Hi everyone, Michael here with my second battle report from a recent tournament. For more battle reports, unit reviews and analyses, check out the Tactics Corner.
After a great first round game, I found myself at the top table facing off against Lewis and his tank-heavy Astra Militarum army. This mission was the Eternal War mission Crusade with 5 objectives.
My army consisted of:
Ravenwing Strike Force
- Interrogator-Chaplain- Bike, Meltabombs, Auspex, Mace of Redemption (with CS)
- 5 Ravenwing Command Squad- Ravenwing Banner, Apothecary, Grenade Launcher (CS)
- 6 Black Knights- Meltabombs, Grenade Launcher (BK)
- 6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Sword (RB1)
- 6 Ravenwing Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Sergeant with Meltabombs and Power Fist (RB2 and RB3)
- Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter (AB)
- Landspeeder- Multi-melta, Typhoon Missile Launcher (L)
Ravenwing Support Squadron
- Darkshroud- Assault Cannon (SS)
- 3 Landspeeders- Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolters
My warlord trait gave the Chaplain Courage of the Lion, giving him a 12″ Fearless bubble.
Lewis’ army consisted of:
- Tank Commander Pask- Leman Russ Punisher, Heavy Bolter Sponsons, Lascannon, Dozer Blade (CP)
- 2 Leman Russ Vanquishers- Heavy Bolter Sponsons, Lascannons, Dozer Blades (V1 and V2)
- 10 Veterans (VS1)
- Chimera- Multi-laser, Heavy Flamer, Dozer Blade (C1)
- 10 Veterans (VS2)
- Chimera- Multi-laser, Heavy Flamer, Dozer Blade (C2)
- Leman Russ- Battle Cannon, Heavy Bolter Sponsons, Lascannon, Dozer Blade (LR)
- 2 Leman Russ Eradicators- Heavy Bolter Sponsons, Lascannon, Dozer Blades (E1 and E2)
- 2 Wyverns- Camo nets (W1 and W2)
- Enginseer (TE)
Pask was the warlord, giving Preferred Enemy to his unit. A lot of vehicles to take out, combat would probably be my best bet. The ignores cover on the Wyverns and Eradicators could be problematic for my army.
We placed the objectives as shown below:
Lewis won the roll for deployment zone and for deployment and chose to go first. Lewis set up with his Wyverns at the back, surrounded by the Leman Russ tanks, with the Chimeras on each side. He set them up in a castle at the back of his deployment zone.
I set up the Black Knights, Command Squad and Support Squadron opposite the enemy tanks. The Meltagun Bikers and Attack Bike went on the left, the rest of the army on the right. Even though I did not seize the initiative, I decided to Scout forward with all of my army that could. My plan to to head to the enemy tanks as fast as possible to get into combat. There, I could hopefully deal with the enemy army and got after the objectives. once they were dealt with.
The first turn would be under Night Fighting rules.
TURN 1- ASTRA MILITARUM
The two Chimeras advanced on the Ravnenwing forces, the Veterans disembarking to engage the foe.
The Guard lines turned their attention towards the Dark Angels. Pask opened fire on the Command Squad, killing one of the Black Knights with his Punisher Cannon. The rest of the tanks in the squad opened fire, but were unable to harm the jinking Bikers. The Veterans fired at the unit, but were unable to fell any of the squad with their lasguns.
The second Leman Russ squadron opened fire on the Black Knights. The Eradicators managed to kill two of the squad with their main gun. The Wyverns then targeted the unit, killing one more with their combined payload.
The Chimera fired at the Power Fist Bikers, but failed to harm the Jinking Bikers. The second Chimera fired at the Meltagun Bikers, but again, the Ravenwing survived.
TURN 1- RAVENWING
The Ravenwing continued their advance towards the enemy lines, moving as fast as possible on the enemy tanks.
On the right flank, the Landspeeder fired at the Chimera, glancing it once. The nearby Bikers fired at the Veteran Squad, killing three of them as they went to ground. The squad failed their morale test and fled from the onslaught.
The Black Knights fired on the Wyvern, penetrating it once, but failing to get past its cover save. The Command Squad fired at the other Wyvern, but were unable to harm it with their snap shots. The Meltagun Bikers snap fired at the Chimera, but were unable to damage the enemy vehicle.
Finally, the Support Squadron fired at the Wyverns. They managed to penetrated the vehicle twice with their Assault Cannons, blowing up on of the tanks. The resulting explosion killed the Engineseer who had been standing nearby.
TURN 2- ASTRA MILITARUM
The Guard tanks retreated from the advancing Ravenwing and turned their guns on them once more. The Veterans rallied, moving up to engage the enemy.
On the right flank, the Chimera fired its Heavy Flamer at the Bikers, killing two of the squad. The Veterans snap fired at the unit in front of them, but failed to cause any harm.
The Wyvern fired at the Black Knights once more, killing one with its ordnance. The Leman Russ Squadron on the right flank fired at the Grav gun Bikers, killing one of the jinking squad.
Pask’s unit fired on the Command Squad once more, killing only one of the Jinking squad with their combined firepower (after some great save rolls from me). The other Chimera fired at the Bike squad in front of it, but failed to kill any with its Heavy Flamer or Multi-laser.
