Battle Report - Genestealer Cult vs Space Marines

Hello!

It's another battle report against Stig's Luna Crusaders, this time, as promised, a prequel to the arrival of Hive Fleet Goliath, as Marshal Kurt Rhinehart leads his men against the Genestealer Cultists.

This photo (and several others) looted from Stig

Playing at 1750 points, Stig used the same list as before, again with Black Templar chapter tactics, a battalion and two vanguard detachments:

HQ: Gravis Captain (Warlord: Oathkeeper, The Crusader's Helm), Chaplain, 2 Lieutenants

Troops: 2x5 Intercessors, 6 Intercessors with auto bolt rifles

Elites: 2x Redemptors (Heavy onslaught cannons), Company Champion, Emperor's Champion, Ancient, 5 Reivers 

Fast Attack: 3 Inceptors (Assault bolters)

Heavy Support: 3 Suppressors, 5 Hellblasters, 3 Aggressors

(Apologies if I've got some units in the wrong slot)

Here's my list. It's a double battalion, both using the Cult of the Four Armed Emperor. This was the first game with the 'new' codex, so I didn't get too funky with extra relics or the bonus warlord traits GSC can get. I went with a trait/relic combo for the Patriarch that would make him hard to kill (-1 to hit, +1 save vs ranged weapons, no overwatch) rather than anything too clever. As for psychic powers, I wasn't sure which to take, so I semi-randomly dished out 5 of the 6 psychic power cards between my psykers.

HQ: Patriarch (Warlord: Shadow Stalker, Amulet of the Voidwyrm), 2x Magus, Primus
Troops: 3x10 Neophyte Hybrids (assorted weapons), 2x10 Acolyte Hybrids (one squad with 4 melee weapons, one with 4 demolition charges), 10 Brood Brothers
Elites: Kelermorph, 15 Purestrain Genestealers
Heavy Support: 3x Cult Leman Russ (1 Battle cannon, 1 Vanquisher cannon, 1 Exterminator autocannon)
Transports: Cult Chimera

Since I have the digital codex, it occurred to me to whip up some quick blip tokens on spare 32mm bases:

They seem to have been well received when I posted them on twitter, but ironically they didn't get used since I was the attacker in the mission and as such got first turn automatically. We played the Hold Your Gains mission from Vigilus Defiant, which mean 1/3 of the Space Marine force started in the centre, getting assailed on either side by the Genestealer Cult, until their reinforcements arrive. The winner would be the force with the highest total power level within 12 inches of the centre point at the end of the game.

The defenders set up in a fortified position, while the Cult infantry and tanks rolled in from either flank. Several of the Genestealer units were not immediately present, instead laying somewhere in ambush.

The first turn was relatively quiet. Some shots from the Neophytes plinked off wounds from Intercessors here and there, while the battle cannon got a good round of shooting at the Hellblasters, though their barricade saved some, leaving 3 left. The Exterminator also did some damage on the other flank to more Intercessors. In return a few of the cultists were gunned down, and the Hellblasters returned fire, stripping 6 wounds off the Leman Russ, however it's Devoted Crew (stratagem) fought on regardless of the damage.

Turn 2 for the Cult, I moved up and brought on the Hybrids with melee weapons in a Perfect Ambush, and the Primus. The rest of the ambushers waited for their moment to counter attack. Shooting from the tanks finished off the Hellblasters and the last of the Intercessors on the right flank. The Acolytes made a big charge in to the remaining Intercessors on the left, easily cutting them down. At this stage the Luna Crusader's presence was down to three characters, the Chaplain, Company Champion and Lieutenant, but the reinforcements were about to arrive!

Stig rolled for his reserves to arrive, and got everything apart from the Suppressors. A big block of black and yellow marines arrived, flanked by the Redemptors, while the Aggressors popped in a corner to line up a charge on the damaged Leman Russ, the Reivers dropped in behind the Neophytes in cover. Inceptors dropped in to face off against the Acolyte Hybrids.

A brutal shooting phase ensued, with the Acolytes reduced to a single model, while the two Neophyte units in the open were removed. The charge phase was a disappointment however, even with rerolls nothing made it in. To add insult to injury, the last Acolyte passed his morale on a 1, allowing me to play the Cult Reinforcements stratagem to get 4 of them back (naturally the mining weapons).

