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Last weekend I got to play again against my friend mech Black Templars. In this occasion I switched to Grey Knights (I am play testing all my armies on 5th edition rules)

The black templars lists changed a little in order to accommodate a 4th troop choice …

- Marshall
- Marshall
- Emperor Champion with anti-psyquic vow.
- 1 mech crusader squads (8 each) with close combat weapons and in rhino
- 1 mech crusader squads (9 each) with close combat weapons and in rhino
- 1 mech crusader squad (10) with close combat weapons and in rhino
- 1 crusader squad (5) with a LassCannon
- 1 bike squad (4) with power weapon and 2 melta guns
- 1 dread with TLLC and missile launcher
- 1 vindicator

Against that lot ob black power armour I tried a first 5th edition variant of my Grey Knights lists, removing 1 of 2 Land Raiders to fit more troops in… Also exchanged Gran Master for a couple of Brother Captains, splitting the termie retinue in two but doubling the amount of psycanon fire I can send out.

- BC with psycanon plus 3 GKT retinue with psycanon
- BC with psycanon plus 3 GKT retinue with psycanon
- 3 * PAGK squad (5) with 2 psycanons each
- 1 GK Land Raider
- 1 GK Dready with TLLC, DCCW and Heavy Flamer




We rolled for mission a got the one with one objective for each side, and the deployment was on table quarters. Got first turn and kept it. I deployed castling 2 PAGK and the dready in the best cover available in my quarter, setting there my objective (that was unfortunately to close to the center for my tastes). That was my defense force. My attack force where the termies (all deep striking) and the Land Raider plus the remaining PAGK squad (embarked) on my right flank. He deployed a hidden defense force (vindicator plus lasscanon squad) and concentrated all his rhinos plus the dready and bikes in one attack force on his right flank. The black templars got a free move due to the emperor champion vow, that bring them closer to my lines. In addition, he successfully took over the imitative from me. So he got first turn.

1st Templar turn
The rhinos made an all speed rhino charge closing on my castle. Two squads debarked, one (with a Marshall) just in front of the rhinos and one (with Marshall and Champion) hidden behind them. Third squad, bikers and dready formed a second wave. Bolt pistol fire managed to kill a couple of PAGK. The dready fired from afar at the Land Raider but failed to penetrate av 14. The vindi, advancing unsupported on the templar left flank, failed also to hurt my tank. The small crusader squad fired also his lasscanon but failed to hit.
1st GK turn
If you have a plan you better stick to it… I saw such a precious target in that unsupported vindi that run my Land Raider close to the center of the table to get LOS on it (instead of making the detour to go for my opponent objective) Just after finishing moving I saw my error (next turn the LR will be in optimum melta range for the bikers, plus it will receive all the attention from the couple of enemy lasscannons. Trying to avoid the melta fire I debarked the PAGK placing them on the way, so if the bikes tried to fire at the LR it will get at least a cover save. In any case, the vindi, bait for my error, was destroyed right away from a machine spirited god-hammer lasscannon shot. The psycanons from my castle underperformed, failing to kill almost anything from the oncoming crusaders. The dready compensated for that killing 4 marines with the heavy flamer, and then charging that squad and killing another 3. The templars responded, getting just one hit (by the Marshall) that glanced and immobiliced de the dready. Having won the combat 3 to 1, the templars took a couple more of hits for non-running, failed both saves so only the Marshall remained locked in combat with de GK dready

2nd Templar turn
My opponent, undaunted by his losses, continued to press forward to full effect. Bikers and second crusader squad (the one with champion and Marshall) concentrated melta and bolt pistols fire in the debarked PAGK. Just the justiciar survived, and he died in the hands of the emperor champion initiative 6 close combat attacks… The third crusader squad, closed with its rhino on my castle and put bolt pistol fire on the reduced PAGK, that died to a men… failing all the armour saves thy tried. Storm bolter fire from the rhinos killed a couple of PAGK from my now only remaining troop choice. On the close combat my dready finished the BT Marshall without suffering additional damage
2nd GK turn
It’s just bottom of turn 2 I already know I cannot win this one, not having enough troops to claim either objective. I just can hope to contest both, so I get an honorably tie. But luck is not on my side today (at least not yet) Both GKT units came from reserve to deep strike. One deviates 20 cm farther away from my objective. And the one I sent after my opponent objective deviated just enough to just touch the lasscannon defending squad. Using the new deep striking errors table we got the result where my opponent chose where to deploy my unit, and he set them in the corner of my right flank quadrant. They ran instead of shot in order to close to the action. The other GKT joined their fire with the one of the LR to decimate the champion crusader squad. The immobilized dready plus the remaining PAGK fire failed to hurt to much the third crusader squad.

