Fortune favours the bold!
Hoping that battle fatigue would bring the Cabal (plus their evil overlord, Stylus) to their knees, I rounded on them firmly before they could recover from Weekend at Bernies. I, Kraken, brought the good old Tempestus Scions under Badger, along with a few Mantis Warriors.
Like an ageing crook in a heist movie, I, Stylus, will find out if The Cabal have one more job left in them...
Points: 1250 | Battle-forged + Patrol + Vanguard + Vanguard: 5 CPs
I've played this a few times before - and been brutalised by the character killing rule. I love it!
This gives me a small board presence (Valkyrie in the middle, the two Tauroxes cowering in cover), but I like to think it's still imposing.
By fate, rather than judgement (I picked the side of the board closest to the laptop camera), I seem to have quite a choice side of objectives. I went with Spearhead Assault, so I could get my melee elements stuck in early.
In terms of deployment, I went with my usual routine: a little castle of shooty Helbrutes at the back, with good lines of fire and Artemidorus the Sorcerer to babysit. I also threw out a screen of Chosen to push back the deepstrike (and provide a combi-bolter surprise to any deepstrikers - unless Kraken has been reading the past battle reports).
Oh, I read them all. I just didn't learn anything.
Everything else bundled up in the middle, ready to thrust forward. The Chaos Space Marines formed a protective circle around all the characters, because I've finally learned my lesson about cheeky flyers coming in to snipe my HQs.
The obvious thing to do would be to try and wipe out one of those two forces as quickly as possible, then swing over to the other with my mobile troops. Strung out by themselves, the Helbrutes looked tempting. But maybe I could shut down all those nice characters in the middle...
To that end, the Valkyrie swooped across the board, while the Tauroxes cautiously advanced, keeping to cover. Everyone on board leaped out of the jet afterwards, costing me a mere two faceplanting Scions, then I slammed the Mantis Warriors in on Objective 3.
Stylus sounded tense when they all arrived, and even more so after the Mantis Librarian cast Storm-Wreathed on the Veterans. He managed to Deny Ride the Wind, at least.
Shooting didn't exactly do much, sadly - stupidly, I'd placed the melta guns on the Scions out of range of anything. The Chaos Space Marines got shot up pretty badly by the Valkyrie and assorted small arms, I picked a wound off one Helbrute with the Cannon Taurox and half the wounds off the Rhino with the Missile boat. The Commissar tried a sneaky snipe on Strato, but his wards kept him safe for now.
But then it was fight time, and just as Stylus feared, the Veterans made a comfortable charge (with a little help from the Fierce Rivalries strat, 3d6 for charge and ditch the lowest). Even the Librarian managed to make it in!
The Helbrute ate a storm hammer, I very nearly took out the Greater Possessed. But then the tide turned, as Stylus had intervened with all his characters. I'd bitten off more than I could chew, and the Marines dropped like flies.
Worse, I lost my Blood and Guts objective as Decius, the Terminator Sorcerer, scythed through the Librarian! So no points for me, as I also discovered I'd not quite managed to get the Cannon Taurox out of the deployment zone. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd hit the other flank instead...
Objectives scored: First Strike (1)
Objectives scored (Cabal): First Strike (1)
My mantra for this mission was 'don't get suckered into targeting the Valkyrie', but I reckoned the Lord-Commissar and his escort were fair game, so unloaded the Rhino and bundled out the Purge Chosen and Plague Marines to face them. The Rhino itself backed up to the board edge (not shown) and popped smoke, as I wanted it alive to ferry my troops back into combat afterwards.
The Terminator Sorcerer followed his Purge boys, while Strato, glory-hog that he is, flew off to face the Tactical Squad. The Greater Possessed ran after him with bloody footprints, as I had a cunning plan to keep him alive...
In the Scourged section, the Chosen dressed their lines, to get better shooting upfield, and the Helbrutes stayed put. Artemidorus put Prescience and Weaver of Fates on one of them (clearly his favourite).
Being so close to the big bird, Decius the Purge's Terminator Sorcerer couldn't resist Smiting off a wingtip and following up with a melta shot (which failed to wound, even with a reroll). He also put Miasma of Pestilence on the Chosen, to help them survive.
Shooting began with the Plague Marine Champion lobbing a krak grenade at the Scions, killing one. Kraken was puzzled at this, until I explain that was the only ranged weapon that squad possessed, and my aim was to scratch the unit, so all the other Purge units would get rerolls...
,,, step forward the Purge Chosen's Chaincannon operator. Yep, that did it.
On the heavy artillery side, the Helbrutes gave all their attention to the Battle Cannon Taurox and blew it apart (all the Scions inside unsportingly dived for cover, so my combi-bolters couldn't clear them up).
And finally, Strato opened proceedings on the Tactical Squad by picking one off with his combi-bolter. He then flew in, tore up the squad with ease, and consolidated into the Drop Pod.
The Greater Possessed also charged into the Drop Pod, ripping off an armour plate as he did so. My main intention here was to keep him and Strato from being shot in Kraken's turn, while giving them a melee foe who couldn't strike back (chaos are so evil).
Finally, the Plague Marines skirted around the Valkyrie and pulverised the Commissar with plague flails (although he did cap one of them in Overwatch). That was another character, and another objective card discarded for Kraken.
A good start for me - one of the three vehicles down and not a living marine left on the field.
Objectives scored: Big Game Hunter (1)
Again, more eminently suitable objectives. Apart from Secure 6, underneath those lascannon 'brutes. Why didn't I hit the other flank?
