Hexenhammer: Daemons vs Ultramarines

Skypehammer! We invented it here on this blog, you know. Before the pandemic even made it necessary. Some even say we might have invented the internet purely to facilitate the game. Whatever the truth of this, it's time for another one, to carry on our traditions! 

Ultrarior Motives

Old school mobile infantry list, this one! 

All classic marines, none of your fancy new Primaris here. Plenty of what you'd expect to see in a Marine list otherwise, though - a Captain to direct firepower, a Librarian ready to switch off Daemon saves, and a guest appearance from an Ordo Malleus Terminator Inquisitor, tooled up with traits and gear and hopefully ready to bust at least one head before his own goes south with psychic feedback. 

The battleline today is Tactical Marines, and plenty of them. A few bonus weapons here and there, but mostly just bolters to whittle away the daemon packs. Backing them up is a squad of Terminators for an even tougher block of more of the same, then some of the classic vehicles to shoot the big stuff apart. A Vindicator (no need for the fancy shield here, Daemons aren't going to be shooting at me much) and a Predator, and a pair of Rhinos to get the teams to where I want them. 

These Crypt Angels are playing as Ultramarines today, the no-nonsense gunline. Romp on to some Objectives, shoot up all the Daemons, come home in time for tea. That's the plan!

Ultramarines Battalion, 1600 points

• HQ - Captain with Master-crafted Boltgun, Relic Blade, Warlord with The Imperium's Sword and the Armour Indomitus relic
• HQ - Librarian with Bolter and Force Stave, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress and Smite powers
• Troops - 10 Tactical Marines, Sarge has a chainsword, Plasma Gun and Missile Launcher specialists
• Troops - 10 Tactical Marines, Sarge has a chainsword, Plasma Gun and Plasma Cannon specialists
• Troops - 5 Tactical Marines, Sarge has a Combi-melta and Power Fist
• Elites - 5 Scouts with Sniper Rifles, sarge has a chainsword
• Elites - 5 Terminators with Teleport Homer, Assault Cannon on the specialist, sarge has a Power Sword
• Heavy Support - Predator Destructor with Predator Autocannon, two Lascannons, storm bolter
• Heavy Support - Vindicator with Demolisher Cannon and storm bolter
• Dedicated Transport - 2 Rhinos, each with hunter-killer missile and storm bolter
• Agent of the Imperium - Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter, Psyk-out Grenades, Nemesis Daemon Hammer, Alpha-class Psyker with Mental Interrogation, Castigation, Terrify and Smite powers, Arbiter of the Emperor's Will with Malleus Psychic Mastery trait and Blackshroud relic

Purple Tide

A dual god list with two scary exalted daemons and a named prince backing them up. It should be fast and hopefully lethal. I did give Kraken opportunity to update after seeing in case did not have any anti-big-beast options to ensure we had a good game.

I reckoned a Vindicator and a Predator ought to manage!

I am liking the exalted options, but as daemons have not had an update these are CP spend whereas I expect them to change to points a la Space Marines in an upcoming supplement. The warlord benefits from this by picking options to make him quite survivable, even if not that scary in combat. 

To maintain godly powers, the list has to be broken into two detachments and, with the extra relic too, this is expensive on CPs; and I will start with 7!

With advancing and charging Slaanesh, screamers and discs, jumping flamers and flying daemons: this list should be able to get in fast. Hopefully before too many are sent back to the warp having been shot. 

Tzeentch Battalion 947 points

• HQ - Lord of Change with Impossible Robe (Relic), Incorporeal Form (Warlord), Exalted (Aura of Mutability : chosen), Powers: Smite, Bolt of Change, Infernal Gateway, Treason of Tzeentch
• HQ - Changecaster with Powers: Smite, Bolt of Change, Gaze of Fate
• HQ - Fluxmaster with Powers: Smite, Boon of Change, Flickering Flames
• Troops - 9 Brimstone Horrors + Iridescent Horror
• Troops - 9 Brimstone Horrors + Iridescent Horror
• Troops - 9 Brimstone Horrors + Iridescent Horror
• Elite - Exalted Flamer
• Elite - Exalted Flamer
• Fast Attack - 5 Screamers
• Fast Attack - 3 Screamers

Slaanesh Patrol 653 points

• HQ - Keeper of Secrets with Sinistrous Hand, Forbidden Gem (Relic), Exalted (Realm-racer, Blessing of the Dark Prince : random), Powers: Smite, Hysterical Frenzy, Symphony of Pain
• HQ - Syll'Esske with Powers: Smite, Delightful Agonies, Pavane of Slaanesh
• Troops - 24 Daemonettes with Alluress, Icon, and Instrument 
  
  
  

Mission and Terrain

The Scouring from the 2020 GT pack is tonight's fight. Get out there and grab the objectives, then check them with your barcode scanner to see if they're the right ones. 