3rd Templar Turn.
Bikers closed on the motionless dready (arghhh!!!) and melta fire it to destroy all its weapon systems… A rhino put itself in the way of the termies to avoid them close to my now menaced castle. Both crusaders squads plus the rhinos put fire on the 3 remaining PAGK, killing them all. Lasscannon and krak missile shots from the dready kills two GKT, and the lasscannon squad fire glanced and got a crew shaken on the LR.
3rd GK Turn
My objective is in the hands of 2 reduced crusader squads and the enemy objective is defended by another one… I got only a weaponless and immobile dready, a crew shaken LR, a 2 men GKT unit and a 4 men GKT unit far from the action… what your bet… will I be able to solve this to get a tie? The Land Raider is again machine spirited to ram the side of the blocking rhino… I got a penetrating hit that became a 6!!!. Rhino destroyed and with style!!! Flying debris killed a couple of crusaders from the Marshall and Champion squad and one of my 2 remaining termies (arghhhhhhh) , The other one (the BC) killed all remaining normal troopers with psycanon fire. That unit is no longer scoring… Now I tried to charge (I don’t think I can win against the Champion and Marshall, but I wanted to deny them the bonus charge attack) but I failed the necessary difficult terrain test. The other termie squad advance and ran, so now is almost half of the way to either objective.

4th Templar Turn
The one crusader squad occupying my objective fired its pistols at the BC without effect. Now, the BC died in CC at the hand of the emperor champion. A lasscannon shot destroyed one of the LR sponsons. Bikes closed on my remaining termi squad and killed 2 termis with melta and bolter fire. The small crusader squad abandoned their objective (?????) to try to close on the remaining termis, but they are just out of range.
4th GK Turn
LR make a detour (out of templar dready LOS) to close and contest my objective next turn. My 2 remaining GKT fired and charged the bikers, killing them all but losing one to biker sarge power weapon.

5th Templar Turn
The crusader squad defending my objective had a p-fist, but will not move out of the objective to try to pop the LR. Neither the Marshall nor the champion can hurt the AV 14 monster. The dready, out of LOS repositioned itself to try to get on LOS in an hypothetical 6th turn. And in the worst move of the all match, my opponent, forgetting about his objective, moved the small crusader squad to rapid fire my lone remaining BC. (He said he was counting on a 6th turn and that it was better to put all available fire on my termie that to backpedal and await its charge….) I didn’t agree. The rapid fire produced just 3 bolter wounds on the BC, but he saved them all…
5th GK Turn
Retribution time!!!. BC psycanoned and charged into oblivion the lasscannon crusader squad. The LR, surviving a 2 dice difficult terrain roll moved 30cm positioning itself at les than 8 cm from my objective, contesting it.

Situation now it’s a tie. Roll for a 6th turn a here it came… He needed to destroy the LR to change the outcome of the battle

6th Templar Turn
Defending crusader squad tried to pop LR with p-fist… needed to hit on sixes and glance on sixes two… no way…. Dready LOS is obscured, but its lasscannon shot is effective (penetrating) but just managed to blown apart the second lasscannon sponson. Not enough
6th GK Turn
LR move a little just to avoid counting as stationary for next turn p-fist attacks. Heavy bolter fire killed one crusader, but it is not enough to make them perform a morale check. The BC, firing at templar dready rear armour, blown it sky high.

The tie remains. Roll for a 7th turn failed, so battle end here

Conclusions….

