Rather than going into full blown battle reports I thought I'd share a few pictures and words from each battle, then some ideas for improving my performance going forward. Cadia will arise again!
Game 1 was against Andrew's freshly painted Primaris Space Marines in a modified Four Pillars mission:
We deployed in opposing corners, with the guard ready to jump out with their tanks and infantry whilst the Marines set up a castle in their corner, whilst sending Infiltrators into a neutral quarter and leaving Inceptors in Deep Strike.
This mission uses progressive scoring at the end of each battle round, determining who has killed more enemy units and who controls more objectives. Experience has taught that it's good to go second in this mission as you can react to your opponents moves, shift him off objectives etc.
I got greedy and ignored Experience; I wanted to kill his Eliminators before they could get buffed up, and start sniping out my fragile Officers. I achieved that aim, but ended up regretting the decision as Andrew could shift my units off objectives at his leisure.
A great game (and my first experience against the new Marine Codex). Gravis models going to 3 wounds is an utter pain for the Plasma Tanks, one failed wound here or lucky 6 on a save there keeps those boys in the game.
Game 2 was against Dave with his Ulthwe Eldar in a Strategic Gamble Maelstrom of War game. What a pleasant surprise to play against Space Pixies without everything being -1 to hit! Dave had a hard hitting list with 2 psykers on jet bikes, a couple of wave serpents and a falcon packed with Dire Avengers along with a Fire Prism and a couple of Vypers.
We played on a very pretty Forgeworld table set with a Wall of Martyrs trench system. This would prove to be tricky for my tanks to manoeuvre around. Turn 1 saw the Cadians take out a Vyper and reduce a Wave Serpent to 1 Wound (so frustrating). The return fire of the Eldar was a lot more punishing, taking out two of my tank commanders!
Undaunted the Hell Hounds pushed forward happily gouting fire onto hapless Dire Avengers.
The Eldar capitalised on their mobility advantage sweeping across the board:
Both Dave and I had some good and bad luck with the Maelstrom cards and in the final reckoning the Eldar won by a few Victory Points.
Game 3 saw the Cadians face off against Scott's brigade of Genestealer Cult in the The Gambit mission. I'm the author of this particular mission and I don't think I've ever won it! The Gambit has 4 objectives; one Home (in your deployment zone), 2 Neutral and 1 Away (in your opponent's deployment zone), scored successively at the end of your turn for 1, 2 and 3 VP respectively. The twist is that each player secretly chooses one objective to be worth double VP prior to the game starting.
Oh, the tricks continued; a Sniper turned up and killed my Astropath on my turn! Ouch!
I took my revenge killing 8 out of 9 mortar bases and a full bike squad in response.
However a mind controlled Hell Hound gunner thought it would be fun to shoot my supporting Guardsmen on the right flank:
Scott's list was (I understand) quite unusual for a GSC army in that it favoured a large number of acolyte (read infantry) squads with mining lasers. I managed to thin those out quite reliably whilst keeping my infantry in the game with judicious use of morale stratagems.
I think I made another fundamental mistake this game; I gambled aggressively to score double VP on Scott's objective, whilst Scott chose one of the neutral objectives. We traded units in the mid table, but Scott's decision proved decisive as the game went to time and with neither of us making it to their opponent's home objective his bonus VP tipped the balance.
Along with a cheeky Kelermorph Deep Strike to claim Slay the Warlord and Line Breaker.
There were some Silver Lining moments in this game:
- Using a Plasma Executioner to kill the stupid Sniper who had ganked the Astropath turn 1. *That's* how the Imperial Guard perform Assassinations!
- Scott used his Abberants to clear the double VP objective; the Relic Battle Cannon sorted them right out (they have 2 wounds each, and take -1 Damage per attack; the Hammer of Sunderance does 3 Damage per shot). Boom!
This was a great introduction to the Genestealer Cult and I learnt a lot from the game.
Game 4 was against Odd Man Dave and the Emperor's Spears, in a combined Eternal War (Secure and Control) and Maelstrom (Cleanse and Capture) mission.
The Emperor's Spears are a scary force; multiple Intercessor units, backed up with Dakka Centurions and triple Predators and multiple HQs.
Whilst we spread the Maelstrom objectives evenly, the Eternal War objectives ended up opposed to each other, and Dave decided to just walk up the field towards mine!
I deployed very conservatively, aware that the new Bolter Drill/Discipline/Dodginess would wreck my Infantry.
There was a lot of Line of Sight blocking terrain (I think this table is a LGT terrain set up), but not enough to concentrate in the manner of an elite army.
The Spears advanced down the left flank, whilst the Guard moved out to meet them.
In this game the Vigilus detachment stratagems proved useful;
- Allowing a Leman Russ to move 10" and double tap the turret weapon with Grinding Advance
- Restricting the movement of some of the Marine units with Suppressing Fire
So what are my thoughts at the end of the day? I played well below my capability for a number of reasons:
- I've got too reliant on the killing power of the Tank Commanders to solve problems; it makes for lazy game play and I get greedy to knock out juicy targets early on
- I did not practice any Maelstrom games before hand; I think doing so would have helped me realise I need more elements in the list capable of pushing forward and sustaining casualties
- My head wasn't in the game; I need to focus more and actually think through a plan!
How did my list perform and would I change anything?
Battalion Detachment, Emperor's Wrath Artillery Company
2 Company Commanders; a mandatory element, their Orders are key to getting the Infantry functioning correctly. The Relic of Lost Cadia is excellent; granting a 12" re-roll bubble for hits and wounds is amazing when used at the right moment.
3 Infantry Squads; again a backbone of the army, these guys are amazing for taking objectives, screening, etc. I don't think they particularly need any special weapons as their role isn't really to kill stuff!
Tempestus Scions with Hot-Shot Volley Guns. I'm really on the fence about these guys; in some games they perform excellently and in others they drop in, whiff then die. Definitely not a hammer unit!
Astropath & Tech-Priest Enginseer: Add some options to the list in terms of defence and durability, especially for the tanks. They can be sent to baby sit Objectives in a pinch. I'm tempted to trade one of them for a 3rd Officer as I'm particularly paranoid about Snipers!
2 Hell Hounds: I love these tanks, the ability to push out and douse stuff in auto hits is wonderful. I wouldn't expect much in a Primaris heavy meta from them, but they are great for just scooting around the board and claiming objectives, etc.
2 Heavy Weapons Squads with Mortars: Indirect fire is a useful ability for the army and the squads are so cheap I can't see why you wouldn't take them. They are great for punishing light infantry, less so MEQ in cover.
Hydra: the experimental element of the list and definitely underwhelming. Most of the flyers I faced had 3+ saves and the -1AP from the Autocannons just wasn't good enough to punch through their armour. I'm considering swapping this guy out for a Wyvern to add some more indirect fire (or possibly just more infantry.
Supreme Command Detachment, Emperor's Fist Tank Company
Tank Commander with Relic Battle Cannon, 2 Heavy Bolters, Lascannon
2 Tank Commanders with Heavy Bolter, 2 Plasma Cannons, Executioner Plasma Cannon
Thanks for reading; my next hobby project is an army for the club doubles competition and I'm looking at this as an opportunity to get some of the back log of my Space Marines painted. I'll be sure to share the road to Doubles with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment