DAEMONHUNTERS versus Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Jamie
Mission: Cleanse
1st turn: Daemonhunters
Points: 1000

Daemonhunters

• Inquisitor Lord Kurven, Psycannon, Purity Seals, Gun Servitor, Plasma Cannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2 x Imperial Guard Veteran, Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2 x Sage, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol
• Daemonhost
• 2 x Death-Cult Assassins
• Eversor Assassin
• 10 x Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, Veteran, Hell gun, Plasma Pistol, Melta bombs, Targeter, 2 x Meltagun, Rhino, Smoke Launchers
• 10 x Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, Veteran, Bolt Pistol, Power Weapon, Targeter, 2 x Flamer, Rhino, Extra Armour, Hunter-killer Missile, Smoke
• Armoured Fist Squad (inducted Imperial Guard), Sergeant, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol, Flamer, Chimera, Multilaser, Heavy Bolter, Smoke Launchers
  

Crimson Fist Space Marines

• Chaplain with apothecary, techmarine, standard bearer, veteran with powerfist and 5 marines all in rhino with extra armour
• 9 man devastator squad with 4 heavy bolters
• 2x 6 man tactical squads with lascannon and plasma cannon
• 5 scouts with 3 sniper rifles and heavy bolter
• 6 scouts with bolt pistols and close combat weapons

Terrain and Deployment
We played this game on the 4'x4' city fight board. I lost the roll for choosing the table quarter and my opponent put me in the quarter with (relatively) open terrain while his troops mostly set up in a ruined building. He had his devastators on the corner of the building with a commanding view of the battlefield, his two tactical squads were flanking the devastators and the sniper scouts were next to his tactical squad on my left. His HQ squad in the rhino were to my right and the close combat scouts were in the front of his army.

In opposition I placed my chimera front and forward behind some rubble to get hull down. The guardsmen were safely ensconced inside. I placed a rhino to each side ready to speed toward his lines and then all the assassins were hidden behind the vehicles. My Inquisitor was in the open on my right flank to threaten the Crimson Fists HQ.

Turn 1
I won first turn and zoomed both rhinos forward 12" popping smoke as they went. The assassins advanced behind the rhinos trying to keep out of sight. The chimera remained stationary as it had a clear line of sight to the enemy rhino. In a spectacular round of shooting it blew the rhino up with its multi-laser and killed two marines inside. Result!

The only other shooting I had was the Inquisitor and retinue at the devastators. The plasma guns were out of range but I rolled to see if they overheated anyway, got snake eyes and failed a save. Scratch one Imperial Guard veteran. Fortunately the plasma cannon servitor and Inquisitor Kurven's psycannon accounted for two marines. (What a pigs ear I made of this unit's shooting phase! First I could have used the veterans targeters to check whether the plasma guns were in range BEFORE I shot and second, I could have used a sage to re-roll one of the ones but because I hadn't shot with the plasma cannon I didn't. Of course the cannon rolled a straight six to hit.)

In return the Fists devastators killed the Inquisitors entire retinue and even wounded the big man himself! Fortunately for me the rest of his shots either bounced off the chimera's armour 12 hull or negated by the smoked rhinos. The only movement was his bolt pistol armed scouts moving toward my army into some rubble and his HQ squad moving forward toward my centre/right flank.

Turn 2
I sped the two storm trooper rhinos forward once again and disgorged the occupants. The melta gunners were lined up against the scouts in the rubble and only killed three, while the flamer squad hit the HQ unit and killed four marines (taking them below half strength and unable to take table quarters). The Inquisitor and chimera reduced the devastators by two models and thus my shooting was over. The Eversor assassin and both stormtrooper squads charged into the surviving scouts who were killed to a man. Everyone swept but I rolled poorly and only one storm trooper squad contacted the devastators - who of course could shoot before the next assault phase.

By the end of the Fists shooting phase I only had eight storm troopers alive and three of those were falling back, never to return. Kurven also took a further wound but hung on in there with a single wound remaining. The Chaplain and his surviving retinue (including a veteran sergeant with a powerfist) assaulted the Eversor but only managed to knock a wound off him, while he killed the powerfist in return.