Well, already feeling on the back foot, I felt I'd better do return fire as hard as I could. The Scions in the middle trudged towards the Scourged Marines (and quickly away from the Possessed), the Volley Gun squad popped out in good order with Badger and the Missile Taurox, and the Command Squad slammed down in the back corner.
After dithering about the Valkyrie for a bit, I decided to go into gunship mode from the relative safety of a nearby roof. Strafing the Scourged was going to help squeeze them.
In the event, shooting wasn't bad. Not great, either, but I couldn't grumble - I battered the unprotected Helbrute down to half wounds, losing a plasma gunner in the process, then just about killed the other with missiles from the Taurox and the Take Aim order from the Volley Gunners. At the same time, hosing the Scourged Chosen with more hotshot fire and Valkyrie bolters left only two alive, the heavy weapons.
Determined to nail them down, I then charged them with the Valkyrie!
In what might have been an overreaction to the prospect of close-combat with a gunship, the Scourged Chosen decided to overcharge his combi-plasma. He rolled a 1 (and, with a reroll, another 1) and blew himself up. The Missile Launcher scored a hit in Overwatch, and then failed to wound. So I won't be signing these boys up for anti-aircraft duties any time soon.
And there is a round of close combat to finish off the turn - my Chaos Lord and Greater Possessed bashing themselves against the hull of the Drop Pod!
Even though I am in no danger of getting hit back, this is a very important combat for me - I need to destroy the Drop Pod in the Imperium's turn, so I'm free to move and charge my two punchy characters in my turn. If they have to fall back, or destroy it in my turn, they're going to be out of position or exposed to fire.
Strato isn't at his murderous peak, but even that's enough to strip six wounds off the Pod. The Greater Possessed only has one left to work through, but has a shocker of a wound roll and only gets one through (I even use a reroll to try and boost that, but no luck) - fortune smiles on me, though, as Kraken fails his armour save, and the Pod is gone, leaving the Cabal's top killers looking for fresh meat.
Objectives scored: I did not
Objectives scored (Cabal): Defend Objective 6 (2)
Advance isn't going to happen while I still have lascannon Helbrutes (and most of my melee guys wandering around the backfield). No Prisoners is an easy one, and three kills is not out of the question.
The Will of Chaos is an interesting one - a randomly determined objective each turn. I roll 5 for this turn, which is no good to me, but it may be favourable next time.
With only one Helbrute left, the Shooting Phase is less effective. The lascannons and missile launcher (augmented by the Chosen's last man standing) only take six wounds off the Missile Taurox, so I still haven't removed Kraken's heavy firepower.
This was pure luck - I managed some very good armour saves against lascannons in a very timely manner.
In the Assault Phase, Strato may be reconsidering the wisdom of charging the Valkyrie when Kraken spends 2CP to play Defensive Gunners (5+ Overwatch) and Vengeance for Cadia (reroll all hits and wounds). My luck, and invulnerable save, hold out and I make it into combat with just one wound lost.
I tear away at the flyer with Ghorisvek’s Teeth and do some pretty hefty damage - although disappointingly not enough to destroy it, and the Valkyrie is left on three wounds.
That's not a chainsword! That's clearly a thunder hammer in disguise!
The Greater Possessed has a similarly lacklustre performance, only ripping apart three Guardsman, and leaving three left alive (who do him no harm).
These are not the objectives I'm looking for in terms of a quick turn around, but they're all doable. So I can't grumble, really, even though I feel like I want to.
The depleted survivors run away from the Possessed, the Volley gunners consolidate their small arms forward, the Valkyrie hovers round Strato like a huge angry bee and Badger barks enough orders to everyone, including himself, to collect Chain of Command, before advancing backwards to start defending Objective 5.
Badger tells the hotshot Scions to keep shooting even though they ran, but despite a decent barrage of shots they don't take out the Greater Possessed. The rest of the Scourged take a beating, though - having sat still this turn (and having been Jury Rigged back up a wound bracket), the Missile Taurox has the range to start getting extra shots with the missile launchers, as per the Scions' trait. And it's box cars, so the Helbrute eats four Krak missiles! With him out of the way, the Hotshot squad take out the last of the Scourged Chosen but fail to hurt any of the incoming Purge.
I'm still very behind in points. But I'm also feeling like I can still just about turn this with another round of shooting. Come on you Lampreys!
Objectives scored: Chain of Command (1)
I start by decamping around Objective 2: Rhino, Decius and Plague Marines (they are a bit further upfield than shown), so no-one's getting me off there. I also sneak Artemidorus onto Objective 6, hiding behind the building.
The Purge Chosen are all in rapid-fire range of the largest Scion squad, so they don't need to move, and the Greater Possessed follows up to the remnants of the Scions he's been picking on.
Jumping across the battlefield, aided by the Decius' Warptime, Strato gets within an easy charge of the Taurox, fancying his chances against another vehicle.
Decius then lobs a Smite at the wounded Valkyrie, and knocks it out of the sky.
With an overhead flick of his combi-bolter, Strato takes down two of the Scions facing the Greater Possessed. I was trying to cut down on the Overwatch he would face, although I should have more sensibly hit the larger squad, to tee them up for the Purge Chosen's shots. After combi-bolter and chaincannon, three of the Scions remain standing.
The Greater Possessed rips through the last Scion in the squad, and Strato makes his play for the Taurox. If he can repeat his performance against the Drop Pod and Valkyrie, that would just leave the Scions squad (about to take a whopper of a Morale check) and Badger, hiding behind some crates at the back.
