DAEMONHUNTERS versus Orks

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Gary
Campaign: Destroy the Gargant campaign game 2
Mission: Patrol
1st turn: Daemonhunters
Points: 1000
Location: Celebes, Salazar systems, Skolarii Sector
Background: Alerted to the Daemonhunters presence (after only drawing the first mission), the Ork Warboss has despatched numerous patrols into the landscape around his campsite. As the vanguard of the Daemonhunters stealthily make their way deeper into Ork territory, they come upon one such patrol and must eliminate it before it can reveal their whereabouts.

Daemonhunters

• Inquisitor Lord Severus, Daemonhammer, Bolt pistol, Holocaust, Icon of the Just, 2xAcolytes, Power Armour, Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, Combat Servitor, 2xMystics, Rhino with Smoke Launchers
• Daemonhost
• 2 death cult assassins
• Command Section Diyon, Plasma gun, melta gun, Missile launcher
• Squad Thehan, Vet sergeant with Bolt pistol, Heavy bolter, flamer
• Squad Vidu, missile launcher, Flamer
• Squad Derrida, 8 Stormtroopers, Plasma gun, Melta gun, Vet. Serg, plasma pistol, Bolt gun, Auspex, Rhino, Smoke launchers
• Squad Baudrillard, 7 Stormtroopers, Grenade Launcher, Vet Serg, Hell Pistol, CCW, Krak grenades
  

Orks

• Brazhak Snitchtongue, Warboss, Mega Armour, MegaBooster, CyborkBody, 5 BrazhakBully Boys, Nobs, Sluggers, Choppas,'eavy armour, 1 wartrukk big shooter
• 16 Greengobs, SluggaBoyz,3 Rokkits, Nob, Iron Gob
• 16 Tusk Sharpeye, Shooter Boyz,Nob, 3 big shooter
• 5 Bang Boyz Tank Busterz, 3 rokkits
• 5 Snotfasts, Bike Boyz Warbikes
• 3 Killer Kans, 3 big shooterz
  

Technical difficulties
Unfortunately, although I took many photographs of this game none were good enough to use as I was having technical difficulties with my digital camera. In fact this was probably a sign that we should have abandoned the game and tossed a coin for the winner, because this is one of the worst games of 40k I have ever participated in.

Deployment
It started off innocuously enough as we rolled for random terrain and set up the table. We had two medium sized woods near the centre of the table, some hills on my left and a river on my right.

The Patrol mission allows each side to start one troops choice on the board at the start of the game and everyone else comes on in reserve. Gary began with his shoota boyz squad on the hills while I started with my Inducted guard infantry platoon facing them. They duelled for the whole game with the Orks coming off best due to their big shootas.

The game
In the centre I moved my Inquisitor's rhinos behind a wood ready to assault next turn. Gary's warbikes arrived and he moved them into a position to take on the rhinos if they emerged from cover. They were backed up by the tank busterz with their rokkits. Finally his Warboss hid behind the other wood ready to counter assault as necessary.

Knowing it would be suicide to race forward I waited for my second rhino to arrive and sent an Imperial Guard squad through the woods to entice the biker boyz to charge.

Gary was smarter than that though and held off, shooting with the bikes instead. My guard squad was decimated. On my left the Killer Kanz showed up and began to make their big shooters felt. On my right the slugga boyz came on from reserve, backing up the bikes and the tank busterz.

I was in deep trouble now. Despite being Orks Gary was out-shooting my Imperial Guard on my left flank, and on the right he was holding off, forcing me to assault him on his terms. If I raced forward I would bring his Warboss and slugga boyz into play but if I stayed back I would lose on victory points due to my inferior shooting.

I had to risk the assault, but I still had a trick up my sleeve. If both rhinos shot straight ahead through the forest I might just be able to make combat on that turn. Otherwise I would have to go round the forest and sit out in the open for a turn.

Well the odds were with me as I had to roll a 2+ for the rhinos difficult terrain checks. I rolled a 1 immediately and the storm troopers got stuck in the woods. The Inquisitor's rhino made it but was just short of assault range. Damn.

When the smoke cleared the Inquisitor, his entire retinue and the rhino were destroyed. And then the game ended because we rolled a 1 for random game length.

Result: Loss

Aftermath
So the Daemonhunters are soundly beaten and are driven off.

Well, the game ended before it really got going due to the random game length roll. Both of our reserve rolls were poor too, meaning half of our armies did nothing for the entire game. Finally the terrain conspired against us because it was all too far apart. This meant that each side would have to expose itself to a lot of weapons fire while moving from cover to cover. A deeply dissatisfying game.

In the end it came down to a handful of long range weapon shots which the Orks dominated. In fact it opened my eyes to Ork shooting because they have some tasty weapons; the big shoota for example fires 3 strength five shots and is an assault 36" weapon! Although they only hit on a 5+ the Orks can take three in a regular troops choice and the sheer hail of fire ripped through my guardsmen. Oh well, on to the next one.

The next game is an ambush with the Orks attacking.