The Luna Crusaders had punched back, but now was time for the trap to be sprung!

The Patriarch emerged from a hatch to the sewers, looking down and the Inceptors from the shadows. Elsewhere the Purestrains turned up on the right flank in another Perfect Ambush, lining up the Intercessors and a Redemptor, while the demolition charge Acolytes were Laying in Wait for the other Redemptor, supported by the Kelermorph.

Psychic powers went off all over, using both familiars to attempt 5 this turn. Might from Beyond buffed the Purestrains, while some mortal wounds went on one of the Lieutenants, softening him up for the Kelermorph. I attempted to Mind Control the Redemptor, but the Crusaders said no and denied it with a stratagem. 

The Shooting phase started well with the Kelermorph killing his target, granting a reroll 1 buff for the Acolytes throwing all their demo charges and destroying the Redemptor. Several other units took casualties, but the rest of the damage was done in the fight phase.

The Patriarch made short work of the Inceptors with a big charge using my last command point to reroll a one. The Purestrains survived the overwatch to reach the Intercessors and the remaining dread, finishing off the Primaris marines but leaving the Redemptor largely intact. The Primus and Magus on the right made it into the Champion and Chaplain, but failing to kill them (and the Primus got battered in response.) Marshall Rhinehart wasn't waiting around, using his warlord trait to heroically intervene 6 inches into the demolitions acolytes, cutting several of them down.

Turn 3 for the Marines, the Suppressors arrived, dropping into a commanding position (and proceeded to have a limited effect on the tough Cult armour.)

The Aggressors moved in, their flamers damaging the Leman Russ further before the charge. The last Reiver tossed a stun grenade at the Neophytes to avoid their overwatch and charge in.

In the shooting phase the two characters on the right flank killed off the Magus with their bolt pistols, allowing them to charge out and tie up the Exterminator and help kill off the Genestealers.

More characters doing work for the Crusaders, the Emperor's Champion cutting down the other Magus, while the Marshal and the Ancient finished off the Acolytes. Rather embarrassingly, having reduced it to 3 wounds, the Aggressors were unable to finish off the Leman Russ in combat, losing one to overwatch to boot. 

My turn 4, running out of assets, but still with a few tricks up the sleeves, the Cult tried to hold the middle ground. The Russes broke out of combat, while the Vanquisher lined up and blew up the last Redemptor (causing wounds on the nearby characters). The Kelermorph tried to assassinate Marshal Rhinehart, but his armour just about protected him, leaving him on two wounds. The last Acolytes charge the Emperor's champion to avenge their fallen Magus, but the rock saws were not quite able to cut through, leaving him alive on a single wound, and able to wipe the unit.

The Luna Crusaders were now down to mostly just a few injured characters, but they would not withdraw from this fight!

With little left on the field, the Marshall and the Emperor's Champion joined forces to take on the deadliest threat - the Patriarch. Wreathed in shadow, the xenos proved a tough challenge...

But the Crusaders proved their worth, taking the beast's head! Other action: The Ancient punched out the Kelermorph, the Company Champion charged the Exterminator again, and the Aggressors incinerated the last of the hybrids, before charging and once again failing to kill the Leman Russ.

Turn 5, time to get bodies in the middle. The Brood Brothers finally disembarked from the Chimera, and both units opened fire on the remaining characters. 

The Chimera gunned down the Emperor's Champion, while he Marshall was peppered with lasfire and finally downed with a frag grenade.

One tank down, the Aggressors finally got their target. In the centre many of the Brood Brothers were cut down, but they held. The Ancient and wounded Chaplain holding the objective against them. The game did not end. On to turn 6.

Shooting from the remaining Russes (one of which had amusingly run over the Company Champion) and desperate charges from the Brood Brothers and the Chimera failed to remove the Ancient and Chaplain, who charged in himself to try and cut down the last of the cult infantry.

At the end of turn 6, Stig rolled the dice and got a 2. This was the way the world ended. The Brood Brothers had held on, and the Chimera had snuck into the 12 inch radius, but the closest Leman Russ wasn't wholly inside, so the combined power level of the Ancient and the Chaplain trumped them, giving the Luna Crusaders a very narrow win!

