Chaos Daemons vs Blood Angels, 2017.06.20

For my first 8th edition match, I played against an old opponent: the Blood Angels. Even with all the hype surrounding 8th edition, I could barely find the time for this match - never mind the blog post.

Points: 1000

Lists:

Daemons of Chaos: Battalion Detachment +3 CP

• Daemon Prince of Nurgle (CD), wings, sword and talons, warlord
• Great Unclean One
• Herald of Nurgle
• 10-man Plaguebearers
• 30-man Plaguebearers, icon, instrument
• 3-man Nurglings
• 5-man Furies of Nurgle

Blood Angels: Vanguard Detachment +1 CP

• Dante, warlord
• Mephiston
• 5-man Terminators, with assault cannon
• 5-man Death Company, 1 power axe
• Razorback, assault cannon 
• 5-man Death Company, 1 thunder hammer
• Razorback, assault cannon 

Mission: The Scouring, Vanguard Deployment

Deployment

With alternating deployment, the Blood Angels finished first. Everything was on the table in a middle blob, but the two Death Company squads were safely huddled in their Razorbacks.

I put the huge squad of Plaguebearers in the middle, bubblewrapping the Great Unclean One and the Herald. I feared deep striking Terminators until they were deployed on the table, so I then put the Daemon Prince in ruins for +1 save. Furies on the left flank, mischief-maker Nurglings on the right.

The Herald is proxied by a lone Plague Marine. Across the table, a Rhino and Predator proxy the Razorbacks.

Through good fortune, I got the extra valuable objective in my deployment zone, and the Blood Angels got the less valuable one.

Daemons, turn 1

The Blood Angels player counted on me marching up without any shooting to do, then charging me with the Death Company, so he gave me first turn.

I obliged him, then proceeded to Smite the Terminators to death.

I count 3 dead Terminators a successful psychic phase!

Blood Angels, turn 1

The Plaguebearers were slow enough not to advance too far up the field, leaving the Death Company to face some long-bomb charges. They preferred to stay inside their transports. Instead, the assault cannons opened up... with pretty good results.

I used two CPs to have the Plaguebearers pass their morale test, to the great disappointment of my opponent. The Blood Angels then set to receive my charges.

Daemons, turn 2

The blob and the bubble wrapped characters advance, with the Daemon Prince closing in on the left. The 10-man Plaguebearers squad reaches the valuable objective, holding it for the rest of the game.

The Plaguebearers charged first, eating all the overwatch from two Razorbacks and the Terminators. The Furies and Daemon Prince then went in. The Great Unclean One failed, leaving him stranded in the middle. Unfortunately, I did not managed to kill anything outright.

Blood Angels, turn 2

Set for the countercharges as the Death Company pile out of their transports! Dante jumped behind my Daemon Prince, intent on eliminating him.

Both Razorbacks retreated, so only the assaulting marines shot, shaving off wounds the Prince and the Great Unclean One. Then everything charged.
Dante fought first, doing very well against the Prince, but I made an inordinate amount of saves, going down to just 5 wounds. I then interrupted to smack the Death Company with the Prince, killing some and probably saving myself from certain death. The Great Unclean One managed to kill the Death Company attacking him, thanks to being buffed with psychics and auras.

Daemons, turn 3

I failed to heal the Prince with psychics. I timed it wrong, and Mephiston managed to deny the power. However, I did bring in my Great Unclean One to face off Dante and killed him off.

Blood Angels, turn 3

The far Razorback, thus far unhurt, moved in to shoot, smacking the Prince down to 1 wound. Mephiston, desperate, took a risk and overcharged his plasma, contributing to the hurting of the Prince.

The Razorback still held on with 1 wound left. The damn thing was unkillable. Of course, it was also useless. With crippled movement, it could never retreat far enough not to be engaged again in the fight phase.

Daemons, turn 4

The hammer falls as the Daemon Prince flies behind Mephiston and the Great Unclean One closes in on the unhurt Razorback.

But here comes a chain of unexpected events! The Prince charges in, but fails to kill Mephiston, leaving him at 2 wounds. Sacrificing the last CPs, the psyker kills the Daemon Prince. Then the Furies manage to bring down the Razorback, which explodes! and kills both the remaining Furies as well as Mephiston!

