My dad came up today for a game. He's been seeing the
Valhallans I've been painting, and really wanted to try them out! Since I'm only up to around 600 points of them if I really stretch it, I lumped them in with the rest of my Imperial Guard for him to use against my Iron Warriors. We went for 1850 and I was in the mood to try a non-standard mission. I went through the Battle Missions book and found a cool one - War of Attrition. It's played short end to short end instead of the typical long table edge against long table edge. You can deploy anywhere up to the halfway point, so you could in theory deploy right in each others' faces. The victory condition is victory points - the points each unit is worth when it's destroyed. The special rule is that whenever a squad from your Troops selection is destroyed, they go into reserves. When it's your turn, you roll to see if that squad comes back, and they do at full strength anywhere in your deployment area! This only applies to the infantry though, and not their dedicated transports. This means it's quite possible to kill more of your opponent's army than they started with on the table, which is cool. Anyway, onto the army lists:
Iron Warriors (me):
Chaos Lord Kane (terminator armor, daemon weapon, combi-melta)
5 Chaos Terminators with 3x combi-melta, power fist, chainfist, icon of Chaos Glory
Chaos Marines x10 with power fist, melta x2, icon of Chaos Glory, in a Rhino with dozer blade
Chaos Marines x10 with power fist, melta x2, icon of Chaos Glory, in a Rhino with dozer blade
Chaos Marines x10 with power weapon, plasma x2, icon of Chaos Glory, in a Rhino with dozer blade
Khorne Berserkers x10 with power fist, in a Rhino with dozer blade
Vindicator with Daemonic Possession
Vindicator with Daemonic Possession
Vindicator with Daemonic Possession
Imperial Guard (my opponent):
Company Command squad with plasma pistol, plasma gun, vox caster, master of ordnance, lascannon, Chimera with heavy flamer and heavy stubber
Infantry Platoon (Valhallans)
+Platoon command with 3x flamers
+30 man power blob with 3x power weapons, 2x grenade launchers, commissar with power weapon, vox caster
+Mortar squad
+Lascannon squad
Infantry Platoon (Cadians and Catachans)
+Platoon command with 3x grenade launchers, vox caster, power weapon
+Infantry squad with lascannon, grenade launcher
+Infantry squad with lascannon, grenade launcher
+infantry squad with flamer
+infantry squad with plasma gun
+special weapon squad with x2 flamer, demo charge
+Autocannon squad
Valkyrie with rocket pod
Veteran squad with 3x melta gun
Leman Russ Battle Tank 1 (Battlecannon, lascannon)
Leman Russ Battle Tank 2 (Battlecannon, heavy bolter sponsons, heavy bolter, heavy stubber)
Leman Russ Battle Tank 3 (Battlecannon, heavy bolter sponsons, heavy bolter)
Since he was Imperial Guard, he got to deploy first. He put his special weapon squad in the chimera, and the vets in the Valk. In a shocking move, I deployed right afterwards, trying to stick to as much cover as possible. I left my Lord and Terminators in reserve. Deployment looked like this:
From my side of the table:
From his side of the table:
I failed to seize the initiative, and he had the first turn!
++TURN 1++
The game started with the Valkyrie going flat out to vet behind my Vindicators, dropping out the veterans through grav-chute insertion. They scatter a bit and two die. Things move up a bit elsewhere in the army. His company command orders the lascannon team to Bring it Down on the Rhino in the back with the plasma gunners, wrecking it. Obligatory action shot:
The Valhallan powerblob Move Move Moves along with the Catachans. The veterans take the shot at a Vindicator, exploding it and killing two of their number in the blast. The Company Command squad shoots my lead melta Rhino, stunning it, while the
MoO shell drifts slightly onto the Berserker Rhino, bouncing off. The Leman Russes open fire, exploding my other melta Rhino, killing 2 Marines and one Marine from the squad behind it. Guardsmen kill another one, autocannons kill one more, and mortars bounce off their armor. End of the turn looked like this:
I started by moving my remaining Rhinos up, and popping smoke. My plasma squad goes skulking around to hunt down the vets:
Meanwhile, my melta squad takes position in the building nearby:
My Vindicator drops a shell right on the Valhallans! However, my dice aren't so hot and only 6 of them are blown apart. My other surviving Vindicator hits their Leman Russ, wrecking it. End of the turn looked like this:
++TURN 2+
He rolls reserves for his vets and they don't come back yet.The powerblob moves towards the center in an effort to get away from the Vindicator, while the Cadian and Catachan forces down south move around to both castle up and flank around my encroaching Rhinos. The Valkyrie hovers into position to get a shot at my plasma-toting Marines in the East:
Then proceeds to do absolutely nothing as its missiles harmlessly plink off power armor and its multilaser goes wide. The Company Commander orders the lascannons on the landing pad to Bring it Down on one of my Vindicators, and manages to blow off both the gun and treads.