What a game! A massacre on both sides, and it came down to some heroics from the Crusader's characters to win the game.In hindsight I shouldn't have gone for the kill on them with the Russes, and instead should have parked them on the narrow edge of the barricades to get one or both within 12 of the centre, but I really wanted to kill them! In the end though I'm pleased with the narrative of the Ancient standing on the objective, holding the banner high, while more Imperial reinforcements pour into the city to destroy the last of the cult. Just in time for the Tyranids to arrive, of course.

I'm on Deployment Zone TV - Orks vs Imperium

Hello!

I recently went back to visit WintersSEO to film another battle report. (The previous one was Tyranids vs Adeptus Mechanicus over on Youtube.) This time though I brought my Orks, and it was filmed for Deployment Zone TV - a subscription battle report service website thing by Winters and Liam from Moarhammer. Obviously I understand not everyone wants to pay a fiver a month for more awesome battle reports (including narrative campaigns and extra stuff like Winters' Top Tips...), but I'm happy to support these guys, and if you are as well, you can watch me play a 150 power level narrative game against Space Marines/Adeptus Mechanicus/Knights with this Ork army...

In a nice twist, I also got to play on the cool Orky terrain that I and other Winters patrons helped to paint and built:

Anyway, I had a blast playing the game - it had a lot of cool moments and could have gone either way. I also got a kick out of Winters getting freaked out as I just kept bringing out more boyz from my case!

So, if you want to/can watch, go here.

The God Machines Walk! First steps in Titanicus

Hello!

I recently went to play my first games of Adeptus Titanicus against Winters/Moarhammer community stalwart The Claw. He runs Legio Magna aka The Flaming Skulls, a titan legion pledged to Horus, and had recently suffered defeat at the hands of the loyalists. The Warmaster does not tolerate failure, so I brought along the Death's Heads, Legio Mortis, to punish them for their weakness!

I brought my currently painted Titans, two Warhounds and a Reaver, kitted out close to those pictured, except one of the plasma blastguns on the closest Warhound was swapped for a Turbo laser in order to try a bit of everything. Since we are both pretty new to this, we didn't use any stratagems, maniple or legio rules, run a fancy scenario or pick a princeps senioris. We just played a couple of standard 'kill each other' scenarios using the Engage and Destroy objective. We did however play with the advanced rules, and I think we more or less got them right.

In our first game The Claw took a mirror maniple of a Reaver and two Warhounds, though he did kit them out differently. His Reaver took the Gatling blaster and the Volcano cannon as well as the Apocalypse launcher, and the Warhounds had twin Turbo Lasers and twin Mega bolters.

We moved cautiously to start with, though I ran the inferno cannon armed Warhound up at full speed between the buildings. The Claw had his warhounds hang close together to share their shields, while the Reaver stayed back in his firing position.

A few turns in and things got interesting. I moved my Reaver into the middle of the street, effectively as bait, drawing both enemy Warhounds into the clear, ready for mine to pounce. It got even more interesting when The Claw managed to push one of their reactors into the orange, which, after I had stripped away the void shields, caused huge damage and crippled the titan.

This left me with an easy engine kill, and the brutal power of the Inferno cannon (and some good rolls) meant the second Warhound was not far behind. However, firepower from the Magna Reaver, and a falling Warhound, had caused significant damage to my Reaver.

With both Warhounds down, but my Reaver smoking, I had it stomp over to try and punch the enemy with it's Power fist. Sadly, at point blank range the Flaming Skull Reaver silenced mine with the Volcano cannon. The game ended in a narrow win for Legio Mortis. Men of the match definitely went to the crew of the Inferno cannon Warhound, who took loads of fire and dealt out serious damage at close range.

Game two featured Legio Magna unleashing a Warlord titan with Apocalypse missiles and Volcano cannons, along with a banner of allied Knights. Once again I started cautiously, using the buildings to avoid the worst of the firepower, though I quickly found out that it is very difficult to avoid a Knight banner - they are fast and maneuverable. 

With the Knights sneaking round the side, I sent the hero Warhound from the first game to deal with them. The Inferno cannon once again doing damage, but not enough to stop them getting in and chopping away at the legs.

Meanwhile the Reaver continued it's suicidal streak by breaking cover to get some shots at the Warlord, while the other Warhound tried to outflank it.

The Warhound went several round with the Knights, eventually losing the use of it's legs, but finally killing the last of the Banner with the flames of the Inferno cannon.

