This week's 40k 8th edition battle report sees my Dark Angels take on Angus' Sisters of Battle once more in an ETC practice mission. This game was fought before the recent London GT.
The Eternal War mission was Big Guns Never Tire, while the maelstrom mission was Contact Lost (one card on turn 1, then one for each objective held in subsequent turns). We were using Vanguard Strike deployment.
My army consisted of:
The Eternal War mission was Big Guns Never Tire, while the maelstrom mission was Contact Lost (one card on turn 1, then one for each objective held in subsequent turns). We were using Vanguard Strike deployment.
My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Azrael (Az)
Primaris Lieutenant- Master-crafted Auto Bolt Rifle (L)
Primaris Ancient- Bolt Rifle (An)
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifle (I1)
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifle (I2)
5 Devastator Squad- Heavy Bolter, Bolters, Armorium Cherub (D)
5 Scouts- Bolters, Heavy Bolter, Chainsword (S1)
5 Scouts- Bolters, Chainsword (S2)
5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols, Shotguns (S3)
10 Hellbalsters- Plasma Incinerators (H)
Outrider Detachment
Sammael (S)
5 Black Knights- Plasma Talons, Corvus Hammers (BK)
4 Ravenwing Bikers- Flamer, Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter (RB1)
4 Ravenwing Bikers- Meltagun, Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter (RB2)
3 Ravenwing Bikers- Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter, Plasma Gun (RB3)
3 Ravenwing Bikers- Twin Bolters, Storm Bolter, Plasma Gun (RB3)
Ravenwing Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (D)
10 Command Points
Angus had also changed up his army based on the recent FAQ. His army consisted of:
Angus had also changed up his army based on the recent FAQ. His army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Celestine- Tenacious Survivor, 2 Geminae Superior, Heavy Flamer (C1)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Storm Bolters, Sister Superior with Storm Bolter (BS1)
5 Battle Sisters- 2 Storm Bolters, Sister Superior with Storm Bolter (BS2)
5 Dominion Squad- 4 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (D1)
5 Dominion Squad- 4 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (D2)
5 Dominion Squad- 4 Meltaguns, Storm Bolter (D3)
10 Seraphim- Superior with Plasma Pistol and Power Sword, two pairs of Inferno Pistols (SS)
5 Dominion Squad- 4 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (D2)
5 Dominion Squad- 4 Meltaguns, Storm Bolter (D3)
10 Seraphim- Superior with Plasma Pistol and Power Sword, two pairs of Inferno Pistols (SS)
Dialogus (D)
5 Retributer Squad- 4 Heavy Bolters, Storm Bolter
5 Retributer Squad- 4 Heavy Bolters, Storm Bolter
Immolator- Twin Multi-melta (I1)
Immolator- Immolation Flamer (I2)
Immolator- Immolation Flamer (I3)
Sororitas Repressor- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R1)
Sororitas Repressor- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R2)
Sororitas Repressor- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R3)
Sororitas Repressor- Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter (R3)
Battalion Detachment
Tempestor Prime- Bolt Pistol, Chainsword (T1)
Tempestor Prime- Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Command Rod (T2)
5 Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S1)
5 Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S2)
5 Scions- 2 Hotshot Volley Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S3)
Angus has dropped the Assassins and Inquisitor from his list and added some Astra Militarum allies to give him more command points and some more deep striking units to add to the army.
We set up the objectives as shown below. Only objectives 1-4 were in use for the Eternal War mission.
We then deployed our forces.
I went for my usual deployment, the Hellblasters in the centre backed up by the characters and Darkshroud. I put the Intercessors on each flank, with a Bike unit on each flank. The Devastators held the backfield, with the Black Knights and another Bike Squad in the centre.
The Scouts went across the battlefield, going after the objectives and pushing back the enemy army.
Angus castled up in his deployment zone, with Celestine granting her invulnerable save bubble to the surrounding vehicles. One of the Immolators set up a bit further forward near the objective. The Scions all went in reserve to deep strike later in the game.
I lost the roll off for first turn, but did manage to seize the initiative. I then used the Secret Agenda stratagem to keep my maelstrom cards secret, managing to get the command point back with Azrael's warlord trait. Angus then used his Scout moves to move most of his vehicles back out of range of my guns.
TURN 1- DARK ANGELS
In my first turn, I drew Secure Objective 1.
On the left flank, the Ravenwing Bikers advanced towards the Immolator. The Hellblasters moved up on the Sisters lines, backed up by the Dark Angels characters and Darkshroud.
On the right flank, the Black Knights used Speed of the Raven to advance on the Immolator (I didn't get the command point back). The nearby Bikers and Scouts moved up to support.
In the shooting phase, the Black Knights used Weapons of the Dark Age to fire on the Immolator, overcharging their shots and destroying the Immolator for the loss of one Black Knight. One of the squad perished as they disembarked.
The Plasma Gun Bikers fired at the squad as they emerged, but did not damage them. The nearby Scouts were able to slay one of the squad with their Bolters, while Sammael killed one more of the squad.
