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The disastrous events which befell that most stalwart and loyal of Spcae Marine chapters on their home world of Rynn's World is the subject of many popular (and mostly inaccurate) accounts in both holovid and written versions and thus will not be touched upon in this, more academic, history save to say that following that tragedy the tactics of the Crimson Fists were forced by necessity to be a bit more fluid. Fortunately for the Imperium that most holy tome, the Codex Astartes, offers strategies and tactics to cover the wide range of wars and situations that the Astartes find themselves facing. So it was that Captain Cruz-Martin, late of the 6th Reserve Company now simply a Crimson Fist as a company designation means little to a Chapter so near the brink of annihilation took his most skilled riders and answered the call of duty as his liege and lord, Chapter Master Pedro Cantor, carried on the sacred duty of rebuilding his chapter.

-excerpted from the introductory slate of "Like Blood on the Wind, volumes 1-53" by Lord Philomon von Haoupt, archivist-in-residence, Schola Progeniums Primaris, Secundus and Tertius, Loki sector



I knew going into this tourney that following this action the Crimson Fists would be boarding their Battle Barge "Voice of War" - for a well earned resupply and regroup trip back to Rynn's World. In other words, they were gonna get a rest while I work on my next army. With that in mind I decided before hand just to have fun and play as well as I could and just enjoy the ride.

For those who don't know, the Grand Prix was a 2000 point 24 slot 5 game tourney held in Hollywood. The missions were all book missions but mission and deployment type matchups were released ahead of time. The sieze ground missions all had 5 objectives.

The list I brought was pretty much an evolution of the bike list I have been playing for the last year or so. Most of the games I have been playing it at are 1500 rtts so I had an extra 500 points. I opted for thunderhammer termies in land raider with a librarian giving my faithful dreadnought a respite and a refit as befits his war honors (look for a venerable dread in my next Crimson Fists list).



Crimson Fists - 2000 points

HQ
Captain Cruz-Martin (Bike, Relic Blade, Artificer armor, Hellfire rounds, Meltabombs)
Librarian Ando (Null zone, Gate)

Troops
Scout Squad Shadow (5 Scouts, Missile Launcher, Cloaks)
Bike Squad Lightning (4 Bikes, Multimelta Attack Bike, 2 Plasma Guns, Power Fist)
Bike Squad Stalker (4 Bikes, Multimelta Attack Bike, 2 Plasma Guns, Power Fist)
Bike Squad Heartseeker (4 Bikes, Multimelta Attack Bike, 2 Meltaguns, Power Fist)
Bike Squad Vengeance (4 Bikes, Multimelta Attack Bike, 2 Meltaguns, Power Fist)

Elite
Assault Squad Wrath (5 Assault Terminators, LRC, MM, Extra Armor)

Fast
Loki's Dart (Land Speeder Typhoon)
Tidings of War (Land Speeder Typhoon)
Woebringer (Land Speeder Typhoon)

HQ - 295 - 14.75%
Troops - 960 - 48.00%
Elite - 475 - 23.75%
Fast - 270 - 13.50%
Heavy - 0 - 0.00%

Total - 2000 - 100.00%

That is right, damn near 50% spent in troops and not a single heavy (okay, there is a Land Raider Crusader, but is an elite dedicated transport...)

One of the things I like about the Sprue Posse tourneys is that there are no wacky or amateur games designer missions. Straight out of the book so you know that they have been play-tested against each other and that there are checks and balances when the missions and deployment options are all used. Kill points punishes MSU (especially the weak troops) but 5 objective seize rewards it so it comes out as a wash. Full disclosure, I am a member of Sprue Posse so obviously my preferences are reflected in the tourneys our group runs - we are all very competitive people but also like to do narrative completely wacky games (all slaanesh daemons vs. all foot IG for instance). There is a place for wacky, fun, fluffy missions, it is just not in a tourney environment.