And then Kraken plays Vengeance for Cadia for the Taurox's Overwatch. Not that he needs it, because he then rolls double-six for the krak missiles (which then explode into a further hit). Strato's Sigil of Corruption fails him, and he is plucked from the sky.
Now that's a flak missile!
So after the last of the Scions have legged it, we top up the points: Kraken scores Slay the Warlord and Assassinate, as well as Defend Objective 5.
But before I can score my objectives, I need to see how many I am going to sacrifice to my warlord's folly. I roll maximum three lost, and have to give up Defend Objective 2, Advance and The Long War - somewhere between 4 and 9 VPs down the toilet.
Well, after that shocker, it would be churlish to complain that I drew Scour the Skies a turn late! Death from Afar isn't bad, but I might have to wait a round, the Missile Taurox needs to get out of dodge. I'm out of CP now, so no more defensive guns or Cadian vengeance.
Objectives scored: nope
To start with the objectives, the Plague Marines, who have been jogging back and forth from the centre line since killing the Commissar, are once again sent backwards to jump on Objective 4.
The Rhino speeds towards the enemy deployment zone, as I'm mindful that that game could end soon and I need Linebreaker, and gets boosted with Warptime.
Casting Miasma on himself, Decius stays on Objective 2 (he doesn't stray as far as shown on the map), and Artemidorus scrambles up to the roof to get eyes on the Taurox, but still holding Objective 6, so that's my three for Supremacy.
The Chosen is sent hunting the Taurox, but due to the intervening buildings, they'll have to be patient. They advance closer, keeping themselves hidden, ready to draw aim next turn.
Artemidorus throws a Smite at the Taurox, which fails. he then becomes acutely aware of what happened to his warlord, and puts Weaver of Fates on himself, in hopes of survivability.
So no shots fired this turn, but I've got a commanding board control and that should translate into points: D3 for Supremacy and D3 for Master the Warp.
I roll double-1 for both - which means my lead only inches ahead.
No new objectives I could conceivably score, I didn't have the numbers any more. But some old low-hanging fruit, in terms of Assassinate and Witch Hunter. Artimedorus had painted a big target on his head, so Badger stayed in the back of the van, and drove towards the shiny sorcerer.
Much Hotshottery later, he'd snuffed it. The Missile Taurox had certainly eaten his shreddies this morning.
I lose more than an idiot Sorcerer who didn't know to keep his head down - I have to discard another objective card, and the only one I'm holding is Defend Objective 4.
So that's another 2VP gone - though he couldn't reach the Plague Marines, Kraken somehow thwarted them anyway!
Objectives scored: Assassinate (1), Witch Hunter (1)
It wasn't going to make a huge difference - exposing Badger to any kind of shooting was going to be very bad news. I had to, though, otherwise Stylus was going to take the game on points. Shooting had been kind so far, and moving the Taurox now that it was on its last legs just didn't seem worth it.
As Badger legged it round the building to grab 6, the Taurox powered up for a last stand. Frag or Krak? Both seemed good against the Chosen, but I decided after much prevaricating to go with the armour busters. And rolled another double 6! Only two of the resulting four missiles hit, but it was looking good.
This time, however, their armour was up to the challenge. A very solid barrage of Volley Gun hits also pattered off, and I merely took out two. That was probably it for me, I suspected.
Objectives scored: Secure Objective 6 (1)
No more messing around: Decius Smites the Taurox into pieces, and the three remaining Chosen charge into Badger.
As the Thunder Hammer begins to swing, Badger suddenly remembers an urgent appointment at his golf club.
Hoping that battle fatigue would bring the Cabal (plus their evil overlord, Stylus) to their knees, I rounded on them firmly before they could recover from Weekend at Bernies. I, Kraken, brought the good old Tempestus Scions under Badger, along with a few Mantis Warriors.
Like an ageing crook in a heist movie, I, Stylus, will find out if The Cabal have one more job left in them...
Army 1
Now that I've got Marine allies for the Tempestus, I need to start practising with them. This is their first joint outing, and it's a small patrol coming to back up a fairly standard gunline of Scions.
The drop pod packs ten, so that's what I take - four company veterans for a variety of nasty close combat attacks, a Librarian to speed them into combat and a small tactical squad to provide covering fire.
The Scions have their usual selection of shooty transports, Badger and a punchy Lord Commissar with the sniper bolt pistol relic. Three Scion squads - one for ranged firepower with volley guns, one for close range assault work and a small one with basic firepower to round out the detachment. Finally, a plasma-armed command squad for a deep strike fire ambush.
Overall, it's a fast, hard-hitting assault force, highly mobile but unlikely to take any kind of counterpunch. But if I hit hard enough in the right place, there won't be one!
Tempestus Scions Battalion Detachment
- HQ - Badger, the Tempestus Prime, with command rod and power maul. Warlord with Voice of Command trait
- HQ - Commissar Lord Bleeth, power fist and The Emperor's Benediction relic bolt pistol
- Troops - 8 x Tempestus Scions, voxcaster and sarge with chainsword and hotshot pistol
- Troops - 10 x Tempestus Scions, vox, grenade launcher, two meltas, flamer, sarge with plasma pistol and power sword
- Troops - 10 x Tempestus Scions, vox, 4 hotshot volley guns
- Elite - Tempestus Scion Command Squad, 3 plasma guns and vox
- Flyer - Valkyrie with lascannon, 2 heavy bolters and hellfire missiles
- Transport - Taurox Prime with battlecannon, autocannons and storm bolter
- Transport - Taurox Prime with Missile Launcher and 2 volley guns
Mantis Warriors Patrol Detachment
- HQ - Librarian with storm bolter and force axe, Storm Wreathed and Ride the Wind powers
- Troops - 5 x Tactical Marines, missile launcher
- Elites - 4 x Company Veterans, Sarge has a thunder hammer, one with power sword and storm shield, one with two chainswords, one with twin lightning claws
- Transport - Drop Pod with Deathwind Launcher
Heretic Astartes - The Cabal
The Cabal - I know 'em, I love 'em. Exactly the same list as I took to Day 1 of Weekend at Burnies and, after five quick-succession live-firing exercises with them, I should know what I'm doing with them.
