DarkLink
10-31-2009, 04:03 AM
Army Lists:
The Good Guys:
GK Brother Captain Psycannon
7 Grey Knights 2 Incinerators
8 Grey Knights
10 Allied Sisters of Battle 2 Melta Veteran w/ Book of St Lucius and Eviscerator
Rhino
Land Raider Crusader w/ Dozer Blades
The Bad Guys:
Daemon Prince w/ Wings and Warptime
8 Berzerkers Champ w/ Power fist
Rhino
2x 10 Chaos Space Marines, Icon of Chaos Glory, Plasma Rifle, Lascannon, Champ w/ Power Fist
Vindicator w/ Daemonic Possession
Map
We rolled Pitched Battle, and 3 Objectives.
Pretty symmetrical, 4x4 table.
In the center of the board was a large piece of lava, counting as Dangerous Terrain.
Each Deployment Zone had a piece of terrain in each corner, and there was a building near the center line of the table about a foot from the left board edge.
We rolled the D3+2 mission, with 3 objectives total.
The Chaos player placed first, putting one in the center of his Deployment Zone, next to one of the pieces of terrain. I placed mine in the rear left corner of my Deployment zone. The other Chaos objective went directly across from mine, in the middle of the Chaos player's other terrain piece.
Deployment
Chaos won first turn, putting a CSM squad on each objective. The Rhino and Daemon Prince sat next to the center objective, while the Vindicator was between the two.
I chose to keep my 8 man Grey knight squad in reserve, to walk on. The Sisters in their Rhino sat behind the building to the right of my deployment, covering the left side of the Land Raider which also hid behind the building.
I wanted to wait to see how the Chaos player moved, before deciding how I would advance. I wanted to be able to hit them in a flank without worrying about the Daemon Prince or Vindicator.
I decided to put the Rhino and Land Raider to the right of my Deployment Zone, to draw my opponent's forces that way, then use my mobility to slip around and hit him on the far flank.
Turn 1
Chaos
The Vindicator moves to the center of the board, blowing smoke. The lascannons ineffectually shoot. One plasma attempts to shoot at the Rhino, but is out of range, overheats and the shooter dies. That gave us both a good laugh.
Grey Knights
The Rhino moves forward and to the left of the building, blowing smoke. The Crusader moves to the left, keeping behind the Rhino for cover. The Crusader attempts to shoot the Vindicator, but fails to do anything.
I wanted the Rhino to be close enough that the Sisters could hit the Vindicator, but didn't want to deal with Smoke. Smoke is always an issue for me, because I never make the Smoke cover saves, but my opponents never, ever fail them.
Turn 2
Chaos
The Vindicator backs off, wanting to keep out of easy melta range from the sisters. The lascannons fire again, wrecking the Rhino. I deploy the Sisters with the meltaguns as close to the Vindicator as possible. The Vindicator drops a Demolisher round on the Sisters, killing 4, as not enough were hidden to get a cover save.
Grey Knights
The Sisters run forward, getting within 12” of the Vindicator. The Land Raider moves up behind them, and the 8 man Grey Knight squad comes in, walking and Running onto my objective, as spread out as possible in case the Vindicator lives.
The Sisters shoot and do nothing to the Vindicator. The Land Raider opens up with its Hurricane Bolters on the central CSM squad, killing 2. The Land Raider Machine Spirits its Assault Cannon at the Vindicator, destroying the Demolisher Cannon.
My opponents also have an annoying habit of destroying my vehicles every single time they get a penetrating hit. It's amazing my Land Raiders ever live through a game. Fortunately, the Sisters were close enough to the Vindicator to shoot, even though they failed.
With the Demolisher Cannon gone, I could start to maneuver freely. The only real threat I had to deal with was the Daemon Prince and the Rhino full of Berzerkers.
Turn 3
Chaos
The Vindicator backs off, now only useful for tank shocking. The CSM's open fire ineffectually. The Rhino full of Berzerkers and the Daemon Prince are still holding back, acting as a counter charge unit.
Grey Knights
The Sisters run forward, trying to get into range of the central CSM squad. The Land Raider moves to the left, at about the centerline of the board between the two chaos objectives, threatening both. The 8 man Grey Knight squad runs forward again, coming up behind the building in front of the Chaos flank objective. The Crusader shoots again, killing a CSM or two. The Sisters get within LOS of the Daemon Prince, putting a wound on him with a Melta gun.
