Game style: Competitive
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Spearhead
[Army lists]
My list:
Land Raider (standard) containing Vulkan, a librarian, and 5 Assault Terminators (4
TH/
SS, 1
LC)
2 x Rhino containing tooled out
tac squads (
PF, Combi-melta, melta gun,
ML)
2 x 2 Land Speeder squadrons (
MM/
HF)
His list:
Land Raider (standard) containing Corbulo and several Death Company
Death Company Dread
Lamertes and 10 Assault Marines
5 Assault Marines
10 Tactical Marines (Lascannon, meltagun)
Drop Pod containing Veterans (hit squad w/ 2x melta guns, 3 x combi-plasmas)
Deployment:
Our objectives were placed in our respective deployment zones, with his deployed inside a ruin, and mine as far into the corner opposite his deployment zone as I could get it. I won the roll off and decided that he would deploy first and get first turn. He deployed basically in a big mass, with a combat squad of
Tac Marines sitting on his objective in the ruins, and using his Land Raider and Rhino for cover. I deployed one Rhino on my objective, blocking it off, and the Land Raider a few inches from that (to deny him the ability to stomp my objective). Forward of this, I deployed my 2 speeder squadrons (behind a building to block
LOS) and one Tactical squad (ie: speedbump).
First Turn:
Uneventful. Since
BA don't get Drop Pod Assault, nothing happened. I decided to sit tight and send one squadron of speeders flanking hard along the long table edge, using cover to keep them concealed from his limited ranged elements. He moved everything forward. The only thing significant that happened here is that his Rhino (with a combat squad of
Tac marines) was destroyed by the Land Raider, removing the mobile cover from the Assault Marines.
Second Turn:
His drop pod hit squad lands close enough to my Land Raider to be within
2d6 melta range. His hit squad pops out and fires at the Raider failing to do any damage. His 5-man Assault Squad assaults my Rhino but, since I'd moved it 7" the turn before, the Power Fist strikes fail to do any damage. This ended his turn. The far speeder squadron continues flanking along with the second speeder squadron. The speeders hammer his
LR with multimeltas and immobilize it. The combat squad that was in the now-wrecked Rhino piles into the ruins directly in front of where the speeders were. The forward Tactical Squad disembarks from their Rhino (which pops smoke) and fires at / assaults the 5-man assault squad, wiping them out. Vulkan and the Librarian disembark from the Land Raider and pop off Avenger and a
HF shot at his drop-pod hit squad. The AP3 Avenger template wipes out the majority of the squad and the rest are killed in the assault.
Third Turn: Lamertes and his unit are getting dangerously close to my objective, and Corbulo has disembarked from the immobilized Land Raider with his buddies from Death Company. The Death Company dread, now out of range of Corbulo, runs full speed ahead toward my Speeders. Everything else in his army simply advances toward my objective, ready to finish preparing for the assault on my objective. The Land Raider succeeds in blowing one of my Land Speeders out of the air. My opponent is nearly done consolidating for a fourth turn assault. The Tactical Squad fires a melta gun shot at the Rhino which is negated by its cover save (smoke). On my turn, Vulkan and the Librarian get back in the Land Raider. Need to do something about this wave of Red Nutcases surging forward. The Speeders see a lucrative target in the Death Company dread and hop out of cover to engage it. The Death Company dread explodes from fire from the 3 multi-meltas. The forward Tactical Squad hops back in their Rhino and coasts slowly toward the enemy objective while the Marines inside fire out at the
tac squad in the ruin.
Fourth Turn: My opponent is finally done dealing with the difficult terrain in the center of the board and finishes consolidating next turn for the assault. Everyone moves behind a section of forest, the last piece of cover between him and my objective. Finally, another two Speeders receive a can't move / can't shoot result which is dropped to can't shoot as per squadron rules. The Speeders continue toward his objective to flame the occupants and eventually contest it. Here's where the massacre begins. My forward Rhino with the tactical squad "tank shocks" Lamertes squad of Assault Marines. I wasn't hoping to break them, only to condense them for what was about to come. The Land Raider trundles forward and unloads Vulkan, the Librarian, and the 5 Assault Terminators. When the smoke of Vulkan's
HF and the Librarian's AP3 Avenger template clears, my opponent has lost 9 Assault Marines in Lamertes' squad and a Death Company trooper. The combination of the AP3 flamer template, and the Rhino forcing them to consolidate, resulted in 10 of 11 models receiving AP3 hits and an equal number receiving S5
HF hits. Vulkan and his crew charge the Assault Marines and finish them off before the Terminators even have a chance to strike. The Speeders kill two Tactical Marines on his objective reducing their number to 3.
Fifth turn: Down to 8 Tactical Marines, an immobilized Land Raider, Corbulo, and his Death Company, my opponent decides that he might as well go full out and charge Vulkan's posse. A lascannon shot from the Tactical squad shakes another Speeder, and his
Tac squad in the ruin immobilizes the forward Rhino. In combat, the Librarian takes a wound and Vulkan falls to the Death Company's furious charge, but in the ensuing melee Corbulo and the Death Company are slaughtered to a man, and my opponent concedes.
All in all, a good learning experience. I had never used my expensive Vulkan + Librarian + Assault Terminator unit as a counter-assault unit, but when dealing with a bunch of fast-moving, I-boosted assault-heavy units, it's really necessary. Also, the Librarian may be fragile, but the flamer template that he can put out really does it for me.
The Speeders are quite possibly the most versatile thing going, especially for competetive games. This loadout (
HF/
MM) is here to stay. And in Tourneys where you're running the same list from game to game, it's indispensible.
MM for armor,
HF for hoarde, twin linked by Vulkan for fun.
By including 2 characters (1 cheap Librarian and 1
SC) in my Term assault squad, I save my slow hitting Terminators from getting overwhelmed by tempting my opponent into going after my
HQ elements. The Librarian is woefully easy to kill, but after he's popped off his Avenger shot he's blown his load anyway, and I'd rather be taking 3++ saves on Vulkan with 3 wounds than on
TH/
SS Terminators that strike at I1, and die with one failed save. Every attack that goes into a character is one less going into the squad. And if you assault, be careful about putting your expensive characters in base to base with
PFs or enemy
SCs in general.
Finally, don't be afraid to be creative with tank shock. If you want to drop a template on someone, it's best to consolidate their unit via tank shock especially if they're spread very thin (full 2" coherency). It's also best if they're wearing power armor and your template is S5 AP3, but...
2500pts 
