WHFB – Vampires!

A little late to the party but I finally got to read the new Vampire Counts army book. I thought it was about time I got back to writing something so I thought I would start with my thoughts on the book.

Overall it has some nice additional optionals including a Master Necromancer who can lead your army so you no longer need to try and balance points for a warrior-wizard Lord. Vampires got a small boost with the ability to occasionally, 1 in 6, heal if they kill something in melee. Skeletons & Zombies got cheaper, wolfs now count as core although Ghouls got more expensive. Unlike Tomb Kings Undead still get to march (if within 12” of the general). Which given there lack of shooting is something they really needed.

Magic
I find it quite amusing that the new lore attribute for Vampire magic is the same as the lore of Life; you get to heal a wound for each spell cast. Vampires already have seven spells so they did not gain any more. Although this does mean that Vampires that take a different lore no longer get an extra spell. Their lore lost the Summon Horde spell although its two effects have been merged into Raise Dead and Invocation. Spells have powered up versions you can use but you can also no longer cast the same spell multiple times a turn with the same caster meaning you are more likely to want several wizards in your army instead.

Invocation: Now heals d6+Wizard Level to all units in 6/12/18” with a casting value the same as its range.
Danse Macabre: Still re-rolls to hits and 8” move but no more charging. Level two effects all units in a 12” bubble.
Hellish Vigour: The new spell; allows a unit to re-roll to wound which is nice and level two effects all units within range.
Gaze: Still a Str 4 Magic Missile but now with a 48” range level two.
Raise Dead: Now 2d6+3 Zombies or . at level two, Skeletons.
Curse of Years: Slightly harder to cast but still inflicts wounds on the whole unit with no armour save.
Winds of (un)death: No more summoning a spirit host and it is now a magic vortex rather than hitting every enemy unit on the battlefield.

In line with all the new books the magic item list has been cut down from about forty to nine. A few of the missing items have been appropriated by special characters and the rest seem to have just vaporised. The screaming banner has been reduced in cost so a unit of skeletons can take it and I would expect almost every army using them will do so. Making fear tests on 3d6 means people will occasionally fail them! The cursed book has been re-written so you spend d3 power dice to cast a random spell. They are mainly cast on 10+ sells from the shadow and death lists which gives a nice mix. My favourite item the Black Periapt survived the transfer to 8th edition but sadly it is so expensive now that only Lords can take it.

Special Characters
Heinrich Kemmler is the new Necromancer character and you can play him in a 1500 point game. He is a lvl 4 Wizard with loremaster (Vampire) and +5 to dispel due to his staff of sorcery. He can be either ethereal or flying each turn. If he just has a ward save, even 5+, he would be my favourite character. He has stolen the Tomb Blade from the old item list and it now acts as a Sword of Strife as well as regenerating Skeletons and now Grave Guard. He gets +WS, +S, +I, +Ld* over a standard Necromancer Lord. Since he also forces opponents to reveal there magical items ethereal should keep him reasonable safe in combat. The downside is that you have something like a 50 point magic sword that is only going to kill about one foot solider a turn where as for only a few points more you could take a Vampire Lord with armour and a ward save and a much better stat line.

*His profile in the rules and unit section differ so he may not get the leadership boost.

I liked the old Vlad; you got 240 points of equipment/wargear as opposed to 200 that a normal lord could take. The downside was you could not change any of it and he had no armour. He was a decent combat general with a 4+ Ward. So for 35 points more than DIY Lord with a 4+ Ward you got an extra attack and a change to resurrect after he died. The new Vlad has at least put some armour on. He pays the extra points for it but you can still field him as your general in a 2k army. Blooddrinker though is now barley better than a Sword of Might. A normal Lord can buy ASF, but Vlad's is conditional on Isabella being in the same unit and, while improved, she is not worth the cost to play. So you now spend 69 points more on Vlad that crafting your own leader and all you get is his resurrection ability and a slightly improved chance of healing 1 wound each round in melee (you no longer even get the extra attack). As nice as his “Get out of Death Free” card is those points could be much better spent on powers/wargear to either keep your Lord alive in the first place or increase his damage output in melee.

