Crisis Suits vs. Stealth Cloud units.

I am involved in looking at the merits of these two.  I thought I'd share my findings here for easier use and less contentious discussion.

Most "guru's" rave about TLMP Crisis Suits with Targeting arrays, over the use of Stealthsuits.  Nearly all of them take three such units or some slight variant of it.  I contend that Stealth Clouds with 12 Drones and 2 x Fusion Blasters, joined later by the Detonator commander when a charge is imminent, is a more powerful tool and survivable unit.  Synergy in an army can be scary and Tau are really good at it.  So let's see if I have a point?

I approached it this way:  What happens WHEN you ACTUALLY use these two units objectively and in the best case scenario where they are benefiting from Markerlights, so that BOTH units are hitting like crazy.  Lets also assume that you know to spread out when its called for?  Lets also assume that the units involved are at their FULL MIGHT, because obviously we cannot know when any unit will be pressed into necessity and every board, mission terrain, list and general creates infinite scenarios for where and if it is best to deploy.  Those are not fair "What if's" to contemplate when list building because we know all those things are beyond our control.  So I assumed the best of both sides.  here is what I find:


Anti-tank Performance

6 TL Missile Pod shots WITH Markerlight help against:
AV 10: .97 glances, 2.92 Penetrating
AV 11: .97 Glances, 1.94 Penetrating
AV 12: .97 Glances, .97 Penetrating
AV 13: .97 Glances
AV 14: Nothing.

Stealth Cloud with Markerlight help against:
AV 10:  3.61 glances, 5.28 Penetrating
AV 11:  1.94 glances, 1.67 Penetrating
AV 12: 1.67 Penetrating
AV 13: 1.67 Penetrating
AV 14: 1.67 Penetrating


Crisis Suits vs. Toughness 6 Monstrous Creatures with 3+ armor
1.26 wounds



Stealth Suits:
4.07 wounds

Advantage:  Stealth Suits.

1 round of shooting Vs. MEQ



Same Crisis Suits shooting with markerlight help vs. 10 MEQ Assault Marines:
1.39 Wounds, no chance of allocation killing the sergeant.

Same Stealthcloud shooting with Markerlights vs. 10 MEQ:
7.03 unsaved wounds plus what the Detonator command suit causes with his Airburst (which is too hard to guess, and he may not be in the unit yet, as he must join later when a charge is imminent).  Allocation may kill the Sergeant.  Also, the enemy unit that can charge can be pinned becasue of the Markerlights!

Advantage:  Stealthsuits, big time.


Survivability: 

6 BS 4 Missiles needed to kill the entire Crisis unit properly spread out.  If in cover, 8-9.

9 BS 4 missiles won't even come close to killing the cloud if properly spread out, especially in cover and with Stealth Fields (the Commander will cancel the Stealthfield when he joins.

Advantage:  Stealthsuits

Subsequent Melee vs. the MEQ who charge us after being shot once:

Crisis Suits:
6.61 Assault Marines with Powerfist Causes 1.87 wounds, plus 1.67 Powerfist wounds, probably killing the Crisis squad outright or running them down.  Or...

Stealth Cloud  (Assuming the MEQ were not pinned by Markerlights...):
1.97 Marines before Powerfist create .65 wounds, the Cloud then causes 1.67 wounds.  If the Sergeant is allocation killed earlier by the Commanders Airburst or is dead now, the Cloud wins.  The end. Not that unlikely.  BUT, just in case...

If he is not killed, he causes 1.67 Powerfist wounds.  Enemy wins by .65.  Base LD 10 leader, we probably make the roll.  If we dont, Detonator goes off.  Either way, almost our entire unit is intact.

Advantage:  Stealthsuits

Position before fallback
Crisis suits utilizing their range fallback 3D6.  So do Stealth suits.  Stealthsuits are far forward of the long board edge.  The Crisis suits are not likely to be.  Since both can make use of a Detonator commander, I'll call the Commander himself a moot point in comparing them.  So who is more likely to lose their unit if it falls back?

