Marines vs. Templars
====================
Overview- This is my second of three battles for a 1750pt tournament at our
LGS. I was hoping to take more pictures for this battle report (above just keeping a record) but the games were kept very short time wise, so it wasn't a priority. Seize Ground/Dawn of War with a secondary objective to kill all Troop choices.
For the life of me I can't remember my opponents name. If you're reading this, drop me a line! The Marine player was fielding a mostly Deep Strike list, while I feel like I've finally found a good (im)balance with my Templars list. I say imbalance because I have very few boots on the ground and some consider that a no-no for Templars. I like my list, and with a few tweaks, will continue to field a mechanized, heavy firepower, non-shooting
line (
IMO) Black Templars list.
This, though, is NOT a good example of good mechanized tactics. This was a good game for me to battle report with lots of lessons to learn.... lets get started.
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Date played: Sunday, September 20, 2009
Marines
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(S1) 5 Scouts [1 point]
+ Missile Launcher
4x Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
( B ) 7 Bikes [1 point]
+ Power Weapon, Meltagun, Meltagun, Power Fist, Multi Melta Attack Bike
(C ) Chaplain [1 point]
- Power Weapon, Jump Pack
(
TS) 10 Tactical Squad [1 point]
+ Missile Launcher, Flamer
(R ) Rhino [1 point]
(LT) Landspeeder Typhoon [1 point]
(T1) 5 Terminators [1 point]
+ Assault Cannon, Chain Fists
(V) 5 Vanguard [1 point]
(S2) 5 Scouts [1 point]
(T2) 5 Terminators [1 point]
+ Cyclone Missile Launcher
Black Templars
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General: BigDunc
(CS1) 9 Crusader Squad [153 points]
+ Heavy Bolter, Meltagun
(CS2) 6 Crusader Squad [240 points]
+ Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Emperors Champion
(
SB) 6 Sword Brethren [144 points]
+ Power Weapon, Power Fist
(
LRC) Land Raider Crusader [269 point]
- Smoke, Searchlight
(D) Destructor [135 points]
- Extra Armor, Smoke, Searchlight
(A) Annihilator [138 points]
- Extra Armor, Smoke
(R1) Razorback [98 points]
- Twin Lascannon, Extra Armor, Smoke
(R2) Razorback [98 points]
- Twin Lascannon, Extra Armor, Smoke
(V) Vindicator [128 points]
- Smoke
(
AB) 3 Attack Bikes [150 point]
- Heavy Bolters
(
LS) 3 Land Speeders [195 points]
- Multi Meltas
Total: 1750 points
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Deployment
I deployed only my
LRC with a Crusader Squad inside. My plan is to control the Western portion of the board and take 2 objectives. My opponent deploys second on the Eastern portion of the board with scouts and a very hard-hitting Bike unit (including a Commander) and seems to be weary of my firepower.
Turn 1- Templars
With the speed of the tournament, both of us forgot Night Fighting. Didn't really matter. I bring on my tanks to hold the center and provide firepower to the NE. The Razorbacks and Landspeeder Squadron back up the
LRC. In R2 I have Sword Brethren, in R1 a Crusader Squad with attached Emperor's Champion. Hindsight: Switch these Razorback deployments. Marine Scouts take fire and find cover behind the hill.
Turn 1- Marines
The Attack Bike gets within 12", glances the smoked Predator Destructor, and rolls a 6. Good kill, good kill. A Rhino with Tactical Squad and a lone jump packing Chaplain advance onto the board.
Turn 2- Templar
Landspeeders flat out and Attack Bike reserves come on. With the Destructor destroyed I reinforce my Eastern flank with the Attack Bikes. Hindsight: Reinforce success, not defeat. Vindicator, Annihilator, and Attack Bikes combine to kill 3 Bikes and wound the Attack Bike.
Turn 2- Marines
My Landspeeders seem to really unnerve my opponent. His Bikes move to engage, a Terminator squad
DS's in, and his Chaplain joins the remaining Scout who shoot, then charge. Combined fire destroys one Multi Melta and shakes a second speeder. A Landspeeder Typhoon moves into the NE corner.
Turn 3- Templar
Combined fire kills 2 Terminators, the lone Scout, and the Chaplain. The Chaplain took way too much fire to kill, but I needed the kill point. My unscathed Landspeeder misses the Rhino (and continues that pattern of accuracy the rest of the game).
Turn 3- Marines
The Terminators and a Missile Launcher Marine kill two Landspeeders. A basic unit of Scouts outflanks from the East and a unit of Vanguard Assault Marines drops in, out of intervention range. At this point, I'm expecting a crispy Land Raider hulk to occupy the center of the table, but it seems the Attack Bikes are a higher priority for his Bikes, and they are wiped out. The Typhoon finds a target of opportunity on the side of my Vindicator and hits the ammunition compartment.
Turn 4- Templar
My
LRC advances, unloads, and combines fire with the Crusader Squad to kill 2 Terminators. The remaining Terminator has a Chainfist so I was a little apprehensive to advance my
LRC. Hindsight: Too cautious. The Annihilator stuns the Typhoon and the Landspeeder misses the Rhino.
Turn 4- Marines
Combined fire on the dismounted Crusaders yields 6 kills from the newly arrived Terminators (with two very nice frag hits), the lone, assaulting Terminator, and the now dismounted Tactical Squad. Bike fire is ineffective against my Razorback, but next turn should be interesting.
Turn 5- Templar
Razorback 2 cruises, smokes, and drops the Sword Brethren and contests the objective along with the
LRC. My Crusader squad does not have a Power Weapon and loses two to the Terminator. Horrible target selection on my part this turn. My fire should have been concentrated on the Scouts (not hindsight), but I choose otherwise. The Annihilator killed 3 Scouts, then Razorback 1 kills one Biker, and the
LRC kills one
Tac Marine (not shown). All of this fire should have been on the Scouts.
Turn 5- Marines
Melta Bombs are required to destroy Razorback 1, leaving the
EC and Crusaders contesting the objective. Two Sword Brethren die (including the Power Fist) and are assaulted, causing one retributive casualty in close combat.
And that's it!
Marines have 1 Objective and 3 Kill points (mandatory for a major victory in the Tourney). I have 2 kill points.
Very good game, and fun. The analysis:
The Landspeeders I really liked (even though they didn't kill anything). This was the first game I used a full squadron of 3 and they are a very good psychological weapon. In the future I will take more advantage of that by pressuring my opponent more. My Crusader Squads need Power Weapons! This is an obvious statement, but I've put my time lately into acquiring and building vehicles. Time to fix that. I've also decided to put the Sword Brethren into Terminator Armor and put them in the
LRC. In general, I like how much firepower I have, but I need more dismounted punch and that is how I'm tweaking my army list. I'm ok with small, hard hitting dismounted squads.
I wasn't aggressive enough... but just a little. My Sword Brethren should have been in Razorback 1, and should have found a good fight. A special rule for Game 2, this tournament had squads randomly killing themselves in close combat, even inside transports. Which is why only 4 Sword Brethren dismounted.
My target selection was horrible. Had I destroyed the Scouts, we would have tied the game. Had I killed one more unit (looking at YOU Mr. Landspeeder), I would have pulled out a Minor victory. Tough loss but good lessons learned.
Expect this week a battle report of Game 3 against Eldar.
The Report is Copyright (c) 2009 bigdunc. All rights reserved.
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