Welcome to game 9. To view this series' batrep registry, click
here.
This was the beginning of a 4-week random team escalation league. This game started it out with both players bringing 500 point lists. I was randomly paired with the person I played
game 1 and
game 7 against.
My opponents were the blood angels player from
game 4 (with guard) and the
DE player from
game 3. It should be noted that these two players were the ones who tied for first place in the last tournament.
THE CHALLENGERS: SLAVES!
Dark Eldar
500 pts.
Haemonculus
2x raider squads
2x ravagers
(all vehicles had night shield)
Imperial Guard
500 pts.
CCS with officer of the fleet, sniper rifles
2x groups of vets, one in a chimera
5-man melta stormtrooper squad
hydra
THE DEFENDERS: May the luck be with us
Space Marines
500 pts.
Librarian with avenger and that teleport power
Ironclad dread with seismic hammer
2 5-man squads of marines with a power fist
Imperial Guard (me)
500 pts.
CCS with melta
PCS with flamers
PCS with melta
2 power blobs
Deployment was spearhead. The mission was a variant on seize ground. Basically, there were three objectives and whenever a unit from both players armies captured it, you got a point. The only caveat was that both players couldn't capture the same objective in the same turn.
Our opponents rolled for first turn.
At deployment, the field looked like this:
Given how tragically few units my partner had, it would be hard to take much more than our home objective. We decided on a plan to move everything towards their objective. If we could contest it for just a turn, we might be able to derail our opponent's capture cycle and win us the game. Plus, my partner had had INSANE luck against me the last couple of games, so we might have been able to pull out rather well if that held.
TURN 1
Report concerning the action on: 5 Treiuas
Daxos Line
The morning of the fifth had dawned bright and cheerful. I was in such high spirits that after my morning constitutional, I set about improving my personal image to the inspiration to the troops, and the loathsome dread of my enemies. Unfortunately, I was only half way through the morning's second manicure when I was interrupted most rudely with orders.
It seemed that a local guard garrison had been enslaved by a shadow eldar contingency, and that, through one mean of coercion or another, were forced to aid their enemy to ravage the local countryside. Such behavior must be stopped, and at once!
In my haste, I found myself unable to assemble more than a token force from among the nearly thousand men under my personal command. Were I have been able to undergo my third, and final coiffuring, as was originally planned, I undoubtedly would have inspired more to follow my brave, stalwart, ferocious, yet modest example of leadership on the field.
To aid us in the expedient release of our brothers in arms, we were assigned an astartes librarian along with his personal bodyguard. It was not long before we came to grips with our foes.
I took careful council with the librarian, and we hatched our plan of attack, like so many fresh eggs of triumph.
Our opponents start the game by the guard player remaining perfectly still, while the dark eldar moved forward to engage our forces. One of them slunk over to sit on the right side objective.
In shooting, they unload an awful lot of firepower on my right side blob. 2 ravagers, a master of ordnance, assorted chimera fire, along with the hydra and raiders shooting at my
PCS makes an awful mess.
The blob tries to retreat, but Raust quickly takes control of the situation at the expense of one of the sergeants. Kablam!
After this point, the field looked like this:
In our turn, we attempt to enact our plan to take their objective. All our right side forces move forward. The libby casts up a teleport. I was really concerned about sending in the libby with just a 5-man guard squad, and thought perhaps to bring a blob instead, or something, but my opponent insisted that he teleport some meltaguns over to handle his tanks.
As such, the libby put the deepstrike counter nearly square on their objective. Unfortunately, the party scattered 11" away...
Even though we were basically 1" away from the ravagers, the night shield prevented the melta range bonus. Only 1 of the guardsman hit, and that one guy failed to even glance AV11 with his meltagun.
With a sharp crack, the librarian and some of my boys disappeared into a cloud of ozone vapors. Left to command the battle from my well-fortified condition, I turned to my micro-vox to assess the situation.
With a few brief commands to my troops, they quickly dug into cover as best they could. Meanwhile, I was unable to determine the fate of my advancing infantry. As best I could determine by the shouting over the bead, one of my commissars, a Mr. Carissander was appearing to be engaging in an altercation with the local marine commander.
Such an action by one of such a lower standing towards someone of much superior birth should be discouraged at every opportunity. I encourage every commander to instill a sense of place in their men, regardless of rank, and ensure that they know it.
I shall give the commissar the smartest of tongue lashings at a later time.
After this point, the field looked like this:
TURN 2
Their turn begins with their sentinel arriving from deepstrike. Thanks to VERY careful deployment on my part, there was no way he'd be able to get in off the board edge and get straight into assault with anything. As such, he just deployed it nearby. The only other movement is the repositioning of some skimmers
In shooting, he unloads against both power blobs, but cover does an excellent job (the blob on the left was in 2+ cover this entire game, although in this turn it rolled snake-eyes on its saves).
Meanwhile, they blow the crap out of my meltagunners, but thankfully aren't able to quite finish off the librarian.
After this point, the field looked like this:
I must apologize, but given the speed of this game, I actually wasn't quick enough to take pictures every round.
We retaliate by moving our right side forward more. The librarian tries to teleport onto the objective a second time, but once again scatters VERY far away from the intended target, once again right out in the open.