The Meltagun Bikers fired at the Immolator on the left, hitting once. I used a command point re-roll, but failed to hit (not getting the command point back again). The wounding shot managed to get 6 damage on the enemy tank.
The Hellblaster squad added their firepower to the onslaught, destroying the Immolator and killing one of the Sisters inside. The Intercessors fired at the squad, killing two of them.
In the centre, the Scouts fired their Heavy Bolter at the Seraphim, but failed to do any harm. The Shotgun Scouts attempted to charge the central Sisters unit, but failed to make the distance.
At the end of my turn, I scored First Blood and Secure Objective 1.
TURN 1- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his first turn, Angus drew Defend Objective 4.
Celestine and the Seraphim used their Acts of Faith to move up on the Black Knights. In the movement phase, they continued to move up on the Ravenwing Knights.
The Repressor squad disembarked from their transport to move to secure the objective, while their Immolator moved up on the enemy army. The Repressors moved up on the Ravenwing Bikers threatening the Sisters' lines.
The last surviving Immolator and two of the Repressors fired their smoke launchers to protect them from the powerful enemy firepower.
The Retributers fired their Heavy Bolters at the Shotgun Scouts, killing one of the squad. The Repressor fired on the forward Bikers, killing one with its firepower. The squad inside fired their Meltaguns at the Bikers, killing two more. The squad in the second Repressor fired at the last Biker, but failed to kill him.
The Seraphim split their fire between the Black Knights and Scouts. They wounded the Scouts 4 times with their Bolt Pistols, I failed all four saves and most of the squad perished. They were able to kill two Black Knights with their Inferno Pistol fire.
Celestine fired on the Black Knights, wounding one with a flamer.
In the charge phase, the Seraphim assaulted the Black Knights. I managed to hit with all four of my overwatch shots, but only managed to kill one of the squad. Celestine joined them in their assault.
Celestine struck at the Black Knights, only wounding three times after the use of a command point re-roll, but it was enough to slay the rest of the squad.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored no points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 2
Sisters of Battle- 0
TURN 2- DARK ANGELS
In my second turn, I drew Assassinate, Supremacy and Mission Critical Objective (objective 3).
The lone Biker Sergeant moved up on the objective, joined by the Shotgun Scouts. I hoped to kill the two Sisters and stop Angus from defending the objective.
On the right flank, Sammael, the Scout and the Bikers moved up on Celestine. The Hellblasters continued to move up, while the Intercessor squads moved to secure the objectives.
The Devastators fired at the Seraphim with the Heavy Bolter, using the Hellfire Shells stratagem (no command point back again!). The first shot did one mortal wound, I then used the Armorium Cherub and got another 3 mortal wounds on the unit.
The Flamer Bikers fired at the Seraphim, killing three of the squad. The Darkshroud added its firepower, wiping the squad out.
The Plasma Gun Bikers fired at Celestine, overcharging their Plasma Gun and killing one of the Geminae Superior. The Intercessors and Scouts added their firepower, killing the last Geminae and wounding Celestine.
On the left flank, the Scouts and lone Biker fired at the Sisters, but failed to do any damage.
The Hellblasters split their fire between Celestine and the Repressor. I only split fire because two of the squad could not see the Repressor to fire at it. The squad used Weapons of the Dark Age and was able to take 6 damage from the vehicle.
In the charge phase, the Bikers, Scout and Sammael assaulted Celestine. The lone Biker and Shotgun Scouts also assaulted the two Sisters in the ruins.
Sammael struck at Celestine and was able to cut her down. The Saint was resurrected though, appearing on the battlefield near the Sisters' tanks.
The Scouts and Biker attacked the Sisters, killing one of the squad. The now lone Sister was able to kill one of the Scouts in reply.
At the end of my turn, I scored Assassinate (2 points), Mission Critical Objective and Supremacy (2 points).
TURN 2- SISTERS OF BATTLE
This turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 3 and had Defend Objective 4.
The Retributors used their Act of Faith to open fire on the Hellblasters. Angus failed his 2+ roll, but used a command point to re-roll and fire. The Heavy Bolters wounded the squad three times and I failed all three save. The Ancient allowed one of the slain Hellblasters to fire at the Repressor, wounding it twice.
Celestine and two of the Repressors moved up on the Scouts holding the objective, while the Battle Sister in combat fell back.
At the end of the phase, the forces of the Astra Militarum arrived. Two squads of Scions and a Tempestor Prime landed to the north, besides Sammael and the Ravenwing. One squad deployed behind the Devastators. I used the Auspex Scan stratagem to fire on the squad, killing two of the Scions as they landed. Finally, the Tempestor Prime landed besides the wounded squad.
The Retributers opened fire on the Hellblasters and the lone Biker, killing one of the Hellblaster squad and wounding the Biker once. The slain Primaris Marine fired back at the squad, hitting but failing to wound.
Celestine and her squad fired at the Scouts and Biker in front of them. One of the Geminae threw a krak grenade at the Biker, slaying him. The Heavy Flamer did two wounds on the squad, and I failed both 4+ saves to kill two of the squad. My 4+ saves this game had been horrendous so far!
