander (Elite)
Bolt pistol, Chainsword - Platoon Commander (Elite)
Laspistol, Chainsword - Tech-Priest Enginseer (Elite)
Laspistol, Omnissian Axe, Servo-Arm - Armoured Sentinel (Fast)
Lascannon - Armoured Sentinel (Fast)
Lascannon - Armoured Sentinel (Fast)
Lascannon - Heavy Weapons Team (Heavy)
Mortars, Lasguns - Leman Russ Battle Tank (Heavy)
Battle Cannon, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Bolters - Leman Russ Punisher (Heavy)
Punisher Gatling Cannon, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Bolters
The Unkindest Cut - Black Legion
This army has been slowly taking shape over the year, so I'm looking forward to taking them for a spin. Two squads of Raptors and three Obliterators (I was playing them before it was cool) go into deepstrike, while two Rhinos, loaded-up with Berserkers and melee Chaos Space Marines, race forward, backed up by a punchy Helbrute.
Two smaller squads of Chaos Space Marines hang back to hold objectives (I need to kit out some heavy weapons for these guys), and the Spawn was just there to remind the Mordians of what happened to their last officer to challenge the Ruinous Powers.
Only two characters for me: a Chaos Lord with the Spineshiver Blade (a new relic from Vigilus Ablaze) and an Exalted Champion who will be my warlord (I want him to use the First Amongst Traitors ability on the Berzerkers).
So this is definitely a 'second turn' army. I basically need to keep enough of my ground army intact inside its tin boxes, until the air support can come in to support them.
If it works, the entire force of my army will hit like a hammer blow. If it doesn't, I get destroyed piecemeal.
Two smaller squads of Chaos Space Marines hang back to hold objectives (I need to kit out some heavy weapons for these guys), and the Spawn was just there to remind the Mordians of what happened to their last officer to challenge the Ruinous Powers.
Only two characters for me: a Chaos Lord with the Spineshiver Blade (a new relic from Vigilus Ablaze) and an Exalted Champion who will be my warlord (I want him to use the First Amongst Traitors ability on the Berzerkers).
So this is definitely a 'second turn' army. I basically need to keep enough of my ground army intact inside its tin boxes, until the air support can come in to support them.
If it works, the entire force of my army will hit like a hammer blow. If it doesn't, I get destroyed piecemeal.
Battalion Detachment - Black Legion
- Varro Bloodearth - Exalted Champion (HQ)
Combi-melta, Power axe
Warlord Trait: First Amongst Traitors - Cimber the Enkindled - Chaos Lord (HQ)
Plasma pistol, Power sword
Relic: Spineshiver Blade - 9 x Chaos Space Marines (Troops)
Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath, Chainswords, Bolt pistols, Flamer, Power sword - 5 x Chaos Space Marines (Troops)
Combi-plasma, boltguns, heavy bolter - 5 x Chaos Space Marines (Troops)
Combi-melta, boltguns, melta gun - Helbrute (Elite)
2 x Helbrute fists, 2 x combi-bolters - 8 x Khorne Berzerkers (Elite)
Icon of Wrath, Plasma pistol, Power fist, Chainsword and Chainaxe - 5 x Raptors (Fast)
Plasma pistol, Power sword, 2 x Plasma guns - 5 x Raptors (Fast)
Bolt pistol, Power fist, 2 x Melta guns - Chaos Spawn (Fast)
- 3 x Obliterators (Heavy)
Mark of Slaanesh - Chaos Rhino (Transport)
Combi-bolter, Combi-melta, Havoc launcher - Chaos Rhino (Transport)
Combi-bolter, Combi-bolter
Level: 79 | Points: 1500 |Battle-forged + Battalion: 8 CPs
Mission
We're playing Decapitation - a Maelstrom of War mission from Chapter Approved 2018. Standard objective cards, with the amendment that you draw three cards per turn, but can hold up to six in your hand.Where it gets interesting is that, if a character is slain, you have to discard one of your objective cards (if the warlord is killed, you have to discard D3 objectives).
So unlike typical maelstrom missions where it's in your interests to discard cards that are difficult, you should be able to keep a few in your hand for scoring in the long-term, or have a couple of 'sacrificial' cards that you're happy to discard when characters die.
