This week's battle report features my Deathwatch taking on the new Sisters of Battle Beta Codex in one of the new Maelstrom missions from Chapter Approved.
Chapter Approved 2018 saw many of the Deathwatch units get a reduction in points. I was keen to see how the army would perform with the addition of some new units to my force. The mission we were playing was Decapitation Strike, with Angus taking his Sisters of Battle to the field against my Deathwatch.
My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Watch Master- Guardian Spear, Castellan of the Black Vault warlord trait (D)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol (WC1)
Kill Team 1- 9 Veterans with Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, Chainswords, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol. (FT1)
Kill Team 2- 10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Rifles (KT2)
Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with Meltagun, 3 Combi-Meltas, Storm Shield, Chainswords (KT3)
5 Bikers- Twin Bolters, Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield (B)
Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter (Rz)
Battalion Detachment
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, Bolt Pistol, The Tome of Ectoclades. (WC2)
Watch Captain- Combi-Melta, Xenophase Blade, Bolt Pistol (WC3)
Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with 2 Frag Cannons, 3 Shotguns, Storm Shield (KT4)
Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Power Fist and Storm Bolter (KT5)
Kill Team 6- 5 Veterans with 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Bolters, Chainswords, Storm Shield (KT6)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R1)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R2)
Venerable Dreadnought- Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher (VD)
Primaris Apothecary (A)
I decided to mix things up a bit with my Kill Teams, adding some mixed squads to the force. The first one was to add a Vanguard Veteran to my Storm Bolter Kill Team. I would lose some Storm Bolter shots, but the ability to fall back and shoot would be a big boost for the unit.
I also added a Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher to one of my Missile Launcher Kill Teams. This would give me two extra missile shots, as well as make the unit immune to morale.
With the points drops, I also decided to try out a Venerable Dreadnought to add more anti-tank firepower, as well as a unit of Bikers to see if the points reductions made them more worthwhile.
I kept with my standard characters, but decided to change up the warlord trait for the Castellan of the Black Vault on the Watch Master. This would make his Guardian Spear 3 damage from shooting and D3+1 from combat. This should allow him to cause a lot of damage with his attacks.
Angus' army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Sisters of Battle, Ebon Chalice)
Celestine- The Ardent Blade (Ce)
Missionary- Autogun, Laspistol, Chainsword (M)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (BS1)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (BS2)
5 Battle Sisters- 3 Storm Bolters (BS3)
6 Dominion Squad- 5 Storm Bolters (DS)
Immolator- Twin Multimelta, Storm Bolter (I1)
Immolator- Immolation Flamer (I2)
Repressor- Flamer (Rp)
Rhino- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R)
7 Retributers- 4 Heavy Bolters (R1)
7 Retributers- 4 Heavy Bolters (R2)
9 Arco-Flagellants (AF)
Spearhead Detachment (Sisters of Battle, Ebon Chalice)
Canoness- Chainsword, Combi-Plasma, Brazier of Eternal Flame (Relic), Indomitable Belief (warlord trait) (Ca)
Dialogus- Dialogus Stuff (D)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E1)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E2)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E3)
Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Chainsword, Laspistol, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Chainsword, Laspistol (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS3)
Battalion Detachment (Sisters of Battle, Ebon Chalice)
Celestine- The Ardent Blade (Ce)
Missionary- Autogun, Laspistol, Chainsword (M)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (BS1)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (BS2)
5 Battle Sisters- 3 Storm Bolters (BS3)
6 Dominion Squad- 5 Storm Bolters (DS)
Immolator- Twin Multimelta, Storm Bolter (I1)
Immolator- Immolation Flamer (I2)
Repressor- Flamer (Rp)
Rhino- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R)
7 Retributers- 4 Heavy Bolters (R1)
7 Retributers- 4 Heavy Bolters (R2)
9 Arco-Flagellants (AF)
Spearhead Detachment (Sisters of Battle, Ebon Chalice)
Canoness- Chainsword, Combi-Plasma, Brazier of Eternal Flame (Relic), Indomitable Belief (warlord trait) (Ca)
Dialogus- Dialogus Stuff (D)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E1)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E2)
Exorcist- Exorcist Missile Launcher, Hunter-Killer Missile (E3)
Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Chainsword, Laspistol, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Chainsword, Laspistol (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lasguns, Sergeant with Chainsword, Laspistol (IS3)
A vehicle-heavy Sisters force to face off against, luckily I brought all those Lascannons and Meltaguns.