The Immolator fired at the Plasma Gun Bikers, killing two of the squad. The squad inside the Repressor fired at the lone Shotgun Scout, killing him and wiping out the squad. The second Repressor squad fired at the Hellblasters, wounding one Marine. The third Repressor squad split it fire between the lone Scout on objective 1 and the Hellblasters, killing the Scout, but failing to wound the Hellblaster.
The Scions then opened fire on Sammael and the lone Ravenwing Biker. The overcharging Plasma Guns fired at Sammael, killing one of themselves to an overheat on the ancient weapon. Sammael was wounded three times. Once, more I failed all three 4+ saves. I used a command point re-roll and failed yet another 4+ save! I also didn't get the command point back. The hotshot Lasguns of the squad managed to wound the Biker Sergeant once.
The other unit of Scions fired at the Flamer Bikers. The squad managed to do 2 wounds with the use of one command point, killing one of the Bikers.
The third unit of Scions opened fire on the Devastators, killing two of the squad, leaving only the Heavy Bolter and Sergeant.
I passed my morale tests. Angus scored no maelstrom points and discarded Secure Objective 3.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 7
Sisters of Battle- 0
After 2 turns, I was ahead on the maelstrom points. However, I had taken a number of casualties, losing most of my mobile elements of the army. I knew the Eternal War points could swing these missions, so would have to see how long I could hold out.
TURN 3- DARK ANGELS
In my third turn, I drew Big Game Hunter, Advance, Behind Enemy Lines and Defend Objective 2.
In the backfield, the Ravenwing Bikers moved up on the Scions, while the Intercessors moved to secure an objective in the ruins. On the other side of the deployment zone, the two Devastators moved up on the Scions that had encroached into their lines.
Azrael continued to urge the Hellblasters forward to the enemy vehicles, while the lone Biker moved up behind the enemy lines.
I fired the Flamer Bikers at the Scion squad. Angus used the Take Cover stratagem on the unit, but it was to no avail and the unit was wiped out by their Bolter fire. The squad's Flamer fired at the Scions in front of them, killing three of the squad. The nearby Scout squad fired at the Scions, wiping out the squad.
The Devastators fired at the last Scion squad, finishing the job they started and wiping them out.
I used the Weapons of the Dark Age stratagem on the Hellblasters and they opened fire on the Repressor, wounding it 6 times and destroying it. The Dialogus was slain as the transport was destroyed (more like willingly sacrificed by Angus!).
The lone Biker Sergeant fired at the newly emerged squad, killing one. The Intercessors added their firepower, killing three more of the squad.
Azrael, the Ancient and Darkshroud fired at the squad, but failed to do any damage.
At the end of the phase, Angus used the Martyrdom stratagem to allow the Retributers to fired on the lone Biker. He failed the roll to activate the power, but used another command point to re-roll and succeed. The Heavy Bolters fired on the lone Biker Sergeant, wounding him three times, but I made all my saves. This was fortunate for me, as I was hoping he would get me Behind Enemy Lines (unbeknown to Angus, as my maelstrom cards were secret).
In the charge phase, the Devastators charged the Tempestor Prime, who managed to kill the Heavy Bolter Marine with a grenade in overwatch. The Hellblasters charged the Sisters of Battle Squad in front of them.
The Hellblasters struck at the Sisters, killing two of the squad for no loss in reply. The Devastaor Sergeant wounded the Prime twice, but he made both his saves. The Tempestor Prime then struck back, but failed to hit with any of his attacks.
Angus failed his morale test on the Battle Sisters squad, but used a command point re-roll to pass it. At the end of my turn, I scored Behind Enemy Lines and Big Game Hunter, discarding Advance. Angus also scored Defend Objective 4.
TURN 3- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his third turn, Angus drew No Prisoners and Defend Objective 6.
The Retributers used an Act of Faith to fire on the lone Biker Sergeant, only doing one wound, but it was enough to kill him. Celestine used her Act of Faith to move up on the Lieutenant.
Celestine moved up on the Dark Angels characters, supported by the Sisters' remaining vehicles, while the Tempestor Prime fell back from combat towards the objective.
The Tempestor Prime ordered himself to Move, Move, Move to get to the objective. The Immolator fired on the Darkshroud, but failed to hit with both shots.
The Repressor on the right fired at the Intercessors, wounding them once. The squad inside fired their Meltaguns at the Darkshroud, hitting and wounding the enemy vehicle twice. Angus rolled 8 wounds, just enough to destory the Darkshroud. The skimmer blew up! (I was out of command points to re-roll the result). The resulting explosion but 3 mortal wounds on Celestine, 2 wounds on the Lieutenant, three wounds on Azrael and three wounds on the Ancient. That was some explosion!
Celestine fired at the Intercessors, killing one of the squad. The Retributors fired once more, aiming at the Scouts in the ruins and killing two of the squad. The Repressor fired at the Intercessors, wounding one of them. The unit inside fired at the Scouts, killing one more of the squad.
In the charge phase, Celestine assaulted the Intercessors, Lieutenant and Azrael. The combined overwatch managed to do three wounds on the squad. The Repressor charged the Lieutenant and Intercessors, while the other Repressor charged the Hellblaster Squad.