In terms of characters, the Black Legion has two, the Mordian 29th has five. Theoretically, that makes them more vulnerable, but my guys will be smashing into the front line, not cowering in the rear with a gin & tonic, so it should level out.
Deployment
The Imperium wins the deployment roll, and chooses Dawn of War.
I set up first (doesn't take long). The Raptors and Obliterators go into deepstrike. The Melta Squad goes in the left-flank ruins, accompanied by the Spawn. In the centre, trying to stay screened, is the Berserker Rhino with Exalted Champion, then the Helbrute, then the Rhino with the Assault Chaos Marines and Chaos Lord, and finally the Heavy Bolter Squad in the right-flank ruins.
Then the Mordian 29th deploys in parade-ground order. Essentially three lines of red, bolstered by some iron bulwarks.
On the left-flank (my perspective) are three infantry squads, Platoon Commander, Commissar, a Leman Russ and an Armoured Sentinel. In the centre are two infantry squads.
The real nugget is in the centre-right: another three infantry squads, Leman Russ Punisher, Tank Commander, Warlord Company Commander ('The Colonel'), Astropath, Platoon Commander, and an Armoured Sentinel.
To the right of them, mostly screened by ruins, is another infantry squad, the heavy weapons mortar teams, another Company Commander ('The Adjutant') and the third Armoured Sentinel.
As I had to deploy first, I get to choose who get the first turn - I take it for myself, since I want my reserves on the board asap.
Since I get to decide who gets the first turn, I did briefly consider putting everything I had down on the table, and having a load more shooting in the first turn. But I'm not sure the loss in mobility would be worth it, and if the Mordians stole the initiative from me, my battle plan would be over.
But before I even get a chance to make my first mistake, the Imperium calls down a Preliminary Bombardment on my army (kind of glad I tucked my best stuff into deepstrike now). With the first roll of the game, I lose a Chaos Marine from my Heavy Bolter Squad (this is ominous), but the rest of my force gets through unscathed.
Black Legion – Turn 1
The first draw of cards does not help me out: Defend Objective 6 (deep in the Mordian lines), Hold the Line (that’s not getting me forward) and Psychological Warfare (damn Mordian discipline!)I can’t really turn down the only point I’m going to score, so I hold back with both squads of Chaos Space Marines and the Spawn.
My other three units go for it: the Berserker Rhino races forward up the left flank, and the other Rhino takes the right flank, closely followed by the Helbrute. I would have preferred to concentrate on one flank, but the ruin in the centre is quite a block.
In shooting, I pop smoke on both the Rhinos, which should help their survivability, and plink off a few Guardsman with the Helbrute’s combi-bolters – but not enough to trigger a morale test.
So I score one point for Hold the Line (at least, I thought I did), and discard Defend Objective 6
A note on discarding: this showed my inexperience with this scenario: you can hold up to six objective cards in this mission, so it’s not essential to throw away difficult cards to make space for more – I was heading in the direction of Objective 6, anyway, so it’s not impossible for a late-game grab. Also, as we shall see, it can come in handy to have a few duff cards in your hand.
Objectives secured: I made the rookie error and forgot that you can’t get Hold the Line in your first turn, so those units hung back for nothing and I start the battle with a goose egg.
Mordian 29th - Turn 1
The Imperium’s draw is quite favourable: No Prisoners, Supremacy (they’re already sitting on two of the three required objectives) and Kingslayer (normally a tough ask early on, but some idiot just raced his warlord forward at them in a Rhino).As my task was simple in the first turn, so is the Mordians: crack the Rhinos open and keep enough firepower in reserve to kill the occupants. One squad also runs up to grab Objective 4 in the middle of the field.
Opening the Rhinos – especially smoke-shrouded ones – proves to be more difficult than expected for the Imperial gunline. The Berserker Rhino takes massive whack from a squad’s Lascannon but is able to weather most of the shots thereafter. All until a lone Guardsman with a grenade launcher sends a krak grenade down its exhaust and blows it open. I lose a Berserker in the wreck and the rest stumble out with their Exalted Champion (as close to the nearest squad as possible – they are Khorne, after all).
Small-arms fire takes care of another four Berzerkers, and that flank (and my warlord!) is looking in trouble.
Things don’t go so well on the right flank – despite having twice as much firepower available, they can barely take off more than a few wounds from the Rhino. So at least I have one melee unit intact, and that’s a lot of lasgun fire gone to waste.