It’s ridiculous that simple bolt pistols killed two thirds of my PAGK. Come on, at 25 points each (50 for justiciar and psycanon troopers) they are that much expensive you should get a chance to ignore wounds or something!!!

Well… that was a joke….

..but you can think that sitting in cover and using storm bolters and psycanons 15 PAGK should get the better in a shot-out against 30 normal marines sporting just bolt pistols… Math-hammer said. But math-hammer cannot explain 4 marines failing 4 of 5 power armour saves

In addition, getting a 70 point model (GKT + psicanon) killed in the explosion of a rhino is also ridiculous…

Well. I don’t think I played this well… The LR and his PAGK should have stormed the templar’s objective, ignoring the vindi bait I so enthusiastically took. That force, combined with my 2 deep striking termi units should have been enough to take and hold that objective. Once this have been achieved the termies (using their long range heavy strength fire) and the LR should have counterattacked back to help contest my own objective. That was the plan. But I panicked when he snatched the initiative from me and was almost ready to charge my castle by turn one.

On the other hand I think it was a big risk for my opponent to move out from his objective with the lasscannon squad to add fire to try to stop my last termi unit…. But well… I was at that point failing so much armour saves that I suppose it looked to my opponent like the right thing to do…

nice read. respect on using a GK army, they are one of the hardest armies to use imo. and yeah 70pt GKs should atleast have a way to live!

nice report

good read

Good report. I am curious to know how you got around the 0-1 on the Grey Knight hero choice though.

derek wrote:Good report. I am curious to know how you got around the 0-1 on the Grey Knight hero choice though.

Brother-Captain is both an HQ choice, and the Squad Leader for GK Termies. Thus, one of the Brother-Captains was chosen as an HQ choice with a retinue, the other one was the leader of a squad of GKTs.

what does mech mean

MinMax wrote:

derek wrote:Good report. I am curious to know how you got around the 0-1 on the Grey Knight hero choice though.

Brother-Captain is both an HQ choice, and the Squad Leader for GK Termies. Thus, one of the Brother-Captains was chosen as an HQ choice with a retinue, the other one was the leader of a squad of GKTs.

exactly...thankyou minmax

both BC where leading GKT squads (one as HQ hero retinueand one as elite choice) and for all instance the equipment, profile and point value for both units are the same, but in an Anihilation game the hero unit will give 2 kill points whether the elite unit will only give 1.

Phagetime wrote:what does mech mean

sorry if that was to cryptic... mech states for mechanized... and is referring to an army with all (or almost all) his infantry units riding transports...

Nice read, its good to read bat reps on the lesser used armies and to see how they actually perform instead of the math hammer reports! Cheers!

Freaka

like the style of a GK army, takes alot of practice to use them well, and, as stated, you pay a big cost if you leave units open, my friend had his GK army smashed pretty badly in 1 turn due to leaving it out of cover against tau, and somehow still won lol

I've said before that I tried running an all GK list and it turned out really bad for me. Plus Power Armor is the bane of GK's the remedy for that is either focused from a sader or the almighty leman russ battle cannon, but to get the russ you need two guard platoons. Which eats up less points than you think, even if you add heavy bolters or autocannons (Lascannons get expensive though).


....remember brother, pray for our new codex to come soon, our enemies are getitng stronger and are not taking breaks.

LucasLAD wrote:I've said before that I tried running an all GK list and it turned out really bad for me. Plus Power Armor is the bane of GK's the remedy for that is either focused from a sader or the almighty leman russ battle cannon, but to get the russ you need two guard platoons. Which eats up less points than you think, even if you add heavy bolters or autocannons (Lascannons get expensive though).


....remember brother, pray for our new codex to come soon, our enemies are getitng stronger and are not taking breaks.

well... playing PURE Grey Knights with the actual codex is a challenge.... but is challenge that I like... in 4th edition I managed to get quite good results with them... getting more wins than loses (and more often getting lots of draws)... in 5th edition, needing more troops is another handicap when your basic trooper cost is 25 points... but in exchange there will be no more lucky glances or rends killing my land raiders... so I think that tuning a little the list It may continue to work for me.

GK are awesome and dont get the playing they deserve
good report friend