In the fight phase, the Repressor caused three wounds on the Intercessors and I failed two saves. The other Repressor put a single wound on the Lieutenant, but I managed to save the wound. This was important, as the Lieutenant had one wound left. Had he been slain, Celestine could have attacked first, but the Eye of the Unseen Relic was stopping her from attacking.
Azrael struck at Celestine, killing her and the Geminae with his attacks. The rest of the attacks put two wounds on a Repressor. The Hellblasters struck at the Battle Sister, killing her.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored No Prisoners for 2 points and discarded Defend Objective 6. I also scored slay the Warlord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 10
Sisters of Battle- 4
TURN 4- DARK ANGELS
This turn, I drew Overwhelming Firepower and Defend Objective 2.
The remaining Bikers moved up on the Tempestor Prime, while the Devastator Sergeant moved up on the other Tempestor.
The Bikers opened fire on the Tempestor Prime. Some horrendous rolling saw only two wounds caused from the 16 Bolter shots, the Flamer doing another wound. The nearby Intercessors fired at the enemy character, killing him.
The Devastator Sergeant threw a Krak grenade at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him once. The Hellblasters fired their Pistols at Repressor, wounding it once. The Scouts fired at the Repressors, but failed to do any damage.
In the fight phase, the Ancient struck at the wounded Repressor, wounding it four times, but failed to get past its armour with any of the blows. Azrael then struck at the same vehicle, destroying it. Once more, the destroyed vehicle exploded! The explosion killed the Ancient, the Lieutenant, wounding Azrael twice (to leave him on one wound), wounded the other Repressor twice and killed one Hellblaster. One of the Sisters inside perished as they emerged from the destroyed vehicle.
The other Repressor struck at the wounded Dark Angels' warlord. It managed to do one wound on him. I failed my armour save, using Azrael's "free re-roll" and failed that too, slaying him! The Hellblasters struck back at the Repressor, wounding it twice, but more importantly, they managed to surround the vehicle to lock it in combat.
That was a hell of a fight phase. The combination of two exploding vehicles had decimated the Dark Angels characters supporting the army. Both forces had little left in the way of troops on the field.
At the end of my turn, I scored Overwhelming Firepower and discarded Defend Objective 2. Angus also scored Slay the Warlord.
TURN 4- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his turn, Angus drew Overwhelming Firepower and Mission Critical Objective (Objective 3).
The Retributors used an Act of Faith to fire on the Scouts in the ruins, wounding the four times. I failed all four 4+ saves yet again and the squad perished.
The Immolator moved up on an objective, while the Dominion squad advanced towards the ruins holding the Intercessors. The Tempestor Prime moved up on objective 6.
The Immolator fired on the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Retributors fired at the squad, wounding them 6 times. Yet again, I failed all my 4+ saves and the squad was slain. The Dominions opened fire on the Intercessors with their Meltaguns, killing two of the squad.
The Repressor attacked the Hellblasters, but failed to do any damage. The Primaris Marines struck back, wounding it four times and the vehicle took 2 wounds.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored Overwhelming Firepower.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 6
At the end of turn 4, I was still ahead on points. However, both of us had very few units left. It would depend on who could hold out the longest.
TURN 5- DARK ANGELS
In my fifth turn, I drew Secure Objective 4.
The Intercessors moved up on the Dominion squad, while the Devastator Sergeant went after the Tempestor Prime.
The Hellblasters fired their Bolt Pistols at the Repressor, but failed to do any damage. The Intercessors fired their Bolt Rifles at the Dominion squad, killing three of them. The Devastator Sergeant threw a Krak Grenade at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him twice.
In the charge phase, the Devastator charged the Tempestor, while the Intercessors charged the Dominion squad.
The Devastator Sergeant was able to slay the Tempestor Prime, while the Intercessors kill the last of the Dominion squad.
The Hellblaster squad struck at the Repressor, wounding it five times. Some horrendous saves from Angus saw it take four wounds and leave it on a single wound. The vehicle struck back, but missed with its attack.
At the end of my turn, I scored no points and discarded Secure Objective 4.
TURN 5- SISTERS OF BATTLE
This turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 2, Behind Enemy Lines and had Mission Critical Objective (objective 3).
The Retributers advanced using an Act of Faith. They then moved up on the objective held by the Immolator and the vehicle advanced to grab another objective.
In the fight phase, the Retributor was unable to harm the Hellblasters. The Primaris Marines struck back, wounding the vehicle four times, but was unable to get past the armour to take its final wound!
At the end of his turn, Angus scored no maelstrom points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 6
Tempestor Prime- Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Command Rod (T2)
5 Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S1)
5 Scions- 2 Plasma Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S2)
5 Scions- 2 Hotshot Volley Guns, Hotshot Lasguns (S3)
Angus has dropped the Assassins and Inquisitor from his list and added some Astra Militarum allies to give him more command points and some more deep striking units to add to the army.
We set up the objectives as shown below. Only objectives 1-4 were in use for the Eternal War mission.
We then deployed our forces.
I went for my usual deployment, the Hellblasters in the centre backed up by the characters and Darkshroud. I put the Intercessors on each flank, with a Bike unit on each flank. The Devastators held the backfield, with the Black Knights and another Bike Squad in the centre.
The Scouts went across the battlefield, going after the objectives and pushing back the enemy army.
Angus castled up in his deployment zone, with Celestine granting her invulnerable save bubble to the surrounding vehicles. One of the Immolators set up a bit further forward near the objective. The Scions all went in reserve to deep strike later in the game.
I lost the roll off for first turn, but did manage to seize the initiative. I then used the Secret Agenda stratagem to keep my maelstrom cards secret, managing to get the command point back with Azrael's warlord trait. Angus then used his Scout moves to move most of his vehicles back out of range of my guns.
TURN 1- DARK ANGELS
In my first turn, I drew Secure Objective 1.
On the left flank, the Ravenwing Bikers advanced towards the Immolator. The Hellblasters moved up on the Sisters lines, backed up by the Dark Angels characters and Darkshroud.
On the right flank, the Black Knights used Speed of the Raven to advance on the Immolator (I didn't get the command point back). The nearby Bikers and Scouts moved up to support.
In the shooting phase, the Black Knights used Weapons of the Dark Age to fire on the Immolator, overcharging their shots and destroying the Immolator for the loss of one Black Knight. One of the squad perished as they disembarked.
The Plasma Gun Bikers fired at the squad as they emerged, but did not damage them. The nearby Scouts were able to slay one of the squad with their Bolters, while Sammael killed one more of the squad.
The Meltagun Bikers fired at the Immolator on the left, hitting once. I used a command point re-roll, but failed to hit (not getting the command point back again). The wounding shot managed to get 6 damage on the enemy tank.
The Hellblaster squad added their firepower to the onslaught, destroying the Immolator and killing one of the Sisters inside. The Intercessors fired at the squad, killing two of them.
In the centre, the Scouts fired their Heavy Bolter at the Seraphim, but failed to do any harm. The Shotgun Scouts attempted to charge the central Sisters unit, but failed to make the distance.
At the end of my turn, I scored First Blood and Secure Objective 1.
TURN 1- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his first turn, Angus drew Defend Objective 4.
Celestine and the Seraphim used their Acts of Faith to move up on the Black Knights. In the movement phase, they continued to move up on the Ravenwing Knights.
The Repressor squad disembarked from their transport to move to secure the objective, while their Immolator moved up on the enemy army. The Repressors moved up on the Ravenwing Bikers threatening the Sisters' lines.
The last surviving Immolator and two of the Repressors fired their smoke launchers to protect them from the powerful enemy firepower.
The Retributers fired their Heavy Bolters at the Shotgun Scouts, killing one of the squad. The Repressor fired on the forward Bikers, killing one with its firepower. The squad inside fired their Meltaguns at the Bikers, killing two more. The squad in the second Repressor fired at the last Biker, but failed to kill him.
The Seraphim split their fire between the Black Knights and Scouts. They wounded the Scouts 4 times with their Bolt Pistols, I failed all four saves and most of the squad perished. They were able to kill two Black Knights with their Inferno Pistol fire.
Celestine fired on the Black Knights, wounding one with a flamer.
In the charge phase, the Seraphim assaulted the Black Knights. I managed to hit with all four of my overwatch shots, but only managed to kill one of the squad. Celestine joined them in their assault.
Celestine struck at the Black Knights, only wounding three times after the use of a command point re-roll, but it was enough to slay the rest of the squad.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored no points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 2
Sisters of Battle- 0
TURN 2- DARK ANGELS
In my second turn, I drew Assassinate, Supremacy and Mission Critical Objective (objective 3).
The lone Biker Sergeant moved up on the objective, joined by the Shotgun Scouts. I hoped to kill the two Sisters and stop Angus from defending the objective.
On the right flank, Sammael, the Scout and the Bikers moved up on Celestine. The Hellblasters continued to move up, while the Intercessor squads moved to secure the objectives.
The Devastators fired at the Seraphim with the Heavy Bolter, using the Hellfire Shells stratagem (no command point back again!). The first shot did one mortal wound, I then used the Armorium Cherub and got another 3 mortal wounds on the unit.
The Flamer Bikers fired at the Seraphim, killing three of the squad. The Darkshroud added its firepower, wiping the squad out.
The Plasma Gun Bikers fired at Celestine, overcharging their Plasma Gun and killing one of the Geminae Superior. The Intercessors and Scouts added their firepower, killing the last Geminae and wounding Celestine.
On the left flank, the Scouts and lone Biker fired at the Sisters, but failed to do any damage.
The Hellblasters split their fire between Celestine and the Repressor. I only split fire because two of the squad could not see the Repressor to fire at it. The squad used Weapons of the Dark Age and was able to take 6 damage from the vehicle.
In the charge phase, the Bikers, Scout and Sammael assaulted Celestine. The lone Biker and Shotgun Scouts also assaulted the two Sisters in the ruins.
Sammael struck at Celestine and was able to cut her down. The Saint was resurrected though, appearing on the battlefield near the Sisters' tanks.
The Scouts and Biker attacked the Sisters, killing one of the squad. The now lone Sister was able to kill one of the Scouts in reply.
At the end of my turn, I scored Assassinate (2 points), Mission Critical Objective and Supremacy (2 points).
TURN 2- SISTERS OF BATTLE
This turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 3 and had Defend Objective 4.
The Retributors used their Act of Faith to open fire on the Hellblasters. Angus failed his 2+ roll, but used a command point to re-roll and fire. The Heavy Bolters wounded the squad three times and I failed all three save. The Ancient allowed one of the slain Hellblasters to fire at the Repressor, wounding it twice.
Celestine and two of the Repressors moved up on the Scouts holding the objective, while the Battle Sister in combat fell back.
At the end of the phase, the forces of the Astra Militarum arrived. Two squads of Scions and a Tempestor Prime landed to the north, besides Sammael and the Ravenwing. One squad deployed behind the Devastators. I used the Auspex Scan stratagem to fire on the squad, killing two of the Scions as they landed. Finally, the Tempestor Prime landed besides the wounded squad.
The Retributers opened fire on the Hellblasters and the lone Biker, killing one of the Hellblaster squad and wounding the Biker once. The slain Primaris Marine fired back at the squad, hitting but failing to wound.
Celestine and her squad fired at the Scouts and Biker in front of them. One of the Geminae threw a krak grenade at the Biker, slaying him. The Heavy Flamer did two wounds on the squad, and I failed both 4+ saves to kill two of the squad. My 4+ saves this game had been horrendous so far!
The Immolator fired at the Plasma Gun Bikers, killing two of the squad. The squad inside the Repressor fired at the lone Shotgun Scout, killing him and wiping out the squad. The second Repressor squad fired at the Hellblasters, wounding one Marine. The third Repressor squad split it fire between the lone Scout on objective 1 and the Hellblasters, killing the Scout, but failing to wound the Hellblaster.
The Scions then opened fire on Sammael and the lone Ravenwing Biker. The overcharging Plasma Guns fired at Sammael, killing one of themselves to an overheat on the ancient weapon. Sammael was wounded three times. Once, more I failed all three 4+ saves. I used a command point re-roll and failed yet another 4+ save! I also didn't get the command point back. The hotshot Lasguns of the squad managed to wound the Biker Sergeant once.
The other unit of Scions fired at the Flamer Bikers. The squad managed to do 2 wounds with the use of one command point, killing one of the Bikers.
The third unit of Scions opened fire on the Devastators, killing two of the squad, leaving only the Heavy Bolter and Sergeant.
I passed my morale tests. Angus scored no maelstrom points and discarded Secure Objective 3.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 7
Sisters of Battle- 0
After 2 turns, I was ahead on the maelstrom points. However, I had taken a number of casualties, losing most of my mobile elements of the army. I knew the Eternal War points could swing these missions, so would have to see how long I could hold out.
TURN 3- DARK ANGELS
In my third turn, I drew Big Game Hunter, Advance, Behind Enemy Lines and Defend Objective 2.
In the backfield, the Ravenwing Bikers moved up on the Scions, while the Intercessors moved to secure an objective in the ruins. On the other side of the deployment zone, the two Devastators moved up on the Scions that had encroached into their lines.
Azrael continued to urge the Hellblasters forward to the enemy vehicles, while the lone Biker moved up behind the enemy lines.
I fired the Flamer Bikers at the Scion squad. Angus used the Take Cover stratagem on the unit, but it was to no avail and the unit was wiped out by their Bolter fire. The squad's Flamer fired at the Scions in front of them, killing three of the squad. The nearby Scout squad fired at the Scions, wiping out the squad.
The Devastators fired at the last Scion squad, finishing the job they started and wiping them out.
I used the Weapons of the Dark Age stratagem on the Hellblasters and they opened fire on the Repressor, wounding it 6 times and destroying it. The Dialogus was slain as the transport was destroyed (more like willingly sacrificed by Angus!).
The lone Biker Sergeant fired at the newly emerged squad, killing one. The Intercessors added their firepower, killing three more of the squad.
Azrael, the Ancient and Darkshroud fired at the squad, but failed to do any damage.
At the end of the phase, Angus used the Martyrdom stratagem to allow the Retributers to fired on the lone Biker. He failed the roll to activate the power, but used another command point to re-roll and succeed. The Heavy Bolters fired on the lone Biker Sergeant, wounding him three times, but I made all my saves. This was fortunate for me, as I was hoping he would get me Behind Enemy Lines (unbeknown to Angus, as my maelstrom cards were secret).
In the charge phase, the Devastators charged the Tempestor Prime, who managed to kill the Heavy Bolter Marine with a grenade in overwatch. The Hellblasters charged the Sisters of Battle Squad in front of them.
The Hellblasters struck at the Sisters, killing two of the squad for no loss in reply. The Devastaor Sergeant wounded the Prime twice, but he made both his saves. The Tempestor Prime then struck back, but failed to hit with any of his attacks.
Angus failed his morale test on the Battle Sisters squad, but used a command point re-roll to pass it. At the end of my turn, I scored Behind Enemy Lines and Big Game Hunter, discarding Advance. Angus also scored Defend Objective 4.
TURN 3- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his third turn, Angus drew No Prisoners and Defend Objective 6.
The Retributers used an Act of Faith to fire on the lone Biker Sergeant, only doing one wound, but it was enough to kill him. Celestine used her Act of Faith to move up on the Lieutenant.
Celestine moved up on the Dark Angels characters, supported by the Sisters' remaining vehicles, while the Tempestor Prime fell back from combat towards the objective.
The Tempestor Prime ordered himself to Move, Move, Move to get to the objective. The Immolator fired on the Darkshroud, but failed to hit with both shots.
The Repressor on the right fired at the Intercessors, wounding them once. The squad inside fired their Meltaguns at the Darkshroud, hitting and wounding the enemy vehicle twice. Angus rolled 8 wounds, just enough to destory the Darkshroud. The skimmer blew up! (I was out of command points to re-roll the result). The resulting explosion but 3 mortal wounds on Celestine, 2 wounds on the Lieutenant, three wounds on Azrael and three wounds on the Ancient. That was some explosion!
Celestine fired at the Intercessors, killing one of the squad. The Retributors fired once more, aiming at the Scouts in the ruins and killing two of the squad. The Repressor fired at the Intercessors, wounding one of them. The unit inside fired at the Scouts, killing one more of the squad.
In the charge phase, Celestine assaulted the Intercessors, Lieutenant and Azrael. The combined overwatch managed to do three wounds on the squad. The Repressor charged the Lieutenant and Intercessors, while the other Repressor charged the Hellblaster Squad.
In the fight phase, the Repressor caused three wounds on the Intercessors and I failed two saves. The other Repressor put a single wound on the Lieutenant, but I managed to save the wound. This was important, as the Lieutenant had one wound left. Had he been slain, Celestine could have attacked first, but the Eye of the Unseen Relic was stopping her from attacking.
Azrael struck at Celestine, killing her and the Geminae with his attacks. The rest of the attacks put two wounds on a Repressor. The Hellblasters struck at the Battle Sister, killing her.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored No Prisoners for 2 points and discarded Defend Objective 6. I also scored slay the Warlord.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 10
Sisters of Battle- 4
TURN 4- DARK ANGELS
This turn, I drew Overwhelming Firepower and Defend Objective 2.
The remaining Bikers moved up on the Tempestor Prime, while the Devastator Sergeant moved up on the other Tempestor.
The Bikers opened fire on the Tempestor Prime. Some horrendous rolling saw only two wounds caused from the 16 Bolter shots, the Flamer doing another wound. The nearby Intercessors fired at the enemy character, killing him.
The Devastator Sergeant threw a Krak grenade at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him once. The Hellblasters fired their Pistols at Repressor, wounding it once. The Scouts fired at the Repressors, but failed to do any damage.
In the fight phase, the Ancient struck at the wounded Repressor, wounding it four times, but failed to get past its armour with any of the blows. Azrael then struck at the same vehicle, destroying it. Once more, the destroyed vehicle exploded! The explosion killed the Ancient, the Lieutenant, wounding Azrael twice (to leave him on one wound), wounded the other Repressor twice and killed one Hellblaster. One of the Sisters inside perished as they emerged from the destroyed vehicle.
The other Repressor struck at the wounded Dark Angels' warlord. It managed to do one wound on him. I failed my armour save, using Azrael's "free re-roll" and failed that too, slaying him! The Hellblasters struck back at the Repressor, wounding it twice, but more importantly, they managed to surround the vehicle to lock it in combat.
That was a hell of a fight phase. The combination of two exploding vehicles had decimated the Dark Angels characters supporting the army. Both forces had little left in the way of troops on the field.
At the end of my turn, I scored Overwhelming Firepower and discarded Defend Objective 2. Angus also scored Slay the Warlord.
TURN 4- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his turn, Angus drew Overwhelming Firepower and Mission Critical Objective (Objective 3).
The Retributors used an Act of Faith to fire on the Scouts in the ruins, wounding the four times. I failed all four 4+ saves yet again and the squad perished.
The Immolator moved up on an objective, while the Dominion squad advanced towards the ruins holding the Intercessors. The Tempestor Prime moved up on objective 6.
The Immolator fired on the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Retributors fired at the squad, wounding them 6 times. Yet again, I failed all my 4+ saves and the squad was slain. The Dominions opened fire on the Intercessors with their Meltaguns, killing two of the squad.
The Repressor attacked the Hellblasters, but failed to do any damage. The Primaris Marines struck back, wounding it four times and the vehicle took 2 wounds.
At the end of his turn, Angus scored Overwhelming Firepower.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 6
At the end of turn 4, I was still ahead on points. However, both of us had very few units left. It would depend on who could hold out the longest.
TURN 5- DARK ANGELS
In my fifth turn, I drew Secure Objective 4.
The Intercessors moved up on the Dominion squad, while the Devastator Sergeant went after the Tempestor Prime.