With only a Razorback alive, and in combat with the Great Unclean One and the Herald, the Blood Angels conceded.

Aftermath

Tactical errors were abundant in this game, on both sides. The Blood Angels gave up free shooting along with the first turn. I adapted with difficulty to the removing of models by myself, and did not open the bubble wrap fast enough for the Great Unclean One inside to charge. However, we both had fun. Also, neither of our armies looked unplayable and weak. I'd say 8th edition is off to a good start!

M.A.G.U.S. - kincses sziget (1)

Why is this post not in English?

Bevezető

A melfordi kalandsorozat után végre átadhattam a KM-i posztot Armatio játékosának. Régóta vártam, hogy igazán bevethessem karakteremet, Valériát, a boszorkányt. Természetesen jól felkészültem, és a játékasztal környékét szinte beborította a sok összegzés, tartalomjegyzék és jegyzet. Megkaptam, hogy rendesen felkészültem női karaktert játszani.

Találkozás a kapitánnyal

A kalandozók kedvenc kocsmájuk előtt üldögéltek, amikor egy megfelelően skorbutos, retkes tengerész felajánlott nekik egy jó kis üzletet, amit a kapitányával kell megbeszélni. A retkes tengerészek általában nem megbízhatóak, úgyhogy ráküldtem Biznardot, hogy fogja le, és tudjam kivallatni, de a barbár túl lassan mozdult, és a fickó elmenekült.

Persze az üzlet az üzlet, és az adott időben elmentünk a megfelelő kocsmába. Nagy adag dühös tengerész között találtuk magunkat, akiket azonban pár ingyen sörrel kezes báránnyá szelidítettünk.

A kapitány nagy feneket kerítve mesélte el, hogyan keveredett pár emberével egy lakatlan szigeten egy barlang mélyére, ahol falba épített ajtót találtak, és szörnyeteg őrízte. Shamil és Athosian felváltva vallatta és alkudozott vele, majd amikor már nem jutottak előre, mágiával léptem közbe. Jövendőolvasás címén megérintettem a kapitány kezét, és pszi-emlékfelidézéssel pontosan megnéztem magamnak, milyen szörnyről van szó. Majd elbájoltam a gyanútlant, és újabb, jobb üzletet csikartam ki belőle a kincs felosztásáról.

Míg a többiek kipihenték fáradalmaikat, addig a szervezetünk könyvtárát bújtam. Hajnalban pedig hajóra szálltunk.

Hajókázás

A két hetes tengeri út sajnos nem volt sétahajókázás. A kapitány rendesen megdolgoztatott, a hajón senki sem henyélhetett. Biznard ereje, Shamil és Athosian ügyessége hasznára is vált a tengerészeknek... Valéria pedig sokat sikálta a fedélzetet, a tengerészek nagy örömére.

Mindezekután szerencsésen partot értünk, és rendesen felszerelkezve útnak indultunk. Az előkészületek között találta magát egy szerencsés (szerencsétlen?) matróz is, aki egy adag Sorvasztás után életereje egy részével ajándékozta meg Valériát.

Szinte kirándulás

Reggel partra szálltunk és elindultunk a sziget közepén álló hegyre fel vezető ösvényen.

Az első kellemetlenséget a sziget állatvilága okozta, amikor Biznard nem vette észre időben a mérgeskígyót. Szerencsére minden baját megoldotta egy kis pihenés és pálinka.

Még ki sem pihente magát jól, máris jött a következő akadály. Athosiannak köszönhetően észrevettük a hatalmas gyíkot, mielőtt kitört volna a bozótból.

Biznard nyugodtan állt a bestia elébe. Szerencséjére sikerült megtörjem a rohamot a gyík lábai előtt megnyitott szakadékkal, bár a szekérnyi szörnyeteg túl nagy volt ahhoz, hogy beessen.

Ez után a barbár és a fejvadász lefoglalta a szörnyet, és szépen lassan agyonverték. Szemvillanásnyi időre észrevettünk egy különös gyíklényt a fák között, de nem sikerült utolérjük, vagy nyomát leljük. Rövid pihenés után folytattuk utunkat.

