Hexenhammer 2 - Templars' Revenge: Daemons vs Black Templars

After the thrashing the classic Ultramarines took in the previous game, Kas and I (Kraken) agreed on a second round. No classic marines this time, though, only Primaris - see if the new boys can improve on their original performance!

Black to the Future

Now, this might be what amounts to a fairly standard template Primaris army, but it makes me feel dirty taking it, somehow! I've been on the receiving end of this cavalcade of chainblades a few times, and I know how hard they hit. 

Seeing as I know which Daemons I'm here to slay, the Crypt Angels are taking the psychic-hating Black Templars rules for a spin. 5+++ against mortal wounds and rerolls to advance and charge, plus several very spicy strategems, traits and relics - plenty of good stuff to pick from here.

So spicy I took extra! The Captain can boost all nearby core units to advance and charge faster, and can swap one nearby unit into Assault Doctrine each turn. Whereas the Chaplain's relic gives him an extra dice for his hymns (one of which gives a nearby unit a 5+++), and his trait allows him to Deny a psychic power at +1 once a turn. 

Overall, the army is built to go and fight over the middle ground. Assault options everywhere! Outriders supported by the only classic marine in the list - the Captain (because Primaris Captains haven't passed their bike tests yet). A Repulsor will carry the Chaplain and his Assaultassors into the battle, and there's a Redemptor Dread to bolster the standard Intercessors in their advance. 

Eradicators and Eliminators provide heavy support from the rear, and we'll see how we go!

Black Templars Battalion - 1598 points, 10 CPs

• HQ - Captain on Bike with Combi-melta, Thunder Hammer, Warlord with Frontline Commander Trait, Crusaders's Helm relic
• HQ - Primaris Chaplain with Hero of the Chapter strat and Crusader Relics strat, Litany of Divine Protection, Ancient Breviary relic and Epitome of Piety trait
• Troops - 5 Intercessors with Assault Bolt Rifles, sarge has a chainsword
• Troops - 5 Intercessors with Assault Bolt Rifles, sarge has a chainsword
• Troops - 7 Assault Intercessors, sarge has a power sword and hand flamer that he leaves behind in the van
• Elites - Redemptor Dreadnought with Macro Plasma Incinerator, Icarus Pod, Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Storm Bolter and Fist
• Fast Attack - 3 Outriders
• Fast Attack - 3 Outriders
• Heavy Support - Eliminator Squad, sarge has a Las Fusil, the other two have sniper rifles
• Heavy Support - Eradicator Squad with Melta Rifles
• Heavy Support - Repulsor tank with one of every gun known to man

Hit Me Baby Daemon Time

Here they are again - the Slaaneshi-Tzeentch Daemon pack, headed up by a terrifying number of Greater Daemons with whistles, bells, claws and spells. They flattened the Ultramarines last time - will they do the same to the Black Templars?

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

GT Pack mission tonight - it's Vital Intelligence. 6 Objectives to squabble over as we attempt to read data files from them. Objectives stay held once you've got them unless your opponent comes and captures them, so there's a real onus to grab and move on. 

Black Templar Secondaries:

• 1. Assassinate, because just look at all those characters!
• 2. Abhor the Witch, because just look at all those psychic characters!
• 3. The Mission One, Data Intercept, which is to have someone do an action on an objective, and next Command phase you score a point for each objective you currently hold

Daemon Secondaries:

• 1. While We Stand We Fight
• 2. Engage on All Fronts
• 3. Data Intercept, as above

Deployment

Coming in from the corners, I take a front footed approach and set up along forward edge in a broad line. Bikers on the right, Repulsor full of Assault Intercessors and the Chaplain on the Left, Intercessors supporting the tank advance and a fire base in the middle made up of Eliminators in a tower and Eradicators in a rubble heap with the Redemptor babysitting in between. 

A horror retinue camp on backfield objective, with a backup unit hiding; and a third ready to grab the objective near the northern building. Screamers take the south flank, to fly over and pincer back in; and a solid purple force in the centre to romp forward.

The roll-off favours me tonight, so off I go!

Black Templars Turn 1

The plan is to advance into the middle, so that's exactly what I don't really do everywhere - the biker team breaks for the right-hand corner, hugging the edge and relying on their speed to nip in next turn. The firebase stays central, one Intercessor squad advances on the distant Objective 1 with the tank following them, whilst the other one stays back to perform a Data Intercept action. 

Shooting isn't a bad start. The Outriders hose away the smaller Screamer squad, but I don't have range or line of sight on an awful lot of other targets. A few mild nicks on a daemon here and there has to suffice, but I'm happy with where I am for now. 

