Game four of the Beachhead Brawl would see my White Scars take on Ben's Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Knights in ITC mission 5.
Ben's army consisted of:
Super Heavy Detachment
Knight Desecrator- Traitorus Lance
Knight Desecrator
Knight Despoiler- Dreadblade, Thermal Cannon, Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon
Battalion Detachment (Alpha Legion)
Lord Discordant- Mark of Nurgle
Lord Discordant- Mark of Nurgle
Chaos Sorcerer- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mark of Nurgle, Warp Time, Miasma of Pestillence
10 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
10 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
26 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
Patrol Detachment (Thousand Sons, Cult of Prophecy)
Daemon Prince- Mark of Tzeentch, Otherworldly Prescience, Pythic Brazier, Gaze of Fate, Glamour of Tzeentch, Divine the future, Malefic Talon, WARLORD
10 Cultists
This army brings a lot of firepower and combat ability with the Knights and Lords Discordant, backed up with a few psykers and a lot of Cultists. I knew my characters could deal with the Knights from turn 3 onwards, and could deal with the Cultists with my firepower.
For secondaries, I chose Engineers (Intercessors and Scouts), Recon and Titanslayer. Ben chose Recon, Headhunter and Butcher's Bill.
We then deployed our forces. I put the Thunderfire Cannon and Tactical Squad towards the back of my deployment zone. The characters went in the centre of my deployment zone, while the infiltrating squads went forward on the enemy lines, hiding in the ruins. I deployed the Engineers Intercessors and Scouts at the back of my deployment zone on the objective, supported by the Phobos Librarian. I put the Impulsor and Inceptors in reserve.
Ben deployed his Knights at the back of his line, screened by the Cultists in front of them. The Lords Discordant deployed to the right of the deployed zone, with the Daemon Prince and Sorcerer at the back.
I took the first turn, and Ben failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
The Scouts in the centre and right flank moved up on the line of Cultists at the edge of the enemy deployment zone. The Characters moved up to the ruins held by the Eliminators.
With the psykers out of range, I used no powers this turn.
In the shooting phase, the Thunderfire Cannon targeted the Cultists. Ben used a stratagem to stop the back unit holding the objectives from being targeted. The first volley only managed to kill two of the Cultists. I used the stratagem to fire again, but only managed to kill four more. A pretty poor result for the cannon.
The Scouts added their firepower, wiping out the unit. The other unit of Scouts killed four more Cultists with their Bolt Pistols.
The Eliminators targeted the Chaos Sorcerer, managing to kill him with a CP re-roll.
In the charge phase, the two units of Scouts assaulted the Cultists in front of them. One unit was able to cut down 8 of the Cultists, while the other was able to kill five more. The attacks back resulted in no damage to the Scouts.
At the end of my turn, I had score Hold 1, kill 1 and Recon, taking out two units of Cultists.
TURN 1- CHAOS KNIGHTS
One Lord Discordant moved up on the Scouts, while the other moved up towards the White Scars lines. The Knights were actually blocked in by the lines of Cultists, so were unable to move up far. Ben chose not to fall back with the large Cultist unit, so they were out of coherency and could not move. This blocked in the Knights on the right flank.
In the psychic phase, the Daemon Prince failed to cast Glamour of Tzeentch. He then cast Smite, killing two Scouts in the centre.
In the shooting phase, one Knight fired on the backline Marines, killing 3 Scouts and three of the Tactical Squad. I thought I had hidden them, but the Knight was able to get sight on a slim portion of the models.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Scouts on the left flank, but only managed to kill three of the squad in combat! The Cultists were unable to harm the Scouts, while the White Scars cut down 5 more of the squad.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored hold 1, while I scored Kill more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 4
Chaos Knights- 1
A good start for the White Scars. I had taken out a few of the Cultists, while blocking the movement of the Knights. The Scouts had got lucky, only losing three of the squad when they should have been wiped out. I was keen to press on my good fortune.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 2, I moved to the Tactical Doctrine and the Chaplain passed the Litany of Hate.
The central Scouts fell back towards the Cultists holding the objective, while the other squad of Scouts also fell back to hold the objective. The rest of the White Scars stayed in position, waiting for the enemy army to come to me.
In the shooting phase, the Thunderfire Cannon once more targeted the Cultists. Ben used conceal on the objective holding unit once more. Despite firing twice, the Cannon only took down 8 of the Cultists. It had not been performing well this game.
