While this game happened in May, I'm posting it now and incomplete. While I had finished writing it up, when I originally attempted to upload it there was an error that deleted half the post. That was quite a bit of work that was lost and it out me off posting other stuff for a while (as you can tell if you are regular reader). So, for the sake of completion here it is.
This week George and I scheduled a 1500point game. He wanted to try out large units of reanimating Warriors and had also remarked that he hadn't faced my Astra Militarum before. We built armies accordingly and squared off on Wednesday evening at Dark Star.
My Astra Militarum is an infantry-based force. I decided I wanted some Ultramarines to add some heavier firepower and come blazing to the rescue from the skies.
Imperial 1500 points
Cadian Brigade Detachment
HQ
Company Commander, Warlord - Master of Command, Heirloom of Conquest - Kurov's Aquila
Company Commander, Heirloom of Conquest - Relic of Lost Cadia
Primaris Psyker, Heirloom of Conquest - The Deathmask of Olianius, Psykana - Psychic Maelstrom, Mental Fortitude
Troops
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
Infantry Squad
Elites
Platoon Commander
Ratlings
Ratlings
Fast Attack
Scout Sentinel, Autocannon
Scout Sentinel, Autocannon
Scout Sentinel, Autocannon
Heavy Support
Heavy Weapons Squad, Mortars
Heavy Weapons Squad, Mortars
Heavy Weapons Squad, Mortars
Ultramarines Outrider Detachment
HQ
Captain, Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Relic of the Chapter - The Sanctic Halo
Lieutenant in Phobos Armour
Fast Attack
Inceptor Squad, Plasma Exterminators
Inceptor Squad, Plasma Exterminators
Suppressor Squad
Heavy Support
Eliminator Squad
Operative Requisition Sanctioned
1 Assassin
All the Command Points! The core of the army is obviously the Cadian Brigade. Infantry and Officers to do the heavy lifting, Mortars and Sentinels for covering fire and Ratlings to suppress characters. The Ultramarines are built to drop into the rescue turn 2, and the Eliminators are because the last time I tried them, George destroyed them first turn so I want to see what they do.
I also brought one of each Assassin. This would allow me to look at George's army and decide which one to deploy. Obviously, the Culexus would be a poor choice and George says that most people he saw at the recent Dark Star tournament just ran Vindicares. Guess we shall see which I run.
Experimenting with large squads of Warriors, while also trying out the Monolith and the Doom Scythe, George's force looked intimidating. I wasn't sure I had sufficient firepower to tackle a Monolith. It could potentially cause me problems.
Reanimation Group Necron 1500 points
Necron Battalion
HQ
Overlord
Overlord
Cryptek
Troops
20 Necron Warriors
20 Necron Warriors
10 Immortals
Elites
Triarch Stalker
Heavy Support
Monolith
Flier
Doom Scythe
A lot of bodies that can get back up and a lot of firepower to take out fragile Guardsman bodies. Not ideal, and flashlights versus a flier is not a great matchup. The Doom Scythe might have to be the Marine's responsibility.
The Game
We set up the terrain and rolled for a mission; Disruptive Signals with Frontline Assault deployment. Both of us had quite a core of Troops, so Objectives were likely to be viciously fought over. His vehicles could give him the edge unless my Marines could take them down.
I was deploying first. I deployed the bulk of the Guard and put the Sentinels on my left flank. The Eliminators took advantage of a Bastion in the middle of the field and I prepared to set up the Ratlings after George's deployment. Being rather terrified of not being able to deal with the Monolith, I elected to not put the rest of the Marines in reserve but instead deployed them to hold my right flank. Finally, I requisitioned an Eversor. I believed I had enough Snipers to bully his characters and the Eversor could potentially make a mess of the Immortals if he can touch them in combat. So I put him in reserve.
George put a unit of Warriors on each flank and put his Warlord Overlord and the Cryptek behind a rock with the Warriors on his right. The Doom Scythe and Triarch Stalker went to the centre and then he did something unexpected. He deployed the Monolith in reserve and put the Immortals in the Monolith. This would delay the Monolith until at least turn 2 and the Immortals until at least turn 3. The Monolith having a large footprint and needing to be 12" away from my forces when it arrives would also inhibit where it could arrive. If I'd known it wasn't going to start on the table, I'd have risked doing the same with the Ultramarines.
I elected to go first and George failed to seize. I then deployed the Ratlings forward with sights set on the other Overlord and the Scout Sentinels moved up to support them.
Round One
I moved up and prepared to hammer the Warriors with what firepower I could get in range. My cards were a little lacklustre, so I ignored them for now. The key one I could score, Supremacy, was denied by George using the mission Stratagem. I did have Defend 3, which was close to George's lines. At the end of my Shooting Phase, I had killed 1 Warrior from the group on my left, and 16 on the right. His Warlord had Immortal Pride, however, so that group wasn't running. The Snipers failed to hurt the other Overlord too.
Georges turn started with him getting 13 of the 17 Warriors back via Reanimation Protocols. He killed the nearest squad of Inceptors for First Strike and killed enough of the Guard squad to deny me the Defend 3. Already it looked like I would have problems.
Round Two
As you can see, this is all that Blogger saved. I did win this game, probably due to George putting so much into Reserve.
