Gone off Batrep

Just noticed that this is the 101st post of the year. Meh. Anyway, with the GT Heats coming up I'm really loath to talk about anything really. I have a super secret plan with a super secret list and super secret new toys for it. So I'm being super secretive to make sure that it doesn't get out what I'm bringing. If anyone who knows me personally posts what I'm doing in the comments section I will personally hire a bodyguard just to slap you when we next meet. After deleting the comment of course.

In other news, I bought the new Marine Codex, and went to an unvailing 'tournament' at my local store, where only loyalist Marine codecies were allowed. Everyone was using Vanilla bar me with pure Wolves. First game was the Relic. Big ass Chapter Master on bike with more Bikes, I just kept jumping on the Relic with my multitudes of Troops and dragging it back while my Lone Wolves fended off the Bikes to close out the game with a win.

Then I played a Salamanders list, discovered how terrible Assault Centurions are as Long Fangs with my Rune Priest beat them in combat and charged after them cutting them down eventually. The Lone Wolves got around the back. One smashed Vulkan in the face and the other tied up his remaining Marines. Won that.

Then played against a really nice army, which won the local Armies on Parade, in the final. Ignored the Centurions, took a turn of shooting then grabbed First Blood, before pounding forwards knocking him off his objective and claiming 2 of my own. So I won the event essentially. I'll probably be doing a Codex Analysis of them. I hate that segment now but I know Marines are popular so I'll do it.

In non-40k related news. I have a game of Fantasy tomorrow. In addition, my mates have banned me from League of Legends until my new Computer arrives. The number of 'cardboard PC' jokes is tremendous but I keep disconnecting because even League on low settings crashes my 2.2Gb 6 year old Laptop. However, my new 'Overkill PC' 16Gb Desktop arrived on Tuesday.... In Sheffield, so I have to wait until Saturday before it makes it back down to Oxford.

But back to the main topic. In May I photographed a Battle Report, and I have never got around to actually producing it. This has warranted a degree of nagging from my opponent, and now it's got to the point where I either put it up or I buy him a beer. So here you are. If it's wrong, drop a comment in the bottom but don't expect me to change it because I'm far too lazy. I also hope I've got the pictures in the right order. This should be an interesting memory exercise.


Right. I'm running my Wolves with Guard Blob. The game is 1,500pts as my opponent is going to Throne of Skulls at the weekend. I have my Standard pair of Rune Priests, pair of Lone Wolves, 3 Grey Hunter packs, Guard Blob, Manticore, pair of Long Fangs. Boom.

My opponent has a Thunderfire cannon, he has a Libby with Terminators, a Melta Dread in a Drop Pod, 2 squads of 10 Marines, a Vindicator and a Predator. Oh, and a Stormtalon. And a squad of Scouts.

He gets the Warlord Trait that makes me use my lowest Leadership, which is terrifying for the Guard Blob. Mine is insignificant. He goes first.

Epic Bubble Wrap

So, he deploys his Thunderfire in the ruin flanked by the AV13 vehicles. Combat squads (which I think is a mistake, for reasons I will clarify later), his Marines spread across his line. Terminators with the Libby prepare to deep strike.

I smack the blob around the Manticore so that the Dread can't physically get inside 12" melta range, but also so that I'm not as susceptible to Thunderfire cannon death. Lone Wolves up the flanks with Grey Hunters. The Mission is Relic with Hammer and Anvil, no Night Fight.

He comes down, fails to get the Manticore. Kills a couple of Guardsmen. I come down in the Drop Pod, scatter away from the Vindicator but get the Predator up the bum with the Meltagun for First Blood instead. This is why I felt that Combat Squadding was a mistake. It's unlikely that I kill a vehicle with the Melta and as a back option I had the Marines, the Dreadnought and the Drop Pod. Speaking of which, I fail to hurt the Dread, so I know I'm in trouble here...

Two can play at that game

However, I feel that my opponent made a mistake here too. He feels threatened by the Manticore now that the blob's peeled away and I understand why  he did it but he shot at that instead of charging the Guardsmen. Had he done that then suddenly my Guardsmen are stuck in combat until they run off my board edge. The Manticore goes down though His Terminators come down, shoot a few men. The Vindicator and Marines smash a few Grey Hunters on the left whilst the right flank keeps pounding across. The Storm Talon comes on and takes a few of them out though.

The Grey Hunters clear out the building of Scouts by charging them. I Misfortune the Terminators with the Rune Priest and the Guard Blob opens fire on them but to no avail. The Long Fangs take down the Dread though. The Lone Wolf gets across and charges the Vindicator and knocks it out. Whilst the one on the right chases off some Marines.

Endgame

Essentially what happens here is the Grey Hunters at the back take out the Techmarine eventually and hide.
The Guardsmen make a plethora of LD4 and LD6 checks to prevent them from flying off the board. They then push forward through the shots and pick up the relic. The Lone Wolf on the right goes crazy and knocks out the Marine squads over there whilst the Long Fangs take out the ones on the left after the Lone Wolf goes down. Essentially, at the end of the game, my opponent has his Storm Talon left, while I have one pack of Long Fangs, one Lone Wolf, and a few Guardsmen. A very bloody game.

My opponent then went on to do very well at Throne of Skulls, so fair play to him, and apart from the mistakes that I brought up, which are debatable - or maybe didn't even happen at all, I am recollecting from 4 months ago - he played really well.