Game 1
Mission: Sieze Ground
Deployment: Pitched Battle

My army list:

Click here.

My opponent’s army (roughly):

Lord Commissar

Company Command Squad with Regimental Standard

2 Infantry Platoons, each with multiple Infantry Squads, Special Weapons Teams, and 2 Heavy Weapon Teams (3x lascannon) each

Veterans with Harker

Leman Russ Battle Tank (heavy bolter on sponsons and lascannon hull)

Leman Russ Battle Tank (heavy bolter on sponsons and lascannon hull)

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My first opponent was Matt from the Ordo Malleus club over in Rockland County, NY. For a young guy, I have to say that he was impressively familiar with some of the nuances of tactics, though he made some serious mistakes during his deployment that decided the outcome of the game before it even began. These mistakes combined with an extremely unfavorable matchup (infantry guard doesn’t stand a chance against massed heavy flamers) resulted in decisive victory in my favor.

Five objectives (the unpainted Wood Elf archers) were scattered around the middle of the board. My opponent’s anti-tank was limited to four triple-lascannon heavy weapons teams, so I knew I had to make them a priority. Without these guns he would have no way to deal with my Land Speeders which would then fry huge numbers of guardsmen.

I won the initial roll and opted to go second, since my army relies on getting Drop Pods into position and using the locator beacons for precision deep striking. I was afraid he might choose to hold everything in reserve, but instead he deployed his entire infantry army (+ 2 Leman Russes). The large blocks of impassible terrain caused him to deploy his army in 3 distinct sections, each unable to draw line of sight to or support one another. This mistake allowed me to concentrate the bulk of my forces on the largest block (the middle) without fear of retribution.

Two pods came down Turn 1 filled with Vulkan and Tactics Squads who then split off into combat squads. The bolters and Vulkan’s heavy flamer decimated the mob of guardsmen and lascannon teams in the center, leaving little left to put the hurt on my marines. Unfortunately, the LRBT shrugged off my point blank meltagun shot and was in a good position to kill infantry, however fortune smiled upon me and he scattered the shell off into some nearby foliage.

My Vindicators advanced cautiously on the right flank with the intention of putting wounds on the lascannon team and hoping for failed cover saves. I managed to get a shell off on the first turn that would kill 2 bases, but would lose the tank to the survivor. Good thing I brought a spare! The other Vindicator single-handedly killed the rest of the flank over the next 3 turns.

On Turn 2 the Land Speeders arrived and they began their reign of terror on the T3, 5+ Sv guardsmen and special weapons teams. Some marines fell to lasgun fire, but the meltaguns and power fists survived and proved enough to destroy the Russ that had previously defied the Emporer’s finest. Vulkan ended up rampaging through infantry, killing over 30 models before finally getting beat down by rifle butts on Turn 5.

Once the middle had been emptied I was able to throw all of my weight towards the remaining models on the left side of the board, who still held an objective. Matt’s wildcard was a Veteran Squad led by the special character Harker, however they didn’t show up until Turn 4 and were quickly cut down by a speeder. The Terminators also arrived on Turn 4 and sealed the deal on the left flank, stomping an infantry squad and using the massacre move to move within charge range of the lascannons hunkered down in the corner.

At this point my opponent conceded the game and we tallied up points. I had managed to get the win and also all of the secondary objectives, earning a total of 19 points for the round.

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