The Unkindest Cut - Black Legion Patrol
- Strato - Chaos Lord with Jump Pack (HQ) (Warlord)
Chainsword, Combi-Bolter, Frag & Krak Grenades
Warlord Trait: Black-clad Brute
Relic: Ghorisvek’s Teeth
- 6 x Chaos Space Marines (Troop)Power Sword, 5 x Bolt Pistol & Chainswords, Icon of Excess, Mark of Slaanesh
- Greater Possessed (Elite)
Daemonic Mutations
- Strato - Chaos Lord with Jump Pack (HQ) (Warlord)
Chainsword, Combi-Bolter, Frag & Krak Grenades
Warlord Trait: Black-clad Brute
Relic: Ghorisvek’s Teeth - 6 x Chaos Space Marines (Troop)Power Sword, 5 x Bolt Pistol & Chainswords, Icon of Excess, Mark of Slaanesh
- Greater Possessed (Elite)
Daemonic Mutations
The Infinite Jest - The Scourged Vanguard
- Artemidorus - Sorcerer (HQ)
Bolt pistol, Force Stave, Frag & Krak Grenades, Mark of Tzeentch
Prescience, Weaver of Fates
- 5 x Chaos Chosen (Elite)
3 x Combi-bolter, 5 x chainswords, Combi-plasma, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch
- Helbrute (Elite)
Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch
- Helbrute (Elite)
Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch
- Artemidorus - Sorcerer (HQ)
Bolt pistol, Force Stave, Frag & Krak Grenades, Mark of Tzeentch
Prescience, Weaver of Fates - 5 x Chaos Chosen (Elite)
3 x Combi-bolter, 5 x chainswords, Combi-plasma, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch - Helbrute (Elite)
Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch - Helbrute (Elite)
Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Mark of Tzeentch
The Pestilent Congregation - The Purge Vanguard
- Decius - Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (HQ)
Combi-melta, Force Sword, Frag & Krak Grenades, Mark of Nurgle
Miasma of Pestilence, Warptime
- 5 x Chaos Chosen (Elite)
4 x Combi-bolter, 4 x chainswords, Thunder Hammer, Reaper Chaincannon, Mark of Nurgle
- 5 x Plague Marines (Elite)
Power fist, 2 x Flail of Contagion, 2 x 2nd Plague Knife, Blight & Krak Grenades
- Helbrute (Elite)
Helbrute fist (combi-bolter), Power scourge, Mark of Nurgle
- Rhino (Elite)
Combi-bolter), Mark of Nurgle
- Decius - Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (HQ)
Combi-melta, Force Sword, Frag & Krak Grenades, Mark of Nurgle
Miasma of Pestilence, Warptime - 5 x Chaos Chosen (Elite)
4 x Combi-bolter, 4 x chainswords, Thunder Hammer, Reaper Chaincannon, Mark of Nurgle - 5 x Plague Marines (Elite)
Power fist, 2 x Flail of Contagion, 2 x 2nd Plague Knife, Blight & Krak Grenades - Helbrute (Elite)
Helbrute fist (combi-bolter), Power scourge, Mark of Nurgle - Rhino (Elite)
Combi-bolter), Mark of Nurgle
Points: 1250 | Battle-forged + Patrol + Vanguard + Vanguard: 5 CPs
Mission and Terrain
A random roll for Maelstrom gives us Decapitation Strike. Standard Maelstrom rules, but if you lose a character, you also lose a random Objective card from your hand. Or a d3 if it's your warlord, which could prove punishing.I've played this a few times before - and been brutalised by the character killing rule. I love it!
Deployment
We're off to the jungle again! Stylus picks the deployment zones, so I go down first. All the Marines get in their pod, everyone else hides in a transport except for Badger and his command squaddies, who will parachute in later.
This gives me a small board presence (Valkyrie in the middle, the two Tauroxes cowering in cover), but I like to think it's still imposing.
By fate, rather than judgement (I picked the side of the board closest to the laptop camera), I seem to have quite a choice side of objectives. I went with Spearhead Assault, so I could get my melee elements stuck in early.
In terms of deployment, I went with my usual routine: a little castle of shooty Helbrutes at the back, with good lines of fire and Artemidorus the Sorcerer to babysit. I also threw out a screen of Chosen to push back the deepstrike (and provide a combi-bolter surprise to any deepstrikers - unless Kraken has been reading the past battle reports).
Oh, I read them all. I just didn't learn anything.
Everything else bundled up in the middle, ready to thrust forward. The Chaos Space Marines formed a protective circle around all the characters, because I've finally learned my lesson about cheeky flyers coming in to snipe my HQs.
Imperium - Turn 1
Objectives Drawn - Advance, Defend Objective 2 and Blood and Guts
Not a bad starting draw in many ways - getting out there and getting stuck is what this army is built for! Objective 2, though, right in between the two wings of Stylus's force, looked a bit iffy to me.