Isabella is now a standard Vampire Hero with heavy armour (and costs almost twice as much as last edition). You pay 50 points for the blood chalice. Given that the lore attribute is healing seems a waste of a magic items points and she does not get any of the cool vampire powers. Count Mannfred is still the same with his double loremaster, but is now too expensive to use in a 2k game. I think the Acolyte Mannfred is better just for his loremaster (Vampire) although he does cost the same as a Lvl 4 Necromancer. Which means you are trading a wound and two caster levels for more spells, heavy armour and better combat stats.

Building a Lord at 1500 Point Army
I usually play smaller games with friends so my first concern is what sort of leader can I make for my army with 375 limit on my Lord.

Kemmler or a fully equipped Necromancer Lord gives an easy Lvl 4 Wizard. If we want a Vampire Lord though we have to make a compromise between magic and melee. Since magic levels are more expensive there is not a lot of choice if we want a 4+ ward save as well. We might as well just slap on armour of destiny and call it done.

The best two powers for combat are Red Fury and Quick Blood. This puts our Lord as a 300 point level 1 Wizard with WS 7, I 7 and ASF and leaves 75 points for a magic weapon and armour. Taking Sword of Might gives us gives us a 4+/4++ save; 5 strength 6 attacks. Whereas Sword of Striking + Enchanted Shield gives us a 3+/4++ save; 5 strength 5 attacks, which should be hitting on 2's. Each of them performs better against some armies than the other.

Lord Options
300 Master Necromancer; Level 4 Master of the Dead with Talisman of Preservation & Cursed Book.
350 Heinrich Kemmler
375 Vampire Lord; Level 4 Wizard with armour of Destiny.
374 Vampire Lord with Red Fury, Quick Blood and Talisman of Preservation, Sword of Might, heavy armour & shield.
371 Vampire Lord with Red Fury, Quick Blood and Talisman of Preservation, Sword of Striking, heavy armour & Enchanted shield.

The last two are really very similar so it gives me four different leaders to try out and see which I actually like in play. Troops is going to be skeletons and zombies and then some Grave Guard and maybe Black Knights. There are several new units, like the Mortis Engine, that I need to look at and see what will work well.

Time of Legends Campaign - Part One

Overview: 6 week Warhammer Fantasy campaign set in an alternate universe from the Old World. Players start with a 750 point army and each week get 150-250 points of extra units depending on the results of the battle. Players also roll on the exploration chart each week to see if they find any magic items or other relics.

Background: There was a terrible time of turmoil and war that apocalyptically shattered their magnificent crystal cities, which were split into thousands of shards that scattered across the lands. Without the wisdom and the abilities of the Hiasars these shards corrupted the surrounding landscape and blighted most of the idyllic lands. On the fringe of this blighted and broken landscape small settlements grew into fledgling nations. The different races adapted to their peripheral settlements and only ventured into the Broken Lands in the desperate attempt to find the much sought after crystal shards.

These shards can still harness the elemental powers of the Hiasars, though in a greatly diminished capacity. Going into the Broken Lands for any extended time warps and corrupts those that enter and now various tribes of foul beasts and monsters roam the lands preying on desperate shard miners. Besides the mining activities there is only one other time any of the races would dare enter the Blasted Lands and that is during the Time of Legends.

There remains an enduring generational prophecy across all of the races which foretells of the rebuilding of the Hiasars crystal city in the heart of the Blasted Lands. Every fifty years when the three moons align during the lunar eclipse, the crystal city is reformed awaiting a new master to sit upon its grand crystal throne. It is rumored that whoever sits upon the throne will be able to restore the Blaster Lands and reinstate control of the lands and thus rule the world. Every fifty years each nation has sent large armies into the Blasted Lands to try to find and fight their way to the heart of the mirage-like crystal city but none have succeeded. The nations have stopped sending one large army into the Lands for this quest and instead now hope that smaller strike forces have a better chance of reaching the crystal throne. There has also been a connecting ancient prophesy which states that it will not be a famous and well known general who finally sits on the crystal throne but an unknown who endures the trials and becomes a legend in the making...

***

With a little bit of poetic licence here is the first two battle reports...

Prince Morkin of the moon-kin looked out at the devastation. The cavalry thundering over the barrow had disturbed there centuries long rest. Then the cannon balls had blasted open the sacred chamber spilling his fathers bones across the green fields. Servants were still out looking for his leg.

