After my previous defeat at the pincers of the Great Brass Scorpion, I felt I needed a do-over. So here we go again, but this time I've got the Super-Heavies to match him!
Paladinner Time
Two thousand points gets you a lot of big walkers. The Valiant is clearly the best match for the big bug, although the short range on his ludicrous harpoon weapon is maybe a little short for total comfort. Still, even the largest foe might think twice about charging that much exploding flamer!
One Errant and one Paladin to back the big boy up. I can't really tell these apart by name alone, but the Errant is the one with a Melta and fist, the Paladin has a cannon and chainsword. The latter is also a Freeblade, which means bonuses and drawbacks from a list. Picking and rolling gets me an extra wound, an extra point of Ld and the ability to Heroically Consolidate 6" as benefits, with the drawback that he'll occasionally get focussed on revenge and only be able to shoot or charge the nearest opponent. Suits me, those big feet are made for stomping!
A couple of smaller dudes to run interference, and with the knowledge that I'm facing Khorne, Imperial House Mortan for the excellent Warlord Trait and additional close combat punch. Plus extra relics and traits to further boost the line!
House Mortan Imperial Knights Super-Heavy Detachment, 2000 points and 10 CPs
- LoW - Knight Valiant, Warlord with Strike and Shroud trait and er, and I could have sworn I took a relic for him, having paid for a second one, but I forgot!
- LoW - Knight Paladin, Freeblade with Indomitable and Mysterious Guardian Qualities and Obsessed by Vengeance Burden
- LoW - Knight Errant with Thunderfist, Exalted Court with Landstrider trait and Sanctuary relic
- LoW - 2 x Armiger Warglaives, one with Meltagun, one with Heavy Stubber
- LoW - Armiger Helverin with Meltagun
Let's Get It Brass Scorpi-On
Here they are again, the World Eaters with their giant arthropod. I was scared of it before, and I still am.
World Eaters Battalion Detachment, 5 CPs, 1472 points, Specialist Detachment - Soulforged Pack
- HQ - Terminator Lord with Combi-Plas and Power Fist, Mark of Khorne
- HQ - Winged Daemon Prince of Khorne with twin Malefic Talons, Warlord with Violent Urgency and the Talisman of Burning Blood (assault and charge)
- HQ - Lord Discordant with Helstalker and Baleflamer, Mark of Khorne, Techno-virus Injector, Field Commander - Master of the Soul Forges
- Troops - 10 x Cultists
- Troops - 10 x Cultists
- Troops - 10 x Khorne Berserkers, Champion has a Lighting Claw and Power Sword, everyone else has Chainsword and Chainaxe, Icon of Wrath
- Elites - 6 x Red Butcher Terminators with Combi-plasma and Lightning Claw, one power fist and one chainfist in there too
- Fast Attack - 5 Warp Talons
- Heavy Support - Venomcrawler
- Flyer - Hellblade with twin Lascannons
- Dedicated Transport - Chaos Rhino with twin combi-bolters
Superheavy Auxiliary Detachment, 525 points, Specialist Detachment - Soulforged Pack
- LoW - Great Brass Scorpion with Demolisher Cannon, Scorpion Cannon, twin Hellmaw Flame Cannons and Hellcrusher Claws
Mission and Terrain
Deployment
Three CPs lets me send the Knight Paladin out a-flanking. The Valiant and the Warglaives go on one edge, the Errant and the Helverin on the other.
Game On!
At these distances, I'm fully expecting a first-turn charge, and I'm not disappointed. As the World Eaters zoom around grabbing as many objectives as they can, the characters and the Scorpion head for the Knight Errant. Shooting doesn't net much - the Hell Blade bounces off armour, the Scorpion pings a few wounds off the Errant's rotating Ion Shield, and that's pretty much it.
My counterplay is to advance the Valiant and its bodyguards up, shooting a few wounds off the Rhino and some Cultists on the way. The Errant fails to hurt the Scorpion at close range, but the Helverin craftily plays Skyreaper Protocols to claim rerolls to hit on the DP. It's close, and requires a reroll, but Kas just about survives on a pair of wounds.
Turn two dawns with all the World Eaters shifting back towards the midline, except the Venomcrawler, who goes to help the damaged DP. Berserkers pour out of the Rhino before it can explode, and the Warp Talons pop out just behind them to try and shut the Valiant's lethal Overwatch down.
Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch-ouch! I think the only way to deal with that kind of first-turn rush would be to have a move-blocking screen of Cultist-alikes, but even then I think it'd be a bugger to deal with! How else can you stop them getting up close and personal?
ReplyDeleteFor a pure Knights list, that's always going to be a big problem. Deploy as far back as you can, I guess, and hope for the best! But with smaller gaps than usual between us, plus a very speedy foe, I didn't have much hope. In fairness, it would probably have been a similar result in the other direction if I'd gone first.
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