DAEMONHUNTERS versus Chaos Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Gary
Campaign: Vogen campaign game 8
Mission: Cleanse
1st turn: Daemonhunters
Points: 1000

Daemonhunters

• Inquisitor Lord Severus, Daemonhammer, Bolt pistol, Psychic Hood, Icon of the Just, 2x Acolytes, Power Armour, Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1x Acolyte with Close Combat weapon and las pistol, 3xCombat Servitor, 3x Mystics, Rhino with Smoke Launchers, Hunter Killer missile, Searchlight
• Inquisitor Kurven, Psycannon, Power Armour, Emperor's Tarot, Purity Seals, Gun Servitor, Plasma Cannon, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2x Imperial Guard Veteran, Plasma Gun, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Targeter, 2x Sage, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol, Hierophant, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol
• Daemonhost
• Eversor Assassin
• Squad Matoso, 7 Stormtroopers, 2 meltaguns, Rhino, Smoke launchers, Extra Armour, Hunter Killer Missile
• Squad Godirtho, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 plasma guns
• Squad Seralvo, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 Grenade Launchers
• Squad Vargas, 5 Stormtroopers, 2 Flamers
• Squad Devaux, 5 Stormtroopers

Chaos Space Marines

• Lieutenant with power weapon
• 8 Khorne Berzerkers
• 8 Marines in rhino
• 8 Marines in rhino
• 5 Havocs with 4 missile Launchers
• 8 Bloodletters

Vogen Campaign
Gary had lost interest in the campaign when he missed several weeks in a row and suffered some horrendous rolls on the location charts. As a result, he retired his Eldar army and played his Chaos army instead. This meant that he couldn't gain campaign points for this game, but I could.

Terrain and Deployment
The game was played on a 6'x4' table. Terrain was fairly sparse, as this table was generally used for fantasy. We placed two largish woods near the centre and ruled that line of sight couldn't be traced over the low hill which stretched for 2 square feet in the middle of the board.
Gary placed his Havocs first, front and forward in the woods. One rhino went on either flank, completely hidden by the hill. The Berzerkers teamed up with the Lieutenant and set up centrally.

I set up virtually my whole force behind the other forest, carefully layered, with the Stormtroopers up front and Kurven furthest back. I knew the Chaos army would stream forward to engage me in close combat, so I wanted to try and control the combats and get some rapid firing in.

The Game
I won first turn, and because most of my army was out of sight, I didn't shoot at all. I moved Squad Seralvo out wide on my left flank and Squad Godirtho out on my right. Squad Devaux moved into the woods, straight toward the Chaos army.

Both of my flanking squads were reduced to a single model each by the Havocs over the next two shooting phases, and I failed both morale checks so the lone survivors ran off the board. This was to be an omen of things to come.

Things developed nicely as the Bloodletters and Daemonhost arrived. The 'letters were summoned behind the Berzerkers, a long way from the action, while the Daemonhost scattered a long way behind the Havocs.

Combat was joined as the Berzerkers, and Lieutenant slaughtered Squad Devaux and swept into the woods. They were then shot up quite badly and then charged by the Eversor assassin. He should have been joined by Severus but the Inquisitor failed his difficult terrain check. Nevertheless, the assassin took out the Lieutenant and aspiring champion with powerfist in quick succession.

The main Chaos assault hit home now with both rhinos sweeping around the edges of the woods (I had shot both Hunter Killers at them and failed to hurt them). A massive combat erupted, with Inquisitor Severus and squad, and Stormtrooper Squad Vargas, taking on two 8 man Marine Squads.

Severus and his retinue were killed to a man, as were Squad Vargas, but both Marine squads had been taken below half strength. It was at this point I should have shot the survivors to death with Inquisitor Kurven's unit but they had been tank shocked off the board by a rhino! That one bad dice roll for me changed the whole course of the game.

The Eversor got caught by the Bloodletters and only killed one of them before he died.
Meanwhile, in the Chaos deployment zone, the Daemonhost had been slugging it out with the Havocs. After several ineffective rounds he suddenly killed four off them at once.

With only two turns left I started to think about table quarters. I ran Severus' rhino off to my left and it would definitely capture that quarter. Nothing was in the Chaos starting quarter nor could anything reach it, so that could be discounted. I had sent Squad Matoso out to my right flank but that quarter was contested by the Bloodletters and an empty rhino. Gary's last rhino was in my deployment zone uncontested. It was going to be tight.

I ran the Daemonhost over to the Bloodletters to try and take them below half strength. Squad Matoso first did a drive by at one rhino, shooting two meltaguns out of the top hatch, but did no damage. In my final turn I dropped Squad Matoso out of their rhino, right next to the chaos rhino. I could potentially pop the rhino and then assault the Bloodletters, along with the Daemonhost. With a bit of luck I could reduce them to half strength and take the table quarter.

I had no luck whatsoever. Squad Matoso missed the rhino with their meltaguns when I rolled a double one. Everyone assaulted the Bloodletters. Three Stormtroopers went down with only one 'letter expiring, and my Stormtroopers routed. This left them within assault range of the remnants of a Marine squad. I took my morale check to receive the charge and failed again, thus taking the models off the table.

But worse was yet to come. The rhino I had missed with the meltaguns moved behind Squad Matoso's rhino and hit it with two storm bolter shots. Both hit, both rolled sixes to glance and another six on the damage table blew it up!

I had lost, only holding one quarter to the Chaos two.

Result: Loss

Campaign effect: None

Campaign results: Played 8, Won 6, Lost 2

Learning points

• I pretty much had this game in the bag up until about turn 4 when I suddenly started getting poor rolls. In fact, looking back over the entire game, I never passed a single morale check. Most galling of all was Inquisitor Kurven's squad. Regular readers will know that they have failed so many morale checks that I have bought them a Hierophant to increase their leadership and purity seals to modify their fall back. It did no good in this game as I rolled double six and then high on the fallback, despite the seals. The meltagun shots on the rhino and my own vehicle's destruction was outrageous, and earlier in the game Severus' crap difficult terrain roll hit me hard.
• Gary felt he could have taken the firebase with his Bloodletters anyway, but I disagreed, pointing out that the Hierophant would have forced the Daemons to advance as if in difficult terrain. Even Bloodletters go down under rapid firing plasma guns.
• A second defeat in the campaign, when I should have at least pulled out a draw. Damn.