The Reaver took sustained fire from the Warlord, but somehow managed to survive critical hits to the body and head against the odds. In the last turn, the Warhound finally made it to the side of the Warlord, blasting away beneath the void shields to put some significant, but not critical damage onto it. With that, the battle ended. The Warlord stood tall, but the Knights were crushed, and though many of my engines were in serious need of repairs, none had fallen! This just about worked out for another victory to Legio Mortis! This time the Reaver proving the hero, refusing to fall, time and time again.

We both had a lot of fun, and this has definitely encouraged me to finish my Warlord, and add another Reaver. Adeptus Titanicus is a very different game to 40k, but a good palate cleanser. Much more focus on precision, predicting opponent's moves and resource management, but less target priority and watching out for killer combos. Initial impressions of course, but it feels like a game that is more focused on managing your own units rather than worrying about what your opponent is going to pull out of their sleeve. As we found out, letting your plasma reactor get too hot can be just as deadly as an enemy Titan! There is also a significant random element, and I suspect, like Blood Bowl, the core skill is to reduce the risks taken as much as possible.

Whatever the rules say, Adeptus Titanicus was a very fun and very narrative experience. It really feels like a big stompy robot fight! I will definitely be playing again!

Battle Report - Tyranids vs Space Marines

Hello!

I recently paid another visit to Stig, fellow WintersSEO and Moarhammer Patron. Last time I brought my Orks against his gloriously retro Valhallan Guardsmen, this time he decided to bring it bang up to date with a fully Primaris Space Marine force, known as the Luna Crusaders, led by Marshal Kurt Rhinehart (as seen below.) Opposing him would be the ever hungry Hive Fleet Goliath.

We played Tactical Escalation - the maelstrom mission from the main rulebook where you have a number of objectives equal to the turn number. There are also bonus points on offer for achieving objectives of a chosen type - in this case I chose the secure objective X ones (the 2s) while Stig picked Purge - the selection including Overwhelming Firepower etc. We were playing at 1750 points.

I used the Jormungandr adaptation as usual, and took a Battalion and a Spearhead:

HQ: Hive Tyrant (Warlord Trait: Insidious Threat, Relic: Miasma Cannon), Malanthrope, Old One Eye
Troops: 12 Termagants, 14 Genestealers, 9 Warriors (Deathspitters, 3 Venom Cannons), 30 Termagants (Devourers)
Heavy Support: 2 Carnifexes (Talons, Heavy Venom Cannons), Mawloc, Trygon

Stig also had a Battalion, but with two Vanguards alongside it. He was using Black Templar tactics.

HQ: Gravis Captain (Warlord Trait: Something that increased his Heroic Intervention range, Relic: Something that increased his aura range), Chaplain, 2 Lieutenants
Troops: 3x5 Intercessors
Elites: 2 Redemptor Dreadnoughts (Gatling cannons), Chapter Champion, Emperor's Champion, Ancient, 5 Reivers
Fast Attack(?): 3 Inceptors (Assault Bolters)
Heavy Support: 3 Suppressors, 5 Hellblasters

Since this was a standard rulebook mission, and I finished deploying first (both the Snakey bois started underground, along with the devourer gants, while Stig's Reivers, Inceptors and Suppressors also started off the board), I would have first turn, unless Stig seized the initiative...

As you can see if you look closely at the bottom left, Stig had first turn. He drew Supremacy, but didn't fancy moving closer to me to achieve it this turn, so just started shooting. Between the Malanthrope, the Jormungandr ability and the Spore cysts on the Carnifexes, the turn was fairly ineffectual.

In my first turn, I drew a Secure Objective card that was handily close by, so my Genestealers popped over to grab it. The rest of my force slowly moved out, taking shots at the Marines and stripping a few wounds off one of the dreads. Psychic phase was a dud, thanks to the Black Templar stratagem denying Catalyst on the Warrior blob. Thanks to the mission rules, grabbing the objective gave me two points, and first blood was still up for grabs.

Stig's turn 2, and a very interesting card draw. He picked out Priority Orders received, then the Space Marine card that requires you to wound or kill a character with one of yours. This meant the Marshal would get between 4 and 6 points for killing one of my characters!