Not a bad starting draw in many ways - getting out there and getting stuck is what this army is built for! Objective 2, though, right in between the two wings of Stylus's force, looked a bit iffy to me.
The obvious thing to do would be to try and wipe out one of those two forces as quickly as possible, then swing over to the other with my mobile troops. Strung out by themselves, the Helbrutes looked tempting. But maybe I could shut down all those nice characters in the middle...
To that end, the Valkyrie swooped across the board, while the Tauroxes cautiously advanced, keeping to cover. Everyone on board leaped out of the jet afterwards, costing me a mere two faceplanting Scions, then I slammed the Mantis Warriors in on Objective 3.
Stylus sounded tense when they all arrived, and even more so after the Mantis Librarian cast Storm-Wreathed on the Veterans. He managed to Deny Ride the Wind, at least.
Shooting didn't exactly do much, sadly - stupidly, I'd placed the melta guns on the Scions out of range of anything. The Chaos Space Marines got shot up pretty badly by the Valkyrie and assorted small arms, I picked a wound off one Helbrute with the Cannon Taurox and half the wounds off the Rhino with the Missile boat. The Commissar tried a sneaky snipe on Strato, but his wards kept him safe for now.
But then it was fight time, and just as Stylus feared, the Veterans made a comfortable charge (with a little help from the Fierce Rivalries strat, 3d6 for charge and ditch the lowest). Even the Librarian managed to make it in!
The Helbrute ate a storm hammer, I very nearly took out the Greater Possessed. But then the tide turned, as Stylus had intervened with all his characters. I'd bitten off more than I could chew, and the Marines dropped like flies.
 |
| Hey! Where'd they go? |
Worse, I lost my Blood and Guts objective as Decius, the Terminator Sorcerer, scythed through the Librarian! So no points for me, as I also discovered I'd not quite managed to get the Cannon Taurox out of the deployment zone. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd hit the other flank instead...
Objectives scored (Cabal): First Strike (1)
The Cabal - Turn 1
Objectives Drawn - Big Game Hunter, Secure Objective 1 and Defend Objective 6
A nice opening draw for me - there's nothing but big game on the field at the moment, and with two Helbrutes and a character camped on Objective 6, that's a near-guaranteed 2VP as well (unless I lose a character and have to discard it - that's always the danger here).
Objective 1 is a bit out of reach, but having something expendable in your hand is no bad thing in this mission.
My mantra for this mission was 'don't get suckered into targeting the Valkyrie', but I reckoned the Lord-Commissar and his escort were fair game, so unloaded the Rhino and bundled out the Purge Chosen and Plague Marines to face them. The Rhino itself backed up to the board edge (not shown) and popped smoke, as I wanted it alive to ferry my troops back into combat afterwards.
The Terminator Sorcerer followed his Purge boys, while Strato, glory-hog that he is, flew off to face the Tactical Squad. The Greater Possessed ran after him with bloody footprints, as I had a cunning plan to keep him alive...
In the Scourged section, the Chosen dressed their lines, to get better shooting upfield, and the Helbrutes stayed put. Artemidorus put Prescience and Weaver of Fates on one of them (clearly his favourite).
Being so close to the big bird, Decius the Purge's Terminator Sorcerer couldn't resist Smiting off a wingtip and following up with a melta shot (which failed to wound, even with a reroll). He also put Miasma of Pestilence on the Chosen, to help them survive.
Shooting began with the Plague Marine Champion lobbing a krak grenade at the Scions, killing one. Kraken was puzzled at this, until I explain that was the only ranged weapon that squad possessed, and my aim was to scratch the unit, so all the other Purge units would get rerolls...
,,, step forward the Purge Chosen's Chaincannon operator. Yep, that did it.
On the heavy artillery side, the Helbrutes gave all their attention to the Battle Cannon Taurox and blew it apart (all the Scions inside unsportingly dived for cover, so my combi-bolters couldn't clear them up).
And finally, Strato opened proceedings on the Tactical Squad by picking one off with his combi-bolter. He then flew in, tore up the squad with ease, and consolidated into the Drop Pod.
The Greater Possessed also charged into the Drop Pod, ripping off an armour plate as he did so. My main intention here was to keep him and Strato from being shot in Kraken's turn, while giving them a melee foe who couldn't strike back (chaos are so evil).
Finally, the Plague Marines skirted around the Valkyrie and pulverised the Commissar with plague flails (although he did cap one of them in Overwatch). That was another character, and another objective card discarded for Kraken.
A good start for me - one of the three vehicles down and not a living marine left on the field.
Imperium - Turn 2
Objectives Drawn - Assassinate, Secure Objective 6, Witch Hunter
Again, more eminently suitable objectives. Apart from Secure 6, underneath those lascannon 'brutes. Why didn't I hit the other flank?
Well, already feeling on the back foot, I felt I'd better do return fire as hard as I could. The Scions in the middle trudged towards the Scourged Marines (and quickly away from the Possessed), the Volley Gun squad popped out in good order with Badger and the Missile Taurox, and the Command Squad slammed down in the back corner.
After dithering about the Valkyrie for a bit, I decided to go into gunship mode from the relative safety of a nearby roof. Strafing the Scourged was going to help squeeze them.
In the event, shooting wasn't bad. Not great, either, but I couldn't grumble - I battered the unprotected Helbrute down to half wounds, losing a plasma gunner in the process, then just about killed the other with missiles from the Taurox and the Take Aim order from the Volley Gunners. At the same time, hosing the Scourged Chosen with more hotshot fire and Valkyrie bolters left only two alive, the heavy weapons.