In the Assault Phase, I try a cheeky tactic: since my characters are allowed the heroically intervene once the Imperium have completed their charges (in this case: no charges), my Exalted Champion Varro Bloodearth decides to jump headfirst into the squad in front of him (I figure my warlord is a gonner anyway, and I might nab psychological warfare if he kills enough).
My Exalted Champion slaughters four Guardsman, but with a Fight to the Death stratagem, they can’t fail morale.
The same can’t be said for my Berserkers, who drop another guy to morale, leaving me with an elite squad of two.
Objectives secured: No Prisoners (1), Supremacy (2) and First Strike (1).
Black Legion – Turn 2
This is my turn to punch back, and the cards are generous: The Long War (points for killing Imperium units), Defend Objective 1 (in my deployment zone and easy for my heavy bolter squad to grab and hold) and Master the Warp.Wait, what? The mission allowed us to remove six objective cards and I left in the one that required me to cast psychic powers, even though I have no psykers? Guess there were even worse ones in the deck I wanted rid of.
Back to business: I keep Varro Bloodearth where he is: happily killing Guardsman, and thread the last two Berserkers into an easy charge of the Sentinel. The left-flank Chaos Marine squad moves forward (but doesn’t yet leave their cover) and the Spawn scuttles behind.
The other Chaos Marine squad on the right flank advance onto Objective and start defending it. The Rhino disgorges its passengers and reverses onto Objective 3, just in case that comes up.
Cimber the Enkindled, the Chaos Lord who's already showing better leadership skills than the warlord - leads the Assault Chaos Marines out of their Rhino in one piece. They move close enough to the Mordian front lines to smell the boot polish, and the Helbrute is not far behind.
And now the deepstrikes! The Plasma Raptors come down on the extreme left of the Mordian deployment zone, the Melta Raptors come down on the extreme right, ready to shoot off a Sentinel, and the Obliterators drop down right in the middle, screened from the left Leman Russ, but with a perfect bead on the other two.
The shooting opens with a bang: I roll the maximum effect for my Obliterators (S9 -3AP and D3) and to make them even more deadly, put Let The Galaxy Burn (reroll 1s) and Veterans of the Long War (+1 to wound). I point them at the Leman Russ Command Tank and it's taken out with the kind damage that would have felled an Imperial Knight.
The Black Legion aren’t known for holding off putting the boot in. So at the end of the phase, I use the Endless Cacophony stratagem to do it all over again on the Leman Russ Punisher. Shooting isn’t quite as effective (this one had Psychic Barrier cast on it), and it’s left smoking on two wounds.
Wow! There’s not much else in my shooting phase that’s going to top that. My Plasma Raptors rapid-fire into the closest Mordian squad, knocking off a couple of them. The Melta Raptors only manage to singe the Armoured Sentinel. The Helbrute’s combi-bolters and Marines’ bolt pistols do useful work, blasting one of the central squads down to a couple of guys left.
In the Assault Phase, it’s all go. The Melta Raptors make a long charge into the Sentinel, but the Plasma Raptors have foolishly lengthened their charge with their shooting, and don’t fancy that Overwatch (5+ for the discipline Mordians) for a long-bomb.
The Helbrute smashes into the front-line-squad and, with the Overwatch neutralised, the Chaos Space Marines also charge into the squad and the Sentinel behind, getting enough of a charge to tie up the Punisher too.
That leaves the Cimber the Enkindled free to charge the Punisher with impunity, and see what his sword can do against the near-ruined hull.
On the other side of the field, the two Berserkers charge into the Sentinel (it’s the only thing whose Overwatch isn’t guaranteed to kill them) and the Mordian Platoon Commander heroically intervenes (the Commissar would have liked to join in, but it was standing room only on the front line).
I start combat with the Helbrute, who mashes up a number of Guardsmen. The Mordians then pay 2CP to interrupt combat and have the Platoon Commander strike down one of my Berserkers. Thankfully, that leaves me the champion with the power fist, but he then fails to kill the Sentinel.
Speaking of power fists that can’t kill Sentinels, the one facing the Melta Raptors has a similarly fortunate escape and is left on two wounds.
Things go better in the centre, as the Chaos Space Marines follow on from the work done by the Helbrute and kill all-but-one of the squad, whom they then envelop (meaning if the Mordians want to shoot at them next turn, they’ll have to let him fail his morale).