Advantage: Stealthsuits

Deployment options:
Since the only difference is that Stealthsuits can infiltrate (and probably should in most cases) whereas Crisis Suits cannot, I suppose giving the advantage to the Stealthsuits is a given here.  One disadvantage to Stealth Cloud is their size.  They simply are very large and like all "mobs", you must consider it when you're finding them a home.  This would be a bigger consideration if it were not for the Stealthfield, which protects them from quite a lot of shooting at times even when exposed.  This consideration can't be glossed over.  They will get hit when the enemy get's their turn if they can't engage an enemy.  Obviously our assumptions when deploying forward is that we are going first, so by killing the closest target of our desires, we are making it increasingly more difficult to bring fire down on us.  Still the eventuality of large blasts and the cover available to hide from them is relevant and fair to mention.  This would ALSO be a concern for Crisis Suits, don't get me wrong, but not to the same extent.  Then again, the Crisis suits inability to infiltrate does mean they cannot waste enemy movement on the lateral plane like Stealth units do.  In other words, the further east or west the enemy comes to get at you and ensure range/charges on you the less likely they are to get to your far away objectives, nor harass any other part of your force, which is a good thing.  2/3 of missions have objectives and Stealth units can both stall as well as contest them better so...

Advantage:  Stealthsuits.

What I am left to conclude:
  
Clouds cost more.  Clouds do more.  Clouds survive better.  Clouds deploy better.

In a 1500 point game, this should prove a powerful unit.  MEQ forces are unlikely to have huge units.  5 man squads will fare far worse against such a Cloud unit, let alone two of them wreaking havoc.  In 2000 point games, it is easier to afford yet!  Only against those who take big units and are willing to commit more than one of them to your annihilation will your Stealth Cloud be forced to kneel.  Even then the resulting detonation could be fun to watch as would their loss of forward movement be.

Range is the last bastion one can use to argue the case for Crisis suits, even though both can be firing effectively in round 1.  Does range matter if you're firing from round 1, both at armor in all likelihood and probably for the same reasons?  How about in turn 2 when Rhinos have closed to within 12-18" anyways?  Probably not.  After all, the Broadsides in the army are likely to handle the heavy lifting and it's likely that both units will need anti-infantry a LOT more often than tank killing ability anyways. Remember, they're not in a vacuum.  They have friends in the list.  They don't have to kill all the tanks by their lonesome.

The numbers suggest that Stealth Clouds are easily overlooked but superior in most roles.  Like in the comparison I did with Stingwings, this reinforces the observation that the Crisis suits are best when loaded with TL Flamers because for the cost they are really nasty.  But all in all, the numbers say to take a Stealth Cloud over most popular variants of Crisis suits if you need Elites at all.

40K: The Game We Are Thankful For

Thanksgiving reminds me of all the things that are good about family.  But I am also thankful that I found this hobby.

Before I began as a player, I was NOT the sportsman I am now and I was NOT possessed of the sense of community I now really enjoy about this game.  Painting an army for any reason would have been out of the question and I had no time for forums at all.  This game changed a LOT about how I spend my free time!

Sportsmanship:

I am an ultra competitive person at heart.  I don’t hate the losing so much, like some model throwing players do.  I just exalt in the winning.  It legitimizes me on some level, as it does for all generals, or really anyone who takes pride in any pursuit.  In fact I viewed this game in the same way I viewed ALL sports and competitive events.

I lost the first eight games I played which fueled the fire in me.  I determined at that point that losing was no longer an option.  I hunkered down, put in the work of reading the rules closely, reading every Tau wargear entry and even pulling the models out to visualize and Dicehammer certain “Plays” I could make.  I pulled out the Calculator and started doing some hard figuring.  I probably took a month off the hobby just trying to perfect my technique.