The army had 14 command points and 6 faith points. Faith points are used to activate the Acts of Faith that the army can use. These are now no longer automatic and must be activated by rolling a D6 and beating the number required. These acts range from getting +1 to hit, to fighting twice in the fight phase, to additional movement on the unit. The Ebon Chalice "chapter tactic" gives the army +1 to these rolls, while the Dialogus allows them to re-roll failed rolls, so a nice bonus to getting the Act to work.
The army also features a lot of infantry tooled up with special and heavy weapons. No doubt I would need to crack the vehicles to get to the units within first. The Exorcists are also a solid vehicle. They are toughness 8, so harder to crack than a normal vehicle. In addition, their main gun is Heavy D6, S8, AP-4 and D6 damage, so would go through most of my armour with ease. In this game, Angus was using two Manticores to represent the Exorcists.
Another strong trick was that the combination of Celestine and the warlord trait on the Canoness meant that nearby units were getting a 4+ invulnerable save! This would take a lot of firepower to take them out.
We rolled for mission and got Decapitation Strike. This maelstrom mission allows you to draw 3 cards per turn (up to 6 in total). In addition each time a character is killed, you lose a random maelstrom card in your hand (D3 if it is your warlord). We placed the objectives as shown below:
Angus won the deployment zone and chose his side on Search and Destroy. We were using the ITC ruins rules, where the bottom floor of the ruins blocked line of sight regardless of modelled windows, doors, etc. I then deployed my entire army, as per the new rules.
I put a castle at the back of my deployment zone. I put the two Missile Launcher Kill Teams in the ruins with the Captain with the Tome and the Primaris Apothecary. The Razorback and Venerable Dreadnought went nearby to benefit from the Captain's re-rolls and the Tome.
I then put the two Rhinos on the edge of my deployment zone on the right, with the Meltagun Kill Team and Combi-Melta Captain in one, and the Frag Cannon Kill Team in the other. The Bikers went on the left, with the other Jump Pack Watch Captain behind them to help them on the advance.
I put the two 10-man squads in the Teleportarium, along with the Watch Master. My plan was to quickly advance on the enemy army to get into range. I would probably lose the Rhinos on the first turn, but would hopefully be in a position to threaten the enemy army on turn 2 with my Meltaguns and Frag Cannons. The Bikers could be an early threat to the forward forces, while the firebase would hopefully be able to take out a vehicle or two with their anti-tank firepower.
Angus put an Infantry Squad and Immolator on the right flank, with the three Exorcists at the back of his deployment zone. The other Immolators and the Rhino went to the left flank. The rest of the army castled in the ruins, the two Retributor squads backed up by the Sisters characters. One unit of Infantry went in the ruins, while the other deployed behind it.
For our maelstrom cards, I chose to remove Priority Orders Received, Domination, Scour the Skies, Advance, Witch Hunter and Master the Warp. Angus chose to remove Priority Orders Received, Domination, Psychological Warfare, Advance, Witch Hunter and Master the Warp.
I chose to take the first turn, but Angus seized the initiative! Regular readers will know that I've seized on Angus in about half of our games, so I was due one to come up eventually. I decided to spend 2CP on the Prepared Positions stratagem to hopefully give my army a better chance of survival to the enemy firepower on the first turn. Angus used his Scout move on the Repressor to move it to the left flank to behind the ruins.
TURN 1- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his first turn, Angus drew Hold the Line, Secure Objective 5 and Defend Objective 6. Not the best hand, as he could not score Hold the Line and Defend 6 on his first turn, but 5 was in range to grab.
The Astra Militarum moved out of the ruins and up on objective 5. The Immolators all advanced to different areas of the battlefield. One Infantry Squad moved on the right flank to support them, while the final squad spread out in his deployment zone to block off area for my reserves to arrive.
The rear Exorcist also moved forward to get in line of sight of the enemy vehicles. At the start of the shooting phase, two of the Infantry Squads were ordered to Move, Move, Move, allowing one to secure Objective 5, while the other got behind the ruins on the right flank.
