Kill it with Firepower: World Eaters vs Imperial Knights

 

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

We're risking more Open War. Tonight brings the appropriately Khornate twist of Rage (everyone has an extra attack), we've got Domination (one VP to whoever kills the most units and one to whoever holds the most out of 6 points) and a rather alarming (to me) deployment set up where the World Eaters are in a column along the middle which I'm attacking from each short edge. 

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. 

There's a whole field of Khorne in the middle, ready for reaping - the Scorpion is in the middle, surrounded by the auras of the characters, with all the Terminators and Warp Talons in deep Strike. Cultists in the ruins, of course, and a truck full of Berserkers centrally, ready to grab objectives, then the Hell Blade ready to swing round the back edges of the board and snipe. 

As I run out of drops early on, Kas can line himself up to full advantage, and then promptly goes first!

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. 

Then the DP pounces on the Helverin and the Scorpion rams the Errant, dodging all the Overwatch on the way. 

And he whiffs! 

I mean, by Brass Scorpion standards, at least - Daemon Forged lets him reroll everything, but some good saves from the Sanctuary relic keeps me standing on half wounds, somehow. The return punch isn't bad at all, especially after I use the Death Grip strat to start a massive arm wrestle. The stacked mortal wounds this deals leaves the Scorpion at just over half wounds too, so we're neck and neck! Or, well, neck and cephalothorax. 

Not so much with the DP, who hacks half the Helverin up for no returns. 

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. 

The ensuing combat goes as well as you'd expect - the DP and Helverin kick each other in the shins for a bit to no real gain. The Brass Scorpion, however, snips 54 wounds off the Errant. Thanks, Death to the False Emperor! 

This leaves me behind on points and kills, so I'm going to be chasing Kas. 

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. 

Shooting goes pretty well - one Warglaive is raked with lascannon and baleflame, crumpling just before the Brass Scorpion lands a tremendous cannon hit on the Valiant. And then the Warp Talons make it in, followed by the Berserkers! I play Bonded Oathsmen to bring the surviving Warglaive in, but it's not looking great. 

The Helverin explodes when the Venomcrawler charges in, killing the DP, but that's scant consolation at this stage. Because the Khorne Boys strip the Valiant for parts, build new chain weapons out of them and use those to very nearly do for the Warglaive. Yikes! I kill a few of them, but not nearly enough. 

And then my flanker turns up. I pick the south side, hoping to pick off those exposed Cultists and maybe weaken something with a few cannon hits. However, I reckon without my splendid ability to fail Ld tests (even with the extra point!) and my Burden kicks in. I'm only allowed to shoot or charge said Cultists! I don't want to shoot them, then I'll have nothing to charge. But in the event, I can't make the charge (even with a reroll! Even with the pipeline helping shorten the distance!), so that's that!

Behind on points, materiel and morale at this point, the Freeblade decides to be obsessed by vengeance somewhere else, and we call it there. 

Crushing Victory to the World Eaters! (at least 4-0)

Locker Room

I had a funny feeling this might be decided by the first turn! A combo of short deployment zones and the speedy Soulforged utterly did for me, and bluntly it was pure luck I survived that first turn. The Errant made five out of six 5++ saves to stay in the game, but that wasn't going to happen for many turns in a row. 

Otherwise I think the flanking manouver was wasted CPs. Early firepower would have been far more useful, especially after the hopeless performance the Paladin gave when it turned up! I think I actually forgot to claim my extra attacks for some of the game (I can restrain myself, unlike the World Eaters), and didn't take the extra relic I paid for, so a few mistakes in there too. Good learning, though!

Good fun seeing the Brass Scorpion in fuller action than last time as well. I don't think I'd want to face one unprepared, but it is quite the beauty on the table. That World Eaters list can certainly do some work, too, vicious!