Welcome to game 14 of the blood conquers all series. To view this series' battle report registry, click
here
The team escalation league continues, this time with both players bringing 750 points.
THE CHALLENGERS: daaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr.....
Eldar
750 pts.
Farseer
Farseer
10x guardians with spirit seer
8x pathfinders
wraithlord
wraithlord
Eldar
750 pts.
Autarch
10x avengers
10x avengers in wave serpent
wraithlord
wraithlord
THE DEFENDERS: Die xeno scum!
Space Marines (Spikey Wolves)
750 pts.
Grimnar
5 assorted termies
5 assorted termies
Imperial Guard
750 pts.
4x melta
CCS
3x melta
PCS
2x flamer
PCS
power blob
power blob
Hydra
Hydra
Hydra
So I had a 3x power blob list in the pocket, but knowing that my odds of facing
DE raider spam increase as the number of games I didn't play against it, I had my hydras at the ready. When I learned we were going to play against a four wraithlord list of doom, I definitely decided to keep the hydra list around.
The mission this time was "carry and conceal". Basically, it was seize ground, except instead of simply needing to go over and grab the opponent's objective, you had to grab their flag AND BRING
IT BACK to your flag. Also, each player was given a special ability in which they could select one unit once per game to make one of it's shooting attacks count as S8 AP1 (but it also suffered from "gets hot!" that round).
We rolled dawn of war, and our side rolled for first turn and took it.
At deployment, the field looked like this:
The strategy here is pretty obvious. Bum rush them and hope that the wraithlord don't entangle us too much that we can't get the flag. The one major penalty of taking the hydra list compared to the extra power blob is that I don't have as many units to simply overwhelm them with. That and
DoW is going to make it pretty hard to get all the way over to their objective and then all the way back.
In any case, at least we'll get to browbeat some eldar.
TURN 1
Report concerning the action on: Ocheian 16
Daxos Line
After what appeared to be an easing of the climate as the month began has now misfortunately devolved into torrential rain. I have found myself personally soaked to the very bone itself on numerous occasions, a fact which I find most intolerable. Formal complaints have been made to my superior officers to no effect. I fear they may be conspiring against me, and my certain level of battlefield comfort I have come to expect, befitting a man of my status.
Though dislodged from our previous attempts to flank the city, we have fought as much as has been possible or even conceivable in such conditions of moisture to continue these very actions. I had spread my line out, once collected, in an attempt to gain an excess of strategic ground. In pouring rain, my men began to outflank our foes so as to gain the position of our ultimate objective of outflanking the remainder of our foes who by now were enacting a defense of their positions in the city most stalwart.
On the morning of the 16th, I could stand the weather no longer and thus ordered a general attack in hopes that it would at least lighten our insufferable condition.
Our army is definitely at the advantage here in Dawn of War, what with my partner being able to deploy all 750 points and all. As such, we characteristically begin the game with a mass charge forward.
That and the rest of the stuff appears from our board edge.
After this point, the field looked like this:
In their turn, unsurprisingly, everything else of theirs, save the wave serpent full of avengers shows up. The left side gets 2 wraithlord and the guardians with a seer and the right side gets two wraithlord and a farseer. The right side avengers moved forward.
The field still wreathed in mist, I could not easily come to grips with the situation on the field, as dankness crept in on me, I began to hear reports on my micro-vox of an enemy rudely blundered into by my men. The rain, great concealer of our foes as it was, had decided that peril should be obscured until it was right upon my men. Unable to continue forward on foot myself, I sent my men into the teeth of the proverbial dragon itself.
Not long was the time I was forced to wait before the sounds of gunfire erupted in the mist.
Shooting sees our opponents start by rolling very poorly for their night vision rolls, especially against the left side terminators. On the right, the avenger squad draws a bead on grimnar and his boys. The air erupts with a bladestorm... a S8 AP1 bladestorm. In the huge volley, my partner is forced to make a deluge of 4++ saves (predominantly from shields, but also from cover). One wound gets put on grimnar and 4 of the terminators are killed, leaving only the big guy and a thunder hammer storm shield dude.
On the left, one of the farseers reaches deep into the warp and pulls out a mind war on my front blob's commissar, causing him to fall to a distinctive popping sound.
After this point, the field looked like this:
TURN 2
You killed my commissar! You bastard!!!
Without my commissar, I suddenly become more loathe to simply rush into close combat with something. Of course, I also have these wraithlords everywhere I've got to worry about. I just can't let this counter to my blob strategy cramp my style.
In movement, everything rushes forwards except my partner's left-side terminators. He's afraid of getting them into close combat, because the only weapon particularly useful against the wraithlord is a single thunder hammer.