The tables all looked decent, there was 25% terrain on all of them, though it would been nice to have a bit more large LOS blocking on some of the tables. As an aside, we are going to be adding terrain throughout the year to take care of that.



Uhhh I believe that is about all I wanted to preamble on about.

...and as a result the "Voice of War" was the first to respond to the desperate transmission from the world Merchant's Folly. Auspex reading were dire, the once populous capital city Skyreach was lifeless as were many lesser settlements. The normally white cloud cover visible from orbit was a cancerous yellow, like the nic-stains on an addict's fingers. A vox transmission was received from the southern hemisphere where many of the planet's final defenders were staging an heroic last stand.

It was with commendable haste that Captain Cruz-Martin loaded his swiftest relief force into the Thunderhawk "Watchful". He was surprised to see Librarian Ando and Brother-Sergeant Valez already there rigging the mighty Land Raider Crusader "Impending Violence" for a quick drop. Valez had been recalled from service to the Death Watch following the tragedy on Rynn's World and the silver paint on his left arm gleamed brightly like a beacon of hope for the lost world of Merchant's Folly.

Despite the haste with which the Crimson Fists made planetfall it was far too late to save any of the loyal citizens of Merchant's Folly. The poisoned air had finished off any which might have survived the onslaught of that most despicable of foes, traitors who have turned from the light of the Emperor to follow the lord of rot and decay.

Captain Cruz-Martin held aloft his ancient relic blade and the psycho-reactive crystals transformed his rage into rippling flame which danced along its monomolecular edge.

"It is to our shame that we arrived too late to defend this world. Only one thing remains, my brothers. We must avenge the fallen!"

The throaty roar of engines came in reply as the Crimson fists opened the throttles of their bikes and threw themselves headlong into the entrenched forces of the Plague Marines."

- "Like Blood on the Wind, volume 17" by Lord Philomon von Haoupt, archivist-in-residence, Schola Progeniums Primaris, Secundus and Tertius, Loki sector

Game 1 I was paired up with Dave_Fay and his nurgle themed CSM list. HIs list was:

Demon Prince: Mark of Nurgle, Warptime, Wings
Chaos Lord: Bike, Mark of Nurgle, Plague Bringer, Combi-Melta
Chaos Dreadnought: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Plasma, Plasmagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Melta, Meltagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi -Melta
7 Plague Marines: Plasmagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
Predator: Twin-Linked Lascannon, Lascannon Sponsons
Defiler: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Battle Cannon
Defiler: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Battle Cannon

The mission was kill points and we were off.

I won the roll to go first and chose to go first.

The game
Dave's list was fairly light on long range shooting and my intent was to pop his rhinos, take the easy kill points and then play keep away as best I could and deployed as such. This was my first mistake, as it forced him to castle up with those hard to get kill points.



My bikes began to sweep wide and around and missiles fired at the rhinos but they apparently had feel no pain as well. Dave was on fire with those cover saves.



In return I lost 2 speeders and was suddenly down drastically. Also, one of my bikes failed 5 out of 7 3+ saves leaving the attack bike with a single wound. Fortunately, there was decent cover and the attack bike was able to turbo boost across the table and out of LOS. He was joined by one of the other attack bikes a few minutes later and they just hung out with the scouts and told old war stories and kept their heads down.

Meanwhile the captain led his squad around the flank supported by the Land Raider with thunderhammer termies and librarian.




The thunderhammer termies got a charge off on the predator and the dreadnought. The predator was destroyed but the dreadnought just laughed maniacally. Or maybe that was Dave. In any event, Crimson Fist terminators do not die easily. They weathered a few rounds of combat with the dreadnought and daemon prince. The lord charged in and again, the storm shields held. They killed the lord but succumbed to the dreadnought and lord.

Meanwhile, a desperate maneuver on my part managed to destroy a rhino finally (it only took 3 short ranged melta shots - and then just barely!) In return the squad was charged by 2 squads of Death Guard. The power fists of the Death Guard knocked the Crimson Fists from their bikes but the captain held on for another round or two. I believe I was actually up by one kill point on turn 5. Alas, the game continued another turn and my hopes were well and truly dashed.