Unable to stand the King looked up at his son. As their eyes met Morkin felt the projection of his fathers voice inside his head. These are troubled times when men do not show respect to their ancestors graves. Gather warriors and go seek vengeance for this attack. The shades say tracks lead into the broken lands. Take my enchanted helm with you.

750 Barrow Kings
114 Prince Morkin w/ Great Weapon, Dragonhelm
70 Liche Priest Rorthan
135 Casket of Souls
130 Archers x20 w/ Champion Longshot
66 Skeleton Warriors x14 w/ Champion Boney
235 Tomb Guard x15 w/ Champion Yohan, Standard, Banner of Undying

Week One: Battle vs Chaos Warriors

Sorcerer with 15 Chaos Warriors
40 Maurders with Great Weapons
15 Chaos Warriors
5 Dogs of war

Rorthan the Liche Priest looked at Morkin. They had spent ten days in the wastelands and their was still no sine of the defilers. He thought this was a worthless quest but he was bound by blood and magic to follow the Prince, to the ends of the earth if needed, enacting the Kings will.

Morkin finished talking with the shades and informed Rorthan of the approaching band of warriors. He formed the ranks of warriors up into a defensive formation and ordered the archers to shoot down the horde charging over the hill towards them. At the same time Rorthan focused the might of the ancient casket to blast bolts of lighting into the warriors on the right flank. He watched it arc from one unit to the next searing away flesh as it did so. In response the Sorcerer blasted away skeletons with arcane fire faster than Rorthan could reassemble them.

The archers unleashed four volleys of arrows into the Chaos horde before the two armies clashed. Leading his Warriors in a glorious charge the Sorcerer assaulted Morkin's unit. A blast of arcane power burnt away one of Morkin's eyes. As he staggard backwards Yoric stepped up and decapitated the Sorcerer. Seeing their leader dead the warriors turned to run but were cut down by the Tomb Guard.

Rorthan and his archers were not so lucky as they were ground down by the other unit of Warriors. The dogs of war ripped apart the casket crew and then, together with the last few Maurders, charged at Morkin; where they died to the striking blades of the Tomb Guard. Having taken the measure of each other the last few warriors of Chaos gathered their wounded and retreated leaving Morkin the victor.

It took Rorthan some time after the battle to reassemble himself and the rest of the moon-kin. While he waited Morkin ordered his guard to cut down the trees and assemble catapults. Once this was all done Rorthan drained the power from the sorcerers charms infusing it into himself and used rituals of binding to place some of the loyal shades inside the lifeless husks of the enemy so that they could once more walk the lands.

Additions: 2x Catapults, 2 Warriors, 2 Tomb Guard, Musian for Archers. Lvl 2 Wizard.
Morkin gained Regeneration, -BS. Yohan +WS

***

Week Two: Battle vs Vampire Counts
Vampire leading 20 Ghouls
20 Revenants
3 Wraiths
Varghulf

Morkin's empty eye socket still ached from the magical wound that would not regenerate. The dying minstral his scouts had picked up told him how a vampire had attacked his caravan and he was the only one to get away. The vile vampire was using his arcane might to bind the dead into his eternal service. This was the perfect opportunity to try out the new catapults on an ancient enemy.

Channelling the mighty power of the casket Rorthan blasted the wraiths off the material plane while the catapuls smashed ghouls and revenants to dust. The Vampire used his powers to summon more ghouls while the catapults turned their attention to the Varghulf. The mighty creature lithely dodged the giant flaming stones that rained down around it. Stumbling forward across the rough ground the Varghulf eventually managed to rip the skeletal warriors and a catapult apart. The vampire lead his ghouls into a mighty charge destroying the casket and then tirning to face off against Morkin and his guards. Rorthan was charged by the last few revenants but a giant stone flew off target and crushed the last revenant leaving Rorthan and a few scattered archers alive.

As neither general wanted to risk more of there troops against the other both retreated to lick their wounds. Rorthan used his powers to pull the scattered bones of the defeated back together and bound the dead minstrels soul to his bones so he too could join the expedition.