Az út utolsó szakaszán sziklafalat másztunk. Valériának különös látomásban volt része - a sziklafal szemei előtt elevenedett meg, és támadott rá - és szinte leesett a látvány miatt, de Biznard gyors reflexei megmentették, csupán karcolások árán.

Ismét egy barlang

Már sötétedett, mire elértük a barlangot. Fáklyákkal felszerelkezve araszoltunk előre: a bent lapuló szörny nem lephetett meg. Annyit tudtunk róla, hogy vágófegyverrel csak új szájakat lehet nyitni gömb alakú testén, de nem tudtuk kipróbálni, mivel Biznard pár ütésből agyonverte.

Utójáték

Már csak az éjszakát kell eltölteni, és azután kinyitjuk az ajtót!

M.A.G.U.S. - treasure island (1)

Introduction

After finishing the set of adventures centered on the village of Melford, it was time for me to sit back, relax and enjoy the game. Armatio's player took over being DM, and I finally got to play my own character: the witch Valeria. Needless to say that I'd done my homework, and came prepared with notes, summaries, cross- and quick-references, and other props that soon engulfed a large amount of space around the gaming table. It got laughed off and called getting into character playing a woman.

Getting hired

As the party was sitting around their favorite tavern, we were approached by a wiry sailor who attempted to have us meet with his captain. I asked Biznard to hold him down for questioning, but the barbarian was too slow, and the sailor got away.

Nevertheless, we made our way to the specified time and place to find ourselves in a seedy tavern full of unruly sailors. We defused the situation by paying for drinks, and got into talking with the captain. The fool had wandered along with his men into a cave on a deserted island, and found a door guarded by some kind of monstrosity. I let Shamil and Athosian bargain and question the man until words had done all that they could, then intervened with magic to read the captain's memories (identifying the monster) and temporarily enchant him (convincing him to increase our share of the profit).

While the party rested at night, I perused the guild's library to research the threat we faced. Details were sketchy, but it was better than nothing. In the morning we embarked on the ship, and set sail.

Row, row, row your boat...

We spent a week or two on the ship. Unfortunately it was no joy ride, and the captain made us work like any sailor. He made good use of the barbarian's strength, the thief's and assassin's acrobatics, and the witch's... good looks, having her scrub the floor.

We arrived in good health, stocked up with needed supplies - including some life energy drained from an arguably (un)lucky sailor.

Trek up the mountainside

In the morning, we set ashore and began our journey on an overgrown trail. We reached the cave by nightfall, but not without trouble.

The first incident was due to the island fauna. Biznard failed to notice the poisonous snake and got bit. Fortunately, this was nothing that some rest and hard liquor couldn't fix.

Further up the trail, we were charged by a monstrous lizard. It was a tough fight, and we owe a lot to the thief who managed to spot beast even before it trampled out of the bushes.

The barbarian stood fast to receive the charge. It might have been ugly, had I not had the time to open a chasm right in front of the lizard. It was too large to fall in, but at least I broke its charge.

Once it faltered, the barbarian and the assassin pinned it in place, and we slowly whittled it down with hammer, blade and arrow. Someone caught a glimpse of a strange reptilian humanoid looking at us from among the trees, but we could not catch up to it. We rested and carried on with the trek.

The final leg of the journey was a near-vertical climb on a cliff wall. Valeria was surprised by an unexpected vision and nearly fell off, but the barbarian's quick reflexes saved her with only a few scrapes.

Into the cave

It was near dark when we entered the cave, carrying torches. We knew what to expect, and the cave monster did not catch us unprepared. We knew that slashing weapons would only open new mouths on its body, but we could not test the theory, as Biznard thoroughly bashed it to pulp in one go.

Aftermath

There's still the night to spend, then it's time to open the door!

Daemons of Chaos vs Skaven, 31.05.2017

Points: 1500

Deployment: Battle for the pass

Lists:

Daemons of Chaos:

• Herald of Nurgle, BSB, level 1 wizard, lesser gift (Always Strikes First)
• Herald of Nurgle, General, Greater Locus of 4+ Regeneration, level 1 wizard: Stream of Corruption, lesser gift (S2 breath weapon)
• 30-man Plaguebearers, full command, Banner of Swiftness
• 5-man Chaos Furies 
• 2x 5-man Flesh Hounds, Ambushers
• 5-man Seekers of Slaanesh
• Beast of Nurgle
• Skullcannon

My opponent said he'll bring some OP shooting, so I was prepared for cannons with those 2 squads of ambushers and a healthy combat block to march up the field.