Angus spent his first faith point on Divine Guidance to give the Canoness +1 to hit with shooting attacks. The first roll failed, but the Dialogus re-roll succeeded. Angus then spent 3CP on Vessel of the Emperor's Will, allowing the Act of Faith to affect all units within 6", a big boost for the firebase of his army.
One of the Immolators fired at a Deathwatch Rhino, hitting with one Multi-melta shot, but failing to wound. The Sororitas Rhino fired its Smoke Launchers. The Repressor also used its Smoke Launchers.
One Exorcist fired at a Deathwatch Rhino. The Hunter-Killer Missile hit and wounded, but I made my armour save (thanks to Prepared Positions). The Exorcist launcher got one shot, but Angus used a CP re-roll to get four shots. All four missiles hit and wounded, causing 12 damage on the Rhino. One of the passengers died in the wreck.
The second Exorcist fired at the second Rhino. The Hunter-Killer Missile managed 5 wounds, and four of the Exorcist Missiles got through its armour. Angus only rolled 6 damage on 4D6, but it was still enough to destroy the Rhino. One more Veteran died in the wreck.
The third Exorcist fired at the Razorback. The Hunter-Killer Missile hit and wounded, but I made my armour save. The Exorcist launcher managed to hit, but failed to wound, a lucky escape for the Razorback.
The Immolator fired the Bikers, doing 8 hits with its Immolation Flamer. However, the dice gods abandoned Angus, as not a single wound was caused. The Sisters squad inside fired at the Frag Cannon Kill Team, wounding them 6 times with their Storm Bolters. I managed to fail 3 of my 2+ armour saves and half the squad fell. The first Retributor squad fired at the last of the Frag Cannon squad, killing him.
The second Squad fired at the Bikers, wounding them 5 times. I failed three of my 3+ armour saves and lost a Biker.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored First Strike and Secure Objective 5. He discarded Defend Objective 6.
A pretty good turn for Angus. He had moved up to gain some strong board control and had managed to take out two of my vehicles and one of my Kill Teams. Some luck had seen the Bikers and Razorback survive relatively unscathed.
TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I drew Secure Objective 4, Hold the Line and Assassinate. Not the start I was hoping for. I could get objective 4 if my Bikers advanced, but then I would likely be wiped out without them doing anything the following turn. I could not score Hold the Line and would be unlikely to get Assassinate. I decided not to spend the 2CP to re-draw, as I was running low and wanted to hold on to them for now. I used Troops for my main Mission Tactic, using Heavy Support for the Tome.
The Bikers moved up on the Guardsmen holding the objective, while the Watch Captain moved into the cover of the ruins to target the enemy vehicle. The Meltagun Kill Team and Captain moved up on the Repressor.
The Bikers opened fire on a Repressor Squad, doing 16 wounds on the unit with their Kraken Bolts and wiping them out. On the other flank, the Kill Team fired their Meltaguns at the Repressor, scoring two hits and two wounds. Angus passed one 6+ invulnerable and the vehicle took four damage. The Captain fired his Combi-Melta, doing 6 damage to the vehicle.
One Missile Launcher Kill Team fired two Krak Missiled at the Repressor, hoping to finish it off, but scored one hit that failed to wound. The Stalker Bolters targeted the Infantry Squad, killing two. The second Kill Team fired at the Immolator, scoring three wounds with the Missile Launchers and Cyclone Missile Launcher. I then rolled a 5 on 3D6 for damage! The Stalker Bolters fired at the Repressor, doing one wound and taking it down to a single wound.
The Razorback fired at an Exorcist, hitting once but failing to wound. The Dreadnought fired at the Exorcist, doing four damage with a Lascannon.
The Bikers charged the Guardsmen, losing one more to some great overwatch fire from Angus. The Kill Team and Captain assaulted the Repressor, while the Jump Pack Captain assaulted the damaged Immolator, avoiding the overwatch fire from being in the ruins.
In the fight phase, the Bikers killed five of the Guardsmen. The Captain struck the Immolator with his Thunder Hammer, destroying it. None of the passengers perished.
The Meltagun Kill Team managed to take the final wound of the Retributor, but no passengers were slain. The Captain was able to consolidate into the Dominion Squad, preventing them from shooting in the following turn.
In reply, the Guardsmen were able to put a wound on the Bikers, while the Sisters did no damage to the Captain.