Determined to nail them down, I then charged them with the Valkyrie!
In what might have been an overreaction to the prospect of close-combat with a gunship, the Scourged Chosen decided to overcharge his combi-plasma. He rolled a 1 (and, with a reroll, another 1) and blew himself up. The Missile Launcher scored a hit in Overwatch, and then failed to wound. So I won't be signing these boys up for anti-aircraft duties any time soon.
And there is a round of close combat to finish off the turn - my Chaos Lord and Greater Possessed bashing themselves against the hull of the Drop Pod!
Even though I am in no danger of getting hit back, this is a very important combat for me - I need to destroy the Drop Pod in the Imperium's turn, so I'm free to move and charge my two punchy characters in my turn. If they have to fall back, or destroy it in my turn, they're going to be out of position or exposed to fire.
Strato isn't at his murderous peak, but even that's enough to strip six wounds off the Pod. The Greater Possessed only has one left to work through, but has a shocker of a wound roll and only gets one through (I even use a reroll to try and boost that, but no luck) - fortune smiles on me, though, as Kraken fails his armour save, and the Pod is gone, leaving the Cabal's top killers looking for fresh meat.
Objectives scored (Cabal): Defend Objective 6 (2)
The Cabal - Turn 2
Objectives Drawn - Advance, No Prisoners and The Will of Chaos (and also Secure Objective 1)
Advance isn't going to happen while I still have lascannon Helbrutes (and most of my melee guys wandering around the backfield). No Prisoners is an easy one, and three kills is not out of the question.
The Will of Chaos is an interesting one - a randomly determined objective each turn. I roll 5 for this turn, which is no good to me, but it may be favourable next time.
Having warmed up on a Drop Pod, Strato sets his sights on the other airborne transport, and goes straight for the Valkyrie. The Greater Possessed sneaks around a corner, ready to jump out and murder the Scions of the wrecked Taurox.
With no viable targets, the Purge Chosen advance up to the centre. The Plague Marines jump into the Rhino, which follows them. Decius follows up behind and casts Warptime to get the Strato right on top of the Valkyrie (and then takes a shot with his melta, and misses).
Artemidorus falls away from the Helbrutes, so he can Smite the command squad of Scions. he scores maximum mortal wounds and, with one already dead from plasma overcharge, the whole squad is wiped out. No Prisoners achieved already!
With only one Helbrute left, the Shooting Phase is less effective. The lascannons and missile launcher (augmented by the Chosen's last man standing) only take six wounds off the Missile Taurox, so I still haven't removed Kraken's heavy firepower.
This was pure luck - I managed some very good armour saves against lascannons in a very timely manner.
In the Assault Phase, Strato may be reconsidering the wisdom of charging the Valkyrie when Kraken spends 2CP to play Defensive Gunners (5+ Overwatch) and Vengeance for Cadia (reroll all hits and wounds). My luck, and invulnerable save, hold out and I make it into combat with just one wound lost.
I tear away at the flyer with Ghorisvek’s Teeth and do some pretty hefty damage - although disappointingly not enough to destroy it, and the Valkyrie is left on three wounds.
That's not a chainsword! That's clearly a thunder hammer in disguise!
The Greater Possessed has a similarly lacklustre performance, only ripping apart three Guardsman, and leaving three left alive (who do him no harm).
Not a bad turn. I'm in a good position, and I've done some serious damage, and with the Defend 6 objective, plus No Prisoners, I've got a healthy lead in VPs.
I did expect to bring down both flyer and Scion squad (although I should probably just be grateful neither character died to Overwatch), but I've got some good assets left and a bit of momentum.
I did expect to bring down both flyer and Scion squad (although I should probably just be grateful neither character died to Overwatch), but I've got some good assets left and a bit of momentum.
Objectives scored: No Prisoners (1)
Imperium - Turn 3
Objectives Drawn - Defend Objective 5, Mission Critical Objective (2), Chain of Command
These are not the objectives I'm looking for in terms of a quick turn around, but they're all doable. So I can't grumble, really, even though I feel like I want to.
The depleted survivors run away from the Possessed, the Volley gunners consolidate their small arms forward, the Valkyrie hovers round Strato like a huge angry bee and Badger barks enough orders to everyone, including himself, to collect Chain of Command, before advancing backwards to start defending Objective 5.
Badger tells the hotshot Scions to keep shooting even though they ran, but despite a decent barrage of shots they don't take out the Greater Possessed. The rest of the Scourged take a beating, though - having sat still this turn (and having been Jury Rigged back up a wound bracket), the Missile Taurox has the range to start getting extra shots with the missile launchers, as per the Scions' trait. And it's box cars, so the Helbrute eats four Krak missiles! With him out of the way, the Hotshot squad take out the last of the Scourged Chosen but fail to hurt any of the incoming Purge.
I'm still very behind in points. But I'm also feeling like I can still just about turn this with another round of shooting. Come on you Lampreys!
The Cabal - Turn 3
Objectives Drawn - The Long War, Mission Critical Objective (6) and Defend Objective 2 (and also Advance, The Will of Chaos, Secure Objective 1)
I've got a full hand of objectives, and I'm feeling very good about it. The Long War is basically No Prisoners with a bonus for fighting Imperium (narrative player's dream there), I still have foothold on Objective 6 and half my army is on Objective 2.
The Will of Chaos also rolls up Objective 2, so there's a potential bucketload of VPs coming my way.
I've got a full hand of objectives, and I'm feeling very good about it. The Long War is basically No Prisoners with a bonus for fighting Imperium (narrative player's dream there), I still have foothold on Objective 6 and half my army is on Objective 2.
