Hi again! Now my kroot battle for the ninth time in their short history, this time against seriously buffed Dark Angels. The veteran
DA player had decided to take all that was made better: Land speeder typhoons, stormshield/thunder hammer combinations and medics. Would my kroot prevail this time against such powerful opponent?
My list was just the same as in the other report
Master shaman - Weirdboy: warphead 85
Master shaper - Big mek: powerklaw 60
Stalkers - 10 Kommandos: nob, powerklaw, bosspole, 2 big shootas 150
Master Shaper's Carnivores - 20 Boyz: shootas, nob, powerklaw, bosspole, 2 big shootas 170
Master Shaman's Carnivores - 20 Boyz: shootas, nob, powerklaw, bosspole, 'eavy armour, 2 big shootas 175
Trukk Carnivores - 10 Boyz: shootas, nob, powerklaw, bosspole, 1 big shoota, trukk 140
Vultures - 10 Stormboyz: nob, powerklaw, bosspole 160
Krootoxen and kroot hounds - 3 Kannons 60
And the opponent used these units from his collection
Belial: Thunderhammer, stormshield
5 Terminators: apotechary w/ lightning claws, standard bearer w/ lightning claws, 2 normal terminators with lightning claws, thunder hammer/storm shield terminator
5 Terminators: Cyclone missile lancher, sergeant w/ lightning claws
Land speeder: multi-melta, typhoon missile launchers
Land speeder: multi-melta, typhoon missile launchers
Whirlwind: pintle-mounted storm bolter
Vindicator
I rolled 2 for Seize Ground and 5 for five objectives. We both decided to take only four objectives since the table isn't big enough... 41" * 69". Each table quarter had one objective. Deployment type was rolled for and we got Dawn of War. I don't usually like
DoW but I'll always play it if the opponent wants to.
I won the roll-off to go first again. It didn't really matter which side I took but I decided to take the half on which my models already were. My opponent said that in tournaments there's a 90% probability to take the side where your models lie. I guess that also applies to casual games, I figured. Empirical evidence
ftw!
Now it's time for some tactical assessment: I had to avoid blasts because there was so freaking many of them. 4 blasts alone from typhoons, not to mention the cover-ignoring whirwind and vindicator and 2 frag missiles from the shooty terminators. They could destroy a unit a turn if I left cover. My answer to these myriad threats was simple but ineffective: 3 kannons and a number of big shootas. This was going to be an uphill battle... I hoped my fast elements could do something about those nigh unreachable tanks. After all, depending on my opponent's deployment, I could get one of the tanks with a well-placed stalker assault from the flanks, if I get lucky. Overall, I had "superior" speed thanks to my ever-present trump card: WAAGH!.
With these somehow discouraged feelings, I began waging war by deploying nothing and leaving stalkers, trukk kroot and vultures in reserve with stalkers outflanking as normal.
The opponent did not try to seize the iniative? I didn't ask him about it but 'ere we go!
Kroot Mercenaries turn 1:
My kroot ran up the field, trying to reach the ruins for some cover (I was so darn afraid of the blasts). My fire support settled in the middle of the battlefront with the crazy shaman with them (once again, I did not want to prohibit running from the right carnivore squad. What am I going to do about this pitiful fellow?). At the start of the shooting phase he ONCE AGAIN began with a bang! He periled and shot melta beams from his eyes at the silent darkness. The krootox riders facepalmed in unison. After all that running, the turn ended.
Too bad, there's only one actual krootox there. I've got to buy more.
Dark Angels turn 1:
He moved in his assaulty death-star of Belial and his old friends to my right flank and ran them. His vehicles took up firing positions and at this point I realised he's forgotten it's still dark out there. But it does not matter. The first speeder spotted my kannons from like 30" away and blasted, luckily I rolled two 6 for the cover saves. The whirlwind fired at the squad which was meant to be the Shaman's squad from about 30" away and killed two kroot which had not even seen the enemy yet. First blood! The terminators then ran a bit and the vindicator was out of range.
There's one objective in the foreground, one in front of the vindicator, another one near the northwesternmost ruins and the last one a bit to the right from the streetlight.
Kroot Mercenaries turn 2:
Now things started to happen, first of all my stalkers outflanked right next to Belial and my vultures flied almost to the center of the table. They gave nice cover to the master shaper's kroot behind them. At this time too I was pretty scared of bunching them up, so I carefully thought out the coherency of the units. The shooting phase began with the shaman (now alone) failing his psychic test. Then all my kroot failed to do anything to the speeders as I only got a few shoota shots in addition to the big shootas. But the krootox riders delivered and shot one speeder's both weapon systems, leaving it only to skim across the table. Stalkers charged after shooting the terminators but before they could strike the enemy unit made a collective "snikt" sound and proceeded to tear 7 kroot apart with 16 lightning claw attacks. I got very few attacks but managed to kill one of the regular terminators and wound the standard bearer badly but the apotechary intervened and patched him up. Then Belial crushed the rest of the kroot as the shaper missed with all his attacks. The victorious side consolidates 2". I got my kroot into better positions and damaged a speeder but lost a very important unit fruitlessly.
The stalkers met their Ancestors at the hands of veteran assault terminators.
The end of the top of turn 2.
