Hello everybody,
After my most recent...
fo-pah, I'm back for another game! This time I'll be playing Joshua Funcke, who comes highly recommended locally as a great player who is a lot of fun to play. Recently Josh went on a huge buying spree and purchased TONS of Custodes to anchor his large
IG force. In an attempt to test out competitive sides, we decided we would try and build some good lists and go head to head! This is what we came up with:
Death Guard/Nurgle
++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Death Guard) [72
PL, 1280pts] ++
+
HQ +
Daemon Prince of Nurgle [9
PL, 180pts]: 3. Plague Wind, 6. Arch-Contaminator, Malefic talon, The Suppurating Plate, Warlord, Wings
Typhus [9
PL, 175pts]: 5. Putrescent Vitality, 4. Blades of Putrefaction
+ Troops +
Chaos Cultists [6
PL, 72pts]: 17x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun
. Cultist Champion: Autogun
Poxwalkers [6
PL, 90pts]: 15x Poxwalker
Poxwalkers [6
PL, 90pts]: 15x Poxwalker
+ Elites +
Foul Blightspawn [4
PL, 77pts]
+ Fast Attack +
Foetid Bloat-drone [8
PL, 158pts]: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe
Foetid Bloat-drone [8
PL, 158pts]: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe
+ Heavy Support +
Plagueburst Crawler [8
PL, 140pts]: 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy Slugger
Plagueburst Crawler [8
PL, 140pts]: 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy Slugger
++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Daemons) [35
PL, 668pts] ++
+ No Force Org Slot +
Chaos Allegiance: Nurgle
+
HQ +
Daemon Prince of Chaos [9
PL, 180pts]: Malefic talon, Nurgle, Wings, Miasma of Pestilence
Poxbringer [4
PL, 70pts]: Fleshy Abundance
Spoilpox Scrivener [4
PL, 75pts]
+ Troops +
Nurglings [3
PL, 54pts]: 3x Nurgling Swarms
Nurglings [3
PL, 54pts]: 3x Nurgling Swarms
Plaguebearers [12
PL, 235pts]: Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos, 29x Plaguebearer, Plagueridden
++ Fortification Network (Chaos - Daemons) [3
PL, 50pts] ++
+ Fortification +
Feculent Gnarlmaws [3
PL, 50pts]: Feculent Gnarlmaw
++ Total: [110
PL, 1998pts] ++
Total
CP: 9
Adeptus Custodes
++ Supreme Command Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Adeptus Custodes) [36
PL, 656pts] ++
+
HQ +
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Adeptus Custodes) [74
PL, 1340pts] ++
+
HQ +
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike [9
PL, 164pts]: Hurricane Bolter, Misericordia
+ Elites +
Allarus Custodians [28
PL, 492pts]
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Allarus Custodian: Guardian Spear
Custodian Wardens [14
PL, 260pts]
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
Custodian Wardens [14
PL, 260pts]
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Warden: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
++ Total: [110
PL, 1996pts]
Total
CP: 5
Pre-game Thoughts
Death Guard/Nurgle: This game I wanted to test the Gnarlmaw my loving wife surprised me with, I feel that it is an amazing model and its rules have a lot of potential. Otherwise, the list remains essentially unchanged from my last game that never got finished. I did move one Prince to give me the ability to Miasma the Plaguebearers and moved a few powers because I realized I played them wrong (Like casting Vitality on a prince).
My pre-game thoughts have changed quite a bit; I'm not sure what to make of his new list, or how to handle it. He has a ton of 7 wound, T6 biker captains that can not only take objectives like troops, BUT they dish out a lot of pain. I'm thankful he has no psychic support this game, he actually said he hates psykers, so he tries not to take them. I asked why he doesn't take his hardcore list, hes testing ideas to tweek his Custodes/
GK/
IG list that hes building, I think he wants to see what each of his units do. Theres very few models in his army, so I'm hoping because my list is more horde oriented that the number of bodies can outlast him. Everything has a 2+/5++, so I'm hoping that my flamers can do some work weakening him up before we clash. I know if I get hit by a full strength squad I'm in trouble regardless of my
FnP's!
IG/Custodes: Joshes comment... "My armies name is 'please don't table me'". I
lol'd. Josh changed his list up quite a bit, this is a list he has been using locally with a lot of success lately; he tabled a couple guys in a 2v1, and won against Tau a few times!
