Astra Militarum vs Astra Militarum, 02.06.2023

First game in a month after the Warhammer Weekend. Start out small, with 1000 points in a mirror match against the grey guard. Unfortunately, I completely forgot how to play the game and placed no line of sight blockage in the middle of the map. To be honest, the half-sized 1000 points maps always throw me off. 

Grey guard got first turn, and it was as devastating as expected.

The infantry did nothing but run and raise banners, whereas the tanks (especially the Rogal Dorn, which is brutal) and field guns shot.

Both Chimeras went down, as well as a sizable number of heavy weapons teams. One tank also exploded, further damaging my lines. Sigh.

During my turn, I took out the Rogal Dorn. To be honest, had my shooting been just a biiiiiiiit more efficient, I could have destroyed or at least crippled both tanks.

Battle round 2

The grey guard advanced further into the middle of the map, teleporting a large squad of Kasrkin unto the flank.

The Leman Russ destroyed my Executioner (which also blew up, on par for the course) and the Kasrkin did the mop-up. The Gatekeeper relic is so much more efficient than a regular battle cannon, it's a crime not to take it. And the Brutal Strength/First rank, fire!/Overcharged las-cells/Ingrained precision/Barbicant's key combo (count that up) is... well, brutal in terms of efficiency and number of mortal wounds with a bit of split firing.

I did one more shooting phase, reasoning that if I managed to take out the Russ, I still had a chance at some points. I did about 3 damage. We shook hands.

Conclusion

I could go on here about the uselessness of heavy weapons teams, meta lists and the 'right' relics and combos to take, but I think my worst mistake was the way I set up my terrain. I'm rusty, especially with the nuns. 10th edition is right around the corner, but perhaps I'll manage to get another game in before the end, and I'll try to do better.