Varro Bloodearth continues to thresh away at the squad, taking them down to two left, though losing a wound in the process. What he really needed to do was kill the lot, then consolidate into the neighbouring squad, who are now lining up their lasguns on him menacingly.
Leaving the best until last, Cimber the Enkindled rams his Spineshiver Blade into the hull of the Leman Russ Punisher and destroys it.
In the Morale Phase, the Mordians pay 2CP to retain the services of the central bolter squad, but allow the lone survivor of the melee to flee – crucially, that makes three units gone.
That was a hell of a good turn! My Obliterators really did the business and I’ve taken out two of the three tanks that could actually threaten them. I score 3 CP for The Long War (in a perfect world, I could have destroyed the maximum six units, but I won’t complain). I am also likely to collect Defend Objective 1, and I discard Master the Warp (once again, I didn’t need to, and it was silly of me).
Objectives secured: The Long War (3)
Mordian 29th - Turn 2
The Imperium needs to strike back, and hard. The cards they draw are Area Denial (there’s some pesky Obliterators stopping that), Troops on the Ground (control 3+ objectives with infantry – not a problem) and Blood And Guts (not their forte, but it could happen).
Despite that last order, the movement phase is mostly spent getting out of combat: all thee Sentinels break free and move forward. The lone sergeant fighting the Exalted Champion backs away (does he know something?) and two squads in the centre line up to clear out the Assault Chaos Marines.
The Tech-Priest, finding himself standing before the ruins of two tanks, sprints across the field to try and find a vehicle he can maintain.
Shooting is something of a blur of orders and stratagems. Suffice to say that, with the Volley Fire stratagem (6+ creates more hits), and the First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire (double-rapid fire), Vengeance for Cadia (rerolls hits and wounds), and Form Firing Squad (characters can be targeted), I’m looking at a lot of lasgun shots coming my way.
As the dust settles, I’ve lost six of my Assault Chaos Marines in the centre, two from the Melta Squad to the left, and three Melta Raptors to the right. The last Leman Russ seemed a bit shaken but the fate of his armoured brothers, and only managed to account for three Plasma Raptors.
But the main firepower on that flank is reserved for my warlord, Varro Bloodearth. Amazingly, he dodges or soaks all the damage on his power armour. After the squad’s autocannon misses him, I think I’ve improbably managed to avoid certain death. Then, with the last shot (why is it always the last shot?) the squad’s plasma gunner overcharges and takes him down. Warlord kill!
To finish off the collapse of my left flank, the Commissar steps forward with his power sword and beats the Berserker Champion at his own game.
In the moral phase, the extra leadership of being Black Legion pays off and my squad of Assault Marines only lose one more. They’re still pretty battered, but that’s a champion with a power sword and a flamer that I fully expected to lose. They'll help me screen my Chaos Lord, who's got a nasty squad-killing sword and his eyes on promotion in the warband.
In the wrap up, it’s a bumper crop of points for the Mordians. And, because of the mission rules, I must now chose an objective to discard. If I have been wise enough to keep Master the Warp in my hand, I could have happily thrown that away. But all I’ve got is Defend Objective 1 – which I was about to claim – so I wave goodbye to my 2CP.
Objectives secured: Slay the Warlord (1). Kingslayer (3), Troops on the Ground (3), Blood And Guts (1)
Black Legion – Turn 3
Well, I’m up against it now. I’ve lost my warlord and most of my right flank, and I’m behind on victory points by a country mile. Still, if in doubt, kill stuff!At least my cards give me a steer: Secure Objective 1 (that’s some consolation for losing the Defend 1), Behind Enemy Lines (I’m almost there) and Mission Critical Objective 6.
Objective 6 is the one the Mordians are camped on, and I get extra points for taking it from them (and another update from Captain Hindsight: I probably shouldn’t have chucked Defend 6, now that I’m heading in that direction).
My turn boils down to how I want to use my Obliterators. In a cat-and-mouse style, they don’t have eyes on the final Leman Russ – and those two heavies are the only thing that can hurt each other. So do I sent them tank-hunting, or squander their massive firepower in shooting Guardsman in the centre?
Advised by the finest tactical minds of the Mordian Academy, I decide that the battle is in the centre, so that’s where I need to push.