It was a loss, but a good game against a great player with a surprising list that has me rethinking my boxed up World Eaters. Dave's list is a prime example of just exactly how much more important it is to know your army really well than it is to play a net power build.

The gruesome monstrosity was truly born more of the warp than its native dimension. It moved in to finish the unconscious form of the noble Captain Cruz-Martin but halted, head cocked as if listening to an unheard call. The deamon prince smiled - if such a hideous grimace could be called a smile.

With the sound of a rotten corpse bursting from the gasses of decaying organs a rend in reality appeared. The daemon prince's offering of this world had been accepted. It knew that the gate would soon close and so it shepherded its army into the other dimension. The unholy vitality of the traitors allowing those thought dead to rise again and shamble into the abyss...

-excerpted from "Like Blood on the Wind, volume 17" by Lord Philomon von Haoupt, archivist-in-residence, Schola Progeniums Primaris, Secundus and Tertius, Loki sector

Nice report. He plays in my area, he used that same list against me and ROFLstomped me. He's extremely good (What I learned: Don't ever discount his Chaos Lord).
What did his Defilers do?

Also, nice fluff.

Dave wins with that list all the time. He only plays that army at tournaments and as you said, knows it like the back of his hand. That practice really gives him an advantage the helps to overcome his list's weaknesses.

Well played! And it was nice to meet you.

@gavo - thanks, fluff is what makes me love this game. The defilers did okay, they shot at bikes, killed a few - popped a speeder, charged and helped finish off the termies. Not as much as you would have expected, but I am used to large blast templates and try to hug the board edge as much as possible which makes about half of the shots that drift go safely off the board. Turbo boosting a lot also mitigates the damage.

@reecius - yeah it was great to meet you too. Practice with a list is vital I think to really be a top player (as both you and Dave clearly are). Theory is great but there is no substitute for the fluidity of the game - knowing when to press an advantage and when to pull back and knowing exactly what you can count on your models to do on both the best and the worst day. I would like to play more but I have two wonderful little distractions (and a wife) ;-)

Reecius wrote:That practice really gives him an advantage the helps to overcome his list's weaknesses.

Weaknesses, such as...? Does SW Missle Spam give him problems? I would think it should, since it negates the FNP and can drop pretty much everything in this list, in theory.

@Somnicide

Thanks for the kind words. And yeah, a family would certainly get in the way of hobby time. Dave is about to have his first, so he probably won't be in too many more tournaments for a while.

@Gavo

Baring seriously beneficial terrain, my wolves would smash Dave's chaos on a list to list comparison.

However, Dave plays super smart and player skill largely mitigates list discrepancies. His army is largely considered to be sub-optimal, but he plays it so well he can get around that. He really is one of the best if not the best player I have met.

Rethinking your World Eaters? Would you move to copy his list where possible? I see David has slightly changed his list since he played Dash of Pepper last year. He had four 6 man squads at that Broadside Bash.

Regardless would Berzerkers be a good substitute for Plague Marines? Is what you gain in assault better than losing 2 special weapons per squad? If you want to keep the theme you will lose the Warp Time DP as Khorne doesn't take psychic powers. I wonder if Kharn can replace the Warp Time DP in the list?

Excellent report and great pics! Can't wait for the rest!

Dave's list surprised me, as did the fact that he got 1st with a themed list over other, nastier tournament builds.

@Somnicide:

Your list is quite a surprise for a Crimson Fist list. I hear CF and I immediately think another Pedro/sternguard list.

Anyways, great battle report and looking forward to reading the rest.

He still runs 4 squads, unless I am mistaken. He never changes his list, at least not since I've known him.

The name of your Land Raider Crusader is "TSOALR" worthy
Nice name!

DarthDiggler wrote: I see David has slightly changed his list since he played Dash of Pepper last year. He had four 6 man squads at that Broadside Bash.