In the morale phase, the rest of the Infantry Squad fled from the battlefield. At the end of my turn, I scored First Strike and discarded Assassinate.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 2
Deathwatch- 1
A reasonable first turn for me. I had managed to take out two of the enemy vehicles, but was unable to do much damage to the Exorcists thanks to their toughness 8 and the 4+ invulnerable save they were getting.
TURN 2- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his second turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 3, Defend Objective 3, Blood and Guts and had Hold the Line. A great set of cards, as he was sitting on objective 3 with little way for me to get to it to stop him.
The Sisters of Battle fell back from combat with the Watch Captain towards the ruins, while another squad moved up on the Razorback. The Immolator on the right flank advanced on the Bikers, while the Arco-Flagellants and Missionary disembarked from the Rhino and moved up on the Bikers. The Rhino moved up to support them, as did an Exorcist.
One Infantry Squad moved to secure objective 3, while the other moved to secure objective 4.
In the shooting phase, Angus used an act of faith on Divine Guidance once more, spending 3CP on Vessel of the Emperor's Will to give the benefit to nearby units as well.
The Sisters Squad fired their Meltaguns at the Razorback, but only managed to do three damage with the Meltaguns. The Exorcist fired at the Razorback, doing 3 wounds and enough damage to destroy it.
The second Exorcist fired at the Terminator Kill Team, causing two wounds. However, I rolled a double 6 for my saves and the unit was unharmed. The other Exorcist and the Immolator used their Smoke Launchers to obscure them from enemy fire.
The Rhino fired on the Bikers, doing no damage. The Missionary fired his Autogun, managing to do two wounds and kill a Biker! The Retributors added their firepower, killing one more Biker.
In the charge phase, the Rhino failed a charge on the Watch Captain. The Exorcist charged the Biker. The Arco-Flagellants multi-charged the Biker and Watch Captain, making it in with a command point re-roll.
In the fight phase, Angus spent 2CP on Extremis Trigger Word, giving each Arco-Flagellant 3 attacks per attack on its profile (instead of D3). Combined with the +1A from the Missionary, that gave each Arco-Flagellant 9 attacks, so 81 attacks for the unit!
Three of the Arco-Flagellants attacked the Biker, killing him. Five then attacked the Watch Captain, doing 25 wounds on him. Amazingly, I only failed three 3+ invulnerable saves and the Captain survived, despite very long odds!
The Captain struck back, slaying three of the Flagellants. I decided to use 3CP on Honour the Chapter to fight again with the Captain. I got extremely lucky this round and he would be unlikely to survive another round of combat. He killed three more of the Arco-Flagellants. One more fell to the Extremis protocols.
In the morale phase, the rest of the Arco-Flagellants fled the field. I had gotten insanely lucky this turn, as the Watch Captain should have died twice over.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored Blood and Guts, Secure Objective 3 and Hold the Line.
TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
In my second turn, I drew Secure Objective 5, Secure Objective 6 and Overwhelming Firepower, as well as having Hold the Line and Secure Objective 4.
The Watch Captain and Meltagun Kill Team moved up on the Immolator and Battle Sisters squad. The Jump Pack Watch Captain in the backfield moved up on the Battle Sisters squad in my deployment zone, as I would need to kill them to get Hold the Line. The Apothecary moved down to hold the objective.
The Watch Captain in the centre moved into the ruins to charge the Exorcist without suffering the overwatch fire.
At the end of the phase, the Deathwatch reserves arrives. I placed them to the south to threaten the central objectives.
In the shooting phase, the Venerable Dreadnought used the Wisdom of the Ancients stratagem to give the nearby units re-rolls.
The backfield kill team fired their Missile Launchers at an Exorcist, taking three wounds from it with one CP re-roll. The Terminators Cyclone Missile Launcher took 5 wounds from the Rhino (he didn't have range to reach the Exorcist). The Stalker Bolters fired at the Sisters squad, killing three. The Watch Captain managed to kill one more with his Bolt Pistol.
The second Kill Team fired at the Immolator and lone Battle Sister. The Sister was slain and the Immolator took 6 wounds from the Missiles.
The Dreadnought fired at the Immolator in the centre, doing 9 damage and destroying it. The vehicle exploded, taking three more wounds from the Exorcist. One of the Sisters in the squad perished as they disembarked towards the ruins.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Meltagun Kill Team fired at the Immolator, doing 8 damage with their Melta weaponry. The Watch Captain added his firepower, hitting with his Combi-Melta, but failing to wound.