The Scouts fired their Bolters at the squad, killing the last 2 members. The Eliminators opened fire on the Daemon Prince, but failed to do any damage.
In the charge phase, the Scouts assaulted the Cultists, killing 5 of the squad. The Cultists did 2 wounds, but failed to get past their armour. I used 3CP to fight again and was able to wipe out the squad. I wanted to make sure the squad holding the objective was wiped out to score the bonus this turn, as the Scouts were likely to die in the following turn.
At the end of my turn, I scored Hold 1, kill 1, Recon, Engineers and the bonus point.
TURN 2- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Knights advanced on the White Scars lines, while the Daemon Prince moved up on the Scouts holding the objective.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate and Glamour of Tzeentch.
There was not shooting, as Ben wanted to charge the Scouts and could not see any of the other White Scars units to target them.
The Daemon Prince charged the Scouts, while the Knight charged the other unit of Scouts. Both White Scars units were wiped out. Ben had hoped to charge the Eliminators with the Knight beside the ruins using the stratagem that allows them to fight up levels. However, after reading the rule, we saw that it couldn't be used on unit on the ground floor.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored Hold 1, Kill 1, Recon, Butcher's Bill and hold more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 9
Chaos Knights- 6
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
In my third turn, I moved to the Assault Doctrine and prepared to launch the attack. I also used the Canticle of Hate on the Chaplain.
The two Captains and Chaplain moved around to target the enemy Knight. The rest of the army stayed in place. At the end of the phase, I brought in my reserves. The Impulsor arrived on the left flank, while the Infiltrators arrived on the right flank. A unit of Inceptors landed near the Knight in the centre, while the second unit landed behind the Daemon Prince.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Storm-wreathed on the Biker Captain with a CP re-roll. He then cast Smite, causing one mortal wound on the Knight.
In the shooting phase, Ben once more used the stratagem to stop the Cultists from being shot. The Thunderfire fired at a Knight, doing one wound. The Inceptors added their firepower, causing 5 more wounds on the Knight.
The Eliminators targeted the Lord Discordant, but failed to do any damage. The Infiltrators fired at the other Knight, doing one wound. The Inceptors fired at the Daemon Prince, but only managed one wound.
In the charge phase, the Chaplain, Biker Captain and Chapter Master assaulted the Knight.
The Chapter Master was able to take 10 wounds from the Knight. Ben spent 2CP to interrupt and attacked the Chaplain, killing him. The Biker Captain then struck, doing four damage on the Knight and leaving it on a few wounds left.
At the end of the phase, I scored Hold 1, Recon (3/4), Engineers (2/4) and two points for Titanslayer (2/4).
TURN 3- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Lord Discordant moved round on the Eliminators, while the Knight moved up on the Inceptors. The Master of Snares ability on the Biker Captain stopped the Knight from falling back, which was a great result for me! Ben then used tide of traitors to put the Cultists in reserve.
In the psychic phase, the Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate, then Smite, doing 2 mortal wounds on the Inceptors.
In the shooting phase, the Lord Discordant fired on the Inceptors, killing one with their combined firepower. The Knight targeted the Thunderfire Cannon with its Thermal Cannon, destroying it utterly. The rest of the weaponry was able to kill one of the Inceptors.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Inceptors, followed by the Daemon Prince. The Lord Discordant charged the Eliminators and Lieutenant.
The Lord Discordant cut down the Lieutenant and Eliminators, while the Knight only managed to kill one Inceptor, but the survivor was cut down by the Daemon Prince.
The other Knight attacked the Chapter Master, but did not hits. The Chapter Master then cut down the Knight in combat, which failed to explode. The Eliminators did one mortal wound on the Lord Discordant.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored hold 1, kill 1, kill more, Recon (2/4) and Headhunter (2/4).
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 15
Chaos Knights- 13
At the end of turn 3, things were very close. I had taken out a Knight and was a couple of points ahead at this stage. I would need to do well to hold on to my lead and take out the remaining forces.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The Eliminators fell back towards the other Lord Discordant, while the White Scars characters moved up on the other Lord Discordant. The Impulsor moved up on the flank, while the Infiltrators on the other flank moved into the safety of the ruins.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast a super smite, doing 6 mortal wounds to the Lord Discordant and two on himself. The Lascannon fired at the Knight, but failed to get past its invulnerable save. The Inceptors fired at the Lord Discordant, doing one wound. The Captain threw a Krak grenade, taking him down to one wound, while the Intercessors finished him off.
