Foiled by the man

Meetings this morning meant I couldn't get to a phone before 11.45 and, sadly the Throne of Skulls event was sold out before 11 this morning. I'll have to arrange my schedule more carefully when the Spring tournament rolls around!


-- Andy, posting on the go.

Throne of Skulls

Hopefully by the time you read this I will be in possession of a ticket for the 2010 Autumn Throne of Skulls GT. This is a 2 day, 5 round tournament held at Warhammer World in November. The major difference between this and most of the other tournaments I have attended this year and, indeed, our regular Thursday night games, is that it's 1500 points. I've been giving this some thought and no small amount of list juggling and I've come up with the following. It's early days of course but currently this feels a good fit to me.

Codex: Blood Angels

HQ

Librarian
Blood Lance and Unleash Rage

Great utility HQ, useful powers and a hood for psychic defense. At 1500 points the killer HQs like Mephiston and, errr Mephiston are out of the question really. The list is not about having a "Death Star" unit so that kind of HQ would be out of sync.

Honour Guard
(5) 4x Meltagun; Drop Pod

4 Meltaguns with feel no pain in a drop pod, farewell Sternguard as my anti-AV14 alpha strike! I can also add the Librarian here too if I fancy suiciding him.

Troops

Assault Squad
(5) Sgt w. Lightning Claw; Razorback w. TL Assault Cannon

Assault Squad
(5) Sgt w. Lightning Claw; Razorback w. TL Assault Cannon

These two squads ride forward to take the middle ground and offer support to the alpha strike units as quickly as possible. The Librarian will most likely ride in one of these Razorbacks to give the best coverage for his hood.

Tactical Squad
(10) Meltagun, Missile Launcher, Sgt w. Power Fist; Drop Pod

These guys are held in reserve in their pod for some tactical deployment later on in the game, either objective grabbing or something similar ... yep, you guessed it, I just think it's handy to have a scoring unit in reserves that can deploy pretty much anywhere, but I don't have a specific strategy around it!

Death Company
(5) Power Fist, Infernus Pistol, Power Sword; Rhino

Not a scoring unit but a very nasty assault squad (particularly when combined with a Chaplain - see later). It's very important that these guys get the charge so I think they'll probably be best used as a counter charge unit rather than having them race in to support the alpha-strikers. They'll advance behind the razorbacks to try and stop anyone getting a shot at their Rhino, once the Death Company are out in the open on foot they are pretty easy to slow down and distract.

Death Company Dreadnought
Blood Talons; Drop Pod

The second part of the alpha strike, a threat to both armour (meltagun) and troops (Blood Talons) and something which will have to be dealt with. It will take the heat off the troops advancing and with a bit of luck it might make it to turn 2 and do some serious damage. Worth a gamble on this point as it can be truely nasty if they get into assault.

Elite

Sanguinary Priest

He rides in one of the Razorbacks to provide some durability to my scoring units should their transports get popped.

Chaplain

Turns the Death Company into absolute monsters on the charge and will join them in their Rhino.

Fast Attack

Baal Predator
TL Assault Cannons, Dozer Blade

The crucial support to my drop pod alpha strike, a scout move followed by a 12" move means he can be in range to support the drop pods on turn 1. The addition of another AV13 target to the mix also helps thin out the potential firepower on the rest of my guys. Depending on the situation I could also outflank it but that would depend on the situation (probably useful in a kill point mission)

So the general plan for this list is to advance the scoring troops behind a fairly offensive drop pod strike supported by the Baal. Their Razorback will provide supporting fire and the Death Company act as a deterrent to any nasty assault threat. The Tactical Squad are a utility scoring unit which help to keep me flexible.

What do you think?

Wound Allocation 101 - Wraparound Wounds

This came up on Thursday in my game against David but it also happened in a game I had ages ago against Graham's Eldar. The example I'm going to give is a real world example and it probably doesn't seem that useful but, remember, you only need one guy to control an objective.

The last two Space Marines in a squad get shot at by a Land Speeder Typhoon. They take two wounds from Krak Missiles and two wounds from Heavy Bolter fire.

When this happened to David, he went to pick up both models as the unit had suffered two AP3. However, the rules state that with four wounds to allocate to two models, each model must take two wounds but you get to decide which wounds to allocate. So, the solution is simple, allocate the two AP3 wounds to one guy. Yes, he's now dead twice over but you get to take two saves against the remaining guy.

As it turned out, he failed on of his saves and also died but with a bit more luck he would have survived and he would have been claiming an objective at the bottom of turn 5.

Of course if we look at this from the other side of things, it means that it's entirely possible to cause "too many" wounds to a squad. This is one of the reasons I like MSU, you're putting out less regular shots so there's less chance of your special shots wrapping around. Plus if you're shot back, the wounds wrap around quicker than with a big unit.

