Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Battle Report Blood Angels vs Raven Guard

No photos this time as this game was played under a time constraint, so I'll have to rely on my narrative skills to relay the events of my most recent game:

Raven Guard (Marc)
Shrike
Terminators (lightning claw)
Vanguard Vets
2 Tactical squads in Drop Pods
1 Squad in a Laser Cannon Razorback
Dreadnought with two Twin Linked Auto Cannons
Scouts
...I think that's it.

Blood Angels (Moi')
Terminator Librarian (Fear of Darkness, Unleash Rage)
Death Company (Hammer, 2 Power Swords, 2 Chain Swords)
Death Company Dreadnought (Mag Grapples, Blood Claws, Melta, Heavy Flamer)
2 Assault Squads of 10 models with Laser Razorback (2 Melta, Power Fist)
Sanguinary Priest (stock load out)
Baal Predator (Flamestorm, Heavy Flamers)

My strategy:
Combat Squad for any mission having 4 or more objectives.  Everything starts on the board (except Dawn of War) with Baal in reserve to outflank.  For Dawn of War, only Death Co. and Librarian deploys.

Terrain Agreement: True Line of Sight.  No area terrain (there weren't any ruins or trees) only two of the 3 spires are impassable. No dangerous terrain.

We roll: Seize Ground (5! Objectives!  C'MON!) Dawn of War.  Objectives get grouped at the south end of the board.  I loose the initiative but he elects to go second.  Death Co. deploys as far forward as possible but I divide them: Dread mid board and Jumpers at the south side.  Razor back with 5 models deploys across from the Death Co Dread.  He then drops infiltrators: Scouts and Shrike attached to Terminators and loiter at the north end with scouts in difficult terrain.  I start to think about how to remove Shrike, The Terminators and the Scouts before turn 2.  He goes to seize the initiative...rolls a 3.

Turn 1, Blood Angels.

I combat squad my Assault Marines putting the Meltas and Fist of each in their respective Razorbacks and march one towards the nearest objective making a clear and open challenge.  Also moving are both Death Co.  Then I tank shock the Terminator/Shrike unit with Razor 1 and force them to fall back. Another tank shock from Razor 2 against the scouts pushes them out of difficult terrain.  The fourth combat squad comes in behind the scouts.  Everyone jumps out of the Razorbacks and start pouring into the scouts and Terminators.

Turn 1, Raven Guard
Shrike and Terminators fall back some more. Drop Pod hits the north end, Auto Cannon Dread marches on.  His Laserback grants the Death Co. Dread the Emperor's Peace. Auto Cannon Dread starts to work on the Death Co. Jumpers and I start loosing models.

Turn 2, Blood Angels
Those that can, embark and a Razorback launches after the retreating Shrikenators.  The second Razorback hurls itself at the newly arrived Tactical squad but they dodge it.  The assault squad that marched in at the north end begins a sprint towards the objectives at mid board.  The Death Co. moves in on the Autocannon Dread.  More firing into Shrikenators thins the unit out a bit. The Librarian introduces the tactical squad I couldn't shock to the Darkness and they break.  No need to assault.

Turn 2, Raven Guard
The Shrikenators and Tactical Squad continue their retreat. Second of his Drop Pods hit along with the Vanguards using Heroic Intervention.  More shooting thins down the Death Co. to just a Hammer, Lemartes and a Power Sword.  The Vets throw themselves at the assault squad camping out on an objective and reduce them to one guy with a chainsword.

Turn 3, Blood Angels
Baal comes in from reserve outflanking.  My plan is to rush the newly arrive tactical squad at the south end of the board and vaporize them.  Then, when my last assault marine in the nearby close combat falls to Lightning Claws, fry the Vanguards.  Only I roll the opposite direction so the Baal comes in at the north.  At least it can help push the retreating units off the table.  I claim the objective near my Librarian and make for the mid board objectives.  The Death Co. Assault the Auto Cannon Dread and does nothing.

Turn 3, Raven Guard
The retreating units inch ever closer to the edge of the world.  Only cursory shooting from drop pods and Dreadnought to no real effect.  The retreating Tactical Squad does manage to break an Assault Squad and they fall back towards a Laserback.  The Laserback breaks for the south east objective and deploys it's five marines on it.  Death Co. finally in sight and range of a target they could fight...but no...they're too busy raging against the machine.   Vanguards mop up then hop north to contest objectives.

Turn 4, Blood Angels
The retreating Assault Squad Knows No Fear and manages to get it's head back in the game and its collective rumps back in a Laserback.  Said Laserback then Mach Vs to the mid board objective and lands its.  I'm telling you, dozer blades are so WORTH IT!  The Baal mimics and manages to put itself between the two retreating masses of models and withing 6" of each. The rest of the forces push towards objectives which, at this point, may as well be on another table.  The Deatch Co Jumpers chase the Autocannon Dread some more.

Turn 4, Raven Guard
More retreating.  The Autocannon Dread pulls back into the south east corner. The vanguards are on their way to the Librarian (it looks like that, though he could break east and go to the mid board objective). The south board tactical squad claims that objective.  Then the Laserback launches up the hill and bumps into my Laserback nullifying my claim on the mid board objective.

Time gets called and the game ends.  Raven Guard wins 2 to 1. We both agree that the Baal's missed opportunity swayed much of the game, but it was my reaction to Shrike, Terminators and Snipers that assisted.

Overall thoughts:

So keeping the Dozer Blades.  May be thinking of starting the board with the Death Co. Dread and Deep Striking the Jumpers so that they don't get too distracted. The other option is to loose their packs and stuff them in a Rhino until the time is right.  Ultimately, I like to put the Jumpers in a Storm Raven and DoA on select targets but the tourney I'm playing in has a comp and it would cost me.  It may also be prudent to start the board with the Baal. It's fast and could easily catch up and support if a deployment goes against my expectations.  I'm considering replacing the Razorbacks, or at least one, with Rhinos so I could get the whole assault squad down board if needed when I don't combat squad them.



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