The Infiltrators used their smoke grenades (the first time I think I ever used these).
At the end of my turn, I scored Hold 1, kill 1, Recon (4/4) and Engineers (3/4).
TURN 4- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Knight moved up on the Tactical Squad (they were blocking his army from targeting my characters), while the Lord Discordant moved up on the Impulsor. He then brought the Cultists in from reserve. I decided not the spent the CP on Auspex scan, as I could probably finish them off next turn with my Engineers units.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate and Glamour of Tzeentch.
The Lord Discordant fired at the Eliminators, but failed to harm them. The Knight fired at the squad, killing them, as well as two Inceptors.
The Knight charged the Tactical Squad, easily killing them. The Lord Discordant charged the Impulsor, killing it. The transport exploded, doing three wounds on the nearby Lord Discordant, who was able to heal the wounds on himself!
At the end of the turn, Ben scored Hold 1, kill 1, kill more, Recon (3/4) and Butcher's Bill (2/4).
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 19
Chaos Knights- 18
At the end of turn 4, Ben had managed to claw the game back to within 1 point. This was going to be a very close end game. I still had a lot of characters and troops on the table, but Ben still had two Knights and a Lord Discordant in play.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
The two units of Intercessors and Phobos Librarian moved up on the Lord Discordant. In my deployment zone, the Scouts moved up on the Cultists.
The Librarian, Biker Captain and Chapter Master moved up on the Knight that had taken out the Tactical Squad.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Smite, doing 3 mortal wounds on the Knight, then cast Storm-wreathed on the Biker Captain. The Phobos Librarian also cast Smite, doing three more mortal wounds on the Lord Discordant.
The Intercessors fired on the Lord Discordant, doing one wound. The other squads fired at the Cultists, killing two.
In the charge phase, the two squads of Intercessors charged the Lord Discordant. The Scouts charged the Cultists, while the characters assaulted the Knight.
The Chapter Master struck with his Thunder Hammer, doing 20 wounds on the Knight! The Biker Captain was able to finish it off in combat. The Intercessors attacked the Lord Discordant, taking it down to two wounds, while the Scouts killed the Cultists.
The Lord Discordant cut down two of the Intercessors, who were able to surround him to stop him from falling back.
At the end of my turn, I scored hold 1, kill 1, Titanslayer (4/4) and Engineers (4/4).
TURN 5- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The final Knight moved up on the Infiltrators hiding in the ruins.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate, but then periled on Glamour of Tzeentch, taking one mortal wound.
With no shooting possible, the Knight charged the Infiltrators. He did three wounds on the squad, but I managed to save 2, so only one of the White Scars fell. The Lord Discordant was able to kill one of the squads of Intercessors.
At the end of the turn, Ben scored hold 1 and kill one. I scored hold more and kill more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 25
Chaos Knights- 20
With that, we ran out of time and the game ended. A close win for the White Scars.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
That was a tough game, thanks to Ben for a close one.
I had a lucky first couple of turns, thanks to some movement errors from Ben in his initial turns. When the Scouts charged the Cultists on my first turn, Ben chose to take casualties so as to string out the unit across his deployment zone. This meant that they could not get out of the way to allow the Knights and Lords Discordant to move out towards my forces. This essentially gave me an extra turn to put my forces into position to take on the rest of the army.
After that, the plan worked reasonably well. From turn 3 onwards, the powered up characters were able to take out two of the Knights in combat, as well as using my firepower and units to tie up the Lords Discordant. This allowed me to capitalise on getting the objectives and scoring my secondary points.
The set up of the battlefield also allowed me to keep much of my army hidden from the firepower of the Knights, as these units could have decimated my infantry squads.
A good start to the second day of the tournament. I would need to see if my final game would go as well.
