I'm not going to post our army lists here as that doesn't really make for good reading. What I will say is that upon review (I was making up a reference sheet so Demitra doesn't have to run to his Codex every 30 seconds to check something) Army Builder said that Demitra's army only came to 1,910 points, while mine was 2,000 points. Whoopsie! Of course Army Builder could be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), but since I don't have the Blood Angels' book, I just don't know for sure.
Note: We're still playing 5th ed. 40k, as neither of us really wants to plunk down $75 for a rulebook when that's the cost of most of a Dust Warfare army.
The first thing I did was assemble the board, then I pulled out an assortment of terrain. You may notice that a lot of this terrain has appeared in recent articles here. That's mainly because I've spent a good amount of time and effort on the stuff, and I want to use it.
That's right, 25% terrain just like the book says.
Once Demitra arrived we set about placing the features on the board. I had made sure to place an even number of terrain items to choose from since I really like the idea after reading it in the Dust rulebook. It helps to make sure neither player really gets the advantage of placing more items on the board.
From there we generated the scenario. I forget what it's called, and I'm too lazy to go get my rulebook right now, but the scenario was the one with two objectives, and the deployment was everybody's favorite- Dawn of War! Thus, the above picture not only serves to demonstrate the terrain layout, it also shows our deployment.
Turn one saw my forces rolling onto the board. Not too much to say here, my plan was to drive an armored wedge up the center with my Land Raiders screening my Rhinos, but as they say (and you will see) no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
Demitra's response war to use his Predator to screen his Land Raider (?!?) and to send an outflanking force of... every thing else around to my right.
My bright idea was to send Typhus' Land Raider unsupported up the middle toward Mephiston and into the teeth of the Blood Angel army. My Rhinos cut around left to deliver their Meltaguns into a position where they could attack the Predator and the Land Raider. I hoped they would be screened by the Land Raider and then the woods as they approached.
See that little red thingy on top of the Land Raider in the next picture? That's a little flame marker I use to denote destroyed vehicles. That's what happens when a Demolisher Cannon lands bang on target. Typhus' squad got shot up, and they were relegated to standing out in the open and waiting for their impending demise. Great move, EV.
Trying to make lemonade out of the lemons I had so cleverly created, I sent Typhus rushing up the center toward the only redeeming thing he could do- rushing the exposed Assault Squad. The plan now shifted (great idea to change plans mid-stream, I know) to eliminating the two scoring units in Demitra's army, forcing him to fight for a draw. Typhus did not disappoint, as he rushed the squad and scythed down several Blood Angels. My Power Fist armed Plague Champion also did his share of lifting, leaving the Plague Marines winning combat by a hefty margin. The Assault Squad miraculously did not run, and Typhus remained safe from shooting.
...But not safe from Mephiston. The vampire came rushing toward Typhus, increased his Strength to 10, and caused my mighty Plague Lord to go splat. The Attack Bike ran around behind my Rhino that was squatting on my objective, fired off its Multi Melta, and missed. The Assault Squad on my right was now getting uncomfortably close to the Rhino as well, and had to be dealt with. Aside from that, the Blood Angel turn was largely uneventful.
The Great Unclean One decided that this was the turn to make his entry, and erupted from the rear Rhino. My remaining Chaos Lord rushed back around to kill off the Assault Squad that threatened to kill of my objective squatters. The Unclean One and one Rhino moved into the woods.I was preparing for the inevitable Death Company charge, and an amassed counter attack was all that could really save me. The Death Company weren't scoring though, and so every ranged weapon I had fired on the left hand Assault Squad. The first of my two targets was eliminated. The second Assault Squad was ploughed into by the Chaos Lord's unit. The Blood Angels were again defeated in melee, and this time they fled. My Chaos Lord and his squad were now exposed, and there was a Demolisher Cannon parked right around the corner. Also, note the little red arrow in the image below. This is Mephiston's heroic hiding spot.