The next game I played was an actual tournament, my first with an 0-8 record going in.  I went 2-0-1.  The practice paid off.  I was so incredibly proud of that performance that I went on to reel off five more losses.  Lol.  Humility is a hard thing.

What it taught me was that this game IS harder than it looks given the huge number of terrain, opponents, codex specific differences, synergies and list variables.  I learned that the competition is worthy of my respect.  Once I started respecting my opponents, and started building lists and strategies that acted on the basic principle that my opponent KNEW WHAT TO DO about me, I became sharper, because my pride made way for actual tactical thinking.  My record of wins and losses which I have always kept, grew far more respectable until I can expect now to win the majority of my games, while still enjoying the humbleness of defeat and a battle well fought but lost.  Those losses are sometimes better than wins because they remind you to be more humble than you were the day before.

I am the same competitive guy I was then.  I don’t shy away from taking credit for my success.  The difference in my game demeanor and in general is considerable however.  I really am thankful for the lessons in humility, and also the clarity of motivation I now go into games with.  I have ten Best Sportsman Awards to show for it, which would have been impossible when I first started.  I look forward to more growth in that area for my own good and that of my opponents.  To my opponents, thanks for putting up with me and giving me the chance to learn from my mistakes past and future.

Community:

There may not be a more contentious, yet more ravenously interested subculture than that of this hobby.  We are PASSIONATE about our sport and we love all its intricacies and its possibilities.  That leads us to be tight knit on one hand, for it is very important to be able to find an opponent, but at the same time we argue like brothers and sisters over the details.  Those arguments tie us together at times almost as much as the love of the game!

People take things personally at times and they GET personal too on the many forums, blogs and other outlets I am on.  Despite that, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I enjoy it when there’s a good debate (and not argument).  I think it’s healthy to talk about it, to mull it over and to consider things from a fresh perspective, but you have to fight sometimes to get the best reasoning out of your sparring partner, and to really make sure their point is true or that yours is not.  I wonder if we would ever try new armies and new things if not for the many interesting tactical advice, list dumps and spirited rules debates that are spawned in the community.  I won’t pretend they are all fun, but what relationship is ever perfect?  The point is we are a community and at the end of the day there’s a lot of well meaning people in it who just want the best for the hobby and I appreciate that if nothing else in them.

Happy Thanksgiving

Necrons of Doominess

After some practice games, I will say this:  it's mean.  comment freely, but after a couple test games and several changes made from what I learned, i have come to this list.  It is really super ouchy to get hit by it.  =)  The rumors of Necron inability to deal with armor is much exxagerated.

185pts Nemesor Zahndrekh

160pts 4 Harbingers of Destruction (1 x Solar Pulse)

215pts 3 Canoptek Spiders (1x Doom Prism, 2 TL Particle Beamer)
215pts 3 Canoptek Spiders (1x Doom Prism, 2 TL Particle Beamer)
215pts 3 Canoptek Spiders (1x Doom Prism, 2 TL Particle Beamer)

150pts 10 Canoptek Scarab Swarms
135pts 9 Canoptek Scarab Swarms
135pts 9 Canoptek Scarab Swarms

65pts 5 Warriors (Harbinger RearGuards)

65pts 5 Warriors (Harbinger RearGuards)

65pts 5 Warriors (Harbinger RearGuards)

65pts 5 Warriors (Harbinger Midfielders)

65pts 5 Warriors (Forward Team)

65pts 5 Warriors (Forward Team)


100pts Night Scythe

100pts Night Scythe



Heavy Support: 645
Troops: 590
Elites: 0
HQ 345
Fast Attack: 420

Points: 2000
KP: 16
Models: 74

Triarch Stalker

The Triarch Stalker is interesting.  It is actually more expensive than other Dreadnoughts in general.  You would expect to pay 135 for the Grey Knight Rifleman dreadnought configuration for example, whereas the Triarch Stalker is 150 pts.  So it has to be pretty awesome for that many points invested in just one model if you are just making comparisons per se.

