After taking a long break to get into Warmachine I decided Id better get back into
WH40K mode and prepare for the Apocalypse release. I find myself right back on track and we roll Secure and Control which I should be a pro at by now since thats the only one I ever get. My opponent is James and he has brought Grey Knights to the table. This one could go really bad.
Scenario: Secure and Control (Alpha)
Armies: Witch Hunters vs Grey Knights
Witch Hunters
Canoness with Blessed Weapon, Frag Grenades, and Jump Pack
Inquisitor Lord with Bolt Pistol & Power Weapon, 2 Sages with Laspistol &
CCW, and 3 Heavy Bolter Gun Servitors
Eversor Assassin
6 Arco-Flagellants
5 Celestians with a Priest
9 Sisters of Battle with 2 Meltaguns, and a Veteran Superior with a Bolter
9 Sisters of Battle with 2 Meltaguns, and a Veteran Superior with a Bolter
1st Platoon - CO junior officer with Storm Bolter and 4 guardsmen with a Plasma Gun, Red and Green squads each have 10 guardsmen with a Plasma Gun
2nd Platoon - CO junior officer with Laspistol &
CCW and 4 guardsmen with a Lascannon, Red, Green, and Black squads each have 10 guardsmen with a Missile Launcher
Leman Russ with Hull Heavy Bolter and Heavy Bolter Sponsons
Excorcist
Excorcist
Grey Knights
I didnt get an army list from James but this is probably pretty close
Inquisitor Lord with Melta Bombs and some other stuff and ten Grey Knight Marines
Grey Knight Terminator Master with 7 Grey Knight Terminators
10 Grey Knight Marines
Dreadnought with Twin-Linked Lascannon and
CCW
Dreadnought with Twin-Linked Lascannon and
CCW
Grey Knight Terminator Master with 7 Grey Knight Terminators
Land Raider Crusader
Deployment
Since we rolled Alpha I felt pretty good about this one. James was really hurting for scoring units and even though they could tear through my army pretty good it wouldnt matter if I could hold more objectives. So, my strategy was to go for the objective on the left and the two in the middle. With only a Dreadnought covering the left I felt pretty good about that side and as long as I could tarpit the marines on the right for long enough I should be able to score the objectives when the buzzer goes off.
Turn 1 GK
The Dreadnought on the left seals its own fate by stepping forward into view and firing at the Exorcist missing it. On the right the Dread picks off one guardsman and the Inquisitor led Marines take down 2 more.
Turn 1 WH
The Exorcist on the left makes short work of the exposed Dreadnought while the Leman Russ and one of the guard squads blow away 4 Grey Knight Marines. The Exorcist on the right fares the worst only scoring one kill on its target squad. Everyone else cant see the knights through their shrouding but everyone on the right is just moving into position for the charge anyways.
Turn 2 GK
The remaining Dreadnought fails to harm the Leman Russ but the nearby marines take out 3 guardsmen as they move to hold an objective. The marines on the right skirt along the front of the hills and kill 2 Celestians. The Calidus suddenly appears and fires at the Inquisitors retinue killing 2 servitors and a sage but also catching 4 guardsmen in her blast and they flee as the assassin charges in and kills the last servitor. On the right equal carnage is unleashed as the Landraider unloads the Terminators and they destroy all but 3 sisters while the master manages to take down 4 flagellants. Thankfully, everyone passes their morale checks keeping my tarpit from turning into an open road.
Turn 2 WH
The Exorcist on the left moves up to get a better shot but the Leman Russ takes out the Dreadnought leaving the Exorcist without a target. The Lascannon command squad in the ruins on the left forgets to move out so they just sit and look pretty instead of moving toward an objective. My notes get a little hazy here but the guardsmen right next to the Russ run off the table for some reason while the Calidus and Inquisitor exchange wounds. The Inquisitor led Grey Knight Marines get annihilated from massed Lasgun fire as the Eversor gets set for a next turn charge. On the right the Exorcist scores a Shaken on the Crusader as the Cannoness, Celestians, and the remaining Sisters of Battle squad join the fray. Even with all of these charges no wounds are scored on the Terminators while the flagellants and weakened sister squad perish.
