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I made my army in five minutes using as many newly painted units as I could, and my opponent had his list in his head so the points costs are probably a bit off - that's why I ended up taking a techmarine of all things. We agreed on "2000ish" and away we went!

His list:
- Company Command squad, plasma guns, power sword, astropath
- Veterans with meltaguns in chimera with heavy flamer, multilaser, stubber
- Veterans with meltaguns in chimera with heavy flamer, multilaser, stubber
- Veterans with flamers and heavy flamer in chimera with heavy flamer, multilaser, stubber
- Veterans with plasma guns, plasma pistol in chimera with heavy flamer, multilaser, stubber
- Primaris psyker
- Leman Russ Exterminator with hull lascannon and heavy bolters
- Leman Russ Battle Tank with 3 heavy bolters
- Manticore
- Vendetta gunship
- Valkyrie with missile pods
- Stormtroopers x5, 2x plasma guns
- Stormtroopers x5, 2x melta guns

My list:
- Captain Rynn (Lysander)
- 10 Terminators, 2x cyclones
- Tactical squad Villa, melta, multimelta, power fist, rhino
- Tactical squad Rodriguez, plasma, rocket launcher, power fist
- Sternguard squad, 2x combi plasma, power fist, rhino
- Dreadnought, 2x twin linked autocannon
- Techmarine Bob
- Assault squad Mendoza, 2 plasma pistols, power fist
- Scouts x9, shotguns, powerfist

DEPLOYMENT
We rolled up five objectives, and a dawn of war deployment. We ended up with 5 objectives, all near the middle of the table, with one on top of a tall building in the center, one just out of my deployment zone in the center and one a ways to the right. Opposite was one at the foot of the building, which was more than a foot high, and one mirroring the one to the right on my side.

I won the roll off and deployed the rhino with the melta squad behind the central building. He did not attempt to seize the initiative.

TURN 1
My rhino sits behind the building, awaiting badguys. My second rhino full of sternguard vets rolls up behind the first rhino. My rocket/plasma tactical squad holds up in a ruin just outside my deployment zone with an objective in it, which has been fortified by my techmarine. Lysander deploys with the Terminators to the left of center, with the dreadnought and techmarine (in contact with the dreadnought) not far behind. My assault Marines fly up the far right flank of the table. My scouts await in reserve with the intent to outflank.

A huge wall of armor erupts in the center of the board, with the Manticore and Exterminator in the back and Chimeras all around them. One squad of meltavets deploys inside the valkyrie, leaving their empty chimera on my far right flank. The two aircraft take the middle right. The lead Chimera pops smoke. Spotlights roll poorly but some guns fire and my tactical squad rhino is stunned, but can still move. The Valkyrie manages to shoot my assault squad, killing one plasma pistol gunner and killing three more. The Leman Russ Battle Tank is forgotten and put in reserve, while the stormtroopers wait to deep strike.

TURN 2
I roll my tactical rhino out into the alleyway between the tall central building and a wider factory building to the right. I pop smoke, and I'm not even a foot away from most of the enemy armor. The sternguard rhino takes its place behind the central building. My Terminators, woefully misplaced, clamber forward, shooting rockets at the lead chimera, shaking it and blocking all the chimeras behind it from driving through. My dreadnought shoots its autocannons and fails to penetrate, while my tactical squad's rocket is saved by a smoke launcher save.

The Leman Russ Battle Tank comes in on the left side of the field. The vendetta stays where it is more or less while the valkyrie floats slowly towards my assault Marines. Fire from the Valk brings my assault Marines down to one plasma pistol, two bolt pistols, and sergeant Mendoza with his power fist. The Exterminator shot my dreadnought, shells harmlessly plinking off the walker. The Manticore launches one rocket at my Terminators, killing the sergeant. The Leman Russ Battle Tanks shoots them, doing nothing. Frustrated by the shaken Chimera in their way, every Chimera turns its attention towards my lone wayward rhino. One rolls up and three meltaguns shoot out, my smoke stopping two but letting the third blow off the stormbolter. Plasma fire from the command squad would have hit, but was lost in the smoke. Multilaser shots ring out and bounce off the armor, heavy flamers lick the front armor but fail to do any damage, and even the Vendetta brings its lascannons to bear on the little tank that could. Three penetrating hits go through, only for two to be stopped by the smoke. The third shot hit the treads, immobilizing the vehicle. Over the course of this turn this rhino got shot by over 1000 points of firepower but by gum I was making smoke saves like nobody's business.