The Intercessors fired at the Battle Sisters in the ruins beside them, causing 19 wounds and killing the unit. The Storm Bolter Veterans targeted the Retributors, doing thirteen wounds at -1AP, but only killing two.
In the charge phase, the Meltagun Kill Team charged the Battle Sisters, losing one Veteran to overwatch. The Watch Captain joined them. The Intercessors then assaulted the Guardsmen on objective four, making it in with a command point re-roll. The Thunder Hammer Watch Captain charged the Exorcist. The Storm Bolter Veterans attempted to help out, but were unable to make the charge distance.
In the fight phase, the Intercessors did 15 wounds on the Guardsmen, wiping them out. They surrounded the nearby Company Commander, to stop the enemy army from targeting them the following turn.
The Watch Captain hit the Exorcist three times (using my last CP re-roll), but failed to wound thanks to its increased toughness. The other Watch Captain killed three of the Battle Sisters. The Kill Team was able to slay one more of the squad. The Battle Sister struck back, managing to kill one of the Veterans, before fleeing the battlefield.
At the end of my turn, I scored two points for Overwhelming Firepower, Hold the Line, Secure Objective 4 and Secure Objective 6. Angus also scored Defend Objective 3.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 7
Deathwatch- 6
We had both had a great second turn, racking up the victory points. My reserves had hit harder than I was expecting, making a charge on the Infantry Squad to grab objective four. Annoyingly, I was expecting the Watch Captain to take out the Exorcist and grab objective 5 to tie the game, but the T8 of the enemy tank had blocked his hits and allowed it to survive.
TURN 3- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his third turn, Angus drew Behind Enemy Lines, Secure Objective 4 and Kingslayer.
The Exorcist fell back from combat, while the Rhino, Celestine, the Canoness, Missionary and Dialogus moved up on the Thunder Hammer Watch Captain. An Exorcist moved up to get line of sight on the enemy army.
The Battle Sisters to the north disembarked from the Immolator to target the Deathwatch Captain and Veteran. The Infantry Squad moved towards the ruins, using Move, Move, Move to get into safety at the start of the shooting phase.
The Company Commander in combat with the Intercessors ordered himself to fight, but failed to do any damage.
The Canoness once more used the act of faith and stratagem to give everyone within 6" +1 to hit. One of the Exorcists fired at the Venerable Dreadnought, wounding it four times and doing ten damage. I was fully expecting it to be destroyed, but managed to roll four 6's on my ignore wounds saves and the Dreadnought survived on 2 wounds.
The other Exorcist could not see the Dreadnought, so fired on the Terminator Kill Team, slaying four of the squad.
The Battle Sisters then used the Blessed Bolts stratagem to fire on the Watch Captain, taking each Storm Bolter to AP-2 and 2 damage. They wounded him 5 times. I failed three invulnerable saves and the Captain was slain. I lost the Secure Objective 5 maelstrom card.
The nearby Immolator fired at the Veteran, but failed to kill him.
Celestine fired at the Thunder Hammer Watch Captain, wounding him once. The Rhino fired at him, but failed to do any damage. The Missionary fired, wounding him once, but I made my armour save.
The Canoness fired at the Storm Bolter Veterans, wounding one with the Combi-Plasma, but the Storm Shield saved it. The Retributors added their firepower, killing four of the squad.
In the charge phase, Celestine and the Rhino charged the Watch Captain. The Battle Sisters to the north charged the lone Veteran, one Sister falling to the Meltagun in overwatch. The Immolator also charged in to combat.
In the fight phase, Celestine wounded the Watch Captain four times, killing him (I had no more maelstrom cards to lose). The Sisters and Immolator attacked the lone Veteran, but did no damage. The Company Commander failed to harm the Intercessors.
In reply, the Deathwatch Intercessors cut down the Commander, costing Angus Kingslayer. The lone Veteran did no damage to the Battle Sisters.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored no maelstrom points.
TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
In my third turn, I drew Defend Objective 2, Defend Objective 5 and Kingslayer.
The last Watch Captain moved up towards the Battle Sisters in the ruins to the north. The Venerable Dreadnought moved up on objective 2, while the Storm Bolter Kill Team and Watch Master moved back to help him secure it. The Intercessors moved up on the Exorcist and Celestine. The Apothecary moved to to the Terminator Kill Team, but failed to revive a squad member.