Additions: Morkin +Att, Longshot +Att, Rowthan +W & Wizard Lvl 3.
Gained a Bard. Warriors x10, Tomb Guardx10

***

Tactics: It was not my original intent but playing against two armies with no ranged attacks I ended up using my undead as a gun-line army. While my shooting was weak I was able to do enough damage to approaching units to then actually win some combats! I did forget though that the casket explodes when it dies. I was quite lucky with the entire Vampire army failing charges for a couple of turns.


Image Credits: Wenzel Hablik, Wonder of the Sea, 1917

More Metrics (for Tyranids)

Well it has been a busy month for me. I failed my Uni course and spent a lot of time getting a job sorted. The good news is I have got one sorted and it starts next month. So I have few loose ends to tidy up before I start; one of which was doing the metrics for Kirby's Tyranid army...

Kirby's 2k Tyranids

2x Prime w/LW, Bonesword, Toxin, Regen
2x3 Hive Guard
1x3 Zoanthrope
2x Tervgion w/Catalyst, Toxin, Adrenal, Cluster, Scything Talons
2x10 Termagant
2x4 Ravener w/Rending
2x T-Fex w/Rupture, Cluster, Dess

Now Purgatus pointed out that working out dead Land Raiders with a 4+ to hit in melee was a bit misleading since they will always go fast to avoid melee damage. As such I have redone all the numbers for AV 14. APC's on the other hand will often stick at 6" movement since they still want to fire guns so I have left those numbers unchanged.

So lets look at all the previous five lists again and add Kirby's too.

List	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Nidzilla	18.58	40.51	97.08	8.19
Swarm	15.78	63.75	94.85	8.43
Hulksmash	15.53	52.97	125.42	7.87
Ghostin	26.53	41.19	101.39	13.98
Purgatus	17.79	48.19	94.61	11.42
Kirby	21.03	37.82	92.92	13.46

For wrecking Land Raiders a pair of Carnifex (with 6.02) are just ahead of two T-fex (with 5.19) in raw numbers but the T-fex has the advantage of being able to shoot as well as rip them apart with teeth and claws. What is very noticeable is how much of a difference Zoantrhopes now make to the DLRpG score. I could ramble on but I do not think their is a lot more to say. If we use these six as the guide for offensive metrics our golden ratio for a 2k army would be - Shooting 19+; Melee 47+; APC's 100+; Raiders 10+

Is this achievable? I am not sure but I will let you know if I find one..

Mantic Open Day 2011

Salutations everyone,

Today was Mantic's second open day. We got into Mantic Towers just after ten o'clock and were greeted by Chris, Ronnie and the rest of the gang. There were a variety of events happening including a tour of the warehouse (where Ronnie showed us the content of the secret room); a massive eight player King of War game; painting competition; demo games and of course the shop! We were not allowed to take photos of the new stuff but here are the shots I did get during the day...





I love the Dark Elf, if only I could paint this good...
Ronnie said during the tour that they are shipping out 60,000 figures a week at the moment. The next edition of Kings of War rules will have three new races - Human, Goblins and Twilight Kin (Dark Elves). They are also looking into the cost of remaking the byssal Dwarf in plastic to see if it is feasible.








Orky was guarding the secret room. Inside were the first moulds of the Forgefarther Space Dwarfs which Golum Studios are going to be painting in a nice blue colour (with a possible yellow trim) and concept sketches for the vehicles (one for each race). Forgefarthers get a quad barrels gun platform and the Pirates get a dune buggy. The painters were also kind enough to give me some painting tips so maybe next year I will have a model to enter in the competition. Overall I had a great time. I got to play a couple of more games of KoW (during which there were several comparisons to another well known fantasy game) as well as pick up a few more figures for my army.

40k Metrics - Tyranid Fex-star

Carrying on with looking at the 40k Metrics of different Tyranid lists this time we will analyses a couple of Fex-star builds. Lists and full numbers are below. For those adding up at home remember that the Genestealers melee damage against APC's is capped at 15. Carnifex scores have not been capped as some of it is from shooting.