Regardless would Berzerkers be a good substitute for Plague Marines? Is what you gain in assault better than losing 2 special weapons per squad? If you want to keep the theme you will lose the Warp Time DP as Khorne doesn't take psychic powers. I wonder if Kharn can replace the Warp Time DP in the list?

I have not changed the list, same as BSB 2010, Socal smackdown vs Dash and every RTT in between.

Demon Prince: Mark of Nurgle, Warptime, Wings
Chaos Lord: Bike, Mark of Nurgle, Plague Bringer, Combi-Melta
Chaos Dreadnought: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Plasma, Plasmagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
6 Plague Marines w/ Champion: Pfist, Combi-Melta, Meltagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi -Melta
7 Plague Marines: Plasmagun X 2 Rhino w/Combi-Melta
Predator: Twin-Linked Lascannon, Lascannon Sponsons
Defiler: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Battle Cannon
Defiler: CCW X 2, Heavy Flamer, Battle Cannon

Ok that's more like what Dash posted. Somnicide did say he was recalling the army list from memory. For those of you surprised by the Chaos lists performance, it is an effectively balanced list which has counters to many high powered offensive abilities. Also remember 40k is not always about tabling your opponent, but just winning the game. To many times a players ego gets in the way of winning the game. I have run something similar, but Khorne based. I am never confident with that list before a tourney, but it always does fine.

Thanks for posting the list Dave, I will update the post. Game 2 and hopefully 3 will both be up later today.

Woo! A biker report. Good first game, that deamon prince is ace.

Looking forward to the next games

Gavo wrote:

Reecius wrote:That practice really gives him an advantage the helps to overcome his list's weaknesses.

Weaknesses, such as...? Does SW Missle Spam give him problems? I would think it should, since it negates the FNP and can drop pretty much everything in this list, in theory.

ML dont negate FNP on plague marines.....theyre T5....they get FNP still.

I am pretty sure that they are 4(5) unless it was faq'd

Finishing up game 2 right now.

I thought Codex CSM says they are T4(5). Do I have an older printing? Plaguebearers are true T5 I know that.

Pretty sure they are T4(5) but it's been a while since i looked in the chaos book

Yeah Dave is a dirty birdy player that managed to duck me at any event we were both at last year! But you can't stay mad at Dave Was hoping winning the Nova Invite would get him to a place I might get to play him but he slubbed that off on Shep

Ya plaguemarines are T4(5) So missiles would negate FNP

The Captain of the 6th Company of the Crimson Fists, Raul Cruz-Martin kneels before an altar of purest white marble bearing a golden icon of an open mailed fist. Set in the center of the golden fist and cast of platinum and finer metals is the twin-headed eagle of the Imperium as if frozen while taking flight from a nest.

His prayer is broken with as the temple judders.

CRUZ-MARTIN: What in the name of Dorn? Why have we dropped from transit?

He stands regally, swooshing his white cloak behind him.

NARRATOR: Unbeknownst to the good Captain, a mighty ork Waagh led by no less a villain than the Arch Arsonist of Charadon was causing such distress to those aetheric seas that the Strike Cruiser "Loki's Might" was knocked from warp.

Some time later:

Captain Cruz-Martin stands on the bridge of "Loki's Might", addressing the ship's officers.

CRUZ-MARTIN: This is a holy celebration! We must get to Rynn's World with all haste!

OFFICER'S CHORUS: Aye lord, we all know but the waves of the aether are not to be calmed.

Some time later:

NARRATOR: Loki's Might stabilized in orbit above the once proud ruins of the Crimson Fists chapter keep though the atmospheric interference caused by the catastrophic sabotage perpetrated by the bestial green skins prevented contact with survivors, if indeed there were any.

CRUZ-MARTIN: Prepare your wargear and mount your iron steeds my brothers! We will ride out to face the beast on the field and death rides with us!