In the shooting phase, the Storm Bolter Veterans fired at the Retributors, killing only one. The Dreadnought fired at the Exorcist. Both Lascannons wounded, but Angus made both invulnerable saves.
The Terminator Kill Team fired their Missiles at the Exorcist, but only managed to do a single wound, doing one damage. The second Kill Team fired at the other Exorcist (they could not see the damaged one), managing to do 7 wounds in total with their firepower.
The Intercessors fired at the Retributors, killing two more of the squad. I could have targeted Celestine, but even if I had got lucky and killed her, she would most likely have revived and left me in the same position. I thought I had more chance of harming the Retributors over the Exorcist or Rhino.
In the charge phase, the Intercessors charged the Exorcist, ensuring they stayed out of range of Celestine. The Watch Captain assaulted the Battle Sisters tied up with the Meltagun Veteran.
In the fight phase, the Captain slew two of the Battle Sisters. The Deathwatch Veteran manged to do three wounds, killing the rest of the squad after Angus failed all his armour saves!
The Intercessors did no damage on the Exorcist (but would stop it from shooting next turn), suffering no damage in reply.
In the morale phase, one more Retributor fled the battlefield. At the end of my turn, I also scored no maelstrom points, but had started defending the two objectives.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 7
Deathwatch- 6
TURN 4- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his fourth turn, Angus drew Defend Objective 1, Secure Objective 2 and Scour the Skies, and had Behind Enemy Lines.
Celestine used an Act of Faith to gain an extra 3" move and moved up on the lone Meltagun Veteran and Watch Captain. The Rhino advanced to try and get into the enemy deployment zone, but was unable to move far enough in its damaged state. The Immolator fell back from combat.
The Guardsmen moved out of the ruins and up on the Intercessors, joined by an Exorcist, the Canoness, Missionary and Dialogus.
In the shooting phase, the Guardsmen were ordered to target the Intercessors with first rank fire, second rank fire. They ploughed the Deathwatch with Lasgun fire, causing 5 wounds. I failed three of my 3+ saves and one Intercessor perished.
The Missionary threw a Krak Grenade, killing one more Intercessor. The Canoness overcharged her Combi-Plasma, killing one of the squad.
The Exorcist fired at the Venerable Dreadnought, finally destroying the enemy vehicle. The second Exorcist fired at the Terminator Kill Team, slaying one of the squad.
The lone Retributor fired at the Storm Bolter Veterans, wounding them once but failing to get past the armour.
Celestine assaulted the Watch Captain and Veteran, taking one wound in overwatch. The Exorcist charged the Intercessors to soak up the overwatch fire. The Infantry Squad, Canoness and Missionary then assaulted the Intercessors.
The Infantry Squad attacked the Intercessors, wounding them three times. I failed two more saves and another of the Deathwatch perished. The Priest attacked, doing two wounds and I failed both saves again! The Canoness did two wounds, and I failed another one. My armour appeared to have the consistency of tissue paper this turn!
Celestine attacked the Watch Captain, doing three wounds, but I made all my invulnerable saves and he survived.
The remaining Intercessors attacked the Guardsmen, killing two. The Captain managed to take three wounds from Celestine, while the Deathwatch Sergeant did no damage to her.
At the end of the turn, the Intercessors passed their morale test on a 2. Angus scored no points this turn and I scored Defend Objective 2, putting me in the lead for the first time in the game. My armour saves this round for the Intercessors had been abysmal, failing about 70% of my 3+ saves. However, my Watch Captain made up for this, somehow surviving in combat against Celestine. Had she slain him, I could have lost Defend Objective 2, as well as allowing Angus to score Scour the Skies, putting him in the lead once more.
TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my fourth turn, I had Defend Objective 1, Defend Objective 3, Defend Objective 5, Defend Objective 6 and Kingslayer.
The Intercessors fell back from combat towards the objective, while the Kill Team moved up on the Infantry Squad, the Vanguard Veteran in the squad allowing them to gain some distance. The Watch Captain and Watch Sergeant fell back from combat against Celestine.
In the shooting phase, the Storm Bolter Veterans fired at the Infantry Squad, wiping them out. The Captain fired his pistol at the last Retributor, killing her.