My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Captain on Bike- Twin Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens
Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
Impulsor- 2 Storm Bolters, Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Shield Dome
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
Battalion Detachment
Captain- Jump Pack, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Chapter Master, Imperium's Sword
Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter
5 Scouts- Bolters
5 Scouts- Bolters
5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate, Warlord
Phobos Librarian- Force Sword, Camo Cloak, Shrouding, Mind Raid
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate, Warlord
Phobos Librarian- Force Sword, Camo Cloak, Shrouding, Mind Raid
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Lascannon
Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Lascannon
Ben's army consisted of:
Super Heavy Detachment
Knight Desecrator- Traitorus Lance
Knight Desecrator
Knight Despoiler- Dreadblade, Thermal Cannon, Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon
Battalion Detachment (Alpha Legion)
Lord Discordant- Mark of Nurgle
Lord Discordant- Mark of Nurgle
Chaos Sorcerer- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mark of Nurgle, Warp Time, Miasma of Pestillence
10 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
10 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
26 Cultists- Mark of Slannesh
Patrol Detachment (Thousand Sons, Cult of Prophecy)
Daemon Prince- Mark of Tzeentch, Otherworldly Prescience, Pythic Brazier, Gaze of Fate, Glamour of Tzeentch, Divine the future, Malefic Talon, WARLORD
10 Cultists
This army brings a lot of firepower and combat ability with the Knights and Lords Discordant, backed up with a few psykers and a lot of Cultists. I knew my characters could deal with the Knights from turn 3 onwards, and could deal with the Cultists with my firepower.
For secondaries, I chose Engineers (Intercessors and Scouts), Recon and Titanslayer. Ben chose Recon, Headhunter and Butcher's Bill.
We then deployed our forces. I put the Thunderfire Cannon and Tactical Squad towards the back of my deployment zone. The characters went in the centre of my deployment zone, while the infiltrating squads went forward on the enemy lines, hiding in the ruins. I deployed the Engineers Intercessors and Scouts at the back of my deployment zone on the objective, supported by the Phobos Librarian. I put the Impulsor and Inceptors in reserve.
Ben deployed his Knights at the back of his line, screened by the Cultists in front of them. The Lords Discordant deployed to the right of the deployed zone, with the Daemon Prince and Sorcerer at the back.
I took the first turn, and Ben failed to seize the initiative.
TURN 1- WHITE SCARS
The Scouts in the centre and right flank moved up on the line of Cultists at the edge of the enemy deployment zone. The Characters moved up to the ruins held by the Eliminators.
With the psykers out of range, I used no powers this turn.
In the shooting phase, the Thunderfire Cannon targeted the Cultists. Ben used a stratagem to stop the back unit holding the objectives from being targeted. The first volley only managed to kill two of the Cultists. I used the stratagem to fire again, but only managed to kill four more. A pretty poor result for the cannon.
The Scouts added their firepower, wiping out the unit. The other unit of Scouts killed four more Cultists with their Bolt Pistols.
The Eliminators targeted the Chaos Sorcerer, managing to kill him with a CP re-roll.
In the charge phase, the two units of Scouts assaulted the Cultists in front of them. One unit was able to cut down 8 of the Cultists, while the other was able to kill five more. The attacks back resulted in no damage to the Scouts.
At the end of my turn, I had score Hold 1, kill 1 and Recon, taking out two units of Cultists.
TURN 1- CHAOS KNIGHTS
One Lord Discordant moved up on the Scouts, while the other moved up towards the White Scars lines. The Knights were actually blocked in by the lines of Cultists, so were unable to move up far. Ben chose not to fall back with the large Cultist unit, so they were out of coherency and could not move. This blocked in the Knights on the right flank.
In the psychic phase, the Daemon Prince failed to cast Glamour of Tzeentch. He then cast Smite, killing two Scouts in the centre.
In the shooting phase, one Knight fired on the backline Marines, killing 3 Scouts and three of the Tactical Squad. I thought I had hidden them, but the Knight was able to get sight on a slim portion of the models.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Scouts on the left flank, but only managed to kill three of the squad in combat! The Cultists were unable to harm the Scouts, while the White Scars cut down 5 more of the squad.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored hold 1, while I scored Kill more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 4
Chaos Knights- 1
A good start for the White Scars. I had taken out a few of the Cultists, while blocking the movement of the Knights. The Scouts had got lucky, only losing three of the squad when they should have been wiped out. I was keen to press on my good fortune.
TURN 2- WHITE SCARS
At the start of turn 2, I moved to the Tactical Doctrine and the Chaplain passed the Litany of Hate.
The central Scouts fell back towards the Cultists holding the objective, while the other squad of Scouts also fell back to hold the objective. The rest of the White Scars stayed in position, waiting for the enemy army to come to me.