First, the math:

Psifleman Dreadnought
vs. AV13 yields  .59 Glances and .59 Penetrating hits.
Vs. Av11 yields .58 Glances and 1.75 Penetrating hits

Triarch Stalker:
Vs. Av13 yields .22 glances and .22 Penetrating hits or 1.33 Penetrating if within 12 inches
Vs. Av11 yields .22 Glances and .67 Penetrating hits or 1.33 Penetrating if within 12 inches.

So already the Triarch isn't as good.  It's range is also poor, at 24 inches compared to the 48" boasted by the Rifleman. 
It has Quantum Shielding which makes it AV13 until it takes a penetrating hit.  So the durability difference is a plus, except that it's open topped meaning that the first penetrating hit may be its last, but its worth noting.

So really, why would you buy one?  The army HAS other options for antitank and its a conversion project if you even wanted to. For the same points, you can take a unit that has 4 harbingers of Destruction that come with Str 8 Ap 2 Lances that fire 36 inches and cannot be knocked out with a single shot! 

Well I think the biggest advantage to one is its targetting ability.  All it needs do is hit its target and every other unit in the army is now twin linked when firing at the target!  For 5 points you can equip it with a Str7 AP 4 Large Blast, which changes it's role and makes it far easier for it to hit and "paint" it's targets.  Plus it can still pop tanks!

So you're paying for the synergy of the unit.  It gives your army a ton of "free" shots via rerolls to finish a unit that might otherwise not have existed if not for the Stalker.  In the early rounds especially, there will always be targets that are just a "must kill" and a Triarch can make that Lance unit look like genius against an important vehicle or villain.

The Triarch stalkers will likely be a last include in a lot of armies but if you do take it, use it's Particle Shredder option so it can fulfill its main role. It definitely should not be your primary plan for antitank but its far from a terrilbe backup plan.

Necrontopia, a Warrior list for thought.

Well the Necrons are here and with them a wave of interest, feigned disinterest, bandwagoneering and genuine first time players joining us through the aspect of this reprehensible races allure.

An initial analysis is all this is.  As the games wear on, and we see more, we will know more.

I will start be going over the most interesting nuggets that assist those who want a Warrior heavy army specifically.  Many will gravitate to Immortals BUT for those going the Warrior route I think this will be interesting for you.

.

1st:  Certain characters are Phaerons.  Put simply, this is going to be huge for those who want to play a Warrior heavy army instead of an Immortal heavy army.  I have already experienced in other armies how useful the Relentless rule can be, but this makes a 14 Necron Warrior Squad a highly economical terror.  Imagine two of these units with a Necron Overlord who can drop out of their Night Scythe, rapid fire you and then assault the remnants.  For those who like the math to be solid, let me tell you what that means against an Assault Marine Unit with Powerfist:  The Necrons would inflict 7-8 unsaved wounds.  The Assault Marines would cause 2.  The Necrons would likely be lodged in combat after winning, given the low Necron Initiative, and would finish the Assault Marines off in the opponents melee phase, in time to shoot again in their own.  This is exactly what you want.

Assuming the worst:  Another friendly unit comes to help beat up on the Necrons.  The second assault Marine unit is unlikely to break the unit on it’s charge, killing 4.5 while the entrenched Necrons+Overlord would kill 3.  In other words unless the Necrons are just flat unlucky, they are going to be able to survive into the enemies turn again!  It could take an opponent three game turns to nuke that unit, all because of the Relentless dynamic, and they would need to concentrate considerable shooting on that unit in that third round, shooting they may no longer have so late in a game.

I’ve not even addressed the positive effects of the Resurrection orb on the equation in the third round when the enemy is finally able to shoot them et al.

The Phaeron rule could really make a Necron Warrior army work.

Some may wonder why not Immortals?  Because the Immortals, same scenario, do less damage both in the shooting and in the assault phase against this foe and can take subsequent shooting less easily.  There’s only a 20 point difference between the two.