TURN 3
My scouts come in on the right flank, making a beeline towards the empty Chimera. The assault Marines jump towards the Valkyrie in an attempt to take it down. My Terminators saunter forward, Lysander at the fore, and make a point to make cover for the dreadnought before it gets shot by the Exterminator again. The Sternguard rhino pops smoke and rolls up right behind the beaten Tactical rhino and, which sees its tactical squad disembark. The squad moves towards the command chimera, snaking a line in an attempt to multiassault both the command chimera and an adjacent veteran chimera. Shooting sees the plasma pistol in the assault squad bouncing off the undercarriage of the Valkryie. My autocannon dreadnought shoots at the lead chimera but fails to do anything, while the cyclones in my Terminator squad blow off the multilaser. The tactical squad shoot their melta gun at the command chimera, seeing it explode! The explosion kills one of its cargo and one Marine from the squad. Sergeant Villa leads his tactical squad in a charge against the company command squad while five Marines try to blow up the veteran chimera with krak grenades. The grenades prove ineffective while the melee sees two kills on each side for a tie, thanks in no small part to the company commander's power sword. My scouts charge the empty chimera, immobilizing it with krak grenades before the sergeant guts the tank with his power fist. My assault Marines try to take down the Valkyrie, scoring one hit with krak grenades only to roll a one – hell of a pitching arm on that Marine.

Both squads of stormtroopers drop, and both on target – one drops behind the Sternguard rhino with melta guns, while one with plasma guns drops near my tactical squad on my objective. The Valkyrie that Mendoza is trying to punch flies away, carrying its veteran cargo 24” out and onto my right flank objective. There's a chimera shuffle, as the flamer veterans jump out near my scouts and torch 4, including the sergeant. The stormtroopers use their meltaguns to blow up my sternguard rhino, killing two stormtroopers and no Marines. The other stormtroopers along with the Leman Russ kill my tactical squad down to four bolters, sergeant Rodriguez, and the plasma gun. Two of the stormtroopers overheat their plasma guns and die however, forcing a morale test. Veterans shoot in a lot of places, and by the end of the turn my sternguard are down to two bolters, two combi-plasma gunners, and the sergeant while my assault squad is cut down to sergeant Mendoza himself. The Manticore hits two rockets on my Terminators, killing two. My scouts fail morale and retreat away from the flamer veterans. Meanwhile, the plasma gun stormtroopers roll snake eyes for their morale while the melta gun stormtroopers killed by my exploding rhino roll boxcars for their morale and run away!
The assault sees the astropath killed and the commander wounded, while another Marine goes down.

TURN 4
My Terminators continue their steady advance forward while my tactical Marines hold their ground against the stormtroopers who are practically right on top of them. My dreadnought keeps its cover behind the Terminators while my Sternguard veterans prepare to assault some chimeras. Mendoza jumps over to the Vendetta, ready to take it down in with his power fist. Shooting sees harmless autocannon fire plinking around the Valkyrie while the cyclones from my Terminators immobilize the Vendetta, prepping it for Mendoza's assault. My tactical squad shoots the stormtroopers right next to them, killing one with their plasma gun but the gun overheats in the process. My seemingly invincible rhino rolls its repair roll and actually gets its engine back up and running! The Sternguard shoot their bolt pistols at a chimera's side armor, doing nothing but prepping for the charge. On the assault, they explode the tank, causing 7 wounds of which 6 are saved by the guardsmen inside! One sternguard veteran falls in the ensuing fireball. The central melee comes to a boiling point as the commander is wounded a second time and the medic is killed along with the last veteran. The commander and psyker strike back, killing a Marine. It's just my four tactical Marines and sergeant Villa against the primaris psyker and the wounded commander at this point. Mendoza rips the lascannon off the Vendetta and stuns the vehicle after using said lascannon like a club against the pilot's canopy.