MARINE CHORUS: (Cheers and shouts)

from Belicci Finorio's Epic Holodrama "Red Fists and Green Blood; or the Treachery of the Beast"

Ah well, the good thing about losing game 1 is you get to coast in the loser's bracket where the lists are typically less brutal and generals less skilled.

When I get to the table what is awaiting me but greenskins! Awesome, my ancestral enemies and the terrain on the table is the dark angels fortress of redemption! My opponent, Earth, has been playing orks since the dark ages and they were his only army. He was just as excited as I to replay the cover of the Rogue Trader book.



His army looked great (he ended up getting best painted) and he had a big ol' grin plastered on his face so I was expecting a fun game now that the stress of a perfect tourney was lifted. And like I said, loser's bracket is soft, right?



Waagh Urthsmasha (from memory and I made up the name of the Waagh)
Warboss on bike with klaw and bad hygiene (and other stuff I am sure)
Big Mek with KFF
20 boyz with pk nob and 2x rokkits
20 boyz with pk nob and 2x rokkits
15 Burnaboyz
10 nob bikers with dok and some mix and match klaws and big choppas
2x7 Lootas
3 deff rolla battle wagons

Ah it is good to be in the soft loser's bracket...

The mission was a pitched battle cap and control and we quickly set the narrative that this battle took place during the battle for Rynn's World near another missile silo that was not destroyed (the fortress).

The Game
I won the roll but let Earth go first.

I deployed most of my stuff out of LOS behind the tower except for the land raider with termies which was directly across from his nob bikers and with a mighty waaagh! Earth started his turn. Oh yeah, like all true orky players, Earth yells WAAAAGH! A lot.



The bikes moved forward a bit but didn't want to be in charge range of the termies. Ultimately, he misjudged this and I noticed his warboss was out of position for the charge I wanted. Everything else moved forward except the lootas (one of them moved into the ruins) and the other had no LOS.

Oh yeah, it bears mention here that we discussed the terrain before we even rolled for sides and decided to treat the fortress as a single level ruin with a huge impassible tower.

The landraider moved full speed toward the biker nobs and unloaded the termies. The librarian elected to stay on board and manage the battlefield from the armored behemoth though he did send aid in the form of null zone.



Two of the land speeders moved flat out to the flank of the termies to take advantage of the warboss being out of place. When it came time for him to pile in he had to just yell encouragement.



I had 4 bike squads shoot up the closer lootas and they killed all but 1 vital speedbump preventing the bikes from riding in to support the termies.

One of the terminators was struck down before he could attack and the other 4, despite charging, only did 2 wounds which killed 2 nobs. Their charge was stalled and the bikes held. Uh oh. At least they did well on the storm shield saves (which was to be a theme for me throughout the tourney).

One of the boyzwagons moved over to unload and pile on the two speeders. They managed to destroy both of them with their fists.

The burnawagon deffrolled the land raider, wrecking it and earning a WAAAGH! from Earth. The burnas themselves then piled out and charged a bike squad, wiping them out through power weapon wounds.



The other boyz wagon moved on to drop off the boyz who swamped the scouts that were holding my objective. I think that they played scrumball with the scouts' heads for the rest of the game in the woods as I whittled them down with the last speeder shooting them down to 9.



The terminators recovered well, killing 4 more nobs for no loss and then escorted the breaking warboss off the field before he had a chance to make a single attack.

The lootas showed their gratitude by opening up with 3 shots a piece and breaking the terminators. The 2 survivors spent the rest of the game falling back.

Meanwhile, Captain Cruz-Martin split off from his escort and cut down the remaining loota with contemptuous ease. The rest of the bikes put a torrent of fire into the boyz and various battle wagons with decent but not game changing effect.

One of the battle wagons tank shocked a bike unit and I didn't realize that even if you stop the battle wagon you take 2d6 str 10 hits so that was a very painful, 3 bike lesson learned.