Ultramarine Secondaries:

• 1. Oaths of Moment - I'm reliably informed this is a good pick for Marines. 2 points if you have a unit within 2" of the middle, 1 more if you kill a vehicle or monster and 1 if nobody falls back or fails morale, and this is score each turn. Nice!
• 2. Strategic Scans - perform actions on as many of the objectives on the field for an end game bonus. This is the mission specific objective, and we're both taking it. 
• 3. Assassinate - kill as many of the characters opposing me as possible. Five to choose from, so plenty of points on offer! Actually it is seven, the exalted flamers are characters too. Hurrah!

Daemon Secondaries:

• 1. While We Stand We Fight - Making the big units the target for VPs gives added incentive to avoid my paltry troops
• 2. Strategic Scans - It's the mission, so why not
• 3. Engage on All Fronts - With the Slaaneshy speed, it should be easy to be in all four by turn 2.

Deployment

My Terminators are ready to teleport in later along with the Inquisitor, and everyone else is in tanks. Except that turns out to be not quite legit, so the Librarian gets out ready to try and deny, and the squad with the Missile Launcher takes a frontline position and prepares to get their boots wet. 

Rylstone, homeworld of the Crypt Angels - broken masonry and withered grass. Homely!

I opt for a force as far forward as possible with a strong Slaanesh centre with fast Screamers, and then Tzeentch forces on the flanks. I have chosen my Exalted power for Tzeentch, but opt to roll and trust in Chaos for Slaanesh as that means I get two, chaos favours the dice and two great powers are granted.

Initially, the line is spread evenly. But once I know where the Greater Daemons are, and that I'm going second, I redeploy for 2 CPs and put all the big guns down one side. The Scouts also pull back from the tower in the middle - they're too much of a risk for being swarmed in melee and catapulting the enemy forward - so take sniping positions in my backline instead. 

Daemons Turn 1

Daemons might be predictable: they have little gun (and what they have is short range) and also no long range psychic (I could not afford the staves that increase Smite range) - so it is a turn of romping forward.

Two units of horrors advance on to objectives; they go to scan the barcode, but are too winded for that, so sit panting waiting for next turn and hoping to not be shot off. Seeing the meek horrors' move, the small unit of screamers head for the centre objective, and the Lord of Change boldly jumps on to the balcony. Other Tzeentch forces spread out and remain in reserve to protect a good chunk of the backline from inevitable deep strike. The flamers and fluxcaster break cover and head towards the tanks.

Slaaneshi forces trip over themselves and slowly stroll up the board, the large forces screen the prince and follow in the screamers' wake, whilst the Keeper heads towards the metal boxes.

The only psychic to manifest boosts the LoC toughness as his skin hardens. 

Objectives scored: 0 

Ultramarines Turn 1

Hmm. Half the field appears to already be Daemonic. All the closer to my guns! Duly, I roll slightly forward with the transports, and back them up with the bigger guns. 

The Librarian mucks up all his powers, so its right on to shooting. And as you'd expect against all those daemon saves, it's pretty unreliable. I pull down a whole screamer with bolter fire, then splash everything I have against the Lord of Change. Hunter-killer missiles, Demolisher Cannons, sniper rifles - the works. 

And it does three wounds total. I can't even blame the 3+ ward save, I get several good hits in and just do very little damage (even with rerolls). This is worsened by the Lord of Change having some kind of damage-reducing field, but even it was just too near to ignore!

At least nobody ran away. Oaths of Moment!

Objectives scored: Oaths of Moment - 1

Daemons Turn 2

The screamers rush into back lines ready to threaten Rhino or missile squad; the Lord of Change has to settle for another Rhino, and the uber-speedy Keeper trots up to the Vindicator's flank. With the screamers relinquishing the centre: the daemonettes claim it and their Princely liege keeps up. 

The fluxcaster and his flamers head into flamer range. In the back field horrors, now recovered from their jog, scan the barcodes; as do the purple warriors in the centre. Other Tzeentch forces prevent drops in two thirds of the back line.

Psychic powers are weak, a couple of failed snipes, but I buff daemonettes with protection, and flamers with strength.  Shooting is equally poor, but any shooting is a bonus to daemon, so will take the scratches as a success. 

Then the daemons crash into the tanks and the screamers into the marines. Turns out the Lord of Change is not that great when he whiffs his rolls and only chips the Rhino. The Vindicator is less lucky and snapped in half by the Secrets' claws.

Objectives scored: Primaries - 15, Engage on All Fronts - 3

Ultramarines Turn 2

Time to emerge from under this pile of Daemons. But without running away from any of them, I'm not giving up my victory point! 