Turn 3 GK
The Inquisitor Lord manages to shoot and kill the Eversor as he flees from the guardsmen. The Crusaders Machine Spirit blows the Missile Launcher off of the Exorcist forcing the crew to fall back on their secondary weapon (water balloons). In the nearby melee the Canoness gets killed without having scored a wound and 5 sisters also fall causing the rest of the squad to fall back. In the center of my deployment zone the Calidus and Inquisitor both kill each other leaving the sage to fend for himself.
Turn 3 WH
The Exorcist on the left moves into scoring position as on of the infantry squads makes a break for another objective. Once again the unit in the ruined building forgets to move. The Leman Russ takes an ineffective shot at the Crusader but the sisters who were falling back become fearless after passing an act of faith test and consolidate forward to fire at the tank with their Meltaguns. They manage to immobilize it and a mighty cheer echos through out the lines as the burden now rests on the only two scoring units left, the terminators and marines. The Grey Knight Terminators quickly dispatch the Celestians and begin their journey to acquire an objective.
Turn 4 GK
The Terminators trudge toward the center and wipe out a unit of guardsmen as they do so. The Crusader destroys the Sisters who crippled it. The Inquisitor Lord charges the command squad in the ruins and kills them leaving only the Junior Officer who gets charged by the Grey Knight Master. Both men fail to land any hits on the other though and the round ends.
Turn 4 WH
The Leman Russ and the Exorcist combine fire to bring down 3 Terminators leaving the squad one man away from non-scoring status. The sage follows the Grey Knight Master and shoots him in the back with a laspistol while the guardsmen in the back fire a missile at the Land Raider failing to harm it. The squad on the far left finally remembers to move but only manage to creep through the rubble as the squad in the woods moves forward at about the same rate.
Turn 5 GK
The Terminators ignore the sage and walk right by him firing at the guardsmen in the backfield killing 4. The Inquisitor and Master each make a beeline for the Exorcist and unit in the woods while the remaining marines all bunch up next to the Landraider attempting to squeeze through the narrow path between it and the water tank. The Crusader attempts to kill the russ before it can take its shot but only manages to immobilize it. The Grey Knights all thank the tank crew by peeing on the tracks and spray painting You Suck! on the side of it.
Turn 5 WH
As expected the russ swings its battle cannon around and scores a direct hit on the cluster of Grey Knight Marines killing 6 of them and knocking the unit below scoring. The sage even moves up and adds insult to injury by killing one more with a laspistol shot. The Exorcist moves danger close to the melta bomb armed Inquisitor and takes a shot at the Terminators FAILING
TO KILL ANY! Uh oh. This is about the time I start re-thinking my gamble. All the same the guardsmen are still on the move to try for the objective on the left.
Turn 6 GK
The Crusader fires at the russ but cant harm it. The Terminators move up toward the objective and take out 4 guardsmen in the woods while the Master kills one from another squad. The shot that really counts though it the Inquisitors melta bomb and he just cant seem to hit with it.
Turn 6 WH
Continuing the gamble the Exorcist tanks shocks right past the Inquisitor giving him another chance with his melta bombs but he declines and simply steps aside. The tank then destroys two more Terminators and the game ends as the forward guard unit claims another objective.
Results:
Witch Hunters 2
Grey Knights - 0
Post Battle Report:
Although the plan didnt go off exactly as planned the main plot points were the same. The real key was just the fact that the Grey Knights were playing at a disadvantage with so few scoring units. When victory points arent an issue it gives forces like mine the freedom to play fast and loose and sacrifice tons of units just to allow others to claim objectives. As usual I didnt use my assassin very effectively and forgetting to move units for most of the game didnt help either. Hopefully, Ill get smarter for the next game but thats not very likely.