The footslogging Grey Knights are now in position to do anything I need them to do. I normally dislike not having transports for all my units, but with Storm Bolters Grey Knights aren't too hindered by the lack of mobility.
I'm already focused on the flank CSM squad as my main target, so I spend my Crusader's shooting trying to whittle down the other CSM squad, as the Daemon Prince and Berzerkers haven't stepped into the game yet. I can afford to ignore them for a little while, now.
Turn 4
Chaos
The Vindicator attempts to Ram the Land Raider, but is about 12.1” away, so it stops short. The flank CSM squad fires on the 8man Grey Knight squad, killing one. The central CSM squad moves forward, attempting to rapid fire the Sisters of Battle. The Rhino and Daemon Prince move forward a little, preparing to counter assault. The Daemon Prince takes the bait, and jumps out, assaulting the Sisters. I give them Spirit of the Martyr with their single Faith Point, and the Veteran Sister lives long enough to put a wound on the Daemon Prince with her Eviscerator. I've learned to never go without them, for this precise reason.
Grey Knights
The Land Raider moves forward slightly, and fires its Hurricane Bolters into the central CSM squad, killing quite a few, including the Champion. The Assault Cannon destroys the Berzerker's Rhino, forcing them to jump out. The two living sisters with the Veteran are killed, and the Veteran fails to finish the Daemon Prince off, then fails her leadership and is sweeping advanced.
Though tank shocking is annoying, I have bigger things to deal with than the Vindicator, so I ignore it. Luckily, I managed to pop the Berzerker's Rhino, so I can now directly hurt the squad. To bad the last Sister died, but they put a wound on the Daemon Prince, and accomplished their purpose of distracting my opponent.
Turn 5
Chaos
The Vindicator backs up, trying to shield the flank CSM squad. The CSM squads do nothing, killing a single Grey Knight. The Daemon Prince jumps up behind the wrecked Rhino to get some cover.
Grey Knights
The Land Raider speeds forward, moving 12”. It turns to face the central CSM squad, while the Grey Knights inside jump out to hit the flank CSM squad. The 8man Grey Knight squad moves forward, attempting to join in. They fall short, but the Grey Knights jumping out of the Land Raider hose down all of the CSM's except for 2 Bolters and the Icon, who are then promptly cut down in assault.
The Land Raider opens fire on the Berzerkers, killing all of them but the Champion.*
*Grey Knight LR Crusaders may move 12” and still fire their Hurricane Bolters, in addition to PotMS.
In an impressive display, the Crusader mows down 7 Berzerkers in a single shooting phase. A bit of a Godsend, really, as they would have been tough to deal with if they hadn't died here. I clean off the flank objective easily, despite the fact that the footslogging Grey Knight squad is out of assault range. 11 Storm Bolters, 2 Incinerators and a Psycannon did wonders, killing all but 3 CSM's, who were promptly cut down in close combat. The Vindicator is still sitting there, but I have second turn, so I don't need to worry about it tank shocking me off the objective without getting a chance to respond.
At this point, my opponent only has a Daemon Prince with three wound, 3 CSM's and a Berzerker Champion remaining, to my full Land Raider, Brother Captain and two mostly intact squads of Grey Knights.
Turn 6
Chaos
The Daemon Prince and the Berzerker Champ charge forward, assaulting the Land Raider. A lucky hit Immobilizes the Land Raider, and the Assault Cannon is destroyed.
The still mobile Vindicator tank shocks onto the objective, moving 12 and trying to displace the Grey Knights.
Grey Knights
The Grey Knight Brother Captain breaks off, firing his Psycannon at the Berzerker, doing nothing. The rest of the Grey Knights assault the Vindicator, wrecking it. The Land Raider shoots the CSMs, killing all but one. In the assault, the Daemon Prince manages to blow off one of the Hurricane Bolters, while the other one is facing in such a way that it can't see anything to shoot.
The damage to the Land Raider is unfortunate, but I can live with it. He still has to clear me off my objective with only 3 models remaining. Daemon Princes are tough for Grey Knights to deal with (go figure), but I outnumber him by a lot. I just need to get lucky and force enough saves to finish off his last two Troops, and the game is mine.
