Sunday, December 28, 2008

IMPERIAL GUARD versus Chaos Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Pitched Battle
Location: Luzon
Background: With the Cadians on the back foot Captain Kennell requests reinforcements, and receives them in the form of Stormtroopers from the Schola Progenium on Klasa. Kennell goes onto the offensive, determined to avenge his earlier defeats
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 1000

Imperial Guard
  • Command Platoon 77, Captain Kennell (Junior Officer), Company Standard, 2 Meltaguns
  • Anti tank squad, 3 Lascannons
  • 9 Stormtroopers, Vet sergeant with plasma pistol, 2 plasma guns, deep strike
  • 8 Stormtroopers, 2 meltaguns, deep strike
  • Infantry Platoon
  • Command Squad 36, Junior Officer with power weapon and plasma pistol, medic, 2 plasma guns
  • Infantry Squad 501, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
  • Infantry Squad 541, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
  • Infantry Platoon
  • Command Squad, Missile Launcher
  • Infantry Squad 609, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher
  • Infantry Squad 812, Flamer
  • Basilisk, Indirect fire

Chaos Space Marines
  • Lord with Axe of Khorne, Mark of Khorne, Talisman of Burning Blood, Bolt pistol, Collar of Khorne
  • 8 Marines with Bolt pistols and Close Combat Weapons in rhino
  • Dreadnought with Lascannons
  • 8 Bloodletters
  • 5 Fleshounds
  • 8 Khorne Berzerkers, Aspiring champion with powerfist
  • 5 Marines, 1 lascannon
Terrain and Deployment
This was a practice game for The Gauntlet tournament I will be attending in late June. We wanted to keep the game as close to tournament conditions as possible so it was played on a 6x4 table with sparse scenery. Pitched battle allows for deployment similar to the recon mission; up to 18" onto the table but no closer than 24" to the enemy. We rolled a nightfight for the last turn.

It was refreshing for me to begin with my whole army on the table (except for my deep striking Stormtroopers). The basilisk was well hidden behind a tall building, and I set up an infantry platoon on either side of it. My HQ Command squad and the anti-tank squad both set up behind the platoon on my left, covering the centre of the board.

Gary started with his Berzerkers on my extreme left, behind a building and his Dread on my centre left in a hull down position. His rhino was placed centrally, behind a wood in his deployment zone and his lascannon squad were on a hill on my right, overlooking the basilisk. His Daemons would arrive later as they were summoned from the Warp.

The Game
I won first turn and moved nothing. On the left I had a very dubious line of sight to the rear of his rhino with a rocket launcher (I could maybe see 10% of the vehicle) but I decided not to target it - I just couldn't have lived with myself. Instead, I shot at the Berzekers, killing one. My lascannons immobilised the Dreadnought and my entire right flank shot at the 5 man Marine squad with the lascannon, killing 3 of them.

That lascannon stunned my basilisk, so it wouldn't be able to shoot next turn. His Berzerkers and rhino raced forward, eager to close the distance between the armies. My lascannons took out his rhino (fortunately for him, Gary had dismounted the troops). I shot the Berzerkers with my plasma command squad and an infantry squad but only killed one. On the right I wiped out his lascannon squad.

The Daemons now arrived with the Bloodletters summoning on from the dismounted squad to threaten my right and the fleshounds landing near the Berzerkers to attack my left. Typically, the fleshounds scattered 7" toward my lines, putting them in assault range. The Bloodletters advanced and passed difficult terrain checks to assault a Guard squad in the same building with the basilisk. The 'letters slaughtered the squad and ended up looking down the barrel of the basilisk. In one round of shooting, my right flank wiped out the whole squad. Yes!

Still on that flank, one Stormtrooper squad landed behind the Marine squad, partly in the woods. I rolled 3 ones for the plasma weapons and two men perished from overheats. Predictably, they were then chopped into small pieces in combat. That did however hold up the Marines who then had to slog across open ground toward the basilisk and remaining infantry platoon.

On the left, things weren't going so well. The 'hounds hit an infantry squad and kept them in place long enough for the Berzerkers to pile in. I fed another infantry squad into the fight to keep my Captain and lascannons alive. Gary rolled fire frenzy twice in a row for his Dread, and he began to whittle down my squads.

My cunning response was to deep strike the melta Stormtroopers in behind the Dreadnought. This would have potentially been a game winning tactic. It would have allowed me shots at the rear armour of the Dreadnought. I could have captured, or at the very least contested that table quarter, and it would have forced the Berzerkers to run backwards at them. I rolled a double 1 and they were lost in the warp.

Eventually, my infantry squads were slaughtered and I had one round of shooting to halt the Chaos Marines and Daemons. I shot everything I had at the 'hounds (3 lascannons, 2 plasma guns, numerous lasguns, the basilisk) and only killed two, leaving one alive. It assaulted my platoon command squad while the Berzerkers charged my lascannons.

The command squad, against all the odds, killed the last hound for no losses. They were then swept by the Berzerker squad who had decimated the anti-tank squad. In a last, desperate gamble, Captain Kennell leapt into combat. All of my Guardsmen were killed, but they did manage to take the unit down to below half strength.

I held the only table quarter with my basilisk and infantry platoon, netting me a further 200 points. Gary had more of his army surviving, though, so we knew it would be close. It turned out I had a 179 point lead which counts as a draw for the tournament.

Result: Draw

Imperial Control: Unaffected

Kennell's Commendation: It has to be the basilisk for that direct hit on the Bloodletters who were no more than an inch away.

Learning point
  • I thoroughly enjoyed this game (far more than my previous two outings with the Guard). Having the whole army set up from the start of the game helps, plus I didn't suffer from the appalling bad luck that dogged my earlier games. At least my lost Stormtroopers were balanced by the hit with my 'lisk.
  • This was my first trial for an infantry heavy list and it seemed to work. Gary's Dreadnought had poor targets for its lascannon throughout the game. The whole army looks intimidating, having 79 models and a lot of special and heavy weapons.
  • Definitely need conscripts to soak up charges and to increase model count.

No comments:

Post a Comment