DAEMONHUNTERS versus Imperial Guard

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition, Gauntlet Tournament game 2
Opponent: ?
Mission: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 1000
Location: Makazar, Salazar Systems, Skolarii sector
Background: Inquisitor Severus uncovers heresy in the command chain of the Makazar 31st Imperial Guard regiment. Although he swiftly executes the leaders of the Chaos Cult, isolated pockets of resistance still need to be mopped up.

Imperial Guard

• Command section with Commissar
• Platoon of troops
• Armoured fist squad in Chimera
• Hellhound
• Basilisk
• Leman Russ

Terrain and Deployment
At last a new opponent - a guy from the Darlington store with a shooty Traitor Guard army rather incongruously dedicated to Khorne made using the regular Imperial Guard list.

I knew I would have to charge forward into the teeth of the enemy guns due to my short ranged weapons and lack of tank busting ability. I set up for an attack on the left flank with the rhinos while the Stormtroopers advanced on foot up the middle and right.

He had a Leman Russ and Hellhound in the middle, the Basilisk, Command section and an Infantry squad on my left, and the rest of his army to the right.

The Game
The Rhinos unexpectedly survived until turn three, despite having to advance in the open, and then everything went pear shaped.

The Leman Russ hit a Stormtroopers squad with its battle cannon and killed every model. The Hellhound toasted four men in another unit and the survivors fell back 11”. The Armoured Fist squad roared up my right flank, the Guardsmen dismounted and then actually beat a Stormtrooper squad in assault and routed them off the table.

My Daemonhosts arrived and one was instantly killed by a missile launcher shot while the other fell to a volley of lasgun shots.

Even one of my poor Death Cult assassins was instantly killed by the Multi-laser on the Chimera.

Finally my Inquisitor slaughtered the Guard Command section in combat, swept after the routing survivors and ended up taking a point blank hit from the basilisk. He and his entire retinue perished in the blast.

In one devastating turn my army was shattered.

Result: Decisive Loss - 5 points

Learning points

• I desperately need long range firepower to take on tanks and such.
• The Daemonhosts are terribly vulnerable to a) massed small arms fire, and b) shots of Strength 8 or higher which kill instantly. I may have to think more carefully about their deployment.
• Most of my army have Toughness 3 and can therefore be instantly killed by Strength 6 weaponry like multilasers and grenade launchers. Ouch.