Stig's reinforcements dropped in, opening fire (except the Reivers, who popped in at the back to deny my Trygon tunnelling up there.) The Suppressors hurt one of the fexes, while the Inceptors, combining their fire with auto-bolt rifle Intercessors, gutted the Genestealers down to 7 models - and that was with some very good saving throws from me. Elsewhere fire from the left flank killed off a few Warriors, but the right was less successful, the Carnifexes proving hard to hit and tough the damage.

Still no objectives scored for Stig, but he was sitting on a lot of potential points in his hand. I forget what I drew, but I don't think it was very good.

My turn two, moving up once more. The Hive Tyrant stayed back a bit to keep his lines of fire open, while Old One Eye and the Carnifexes moved around the generators to get some charges off. The Genestealers decided the overwatch from the Inceptors was just too scary, so went for the Intercessors.

The Mawloc popped up at the back to cause a distraction, but the Trygon stayed deep underground, waiting for a good time to strike - Stig had spread out well and denied me any good spots.

Shooting went well this turn (though psychic was again a failure after the Black Templar strat denied me again.) Venom cannons from the warriors chunked down one of the Redemptors significantly, while the Hive Tyrant killed off two of the Inceptors with the Miasma cannon.

Then things got tasty. Old One Eye charged the Aggressors (only taking one wound from 6D6 auto hits) and easily minced them for First Blood. The two Fexes charged their targets, one killing two Suppressors, while the other murdering the Emperor's Champion after I used Adrenaline Surge to fight again. Finally the Genestealers started munching through the Intercessors, but losing 3 in the process.

Stig's turn 3, and the Luna Crusaders were out for blood! Shooting finished off an injured fex, but failed to kill the Mawloc, which was important as Stig had drawn Hold the Line, and was unable to claim it this turn. In melee the warlord piled in to Old One Eye, dropping him down to 2 wounds! In response he brutally stabbed the Marshal to near death with his talons. As the light of a teleport flare enveloped his failing body, Kurt Rhinehart attacked again (using a stratagem) and slew the beast!

Double KO! With objectives held for Supremacy, we rolled for the objectives, and Stig ended the turn on 8 points! Having picked up First Blood and Slay the Warlord, I was up to 4.

Turn 3 for me. I started drawing some good cards. I think I had Overwhelming Firepower - which I achieved for D3 by killing the Redemptor, the Intercessors in front of it and the last Suppressor, and defend the middle objective that my Warriors were able to stand on. The Trygon still didn't have a great spot to come up, but it was turn 3 so he didnt have much choice. The Termagants were a bit wasted killing the one Suppressor, but this turn put me back in the game.

In Stig's turn 4, he shot some things, finally killing off the Mawloc, and sprinkling a few wounds elsewhere. I think one of his lieutenants finished off the last of the Genestealers after they had chopped up the Intercessors. He scored Hold the Line, but not much else.

Into the end game. My Warriors killed the last Inceptor, who had jumped up onto the crates to take shots down at the Hive Tyrant. The Termagants shuffled around, while the Trygon moved up and managed to charge the last Intercessor squad, killing all but one. I scored a couple of points for holding objectives, putting me one point behind.

Stig's turn 5 saw the Redemptor finally get to use it's fist and, along with the Chaplain, they felled the Trygon. Sadly for Stig, it didn't score him any points as his most achievable objective was Overwhelming Firepower, and his shooting was fairly ineffective against the Hive Tyrant (thanks to The Horror, his Hellblasters were at -2 to hit). This left him precariously placed one point ahead of me, with lots of cards to draw...

I drew a secure objective card that was easily achievable, and was able to move my Hive Tyrant into Stig's deployment zone for Linebreaker, putting me into the lead, and then securing it by getting Master the Warp. We had decided to end after turn 5, so that was that, a narrow win for Hive Fleet Goliath. Excellent game, really back and forth and could have gone either way based on the cards drawn in the last turn. Also the Marshall vs Old One Eye was an awesome moment, one of the best narratives I've seen coming out of the Maelstrom cards.

If the game had continued, I'm not sure who would have won. Stig's units on the right flank could have easily dealt with the Termagants, but the Hive Tyrant was still healthy and dangerous. I could imagine it might end up pretty much the last thing standing! I was quite impressed with the Black Templar tactics as well, their relic and stratagem are handy, and the trait to reroll charges came up a few times.

We already have plans for the next game - a prequel. The Luna Crusaders trying to eliminate the Genestealer Cult that eventually summoned Goliath to this planet!