The Inquisitor and Terminators can only really squeeze in to the middle of my own deployment zone, thanks to this wretched incursion. As the other Tactical Marines pile out of the Rhinos, I've got lots of nice Tactical Doctrine bolt fire to take out some warp beasts. 

In hindsight, perhaps charging the Rhino with the screamers would have been superior move to prevent just that. 

The nearest Horrors find their tactical scanning interrupted by lots of mass-reactive fire, and a mere one of them is left. Blast - Kas pays his CPs for this guy to survive, so I fail to interrupt the scan. 

It seemed a good trade off for 2CPs. 

I'm Invincible!

Elsewhere, the Greater Daemons just don't feel like stopping. First they trample my Librarian's best efforts to produce a Null Zone. Then the Keeper of Secrets rides its save against a wave of firepower, taking a mere three wounds, even as it switches off the Inquisitor's psychic powers with some sort of evil gem. 

I was umming and ahing about this one use, one phase, item or an improved sword; it worked though and would consider again. 

He then regenerates the wounds as the Inquisitor and Terminators charge him - I've forgotten he goes first, and the Terminators manage to fluff their attacks before the big bully eats the Inquisitor. Clearly a man with unresolved Slaaneshi issues, I suspect. 

The Captain takes a good chunk off the daemon parrot, until we remember it reduces damage. What was seven wounds is actually three, which means I'm going to struggle to finish it off even with the Librarian and power fist sarge helping out. And it even interrupts to very nearly kill the Librarian, but he scrapes through with a rerolled armour save. 

So to recap, I've killed nothing and lost my boss psyker for no returns. But Oaths of Moment, baby! I got them! Good work, that Rhino!

Objectives scored: Oaths of Moment - 3

Daemons Turn 3

A turn where I forgot to do things, but also one where I started apologising every time I made a save (I love dice-cam and not feeling any guilt for luck). 

Lone horror scoots forward, whilst other blocks settle on their objectives, holding for primaries. The daemonettes skitter around the rhino under the scaffold and get close to the marines to charge, the only consideration is how many make it in over the rubble - especially as the marines will shoot first. The Syllesske keeps up with a trailing force to offer his advice and buffs and eyes up the rhino (but promptly forgets to charge it when his time comes).

Boss Fight!

As the centre is abandoned, the flamers and fluxcaster move to grab. I intend to for the fluxcaster to start scanning it, but promptly forget and fail to cast a psychic power instead.

The screamer reserve decide if they don't get into fight now, there may be nothing left to eat, and to romp up the field.

The Lord of Change is not doing as well as I had expected, but I can't complain as the Keeper romps into the Captain and snips his head off.

The seemingly indestructible mini screamer unit fights on, and the daemonettes, although weakened by overwatch decimate the marines.

Objectives scored: Primaries - 15, Strategic Scan x 2 (6), Engage 3

Ultramarines Turn 3 

The dazed survivors of this tide of daemons stagger about, but really, the writing is already on the wall as I've yet to score a primary and we're past the half-way mark. All the same, I'm game to keep trying for a little longer!

There are three things I reckon I can manage - kill that last Screamer, mash the Daemonettes down to manageable levels and finish a Greater Daemon. 

Well, one out of three ain't bad. 

I'd say two: dropping the Daemonettes to about a third of their original strength.

The Librarian once again fails to use a single power thanks to daemonic denials. And not one of the Predator's guns even dent the Lord of Change, apart from one or two bolter rounds. It's the Sarge's Combi-Melta that finally kills Big Bird, but it's an extremely close-run thing. 

Given the order of events, a wound was recovered from his Exaltedness, but that happens after the unit finishes shooting... and by that point was a melting mess.

The Tac marines use a strat to dart away from the Screamer, but fail to kill it with plasma. They do put a dent in the Daemonettes, but once again I'm charging in against Always Strikes First, and take some hurts before I get going. It goes pretty well, plenty more of them die than survive, but I'm still outnumbered two-to-one by the end, and there's more daemons on the way in. Time to call it here, I think. 

But not before Oaths of Moment!

Objectives scored: Oaths of moment - 3, Assassinate - 3

Result: 

Daemon Victory, 57-10

Locker Room

A stinging defeat! The Daemons were too fast, too powerful and too everywhere, at the end of the day. Yes, I wasted the Inquisitor, and yes, my Librarian needs reschooling on how to actually cast any powers at all ever. Still fun to take rather a traditional list of Tactical Marines and old-school tanks - if it wasn't for my 'lucky' rolling with shooting early on, there was a strong chance I could have shot off the big Daemons in the first wave, then slowly rolled through the rest with bolt fire. 

Ah well - I clearly need to stop nostalgia clouding my judgement and take more Eliminators, Redemptor Dreads and Outriders!

Now you know how runs: I'm ready for a rematch where the Crypt Saints retaliate and punish. 

And I'll be taking Oaths of Moment. Oaths of Moment, Baby!