In shooting, my now commissar-less blob triggers my super-killer ability. If ever there was something more outrageous than S8 AP1 bladestorming, it would be S8 AP1 FRFSRFing. I lose a healthy dose of guardsmen to "get's hot!" (only passed a single armor save), but it is plenty worth it as the squad absolutely vaporizes a wraithlord. Meanwhile, my hydras open up on one of his left side wraithlords. Amazingly, just two tanks put down enough sticking wounds that the wraithlord is left with only one wound left. Then, while focusing on something else, my opponent unfortunately decides to trigger his uber-death ability on his terminators' storm bolters which throw down lots of wounds on said wrathlord, putting him down several times over.
On the right, a hydra throws some wounds on the dire avengers, who then take 4 storm bolter shots in the teeth. They take enough casualties to take a morale check, which they fail, causing a couple of avengers and the autarch to book it very slowly towards the edge of the board.
After this point, the field looked like this:
Through my field glasses from my position of command I could finally make out our arcane foe. Much fire was being outpoured from a ruined building ahead of us. From what they were cowering was not clear, but I now certainly felt it my obligation to keep an eye on them to direct my forces most effectively.
I wiped my glasses lenses with a spare set of caviar kerchiefs and threw them away after this. What sort of civilized man would consume his roe with such aquified rags? In any regard, it was now certain that my foe was in a tough place.
In our opponents' turn, they start by throwing down the ace up their proverbial sleeve. With the autarch still technically on the board, the eldar army still gets the +1 to reserves, meaning the serpent full o' avengers shoots 36" onto the board, screaming towards my far left side hydra. On the right, the remaining right side wraithlord and nearby farseer close in on grimnar and attache.
In shooting, the pathfinders in the ruin put down an unfortunate number of AP1 shots, getting through 2 terminator's invul saves. Meanwhile, a pair of flamer shots from the wraithlord gets through the thunder hammer guy's terminator armor. The wraithlord hiding on the left throws some shots at my hydra that's facing down the serpent for a single glance which throws down a shaken result.
Then the wraithlord charged in, most angrily:
The wraithlord put down a couple of wounds, but Grimnar's belt-of-storm-shield thing took the damage down to 1. Right after, Grimar's 6 S10 power fist attacks (or whatever) with preferred enemy makes a mockery of the wraithlord.
After this point, the field looked like this:
TURN 3
In our turn, I start by moving my stray meltagun over to the left in order to provide area denial to his wave serpent (along with my 4x melta
CCS and hydras, there's really not a lot of safe territory in that part of the field anymore. Strangely enough, my partner once again decides to leave his left side terminators stock still. Meanwhile, everything else moves in for the kill.
In shooting, we start out with a mistake on my part. Assuming that I couldn't win combat with the pathfinders or guardians and that I'd then be swept promptly off the field, I decide to shoot my forward-side power blob against his guardians. FRF goes off but a healthy dose of cover keeps their casualties at a minimum. Meanwhile, my hydras open up on the wave serpent, but to make up for their stellar shooting last turn, proceed to flub it this turn (one of the hydra flak cannon batteries only managed a single hit after rerolls). The one that was shaken last turn pops smoke.
In assault, Grimnar says hello to the farseer. It was an experience that the farseer's soul in the great infinity circuit will never forget.
After this point, the field looked like this:
By this point, our opponents are starting to look a little thin on the field. As such, their movement is pretty much confined to the wave serpent rushing over towards the objective.
Oh, and a 10-ton hulking construct of spiritual metal decides to say hello:
In shooting, my partner's left side terminators are again subjected to a withering hail of sniper fire, this time a full half of the shots flipped into
AP 1 mode. I almost couldn't watch as my partner took his invul saves, but thankfully he had the common sense to take my advice to keep the dude with the storm shield alive (rather than throwing shots at it so the storm shield would confer a better save).
The remaining farseer throws down mind war on grimnar and succeeds with a frightening margin (like 3 or 4 wounds or something), but the amulet of the lucky wolf's tail or whatever cancels the power.
In close combat, the wraithlord charges in and squishes a couple of dudes. My dudes can't do anything back. Even without the commissar, though, I still manage to pass a Ld6 morale check. We have now successfully tarpitted each other...
After this point, the field looked like this:
TURN 4
In our turn, we charge in.
From behind me, there was suddenly the sound of engines, quite vectored in nature. Alarmed at this rude intrusion, I immediately sent my men on ahead. I shouted orders greatly to this man and that to ruin the witchcraft vehicle with smart expediency. I took great care myself to avoid exposing myself unnecessarily to the elements.
Small drops from the ruins above occasionally pattered off my refractor field, causing the faintest whiffs of ozone to mingle with that of melta fire of the most terrible sort and the putrid odor of melting spirit metal.