Mission and Set-up
We rolled Resupply Drop from the Eternal War chart in
CA. After placing objectives Josh rolled and got corner deployment (forget the name).
Deployment looked like this from the nurgle side:
Josh used all 5
CP to deep strike all his Wardens and Allarus, as well as give his warlord the reroll 1 dice a turn strategem. You can see I deployed castled up, using nurglings on the right to provide a forward point to push off his deep strikes, and on my left I walled up behind my Plaguebearers with the blightspawn in a popsition that no matter where he charged my
PB's or Poxwalkers, he would be in the aura. All of his bikers are lined up off to the top left of the field.
Josh wins the roll off, and off we go!
Adeptus Custodes Turn 1
Josh moves all his bikes toward my lines full throttle (14" move nuts!). On my right, he drops in all his wardens in two groups of 4 at 9".
Shooting his wardens take down two nurglings from the forward squad with ease, leaving the last with 2 wounds. On my left, his many, many, many hurricane bolter shots (I didn't know they got 12 a piece....) take out 7 Plaguebearers.
Charging in, hes able to make it in with 3 of his bikes due to space and after removing the
PB's from shooting. Even going first, my
PB's do 2 wounds to his Warlord with some 6's, loci, and double swings, but his other captains are untouched. In return, he kills another 10 plaguebearers, who roll a 3 on morale and all flee. (Mistake #1: Should have rerolled and tried for a 1...). Ouch! He consolidates forward and gets into
BTB with my Spawn and poxwalkers.
Before the charge...
After :( Sad day.
This mission is very light on
VP.... Yeash. Custodes scores 1 for first blood.
Score: Custodes - 1, Nurgle - 0
Death Guard/Nurgle Turn 1
That... hurt. Custodes have a lot of firepower, and they're damn tough! But Nurgles tougher! Or so I'd like to think....
I start the turn rolling for the Gnarlmaw, whom puts 2 Mortal Wounds on his Warlord captain! This leaves him with 3 wounds left. Movement is pretty sparse; on my right side my last nurgling runs behind some
LOS blocking terrain, my large nurgling squad retreats to cover the back corner (need to prevent his terminators popping in to the hole I'm about to leave), my
PBC's shuffle up slightly, the Poxwalkers and Cultists on the right advance up and I pop The Walking Dead strategem on the walkers there. One of my princes goes right, behind the wall of poxwalkers, and the other goes left toward all the captains. Typhus mosies up to keep all the walkers in range. Both my Drones advance and take spots up to take pot shots. My blightspawn retreats from combat, ready to fire next turn. My left drone unloads on a captain, I think it does a single wound.
Psychic phase sees me score a lot of smites which kill his Warlord captain, and damage a second one heavily. Vitality goes out on the Dead Walking walkers, but thats about it (lots o' smiting).
Shooting sees my
PBC's kill a second captain, and fail to do much else because one was out of range (I should have moved him further). Cultists lob all their shots into the Wardens which bounce.
Onto assault! The Nurgle Demon prince charge in and wax his third captain; the Nurgle Loci with a Demon Prince with claws is nasty! I now see why Corruption relic is soooo good... may have to spend 1
CP to get it from now on. Both the walkers and prince consolidate; this puts them closer to the tree.
Nurgle killed the warlord!
Score: Custodes 1 - Nurgle 1
Adeptus Custodes Turn 2
Movement for Josh is simple; all three captains move toward my left flank. Both units of wardens move up to just outside 1" of the cultists.
Shooting he pumps 36 Bolter shots into my Demon Prince; this results in 3 wounds getting through. On my right side his wardens unload into the Cultists, this destroys all but 4, bolstering the Pox blob behind them.
Onto the charge! Both squads of wardens charge into my cultists, I remove them to save time...
lol. They consolidate toward the walkers, who are about 5" away. One captain charges the poxwalkers on my left, and gets a 12, so he chooses to charge over the squad toward the back (puts him in great consolidation range of other stuff). One captain charges the prince, and a second multi-charges the prince and walkers. The result? 8 attacks go at the prince, and after the smoke clears hes left with 2 wounds left. He takes out a chunk of poxwalkers, I think 4 or 5 died. However, this was not the result he had hoped for, and in return the Demon prince puts a large dent in one of the captains.
