Space Marines X Chaos Space Marines: A Whole Turn Lapse of Reason, in 1818 points

Hello, everyone


This is the first Battle Report we're posting, and sadly enough, I'm the one in charge to document my own defeat. If history is written by the winners, than I guess losers get the blog post :-)

We have a pretty tight schedule to play, having tuesdays as our only-and-main game day (therefore, the name of the blog). As an advantage, we basically spend one week having coffee talk conspirations, google-tactics browsing and last minutes purchases/assembly to try to tackle down our opponents.

In this case, here's what we used:

Chaos Space Marines:

HQ

- Daemon Prince With Mark of Slaanesh, Wings and Lash

Elites

- 5 Champion Terminators, With 4 Power Fists, 3 Combi Meltas, One Pair of Lighning Claw and the Mark of Tzeentch

- 5 Chosen with 5 meltas in a Rhino With Havoc Launcher

Heavy Support

- Chaos Havocs with Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Autocannon, Missile Launcher, and an Useless Free Wound Model as it turns out

- 2 Obliteratos in a single squad

- Chaos Land Raider With Daemonic Possession with Havoc Launcher

- A Greater Daemon

Troops

- 10 Khorne Berzerkers With Champion, Power Fist and Personal Icon

- 10 Chaos Space Marines With Mark of Chaos Glory, 2 Melta Guns, and a Champion With Power Fist and Combi Melta

Space Marines

HQ

- Forgefather Vulkan He'Stan, Riding the Land Raider with the Terminators

Elites

- Assault Terminator Squad (7) TH/SS

- Dedicated Transport Land Raider Crusader With Multi Melta and Extra Armor

- Assault Terminator Squad (8) 3 TH/SS and 5 LC, Deepstriking

- Dreadnought TL Las Cannon / DCCW With Heavy Flamer

- Dedicated Transport Drop Pod With Deathwing Missile Launcher and Locator Beacon

Troops

- Tactical Squad (10), Melta Gun, Missile Launcher, Sergeant with Powerfist, Combi Melta and Teleport Homer

- Scout Squad (8), Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks, Sergeant with Teleport Homer

Heavy Support

- Predator with TL Las Cannon and Las Canon Sponsons

Playing once a week on the other hand, gives a strange characteristic of ending up being an Annihilation game by default. It wasn't different this time. Given that we were in for the kill, we basically cared only to roll for deplyoment. In this case, we got Spearhead, and I rolled first Turn.
















 I decided to go first, trying to have more cover save using as best as I could the Impassable terrain in the Middle, and I chose to have the bottom left quarter of the table, deploying the Prince, the two tanks, the Marines, the Havocs and the Oblits. I had only the Termies and the Greater Daemon in reserve, for which I had something devious in the making.

Then my loyalist brethren deployed. They entered with their first pack of Terminators in the Land Raider, the Predator, and their Tactical Squad, Having a Drop Pod and another Termies Pack in Reserve. Also, the Scout squad took a shooting position on top of a building.

Game on!

First Turn, Chaos Side

Nothing really special. Everybody moves, Smoke pops out from the tanks, and I try to shoot with the Havocs and Oblits, where 'try' being the keyword. In fact, let's just reserve an entire paragraph for the Havocs, if I may:

---------------Beginning of the Everlasting Note About Chaos Havocs------------------------

They basically suck as hard as they can. I've been playing against this very same army like 3 times in a row and they managed to simply miss 90% of their shots in all matches! It's like I'm shooting with a limp squad of crossed eyes happy triggers. And pay attention here: I'm not talking that my enemy saved the shots, no. This is too damn convenient. They simply never hit altogether! Having said that, I'll just skip my Havocs report from now on. If you have any questions about them, just please refer to this paragraph. Always. Thank You.

---------------End of the Everlasting Note About Chaos Havocs------------------------------

Having said that, Fist Turn, Marines Side

Drop Pod comes in ready to Shoot like a maniac. The Dreadnought assumes a not so confortable position. Everything else advances and waits for the attack moment. Dreadnought pops smoke in a vain attempt to protect itself from retribution.

Dreadnought delivers, and wipes 4 Chaos Space Marines at once, drawing first blood. The Drop Pod kills another one with its pie plate, but everything else is pretty much armor saved.

The Land Raider manages to sneak a multi melta shot into the Rhino, but only stuns it, leaving it pretty much useless for this turn.

For all the rest who could shoot, none was actally hit.


Second Turn, Chaos Side

Terminator Champions enter by Deepstriking 6" from the Personal Icon I had inside the Land Raider. My idea was trying to have them a little closer to the Scouts, drawing fire, and shooting the hell out of the Predator nearby, but the Combi Meltas only managed to immobilize it. Good hit rolls for a change. Yeah...

The Chosen disembark, being able to move, since the Rhino didn't on the last turn. I got close enough to have some sweet Melta Gun bonus agains the Land Raider, but I rolled poorly and I pretty much nothing really happened with the tank. By that time, I could hear Terminator laughs all over the place.

But they had it coming...ish. I fired *ALL* my Heavy support shots into his Dreadnought, and everybody either missed, or saved. Not even a glancing hit. To make up with this mess, the Chaos Space Marines chose to retaliate and finally, manage to Melta Gun the Dreadnought into oblivion. A Drop Pod remains silent. Space 0, Chaos 1.





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Second Turn, Marines Side

The Space Marines had a great deal to pay because of the Havocs. They were so busy laughing their asses off from the later miserable to hit rolls, that they lost their aim too! Marines were all over the place shooting and missing. Nothing wounded.