2^nd:  Cryptek’s are a part of an HQ that takes no slots and you can have 5 of them per Phaeron you have, albeit only one of each type of Cryptek weapon per unit.  What I found interesting was the Harbingers of Transmogrification version.  With such a Cryptek, a Warrior unit, which it can join, can severely affect the enemy’s ability to come help a combat in which the Necrons are engaged.  The primary threat to the Necron Warriors is the second unit that comes to interfere.  With this Cryptek, your problems are lessened considerably.  He can make the enemy who wants to charge reduce their charge by d3 inches!  Also, if the Necrons are shooting a unit that will be close enough to charge but the Necrons themselves cannot initiate, then the ground can be made into difficult terrain for the oncoming enemy unit.  This would potentially allow the Necrons to instead move the next turn, shoot and charge the enemy who was not able to complete their charge!   This is a pretty interesting ability.

3^rd:  As a long time Tau player I really appreciate synergy units.  Necrons now have one:  the Triarch Stalker.  This terrifying thing can turn the simple Warriors and their gunboat transport you purchased into an even better buy.  It fires two Heatrays (Multimeltas effectively) and it merely needs to hit in order to cause other units to be twin-linked against that target!  That is a great compliment to the Warriors and anything else in the army that is asked to level the enemy unit.  The fact that you’re firing a 2 shot Multimelta does not suck either.

4^th: C’Tan Shards:  As you know the enemy of Necrons is being unable to shoot in their turn.  This has to be avoided at all costs.  Enter the C’Tan Shard with the Writhing Worldscape ability.  It makes difficult Terrain Dangerous and already Dangerous Terrain will wound on a 1 OR 2 (see the synergy with the Cryptek?).  Stepping through Rhino wreckage never sounded so terrible. 

The other one that’s interesting if you want a Warrior heavy army is Grand Illusion.  You essentially can redeploy D3 units, even taking them out of (OR INTO) reserve if you choose!  This is such a boon because you can steal from the enemy the ability to use scout moves to massive advantage when you go second.  You simply take their target away and then put it where it can do the most evil (or vice versa).  This is a big help to a Warrior unit that gets threatened by a bad deployment decision, since they are so central to your ability to win objectives and not inconsequential when you want to deal anti-personnel fire cheaply.

5^th:  Canoptek Scarabs (Fleet Beasts with stealth and vulnerable to templates) seem an important inclusion for a Gauss Flayer heavy army.  You must always be shooting but sometimes your best attempt to stay away from close combats you cannot win is limited by circumstance.  These little guys are dirt cheap and just a few of them is all you need in order to forestall a charge on a more important unit.  A real value to a warrior laden army is the fact that they can weaken vehicle armor, making Gauss Flayers more effective!  This is a synergy with warriors that can be exploited.  The chittering li’l bastards can multi-charge on turn 2 on just about anyone’s parking lot and start peeling the armor from them with ease if they didn’t move.  It’s actually funny to imagine a group of Necron Warriors firing their Gauss weapons into a Leman Russ squadron that has been reduced to AV 9 by scarabs.  With 5 attacks on the charge, two bases can take a Leman Russ that didn’t move down to AV9 in a single round when they charge in turn 2.  Those cheap Gauss Flayers will really make you look smart then.

6^th:  Necron Monoliths seem like a smart way to steal objectives with Warriors.  Imagine having two of them deep strike near the rear most objectives and stand there killing enemies that come close to it and then always able to pull unengaged Warriors back to them late game!  This allows the Warriors to be very aggressive upfront, yet always able to come backwards nearly any distance they need to for objectives later.  That’s really strong.  You could ask for a LOT worse guardian for an objective than a Monolith but its ability to also suck things back to the objective makes even the loss of transports while up front and center not as big a deal.

