I was able to play a game with my Executioners last week. I took this list:
Librarian
10 Tactical Marines w/ plasma gun, multi-melta, Rhino
10 Tactical Marines w/ plasma gun, multi-melta, Rhino
5 Scouts w/ camo cloaks, sniper rifles, missile launcher, Telion
9 Sternguard w/ power fist, 2 plasma gun, 2 combi-meltas, Rhino
8 Sternguard w/ power fist, 2 plasma gun, Rhino
5 Terminators w/ assault cannon, chainfist
Predator w/ autocannon, lascannon sponsons
Predator w/ autocannon, lascannon sponsons
Thunderfire Cannon
Total: 1847
My opponent was playing Blood Angels. His list was more or less this:
Librarian w/ jump pack, Blood Lance, Shield of Sanguinius (with jump Assault Marines)
10 Assault Marines w/ power axe, 2 flamers, jump packs
10 Assault Marines w/ power fist, 2 meltaguns, Land Raider Crusader
7 Scouts w/ sniper rifles, missile launcher
5 Devastators w/ 4 missile launcher
5 Terminators w/ assault cannon
2 Attack Bikes w/ multi-meltas
2 Attack Bikes w/ multi-meltas
Furioso w/ frag cannon, heavy flamer, Drop Pod
Brother Corbulo (rode in the Land Raider)
Sanguinary Priest w/ jump pack (walked with Terminators)
Here's the table.
We rolled Vanguard Strike deployment with The Emperor's Will mission, with Blood Angels taking first turn. The Blood Angels deployed with the Land Raider and Assault squad moving down the center through cover, while the Devastators held a central building, which the Terminators took cover behind. One squad of Attack Bikes took each flank, while the Scouts held his objective in the back corner.
I deployed my Scouts in a bolstered ruin with my objective, and the Thunderfire cannon on the top floor. My Predators were placed on either side of this building in cover, while my Rhinos and Terminators were placed near the center of the table. My Librarian took Telepathy powers, and ended up with Psychic Scream and Dominate.
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| This is from the beginning of turn 1, but you can get a good idea of the deployment. |
In a strange turn of events (for me at least), I stole the initiative and got to go first.
Turn 1
I slid two of my Rhinos containing a squad of Sternguard and a Tactical squad to the right and disembarked to open fire on the Blood Angels Assault squad. The Terminators also advanced to draw a bead on the Assault Marines. With that, shooting commenced and three Assault Marines were gunned down. My Scouts killed a single Devastator, while the Thunderfire blasted the Terminators. They failed four armor saves, but two passed their Feel No Pain rolls. The Predators opened fire on the Devastators, but failed to kill any (this proved to be a theme for the game). The Assault squad failed its break test, but Corbulo used his re-roll to keep them from falling back.
The Blood Angels turn started with Furioso landing in front of my Scouts. In a storm of templates, the Scouts were wiped out, earning the Blood Angels First Blood. The Land Raider and Assault Marines advanced on my lines, while he poured his shooting into my disembarked squads, killing 2 Tactical Marines and 4 Sternguard. The Blood Angel Librarian cast Blood Lance into my units, but it was blocked by Deny the Witch.
The Assault squad charged my Sternguard, but failed to reach them. One of the Assault Marines was killed by overwatch, though one of my plasma gunners died from overheat.
Turn 2
The Executioners' turn started with the second Sternguard squad deploying in the ruins to shoot the Furioso's side armor with their plasma gun. On the right flank, the Tactical and Sternguar squads shifted position to better shoot the approaching Assault squad. Between the two of them, my Predators only inflicted a single hull point of damage on the Furioso, but the Sternguard killed it with their plasma guns.
The Sternguard, Tacticals, and Terminators shot at the Assault squad and killed off the Librarian and 4 Assault Marines. My Librarian cast Psychic scream at them, but the Blood Angels rolled a combined 8 on 3D6 for their leadership test. Meanwhile, the Thunderfire blasted away at the Blood Angels Scouts but only killed one.
The Blood Angels advanced along both sides of the field, with the Land Raider Crusader immobilizing itself on the shipping crates. The Assault squad inside disembarked toward the Terminators. Between all the Blood Angel shooting, 2 Executioner Terminators and 3 Tactical Marines were killed, and my Librarian and one Sternguard Veteran were gunned down by Attack Bikes. On the left flank, the other Attack Bikes blew up my Predator (not that it was doing much).
The 3 remaining Assault Marines charged my 5 Tactical Marines. In a glorious display of Aquilonian martial prowess, the Executioners killed 2 Assault Marines for no losses, forcing the last remaining Assault Marine to fall back.
