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Warhammer is a game which offers a wide variety of tactics, sometimes sacrificing a unit for the greater good of the game. However it's also a game of unpredictably and what happens when that sacrificed unit wins? Well they get promoted.

Post the most ridiculous, possibly foolish maneuvers that were almost guaranteed instant death for that unit but they managed to win.

For me it was a unit of 10 gaunts vs ork war boss Thraka. They managed to inflict a single wound and win the close combat (yes he failed to wound) he was then killed in the sweeping advance. (If he does have fearless I didn't know at the time and my opponent assured me he didn't. None the less this unit was promoted.)

Who in your army has gotten promoted?

One Tac marine vs a Dreadknight.

One boltgun. 2 Shots.

Fails one and hits the Dreadknight.

Roll 6 To Wound.

I roll a six.

2+ save is rolled.

It is promptly failed.

Goes to assault next phase and ties him up for a turn.

Single Assault Marine sergeant tears through entire squad of Chaos Marines.

Three Spawn kill ten Salamander Terminators. I mean, there's not much chance for promotion for a Spawn, but I gave them a medal.

Lysander can't really be promoted any higher, but he definitely got a medal for almost singlehandedly killing Duke Sliscius and tearing two squads of Kabalite Trueborn a new one.

My lone Zerker Skull Champion whom I have named Leroy has managed to run across the table and smash a looted wagon... While it was firing it's boomgun at him.

Had a berzerker murder 12 daemonettes over the course of like 3 turns

In an effort to stall my opponent from charging my vehicles with his farseer squad on jetbikes full of singing spears, i charged them with a group of 5 psyker battle squad guys, and while they lost, they took out 2 seers and lasted 2 turns, long enough for my guys to get some distance. It was awesome.

In 3rd edition, I had a lone Salamanders assault marine charge a full squad of kroot with hounds. He won combat, they broke, and he ran them down.

He became the squads sergeant. The sergeant lost his arms and got standard bolt pistol/ccw, that guy got a master crafted plasma pistol (represented by a pair of plasma pistols) and a power weapon. He still never failed me after the promotion.

The exact situation Loki is describing happened to me. Except he was already a sergeant, and he charged a full unit of Necrons. (He phased the army, too!)

I just recently completed his paint job and decal work. Hope to update the old blog later tonight.

This was a couple of months ago, now, but by god was it epic.
My run-of-the-mill CSM squad is charged by a unit of Death Company, with their Chaplain in tow.
They get murderised; by the end of that combat, six of the original ten had been pulled down with only one casualty in return.
Things are looking bad, chaps, I mentally say.
The morale test comes, and it's an Insane Courage roll.
Those badasses not only survived the first round of murderisation, they manage to weather the next round and even the score.
They eventually went down, but by that point my Dreadnought had decided it was sick and tired of the Death Company's nonsense, and promptly fire-frenzied on them.
You will be remembered, CSM. You will be remembered.


...Who got promoted, you ask? Well, nobody, really. The Aspiring Champion got a posthumous medal, though.

I was playing as Dark Eldar in a 2v2 battle. My partner had an all Homunculus based list while I had an all Wych cult list. On turn 5 or 6 I had lost every model I had except a single wych who was in a big close combat between some genestealers a swarmlord and some of my allies units.

Due to her high initiative she allowed us to win the combat and then because the swarmlord died she swept the genestealers who had lost combat! A single Wych sweeping a unit of genestealers made my day. For her consolidation she moved into cover, weathered my opponents shooting (they didn't have much due to some bad rolls for the tests to see if they can move or fire or whatever it is nids have to do.) Then on the last turn of the game hit a none fearless unit of gants/gaunts (I don't remember which) And swept them as well.

She in my eyes has replaced Lelith who did nothing but get instant gibbed by the swarm lord.

Chaplain T stands upon a pile of rubble.

He looks across the battlefield an sees the outline of a vindicator rumbling behind a burned out building.

He knows that to leave cover is suicide. He knows that the sprint across the killing grounds will be a long one.

The vindicator is not alone. Near by a landspeed provides cover for the mighty tanks flank.

"Very well..." mutters the great Chaplain, "Melta bombs it is, then."

Dashing out of cover, bolting towards the tank and speeder, Chaplain T roars "PITY THE FOOLS! TOSS THE SUCKAS!" as he powers up his jump pack.

Turn 1, T moves 12 inches forwards. Then takes a direct hit from the vindicators cannon. Makes invul.

Turn 2, T continues to move straight to the tank. Then takes another direct hit. Makes his invul.

Turn 3, T advances upon the tank and assaults. Vehicle destroyed!

Turn 4, T turns and fires his plasma pistol into the speeder. Vehicle destroyed.

