Introduction
The Imperial Fists set up to fight the Bloodthirster brothers in a 1000 point Eternal War - Incursion - Divide and Conquer mission.
Imperial Fists, turn 1
The Space Marines got first turn and they pressed their advantage hard. On my left flank, Phobos armored Incursors and their Captain took the objective, supported by the Dreadnought. Outriders and an Invader ATV zoomed forward on my right.
It was my first encounter with obscuring terrain, and it turned out not to be the perfect solution. An entire unit of Bloodletters, as well as all but 1 Flesh Hound succumbed to the crossfire.
Daemons, turn 1
When in doubt, charge. Both Bloodthirsters struck out to clear the right, while shielding themselves from the Dreadnought. The Skullcannon rolled up to aim at the Captain, while the Flesh Hound and Furies took cover behind their ruin.
Arbra'Gax, the Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster got greedy and charged both the Bladeguards and the Outriders, killing neither. His as of yet unnamed brother swung G'rmakht the Destroyer Unfettered Fury, utterly annihilating the ATV.
Imperial Fists, turn 2
The engaged marines fell back, opening the way for the Dreadnought.
The entire army then shot at Arbra'Gax, in order to take his 8 wounds for the phase (exalted trait to the rescue).
The Dreadnought then charged my general, pounding him into the dust. 4++ and 6+++ were not enough to stop the extreme overkill. At least I did some damage as well, heroically intervening into the Outriders.
Daemons, turn 2
The Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury jumped in, annihilating the Dreadnought. Furies went ahead to Raise the Banners on an objective. 20 Bloodletters clawed their way out of the warp, charging and killing the Librarian hidden in the central ruins, but barely scratching the Incursors.
Imperial Fists, turn 3
The Incursors fell back, and the remaining marines advanced on my battered forces. The Bloodletters fell to bolter fire, and all but 1 Fury as well (auto pass morale!). The Bloodthirster was held in place by a daring charge from the surviving Bladeguard Veteran, who then proceeded to roll all his saves. Intercessors charged the Skullcannon, stealing my objective.
Daemons, turn 3
The Skullcannon ground through the melee, only to discover that it is not a vehicle, and thus unable to shoot. Sad.
The Bloodthirster finally killed the Bladeguard (with only 1 failed save) and consolidated into Intercessors.
The Fury flew to deny primary points from the Captain.
Turn 4-5
The game quickly degenerated into killing remaining units and eking out points wherever possible. The Bloodthirster slew 2 squads of Intercessors and the Captain, and the Skullcannon died as well.
Scoring
The score was somewhat tight, and we played to the bitter end.
Imperial Fists:
- 35 primary
- 8 Engage on All Fronts
- 10 Oath of Moment
- 5 First Strike
- Total 58
- 35 primary
- 5 Raise the Banners
- 5 While we stand we fight
- 3 Domination
- Total 48
Imperial Fist victory!
Thoughts on scoring:
- I did not expect to tie on primary points, but scoring last in the final round helped.
- Oath of Moment is such a great secondary, I wish I had my own 9th edition codex.
- None of the secondaries seemed particularly great for me in this particular setup. I will try some Chapter Approved ones for the next game.
- Finally, this was my very first 9th edition game.
- I had been watching battle reports while painting, but nothing compares to practical experience, and I had to see for myself how the terrain works now.
- Same for the very crowded smaller tables, which disabled me dropping the Bloodletters anywhere else other than my own zone. Good thing about the 3d6" charge.
- Daemons still only have 2 stratagems: Denizens of the Warp and Command Reroll. Fine, and auto-pass morale.
From the other way over the table the story was a little different:
ReplyDeleteThe Imperial Fists were sent to secure the center ground of the planet until the Armada arrives.
They were supposed to keep the Korn armies busy on All Fronts as a diversion from their true plan.
The Imperial Fists bravely opened fire giving away their position in order to draw the Korn forces out from their hiding.
It was a devastating blow to the Korn forces that oblige them to engage desperately.
The Bikers bravely sacrificed themselves to allow the librarian to control the center once more.
The Incursors did their job infiltrating the enemy territory and forcing the Bloodletters to drop far away in their half of the table. Unfortunately they did not manage to keep the Librarian alive.
The Blade Guards kept their reputation by taking blow after blow after blow, their shields stood strong (CP reroll to the rescue well spent).
By the time the last standing Bloodthirster killed most of the brave sons of Dorn, their mission was already achieved.