In the shooting phase, the Thunderfire Cannon once more targeted the Cultists. Ben used conceal on the objective holding unit once more. Despite firing twice, the Cannon only took down 8 of the Cultists. It had not been performing well this game.
The Scouts fired their Bolters at the squad, killing the last 2 members. The Eliminators opened fire on the Daemon Prince, but failed to do any damage.
In the charge phase, the Scouts assaulted the Cultists, killing 5 of the squad. The Cultists did 2 wounds, but failed to get past their armour. I used 3CP to fight again and was able to wipe out the squad. I wanted to make sure the squad holding the objective was wiped out to score the bonus this turn, as the Scouts were likely to die in the following turn.
At the end of my turn, I scored Hold 1, kill 1, Recon, Engineers and the bonus point.
TURN 2- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Knights advanced on the White Scars lines, while the Daemon Prince moved up on the Scouts holding the objective.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate and Glamour of Tzeentch.
There was not shooting, as Ben wanted to charge the Scouts and could not see any of the other White Scars units to target them.
The Daemon Prince charged the Scouts, while the Knight charged the other unit of Scouts. Both White Scars units were wiped out. Ben had hoped to charge the Eliminators with the Knight beside the ruins using the stratagem that allows them to fight up levels. However, after reading the rule, we saw that it couldn't be used on unit on the ground floor.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored Hold 1, Kill 1, Recon, Butcher's Bill and hold more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 9
Chaos Knights- 6
TURN 3- WHITE SCARS
In my third turn, I moved to the Assault Doctrine and prepared to launch the attack. I also used the Canticle of Hate on the Chaplain.
The two Captains and Chaplain moved around to target the enemy Knight. The rest of the army stayed in place. At the end of the phase, I brought in my reserves. The Impulsor arrived on the left flank, while the Infiltrators arrived on the right flank. A unit of Inceptors landed near the Knight in the centre, while the second unit landed behind the Daemon Prince.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Storm-wreathed on the Biker Captain with a CP re-roll. He then cast Smite, causing one mortal wound on the Knight.
In the shooting phase, Ben once more used the stratagem to stop the Cultists from being shot. The Thunderfire fired at a Knight, doing one wound. The Inceptors added their firepower, causing 5 more wounds on the Knight.
The Eliminators targeted the Lord Discordant, but failed to do any damage. The Infiltrators fired at the other Knight, doing one wound. The Inceptors fired at the Daemon Prince, but only managed one wound.
In the charge phase, the Chaplain, Biker Captain and Chapter Master assaulted the Knight.
The Chapter Master was able to take 10 wounds from the Knight. Ben spent 2CP to interrupt and attacked the Chaplain, killing him. The Biker Captain then struck, doing four damage on the Knight and leaving it on a few wounds left.
At the end of the phase, I scored Hold 1, Recon (3/4), Engineers (2/4) and two points for Titanslayer (2/4).
TURN 3- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Lord Discordant moved round on the Eliminators, while the Knight moved up on the Inceptors. The Master of Snares ability on the Biker Captain stopped the Knight from falling back, which was a great result for me! Ben then used tide of traitors to put the Cultists in reserve.
In the psychic phase, the Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate, then Smite, doing 2 mortal wounds on the Inceptors.
In the shooting phase, the Lord Discordant fired on the Inceptors, killing one with their combined firepower. The Knight targeted the Thunderfire Cannon with its Thermal Cannon, destroying it utterly. The rest of the weaponry was able to kill one of the Inceptors.
In the charge phase, the Knight assaulted the Inceptors, followed by the Daemon Prince. The Lord Discordant charged the Eliminators and Lieutenant.
The Lord Discordant cut down the Lieutenant and Eliminators, while the Knight only managed to kill one Inceptor, but the survivor was cut down by the Daemon Prince.
The other Knight attacked the Chapter Master, but did not hits. The Chapter Master then cut down the Knight in combat, which failed to explode. The Eliminators did one mortal wound on the Lord Discordant.
At the end of his turn, Ben scored hold 1, kill 1, kill more, Recon (2/4) and Headhunter (2/4).
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 15
Chaos Knights- 13
At the end of turn 3, things were very close. I had taken out a Knight and was a couple of points ahead at this stage. I would need to do well to hold on to my lead and take out the remaining forces.