The Hellblasters fired their Bolt Pistols at the Repressor, but failed to do any damage. The Intercessors fired their Bolt Rifles at the Dominion squad, killing three of them. The Devastator Sergeant threw a Krak Grenade at the Tempestor Prime, wounding him twice.
In the charge phase, the Devastator charged the Tempestor, while the Intercessors charged the Dominion squad.
The Devastator Sergeant was able to slay the Tempestor Prime, while the Intercessors kill the last of the Dominion squad.
The Hellblaster squad struck at the Repressor, wounding it five times. Some horrendous saves from Angus saw it take four wounds and leave it on a single wound. The vehicle struck back, but missed with its attack.
At the end of my turn, I scored no points and discarded Secure Objective 4.
TURN 5- SISTERS OF BATTLE
This turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 2, Behind Enemy Lines and had Mission Critical Objective (objective 3).
The Retributers advanced using an Act of Faith. They then moved up on the objective held by the Immolator and the vehicle advanced to grab another objective.
In the fight phase, the Retributor was unable to harm the Hellblasters. The Primaris Marines struck back, wounding the vehicle four times, but was unable to get past the armour to take its final wound!
At the end of his turn, Angus scored no maelstrom points.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 6
Things were close. As it was, Angus held two Eternal War objectives and held none. If the game ended now, he would secure the win by one point! We rolled to see if the game would end and it did not.
TURN 6- DARK ANGELS
This turn, I drew Scour the Skies. Even though I couldn't score it, I could have done based on Angus' starting army list, so couldn't discard it.
The Devastator Sergeant advanced towards the objective, while the Intercessors moved to secure the objective in the ruins.
The Hellblasters fired their pistols at the Repressor, and were finally able to destroy it. Fortunately for me, it did not explode. Only one of the Battle Sisters could deploy from the wreck, the rest of the squad were slain.
The Intercessors opened fire on the Battle Sister, wounding her twice, but was unable to slay her.
The Hellblaster squad assaulted the Battle Sister and Immolator, losing one of the squad to overwatch fire. The squad struck at the enemy units, but were unable to do any damage. In reply, the Sister Superior was able to kill a Hellblaster.
At the end of my turn, I discarded Scour the Skies.
TURN 6- SISTERS OF BATTLE
In his turn, Angus drew Secure Objective 1, Secure Objective 2, Behind Enemy Lines and had Mission Critical Objective (objective 3).
The Immolator fell back from combat, moving back towards the objective, while the Retibuters moved into line of sight of the Hellblasters. The Sister Superior fell back from combat to grab the objective.
The Retributors fired on the Hellblasters, hitting and wounding four times. Once more, the 4+ save proved to be my undoing, as I failed all my saves and two of the squad perished.
At the end of his turn, Angus Scored Secure Objective 2.
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 7
We rolled to see if the game ended and it did. We each held two Eternal War objectives and Angus secured Linebreaker. This made the final score:
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 17
Sisters of Battle- 14
A close game, but a win for the Dark Angels.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Angus for another great practice game. Again, it was an incredibly close affair, with some great moments in the game.
Man, those exploding vehicles were a killer. Literally. The destruction of those two vehicles contributed towards the killing of all the characters in my army. In previous editions of the game, I would have been cursing the dice rolls for causing the two explosions. Now I find myself cursing my lack of command points to re-roll one of them and stop it from happening!
I also couldn't help but laugh at my horrendous 4+ saves. My rolls were pretty good for most of the game, but every time I tried to make any form of 4+ save, my rolling was horrendous. This made my invulnerable saves on the Hellblasters pretty bothersome.
The army performed quite well. I tried to use Sammael and the Black Knights conservatively in this game, but the Acts of Faith put paid to that. The Sisters of Battle can move incredibly fast thanks to the bonus moves from the Acts of Faith and the Scout moves from the vehicles.
So far, the army is undefeated, so I was feeling good about going into the London GT with the chance of winning some games.
Dark Angels- 11
Sisters of Battle- 7
We rolled to see if the game ended and it did. We each held two Eternal War objectives and Angus secured Linebreaker. This made the final score:
VICTORY POINTS:
Dark Angels- 17
Sisters of Battle- 14
 |
| End of the game. |
A close game, but a win for the Dark Angels.
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Angus for another great practice game. Again, it was an incredibly close affair, with some great moments in the game.
Man, those exploding vehicles were a killer. Literally. The destruction of those two vehicles contributed towards the killing of all the characters in my army. In previous editions of the game, I would have been cursing the dice rolls for causing the two explosions. Now I find myself cursing my lack of command points to re-roll one of them and stop it from happening!
I also couldn't help but laugh at my horrendous 4+ saves. My rolls were pretty good for most of the game, but every time I tried to make any form of 4+ save, my rolling was horrendous. This made my invulnerable saves on the Hellblasters pretty bothersome.
The army performed quite well. I tried to use Sammael and the Black Knights conservatively in this game, but the Acts of Faith put paid to that. The Sisters of Battle can move incredibly fast thanks to the bonus moves from the Acts of Faith and the Scout moves from the vehicles.
So far, the army is undefeated, so I was feeling good about going into the London GT with the chance of winning some games.