Two Fexstar's and Purgatus' T-fex/Prime Nidzilla comparison

List	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Hulksmash	15.53	52.97	125.42	23.61
Ghostin	26.53	42.28	100.84	29.72
Purgatus	17.79	48.19	94.61	18.52

The Addition of the Zoantrhopes really helps to boost MEQ Shooting and Raider killing power but the list loses significant close combat potential. That said at over 40 it is still an amazing high figure contending with the Orks. Carnifex give us a much better Land Raider killing score than T-fex but are limited to only doing do in melee which means they will most likely have delivered their cargo.

Working from just these numbers I would be tempted to replace the Raveners with Zoanthropes in Hulksmash's army and use the last few points for upgrading the primes to give us -

.	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Amalgamation	21.25	47.92	115.83	29.72

My thoughts on Ghostin's list would be to drop one Biovore and probably the Broodlord to get the second prime. That way you can play the Carnifex as two broods for better treat saturation and they each get easy cover saves due to the Primes. I like the idea of Bioplasma I am just not sure how effective it is actually going to be?

Hulksmash's Fexstar @2000 Points
200 - Prime w/ Dual Boneswords, Toxin Sacs 2x1
300 - Hive Guard 3x2
390 - Tervigon w/ Adrenals, Toxins, Catalyst, Clusters 2x1
100 - Termagants 2 x10
420 - Genestealers 2x15
210 - Raveners x6 Rending Claws
190 - Carnifex Quad Twin-Linked Devourers
190 - Carnifex Quad Twin-Linked Devourers
14 Kill Points: 50 Bugs, 14 Large Bugs, 4 Monsters

Fexstar

Unit	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Prime x2	0.67	5	4.17	0
Hive Guard x6	2.22	2	20	0
Tervigon x2	2.22	3.33	16.67	5.56
Spawn x45	3.75	11.25	0	0
Gaunts x10	0.83	2.5	0	0
Gaunts x10	0.83	2.5	0	0
Genestealers x30	0	16.67	37.5	0
Raveners x6 RC	0	5.56	14.58	0
Carnifex x2	5	4.17	40	18.06
Total	15.53	52.97	125.42	23.61

Ghostin's proposed NOVA list @1999 Points
100 - Prime Regen, Twin Boneswords
300 - Hive Guard 2x3
180 - zoanthropes x3
420 - Tervigon x2 - cat, onslaught, tox, ag, cluster
100 - Devilgaunts x10
050 - termagants x10
284 - genestealers x14 w/ Toxic sacs, Broodlord
135 - biovore x3
430 - carnifex x2 - TL devs/brainleech, bioplasma, frag spines
11 Kill Points: 33 Bugs, 14 Large Bugs, 4 Monsters
Bioplasma-Fexstar

Unit	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Prime x1	0.33	2.22	2.08	0
Hive Guard x6	2.22	2	20	0
Zoanthropes x3	5.5	0.5	7.64	6.11
Tervigon x2	2.22	3.33	16.11	5.56
Spawn x45	3.75	11.25	0	0
Dev-Gaunts x10	2.5	2.5	0	0
Gaunts x10	0.83	2.5	0	0
Stealers x13	0	11.8	16.25	0
Broodlord	0	1.51	2.08	0
biovore x3	1.67	0.5	0	0
Carnifex x2	7.5	4.17	40	18.06
Total	26.53	42.28	100.84	29.72

Purgatus
Prime, Lashwhip/Bonesword, Regeneration, Rending Claws
Prime, Lashwhip/Bonesword, Regeneration, Scything Talons
Hive Guard x 2x2
Zoanthrope x 2
Tervigon, Catalyst, Onslaught, Adrenals, Toxins, Scything Talons, Cluster Spines 2x1
Termagants 2 x 10
Genestealers 2x 12, Toxins
Tyrannofex, Rupture Cannon, Dessicator, Cluster Spines 2x1

Purgatus

Unit	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Rending Prime	0	1.67	2.08	0
Sything Prime	0	1.94	2.43	0
Hive Guard x4	1.48	1.33	13.33	0
Zoanthropes x2	3.67	0.33	5.09	4.07
Tervigon x2	2.22	3.33	16.67	5.56
Spawn x45	3.75	11.25	0	0
Gaunts x20	1.67	5	0	0
Tox-stealers x24	0	20	30	0
t-Fex RC/DL x2	5	3.33	25	8.89
Total	17.79	48.19	94.61	18.52