TURN 4- WHITE SCARS
The Eliminators fell back towards the other Lord Discordant, while the White Scars characters moved up on the other Lord Discordant. The Impulsor moved up on the flank, while the Infiltrators on the other flank moved into the safety of the ruins.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast a super smite, doing 6 mortal wounds to the Lord Discordant and two on himself. The Lascannon fired at the Knight, but failed to get past its invulnerable save. The Inceptors fired at the Lord Discordant, doing one wound. The Captain threw a Krak grenade, taking him down to one wound, while the Intercessors finished him off.
The Infiltrators used their smoke grenades (the first time I think I ever used these).
At the end of my turn, I scored Hold 1, kill 1, Recon (4/4) and Engineers (3/4).
TURN 4- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The Knight moved up on the Tactical Squad (they were blocking his army from targeting my characters), while the Lord Discordant moved up on the Impulsor. He then brought the Cultists in from reserve. I decided not the spent the CP on Auspex scan, as I could probably finish them off next turn with my Engineers units.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate and Glamour of Tzeentch.
The Lord Discordant fired at the Eliminators, but failed to harm them. The Knight fired at the squad, killing them, as well as two Inceptors.
The Knight charged the Tactical Squad, easily killing them. The Lord Discordant charged the Impulsor, killing it. The transport exploded, doing three wounds on the nearby Lord Discordant, who was able to heal the wounds on himself!
At the end of the turn, Ben scored Hold 1, kill 1, kill more, Recon (3/4) and Butcher's Bill (2/4).
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 19
Chaos Knights- 18
At the end of turn 4, Ben had managed to claw the game back to within 1 point. This was going to be a very close end game. I still had a lot of characters and troops on the table, but Ben still had two Knights and a Lord Discordant in play.
TURN 5- WHITE SCARS
The two units of Intercessors and Phobos Librarian moved up on the Lord Discordant. In my deployment zone, the Scouts moved up on the Cultists.
The Librarian, Biker Captain and Chapter Master moved up on the Knight that had taken out the Tactical Squad.
In the psychic phase, the Librarian cast Smite, doing 3 mortal wounds on the Knight, then cast Storm-wreathed on the Biker Captain. The Phobos Librarian also cast Smite, doing three more mortal wounds on the Lord Discordant.
The Intercessors fired on the Lord Discordant, doing one wound. The other squads fired at the Cultists, killing two.
In the charge phase, the two squads of Intercessors charged the Lord Discordant. The Scouts charged the Cultists, while the characters assaulted the Knight.
The Chapter Master struck with his Thunder Hammer, doing 20 wounds on the Knight! The Biker Captain was able to finish it off in combat. The Intercessors attacked the Lord Discordant, taking it down to two wounds, while the Scouts killed the Cultists.
The Lord Discordant cut down two of the Intercessors, who were able to surround him to stop him from falling back.
At the end of my turn, I scored hold 1, kill 1, Titanslayer (4/4) and Engineers (4/4).
TURN 5- CHAOS KNIGHTS
The final Knight moved up on the Infiltrators hiding in the ruins.
The Daemon Prince cast Gaze of Fate, but then periled on Glamour of Tzeentch, taking one mortal wound.
With no shooting possible, the Knight charged the Infiltrators. He did three wounds on the squad, but I managed to save 2, so only one of the White Scars fell. The Lord Discordant was able to kill one of the squads of Intercessors.
At the end of the turn, Ben scored hold 1 and kill one. I scored hold more and kill more.
VICTORY POINTS:
White Scars- 25
Chaos Knights- 20
With that, we ran out of time and the game ended. A close win for the White Scars.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
That was a tough game, thanks to Ben for a close one.
I had a lucky first couple of turns, thanks to some movement errors from Ben in his initial turns. When the Scouts charged the Cultists on my first turn, Ben chose to take casualties so as to string out the unit across his deployment zone. This meant that they could not get out of the way to allow the Knights and Lords Discordant to move out towards my forces. This essentially gave me an extra turn to put my forces into position to take on the rest of the army.
After that, the plan worked reasonably well. From turn 3 onwards, the powered up characters were able to take out two of the Knights in combat, as well as using my firepower and units to tie up the Lords Discordant. This allowed me to capitalise on getting the objectives and scoring my secondary points.
The set up of the battlefield also allowed me to keep much of my army hidden from the firepower of the Knights, as these units could have decimated my infantry squads.
A good start to the second day of the tournament. I would need to see if my final game would go as well.