The Will of Chaos also rolls up Objective 2, so there's a potential bucketload of VPs coming my way.
I start by decamping around Objective 2: Rhino, Decius and Plague Marines (they are a bit further upfield than shown), so no-one's getting me off there. I also sneak Artemidorus onto Objective 6, hiding behind the building.
The Purge Chosen are all in rapid-fire range of the largest Scion squad, so they don't need to move, and the Greater Possessed follows up to the remnants of the Scions he's been picking on.
Jumping across the battlefield, aided by the Decius' Warptime, Strato gets within an easy charge of the Taurox, fancying his chances against another vehicle.
Decius then lobs a Smite at the wounded Valkyrie, and knocks it out of the sky.
With an overhead flick of his combi-bolter, Strato takes down two of the Scions facing the Greater Possessed. I was trying to cut down on the Overwatch he would face, although I should have more sensibly hit the larger squad, to tee them up for the Purge Chosen's shots. After combi-bolter and chaincannon, three of the Scions remain standing.
The Greater Possessed rips through the last Scion in the squad, and Strato makes his play for the Taurox. If he can repeat his performance against the Drop Pod and Valkyrie, that would just leave the Scions squad (about to take a whopper of a Morale check) and Badger, hiding behind some crates at the back.
And then Kraken plays Vengeance for Cadia for the Taurox's Overwatch. Not that he needs it, because he then rolls double-six for the krak missiles (which then explode into a further hit). Strato's Sigil of Corruption fails him, and he is plucked from the sky.
Now that's a flak missile!
So after the last of the Scions have legged it, we top up the points: Kraken scores Slay the Warlord and Assassinate, as well as Defend Objective 5.
But before I can score my objectives, I need to see how many I am going to sacrifice to my warlord's folly. I roll maximum three lost, and have to give up Defend Objective 2, Advance and The Long War - somewhere between 4 and 9 VPs down the toilet.
As a consolation, I still get Will of Chaos and Mission Critical Objective, but we're actually drawing level on points!
Oh Strato, you silly sausage.
I did not see that coming! Unlike the Missile Taurox, it definitely saw him on the way in. But can I capitalize on this surprise twist?
Oh Strato, you silly sausage.
I did not see that coming! Unlike the Missile Taurox, it definitely saw him on the way in. But can I capitalize on this surprise twist?
Objectives scored: Will of Chaos (1), Mission Critical Objective (1)
Objectives scored (Imperium): Slay the Warlord (1), Assassinate (1), Defend Objective 5 (2)
Objectives scored (Imperium): Slay the Warlord (1), Assassinate (1), Defend Objective 5 (2)
Imperium - Turn 4
Objectives Drawn - Scour the Skies, Death from Afar, Secure Objective 1
Well, after that shocker, it would be churlish to complain that I drew Scour the Skies a turn late! Death from Afar isn't bad, but I might have to wait a round, the Missile Taurox needs to get out of dodge. I'm out of CP now, so no more defensive guns or Cadian vengeance.
In the event, it's a quick turn. The Taurox backs up, Badger darts into it, and then I finally waste the Greater Possessed with a quick missile. This gets me no points, but buys me breathing room at least.
Which forces me to discard another objective card. Haha! - I've only got Secure Objective 1 left in my hand and it's rubbish. Happily discarded.
Which forces me to discard another objective card. Haha! - I've only got Secure Objective 1 left in my hand and it's rubbish. Happily discarded.
The Cabal - Turn 4
Objectives drawn - Master the Warp, Supremacy, Defend Objective 4
Oh, this is a nice draw - I could vault back into the lead with this set.
Oh, this is a nice draw - I could vault back into the lead with this set.
To start with the objectives, the Plague Marines, who have been jogging back and forth from the centre line since killing the Commissar, are once again sent backwards to jump on Objective 4.
The Rhino speeds towards the enemy deployment zone, as I'm mindful that that game could end soon and I need Linebreaker, and gets boosted with Warptime.
Casting Miasma on himself, Decius stays on Objective 2 (he doesn't stray as far as shown on the map), and Artemidorus scrambles up to the roof to get eyes on the Taurox, but still holding Objective 6, so that's my three for Supremacy.
The Chosen is sent hunting the Taurox, but due to the intervening buildings, they'll have to be patient. They advance closer, keeping themselves hidden, ready to draw aim next turn.
Artemidorus throws a Smite at the Taurox, which fails. he then becomes acutely aware of what happened to his warlord, and puts Weaver of Fates on himself, in hopes of survivability.
 |
| Now you see him... |
So no shots fired this turn, but I've got a commanding board control and that should translate into points: D3 for Supremacy and D3 for Master the Warp.
I roll double-1 for both - which means my lead only inches ahead.
Objectives scored: Supremacy (1), Master the Warp (1)
Imperium - Turn 5
Objectives Drawn - Troops on the Ground, Hold the Line
No new objectives I could conceivably score, I didn't have the numbers any more. But some old low-hanging fruit, in terms of Assassinate and Witch Hunter. Artimedorus had painted a big target on his head, so Badger stayed in the back of the van, and drove towards the shiny sorcerer.
Much Hotshottery later, he'd snuffed it. The Missile Taurox had certainly eaten his shreddies this morning.
 |
| ...now you won't. |
I lose more than an idiot Sorcerer who didn't know to keep his head down - I have to discard another objective card, and the only one I'm holding is Defend Objective 4.
So that's another 2VP gone - though he couldn't reach the Plague Marines, Kraken somehow thwarted them anyway!