Turn 7
Chaos
The Berzerker backs up onto the central objective, next to the lone remaining CSM. The Daemon Prince flies forward, moving to assault the 7 man Grey Knight squad. The Grey Knights put two wounds on the Daemon Prince, who lacks Frag Grenades, but the Daemon Prince kills 5 Grey Knights thanks to Warp Time. The 6th Grey Knight dies from No Retreat wounds, leaving the Justicar.
Grey Knights
With Chaos holding their central objective, and a Daemon Prince contesting the flank objective, the footslogging Grey Knight squad moves to assault the Daemon Prince. The Brother Captain moves towards the central objective, once again doing nothing with his Psycannon. The Land Raider drops the Berzerker with a well timed Multi-Melta shot, fortunately.
The Brother Captain is just in range to assault the last CSM, killing him and clearing that objective. The other Grey Knights assault the Daemon Prince, who kills the lone Justicar and one of the assaulting Grey Knights. The Grey Knights manage to inflict a single wound, finishing off the Daemon Prince and killing the last Chaos model.
Very, very close. I manage to shoot his remaining Troops, but only cause two wounds on his Daemon Prince, who is contesting my objective. Fortunately he failed one save (which he was due to fail anyways, as I'd taken a few pot-shots to no effect earlier in the game). With that, the game was mine, with no enemy models remaining.
Victory: Grey Knights
All in all, a great game. I tried out an unusual list for me, as I normally never take footslogging squads (which in 1000pts games forces me to take 2 Land Raiders).
Like normal, the Sisters did a fantastic job of messing with my opponent, drawing off the Daemon Prince and preventing him from moving more directly to counter my Land Raider's assault. This let me clear off the flank objective, then shoot him off his objective. If there is one thing Grey Knights are good at, it is forcing saves.
Keeping the 8 Grey Knights in reserve also worked well, as they were still able to get into the fight thanks to Run, and were protected from the Vindicator. In the end, my opponent wasn't able to deal with me hitting his flank with all my Grey Knights, and my Crusader absolutely butchered both the central CSM squad and the Berzerkers over the course of the game, easily making its points back.
In general, careful manuvering and good timing won me the game. I also did a good job of picking targets, forcing saves and taking out my opponents units bit by bit, preventing him from hitting me with a significant threat (other than the Daemon Prince).
The Good Guys:
GK Brother Captain Psycannon
7 Grey Knights 2 Incinerators
8 Grey Knights
10 Allied Sisters of Battle 2 Melta Veteran w/ Book of St Lucius and Eviscerator
Rhino
Land Raider Crusader w/ Dozer Blades
The Bad Guys:
Daemon Prince w/ Wings and Warptime
8 Berzerkers Champ w/ Power fist
Rhino
2x 10 Chaos Space Marines, Icon of Chaos Glory, Plasma Rifle, Lascannon, Champ w/ Power Fist
Vindicator w/ Daemonic Possession
Map
We rolled Pitched Battle, and 3 Objectives.
Pretty symmetrical, 4x4 table.
In the center of the board was a large piece of lava, counting as Dangerous Terrain.
Each Deployment Zone had a piece of terrain in each corner, and there was a building near the center line of the table about a foot from the left board edge.
We rolled the D3+2 mission, with 3 objectives total.
The Chaos player placed first, putting one in the center of his Deployment Zone, next to one of the pieces of terrain. I placed mine in the rear left corner of my Deployment zone. The other Chaos objective went directly across from mine, in the middle of the Chaos player's other terrain piece.
Deployment
Chaos won first turn, putting a CSM squad on each objective. The Rhino and Daemon Prince sat next to the center objective, while the Vindicator was between the two.
I chose to keep my 8 man Grey knight squad in reserve, to walk on. The Sisters in their Rhino sat behind the building to the right of my deployment, covering the left side of the Land Raider which also hid behind the building.
I wanted to wait to see how the Chaos player moved, before deciding how I would advance. I wanted to be able to hit them in a flank without worrying about the Daemon Prince or Vindicator.
I decided to put the Rhino and Land Raider to the right of my Deployment Zone, to draw my opponent's forces that way, then use my mobility to slip around and hit him on the far flank.
Turn 1
Chaos
The Vindicator moves to the center of the board, blowing smoke. The lascannons ineffectually shoot. One plasma attempts to shoot at the Rhino, but is out of range, overheats and the shooter dies. That gave us both a good laugh.
