+ MEQ SMEQ: MOAR FIGHTING +

The sisters got a break last night as some upstart Ultramarines stepped up to the plate in their place. Previous to this game I had run my Noise Fleet against his orks in BFG, and had met with success after powering almost the entirety of my fleet across his prows, locked on and lances blazing for great devastation. Would Evil Team have a repeat performance in 28mm GrimDark??

Anarchonquistadores vs Ultramarines [1000]

I took a 98% painted force (only the pfister unpainted), which unfortunately meant I had no rhinos, so was back in 4th edition:

Lord - MoT, powerfist, combi-flamer
3 Terminators - IoCU, 3 combi-plas, 2 powerfists, 1 chainfist
10 CSM - IoCU, lascannon, flamer, AC w/ powerfist, combi-flamer
10 CSM - IoCU, autocannon, plasma gun, AC w/ power weapon
6 1k Sons - AS w/ doombolt
Oblit

He brought the expanded version of his AoBR marines:

Librarian - terminator armor
5 Terminators - assault cannon
10 Tactical - missile launcher, meltagun, powerfist; rhino
10 Tactical - missile launcher, flamer, homer
5 Scouts - bp + ccw, homer
5 Assault - flamer, power weapon, melta bombs

Game: 2 objectives, pitched battle

The table was essentially a large ruin center-left, and two smaller ruins to the right of center, one in each of our zones. Some woods in the corners and such as well. I placed an objective in the southern edge of the ruin, and he put one in the northeast corner. So we'd be fighting in the ruin then ...

Chaos won The Roll and I took it, putting flamer CSM + lord ready to push into the ruin and claim my objective, with the shooty CSM in the ruin to the right to provide some ranged support on the second objective and intercept his various deepstrikers. The oblit hung out with them on the flank, and the 1k Sons limbered up for a speed-hobble onto the second objective. In response Ultras deployed the rhino with 10 tactical pointed at the ruin, combat squaded the other unit and deployed flamer half in the wood northwest corner and missile half behind the rhino, and the scouts infiltrated into the wood southwest behind the main ruin and in my DZ. Termies & assaulters were in orbit.

I'll note now that it's silly I don't bring along my camera and snap at least a deployment shot, especially as I'm playing with so many painted things of late. Bah.

ONE
Flamer CSM push up into the main ruin and nab an objective, 1k Sons hoof it for the second objective, shooty CSM move to the edge of their ruin closer to the action and the oblit walks to get a shot on the rhino. With all the running he forgot to take it.

Ultras respond with a similarly quiet turn. Scouts sneak a little closer through the woods, flamer marines mobilize for the ruin (they've got a bit of walking to do though), and the rhino boosts to pull up alongside the ruin section with the second objective. This exposes his missile marines, who slam the flamer CSM with a frag that does nothing.

TWO
Chaos smells blood! The evil termies teleport down and go for the missile marines, scattering a hearty 7" but staying easily within plasma range. The Sons, joined by the fistlord, stumble up through the ruins and near the rhino, knowing they'll be rapid fired and/or charged next turn unless somebody can pin that thing. To that end the autocannon (glances off the 'bolter), CSM lascannon (cover saved) and oblit (missed) all fail to open it up. The termies follow that up by only killing 2 marines despite 5 hits, but the squad breaks and leaves the table.

So do the blue boys! The assault marines drop down but scatter onto the flamer CSM, returning to orbit with a 6 mishap. The scouts stay where they are, the flamer marines continue moving into position and the rhino drives 6" into the ruin proper and dumps its marines to give the Sons + Lord hell. A rapid firing later and 2 robots drop, as well as the sorcerer, who catches a boltround in the fancy hat. The marines have driven into chaos' teeth though, so revenge will be swift.

THREE
Realizing they should get moving if they're going to get to that second objective, the shooty CSM mobilize and start running. Oblit takes a walk (but effectively has 0 targets now, ruins blocking LoS), and the fistlord takes control of the 1k Sons (MoT ftw!) and gets ready to hurt the blue lapdogs. With a dozen plus rounds from the flamer CSM, Mr. Fister and friends reduce the tacticals to 3 models, which are assaulted my the Sons and all killed by the lord. Elsewhere, the terminators run back into the game, chasing for the five Ultras with flamer ...

The assault marines continue to cower in their thunderhawk, but the librarian + terminators hit the table, homering in off of the flamer marines and close to the second objective. With the help of the flamer marines they down the remaining Sons and leave the fistlord on his own, but thoroughly undaunted. Neither scouts nor rhino move.

FOUR
Time for fighting! The fistlord throws himself into the flamer marine combat squad, the evil termies slam into their blue counterparts, and the flamer CSM pounce on the rhino parked in front of them and threatening to contest objectives. (Shooty CSM power for the second objective and start mounting the steps to the ruins, while the oblit takes a walk and does a lot of nothing.) The flamer CSM strike first, raining krak down upon the blue rhino and detonating its fuel tanks, losing three (!!!) marines in the explosion. The fistlord follows that up by brushing off the tacticals' attaks and killing the four marines that were left (1 had died somehow, maybe obliterated), massacring a strong 6" back into the flamer CSM squad. The termies faired less awesomely, losing 2 for the price of 1 termi (should have put it on the libby, but didn't for some reason), but held.

Assault marines return to the field, dropping and sticking near the shooty CSM but failing to flamer or bolt pistol any of them down. The scouts move up to the windows of the center ruin and make faces at the chaos marines ... And the Ultra terminator sarge chops down the chainfister before he can strike.

FIVE
With the clock running out, the chaos boys up the aggression factor to end this thing. The fistlord solos again and hurls himself through the windows of the ruin, ignoring the attaks of the weakling scouts but only downing a couple, and they hold. The flamer CSM, still smoking from the rhino explosion, descend upon the assault marines and flame, shoot and bludgeon them to death, consolidating back onto their objective. And the shooty CSM, with strong move and assault rolls, boost through the ruins near the central objective and tackle the librarian + 3 terminators (1 having been sniped by the oblit as the CSM closed in). Combat leaves the libby with just 1 terminator bodyguard, for perhaps a dead traitor marine.

Just a little grinding this turn. The fistlord slaps away scout combat knives and then cleans the squad up, massacring back through the ruins of the ruin and headed for that librarian ... Who turns it on for once and kills two CSM. The CSM are able to drag the last terminator down, but lose by 1 and hold.

SIX
Carnage continues, with just 1 Ultra left on the board. The fistlord slams into the librarian, who reacts faster and stabs his force sword into the traitor general. Tzeentch smiles on his blood-soaked champion and saves the wound, and the fistlord returns the favor by instant deathing the loyalist.

CHAOS WIN

A fun game, with a 1000 point list I quite like. The lack of mobility would certainly have hurt in a multi-objective game or against a faster or more ranged army, but this "A Taste of Tizz" list definitely got the job done. I suppose 1k Sons surviving to turn 3 was actually better than usual too :P A+ to the fistlord though, cleaned out 3 of 4 scoring units essentially by himself!

Building: Nurglings
Painting: Oblit 2?