Time to test out some new toys in this 2000 points Take and Hold scenario. I tried to fix my army by adding what it lacked: scions for mobility, indirect fire for support, Ursula Creed for extra AP.
The left flank and center was still held by old favorites.
In front of the brave guardswomen, the endless silver tide of the necrons.
3 heavy destroyers behind ruins, everything else on the line. Bikes already scouted up.
Astra Militarum, turn 1
I pulled Assasinate, which seemed rough considering my shots just pinged off the Command Barge, however Larkin's longlas one-shot-killed a cryptek. It ressurected with a stratagem but I got the points.
I also pulled Area Denial, and I sent 10 brave sons of Krieg into the center of the board.
Necrons, turn 1
Everything moved and/or advanced up the board, with some shots fired and taking out an infantry model here and there.
All 3 heavy destroyers moved out of cover to target my tanks, but they all failed their one-shots.
Astra Militarum, turn 2
Nuns and tank stayed still, with the Ogryns moving up front to provide a meatshield.
Right flank did the same thing.
And then came my best shooting phase ever. The battle tank cleared the heavy destroyer, and also mowed down some skorpekhs. The nun shooting killed a lot more, with the Ogryns finishing off the bikes in the fight phase.
Larkin killed Orrican - another ressurect. Then the right flank, supported by the outflanking Kasrkin Fairy squad, shot up and eliminated the Lychguard. A lot of necron warriors died as well, and the Rogal Dorn killed the second heavy destroyer.
I dropped my two squads of scions in for points, but they also surprised me by taking out the final heavy destroyer.
Necrons, turn 2
I failed my psy shield on the Kriegers, and both warrior squads focused them down. Reinforcements!
The command barge and remaining skorpekhs killed the Ogryns and charged the Cadian nuns - I was very lucky with 1 nun remaining alive.
In the middle, the warriors charged my small Krieger squad, also engaging the Dorn.
Finally, scarabs came in from reserves to eat one of my scion squads. Reinforcements!
Astra militarum, turn 3
I scored just 5 primary but again both secondaries - however Cleanse and something else only brought in 6 points.
At least the killing continued! My Kriegers came in on the right, shooting up the scarabs that killed the scions, and eating into the warrior squad stealing the objective. I focused them down with my tanks and artillery, and they melted.
With the castellan's fall back and shoot rule, the small squad still put out a lot of firepower - with support from the reinforcement scions and the battle tank. Sadly, the Skorpekh Lord also ressurected, and this isn't a battle tactic. I'd love to mess it up with the Callidus.
I then sent in the Bullgryns to mess up the middle and keep the bulk of the warriors away from the Dorn.
Necrons, turn 3
Astra militarum, turn 4
Reinforcement nuns and Gaunt's ghosts appear to threaten the necron backfield. Unfortunately not enough to clear the Lychguard.
At least Gaunt and the surviving scions thus gave me both Investigate signals and Engage on all fronts.
No CP-s for tank shock, but enough OC to take the point away!
Necrons, turn 4
With the Deceiver joining the fight, the Bullgryns died.
Scarabs, that previously dropped in for backline actions, were engaged by the Callidus - unfortunately, they killed each other.
Battle round 5
My secondaries were on point, but I was lacking in primary points, which the necrons scored very successfully - as they do, being hard to shift. The only way to deny their last 5 points was to table them. I gave it my best. My shooting was pretty good...
...but I couldn't get to this guy. Adding some salt to the wound, he was also able to do an action for a final 3 point secondary.
Conclusion
The game was close and high scoring. I managed to squeeze out a win 71 to 84, with 10 more added for painted army bonus.
Victory for the Astra Militarum!
Breaking down the score sheet, I did almost max secondaries, while my opponent struggled. On the flipside, the necrons achieved max primary, while I struggled - though not as much. This was apparent during the game, and made it feel close.
Not going to lie, my rolls were pretty hot where it mattered. Or at least it seemed so. Looking back, I did literally nothing first turn with all my tanks firing into warriors - except the one-shot-one-kill into the cryptek. Gaunt's Ghosts made up their points right then and there. Shooting turn 2 and 3 was great, with 4 somewhat lackluster and 5 again great. The necrons did more consistently, but the first turn big fails of the heavy destroyers and their consequent destruction left them unable to touch my tanks.
I like my changes to the army. I was sad to see the Catachan regiment go, but they do literally nothing, characters and all. Scions are much better for scoring and shooting purposes, although they are a lot more fragile with less bodies, obviously.
My backline artillery park is a self-invented combo. They sure would be crap except for the support granted by Ursula. She gives both squads Take aim, and her own squad's mortar can do Fields of Fire (-1AP) for free on basically any unit on the battlefield.
But most importantly, during this game, I had fun. I went in with a lot less stress than last time, as I knew what was coming up. I made steps to mitigate the crowded battlefield, and if it hadn't worked out, hey, there's always more room for improvement. We both had some practice behind us now, so there was a bit less rules look up, and therefore more banter and bad/dad jokes and roleplay. I wore my Imperium t-shirt. It was great!
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