Or am I already too close to those daemons?

Objectives scored: not yet

Daemons Turn 1

Nice start, removing my screamers. I have little shooting, but the flamers are going to move forward to try and remove some of the scary eradicators backed up by the herald on a disc (or whatever new name is, sorry GW) and Lord of Change. 

Screamer unit two take cover behind a building. Daemonettes advance forward an extra one inch (even after a command reroll) and the Daemon Prince grabs objective 4. Whilst the Keeper of Secrets sprints towards the North objective and intercessors.

Chosen psychic powers and ranges don't favour me; and the bonus 5+++ save on mortal wounds protect the Templars well. My only shooting from the flamers melts an eradictor (one down, two to go).

Now to where my slaaneshi daemons are going to excel: assault. I have two relatively easy charges (4 for the KoS, 6 for Sylkessee) and then a long bomb from the daemonettes (10 inch, but with their banner that means 9 on the dice).

I was about to charge the tank, but thought maybe there was a small chance I could tempt the overwatch from intercessors, and that would be a bad one to lose. So I choose the Keeper first and promptly roll a double one for the charge. Command point spent and the Keeper is in.

Up next Sylkessee and another double one... with no chance to reroll he sits poorly in the open and gets shot up for the audacity of trying to charge. With no reason not to risk it the daemonettes try to charge, but also fail. 

That could be costly. The Sylkessee had a nice trick for dealing with boxes: charge in and hit with axe (maybe optimistically) and kill; which spills contents and he can consolidate and hit with second weapon immediately. But he has to get in to do that. He also acts as a nice multiplier the daemonettes to buff strength and offer reroll. 

In combat, the Intercessors get buffed with Transhuman Physiology and a Templars special - Vicious Riposte, which means any armour saves of six throw mortal wounds back. This means the Keeper breaks a nail on one of them, but he promptly scoffs the others and regenerates the damage. Only the sarge survives!

Meanwhile, I've also been playing sneaky buggers with Devout Push, another strat that I can trigger at the start of the fight phase. It lets me pile in 6" with any unit of infantry or bikes, a bit like a Heroic Intervention albeit rather less heroic. I pick some Outriders to go and sit on Objective 6, which gets me another in hand for next turn.

Objectives scored: not this time

Black Templars Turn 2

Now we've got places to be and things to whomp. There are Daemons all over the board already, so I need to shift onto objectives hard and fast, or the primaries are going to fly away from me quickly. 

Duly, I split the Outriders across 2 and 6, using the Captain to perform the Data Action. The Redemptor thumps forward to support the middle, the Assault team jump out of the Repulsor and grit their teeth, ready to take on the Keeper of Secrets. Then the big tank squares up to the Daemonettes and Mr and Mrs Silkie, and numerous barrels start to spin. 

I pretend to have a psychic phase, just to upset my troops - at the start of it, I use the Commanding Oratory strat on the Chaplain to activate Divine Protection on the Assault team. 

This doesn't upset the Templars too much, luckily, the shooting phase goes well. Meltas and snipers take a chunk out of the Lord of Change, the Repulsor, Intercessors and Redemptor put a hefty ding in the Daemonettes and the Outriders take an Exalted Flamer and a half down. Syll'esske also bites on several bullets, then even as it dies, is immediately run over by the Repulsor piling into the Daemonettes, to pin them further away from objective 4. 

That costs me a few wounds, there's enough left to scratch the paint a bit, but the main action is the assault team rushing the Keeper of Secrets. 

It goes pretty much as you'd expect - I barely hurt it, and because it can just snack on my casualties, what little I do is immediately healed. However, a combination of Transhuman Physiology, the Divine Protection and some below average rolls, my guys come out of the fight a lot less scathed than expected. Not a single one dies! Although the Intercessor Sarge is made into a light snack in short order. 

Not a bad turn at all, and I'm out of the traps in scores.

Objectives scored: Primaries - 5, Data Intercept - 2, Assassinate - 6, Abhor the Witch - 10

Daemons Turn 2

Oh!

The bikes have to go, so screamers head to one block and the lord of change the other. The southern screamers make sure to attack from the side preventing a heroic intervention, and with their (current) superior numbers: claiming the objective. They take two out with one wound in retaliation. The Lord of Change psychics and then pulverises the bikes nabbing Objective 3. 

In the tower: the horrors swap places and one group march forward whilst the reserves take their place. whilst the third unit is sneaky and nabs the objective under the tank from safety of inside the building.  Daemonettes maintain their futile attempt to scratch a tank; but combined with the horrors: I am for sure holding that objective.

