CHAOS SPACE MARINES versus Space Marines - Dark Angels

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition, Gauntlet Tournament 2005 game 1
Opponent: Ashley Eddon
Mission: Cleanse - Gamma level
1st turn: Space Marines - Dark Angels
Points: 1000

The first thing I have to do, before I report the battle, is to apologise for the state of the photographs. The hall was very dark that day so many of them are blurred and shaky. I have still included them anyway in the hopes that they will help convey the action better than my rambling words alone can.

Space Marines - Dark Angels

• 5 Terminators
• 2 10 man Tactical squads with Plasma cannons and 1 Rhino
• 10 Devastators with Missile Launchers and Plasma cannons
• Commander with Lightning claw
  

Terrain and deployment
Ashley won the roll to choose the table quarter and picked the one with a large wood in it.

Dark Angel deployment with Squad Infractis on the other side of the wood

As you can see in the photo above, Ashley set up around the fringes of the wood, with his Marines in nice, neat firing lines. I took the opportunity to place my infiltrating close assault unit (Squad Infractis) on the opposite side of the woods, out of sight and within striking distance of virtually all of his units.

The Dark Angels are pushed back deep into their starting quarter

Ashley had his Terminators and Commander on the left, facing my starting quarter. I had squad Abraxar acting as pushback in the centre, while squad Krall supported them on the left. Lord Ferocitor had a perfectly proportioned building in a perfect position to hide him until he was required to charge out.

Turn 1
Ashley won the dice off and elected to go first.

The Terminators advance and Squad Abraxar take heavy casualties

Ashley pushed his Terminators 6" toward my lines and killed four Marines from Squad Abraxar in his shooting phase. The rest of his army stayed put, save for the empty Rhino, which he pushed down my right flank, toward Squad Profuge.

Rhino rush!

In my turn I drove Squad Infractis to the right, through the trees. My thinking was that they would be screened from the rest of the Dark Angel army by the large wood while they took on the Tactical squad, and then I could use them to summon the Furies to strike at the centre of Ashley's line.

Turn 2

Battle is joined

By my second turn I had destroyed the Rhino and achieved close combat with Squad Infractis. With my Power Fist I knew I had the edge, but it might take a couple of turns to whittle down the 10 Marine squad.

The Dark Angels dominate the centre

I knew I would lose the firefight in the centre so I charged in with Ferocitor to tie up the Dark Angels for a turn or two. He took out three Terminators before the Commander slashed him apart with his lightning claw. The Dark Angels survivors marched forward to take on the rest of my Exigators.

Turn 3

How many attacks?

On the third turn I got my Furies and the Obliterators. I summoned the Daemons in from Squad Infractis and they got in a charge against the Devastators. In a rolling melee, the Furies took the Marine shooters down below half strength before the nearby Tactical squad rescued them, but then the rest of Squad Infractis arrived to finished off both units.

The cavalry arrives

My Obliterators beamed in right next to the Terminators and Commander (hit-tastic!). When the smoke cleared from their twin-linked plasma guns the Terminators were nowhere to be seen. That left the Commander looking down the barrel of the missile launcher from Squad Abraxar. Boom.

We didn't bother to tot up the scores as it was clear I'd won comfortably; the Obliterators would have moved to take one quarter, I had brought up Squad Profuge to take the Dark Angels starting quarter and Squad Imber (the Havocs) held the last scoring quarter.

Result: Win- You massacred 'im

Learning points

• One game, one win. So far, so good. To be honest I knew I should win the game as soon as I saw my opponent's army. Plasma cannons aren't as good as they once were with the new blast rules and 10 man Marine squads are just too inflexible, especially in 1000 point games. Still, you can only beat what is in front of you, and when I failed to kill a single model in my first turn of shooting I began to get a little worried. Like my test games, the battle turned when my Furies and Obliterators showed up on turn 3.
• My dice were really beginning to worry me after this game. Like my test games I lost the roll to pick table quarters, lost the first turn and my deep strikers were late arriving. Maybe it was because I was awarded competitor number 13? To be fair, though, placing the first unit on the table is a big help. It meant I could force Ashley to set up deep in his deployment zone and position my infiltrators nearer to his starting quarter.

TAU versus Dark Angels

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Andrew
Mission: Cleanse
1st turn: Tau
Points: 1000

Tau

• Shas’O’Tau’Ko’Vash’Ch’ien’ShiShas’O - plasma rifle, fusion blaster, shield generator
  
• Aun’El’Tau’M’yen Ethereal
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Demlock - 2 Crisis battlesuits, bonded, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod and multitracker, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod, multitracker
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Kais’Mal’Coar - 5 stealthsuits, bonded
• Shas’La’Tau’Han’Dan - 8 Fire warriors, all with pulse rifles, bonded, Shas’Ui with markerlight and hard-wired blacksun filter
• Shas’La’Tau’Mont’Yr - 12 Fire warriors, all with pulse rifles, Shas’Ui
• Shas’La’Tau’Mesme - 8 Fire warriors, 4 pulse rifles, 4 pulse carbines, EMP grenades, bonded, Shas’Ui with hard-wired drone controller and two gundrones
• Murabla - 10 Kroot
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Yu’RangShas’Ui - Broadside with twin linked railguns, smart missile system and shield generator
  

Dark Angels

• Chaplain
• Dreadnought with assault cannon + ccw
• Whirlwind
• 5 man assault squad
• Tactical squad
• Tactical squad
  
• 3 attack bikes with heavy bolters

Background
This was my first ever battle report (played back in 2002) and my first game in a Games Workshop store. No-one fancied playing Gary's Khorne army but everyone perked up when I said I was playing Tau.

Terrain and deployment
We played on a 4x4 table (the standard size for the tiny store) with 3 large buildings and a river running down the middle with one bridge. I won choice of table edge, deployment and first turn, but it went downhill from there.

The game
I killed a single model in the first two turns. Andrew's whirlwind hit my firewarriors three turns running – ouch. The Kroot were hosed with fire and routed. My stealth suits were caught by the bikes and wiped out. My Crisis suits took out the bikes in return.

I shot at the dreadnought for five turns with the suits and only blew the assault cannon off. In the final turn it killed Chien’Shi in close combat. Andrew's chaplain used the dread as cover to advance throughout the game and wiped out a fire warrior squad in close combat when he finally reached my lines.

Fire warrior squad Han’Dan and battlesuit Yu’Rang beat the assault marines in close combat and routed them, though!

It wasn't enough. By the end Andrew controlled three table quarters and contested one.

Result: Loss

Learning points

• Not enough weapons to take out vehicles. Take more in future.
• Ordnance vs fire warriors is devastating because they are static. Take out the ordnance early or keep the Tau moving.
• Kroot were wiped out easily on the frontline. If they are intended for counter charge, keep them back.
• Not enough ap 3 weapons to take out marines. Take more in future.
• Indecisive with stealth team. Make a plan and stick to it.
• Battlesuits are pretty good in close combat.