FRFSRF on the Valhallan blob sees them drop three of my melta Marines from the ruin, while the Company Command squad's lascannon stuns the Berserker Rhino. The Master of Ordnance calls down a shell that goes woefully off-target, killing a single Marine. The end of the turn looked like this:
Lord Kane and his Terminator bodyguard unit show up. They drop on target, shortly behind the Leman Russ line. My Berserkers pile out, moving up towards the Leman Russ line:
Meanwhile, my mobile Rhino disgorges its melta Marines up close to the same line, while the 3 surviving Marines from the ruins move out towards the temple to put it back in Chaos hands. My surviving Vindicator kills a whopping single Valhallan this turn, while my lord does slightly better and stuns the
SWS Chimera. The Marines who jumped out of the Rhino shoot their two meltas at Leman Russ 3, cooking off the gas tank and exploding it. Three men from the platoon command squad die, while one man each from the surrounding guardsman squads dies. My plasma Marines in the backfield blow a missile pod off the Valkyrie before my assault phase. The squad of 3 marines charge the Guardsmen in the temple:
There were no Imperial survivors. The Khorne Berserkers charge the tank line, failing to damage the Chimera and wrecking the remaining Leman Russ. End of the turn looked like this:
++TURN 3++
The infantry squad that just died in the temple comes back! They take up residence in the crater left by Leman Russ 3. The Master of Ordnance targets the Rhinos, but scatters off and kills 5 Chaos Marines. The lascannon in the command squad bounces off one of said tanks. The lascannon team is ordered to Bring it Down on my last functioning Vindicator, but bounces off the armor. The Valhallans
FRFSRF again, killing all but the icon bearer of the Chaos Marines in the temple.
FRFSRF sees the newly arrived guardsmen gunning down a few Berserkers. The
SWS throws their demo charge and shoots their flamers, but are only able to kill two Terminators. The Valkyrie again fails to do anything, while the mortar team on the landing pad drops one of the Chaos Marines threatening it. They pass their pinning check. The lone icon bearer takes his morale test, and even with a reroll in the unholy temple of skulls, he falls back. The sucky thing about this is that he has to fall back an obscene distance before he can count as "dead" for the purposes of the scenario, so I likely won't see him again til the end of the game. Finally, since the berserkers are still in contact with the Chimera, they get to strike. It's rent asunder by chainaxe attacks and explodes, killing a berserker and one nearby Catachan in the process. End of the turn looked like this:
My melta
CSM try to move around the building to kill the Catachans. Hoping to thin the ranks a little, they gun down three before a charge. They run, depriving the Marines of blood and glory. The backfield Chaos Marines blow up the Valkyrie, ending its harrying presence for the rest of the battle. Finally, my Vindicator is presented with a truly great shot:
It lobs a shell downrange and blows up 11 Valhallans from the powerblob squad. My Berserkers charge the newly arrived Guardsmen, wiping them to a man, while the Terminators charge the autocannon teams and do the same before slingshotting off towards the command platform. End of the turn looked like this:
++TURN 4++
As the Catachans are too close to my three surviving Khorne Berserkers, they can not regroup and fall back again. However, the squad of Cadians with a lascannon returns, taking the field for the third time this game. Both the vets and the autocannons roll 1s for returning. Stuff moves around, and units really get bogged down in the temple. The Company Command squad manages to ace one of my two remaining Rhinos, and the Master of Ordnance drops one Marine in doing so. The Berserkers are brought down to their champion while heaps of fire get dumped on the Terminators. When the dust settles, the lord is wounded once. End of the turn looked like this:
The backfield
CSM embark in the old Berserker Rhino, and I tried to move both my understrength
