9th Edition Battle Report: Blood Angels vs Iron Snakes

 

Hi folks,

Today Wade and I played our 2nd game of 9th Edition 40K. We played another 1000 pt game, which saw Wade's Blood Angels taking on my Iron Snakes. We would be fighting to control four objectives in an urban battlefield, with units scoring 1 point per turn if they control an objective uncontested. Wade's Blood Angels list is fairly straight forward one, featuring two small squads of Intercessors, one armed with bolt rifles and the other with stalker bolt rifles. For fire support he fielded a small squad of Hellblasters with plasma incinerators and a squad of Aggressors with auto boltstorm gauntlets and fragstorm grenade launchers. His HQ units include Mephiston and a Librarian Dreadnought, both of which are brutal in close combat. Mephiston in particular has a habit of wrecking my backline, starting turn 2, using the Wings of Sanguinius psychic power. To round out the force he also took a squad of Sanguinary Guard, held in reserve.

My Iron Snakes, on the other hand, are quite irregular. To write the list I have used the Iron Hands Codex, allowing me to use The Flesh is Weak to reflect the use of their shields. I also burn a lot of CP to reflect some of the head-cannon I have for the army. The list includes an Intercessor Squad (Damocles) armed with a plasma cannon and sergeant with a lightning claw (not a Codex choice, but paid for), which I combat squad. A small Sternguard squad with combi-plasma weapons (Lakodeme) provides some extra high strength rapid fire action in the absence of Hellblasters. I have included a Relic Contemptor (Nestor) with the March of the Ancients Strategem for a bit of extra close combat punch and Leadership, with the option of giving him a warlord trait in other games (-1 CP). Nestor is armed with a heavy plasma cannon, plasma blastgun and a dreadnought close combat weapon. To support Nestor (and stop him from supercharging himself to death) I have Odyssean, a Techmarine with servo harness, power lance and the Master of the Forge Strategem (auto 3 heal for Blessing of the Omnissiah, -1 CP). I have also made him the Hero of the Chapter (-1 CP) with Target Protocols (providing a re-roll to hit, wound and damage to a unit within 6"). I also gave him The Endurant Protector for a 4++ save and +1 T.  In support I have a Centurion Devastator Squad with hurricane bolters, heavy bolter/plasma cannon combos (again, not Codex but paid for). To lead the force I have taken a Supreme Command Detachment with a Primaris Captain Chapter Master (Seydon) as the army Warlord. With Relics of the Chapter (-1 CP) I armed him with The Burning Blade to represent his battle lance (Tiborus). The warlord trait I chose for him was All Flesh is Weakness to represent his extensive cybernetics. So...  -4 CP before I start the game, but with a bunch of characterful special rules. 

I failed to seize the initiative, so the Blood Angels took the first turn. Mephiston advanced quickly, enhanced by Wings of Sanguinius during the psychic phase. It placed him in a great position for a turn 2 charge. The Librarian Dreadnought did the same, with the Hellblasters sticking close and sniping through a gap in the buildings to kill some Sternguard. One of their member also supercharged himself to a crisp. The Intercessors, not wanting to get hammered by the Centurions, hung back.

In return, I managed to take 6 wounds of the Librarian Dreadnought, narrowly missing taking it out with a Hellfire round. I pushed forward on the far right flank to take some wounds off the Stalker Intercessors, killing a couple of them with plasma fire from the Contemptor. I also pushed my two Intercessor combat squads forward to grab two objectives, netting me some early victory points at the end of the Turn.

Turn 1

Blood Angels: 0 VP

Iron Snakes: 2 VP

At the start of Turn 2 Wade found a tiny corner to deploy his Sanguinary Guard into, right behind my Centurions and Chapter Master. I had thought I had denied all of that space, but moved up to to engage the Librarian Dreadnought (would have been worth it if I had taken it out!). Both Mephiston and the Librarian Dreadnought moved forwards in preparation for a charge move, whilst the Aggressors moved forwards to capture an objective. 

The psychic and shooting phases managed to take out two of my Centurions and some Intercessors. The Hellblasters were unlucky with their shots and lost another two to supercharging. Both Mephiston and the Sanguinary Guard made their charge move against Seydon and the Centurions. Seydon was brutally cut down without a hope of responding, but the Centurion was left (miraculously) on one wound thanks to his shield. The Librarian Dreadnought attacked my Intercessors and wiped them out as well.

During my turn I switched targets to address the Aggressors, managing to take one out with fire form my Contemptor and manoeuvring for a potential charge next turn. I sniped the last two Hellblasters, removing them as a threat. The remaining Sternguard charged the Librarian Dreadnought and took it out with a well placed Krak Grenade, consolidating closer to the Sanguinary Guard and, crucially, within 3" of the objective. They would no doubt die next turn, but playing the objective wins games like these, so that's what I did.

Turn 2

Blood Angels: 2 VP

Iron Snakes: 4 VP

With revenge in mind, the Sanguinary Guard descended on the Sternguard. Mephiston used the Wings of Sanguinius power again to launch himself across my backline towards my Dreadnought and Master of the Forge, which were preparing to threaten the Aggressors. The Aggressors and Stalker Intercessors poured fire at my own Intercessors holding objective 4, managing to kill two of them. The second squad of Blood Angels Intercessors manoeuvred  around objective 1.

Mephiston charged my Master of the Forge and Relic Contemptor, taking the Master down to 1 remaining wound but failing to scratch Ancient Nestor. It was a fairly abominable set of dice rolls to be honest! In return, the Contemptor killed Mephiston outright and consolidated even close to the Aggressors. 

During my turn the Relic Contemptor poured supercharged plasma fire into the Aggressors. Helped by the Target Protocols, they were softened up sufficiently that I was able to wipe them out in close combat, though this left my Master of the Forge vulnerable. He himself took out the last Stalker Intercessors.

Turn 3

Blood Angels: 4 VP

Iron Snakes: 6 VP

Starting the last turn, it was clear that the Sanguinary guard would have to expose themselves to contest objective 4 (and ultimately, the game). They jumped close and managed to take out both the Master of the Forge and contest objective 4, but were not able to kill the remaining Intercessors, whose sergeant took some revenge with his lightning claw. 

As it was, I knew if I stood still and did nothing, Wade would probably earn 2 victory points (objective 1 and 4), I would earn 1 victory point (objective 3) and win the game 6 points to 7. If I attacked with the Relic Contemptor and failed to contest objective 4 for some reason, it could end up a 6-all draw! I decided to go for it, withdrawing my Intercessors from objective 4 and getting the Contemptor in. The combination of the supercharged plasma blastgun and dreadnought close combat weapon were enough to wipe out the Sanguinary guard, leaving the Iron Snakes in complete control of objective 4.

Turn 4

Blood Angels: 5 VP

Iron Snakes: 7 VP

Overall, I was very happy with the synergy between the Master of the Forge and the Contemptor Dreadnought. The Centurions were a bit a disappointment,  though I never expected to get much from them. They are a prime target for getting nailed in close combat and the Blood Angels have just the right tools for the job. Some of the special rules I gained access to at the start of the game, particularly Target Protocols and Endurant Protector, played a key role in the game. Everything I paid for on the Chapter Master was essentially a waste, however. I am not sure at this stage if there are some efficiencies there that I could take advantage of, or if playing more games would even things out. It would require me to protect my Centurions better, which is darned hard to do when you have a Space Vampire flying behind you in Turn 2!! 

Anyways, it was a very fun game and it seemed like Wade had a good time too (though perhaps not when Mephiston duffed all of his rolls in that 2nd combat). It is time to get the ball rolling on my Dark Angels army, I think.

See you across the table,

Marc

P.S. The objective markers were dice given as gifts at my mate Ben's (and Liz's) wedding. Sooo much more useful than sugar coated nuts...

2nd Edition Army Challenge: Deathwing Squad Ramiel TO-DONE!!!

Hi folks,

I think it goes without saying that these models are fairly old school. My mother purchased most of them for me from my FLGS when I was 15 years old, just in time for Christmas. I can remember telling her what I wanted and, because she didn't drive, walking with her for 45 minutes to the store to order them in. It was a walk we used to do fairly often and I talked all about what Deathwing and the Dark Angels were. 

Like all good parents, she suffered in silence 😉 

Now the folks at Megohm were a loveable but crotchety bunch of neckbeards. They were used to me dropping in after school and pouring over the blister packs, scheming army lists and such. The guy who owned the joint scowled at me when I said I wanted to order some Terminators; he was an Imperial Guard player and hated Terminators. The lady who worked there seemed happy to meet my mum though, if a little intimidated. My mother loved... fiercely. When they rang up the total price she looked at me and said "Are you sure you want these little men?" with that look in her eyes. "Yes, I do" I said solemnly.

I remember painting them at the kitchen table while mum cooked dinner, because in those days I could paint a squad in one sitting. They looked terrible, but yeah, all in one night! I distinctly remember painting the holes at the end of the assault cannon barrels, by blobbing black on the whole thing and wiping around the edges with my finger! I never removed the metal mold lines and flash either; I still found some when I was prepping these models, 25 years later.

This time around, I spent about an hour on the assault cannon arm alone. The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that it is actually a Wolf Guard assault cannon, packaged incorrectly in my original blister pack. I had a whole backstory about how this could happen, involving an allied force of Dark Angels and Space Wolves conducting a Wolf and the Lion trial on the eve of a battle. The Wolf Guard wins the fight, but during the battle the next day he is struck down. The Dark Angel champion, Ramiel, picks up the assault cannon and defends the prone Space Wolf until help arrives: they both end the story with their honour satisfied. It seemed right to name the squad after that champion, with the assault cannon being a fitting memento of the battle.