Of course, Mephiston wouldn't hide forever. He leapt from cover and headed toward my Great Unclean One. Since Summoned Greater Daemons aren't Eternal Warriors Mephy was intent on using his Force Sword to banish Fatty back to the Warp. Everything on the right opened fire on the Chaos Lord and his bodyguard. Everything on the left opened up on the Rhino in the forest. Both were destroyed. The Chaos Lord stood heroically against the forthcoming charge of the Blood Angels while the Plague Marines (now in a crater rather than an APC) cowered in the face of the Death Company. The crazed Marines in black armor utterly destroyed their opponents in close combat and advanced. The Chaos Lord however, he fought on like a champ. Managing to scythe down four of the six charging Assault Marines, he prepared to eliminate the last scoring Blood Angel squad.
Oh, and Mephiston. He upped his strength to 10, rushed toward the imposing bulk of the Greater Daemon, and...
Missed with every single attack! Seizing the opportunity, the massive daemon slammed his sword into the Blood Angel hero. The vampire stood his ground and passed all of his No Retreat wound saves. This was surely an unexpected turn of events!
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| See that arrow? That's important. |
My Meltagun armed Plague Marine squad disembarked. My Land Raider returned to the top of the hill. Then the Rhino decided to Tank Shock the Death Company in order to keep them away from the Great Unclean One. In the frenzy endowed by his genetic defect the Powerfist armed Death Company marine chose Death or Glory! His mighty swing connected, and the Rhino was destroyed. The Plague Marines opened fire on the Godhammer Land Raider and only managed to shake it, My Land Raider fared much better, immobilizing the Lascannon Predator. A salvo of Plasmagun fire destroyed the Blood Angel Attack Bike. The Terminator armored Chaos Lord finished off the final Assault Marine on the table, and was wounded by the Sanguinary High Priest for his troubles.
The titanic battle between Mephiston and the Great Unclean One continued to rage. This time the Lord of Death lashed out with his sword, and inflicted four wounds on the hulking monstrosity. I picked up my dice and prayed to Papa Nurgle. I tossed the "cubes of fate" onto the table.
FOUR SAVES!!! Mephiston had met his match in this behemoth and was promptly torn apart by the gleeful daemon.
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| A sudden complete lack of vampires. |
The titanic ball of filth's elation would be short lived, however. The Death Company surged forward and rushed fearlessly into combat with the monster. The Baal Predator roared forward and fired all of its guns into the Rhino, achieving nothing. The Vindicator "climbed" the Land Raider wreckage in front of it and attempted to shell the remaining Land Raider, missing completely. The Sanguinary High Priest was easily offed by the Chaos Lord's Lightning Claws. The Death Company however? That's a different story. Before he even knew what hit him the avatar of Nurgle was banished back to the aether. The Death Company swung back around and turned their sights on the Plague Marines harassing their transport.
Turns were getting short at this point, and thus these paragraphs are as well. My Rhino ridin' Plague Marines assailed the Baal Predator with their Plasmaguns, doing nothing. The Plague Marines near the Land Raider rapid fired their Bolters into the Death Company. The Land Raider joined in the fun detonating the ammo stores of the Vindicator with its twin-linked Lascannons. The berserk marines were not thinned out as much as I had hoped, but one thing had come of this turn- The Death Company were distracted by the Plague Marines and would remain stranded on the far side of the battlefield for the remainder of the game.
This would prove to be the final turn of the game. The Baal Predator swung around behind the Rhino that was securing my objective. It unloaded all of its guns into the machine's rear armor, and the APC exploded into a thousand pieces. After the smoke cleared, however, the entire squad emerged from the wreckage intact. With a hateful roar the Death Company surged toward the remaining Plague Marines. The foot soldiers of the Plague God were torn asunder under the hateful blows of the now completely insane Marines. This would prove to be the final act of violence in a bloody game.
The final tally of the game left me in possession of my objective. A totally undeserved win for the forces of Chaos.
I learned a lot from this game- mostly basic things I should already know like "don't send your stuff in unsupported". Hopefully next game I'll perform better than this one. Demitra has promised me a new look to his Angels tomorrow, and he's going to see a new look to a hated foe as well. I promised myself I'd use these models when I bought them, and use them I will!