At this point it was getting close to time - Earth and I talked way too much during this game - it really felt more like a fun pickup with a friend than a tourney game so time started getting tight. We got through turn 5 and might have had time for a full turn 6 but it wasn't a guarantee so we called it a draw as we each had the others objective pretty easily. We talked through the following turn to see if it would have made a difference and it was possible that with really fluky dice that either of us could have one (basically his boyz fail a leadership check followed by a boss pole check after I have a good round of shooting with my speeder would give me the win or for him if I missed with all 3 meltas from 2 different units within 6" of the rear armor of his battle wagon and then he got far enough to tank shock me and killed that last unit to a man (which I would obviously not be death or glorying) it would have been a win for him. Any other result was a draw and I know I felt okay with it, and am pretty sure he did too.

Like I said, we talked A LOT during this game, we probably could have shaved a half hour off it.

So, a great draw, a super fun game against a nice thematic enemy army on a beautiful table with a fun narrative. The result was a draw, but it sure felt like a win.

Captain Cruz-Martin stands over the broken from of the Ork Warboss. The beast's fangs are broken and it coughs blood up from dreadful internal wounds. The powerful klaw which had so brutally snapped Brother Nandez from his bike and clipped him twain twitches on the ground several meters away.

The front wheel of the kustomized chopper spins as the bike lays silent on its side.

WARBOSS URTHSMASHA: Ya can't (cough cough) win. We iz da krumpinest waagh you ever seen (cough cough).

CRUZ-MARTIN: You are alien filth and will be eradicated from the Emperor's holy domain. This I swear by my honor and my life. [he looks directly into the holopic catcher] The Crimson Fists will not rest until every loyal citizen of the Imperium can rest safe, free from the tyranny of the alien.

A young boy (15 years old) crawls out from the wreckage of a nearby house. He is leading a much younger girl by the hand. Both are grubby but unbroken.

BOY: How can I help, noble Captain? I want my sissy to sleep well tonight,

CRUZ-MARTIN: The Imperial Guard and your local PDF will always have a place for brave men and women, son. See your local commissariat recruiter.

end credits roll.

from Belicci Finorio's Epic Holodrama "Red Fists and Green Blood; or the Treachery of the Beast"

italiaplaya wrote:Ya plaguemarines are T4(5) So missiles would negate FNP

hmm thought they were true T5....havent played against chaos in forever. My mistake....

Loving these reports!

These are great reports. Glad you got to play Earth, now you know what I have to deal with all the time. Both in terms of being defrolla'd and being WAAAGH'd at.

Awesome report. Two great-looking armies, with solid fluff, and nasty lists. Top notch.

DarthDiggler wrote:Ok that's more like what Dash posted. Somnicide did say he was recalling the army list from memory. For those of you surprised by the Chaos lists performance, it is an effectively balanced list which has counters to many high powered offensive abilities. Also remember 40k is not always about tabling your opponent, but just winning the game. To many times a players ego gets in the way of winning the game. I have run something similar, but Khorne based. I am never confident with that list before a tourney, but it always does fine.

I feel like the Death Guard has a few inherent advantages over the World Eaters that make them stand out a bit more. The special weapons, the T5 and FNP, and Blight Grenades really make plague marines tough guys that hang in there. Also, they have bolters. The Nurgle DP also has some extra utility in the available psychic powers and such.

Berzerkers are just stuck with pistols, and can wreck face in an assault, but can't weather the return fire as well as the Plague Marines. Khorne DP's also get nothing, but are a tad cheaper. I can never seem to get a World Eaters flavored list to do well, and I always feel like I'm too light on shooting and bodies to do anything, hence why I've gravitated towards the Monster Mash (TM) instead.

Plagues don't hit as hard, but between the special weapons, the blight grenades, and being more than twice as durable against most anti-infantry firepower, they are the goods.

Fantastic battle report!! I had a great game, and yes there were many great WAAAGHS to be shouted!!

Let's do it again!

(ps. full squad of 15 burna boys!)

Yeah it was awesome! I am definitely looking forward to playing you again. Thanks for the update on the list, I will fix it.