Grey Knights
The Rhino moves forward and to the left of the building, blowing smoke. The Crusader moves to the left, keeping behind the Rhino for cover. The Crusader attempts to shoot the Vindicator, but fails to do anything.
I wanted the Rhino to be close enough that the Sisters could hit the Vindicator, but didn't want to deal with Smoke. Smoke is always an issue for me, because I never make the Smoke cover saves, but my opponents never, ever fail them.
Turn 2
Chaos
The Vindicator backs off, wanting to keep out of easy melta range from the sisters. The lascannons fire again, wrecking the Rhino. I deploy the Sisters with the meltaguns as close to the Vindicator as possible. The Vindicator drops a Demolisher round on the Sisters, killing 4, as not enough were hidden to get a cover save.
Grey Knights
The Sisters run forward, getting within 12” of the Vindicator. The Land Raider moves up behind them, and the 8 man Grey Knight squad comes in, walking and Running onto my objective, as spread out as possible in case the Vindicator lives.
The Sisters shoot and do nothing to the Vindicator. The Land Raider opens up with its Hurricane Bolters on the central CSM squad, killing 2. The Land Raider Machine Spirits its Assault Cannon at the Vindicator, destroying the Demolisher Cannon.
My opponents also have an annoying habit of destroying my vehicles every single time they get a penetrating hit. It's amazing my Land Raiders ever live through a game. Fortunately, the Sisters were close enough to the Vindicator to shoot, even though they failed.
With the Demolisher Cannon gone, I could start to maneuver freely. The only real threat I had to deal with was the Daemon Prince and the Rhino full of Berzerkers.
Turn 3
Chaos
The Vindicator backs off, now only useful for tank shocking. The CSM's open fire ineffectually. The Rhino full of Berzerkers and the Daemon Prince are still holding back, acting as a counter charge unit.
Grey Knights
The Sisters run forward, trying to get into range of the central CSM squad. The Land Raider moves to the left, at about the centerline of the board between the two chaos objectives, threatening both. The 8 man Grey Knight squad runs forward again, coming up behind the building in front of the Chaos flank objective. The Crusader shoots again, killing a CSM or two. The Sisters get within LOS of the Daemon Prince, putting a wound on him with a Melta gun.
The footslogging Grey Knights are now in position to do anything I need them to do. I normally dislike not having transports for all my units, but with Storm Bolters Grey Knights aren't too hindered by the lack of mobility.
I'm already focused on the flank CSM squad as my main target, so I spend my Crusader's shooting trying to whittle down the other CSM squad, as the Daemon Prince and Berzerkers haven't stepped into the game yet. I can afford to ignore them for a little while, now.
Turn 4
Chaos
The Vindicator attempts to Ram the Land Raider, but is about 12.1” away, so it stops short. The flank CSM squad fires on the 8man Grey Knight squad, killing one. The central CSM squad moves forward, attempting to rapid fire the Sisters of Battle. The Rhino and Daemon Prince move forward a little, preparing to counter assault. The Daemon Prince takes the bait, and jumps out, assaulting the Sisters. I give them Spirit of the Martyr with their single Faith Point, and the Veteran Sister lives long enough to put a wound on the Daemon Prince with her Eviscerator. I've learned to never go without them, for this precise reason.
Grey Knights
The Land Raider moves forward slightly, and fires its Hurricane Bolters into the central CSM squad, killing quite a few, including the Champion. The Assault Cannon destroys the Berzerker's Rhino, forcing them to jump out. The two living sisters with the Veteran are killed, and the Veteran fails to finish the Daemon Prince off, then fails her leadership and is sweeping advanced.
Though tank shocking is annoying, I have bigger things to deal with than the Vindicator, so I ignore it. Luckily, I managed to pop the Berzerker's Rhino, so I can now directly hurt the squad. To bad the last Sister died, but they put a wound on the Daemon Prince, and accomplished their purpose of distracting my opponent.
Turn 5
Chaos
The Vindicator backs up, trying to shield the flank CSM squad. The CSM squads do nothing, killing a single Grey Knight. The Daemon Prince jumps up behind the wrecked Rhino to get some cover.
Grey Knights
The Land Raider speeds forward, moving 12”. It turns to face the central CSM squad, while the Grey Knights inside jump out to hit the flank CSM squad. The 8man Grey Knight squad moves forward, attempting to join in. They fall short, but the Grey Knights jumping out of the Land Raider hose down all of the CSM's except for 2 Bolters and the Icon, who are then promptly cut down in assault.