Turn 3
With the Blood Angels closing in, I shifted my undamaged Tactical squad toward my objective. However, their Rhino was immobilized on the terrain and they had to bail out toward the objective. The Sternguard squad on the left flank advanced behind their Rhino, shooting the Attack Bikes but only inflicting a single wound. The Thunderfire blasted the Blood Angel Scouts again, killing 4 this time. On the right flank, the remaining 5 Tactical Marines jumped in their Rhino in the hope of advancing on the enemy objective (This was a bad idea. I should have stayed put and fired on the Attack Bikes). The Terminators advanced on the Assault Marines from the Land Raider while my last Sternguard on that flank gunned down the last surviving jump pack Assault Marine. The 3 Terminators charged in to the Assault squad, but 2 were killed before they had the chance to strike. The lone survivor slew 3 Assault Marines with his headsman's axe.
The Blood Angels Terminators advanced toward my objective, while the Attack Bikes on the right destroyed the Tactical squad's Rhino and charged them. The Scout snipers wisely decided to retreat out of sight, still holding their objective. The Devastators blasted about the surviving Sternguard on the right flank. In assault, the Assault squad killed my last Terminator. The Tactical Marines that had been charged by the Attack Bikes managed to kill one bike for no losses. Clearly, this squad was meant for close-quarters combat.
Turn 4
In the Executioners Turn 4, they inflicted no casualties. It was kind of depressing and I don't want to talk about it.
The Blood Angels took advantage of the Executioners' laxity and continued their advance. 2 Tactical Marines were killed by shooting on the left flank, while the Assault squad led by Corbulo charged into the Tacticals already fighting the Attack Bikes on the right flank. Despite their previous exemplary performance, that Tactical squad was finally wiped out.
Turn 5
The Executioners didn't have many options left, but I wanted to hold my objective. I moved the Tactical Marines and Sternguard to rapid fire at the Terminators from maximum range, as well as hitting them with the Thunderfire. I killed 1 Terminator and forced them to fall back, but only 2".
The Blood Angels continued to press their advantage. The Attack Bikes on the left blasted the Techmarine with their multi-meltas, destroying the Thunderfire. Two more Executioner Tactical Marines were killed by shooting as the Blood Angels tried to wipe out my last scoring unit. The Sanguinary Priest broke off from the Terminators to assault my Tactical squad separately. The Terminators, which were in difficult terrain, charged first. Since they needed 10" to reach the Tacticals, I figured they wouldn't make it and saved my Overwatch for the inevitable charge by the Priest. Astoundingly, the Terminators charged 10" out of difficult terrain into the Tactical squad. Fortunately for me, only 1 Tactical Marines was killed.
Turn 6
The Executioners Sternguard charged into the Terminators, while my Predator opened fire on the Assault squad approaching from my right, led by Corbulo. I managed to wound Corbulo with a lascannon, but Look Out Sir moved the wound to the Sergeant, who them made his cover save. The Terminators killed 4 of my Tactical Marines for no losses, but my Sternguard Sergeant killed the Sanguinary Priest in a challenge.
The Blood Angels charged all 3 remaining Attack Bikes into my Tactical and Sternguard squads. My Executioners finished off the last 2 Blood Angel Terminators for the loss of one Tactical Marine and 1 Sternguard.
With that, we called the game. The Blood Angels held their objective, and had First Blood, Slay the Warlord, and Linbreaker points, for a total of 6 points. The Executioners still appeared to be holding their objective, and had an extra point for Slay the Warlord, for 4 points total. It was a decisive victory for the Blood Angels.
Lessons Learned
1) I think my overall plan was sound. Some particularly bad rolls hurt my chances (I really expected the Terminators to be able to handle an Assault squad), but my opponent had some poor rolls as well so I think that evened out. The one thing that really stood out was the inability of the Predators to hit anything. I still think the Predators are a good purchase, but they didn't pull their weight this game.
2) The Thunderfire was great for 100 points. It's survivable, and reliably put a ton of wounds on anything it hit. While it probably would have been better off shooting the Assault Marines, it was still absolultey worth it.
3) I really don't think I need the Rhinos. Granted, this was a game against an aggressive army, but I felt like the additional firepower I got from disembarking was worth far more than the protection or mobility gained from the Rhino. I'll be trying my next game without any.
4) Finally, I was once again disappointed with the Librarian. The powers just never seem to do much before he is killed, and he always gets killed. I understand that he's a cheap and efficient HQ choice, but I really want a Warlord that will affect the battle. Amra the Lion fits the bill, and he'll be leading my army next time.