This is actually beginning of 2 for nurgle... I forgot a pic between.
Custodes score 0
VP. Scores still 1 to 1.
Death Guard/Nurgle Turn 2
I need to take care of those Captains, so thats my goal this turn.
Movements pretty easy: I move my Death Guard prince toward the captains. I'm stupid and should have retreated the nurgle prince (who would have been able to charge again due to the tree) to shoot at his captains. Typhus walks to the corner of the building, while my left poxwalkers retreat from combat. The
PBC's and Drones shuffle around.
Psychic phase, my Poxbringer heals 2 wounds off my Nurgle prince. Vitality and Blades both go off on the right poxwalkers. I cast a TON of smites, this heavily wounds two bike captains.
Shooting my Blightspawn +
PBC account for one dead bike captain, combined shots from mortars and one drone kill a single terminator in the back, and I do a few wounds to a warden. Damn they're tough!
In assault, my pox blob on the right charges both warden squads (another mistake... should have just targeted one). Even with several mortal wounds, I end up killing a single warden and leaving another at 1 wound. They swing back and kill a swathe of poxwalkers (I think I lost 6 or 7). I didn't know they were
Str 6! Thats brutal. On my left, my prince + scrivener make it in, killing one captain, and my nurgle prince leaves the second at 3 wounds left. The captain swings back... and does 4 hits, 4 wounds. I fail all my invuns and
FNP's! Yeash.
lol. This leaves his last captain tied up with the Scrivener. I choose not to consolidate my second prince.
Nurgle scores no
VP. Scores still 1-1.
Adeptus Custodes Turn 3
Josh rolls and Objective 2 stays.
Movement is quick; his terminators move around my bloat drone toward the poxwalkers.
Shooting he unloads the terminators onto the Bloat Drone, doing 5 wounds! Those grenade launchers are stronk! Not much else to do.
In assault his remaining captain takes a nap, he does 0 wounds to the Scrivener, for a return of 1 wound. The Terminators charge in to help the wardens; after everythings done, I kill one more terminator and I'm left with 2 poxwalkers of from a squad that was 32 last turn
lol! But due to fearless they are all tied up.
Custodes score no
VP's. Score is 1-1.
Death Guard/Nurgle Turn 3
The writings on the wall.
The turn starts with my Scrivener retreating and the remaining two poxwalkers running away. Typhus and my remaining prince position toward the right side, alone with basically everything else but my blightspawn.
Psychic phase sees all my smites go toward the wardens, kill the squad of 2 remaining, and killing a model from the terminators.
Shooting sees the Blightspawn add a second biker captain to his tally... damn I need to run more of these. Everything else goes into the wardens and terminators, which knocks both squads down to 2 models each.
Assault sees Typhus wipe out the remaining Wardens, and the prince knock the last terminator to 2 wounds remaining. I consolidate Typhus in, and we roll it out to see if his last Terminator can kill Typhus; he doesn't.
Poor last terminator....
Game over, Nurgle wins!
Post-Game Thoughts
Nurgle: So custodes surprised me a lot - theyre durable, have a lot more firepower than I thought (I misread some of their data cards on Battlescribe), and those bike captains are quick! Their two largest weaknesses I feel were highlighted this game: No psychic defense, and need of
CP to function. After the game she showed me a lot of the strategems and things he couldn't use this game... man they are MEAN. That said, I made a few glaring mistakes in my play; for example, I should have popped the +1 invun save strategem on the Plaguebearers when the captains charged them. This may have resulted in a lot less dying. I also didn't utilize the Gnarlmaw to its full potential. Poxwalkers did well holding the line, and man...
PBC's never fail to amaze. I'm actually very tempted to take out the Drones altogether. But, I need to test them versus things that aren't as "tough" as Tyranid big critters and Custodes, so I'll give them a few more games. Overall I liked how the list operated, I just need more experience with it. Josh was a great opponent and took the good and the bad in stride. I also feel like the mission we rolled was pretty.... bad. It essentially turned into who can kill who first. I think if I roll this one again we'll reroll
lol
Custodes: Joshes thoughts were that, tactically, he played the game all wrong. He feels like his list is strong, he does, however, want to bring a marine detachment for
CP in the future. Having 0
CP from the get-go really hurt him this game, a few times a single dice roll saw his Captains dying.