Terminators come out of the Land Raider, and I start to see some nasty hits coming down my way. The chosen were never built to last anyway, so it's not a huge loss: They had their lucky chance with some good melta Bonueses, but they failed miserably. Space Marines karmically retaliate pounding their heads with their hammers. Space 1, Chaos 1.

Third Turn, Chaos Side

On the third turn, A Daemon Prince Deviously watched some Scouts peeking atop of a wall.

The Daemon Prince Lashes them away, blocking all Line of Sight that they had, by moving 7" down the wall

Once again, nothing else was good enough to hit. I had Twin Linked Lascannons failing more than blast weapons, and nothing was really ever killed, but the Chaos Space Marines actually manage to charge the Drop Pod and the Power Fist is more then enough to blow it out. Space 1, Chaos 2.

Also, the Terminators manage to charge the Space Marines Squad and wipes them with no real problem. Space 1, Chaos 3.

Third Turn, Marines Side

More Loyalist Terminators come down by deepstriking within 6" of the Scouts' Teleport Homer, and the novice marines climb the building again, while the Land Raider shoots at the approaching Chaos Termies, taking down 2 out of 5 I had. Not that bad, since they could be aiming at the Prince. I just wished for less kills in one sweep.

On the other side of the table, I moved the Rhino to serve as a block to the advancing Terminators With HQ. They had to consume their turn by wrecking something it was left behind. Since it didn't exploded, the tank served his purposes well as an unexpected wall. Space 2, Chaos 3.

Fourth Turn, Chaos Side

After failing three times on the reserve roll, the Greater Daemon finally enters the game by killing the Khorne Champion inside the Raider. Now, I definately wished that he had entered a litte earlier. We would definately be more killy, but he was enough to wreck the predator, so it's all good. He's was three Lascannon shorter. Space 2, Chaos 4.

The Heavy Support FINALLY do something and actually kills some Terminators near the Rhino. They fail their test and start fleeing away towards the right long edge.

The devious Prince manages to Lash the Terminators to pull them nearer the Land Raider. The Greater Daemon waits the next turn for one fun charging, but it was doomed to be too late.

At this time, I had a prince, A Land raider full of Khornes and a Greater Daemon, only waiting to beat the hell out of the Terminators. Apart from the tension, nothing else happened due to lack of range, but at this precise moment, my defeat was certain, because Alzeihmer ensued: I FORGOT TO DISEMBARK THE KHORNES ON THE LAST TURN. Just like that! Completely blanked out, so I actually HELPED the Terminators by moving them CLOSER to the daemons to charge them, while the Khornes were left behind sleeping.

Fourth Turn, Marines Side

The Loyalist Marines manage to tear the Daemon Prince apart with a mixture of Lightning Claws and Thunder Hammers. They kill him without much effort. Dare I to say well deserved. Space 3, Chaos 4.
Other than that, no shots were hit, no other charges were made.

Fifth Turn, Chaos Side

The Khornes finally come out of the Land Raider, shoot what they can of the Terminators, and Charge them. In this exact order. I FORGOT TO MOVE THE GREATER DAEMON, so could not charge. At this point, I was pretty much frustrated with my memory. Anyway, 5 Terminators are left alive after the Berzerkers' charge.

And then, the final and actually most stupid move of all: The remaining Chaos Space Marines assault at the fleeing Terminators, making them to regroup and fight back. Chaos got wiped out completely, mainly because of the Marine HQ. Space 4, Chaos 4.

Fifth Turn, Marines Side

The Khorne assault continues, With 3 casualties on either side.

We roll for turn 6, and we got it.

Sixth Turn, Chaos Side

At this moment, all I wanted is to have the remaining good number of Khornes doing their job nicely enough, so the enemy squad would be killed, which didn't happen. 2 TH/SS Termies held their ground defiantly.

Sixth Turn, Marines Side

The scouts finally managed score some wounds on the Greater Daemon. HQ and 2 Termies finished him off.

On the Berzerker vs. Termie brawl, one model falls on each side, and a lone Terminator manages to prevent Chaos from claiming another kill point.

We rolled for a seventh turn, but nothing came out of it. Space Marines win by Two Parts stupidity, one part naïvette of mine!

Final Thoughts

In general, a game where I could managed to pull out a draw at least. I'm not saying it was easy, it wasn't, but the advantage of playing against Marines is knowing that everything that hurts you, hurts them so you just payback and wait for an opportunity. I have to give Paulo credit, of course, since he did exactly that: He took up the opportunities and did the best he could, so congratulations and good game after all!

Some considerations from my side:

- I could take or leave the Land Raider. For 220+ points, I could have another Rhino on the game, possibly filled with 10 more Khornes. Even if I have to wait his move to charge next turn (which I did, one way or another), and even if an entire squad dies, it would still be cheaper, or at least equally expensive and as deadlier, but with more wounds to spend in the process, which I would eventually take some profit. Also, the twin linked Las Cannons are good, but they usually never shoot fully, once I don't have the Power of the Machine Spirit.

- The Greater Daemon is just awesome to play against this Terminator Frenzy Troop. That's definately a keeper in this kind of game. With 4+ Champions deployed, changes are he'll always enter exactly where I want, popping a tank here and there. I just need to remember that HE MOVES, eventually.

- Oblits are a good trade with the Havocs: Cheaper, Twin Linked Tank Popping Guns may definately lead me somewhere better than only missing shots like a maniac with a blind Havoc Las Gunner. Crappy Soldier.

- Lash Of Submission is just so good that I hear those scouts crying in their boxes even now, doing absolutely nothing in the process.