Turn 3
The Daemonhost arrived but scattered away to my left 10". Well, at least he was close to a tactical squad and could threaten it at some point. More shots were exchanged with the devastators; the (detached) techmarine falling to the rhino hunter killer missile and a heavy bolter marine finally dying - only three more to go! My surviving stormtroopers flamed a tactical squad, killed 3 men and forced it to fall back. With that squad out of assault range they charged the Chaplain and helped to kill a marine, outnumber them and forced them to fall back. But I still rolled badly for my pursues, both the Eversor and the stormtroopers falling short.

The marines shot virtually everything they had into the assassin and the storm troopers and wiped them from the board. The only other shooting was at a death cult assassin who passed her 5+ dodge, and at a rhino whose storm bolter was blown off.

Turn 4
Minimal shooting now as the rhinos came back toward my lines, trying to stay alive and mobile so as to claim table quarters later on. The Guardsmen exited the chimera to hold my starting quarter, and the death cult assassins raced forward eager to get into assault range, while the Daemonhost moved into position to charge next turn. The chimera and Inquisitor took on the devastators again and took them below half strength. Hurrah! One assassin made it into the tactical squad on my left but failed to kill any marines and they all piled in.

The chaplain and HQ on the right moved toward my lines and the tactical squad next to them took pot-shots at the chimera which shrugged them off. The remaining devastators hit the damaged rhino and only prevented it from shooting next turn. The sniper scouts moved forward to get closer to another table quarter and away from the death cult assassin fighting the tactical marines. In that combat the assassin was wounded and killed one marine.

Turn 5
One rhino moved to my left next to a ruined building, shielded from most long range fire. My other waited patiently behind the chimera, ready to claim another table quarter on turn 6. My unengaged death cult assassin moved toward the Chaplain, blocking their route to the first rhino. This time the chimera shot at the sniper scouts and killed two, while the Inquisitor still duked it out with the devastators but failed to kill any. My assassin fell to the tactical squad in combat but the Daemonhost arrived killing two marines. Unfortunately for me the marines passed their morale check.

In return the sniper scouts moved again toward the other board quarter. The Chaplain gunned down the assassin in front of him and was now threatening the rhino next turn. The tactical squad with the lascannon and plasma gun shot at the chimera again and only stopped it from shooting while the devastator's heavy bolter shots pattered off the rhino's hull like summer rain. Another marine fell to the Daemonhost but they caused a wound in return and the combat continued.

Turn 6
Make or break time for Kill-Team Kurven!

With the chimera unable to fire I did a 'Dukes of Hazard' over the rubble and drove into the Fist starting quarter (and then forgot to pop its smoke). The rhino behind it zoomed into the quarter on my left while the second rhino remained stationary to claim the one on my right. With the guardsmen in my starting quarter I was now contesting all four quarters. Kurven levelled his psycannon at the tactical marines with the lascannon but their armour held and my guardsmen took some cheeky lasgun shots at the Chaplain but he and his remaining men were unharmed. The Daemonhost finally killed the remnants of the tactical squad and tried to sweep toward the scouts only to fall short (what was it with my sweeping advances today?).

So the Crimson fists had the sniper scouts move to contest one quarter vs the rhino. Their devastators opened up on the guardsmen, killing six to deny me my own quarter. The tactical squad shot at the chimera with its rapid firing plasma gun and a lascannon and failed to kill it so that quarter was also contested. This meant it was up to the Chaplain to melta bomb the last rhino and claim a draw. He promptly rolled a one on the damage chart and the Daemonhunters carried the day. Phew!

Result: Win

Learning points

• A cracking game against a good opponent. We had no arguments about terrain or rules, instead we just got stuck in.
• This army list is shaping up to be quite tasty. The Eversor keeps making it into the assault and clawing his meagre points back and all the transports make for a dynamic, competitive force.
• I've begun to use the chimera as a mobile bunker rather than as a transport and its working. I think I may add a heavy stubber to it for even more shooty goodness.