The Terminator Kill Team fired at he Exorcist, wounding it once. The second squad fired at the Exorcist, hitting twice, but failing to wound. The Stalker Bolters did two wounds on the Rhino.
In the charge phase, the Veterans assaulted the Canoness and Priest, one falling to Combi-Plasma fire on the charge.
The squad attacked the Priest, killing him. They managed to consolidate into the two nearby Exorcists, stopping them from firing the following turn. The Canoness and Vehicles struck back, doing no damage.
At the end of my turn, I scored no points and discarded Defend Objective 3. However, I was currently sitting on three Defend Objectives that would score me big if I could hold on to them against the Sisters.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 7
Deathwatch- 8
TURN 5- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his fifth turn, Angus had Defend Objective 1, Secure Objective 2, Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 6, Scour the Skies and Overwhelming Firepower.
The two Exorcists fell back from combat, while the Rhino and Immolator moved up on the Deathwatch Sergeant. Angus used a command point to gain a Faith point. He used the Act of Faith to move Celestine towards the Deathwatch Veterans.
In the shooting phase, the Rhino fired at the lone Veteran, wounding him once, but failing to get past his armour. The Exorcist fired at the lone Terminator, wounding him four times and killing him.
The Company Commander fired his pistol at the Watch Captain, but failed to hit him. The Immolator fired at the Intercessors, but both shots missed.
Celestine charged the Veterans and Intercessors, while the Exorcist charged the Watch Captain. The Rhino and Immolator charged the lone Sergeant on objective 1.
Angus used an Act of Faith to allow Celestine to fight twice. He passed the roll with the aid of the Dialogus.
Celestine struck at the Deathwatch Veterans, wounding them four times. I passed three Storm Shield saves, so only one Veteran fell. Celestine attacked the squad once more, killing the rest of the Veterans. Angus was hoping to wipe out the Veterans with the first round of attacks, then move on to the Intercessors and take them out, stopping me from scoring the objective. However, some great Storm Shield saves had seen the squad take the brunt of the attacks.
The Rhino did one wound on the Deathwatch Sergeant, but I passed my save. The Immolator also managed a wound, but the Veteran's armour held once more.
The Exorcist also did a wound on the Watch Captain. Those vehicles had really wanted to do some damage in the fight phase this turn!
The Intercessors attacked Celestine, but failed to get past her armour. The Captain did one wound on the Exorcist.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored Overwhelming Firepower and discarded Secure Objective 6. I was able to score Defend Objective 1, Defend Objective 5 and Defend Objective 6 to give me a commanding lead.
Angus had been unlucky. Had his plan with Celestine and the two vehicles worked, he would have denied my scoring four points. As it was, some luck had allowed me to score 6 points this turn.
TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
In my fifth turn, I had Secure Objective 2, Secure Objective 3, Blood and Guts and Kingslayer.
The Intercessors fell back into the ruins, moving out of line of sight to save themselves. The lone Sergeant also fell back into the ruins. I kept the Watch Captain in combat with the Exorcist. He had little chance of damaging it severely, but shutting down its firepower was worth it if the game continued.
The Watch Master fired at Celestine, wounding and killing her. She was able to resurrect.
The Kill Team fired at the Rhino, doing one wound on the vehicle. The two Missile Launchers fired at the Exorcist on one wound, but both missed.
At the end of my turn, I scored Secure Objective 2.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 8
Deathwatch- 15
We rolled to see if the game would continue and it did.
TURN 6- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his sixth turn, Angus had Defend Objective 1, Secure Objective 2, Secure Objective 4, Secure Objective 5, Big Game Hunter and Scour the Skies.
Celestine moved up on the Watch Master, while the Canoness and Dialogus moved up on the Intercessors. The Rhino moved up towards the enemy deployment zone (going for linebreaker).
The two Exorcists fired at the Missile Launcher Kill Team, slaying one of them. Celestine fired on the Watch Master, doing one wound on him.
The Canoness and Dialogus charged the Intercessors, while Celestine assaulted the Watch Master.
In the fight phase, Celestine wounded the Watch Master five times. I only failed one save, so my warlord survived. The Canoness and Dialogus were unable to harm the Intercessors. The Exorcist failed to harm the Watch Master.