Turn 5, T moves to the right to regroup with the rest of his army... that has been on the other side of the table the entire time.

Turn 6, T assists in the combat to take the objective. He is successful.

Victory Ultramarines. Pity the fools. Toss the suckas.

2011 'Ard Boyz, Semi-finals, round 1. Next to last turn, objective in the center of the board, my ork boyz are on the objective. An empty Valkyrie moves flat-out to contest the center next turn. One lone trukk boy moves thru cover for six inches...a WAAAGGHH is called, he runs six inches. Assault moves five and 3/4." With 4 attacks, he rolls one six. Then rolls a six for the Armour Pen, then a six on the damage chart...Immobilised (Flat-out)=Destroyed. 5 six's=Victory!

That boy has now been coverted to a Nob.

had 7 tac marines, 5 DW termie and an imobilized dread with only a CC weapon left to takle a 10 'corn warriors, 2 wraiths and a monolith.

DW termies charge the monolith ( lost 2 from fire ) all rolls bar 1 scored a hit on a 6, then a 6 to wound then rolled another 6 to both mine and my opponents surpirse.

3 six's to destroy that monolith i freaked out a little when it happened...

I haven't had insanely good luck very often, but I can think of a couple examples.

I once had an infantry squad get tank shocked by a chimera. As everyone else scatters from the behemoth, the platoon's grenade launcher guy decides adjusts his pants around his massive balls and braces for impact...



... and lobs a grenade, stopping the vehicle feet from running him over. Odds of that happening weren't great, to say the least.

It's kind of cliche, but I also had marbo stand-in be a literal one-man army before in this game.



The assassin shows up out of nowhere, and chucks a bomb, killing a couple of guys and forcing a morale check on a squad of 10 MoK CSM and a kitted up MoT chaos lord, which they fail. Because they're within 6" of the assassin, they can't regroup and next turn just run off the board. Given that this was a 750 point game, and my opponent just lost nearly 500 points of it to a single model, he gave up the next turn.

Back in the dark days of 2nd Edition, my SM Scout squad found itself on the receiving end of a 10-man Khorne Berzerker squad. 5 Scouts. 10 frothing-mad axe murderers. End of the first turn saw all but one of my scouts killed, with only one kill of my own to show for it.

I passed the morale check.

My opponent piled his Berzerkers in as best he could (the terrain was tight, so he could only get 3 in base contact, tops)...

Over the course of the rest of the game, my lone Scout proceeded to spank those Berzerkers so hard that they were worshiping Slaanesh by the battle's end. One Scout murdered an entire 10-man Berzerker squad (including champion).

Neither my opponent nor I could really believe it, and he certainly didn't want to admit it, but it happened all the same.

The Scout was made Captain of the 10th Company on the spot.

My Assault on Black Reach Sergeant pimpslapped Kharn ( GODDAMN IPHONE WHY U NO HAVE CIRCUMFLEX??!) and Ghazghkull. He is now a Sword Brother with Power Sword. His tally since being promoted includes Logan, Vulkan and Grotsnik.

1 MoK Chaos Lord with jump pack, twin linked lightning claws and meltabomb all on his lonesome killed 2 crisis suit commanders with a 2 man bodyguard each, then proceeded to blow up his hammerhead and devilfish with melta bombs.The hammerhead got 3 shots at him before he blew it up, he passed his invulnerable save each and every time. He wasn't exactly promoted but is being converted into my brother's Captain Ethen Delios of 8th Company of the Exorcists who is a fairly badass character in his WIP Exorcist codex.

My Space Marine captain on a bike, the only survivor of my army after turn five, lived through two rounds of being the sole target of two hydras, a leman russ, a couple of sentinels, and being chased by two chimeras, chasing a guard squad off of an objective. I guess he really doesn't count, because he finally dyed to an autocannon shot on turn 7.

CCS in Chimera raining hell all over the place finally get's cornered by my opponents Termies.

They assault, Chimera is paste. CCS jumps out and assaults next turn. Two of the Terms are LC's so my guys take a beating, losing three of the four vets.

Last Vet and Company Commander make a stand, and butcher the five Termies.

Granted they were shot to pieces moments later by a Devastator team.

1 Khorne Bezerker versus entire Tau and Kroot Gunline supported by hammer head and heavy Battle suit.

Khorne Bezerker survives everything that is shot at him and is ready to charge his troops.

The Tau player gives up next turn.

That Khorne Bezerker really needs to be a Chaos Lord.

Not 4K but Necro;
A juve with Club and Autopistol wounded a Commissar (Who has the statline of a SM Chaplain with a S5 PW) And survive

A lone Space Marine Scout Seargent decided to take one for the team and charge into a 15+ strong unit of storm guardians. I expected him to die but I was hoping he would at least tie up this unit and keep them from contesting an objective.

