Astra Militarum vs Sisters of Battle, 2021.11.07

Introduction

Time for the nuns to take to the table again, this time in a more competitive setting. Retrieval mission from Chapter Approved and WTC terrain setup. I was facing down the Order of the Bloody Rose, led by Saint Celestine.

Turn 1

The sisters took the first turn, cautiously advancing across the board.

I remained cautious as well. The terrain was absolutely killing me, closing off any firing lines. The nuns stayed resolute, raising the banners.

Turn 2

The Sisters got out of their Rhinos but stayed behind cover. The tanks themselves went forwards.

I did some shooting but I was already boxed in. Small squads of battle sisters and death cult assassins zoned out the entire backfield, with the assault squad midfield and the Rhinos shielding them in turn.

Turn 3

Turn 3 had some action, with me going forwards and clashing with the advance elements - Sacresants and Zephyrim.

I landed my reinforcements in my own backlines, with only the Callidus infiltrating the enemy zone and taking over an objective.

Turn 4

I already lost at this point, but we played a bit more to see nuns hosed down by heavy flamers and the Sacresants taking all the shots from the Punisher gun and more before finally going down.

Closing thoughts

A hard loss for the nuns, at around 48-15 top of turn 4. 

It was my first attempt at a competitive setup for 9th edition, and it was completely different than what I've previously experienced.

The game was surprisingly quiet, with both sides moving at a slow pace. Time was mostly taken by pre-measuring (and double checking measurements) instead of dice rolling. This contrasted with the usual blood baths that my 9th edition games tended to be.

The terrain was very different to what I've previously played. I used the setup in the rulebook before, which seems to leave at least some firing lines while also providing some ruins to hide behind. This tournament-style setup neuters any gunline army before the game begins.

And I suppose I should be happy about that. I've slogged through 3 editions with a mostly melee army, and gunlines always made my life miserable. I just happened to try a shooting army in a now-melee focused meta.

It's fine.

Be'lakor is getting painted.