Dark Angels turn 2:
The terminators shrugged and continued walking towards the kroot they already got to taste. The weaponless speeder boosted away to safety while the other retreated at cruising speed and killed one of the innocent krootoxen. The whirlwind got to shoot indirectly this time, catching 2 unaware kroot in the explosion. The vulture shaper also got wounded (I did not want the squad to fail its pinning test). The vindicator missed badly, so much for the pie plates. The shooty terminators killed four vultures, forcing a leadership test which the kroot passed after failing it once. Belial and his dudes felt invigorated and ran a healthy 6" towards the shaman's kroot.
The end of turn 2.
Kroot Mercenaries turn 3:
Finally the trukk kroot came and drove near the far left objective, planning to just stay there. The vultures flied 18" in their rage for their diminished kindred right next to the whirlwind and the intact speeder. The master shaper's kroot shuffled around a bit and shot at the shooty terminators, killing the lightning claw sergeant. The other kroot fell back with haste in fear of the revered Deathwing master. The vultures got lucky with their 5 pistol shots and destroyed the typhoon missile launcher and badly shook the crew of the speeder. They then multi-assaulted the two vehicles and managed to wreck the whirlwind, much to my opponent's dismay (he wanted it to explode). By the way, the shaman finally got his act together and hit Belial's squad with a thunderbolt but the medic proved to be pretty good at stitching.
Witness the mayhem caused by the vultures. It took two turns from them to get that far.
Dark Angels turn 3:
The speeders boosted around to gain cover saves. The shooty terminators decided to get rid of the menacing vultures while Belial's squad continued to chase the nearby kroot. The Dark Angels had their firepower severely reduced in the previous player turn and it did show: the vulture squad persisted with the wounded shaper. The shaper passed his leadership test! The vindicator missed once again.
Kroot Mercenaries turn 4:
The trukk kroot disembark and run for the objective while the trukk itself remains stationary for reasons unknown. Now the shaman urged his kroot to shoot and charge the enemy command squad and joined the squad to maximise the benefits of his powers. The shooting phase began with the other personality inside the Shaman's skull taking over and saying: "Nope!". The kroot squad found themselves at the other side of the table, near the shooty terminators. What the feth happened? Every kroot in the army, except for the vulture shaper shot at the shooty terminators and reduced them to mere one cyclone missile launcher terminator. 17 wounds resulted in 4 dead terminators. The flying shaper just got the charge off against the vindicator and proceeded to miss with all but one attack, shaking the siege tank. Hey, he already punched through one tank! The krootox riders did not want to hurt the enemy.
*unwarp*
The shooty terminators were shot full of lead. Note the shaper behind the vindicator. Power whips are awesome.
Dark Angels turn 4:
Vindicator tried to escape from the raging shaper in vain. The Ancestors blessed their favoured child and the vulture shaper barely dodged a multi-melta shot (rolled 2 to-hit), 2 krak missiles and some storm bolter shots despite being in plain sight. Belial and his buddies wiped out the krootoxen, their riders and the puppies mercilessly.
No picture from the end of turn 4. I spared your eyes from the death of my sweet hounds.
Kroot Mercenaries turn 5:
This could be the last turn so both of the big carnivore squads moved towards the lone shooty terminator and towards the objective at the same time. The angry vulture chased the vindicator again. At the start of the shooting phase I shouted WAAGH! and the units ran closer to the terminator, deciding to take him out in close combat and consolidate on the objective. But it was not meant to be so. Even though the run rolls were great ( 6" and 5"), there was difficult terrain between these units. The shaman's squad was not hindered at all but they still could not get into grips with the space marine. The newly teleported kroot could not get the required roll of 4 and thus that one man escaped from the hordes of kroot, without a single bullet shot at him. At this point I realised that if the game ended on this turn, the terminator would slog a few inches on the objective and Belial would take care of another. I only had my Trukk kroot on an objective... This was going to be a closely fought match
So close, yet so far away...
Dark Angels turn 5:
Yep, what I prophesised, happened. Two objectives were now controlled by the marines. The vulture shaper continued his never seen before streak of successfully dodging lethal weaponry. Needless to say, the damned multi-melta missed on a roll of 2. Some assorted shooting happened and then it was time to roll whether the game ends. My opponent gathered all of his might and frustration and probably saw heavenly visions of the Emperor as he took a dice in his hand, rolled it and shouted: "Does the multi-melta hit?".
.
.
.
2
End of the game.
One objective taken by Belial.
One objective by my loyal trukk kroot. What's the shaman doing there alone?
The third objective. The terminator gives the kroot the finger. The last objective was under the vindicator, forgotten by all troops.
The game ends with Dark Angels winning! Two objectives to 1.
This was a good game, both of us could say that. I had the upper hand after I kind of left the assault terminators alone and ignored the monolith, or so to speak. I know it is futile to complain about the random game length but I really could have just shot the last terminator from squad 2 and moved the trukk to contest the objective Belial went for. I was greedy and tried to control another objective by consolidating but it all happened very differently.
MVP: Vultures, they single handedly destroyed a whirlwind, destroyed a weapon on a speeder and took the enemy's attention for a couple of turns. Blessed be the shaper!
I don't really think anyone gets the prize for being useless this game. The shaman transported his squad to safety, the trukk kroot held an objective and the krootox riders actually did something. The poor stalkers came on too early and did not have any other choice than charging Belial. Perhaps the stalker shaper could have killed one or two terminators back then.
That's it, I think I'll post another adventure of my beloved kroot, feel free to comment!