I could hear the great excitement occurring on the other side of my positions. I took out my field glasses and surveyed the field with great stealth and personal concealment. To my pleasant surprise, I viewed my troops advancing bravely on the enemy, nearing their positions.
Sweeping across the field, I saw a sight more profound than ever have I seen. One of my men, now quite alone and without the guiding presence of his officer had managed to take great personal initiative and seize the high ground in the middle of the field. What a sight to have seen!
TURN 3
Our opponents begin their turn with their stormtroopers dropping extremely aggressively towards our troops on the right. They score a direct hit. The
DE player brings in some reinforcements from nearby.
In shooting, the stormie squad wipes the space marine squad down to the sergeant, who is aced by a brightlance. Meanwhile, the squad in the raider and the haemonculus blow away my power blob down to just Raust and a sergeant.
His haemonculus charges in, and only does a single wound, which is stopped by flak armor. 6 power weapon attacks put down 4 hits, none of which wound.
Now, instead of taking the free consolidation, a move and a run next turn, luck has determined that I'm going to win combat on my own turn and get horribly massacred...
In response, my
CCS takes down the offending outflanking sentinel, and, of course, the haemonculus is HORRIBLY butchered, just like he should have been the previous turn.
TURN 4
With the lone remnants of my blob caught in the open, my opponent sends in the stormies:
The rest of their army starts getting serious about objectives taking. Skimmers rush forward, one of which crashed into the hillside for an immobilized result. The chimera also finally puts it into gear and starts off.
Shooting sees a few men from my command squad get shot up, as well as a couple marines. My partner decides to voluntarily fail his morale check to get out of go-to-ground. Meanwhile, my poor gone-to-ground flamer dude passes 4 3+ saves when lots and lots of shooting put down a surprisingly few wounds.
After this point, the field looked like this:
In our turn, my opponent auto-rallies his marines, and sprints them forward, looking to be able to tag the middle objective that my lone flamer still occupied, contesting it against the enemy.
The sentinel that I had ordered my men to dispatch was easily destroyed by my men. I even took a few sporting shots at the vehicle myself. I daresay it was one of my very own pistol rounds that finally disabled the vehicular beast. How sporting!
This feat accomplished, my men encountered sportly machine gun fire. For the sake of these brave lads, I began a withdraw of my own person back to my commanding position - a task well done.
After this point, the field looked like this:
TURN 5
Our opponents begin their turn by consolidating back on their objective. The rest of their forces charge forward to capture the middle.
In shooting, the chimera shoots at the marines and downs one. The rest of their ENTIRE army shot at my troops. My blob in the building on the left only lost 1 through its 2+ cover, while my flamer dude passed something like 8 or 9 3+ cover saves.
After this point, the field looked like this:
In our turn, we consolidate on our objectives. As everything was basically to ground for the cover save, the turn passes pretty quickly.
After this point, the field looked like this:
I rolled to continue, hoping that the game would end in a tie, but no such luck.
TURN 6
Our opponents consolidate even further onto the center objective.
While a TORRENT of fire on the blob pings a few, the tragedy of the game is that the flamer guy finally succumbed to a failed cover save, allowing one of their two vehicles to tag the center objective.
After this point, the field looked like this:
In return, my partner scoots some marines closer towards our objective.
After this point, the field looked like this:
If the game were to continue, the other opponent would tag the objective, giving them the win. Otherwise, my noble flamer dude's sacrifice would have been good enough for a draw.
My opponent rolls to continue, and makes it. We promptly concede.
FINAL RESULTS
Both of us got 3 points for taking each of our side's objective every other turn. Our opponents, however, were able to get one in the middle for an extra point, for a dark eldar and imperial guard victory.
- I think this is a real proof of concept for my blob squads. 21 stubborn guys with "incoming!" basically means that I have 21 terminators, as far as getting shot off an objective was concerned. These guys took a brutal beating, and didn't really show that many casualties for their effort. Really, the only way to remove a blob from cover on an objective is to get into assault.
- So, in a fit of anger over my losses against the person who was my partner this game, I vowed that, without his incredible luck, his army would have folded fast and hard. Given that my opponent was basically tabled this game without touching a non-home objective or even so much as firing a single shot in anger, now we know...
MVP: The left side power blob. That held the left side objective like a ton of bricks while everything else got shot up around them.
Hero of the Game: The librarian. Though my partner foolishly squandered him on an early game solo-rush, it still took guts to just pile into the middle of all that just like that.
It was at this point that it was made aware to me that my second in command, the loyal librarian, had fallen in battle. With my troops continuing to make a bulwark against our mighty foe, they bravely held a rear-guard action as I reported the failure of the astartes to accomplish our objective.
I can only hope that more worthy reinforcements are given to me in the future. That, or more time to allow my attention to hygiene to rise to manifest itself more clearly as advantage on the field.
In grateful service,
Sir Daxos P. Clinton III - KAP, EKS, ICM - Foleran Armies in his Majesty's Royal Dictate.
Blood Conquers All
I hope you enjoyed game 9. Look for game ten next week!
7K Points of Black Legion and Daemons 
5K Points of Grey Knights and Red Hunters 
Eldar Corsairs: 4000 pts
Imperial Guard: 4000 pts
Corregidor 700 pts
Acontecimento 400 pts 
Sister's of Battle 4000 Points 
Monty Vect's Flying Circus 5000 Points 
Chaos Space Marines 5000 Points