7^th:  Night Scythe:  This is effectively the most awesome Rhino in the History of 40K.  Armed with an uber scary weapon, faster than any Rhino ever thought of being and able to unload it on enemies at cruising speed is, needless to say, awesome sauce.  If you choose not to disembark in round 1 (which is probably what would happen), you can go supersonic and get the 4+ cover save that rhinos would have effectively gotten (only they would not have nearly the speed to show for it this one does) and then you can dump your payload on the enemy.

Ghost arcs are going to see more use I am guessing because of their Repair Barge ability and Quantum Shielding, which is in place of the Night Scythes speed cover saves.  People will also like that you can fire from within it’s confines (BUT…only if it moves 6”).

Unfortunately it is MUCH slower (as slow as a Rhino), Open topped and the weapons on it are not as good (though they are not bad either).  It also can’t fit the number of Warriors we want to take with us.  My main objection though is that there are so few vehicles in a Necron army, really, that enemies may well find getting past the initial Quantum Shielding to be non-problematic in comparison to a 4+ cover save since the enemy really will have very few things better for their AT to shoot at!  Also the repair ability happens specifically before anything moves, so it’s ability won’t be useable, effectively, until after I jump out in turn 2, meaning it won’t do anything for me at the front of the battle til the start of my turn 3!  That’s a long time to hope it survives to heal something.  The Ghost arc seems more useful in the back, stationary and surrounded by units it can heal. 

8^th:  Nemesor ZahndRekh is a strong synergy for Warrior builds.  Unfortunately he is not a Phaeron.  I listed him here just because he fit the bill of being helpful to Warrior builds.  He can make the unit, which Illuminor Szeras can also augment, Counter attack, Furious charge or Tank Hunters.

Illuminor Szeras is good for a Warrior army.  He elevates the less expensive Necrons to respectable combat status with either the toughness OR the STR upgrade he provides!  That would be GREAT in tandem.  The two of them can really empower a Necron unit, but like I say, neither is a Phaeron which is a bit limiting.  You almost want to take them if you’re investing in a 20 Necron unit at the rear to protect objectives and beat face (imagine 20 STR 6 Necron Warriors charging you at Init 3!  That would be something you don’t see every day).  The two of them could hide in the Ghost Arc they don’t use and use their powers from its safe coffin-like confines.

All these units would be really interesting.  Here is a 2000 Point list I made with this in mind.

120pts              Necron Overlord (Phaeron, Warscythe)

120pts              Necron Overlord (Phaeron, Warscythe)

169pts              13 Warriors

100pts              Night Scythe

169pts              13 Warriors

100pts              Night Scythe

169pts              13 Warriors

100pts              Night Scythe

40pts                Cryptek of Transmogrification (Tremorstave from Court 1, Seismic Crucible)

40pts                Cryptek of Transmogrification (Tremorstave from Court 2, Seismic Crucible)

150pts              Triarch Stalker

200Pts             Necron Monolith

200Pts             Necron Monolith

260pts              C’tan shard (Writhing WorldScape, Grand Illusion

50pts                4 Canoptek Scarabs

Battle Report for you fans of the new Sisters of Battle Codex

Battle Report:

Enemy Force:

3 Longfangs squads (Lascannons mostly)

2 units 5 Grey Hunters in Rhinos

2 Thunderwolf Cavalry (Stormshields and a Frostblade)

2 thunderwolf Cavalry (Stormshields and a Thunderhammer)

1 Thunderwolf Cavalry (StormShield and Frostblade)

Canis Wolfborn

Njal StormCaller

Bjorn the Fell Handed (Plasma Cannon)

My force:

Exorcist

Penitent Engine

8 Retributors (HB’s)

2 units 10 Sisters of Battle  (flamers) x1 Rhino

5 Celestians (Combimelta, melta, multimelta) x1 Rhino

6 Sisters Repentia

Arch-Confessor Kyrinov

Canoness (eviscerator)

Battle Conclave (4 arcos, 4 assassins, 2 Crusaders) in Rhino

Sororitas Command Squad

Immolator (TL Multimelta)

10 Dominion (4xMeltas) in Rhino

6 Seraphim (Flame Pistols)

round 1:

Retributors kill three longfangs on the left flank;  They success on morale.