40k Metrics - Tyranid Edition

Nikephoros over on Bringer of Victory has posted up about 40k Metrics. His idea was to work out sum statistics for the whole army and see how that compared to other competitive armies. There were four scores he has been working out -

DMS - Dead Marines in one shooting phase.
DMCC - Dead Marines in one assault phase (assuming you charge)
DRpG - Penetrating hits on Rhinos in five turns of shooting.
DLRpG - Penetrating hits on Land Raiders in five turns of shooting.
Those armies he looked at got scores in the following ranges.
DMS = 19-22, DMCC 15-45, DRpG 60-82, DLRpG 17-34.

As Kirby suggested I have added in the average Spawn of the Tervigon which does help to bolster the MEQ killing of the lists. Since we are generating numbers assuming best possible conditions all Gaunts are assumed to have Poison and Furious Charge from mummy.


So lets see how the Tyranids compare...
Nidzilla

Unit	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Tyrant	2.5	3.7	17.92	3.47
Guard x3	0	3.56	5	0
Hive Guard x6	2.22	2	20	0
Tervigon x2	2.22	3.33	16.67	5.56
Spawn x45	3.75	11.25	0	0
Dev-Gaunts	2.5	2.5	0	0
Gaunts	0.83	2.5	0	0
Stealers 2x5	0	8.33	8.33	0
T-Fex x2	4.56	3.33	25	8.89
Total	18.58	40.51	97.08	17.92

Weak at shooting Marines (no surprise there). We only just outstrip the Space Wolves in melee and fall woefully short of the Orks score of 45 MEQ in a turn. The one surprising feature is the ability to kill APC's and a score matching the Wolves on killing Raiders. So both the numbers and experience show we can get them out of their tin cans and eat them in combat.
EDIT: Adding the Spawn has taken our MEQ killing (shooting and melee) score up to almost the same level as Dashofpepper's Ork list.

Swarm
I used Jay Woodcock's Adepticon 2011 list and to take it up to a 2k list for comparison added more Genestealers; Toxic Sacs to one brood & Gargoyles; Talons to the second Tervigon.

Unit	. DMS .	. DMCC .	. DR pG .	. DLR pG .
Tervigon x2	2.22	3.33	22.21	7.4
Spawn x45	3.75	11.25	0	0
Hive Guard x6	2.22	2	20	0
Zoanthropes	5.5	0.5	7.64	6.11
Stealers x40	0	22.22	30	0
Tox-stealers x20	0	16.67	15	0
Gargoyes x25	2.08	7.78	0	0
Total	15.78	63.75	94.85	13.51

Well we finally get a good score for Melee and our shooting does not suffer much thanks to the Zoanthropes having AP 3. The list is still good at killing APC's but really suffers against Raiders (especially once Psy-hoods come into play) with only two units that can penetrate them. Hive Guard do have a chance of immobilising Raiders, but it is still not great.

Tyranid Fex-star Analysis here.

Ultramarine Battle Reports

I have spent the last week painting up the tanks I got off ebay over the last year. They are now all a uniform Ultramarine blue. Next I need to add some detail. Doing so made me want to play my marines again since they had not been out of the box for almost two years. Here is My helper setting up terrain before she goes off to bed and a couple of quick battle reports to keep you entertained.


Game 1: 1500 points Ultramarines vs Space Wolves
Dawn of War, Seize Ground
objectives: Eldar Graveyard (NW)), Webway Dialer (SW), 2 Power relays (NE & SE)
In am attempt to get his enemy to turn on each other Vect has leaked the location of an Elder Webway portal to two Space Marine companies. He had also told them a band of renegade marines were looting the area. This resulted in both armies sending an armoured company to secure the location. With the rain lashing down around them in the darkness both forces opened fire, in typical marine fashion, as soon as they saw the lights of the opposing vehicles...