In shooting, I throw
BiD on the
PCS and it gets a glance in, but it's stopped by cover. I
FoMT on the command squad itself and get a glance and a pen. The glance is thrown away due to cover even after the reroll, but the penetrating hit sticks. I roll for damage and come up with a 1...
In a fit of rage I shoot my two nearby hydras at it. The one on the left, still phased from its shaking horribly flubs it's roles. The one on the other side, though, murders the vehicle, causing it to explode in a HUGE fireball, wiping out the entire
PCS and half of the avengers inside. The right side hydra can see the tall white helmets over the other hydra and plinks another couple with assorted fire.
In close combat, the lone left side terminator charges in. The wraithlord turns around and puts down 3 attacks for 3 hits and 3 wounds. The poor storm shielder fails to pass all 3 3+'s. We fail combat but I pass my Ld7 check.
After this point, the field looked like this:
In our opponent's turn, everything charges out for an ultimate fight to the death.
In shooting, they whip out their other super killer attack and use it to fire super shuriken catapults at my untouched power blob killing a pretty hefty amount of them. Meanwhile, the devestated avengers on our side of the board throw some catapult shots at the side armor of one of the hydras, causing a single glance for another shaken result. Then his snipers on the roof take aim at grimnar. 3 AP1 shots and a regular hit see Grimnar fail the single armor save and fail to roll all 3 of his 3++, causing the mighty warrior to fall.
Before the carnage begins, the farseer throws a mind war on my other commissar, but fails the psychic test.
In close combat, he charges his guardians into my guardsmen, but they fight like, well, guardians. He puts down a couple of wounds that stick, but my power weapons go to town on the guardians, resulting in a tied combat. Once again, my other blob sticks around in the whack-a-mole game with the wraithlord. I don't have my commissar, but the wraithlord just doesn't have enough attacks to give me enough of a negative modifier to just throw me off the board straight away.
After this point, the field looked like this:
After this, we all look at the board. With grimnar gone and no way to take down the wraithlord while it was stuck in close combat, the odds of our side capturing the flag and bringing it back are zero. Likewise they have nothing doing on our flag. The only chance of victory is if we can wipe them. I stand a decent chance against the guardians with my one power blob, and if the wraithlord popped out of combat on their turn I might have been able to kill it with a hydra barrage... but the odds of us getting a wipe seem pretty darn long.
FINAL RESULTS
All players involved agree. This game is a draw.
- So, yeah, there was basically no way to win this mission. The only way a victory as per the mission could have occurred would have been if one team was a super fast skimmer army and their opponent left their flag poorly defended (and the game went long). Every other game that night ended in a draw except one which was a victory due to tabling their opponents in an insane bout of bad luck for a marine player. That said, we dined on the cheese of a 4 wraithlord list, and they trimmed the beard of a 2 terminator 2 blob squad list. A good time was had by all.
- This was a learning experience for me with my blob squads. Firstly, I got to see a couple of counters to the blob. Having my commissar sniped out of the squad caused me to waffle, and with no possible way for a blob squad to ever hurt a wraithlord unless they got to get a shot in first (and even then...), this was probably the least ideal game for these squads. As well, I learned that power blobs can still be useful in certain circumstances even without the commissar. It would have been very possible for me to win a charge against the pathfinders or the guardians, instead of foolishly sitting them around to get a volley of lasgun fire in.
- I had the opportunity to take 3 blobs in this list and I only took 2. Don't get me wrong, the hydras were convenient what with the near wraithlord kill and the stone cold stopping of the serpent. That said, I really felt the burden of not having that third blob up there. In the case of this game, I could have had a blob to handle the wraithlord (well, to tarpit it), one to handle the guardians AND one to charge the snipers and claim the objective.
MVP: Grimnar. Yeah, he's BAMF.
Hero of the Game: My left side power blob. They may have lost their iron-clad backbone of morale when the commissar's head exploded, but they sure stuck it in for the long haul.
By this point, I was thoroughly sopping. With rain beginning to fall anew I must admit I quite lost my gentlemanly temperment. With great bluster I ordered my vehicular cannonade battery to open fire indiscriminately with great gusto. After much shooting into the mist, I was informed that the enemy had broken and fled.
Unable to pursue our foes through the growing downpour I personally returned to my deplorable shelter to wait out the storm. I greatly hope that tomorrow will yield more favorable results to an assault.
In grateful service,
Sir Daxos P. Clinton III - KAP, EKS, ICM - Foleran Armies in his Majesty's Royal Dictate.
Blood Conquers All
Eldar Corsairs: 4000 pts
Imperial Guard: 4000 pts
Corregidor 700 pts
Acontecimento 400 pts 