Dominion scout forward and then move forward to kill exactly 1 Longfang.  Lol.

Seraphim in Reserve with the troops, but their Sisters of Battle rhinos are used!

All forces surge forward to central midboard, forming a “pin” for the Penitent Engine to stop it from going the wrong way.

Exorcist shoots Njal but fails to kill him but does pin him.

POP POP POP goes the smoke on all five chassis.

Bjorn stays behind a hill waiting, while Canis lurks in reserve with the Thunderwolf Cavalry…

The Longfangs take aim and fire a serious amount of firepower, immobilizing a rhino, stunning the Repentia Rhino, Shaking the Celestian one and failing to kill the Penitent Engine despite a penetrating hit, thanks to the cover provided by the Rhinos.

The Stormcaller rolled a 6 on the chart for his cool ability despite being pinned (apparently it just happens automatically!).  Wow.

The Grey Hunter on the far left flank trundles to a building for cover along the short board edge, hoping to seize the unguarded objective over there, as none of my forces are really on that side.  The other Grey Hunters are in their rhino atop a hill to the forward right deployment zone, preparing to take the right side objective eventually.  The center objective will be the job of Canis’s crew later.

Round 2:

No reserves came in!

The Repentia Sisters are forced out of their Rhino.  They move, fleet and charge the unit of Longfangs on the hill, rolling a perfect 6 to get there!  The Longfangs hold their ground and remain engaged.

The Exorcist fires but once, and the Dominion whiff utterly, but it forces Njal to become pinned again.  The Retributors try to finish the longfangs on the left flank and completely fail to kill anything.  That coulda gone better.  The Penitent Engine headed towards the Grey Hunters on the hill to the right, blindly following its rage.

Celestian Rhino moves forward full tilt up the middle and to the left to take cover near a small structure there.   The Battle conclave moves within striking distance of the centrally deployed Longfangs near Njal and then strikes!  The longfangs miraculously survive and tie them up.

The Sororitas Command Squad jumps out Relentlessly, blowing up the Grey Hunter Rhino on the right.

The Thunderwolf Cavalry arrive.  Ruh roh shaggy, game on.  One unit goes to the left near the longfangs to pincer me once I get out of the Rhinos, the other two up the gut.  One of them attacks the Battle Conclave to help their comrades, while the other moves up the field at all possible speed and tags into the Dominion Squad to protect their leader Njal from MeltaDeath.  The Sisters of Battle stand their ground on both ends but take losses, perfect for the Thunderwolf Cavalry to avoid getting shot up.

The LongFangs on the left respond, firing back at the Celestian Rhino, stunning it again (no cover but Shield of Faith kicked in and avoided a penetrating hit, yahoo!)

Central Longfangs fought for their life, but to no avail, dying to the Battle Conclave.

The mighty Bjorn the Fell handed came out to play to save his beloved Longfangs on the hill from the Sisters Repentia.  He could not save them, but did kill all but two Repentia Sisters.  The Shield of Faith saved one of the two.  The Dreadlord and the Repentia Sisters were locked in mortal combat, which was perfect.for Bjorn since it was my turn next and he was in no jeopardy of losing that fight!

Round 3:

The Exorcist blew the last of the longfangs on the left away, while the Penitent Engine crashed forward, now changing directions towards the Thunderwolf Cavalry that currently beseiged the Battle Conclave.  The Retributors fired on the lone Thunderwolf cavalryman on the left but could not kill him (1 wound).  Ugh.

The two reserved Sisters of Battle came onto the board edge and ran towards the central and left objectives.

Kyrinov and The Celestians hopped out and shot the lefthand Thunderwolf cavalryman to finish the job.

The Sisters Repentia were overmatched and died to Bjorn the Fell Handed.