In the psychic phase, my Keeper fights, and then again in the assault phase; his sword and claw rends assault marines and chaplain, and although the chaplain dies, his prayers save a couple of assaultcessors from being scissored. Still with something dying I recover wounds.

Objectives scored: Engage on All Fronts - 3, Data Intercept - 2

Black Templars Turn 3

Keen to stop fighting the unkillable Keeper, the Assault Intercessors instead pile off towards the nearest objective. The remaining Intercessor Squad tickle the Daemon Bull with some bolter shots as they close in to support. 

My firebase is happy with it is, so the Redemptor swings right towards the Lord of Change, whilst the Captain comes to support the remaining Outrider. 

The Repulsor stays in combat. It's a risky move, but I reckon it has enough gun to mow down the last few Daemonettes and still fire on other targets. 

The gamble pays off - just! Using all the lighter guns manages to clear the Daemonettes exactly (it came down to the final wound, and so risked a reroll on the save as it could have made a difference - it didn't), so I can pour heavy bolters and las talons into the daemon characters in the middle. This kills the other Exalted Flamer and scratches the Fluxmaster. Meanwhile, the Redemptor entirely fails to hurt the Lord of Change at all, but clearly manages to distract it. Those filthy Eradicators sneak a pair of short range hits through its invuln save, and with a big roll for damage, it's goodnight from him. 

Again: just; with one less wound caused, he would just be on the ground panting clutching the last of his life as his flesh knits back together... I was about to regrow five of the wounds and be back on six. But you can't regrow when already dead.

Yep - time is a great healer, but it doesn't help much when you've been murdered.

Deprived of the obvious charge, the Redemptor then manages a long bomb into the Fluxmaster, who becomes paste in short order. The Intercessors burst through the ruin walls and massacre the Horror squad, although one escapes, and the Captain and the Outrider manage to whittle the Screamers down a bit. 

This seems to be going well. I'm surely due a disaster. 

Objectives scored: Primaries - 5, Abhor the Witch - 5, Assassinate - 9

Daemons Turn 3 

Gulp....

At least my turns are getting quick. 

One unit of horrors hide, the others futilely hold on to the back objective. Screamers are locked in fight and the Keeper charges both units of 'cessors. I whittle both units, but casualties extract both units from combat and they are going to be free to act with impunity.

The game is lost. I should call it, but want to see what happens with tanks.

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

Black Templars Turn 4

The Daemons are looking a bit sparse, but one of them is still the Keeper of Secrets. The two Intercessor squads circle it warily, taking off a few wounds here and there with bolter fire, then the Repulsor rumbles round the corner and unloads everything its got. 

It nearly lives, until the Lastalon manages to get both barrels in and roll high for damage. Ol' Crab Claws finally goes down, and as the Redemptor Dread gleefully ploughs into the Horrors in Kas's back line, he gracefully concedes the match. 

I really should have used the forbidden gem to prevent shooting from the tank, but it would not have made any difference to the result. But I would have had a turn trying to pummel it at least.

Objectives scored: Primaries (this turn and an imagined next one) 30

Result: Victory to the Black Templars, 63 - 21

Locker Room

Well, ouch! 

Indeed!

On paper, the Primaris marines certainly looked to be a threatening team, and they certainly didn't disappoint. Consistently deleting units through weight of fire whilst continually moving up and on to objectives, and at the same time very hard to shift. It's not really a surprise to anyone who plays the game, really, but Marines are in a very good place these days. 

Some of them, anyway! Black Templars have some downright excellent strats compared to the mid-range stuff the Ultramarines can pull. Redemptors, Eradicators and Repulsors remain ridiculous in terms of firepower (seriously, those vehicles need streamlining, maybe putting all their anti-infantry shots into one weapon profile if only to save time when picking targets and making rolls). I've faced them more often that I've used them, and bluntly, they feel like overpowered choices from either side.

I'd like to blame dice rolls, and too many ones on advances and charges, and two many fives and sixes when the lastalons/meltas got through my invuln saves, but the truth is I was outmaneuvered and outplayed here. More resilient and versatile that I gave it credit for, and I was rightly punished. Good game.

Poor old Daemons - okay, I'm not that sympathetic, they ate me whole for breakfast last time! But they are due a new codex, as so many of the 40K armies are at the moment. Mind you, the updates do seem to be taking things in a good direction for the most part (cough drukharii cough). I'm looking forward to facing Thousand Sons or Grey Knights once the new books come out out, but with a distinct sense of trepidation!

My last six games have been with this list (or a similar variant for 2k games) and time to try a different army for next batch of games... Time for a bit of Greater Good.