He charges, somehow makes all his hits, makes all his wounds, and my opponent fails every save.
Opponents only manages to cause 3 wounds with his entire unit, and I make all my saves.
Eldar decide to run away, and are promptly run over and the Seargent killed the entire squad.
He then proceeded to turn around and run like hell towards his own troops.

He earned that little purity seal he now wears.

In my last game, I played my mates crimson fists, and Marbo rocked up on the second turn, 1 demo charge later saw the remnants of a 5 man combat squad (with ML) legging it off the field, along with the remnants (4 MLs) of a 10 man dev squad. He didn't pass a single Ld test. Next turn, assaulted the techmarine and thunderfire cannon nearby and killed the techie (one hit, one wound, 1 on his save). Spent the next turn advancing, before reaching a protracted combat involving Harker and his boys (against 2 sternguard and a tac sarge with PW). Killed the 2 sternguard, Harker pimpslapped the sarge.

To highlight how good this was for me (particularly the ML bit) I run an airborne list with recon support, and my vendettas had been stationary to try to kill some marines (3 vendettas managed to stun a rhino. woo.)

I tried to pin a medal on Marbo, but he was gone when I went to put him back in the box. But he'll show up next game, right in the thick of it, demo charge on hand.

(3rd Edition) A Heroic Senior Officer received a promotion to General after she killed a broodlord...in one round of CC...after being charged...armed with only a power sword...

Mate has an IG list with a Primaris as his only HQ

This Primaris has so far managed a couple of notable kills, however the best is possibly Vulkan, 4th round of a tournament

Vulkan charges in, swinging first with lots of attacks - hitting on 3s with a reroll to hit, and then wounding on 2s with a reroll to wound. Puts about 3 wounds on the poor primaris - failing ANY of the 5++ saves would put him down for good (S6 vsT3) - triple 6 later, the primaris is amazed to be alive...

Swings back - scores 2 hits. 1 Wound (not bad on 5s) and Vulkan has an easy 3++ save to make against the FW. Which he promptly fails. The primaris summons a surge of psychic power, and passing the ld test removes Vulkans spirit from his body.

Winning combat, letting the other 3 tac marines (who only killed 1 guardsmen betweeen them) fall back from combat.

So many possibilities from my Guard army...

-Playing a campaign game, leave several squads in bunkers on my front defence line (its a sort of Planetstrike game we made up as Planestrike didnt exist then). My opponents SM deep strike nearby and with unerringly accurate bolter fire clear two of the three bunkers. He pushes up to the next line with reserves landing behind my first line and sweeps into the second line of bunkers (held by my other platoon). He clears them and digs in. My return fire is hopeless and the rest of the game is spent by me pointlessly attempting to clear the marines from my second line. So who does the promotion go to? For the entirety of the game my squad in the last bunker of the first line resisted the enemy. After four turns it was reduced to just the Veteran Sergeant. They (eventually he) held out against a pair of SM assaults and a ton of fire from Devastators, a pair of tactical squads and a Dreadnought (too far away to assault me). This distraction allowed me to finally counter-attack and seize the second line back. With so few men left each (or rather, with so many of his models too far away to seize the second line again) we called it a draw. I like to think that the Sergeant snuck back to his own lines in the night... He is now a Lieutenant.

-My command team's medic causing the final two wounds on an Ork Warboss in CC. I promoted him to one of the command squad veterans.

-My Heroic Senior Officer (game played that long ago), Captain Leo, spending four turns in combat with Old One Eye (and passing around 12 5++ refractor field saves), eventually killing the beast and surviving the game. He is now a Major.

There are more but I've already taken up enough of your time

I haven't played many games, but in my last I had a single, lonely Hekatrix typing up a unit of 5 Nobz for 2 turns. That's a LOT of lucky misses from them and saving from her. She eventually went down, but as it was near the end of the game, it enabled me to win with one killpoint up whereas otherwise it would have probably been a draw or even a loss.

my old salamanders list. was a year ago or so. Was playing against a necron player and had a combat squad with a flamer, 3 bolters, and a fisty sgt going across the board to get some necrons in a building. about 3/4ths the way there they encounter some necron resistance. so they hop out of the transport and flamer stuff bolt pistol it..and charge. everything died...horribly... then the necron turn all but the fisty sgt and the flamer are dead. they manage to get to the necrons in the building and kill some. they tied the squad up till th last turn. 2 marines...t full turns...thats 4 rounds of fighting they go in against 10 necron warriors. the last turn the sgt dies.. and the flamer guy killed one...tie combat. on his part of the round he whiffs.. and i killed a necron.. he makes his leadership roll. but that flamer guy....2 turns of combat vs necron warriors..... alone