The Sororitas Command Squad moved forward to get a better line of sight since they could not see the cowering Grey hunters behind the dead shell of their rhino on the right.  This would turn out to be a mistake on my part soon….

The BattleConclave continues to fight the Thunderwolf cavalry.

Meanwhile the Dominion barely survive the continued attentions of the Thunderwolf cavalry.  Luckily its number of attacks weren’t great.

The Thunderwolf Cavalry that are fighting the Battle Conclave close to the board edge lose on their turn, but the Battle Conclave is badly damaged now, and standing before Njal.

The Thunderwolf cav fighting the Dominion breaks them on his turn but they get away!  He’s left out in the open.

Canis Wolfborn charged the Sororitas command squad which had unfortunately gotten too close.  Canis was surprisingly ineffective against the armor and FnP of the unit!  Canis ended up losing combat and FLEEING to within one inch of the board! 

Njal used his power to destroy the enemy Rhino that the Dominion had used for lack of a better unengaged target as well as tried to get the dominion and Battle Conclave with another power.  Nasty.

Bjorn the Fellhanded came down from the mountain and charged the Battle Conclave, beating them to a pulp with only 3 left in the unit.  Once again, not even close ot a fair fight.

The troops continue to skulk near the right and left objectives.  The one on the left gets out so that the rhino can completely hide while the troops can split up and go into a building next turn, to force the enemy to fire at two targets now that its obvious that the Sisters of Battle Reserves are going to be able to stop them from taking the left side objective unless one of the two units can contest it.

Round 4

The Exorcist, Retributors and regrouped Dominion combine to try to kill the last Thunderwolf Cavalry unit .  Really tough to kill!  They fail.

The Penitent Engine roars towards the troops on the right hill, now redirected once more.

The Sisters of Battle rush the objectives in the center and left.

Kyrinovs Celestians blow Njal away with meltas.

The Immolator tankshocks the troops on the right side hill and sends them running.

The Battle Conclave survives Bjorn with one guy left, barely.

Seraphim Deep strike in and toast all but one grey Hunter on the left.

Canis runs off the table, too close to the Battle Conclave to regroup.

The Cavalry we failed to kill charged and kills the Canoness, but is destroyed simultaneously by her Eviscerator.

The Grey Hunters on the right rally and clamp grenades on the Immolator but just stun it.

Bjorn kills the Battle Conclave.  Finally!  But the damage is done.

The rhino rushes the left objective while the guy climbs inside the building to escape the Seraphim.  Unfortunately, he forgot how buildings and Flamers work…

Round 5;

Bjorn is riddled with shots by several units and becomes immobile and loses his heavy Flamer.  His shields save him from utter annihilation.

The Penitent Engine comes to within striking of the Grey Hunters on the right side hill who were desperately hoping to survive and sneak an objective.  Next round…

The Seraphim cook the Grey Hunter on the left in his coffin.  Oofta.

The Sisters of Battle charged the offending Rhino that was on their objective and blew it to kingdom come. 

“Krak Grenades for every Sister if I am elected!”

-Cruddace

The defiant Grey Hunters, the last thing on the board besides the great Bjorn, charged the Immolator again and tried to use the movement to get to the right objective and avoid the Penitent Engine.  Sadly they could not kill it, though they did kill its gun and immobilize it.

Bjorn fired his plasma cannon into the dominion and killed all five and I went to pick them up when someone around the table reminded me of the Shield of Faith…but WAIT!  The Hand of the emperor came down and saved four of them!!!  Wow.  That was a cool moment.  4 6’s and a 5 on the dice.  Yay verily though I walk through the Shadows of Chaos…

Round 6:

Bjorn Dies under a fusillade too great for even him, AND the penitent Engine cooks the Grey Hunters in their own armor, then kills the last one in a rage so vicious that many will tell tales of it (max attacks on the charge against one lonely Marine…ghastly).

Tabled.

I lost a Canoness, Battle Conclave, Rhino and Sisters Repentia.