Skaven

• Warlord, general
• Assassin
• 40-man Clanrats, full command, swords/shields
• 46-man Clanrats, full command, spears/shields
• Doomwheel
• 3-man Stormfiends, Ratling Cannons
• 5-man Poison Wind Mortars
• 4-man Rat Ogres
• 8-man Warplock Jezzails

We caught a mistake well after we started the game: the Mortars cannot be taken on their own, only attached to other units. Oh well.

Deployment

I set up my Plaguebearers with the Heralds protected from shooting by the Furies. I didn't have any good ranged spells, so I banked on the Flesh Hounds arriving to keep the enemy in check. Beast and Seekers on the Flanks, with the Skullcannon taking aim at the Doomwheel.

The deployment unfortunately did not favor the Skaven. All the shooting was mid-ranged (18-24"), so nothing could fire first turn. Moreover, the army split in half, with one unit of Clanrats and the Rat Ogres facing backwards, to greet the Flesh Hounds.

Daemons, turn 1

I didn't move anything. However, notice the missing Doomwheel. For once, the Skullcannon decided not to blow itself up first turn, and do something useful.

Skaven, turn 1

Stuff moved up, ready to engage. The Mortars also turned around.

Daemons, turn 2

Both squads of Flesh Hounds arrived to my great surprise. Some finagling was needed, but I managed to *just* move out of charge arc of the Clanrats.

The cannon shot the Stormfiends, but inflicted only 1 wound.

Skaven, turn 2

My trap was sprung, and the Skaven army continued its march in two separate directions. The large group of spear-wielding rats with the Warlord (and the Assassin hiding), supported by the Stormfiends, advanced on my lines. The backfield units turned to intercept the Hounds. The Mortars shot and killed one Hound.

Daemons, turn 3

One unit of Hounds charged the Jezzails. One died to stand and shoot, the rest then murdered the rats. The other unit of Hounds failed its march test, but just managed to move forward enough to leave the arc of the large Clanrat unit.

The Skullcannon shot and killed one Stormfiend.

The Seekers moved behind the yellow rock just off-screen.

Skaven, turn 3

The spear rats moved forward, just out of charge range of the Plaguebearers.

The Mortars shot but did minimal damage to the Hounds.

The Fiends shot and killed some Seekers.

The backfield units continued turning ineffectively, trying to catch the Hounds.

Daemons, turn 4

I wanted to catch the Skaven main unit in the middle. In order to keep them there, I moved my Furies just in front of them. The Plaguebearers, even with the banner, could barely keep up.

The Seekers charged the Mortars, which fled almost off the board.

The Cannon shot the Fiends.

Skaven, turn 4

The Clanrats took the bait and charged the Furies, killing them off.

The Mortars managed to rally.

Daemons, turn 5

The Plaguebearers were out of reliable charge range. Plus, I wanted the Clanrats pinned and unable to use their spears effectively. So I marched my units up to surround them.

In an unexpected turn of events, the Beast of Nurgle charged the one remaining Stormfiend. They did no wound to each other, I won by charging, and ran it down.

The small unit of Flesh Hounds retreated behind rocks, trying to preserve their points.

Skaven, turn 5

The Skaven unit charged in, doing good damage, but not enough.

Backfield movement was pretty useless at this point.

Daemons, turn 6

The hammer fell, and the combined charge killed a lot of Clanrats. They managed to flee, and nothing managed to catch them. It looked like the Skaven could pull a minor defeat...

Skaven, turn 6

But then the general failed the rally test, and the unit fled off the table. Major victory for the Daemons!

Aftermath

I felt bad afterwards, thinking that I brought too strong a list against a new player. Alas, I was warned about Skaven shooting, and tried to counter it as best as I could. I also had luck on my dice, with both Flesh Hound units coming in turn 2, and the cannon not misfiring, not even once, which has never happened before. 

My opponent was frustrated by my dancing around his units and never taking a charge. Then again, this game is won in the movement phase!