The Land Raider opens fire on the Berzerkers, killing all of them but the Champion.*
*Grey Knight LR Crusaders may move 12” and still fire their Hurricane Bolters, in addition to PotMS.
In an impressive display, the Crusader mows down 7 Berzerkers in a single shooting phase. A bit of a Godsend, really, as they would have been tough to deal with if they hadn't died here. I clean off the flank objective easily, despite the fact that the footslogging Grey Knight squad is out of assault range. 11 Storm Bolters, 2 Incinerators and a Psycannon did wonders, killing all but 3 CSM's, who were promptly cut down in close combat. The Vindicator is still sitting there, but I have second turn, so I don't need to worry about it tank shocking me off the objective without getting a chance to respond.
At this point, my opponent only has a Daemon Prince with three wound, 3 CSM's and a Berzerker Champion remaining, to my full Land Raider, Brother Captain and two mostly intact squads of Grey Knights.
Turn 6
Chaos
The Daemon Prince and the Berzerker Champ charge forward, assaulting the Land Raider. A lucky hit Immobilizes the Land Raider, and the Assault Cannon is destroyed.
The still mobile Vindicator tank shocks onto the objective, moving 12 and trying to displace the Grey Knights.
Grey Knights
The Grey Knight Brother Captain breaks off, firing his Psycannon at the Berzerker, doing nothing. The rest of the Grey Knights assault the Vindicator, wrecking it. The Land Raider shoots the CSMs, killing all but one. In the assault, the Daemon Prince manages to blow off one of the Hurricane Bolters, while the other one is facing in such a way that it can't see anything to shoot.
The damage to the Land Raider is unfortunate, but I can live with it. He still has to clear me off my objective with only 3 models remaining. Daemon Princes are tough for Grey Knights to deal with (go figure), but I outnumber him by a lot. I just need to get lucky and force enough saves to finish off his last two Troops, and the game is mine.
Turn 7
Chaos
The Berzerker backs up onto the central objective, next to the lone remaining CSM. The Daemon Prince flies forward, moving to assault the 7 man Grey Knight squad. The Grey Knights put two wounds on the Daemon Prince, who lacks Frag Grenades, but the Daemon Prince kills 5 Grey Knights thanks to Warp Time. The 6th Grey Knight dies from No Retreat wounds, leaving the Justicar.
Grey Knights
With Chaos holding their central objective, and a Daemon Prince contesting the flank objective, the footslogging Grey Knight squad moves to assault the Daemon Prince. The Brother Captain moves towards the central objective, once again doing nothing with his Psycannon. The Land Raider drops the Berzerker with a well timed Multi-Melta shot, fortunately.
The Brother Captain is just in range to assault the last CSM, killing him and clearing that objective. The other Grey Knights assault the Daemon Prince, who kills the lone Justicar and one of the assaulting Grey Knights. The Grey Knights manage to inflict a single wound, finishing off the Daemon Prince and killing the last Chaos model.
Very, very close. I manage to shoot his remaining Troops, but only cause two wounds on his Daemon Prince, who is contesting my objective. Fortunately he failed one save (which he was due to fail anyways, as I'd taken a few pot-shots to no effect earlier in the game). With that, the game was mine, with no enemy models remaining.
Victory: Grey Knights
All in all, a great game. I tried out an unusual list for me, as I normally never take footslogging squads (which in 1000pts games forces me to take 2 Land Raiders).
Like normal, the Sisters did a fantastic job of messing with my opponent, drawing off the Daemon Prince and preventing him from moving more directly to counter my Land Raider's assault. This let me clear off the flank objective, then shoot him off his objective. If there is one thing Grey Knights are good at, it is forcing saves.
Keeping the 8 Grey Knights in reserve also worked well, as they were still able to get into the fight thanks to Run, and were protected from the Vindicator. In the end, my opponent wasn't able to deal with me hitting his flank with all my Grey Knights, and my Crusader absolutely butchered both the central CSM squad and the Berzerkers over the course of the game, easily making its points back.
In general, careful manuvering and good timing won me the game. I also did a good job of picking targets, forcing saves and taking out my opponents units bit by bit, preventing him from hitting me with a significant threat (other than the Daemon Prince).