On the left flank, what remains of my Melta squad move towards Objective 4, followed by the Spawn. The Plasma Raptors swoop in to threaten both the backline squad and Leman Russ. On the other side of the battle, the Melta Raptors bounce over the lines to pick on the Adjutant Commander (I feel I need to take out some of these officers, as the orders are killing me).
The Obliterators stand still, holding the centre, and the Rhino moves to back them up on Objective 5, since I still need to block Area Denial. The Helbrute steams forward into the deployment zone to threaten the next squad and the middle Sentinel.
Cimber the Enkindled and his two Chaos Space Marines move towards the squad holding Objective 6 (and fortunately, are on the other side of a ruin, out of line of sight, so can charge without Overwatch).
In the Shooting Phase, the Obliterators wipe out a backline squad with ease, leaving the Company Commander and Astropath looking somewhat exposed.
On the left flank, bolter fire whittles down some of the squad on Objective 4, while the melta shots can only scorch the paintwork of the Sentinel. In the centre, the Helbrute's combi-bolters wipe out the Command Squad (I'm enjoying the impact of these small arms to augment the Helbrute's ... big arms).
But that’s about it for shooting this turn – excepting the champion of the Heavy Bolter Squad who saw the right-flank Sentinel on two wounds and is tempted into an overcharged shot. Which of course, kills him.
In the Assault Phase, the Melta Marines and Spawn charge into what remains of the squad on Objective 4, the two Melta Raptors charge into the Adjutant Commander, and the two Plasma Raptors charge into the backline squad (then consolidate into Leman Russ).
In the centre, the Helbrute takes on the final squad in the centre, while Cimber the Enkindled and remains of the Assault Squad crash through the ruins into the full-strength squad on Objective 6.
Assault kicks off, and I roll high for the Spineshiver Blade and the Chaos Lord tears into the squad with a whopping ten attacks. What remains is easily mopped up by the two Chaos Space Marines and the objective is mine!
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| "Betcha feel stupid for discarding Defend Objective 6 now." |
The Helbrute smashes up the squad that he’s facing, and saves a sharp elbow for the Sentinel.
The Raptors don’t fare so well. One of the Plasma Raptors is cut down by the Commissar (but the other survives to lock down the Leman Russ) and one of the Melta Raptors is dragged to earth by the Platoon Commander, leaving the power fist champion to whiff his attacks.
On Objective 4, the Marines chop up a fair number of Guardsman. The Spawn achieves not much more than to look disturbing, but that’s enough to make the remainder run from morale.
Objectives secured: Secure Objective 1 (1), Behind Enemy Lines (2), Mission Critical Objective (2)
Mordian 29th - Turn 3
The next draw for the Mordians gives Hammer of the Emperor (destroy an enemy controlling an objective marker), Chain of Command (issue lots of orders) and Defend Objective 1 (the one currently guarded in my deployment). So a couple of easy points, but not big points, to be won.There’s not much combat to break away from (since I killed most of what I connected with last time), but the Leman Russ pulls away from the solitary Plasma Raptor (though the Adjutant Commander fancies his chances against the Melta Raptor).
With an eye already on Linebreaker (or at least drawing my attention), all three Sentinels start racing across the board. The Commissar and Platoon Commander on the left flank run up to engage the Spawn, while the Colonel exercises the better part of valour and scrambles for the relative safety of the Mortar Squad.
Before he goes, and with a cold calculation that is classic Mordia, he sends the blind Astropath stumbling into the central ruins to face the Cimber the Enkindled and his escort.
Shooting is a fairly quiet affair (for the Guard), since my efforts to kill all the Guardsmen are finally starting to show. The only kills of note are a few wounds off the Spawn and Helbrute respectively, and the entire Chaos Space Marine squad guarding Objective 4.
One of the Sentinel’s lascannons finally scores a wound on the Obliterators, but only causes 3 wounds, just one short of killing it. Desperate to remove even one of these monsters, a reroll CP is spent – and the damage is rerolled as a 1 (moral of the story: don't mess with the dice gods).
In combat, the Tech-Priest Enginseer charges the lone Plasma Raptor and chops him down (so there’s now nothing left to tie up the tank). The Commissar attempts to execute the Spawn for appearing on duty with his coat unbuttoned, but neither make any progress. The duel between the Adjutant Commander and Melta Raptor is a similar whiff.