The flamer veterans move towards the central conflict on the table while their chimera drives 12” away to chase my scouts and prevent them from regrouping. The veterans who were riding in the chimera freshly wrecked by the sternguard retaliate, killing one. A second is killed by the flamer team, leaving the sergeant and two combi-plasmas. The remaining chimera drives up and disgorges its cargo, with three plasma guns and a plasma pistol trained at my Terminators. The sergeant's gun blows up in his hand and kills him while the other plasma guns cause 5 wounds on the squad. Captain Rynn blocks one with his shield while two Terminators are cut down. The Valkyrie floats on the right side objective while peppering my objective holding tactical squad, causing no damage. Unfortunately, it's still close enough to my scouts to keep them from regrouping. The stormtroopers and Leman Russ fire at the tactical squad, but the fortified cover protects them. The Exterminator shoots my dreadnought, causing no damage again. The roiling melee sees sergeant Villa crushing the primaris psyker as the company commander is cut down by the knives of the tactical Marines. The squad consolidates towards my Sternguard veterans. Elsewhere, Mendoza finally cracks the canopy on the Vendetta, crushing the crew compartment and wrecking the vehicle.

TURN 5
I see the chimera chasing down my scouts and eyeball the distance between my newly mobile rhino and the pursuing tank. I declare a ram, and we determine it's strength 5 and hitting the rear armor of the chimera. My rhino hits, penetrates, and wrecks the vehicle! Mendoza jumps over to the Exterminator, getting right behind the eternally ineffective tank. My Terminators move towards the plasma gunners while Rynn goes after their ride. Villa's tactical squad gets into a crater by the objective at the foot of the tower while the sternguard move towards the flamer vets. They fire, killing two. My dreadnought shoots at the Valkyrie and misses again, as per usual. My cyclones shoot at it too, but I don't think anything happens. My tactical squad on the objective shoot the stormtroopers point blank, but cause no damage. The Terminators shred the plasma gunners, leaving one lone plasma gunner to run away. Rynn smashes their tank with his hammer, exploding it and killing one Terminator in the blast. Assault sees my sternguard veterans beating back the flamer vets and causing them to run off table. Mendoza punches the exterminator, exploding it but surviving the detonation.

The Valkyrie disgorges its cargo on the right flank objective, and the veterans run to spread out. The Imperial Guard forces are dwindling, but they still have a chance! The Manticore drives up 12” to block access to the building for my tactical Marines and contest the objective at the foot of the building. The Stormtroopers, Leman Russ, and Valkyrie all fire away at my tactical squad on my objective, but going to ground to get a 2+ cover save protects them from harm.

The Imperial Guard were holding one objective and contesting two – we roll to see if the game continues, and it does.

TURN 6
My scouts fall back again, but only like three inches so they're still close enough to shoot their shotguns at the veterans. The sternguard get into position to take out the Manticore while the tactical Marines move to hold the objective securely. Mendoza jumps towards the Leman Russ Battle Tank in hopes to punch it dead. The scouts shoot two of the veterans in the back with shotguns, dropping them. The Terminators fire cyclones and stormbolters at the veterans, reducing them to one man. My dreadnought finally does something, and pulps the lone infantryman with his autocannons. The fighting in the city sees the sternguard smashing the Manticore and wrecking it, clearing the building of enemy units. The meltagun stormtroopers have already run past the objective and have no hope of regrouping, so they are paid no heed. Mendoza punches the Leman Russ Battle Tank, and once again gets an explosion out of it while taking no damage himself. The stormtroopers threatening my objective were charged by Rynn and Techmarine Bob, who slew them with hammer and servo claw alike.

With only three or four retreating infantrymen and one Valkyrie, we called it a game –
Crimson Fists – 2
Imperial Guard – 0

Crimson Fist victory!

That was a hell of a game! Every unit barring my vehicles got into hand to hand combat, even my techmarine! I'm having a hard time deciding if my MVP this game was sergeant Mendoza or my plucky rhino. Mendoza killed a Vendetta and two Leman Russes in hand to hand, but that rhino took an absolutely stupid amount of fire, and even got an armor kill to boot! However, both my Dreadnought and my opponent's executioner were neck and neck for most useless unit, but at least my Dreadnought did get one kill at the end of the game. My sternguard did nothing that tactical Marines couldn't, and I never actually got to shoot with them, which kind of bummed me out, but punching guardsmen to death is good enough for me!