Objectives scored: Assassinate (1), Witch Hunter (1)
The Cabal - Turn 5
Objectives drawn - Assassinate, Kingslayer, Secure Objective 3
Well, High Command aren't being subtle, are they? Kill Badger and the game is mine!
Well, High Command aren't being subtle, are they? Kill Badger and the game is mine!
The Plague Marines give up hope of taking any further part in the battle and sit down to make daisy chains. The Rhino races deep into enemy territory to secure Linebreaker.
Decius, once again finding himself in command of The Cabal, runs after the Chosen, who open fire on the Taurox and take it down to its very last wound. It survives!
Objectives scored: none
Imperium - Turn 6
Objectives Drawn - Overkill
Argh - a really tempting set of objectives! I agonised for a while over what to do. Stick Badger on 1, the Taurox on 6? Or keep the Taurox still, Overkill the Chosen and put Badger on 6?
It wasn't going to make a huge difference - exposing Badger to any kind of shooting was going to be very bad news. I had to, though, otherwise Stylus was going to take the game on points. Shooting had been kind so far, and moving the Taurox now that it was on its last legs just didn't seem worth it.
As Badger legged it round the building to grab 6, the Taurox powered up for a last stand. Frag or Krak? Both seemed good against the Chosen, but I decided after much prevaricating to go with the armour busters. And rolled another double 6! Only two of the resulting four missiles hit, but it was looking good.
This time, however, their armour was up to the challenge. A very solid barrage of Volley Gun hits also pattered off, and I merely took out two. That was probably it for me, I suspected.
The Cabal - Turn 6
Objectives drawn - Behind Enemy Lines, Secure Objective 6, Secure Objective 5 (and also Assassinate, Kingslayer, Secure Objective 3)
No more messing around: Decius Smites the Taurox into pieces, and the three remaining Chosen charge into Badger.
As the Thunder Hammer begins to swing, Badger suddenly remembers an urgent appointment at his golf club.
Objectives scored: Behind Enemy Lines (1), Secure Objective 6 (1), Assassinate (1), Kingslayer (2), Slay the Warlord (1), Linebreaker (1)
Result: 9 : 16 - Victory for The Cabal!
Locker Room
Oh, Kraken, you impetuous fool! In retrospect, I should have picked off the exposed Scourged squads. The Mantis Veterans and Melta Scions would have messed up the Helbrutes, and probably shut them down, sparing my gunline. Instead, I threw my best into the teeth of the gale, losing half my army for nowhere near enough return. And it was all down to overexcitement - losing the melta shots due to bad positioning was very poor, for example.
I was still glad I hadn't grabbed the centre with the Drop pod, mind. Secure Objective 2 was never going to happen, I'd have been outgunned in seconds. And then the assault characters would have slingshotted into my back line much faster - having to dither backwards to their own lines kept them at arm's length (sort of) almost long enough for me to catch up again.
But I'd lost too much of the army to hold out overall. Not that I regret it, it was a very fun match! And I've learnt plenty for next time, including some top tips about Drop Pods. Here they are, for your edification:
A triumph for The Cabal, despite the best efforts of my commanders! I always get stung when I play Decapitation Strike (partly because I'm so reckless with my characters) - but I love the wild swings it can cause.
I had a big advantage of playing a whole weekend with this very same army - as a player, there's no substitute for simply knowing your army backwards and forwards. But I think Kraken correctly assessed the crucial moment early on: throwing a smaller portion of his army against the strongest part of mine - my characters may be dummies, but they're not to be underestimated in combat.
Overwatch notwithstanding, I was very happy with how my armies performed. I've really enjoyed the blend of renegade chapters - I think they're more knockabout fun than overpowered - so I'll be dipping my toe into it further.
Cracking game!
I was still glad I hadn't grabbed the centre with the Drop pod, mind. Secure Objective 2 was never going to happen, I'd have been outgunned in seconds. And then the assault characters would have slingshotted into my back line much faster - having to dither backwards to their own lines kept them at arm's length (sort of) almost long enough for me to catch up again.
But I'd lost too much of the army to hold out overall. Not that I regret it, it was a very fun match! And I've learnt plenty for next time, including some top tips about Drop Pods. Here they are, for your edification:
- They can hold objectives (I didn't know that!)
- You can shoot them when they arrive with stratagems or abilities, but not the squads piling out
- They are an excellent place for enemies to hide in close combat, so mind where you put them.
- Huge footprint on the board, too, for deepstrike denial, but again, try not to get charged!
A triumph for The Cabal, despite the best efforts of my commanders! I always get stung when I play Decapitation Strike (partly because I'm so reckless with my characters) - but I love the wild swings it can cause.
I had a big advantage of playing a whole weekend with this very same army - as a player, there's no substitute for simply knowing your army backwards and forwards. But I think Kraken correctly assessed the crucial moment early on: throwing a smaller portion of his army against the strongest part of mine - my characters may be dummies, but they're not to be underestimated in combat.
Overwatch notwithstanding, I was very happy with how my armies performed. I've really enjoyed the blend of renegade chapters - I think they're more knockabout fun than overpowered - so I'll be dipping my toe into it further.
Cracking game!
Entertaining as always! I do like the look of the Scions plus Marines, they definitely deserve a bit more play-testing. I'm impressed with Stylus's tactic of using assaulting the drop-pod to stay tied up in combat - very clever!
ReplyDeleteIt could have backfired on me, but I like the idea of it - especially since there was a premium on killing characters (and a Greater Possessed would surely have the gumption to use whatever cover is available).
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