True

I'm not normally a frequent visitor to Blood of Kittens, but this post really spoke to me, especially the part about running out of ideas for your blog. When I first started this, I kind of assumed that battle reports would be quick and easy to write and that I'd always have loads of ideas for new missions and for stuff that needed mathammering but it's not quite worked out like that. I had a few day in France with work at the beginning of June and I've struggled a bit to get back into regular blogging. Plus, as I've mentioned, I've lost a bit of my passion for painting so I can't even post regular updates about that.

As the BOK post says it's important to have a plan for your blog and maybe I've strayed a bit from my intentions. So, I wanted to show the progression of my skills as a player and list builder by critiquing the stupid things that I do in games. I wanted to post some thoughts about rules that I sometimes either forget or misread. I also wanted to look at cold hard mathematics as a way of choosing targets and I wanted a painting log as I prepared for my first tournament. So, it's time to get back on track...

Clubbing Baby Seals

I feel so bad. As soon as I saw David's army list for this game I knew there was only going to be one outcome. Two 10-man Tactical Squads, a shooty Terminator Squad, Multimelta Dreadnought and a Power Sword wielding Captain. Someone definitely own Assault on Black Reach. Stelek often talks about Battleforce armies and this definitely felt like one of those even with the addition of 10 Assault Marines, a Command Squad, a Devastator Squad and a Rhino. Still you can only use what you have. Anyway, as per my previous after action reports, I want to go through yet more silly mistakes I made...


Suicide Dreadnought


At the minute he's far too suicide-y. Yes, I know that he'll die but I need to make it harder for my opponent to kill him. I really need more practise with exactly where to Drop Pod him and where to position him so that the Drop Pod will afford him some cover (or the enemy will have to move to shoot him and if they're doing that they're not moving towards the rest of my army)

Land Speeders

I'm still being far too aggressive with these guys. Even with a 4+ save from going flat out they can still be brought down by regular weapons fire. If they were being shot down by S8 or S9 weapons I could live with it since that would mean that said weapons wouldn't be firing at my Razorbacks. The Speeders are always going to attract a lot of firepower because they are so dangerous, I just need to make that work more to my advantage.

Looking at the other side of the table, I would have placed a combat squad of Tactical Marines with a Heavy Weapon on the objective in the ruin (we talked about this very point after the game, specifically how good a place it was for the objective and how crazy it was not to have claimed it from the off) The squad would have had a permanent cover save from any heavy weaponry I fired and I would probably have had to go over there and fight them off. I would have then placed another 5 man combat squad in the Rhino on the other objective in that table quarter. I would have backed this squad up with the Dreadnought and used the Assault Squad as a full 10 man unit speed bump. On the other flank, I'd have had a full 10 man Tactical Squad on the objective with the Command Squad screening them. That means that you're holding three objectives from pretty much turn 1 and I would have had to go and try and force him off at least one. It puts you more in control of the game and that is always a good thing.

Red Morning Light

"Nearly dawn," he thought, "the best time for war." Who was he kidding, he was a warrior in the Space Wolves, the 6th Legion, the Emperor's chosen and all times were a good time for war. Especially for battles like this. Space Marines were trying to set up a listening post to spy on Fenris. Well, there was no way that the Great Wolf would allow that. He had sent a strike force to fight off the enemy troops and destroy their equipment.

This is a 1500 point battle with 5 objectives and dawn of war deployment between my Space Wolves and David's Space Marines. He won the roll off and decided to go first. FYI, the 5th objective marker is in the corner of the ruin in the Space Marine deployment zone and isn't visible on any of the photos but it is there!

The Space Wolves hung back, like a hunting dog on a leash ready to be set upon their foes. Through the gloaming they could just about make out the outline of a Rhino in the distance and through the trees they could hear other troops moving about. So, the Marines had beaten them to the listening post. "Well, let's see how badly they want to keep it..."

Deployment:

Turn 1:

On the far side of the battlefield the Space Marines took up their positions, all slightly concerned by the fact that there were no enemy troops anywhere to be seen. Was this a trap? Their questions were soon answered as a Drop Pod landed in the middle of their lines and out strode a Dreadnought. With practised aim he fired upon the enemy Rhino but only succeeded in blowing off its Hunter Killer Missile. Behind him the rest of the Space Wolf army advanced, foregoing shooting in an attempt to reach their foes quicker.

End of Turn 1:

Turn 2:

The two Assault Squads lept forward ready to engage the Space Wolves. The Terminators moved up slowly behind them while on the other flank one of the Combat Squads of Tactical Marines prepared to capture the nearby objective. From the Rhino a Krak Missile ended the battle of the Dreadnought much to the relief of the rest of the squad inside. To their right the Dreadnought tried to fire at the Predator but his shot missed. The Devastator Squad was more accurate and managed to blow the Assault Cannons off one of the Razorbacks. The Combat Squad on the hill fired at the Long Fangs in the distance and managed to take out the Squad Leader. Meanwhile the Command Squad managed to bring down one of the fast moving Land Speeders.