The Astropath, smelling the promethium in the Chaos Squad’s flamer, decides not to risk the charge after all.
The turn ends – not as dramatic as others before it, but with so much destroyed already, we’re definitely nearing the endgame.
Objectives secured: Hammer of the Emperor (1), Chain of Command (1)
Black Legion – Turn 4
My fresh cards are Defend Objective 5 (the one my Rhino is sat on), Secure Objective 6 (the one my Chaos Lord just took) and Supremacy (I already have three objectives). This could be my chance to claw back some points.So the Assault Squad, Heavy Bolter Squad and the Rhino all stay put on their objectives. To lend them his reroll aura, the Chaos Lord jogs towards the Obliterators, who don’t move (they’re so slow that their medium range guns now can’t reach the Leman Russ on the far side of the board). The Melta Raptor remains in combat with the Platoon Commander (a triumph of optimism over experience), the Spawn continues to flail around, and the Helbrute continues its rampage across the back lines.
In shooting, each of the three Obliterators turn to face a separate Sentinel and with a pop!-pop!-pop! all three are briskly destroyed.
The remaining Assault Squad gun down the Astropath in a torrent of flame and plasma. The Helbrute’s combi-bolters mow down the unengaged Platoon Commander. These are the first characters the Mordians are losing, which means I no longer have to worry about Area Denial or Defend Objective 1, as they are both discarded.
The Helbrute charges into the Heavy Weapons Mortar teams and promptly turns them into pâté, but not before the Colonel heroically intervenes, pays their last 2 CP to interrupt, and still fails to bring him down with his power fist.
The Melta champion and Adjutant Commander continue their epic (slightly ineffective) duel and the Spawn is finally run through by his alter-ego.
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| FACE YOUR DARK SIDE! |
So it was an efficient turn for me, and made even better when I roll maximum points for Supremacy.
Objectives secured: Secure Objective 6 (1) and Supremacy (3)
Mordian 29th - Turn 4
The Imperium has its back to the wall here, so they stiffen their upper lips and draw Assassinate (I do have a character out there), Defend Objective 2 (achievable – it’s the objective by the former Heavy Weapons Squad where there is still a full squad and some board presence) and Priority Orders: Big Game Hunter (which only the Colonel can score and he’ll need to kill the Rhino to do it) |
| "Better check that reverse gear is working." |
There’s very little left for the Mordians to move. The Platoon Commander and Commissar consolidate around Objective 4 with the half-squad that remains. A lone sergeant starts sprinting towards the enemy deployment zone (and is likely to get it, as he is well screen by the ruins, and I don’t have much to catch or shoot him).
The Adjutant Commander finally gives up on his duel and falls back, ordering his last squad to open fire. Amazingly, the Raptor Champion dodges and weaves past every shot. The Mordian Plasma operator adds to the general shambles by blowing himself up.
Elsewhere, all the Mordian firepower is put into denying me points, so the Leman Russ and any assorted heavy weapons are put into the Rhino, which is promptly destroyed, forcing me to start defending Objective 4 all over again.
The only combat is the Colonel, who still fails to kill the Helbrute and is rolled into a ball of play-dough by those massive crushing fists.
That’s another character slain, and the natural objective to discard is Priority Orders.
Objectives secured: none
Black Legion – Turn 5
The tide is definitely turning for me now. I draw Secure Objective 4 (no hope of that one), Defend Objective 2 (something I need to deny to the Mordians) and No Prisoners (kill, kill, kill!). This is almost a perfect time to draw No Prisoners, as both our forces are so whittled down, there are lot of solitary models wandering around that will count as ‘unit kills’.The Obliterators move forward into the ruins, onto Objective 5, joined by Cimber the Enkindled, doubling-down on the objective and still giving them rerolls.
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| Only a Slaanesh Lord would keep a perfectly white cloak by the end of a battle. |
The last two Assault Marines advance over into flamer range of one reduced-squad in front of the Leman Russ (able to reach Objective 4 if they somehow survive), and everything else is where it needs to be.
In the Shooting Phase, in a spectacular example of overkill, the Obliterators single out and murder the Platoon Commander, Commissar, and half-squad. The Assault Marines also finish off the penultimate infantry squad with their flamer.
Over by Objective 2, the Helbrute opens his combi-bolters on the duellist Adjutant Commander and guns him down. The Melta champion and Helbrute then charge into the final Mordian squad and destroy it, denying them Objective 2 and starting to defend it themselves.