I also remember having a wretched time with the lightning claws. I particularly enjoyed repainting them, now that I have a better idea of how to do it. When 3rd edition changed all lightning claws and thunder hammers into power fists, I was gutted. I never really used them anymore after that, and they ended up in my bitz box for over two decades.

I am so glad that this army challenge has come along and given me the push I needed to do these venerable old models justice. Now I feel like honour has been satisfied; they were worth the walk.

See you across the table,

Marc

The Hobby Table: August 2020

 

Hi folks,

I feel like I need to write this post just to get back in the groove. This month has been exhausting at work and, while I have been busy doing some painting and modelling, I haven't been in the headspace to blog about it. Instead of pottering away on the blog, I have spent a bit of time on ebay snaffling some cheap additions to my 9th Ed. Dark Angels. I usually wouldn't do this, but took on an intern student this term which earned me a bit of money to spend. They don't pay you much (despite the huge amount of work it entails); just enough to fritter away on something fun.

On my table at the moment I have my September project for the 2nd Edition Army challenge: a full squad of Deathwing Terminators. I am hoping to finish painting them today, if I can. Either way, I have to get them done before the 25th of September. I have not quite perfected "white" yet, but gosh, I have put in a lot of hours. White glazes for days...

I am working on the arms and weapons now, which take a solid 30 minutes to do each. Gosh I love the Deathwing Sergeant sword. I have been waiting 25 years to own one of them.

A few more ebay purchases have rolled in over the past week or so, to help fill my 1000 point list, including a Lascannon Devastator NIB (my fingers are literally trembling), Dark Angels sergeant (with an old school plasma pistol: yay!!!)  a techmarine (so I can take a Dreadnought and Predator) and Brother Bethor. I have a Bethor figure already, which I use as my Assault Squad Veteran Sergeant. It is literally my favourite model and my own personal avatar on the battlefield. I couldn't bear to pull it apart to actually use as Bethor, so I bit the bullet and bought another one!

Wade and I played an intro level game of 9th Edition a few weeks ago and it was tremendous fun. Considering we haven't played in over a year, it felt so good to be across the table from someone again rolling dice. I got him some more Van Diemen's World Veterans for his birthday, so keep an eye out for them on my paint table over the next couple of weeks. 

So... heaps going. I've been mucking about with 9th Edition Dark Angels lists, colour shift paints, Mechanicum on the Nintendo Switch, prepping an Ork Deffdread with The Boi, looking at Necron schemes with The Wifey and all kinds of other things I haven't posted about. Hopefully this resets the mojo and I can get back into it. 

See you across the table,

Marc

2020/21 Hobby Season To-Do List

 

Hi folks,

The past couple of years I have been fairly conservative with my To-Do lists, and still not managed to complete them! This year I think I will put down a whole bunch of projects and see what happens.

2nd Edition 40K

Deathwing Terminator squad

Tactical Squad

Scout Squad

Ezekiel

Asmodai/Sapphon

Azrael

Predator Annihilator

Techmarine

Brother Bethor

3rd+ Edition 40K

Ravenwing attack squad

Chaplain on bike

Belial (Storm of Vengeance)

Dark Angels Tactical Squad

Dark Angels Librarian

Fallen Tactical Squad (Squaduary)

Fallen Landraider Proteus (Armour in April)

Cypher (Jewel of July)

Fallen Dreadnought

9th Edition 40K

Interrogator Chaplain

Bladeguard Veteran Squad

Bladeguard Ancient

Deathwing Squad

Ravenwing Knights

Hellblaster Squad

Imperial Knight Special Character "Achilles" Aeternum (DreadTober)

Objective Markers

Fortress of Redemption

Necrons? (With the Wifey?!)

Ork Boyz (with The Boi)

Ork Nobz (with The Boi)

Ork Warboss (with The Boi)

Ork Painboy (with The Boi)

Ork Deff Kopters (with The Boi)

Van Diemen's World Heavy Weapons Team

Van Diemen's World Ogryn Bodyguard

Age of Sigmar

Sylvaneth Dryads

Druanti the Arch Revenant

Kurnoth Hunters

Chainrasps (for Penny's game)

Gryphounds (for Oscar)

Forest Dragon (Monster March)

BattleTech 

Foxfire Company

ComStar Level II Unit

Marauder (Red Baron for Laurie)

Ghost Bears Binary

Space Hulk

Blood Angels Boarding Party

Deathwing Boarding Party

Genestealers

Objectives

Well, that sure is a ton of stuff. Realistically, it will probably keep me going for a couple of years, but by casting my net wide, I'm hoping to catch a lot of fish. At the moment, the 2nd Edition projects for the Army Challenge and 9th Edition Dark Angels are the priority, with everything else being blissful distractions!

See you across the table,

Marc