Double Battle Report - Orks vs Adepta Sororitas

Hello!

I've been back to Warhammer World for another pair of games, this time against Andrew (aamcking on Instagram) and this time using the second iteration of the green tide Ork list. In a similar format to last time, we played two 2000 point games, starting with a matched play GT2021 battle, followed by a game with the Open War cards.

As before, my list was largely built around lots of Boyz supported by characters and a few small 5 man units of specialists. I did break with the theme slightly by including a unit of 5 Deffkoptas, but I figured they would be able to drop in where required to provide a bit of firepower and work as a distraction. As before it's a Snakebite battalion, and I spent 4 CP off the bat on warlord traits and relics:

HQ: Warboss (powerklaw, kombi skorcha, attack squig, Brutal but Kunnin, Da Killa Klaw), Weirdboy (Warpath, Da Jump, Super Cybork Body), Big Mek with KFF (Brog's Buzzbomb)

Troops: 4x 20 Boyz (powerklaw), 2x 15 Boyz (powerklaw, shootas)

Elites: Nob with WAAAGH Banner (Ard as Nails), Painboy (Surly as a Squiggoth), 5 Kommandos (powerklaw), 5 Tankbustas (bomb squig)

Fast Attack: 5 Deffkoptas (Boom Boyz), 5 Stormboyz (powerklaw)

Heavy Support: 4 Lootas/1 Spanner

 

Andrew's force was another melee focused Imperial army for me to face, though with a fair bit more shooty support. He took a single battalion as well, running Ebon Chalice and with an extra trait and relic. He told me in advance that his list is all about getting the charge off, being able to get miracle dice sixes when needed. He did tell me what all this stuff does but I have largely forgotten it. There were also some combi flamers mixed in somewhere.

HQ: Celestine and Geminae Superia, Morvenn Vahl (warlord)

Troops: 3x 5 Battle Sisters

Elites: 2x 5 Celestian Sacresants (spear, maces), 10 Celestian Sacresants (spear, halberds), Dogmata (Enduring Faith, Holy Piety, Terrible Knowledge, The Sigil Ecclesiastus), 9 Sisters Repentia, 8 Sisters Repentia

Fast Attack: 2x 5 Dominions (4 storm bolters)

Heavy Support: 2x 5 Retributors (2 multimeltas, 2 heavy flamers, 2 cherubs)

Transports: 2x Rhino (hunter killer)

Other: Repentia Superior (Litanies of Faith), Culexus Assassin

And deployment (with my squig mascot watching on). We were playing Battle Lines (two objectives on the centre line, one in each deployment zone), I picked the secondaries Green Tide (points for having units of 11+ models in multiple quarters of the board), No Prisoners and ROD. Andrew took Engage, Vital Ground (mission specific, points for holding central or opponent's objectives) and To the Last (Celestine, Vahl and the large unit of Sacresants I think).

We both pretty much placed our units according to our own plans rather than paying much attention to where the opponent was. The Sisters were spread out to zone out deep strike and with the rhinos central full of units to head down either flank. Celestine and the Assassin were off the board to strike in, while the large unit of halberd sisters were waiting in strategic reserve.

I had the Stormboyz and Deffkoptas off the board, filled my deployment zone with boyz and then plonked the characters in the middle. The intent being to send most of them down the strongest flank. Also worth noting that we were playing all of the terrain as effectively ruins with obscuring for this game.

We rolled off and the sisters went first.

Turn one featured manoeuvring for both sides. The sisters marched up, keeping much of their forces back and flexible, while killing a few Kommandos and boyz with shooting. The Orks advanced pretty much across the board, didn't really do any shooting, and the last couple of Kommandos failed their suicide charge into the Repentia. Onto turn two!

Sisters turn two, and they set up some charges, Repentia on the right flank and Sacresants out of reserve on the left. Most of the other units pushed up on the left behind them, and a Rhino advanced forward and out of the way in case it exploded. After shooting removed a fair few boyz from various units, both the melee threats made it in to my shoota boyz in the front ranks. However the ones on the right overwatched to kill a few Repentia, then after the Celestians had murdered most of a unit, the right boyz interupted to kill even more Repentia before they could strike. Though both charges were successful and I lost a load of boyz, this turn was not great for the Sisters.

Ork turn two, and it was WAAAGH time! Once again I had a lot of advancing units into position. I got the Stormboyz to drop into my back corner for a second ROD action and to deny deep strikes behind my main push. The remaining shootas that got harassed by halberds fell back, then got Jumped back to hold my objective. The Deffkoptas arrived, killing off a bunch of Retributors withe their rokkits and combining with the Tankbustas to clear away the Rhino. So far so good.

Then a decisive charge phase. Charging units managed to get bodies onto both the middle objectives and the far one, after a big 11 inch from the shoota boyz who dispatched the Repentia. Warboss Redtoof got in to the Halberd sisters and finished them off, while elswhere a bunch of battle sisters, the Repentia Superior and a load more Sacresants with maces were removed. All in all a very solid turn.