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| Where did everybody go? |
As the dust settles, we tot up that I’ve made a massive 6 unit kills, and I roll well for the objective, giving me 6 VP. Moreover the loss of three more characters means that all the Mordians' objective cards have to be discarded, so there’s no scoring opportunity for them either.
Objectives secured: No Prisoners (6)
Mordian 29th - Turn 5
The once-proud company has been reduced down to a tank, a tech-priest and an exceptionally lucky sergeant. As they search for a white flag, we draw the last cards. Master the Warp (no chance), Defend Objective 5 (equally impossible) and Overwhelming Firepower.This last one is easily achieved. We don’t roll for it, but agree that the Leman Russ would have blown away the two Assault Marines, and the lone sergeant would have achieved Linebreaker. However, I would also have Linebreaker and, at the end of this turn, secured Defend Objectives 2 and 5.
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| "Sergeant, fall the men in. Take the roll." |
At this point, the Mordians concede without rolling to see if the game prolongs. It’s been a bloodbath!
Objectives secured: Overwhelming Firepower (1), Linebreaker (1)
Black Legion Objectives secured: Defend Objective 2 (2), Defend Objective 5 (2), Linebreaker (1)
Result: 23 : 16 – Victory to the Black Legion!
Locker Room.
What a game! No apologies for the essay-length write-up – there was a lot going on in this battle. I thought I had been fortunate to survive the initial fusillade, but when a lot of points got tied up in losing my Warlord, I thought it was an uphill struggle to get back into the game. Ultimately, my battered remnants were able to cling onto board control a fraction longer than the Mordians’ battered remnants. That, and possessing a trio of devastating gun batteries on my team.Wow, those Obliterators were my MVP. Two tanks, three sentinels, a couple of infantry squads and some characters all fell beneath their guns. I did roll obscenely well on their fleshmetal gun stats, but they did all that damage and only had to use Endless Cacophony once (I was saving the points to use it again – but ran out of targets!).
To be honest, they feel a little too good for my comfort – certainly in a 1500pt game. Knocking out those two tanks on their arrival was game-changing – although they might have easily whiffed and done half as much damage. But any army that faces Chaos is going to need to come up with an answer for them, because when they get going, they can really be flat-track bullies.
Other notables were my Chaos Lord – his new Spineshiver Blade relic does wonders at clearing out troops (and I only picked it because it suited the model). I like the fist + combi-bolter loadout on the Helbrute – who enjoyed everything else being a Distraction Carnifex and got to rampage properly for once.
My Raptors did a good job – more in disruption than actual shooting damage – and in defiance of New Model Syndrome, the Melta Champion survived until the end!
Nothing could be done for my poor Berserkers – like Genestealers, they die quickly to concentrated firepower and everyone knows how good they are in combat to allow them to get there.
For all that, I was quite happy with how the list performed. Even after the Obliterators had taken out the heavy armour, I had over a hundred redcoats to kill using little more than bolters and chainswords, and they wiped them all out bar one (you always have to leave one survivor), so well done heretics!
As for the Mordians, they were a treat to watch in action. They put out such a relentless pounding of low-level firepower, interspersed with the occasional heavy shot. Orders pile upon stratagems and can make a 50pt unit such a threat that you need to take out each one. And there are just so many of them. Kudos to my opponent for keeping everything organised on the field – there’s a lot of administration in the Astra Militarum!
The pictures speak for themselves about what a gloriously-painted army this is – and it was an excellent game. Can’t wait to play them again once some more volunteers take the Emperor’s shilling and the redcoated ranks are refilled!
Best. Spawn. Ever.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the lists, I was fully expecting you to get tabled! Good job overthrowing that superior firepower.
Yes, I was also fully expecting to get tabled!
DeleteLuckily, my experience with Tyranids set me in good stead for coping with hordes.
What, charge them in hand to hand?
DeleteIt may have worked that one time once.
DeleteThat spawn is literally the coolest thing I've ever seen. Cool write up, and great looking armies too.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much - I should give the Spawn a post all to himself. I didn't have time before, as he was a very last-minute addition (I was literally finishing off the paint the night before).
DeleteOh and I also wanted to add: yet another quality pun in the title!
ReplyDeleteWe take aim to please.
Delete