The Space Wolf retaliation was swift and deadly. The Long Fangs wiped out the Tactical Squad that had shot at them while the Predator took out the enemy Dreadnought. Further firepower took out an Assault Marine, a member of the Command Squad and put a wound on the Space Marine Captain himself. The Fenrisian wolf pack attacked the other Assault Squad and managed to take out three of the jump packers. However they lost four wolves in return and were cut down as they tried to flee.

End of Turn 2:

Turn 3:

Once again the Space Marine shooting proved accurate if not completely deadly as a Razorback was Stunned and the 2nd Land Speeder was exploded. In Assault the 5 man Assault Squad charged the Lone Wolf and even though he managed to slay two of them he was brought down. The other squad found themselves just out of range of a charge into the Long Fangs and stood in the open hoping that the end would be quick.

However, the Long Fangs ignored the threat. They had been killing in the Emperor's long enough to be able to leave such a juicy target in preference of a more important one. They fired at the Tactical Squad that was making its way towards the nearest objective but only managed to cause a single wound. The other Tactical Squad took fire from the Predator and decided that discretion was the better part of valour and made a tactical retreat. The Rune Priest cast Murderous Hurricane on the Terminator Squad who managed to hold on in the teeth of the storm. The Assault Squad who had felled the Lone Wolf found themselves under fire and as the dust cleared only one of them remained.

End of Turn 3:

Turn 4:

The Tactical Squad recovered from the shock of their losses and rallied. In front of them the Terminators decided that trying to move in the Hurricane was far too dangerous and so stayed where they were. The Devastator Squad again fired on the Heavy Bolter Razorback but couldn't see through the smoke and all of their shots either missed or bounced harmlessly off the hull. The 2 man Assault Squad charged the Long Fangs but easily cut down for no loss by the wily old Space Wolves. The other Assault Marine tried to reach the relative safety of the ruins but misjudged his landing. Meanwhile the Command Squad managed to blow the Storm Bolter off the nearby Rhino.

The Predator took out another Tactical Marine while shear volume of fire took our three Terminators. The Long Fangs managed to take out another three Tactical Marines on their flank. Apart from the Lascannon Razorback at the rear of the field the rest of the army moved into position ready to capture another objective.

End of Turn 4:

Turn 5:

The Command Squad opened fire with their pistols at the Long Fangs but only killed a single heavy weapons trooper. The Meltagun armed Tactical Marine managed to prevent the Rhino from shooting while the Devastators blew the Heavy Bolters off the Razorback and immobilised it. However, these were futile victories as they could feel the Space Wolf noose tightening.

With just 3 Tactical Marines now sat on objectives the Space Wolves opened fire with everything that they had at them. The Long Fangs eradicated the last member of one squad while the other two Marines received fire from 10 Grey Hunters, a Rune Priest, a Land Speeder Typhoon and a Lascannon Razorback.

End of Turn 5:

The dice actually decreed that we would play another turn but with only one scoring unit left David very graciously admitted defeat.

The Space Wolves cheered as they watched the remains of the Space Marine force retreat. They could easily have followed them and cut them down to a man but letting them live served a greater purpose. The Space Marine Captain would have to file a report and that report would have to advise against ever entering Space Wolf space again. And if they didn't believe what he had written then he had the scars to prove just how foolish an idea it was.

Fear of the New

Tomorrow, I'm playing against a guy that I have never played against and I'm in a bit of a conundrum as to what kind of army to put together. We're playing at 1500 points and he plays Space Marines. I don't want to put together too strong a list in case he's either new or more of a fluffy gamer. Similarly I don't want too weak a list in case he turns up with a Vulkan or a tricked out Biker list. Okay, let's stick with the basis of most of my lists and then add some different elements into it:

Rune Priest, Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane


5 Grey Hunters, Plasma Gun, Rhino


5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Razorback


5 Grey Hunters, Meltagun, Razorback, Twin Linked Assault Cannons


5 Grey Hunters, Razorback, Twin Linked Lascannons


Lone Wolf, Terminator Armour, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield

2 Land Speeders, Multimelta, Heavy Flamer


6 Long Fangs, 4 Rocket Launchers, Lascannon, Rhino


So, this is the basis of most of my lists. After a complete fail on my part two weeks ago with the Long Fangs, I've brought them back in and given them some transport. This means I can deploy them out of the transport in a good position or keep them in the Rhino in case of Dawn of War so they can speed forward to grab a decent spot.

Now onto some different stuff:

Dreadnought, Multimelta, Drop Pod

Suicide Dread, he's here to target some AV14 and then probably get killed. If he stays alive he'll cause some havoc though. He didn't do very well last week but I'll try and drop him better this week.

Predator, Lascannon Sponsons

Some more mobile firepower.

10 Fenrisian Wolves

I talked about these guys a few weeks ago and then only used them once. Well, it's time to bring them back in. If there are any nasty Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminators these guys can hopefully pin them down for a turn before dying and leaving the Termies out in the open to get shot to death.

Land Speeder Typhoon

Andy has very kindly agreed to lend me one of these little beauties. More S8 at range means more dead transports and that's always a good thing.

Well, it's a strong list but not an optimal one. Hopefully, it will win but also make a good game of it too.