Opponent: Gary
Mission: Annihilation
Deployment: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Blood Angels Space Marines
Points: 1000
Location: 278.M41, Mandag, Hexen Sub, Skolarii sector
Background: Using a ruined Imperial Shrine, Chaos Daemons widen a warp rift upon Mandag. As the gibbering hordes of Daemons descend upon the cowering population of Sondag Urban District the indomitable Blood Angels defend it to the last.
Blood Angels
- Chaplain, plasma pistol, jump pack
- 5 Death Company Marines with jump packs
- 10 Tactical Marines, flamer, Vet sergeant with Powerfist, missile launcher, Rhino
- 10 Assault Marines, 2 plasma pistols
- Landspeeder, multi-melta
- Predator Destructor with autocannon and heavy bolter sponsons
Chaos Daemons
- Bloodthirster
- 8 Bloodletters, Icon, Instrument of Chaos
- 8 Bloodletters
- 5 Bloodletters
- 12 Daemonettes, Icon, Instrument of Chaos
- 8 Flesh Hounds
- Daemon Prince with Iron Hide
This game was played on a Lord of the Rings Helm's Deep table. We made Helm's Deep itself impassable terrain so a big chunk my right flank was taken out of the table. I set my entire army up hard on the right with my squads in close support of each other. I wanted to make it hard for the Daemons to deep strike close to me with the risk of scattering off the table or onto the impassable terrain. I hoped that this would give me more shooting opportunities before counter attacking with my Death Company and Assault marines.
The game
I wasted a turn waiting for the Daemons to appear. They dropped centrally with their preferred models. The Bloodthirster and two units of Bloodletters made for a strong spearhead. Gary tried an audacious deep strike on my left flank with his Flesh hounds but they scattered off the table.
I killed a few Bloodletters with my medium range shooting. I moved the Death Company out to the left to cover the blind spot behind a hill. A big mistake.
The last Bloodletters and Daemonettes warped in as did the Daemon Prince, but, like the Flesh hounds, he scattered off the table and was destroyed. The Bloodthirster swept in on my right while the lesser daemons pressed my centre.
What I should have done is move the Death Company back to the centre ready to counter attack, and then shuffled everything else back to get some more shooting in.
Instead I decided to be aggressive. I gambled that my shooting would take out the Bloodthirster in one turn and unload everything into it. It survived with one wound left.
Meanwhile I threw my Death Company out over the hill and butchered a Bloodletter squad.
The subsequent Daemon turn was brutal. A Bloodletter squad decimated my Tactical Marines. The Daemonettes blew up the Predator. The second unit of Bloodletters butchered my Death Company. The Bloodthirster flew over the table to single out the Chaplain and decapitate him.
The rest of the game involved me charging the Assault marines into the Bloodletters and wiping them out while taking heavy casualties, then the Bloodthirster charging them and killing them all. The Daemonettes took on the Rhino and blew it up.
Eventually the Landspeeder took the last wound off the Bloodthister but it was too little too late.
Result: Loss (6 kill points to 5)
Learning Points
- I wish I could win the initial dice off to determine who goes first - the Daemons have won it three times in a row now and put me in to play first, thus wasting an entire turn of shooting for me.
- I made the mistake of being too aggressive again. I need a shootier list and maybe to keep everything in reserve to keep the Daemons guessing.
- That Bloodthirster is a monster in a 1000 point game. It is fast, strong, tough, can shoot, and is largely immune to psychic attacks. It has no real weaknesses. It is such a powerful model that it has a massive impact on the game no matter how the opponent chooses to deal with it. Ignore it and it will beat the snot out of you. Gang your whole force up on it and the lesser Daemons will get you. Tough choices.
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