CSM squad and my sole berserker close to assault. The champion killed one Cadian from the newly arrived squad while my Vindicator broke cover to drop a shell on the lascannon teams, killing one. The Terminators run under the landing pad, prepping to climb up next turn. When it comes to assault the Chaos Marines wipe the entrenched Cadians and the Berserker champion dies before he can swing. End of the turn looked like this:
++TURN 5++
The vets, autocannon teams, and the newly killed Cadians arrive. The
AC teams take up their old positions, the Cadians go near the landing pad, and the melta vets pop up next to my remaining Vindicator. The Valhallans and Catachans finally clear the temple, and I take more gratuitous action shots:
The company command squad stuns it and the vets kill it while the lascannon teams kill the last Rhino. The forward
CSM are brought down to just their banner while mortars drop one more Marine in the backfield. Flamers, lasguns, and grenades fly at the Terminators, finally killing one more. End of the turn looked like this:
The Berserkers come back, as close to the Valhallans as they can. The forcibly disembarked Iron Warriors run under the building while that lone retreating banner bearer keeps falling back. The surviving banner bearer shoots the platoon command squad's grenade launcher dead, leading to the platoon commander running away. The Berserkers charge the Valhallans, killing 7 and losing 3 in return. The Guard morale holds. Meanwhile, Kane and his Terminators get onto the pad:
"Sir! Behind you!"
Assault sees Kane routing the Company Command squad, killing everyone and wounding the commander, who harmlessly pings his chainsword off Kane's Terminator armor. The commander runs, scurrying down the ladder to get off the pad. The Terminators wipe out the lascannon teams with powerfist swings. End of the turn looked like this:
I roll to see if the game ends, and roll a 3. Game continues!
++TURN 6++
Lascannons come back on the field, taking place in the temple. The Cadians in the south finish off the icon bearer, and every gun that can aims at the Terminators. Autocannons, flamers, lasguns, grenades and pistols harmlessly plink off the Terminators' war plate, only for a comically close range mortar shell to get through the armor of one. The barrage goes slightly off though, and also blasts a Valhallan off the platform! The Catachans and veterans charge in on the Berserkers, but can not save the Valhallans. The only remaining Valhallan is the Commissar, who boldly retreats. Three Berserkers die. End of the turn looked like this:
The Marines in cover wound one lascannon team and that's basically it for shooting. Kane wipes out the Cadian squad, the remaining Terminator kills 2 mortar teams and causes the last 2 to fall back, and the big assault in the middle is joined by a respawned squad of Chaos Marines. The Veterans are overrun and the Catachans fall back out of the fight. End of the turn looked sorta like this, since I messed up on a few X's:
I rolled the die again, and got a 4! Turn 7 here we go!
++TURN 7++
Shooting down south kills 2 Chaos Marines while the lascannons in the temple miss the Berserkers right in front of them. The Landing pad sees lots of fire:
At the end of it all, the last Terminator falls. End of the turn looks like this:
The last turn sees the Berserkers wiping the lascannons and Kane finishing off the Valhallan platoon command squad. End of the game looked like this:
After tallying up the blood spilled tonight, it comes out to around 1300 points of dead Iron Warriors and 2100 points of dead Imperial Guard. Victory to the Iron Warriors!
This scenario was a fun one to play, and after seven turns it really did feel like a war of attrition! It was a lot of fun for Kane to just cut loose and shred squad after squad of Guardsmen, and for Terminator armor to work almost as well as it does in the fluff! My saves were pretty good across the board, even if my smoke never saved me. It was a total graveyard for tanks, with any armor getting wrecked pretty quickly. It was a lot of fun for both of us, and while I was bummed that I wasn't the first to field the Valhallans, they looked great from the other end of my gunsights.