Into turn three and the Sisters picked up a big fat 0 for Primary. They would need to hit back really hard to get back in the game. Vahl moved up on the left flank, as did the remaining Retributors and Sacresants, to try and clear me off that objective. The right flank was abandoned, though the remaining Rhino got a charge off onto some Boyz to hold them back. The Shoota boyz on the Sisters home objective for lit up by bolter sisters and Dominions, then finished off by the other Repentia. Finally Celestine dropped into my back corner to remove the Lootas and harass my objective. It all more or less went right for them, but I still had a good chunk of Boyz about.

Ork turn three, and we surrounded to go for the kill. Deffkoptas shooting was a bit of a whiff second time round, killing a single Retributor rather than a whole squad and half a Rhino, but I can't really compain because they then charged in with 9 attacks each thanks to the WAAAGH and finished off the Celestians. Redtoof made a brave charge into Vahl, taking her down with his klaw! Boyz swamped Celestine and took her down as well (though she got better). To add insult to injury the Rhino in melee got taken out and the Boyz piled into some Dominions to stop them shooting, and the tiny remnants of another Boyz mob piled into the last Retributors for the same effect.

Without many options left and way behind on objectives, Andrew called it there at the start of turn four. There would be no way back for the sisters, even if they could kill all the Boyz in their lines they would not be able to catch up. A win for the Green Tide! WAAAGH!!!

A bit one sided, but a good learning experience for both of us. I think Andrew probably split his force up too much, I was able to handle it one unit at a time, while he was frequently trying to kill off units of mine so that he could get shots at characters or trying to kill some without ruining a charge. This was also a game where the Snakebite trait came in a lot, almost all his melee units were going at strength 6 or 7, and his strength 6 heavy flamers effectively did not get their bonus. It was also good to see T5 doing a thing again, stopping a lot of meltas on 2s and bolters on 4s compared with before.

Anyway, onto open war. Andrew is mainly a matched play guy and he hadn't used the cards before, so was eager to see what it was like. We kept the same lists and drew these cards:

Long, wide arrow head deployment, a single objective that would move about the board, and some awful weather to stop advancing and long charges. Should be interesting...

Deployment, once again observed by squig. I had some special units hidden, and the Koptas off the board, but the rest was arranged for a central push. With the inability to declare a 9 inch charge, all off Andrew's forces were on the board. We also decided the Sector Mechanicus terrain would be dense rather than obscuring for this one, which I think is the 'official' stance.

Squig-eye view!

Sisters won the roll off, and opted to go first.

The first couple of turns featured some walking up towards the middle from both sides, and some shooting. My Kommandos got a cheeky charge into some mace Celestians and killed a few before Celestine wiped them out. I suffered significant casualties from combined chip fire and the powered up heavy flamers on the Retributors, effectively halting my advance. In return I did kill off a few more of the specialist sisters with the Lootas fire and some shoota chip damage.

In Ork turn two the Deffkoptas dropped in to do some killing, though the decidedly did not, rokkits bouncing off storm shields, while the Stormboyz jumped up to deal with some Dominions, and got absolutely rinsed on overwatch.

With the objective yo-yoing about in the middle, the two sides were unable to claim it on turn three, however the Sisters finally got their hands dirty, with Celestine leading a flank charge, eliminating the Lootas, while some battle sisters pushed up into the middle to kill off a stubborn lone Nob and provide a screen for the objective.

Those brave, brave sisters. Anyway, they died.

In Ork turn three we eliminated a bunch of sisters, finally getting out choppas bloody, and the Deffkopta rokkits powered up to blast Celestine off her feet, and she stayed down!

A big charge in the middle tagged the Rhinos and put a blob of Boyz in front of my characters, then at the start of turn four the objective went back towards my lines.

However Morvenn Vahl and the Repentia were pretty keen not to let me have it, after the flamers burnt many boyz to a crisp, they finished them off and got a whole load of bodies onto the objective to deny me scoring it in turn four as well.

Characters and Deffkoptas crowded in to the melee, causing all sorts of damage and removing the Repentia. Into turn 5 the objective moved back my way again, hiding under the Deffkoptas. It would all come down to if Vahl and friends could remove them and stand on the objective at the end of the game for two points.

It turned out the Sisters shooting was too good, and the Koptas were removed, leaving no targets to charge on the objective! Vahl instead got into my remaining character (big mek) and infantry near the objective, killing the obsec unit and not giving the Mek a straight run for the objective with a fall back. That meant no one claimed it, and a nil-nil draw!

Very fun game, and Andrew loved it! I think the Open War cards have a new convert. Ultimately no advancing was hugely punishing for a movement 5 melee army, and I think I was very lucky to get out of that with a draw, my boyz suffered horrendous casualties and by the end it was pretty much just the Big Mek left! Not sure what lessons can be learned from that, other than getting shot up for two turns with no real response is bad. 

Anyway, it was a fun day out, and a great couple of games. I'm glad the Green Tide seems to be working, and that the squig was well received by the staff and other gamers! Hope you enjoyed, stay safe.