In reply, the Watch Master took two wounds from Celestine. The Intercessors were able to do two wounds on the Canoness. The Watch Captain struck the Exorcist with his Relic Blade, taking four wounds from it.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored Defend Objective 1 and Secure Objective 5. He discarded Big Game Hunter.
TURN 6- DEATHWATCH
In my sixth turn, I had Secure Objective 1, Secure Objective 2, Secure Objective 3, Scour the Skies, Blood and Guts and Kingslayer.
The Deathwatch stayed locked in combat to shut down the enemy firepower.
The Missile Launcher Kill Team opened fire on the Rhino, but failed to do any damage. The Intercessors fired their Bolt Pistols at the Canoness, wounding her once.
In the fight phase, I had to decide on my choice of activation. If I selected the Intercessors, they may kill the Canoness to score me Slay the Warlord, but I would lose the Watch Master to Celestine. If I chose the Watch Master, I may kill her to score Scour the Skies and Secure Objective 2.
I decided to go with the Watch Master. He scored two wounds on Celestine, but she made both invulnerable saves. The Canoness then struck at the Intercessors, but did no wounds. The Deathwatch Intercessors struck back, wounding her four times, but none got through her armour.
Celestine attacked the Watch Master, slaying him. The Watch Captain did 2 wounds on the Exorcist, while the vehicle did no damage. The Dialogus failed to harm the Intercessors.
At the end of my turn, I score Behind Enemy Lines and Angus scored Slay the Warlord.
We rolled to see if the game would end and it did. We both scored Linebreaker.
VICTORY POINTS:
Sisters of Battle- 13
Deathwatch- 17
A win for the Deathwatch.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Angus for a fantastic game, it really could have swung either way. I think luck played a big part in my victory, more than I would like to admit.
First up, the Arco-Flagellants should have killed both the Bikers and Watch Captain. Failing only three out of 25 3+ saves is so far from my normal luck that I was pretty amazed by it. This allowed the Captain to decimate the Flagellants in one turn of combat, and remove a potent threat from the enemy army. I was also able to then use the Captain to tie up one of the Exorcists and shut down their potent firepower.
Other examples of good luck for me were the Intercessors making a 9" charge on the Infantry Squad to grab the objective, the Watch Captain surviving against Celestine in combat to deny Angus Scour the Skies, as well as the Watch Master surviving a turn longer than he should have. The Venerable Dreadnought surviving the Exorcist was also a big boost, making four out of ten 6+ saves in one turn.
In all honesty, I thought the game was pretty much concluded when Angus seized the initiative. He was able to capitalise on this to spread out his army to deny a lot of area to my reserves, as well as use his potent firepower to take out both my Rhinos, limiting the mobility of my army. He also should have caused a lot more damage to my Bikers to limit my mobility further, but some poor rolling saw them survive a volley from the Immolator.
Turn 5 was key for me, as I was able to risk it for three Defend objectives and score big in that turn to put me in the lead. Again, Angus was unlucky with some of his rolling, while I had some key successes. His plan to have Celestine deal with the Veterans and Intercessors was a good one. With some poorer Storm Shield saves, she would have wiped out both units and denied me the objective.
Equally, the lone Deathwatch Sergeant was able to see off the attacks of the Rhino and Immolator to claim the other objective. As I have said many times, Objective Secured wins games!
I tried a few different things with my army with the release of Chapter Approved.
I added a Primaris Apothecary in this list, and he was pretty useless, to be honest. He failed to revive a single Marine over the course of the game. I'm not sure he will be making the list on a regular basis.
At the start of 8th edition, I used to run a Cyclone Missile Launcher Terminator in my Missile Launcher Kill Team. However, after a few games, he simply proved to be too expensive and rarely added much to the unit. He has dropped a fair bit in Chapter Approved, so I wanted to see how he helped in the unit. The immunity to morale tests is nice, and the additional missile launcher shots are a nice boost for the army. I just need to think more about unit placement, as the shorter range of the Cyclone Missile Launcher means that he sometimes can't target the same unit as the Missile Launchers in the squad.
The Venerable Dreadnought also made it to the list with the points reductions, down 25 pts for the Twin Lascannon and Missile Launcher load out. He adds some more much needed anti-tank to the army with improved BS of 2+. He will probably be added to the army in the future.
Overall, it was a fun game. I'm looking forward to trying more of the missions in the new book.