Space Wolves (not all gear listed)
Rune Priest Penda leading 8 Grey Hunters & Wolf Guard w/ Fist in Rhino
Rune Priest Ozur & Wolf Priest Tola leading 9 Grey Hunters & Wolf Guard w/ Fist in Land Raider Crusader
Five Long Fangs in Lazerback
Dreadnought Vandrad
Land speeder w/ HF, MM

Ultramarines
Librarian Bolland (Avenger & Null Zone) leading ASM x5 with Flamer in Rhino
Armitage & Steel Rifleman Dreadnaughts
Dreadnaught Dante with Plasma Cannon, Heavy Flamer
Tactical Squad Alpha - Melta, MM, Rhino
Tactical Squad Beta - Flamer, Missile, Rhino
2 Squadrons x1 MM/HF Landspeeder
AutoLas Predator x3



Rune Priest Penda drove his APC into the graveyard and it sunk into the soft mud unable to move further. The Fangs zoomed forward to get a good firing position but an accurate burst of laser fire from the Ultramarines exploded the Razorback and killed four of the fangs. Trooper Sven grabbed the Lazer-cannon from the wreckage and hoisting it to his shoulder detonated Dante's power pack and arced the beam across the enemy APC's ripping the tracking from two of them. Bolland lead his troops forward and charged into Penda depleted force and the two units wiped each other out leaving the graveyard full of bones.


Driving around the eastern side of the central ruins the Land raider came under attack from the landspeeders buts was saved by its smoke. Return fire ripped the guns off the speeders and Vandrad stomped over and crushed one when it tried to roast him with its flamer. Laser fire glancing off its armoured hull the raider rolled forward with Ozur leading his forced forward to wipe out Alpha squad and Beta-gravis. The raider fired its guns at Beta-pugnus but could not dislodge the troops who were huddled around the webway dialler. Armitage charged into Ozurs troops keeping them occupied.



Aftermath: It was a fun game but quite static with the Wolves holding back until they had blasted away the melta's and my APC's getting immobilised quickly (one by terrain). I had five turns of 6 lasers shooting the Raider and all I got was one stun and an immobilised turn six! We played the extra turn at the end to see if the Wolves could kill the last 3 tacical marines on the objective but they did not have enough firepower with only the raider and Dread.


Game 2: 1500 Points Ultramarines vs Grey Knights
Pitched Battle Annihilation

I try not to proxy too much stuff but as I had to take all my folders into University for moderation I wanted an army that I could carry around easily and 27 terminators fit that bill very well. Despite being annihilation the Ultramarines used combat squads to get best use of the heavy weapons and set up in as a static gun-line ready to receive the Knights charge. Going second I put all the Knights into the SW corner behind a hill blocking line of sight from most of the marines.

Ultramarines (11 Kill Points due to Combat Squads)
Chaplain Caecilius with Jump Pack, Melta Bombs
Purpureus Tactical Squad with Melta, Lascannon & power-gauntlet
Albus Tactical Squad with Melta, Plasma Cannon & power-gauntlet in a Rhino
Plumbeus Devastator Squad with 4 Missile Launchers in Razorback with TL Lascannon
Tripudio 5 man Assault Squad with Power-gauntlet and Plasma Pistol.
Tempestas Terminator Squad with assault cannon & CML
Brother Grumio Dreadnought
Grey Knights (5 Kill Points)
Librarian with Shrouding, Sanctuary, Might
Inquisitor with TDA, Psycannon and Hammer
2x10 Tactical Terminators with 2 Cannons and mixed weapons
1x5 Paladins with 2 Cannons and mixed weapons

The Librarian lead his Squad into the ruins at the top of the hill and between Terminator armour and shrouding only three of them died (all in turn two). After wiping out Tripudio on the first turn they spent four turns exchanging fire with the Terminators killing nine of them.


The Paladins hugged the ridge of the hill for cover as they advanced before charging forward to crush marines and the Razorback in melee. The Inquisitor split off and wrecked the Rhino. They only took a single wound all game but I was constantly worried every time they got shot by a melta or laser.




The second unit of Terminator Knights did very little due to my target denial strategy. They lost one man to a scattering plasma cannon and killed the Chaplin and Dreadnought. This left the Ultramarine with 15 Marines and 1 Terminator at the end of turn five.

Losing four Knights in the second turn made me worried I would be torrented to death. However I only failed one more save in the next three turns making the final score 7-0 to the Knights. I liked playing the army but it would have been a lot harder with objectives since I barely moved any of the units forward.