TURN 2- RAVENWING
The Interrogator-Chaplain gave the signal to attack, the Ravenwing moving around the enemy troops to tackle the bigger threat of the Battle Tanks.
The Bikers fired at the tanks in front of them, but were unable to cause any harm with their snap shots. The Attack Bike fired on the Veterans, killing two more of the squad. The Support Squadron fired at the Wyvern once more, but were unable to match the success of the previous volley, causing no harm.
The Ravenwing Bikers then assaulted. The Meltagun Bikers and Command Squad assaulted Pask’s unit. The Chaplain struck at Pask’s Tank, penetrating it once and forcing it to snap fire. The Black Knights managed to glance another tank three times, wrecking it. The Meltagun Bikers penetrated the third tank, forcing it too to snap fire next turn.
On the right flank, the Black Knights and Bikers assaulted the second Leman Russ Squadron. The Black Knights managed to glance one tank twice, the Biker squad immobilised another and took two hull points from it.
The other Bike Squad struck at the Chimera, the Sergeant blowing it up with his Meltabombs.
At the end of turn 2, things were going well. The Ravenwing charge had not been as devastating as I thought it would be, but the tanks were slowly falling and I had not lost too much of my army yet.
TURN 3- ASTRA MILITARUM
The Astra Militarum tanks moved away from the Dark Angels’ forces, while the Veteran squads converged on the enemy.
On the right flank, the Chimera opened fire on the Ravenwing Bikers, killing one of the squad. The Wyvern opened fire on the Command Squad. One of the elite warriors fell, along with two of the nearby Guard Veterans thanks to some friendly fire. Tank Commander Pask ordered his unit to open fire on the Command Squad, but were unable to cause any damage thanks to the crews being shaken. The Veterans opened fire at the Command Squad, but were unable to kill any of the enemy warriors.
On the other flank, the Veterans fired at the Ravenwing Bikers, wounding them four times, but were unable to get past their armour. The two remaining Leman Russ tanks fired at the Black Knights, but all wounds were saved by the jinking Bikers.
In the assault phase, the Ravenwing Bikers on the Guard right flank struck at the immobilised Leman Russ. The Sergeant’s meltabombs detonated the enemy tank, blowing it up and killing two of the squad in the process!
TURN 3- RAVENWING
The Ravenwing advanced on the enemy vehicles once more, as the Landspeeders moved to secure the objectives.
The Ravenwing Bikers fired their grav guns at the Leman Russ, immobilising it and taking a hull point.
The Support Squadron opened fire at the Wyvern, penetrating it once with their Assault Cannons, but failing to get past its cover save.
The Attack Bike fired at the Veterans, killing two more of the squad. The Landspeeder fired on the remaining Eradicator, destroying it.
In the assault phase, the Command Squad and Ravenwing Bikers charged Pask’s squadron once more. This time, the Chaplain was able to take out both tanks with his Mace of Redemption.
On the right flank, the Ravenwing Bikers struck at the immobilised Leman Russ, easily destroying it with their meltabombs.
The Black Knights charged the Wyvern, blowing it up with their attacks. Fortunately, the explosion caused no damage amongst the Ravenwing units.
At the end of turn 3, the game was pretty much over. The Guard had lost much of their firepower and there were still plenty of Ravenwing left. All that remained was to finish off the survivors and secure the objectives.
TURN 4- ASTRA MILITARUM
The Veterans moved up on the support squadron, while the Chimera moved to claim an objective.
The Chimera fired on the Attack Bike, wounding it twice, but failing to harm the jinking bikers. The Veterans fired on the lone Biker Sergeant, hoping to fell him, but failed to cause any harm.
TURN 4- RAVENWING
The Command Squad moved after the retreating Chimera, the nearby Bikers moving to secure the objective.
On the other flank, the Landspeeders moved to secure the objectives, while the Bikers converged on the remaining Veterans.
The Command Squad fired at the Chimera, taking two of its hull points with the Plasma Talons. The Support Squadron and Landspeeder fired on one Veteran Squad, wiping them out.
The other Bikers fired on the second Veteran Squad, killing all but one of the unit.
In the assault phase, the Command Squad charged the Chimera, finishing it off. The Bikers charge the last Veteran, killing him with their hammer of wrath hits.
With that, the game was over, the Guard had been wiped out and the day belonged to the Ravenwing.
VICTORY POINTS:
Astra Militarum- 0
Ravenwing- 18
AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Lewis for a great game. Before the game, I actually thought it could have gone either way, with the potent firepower of the Guard army. When Lewis won the first turn, I thought I would be in trouble. However, in the end, the amazing cover saves of the Ravenwing held out.
During deployment and during the game, I was very careful with the spacings for my bikers in the unit. Normally, I am not so fastidious with this, but with so many Ignores Cover templates in the enemy army, I wanted to be sure to limit the number of hits with each salvo. This helped to mitigate the damage caused by the Wyverns. I have seen these easily eliminate entire Bike units before, so was glad I could reduce the number of hits that I was taking each turn they fired.
I think my plan worked well. I went for the enemy tanks as quickly as possible, knowing these were the biggest threat to my army. I just had to hope that my armour and jink saves could hold out for a couple of turns of shooting. As it was, they did.
Discussing the game after, Lewis and I thought that he may have been better castling his forces in one corner. This would have limited how many of my units could counter them in combat.
Alternatively, he could have done what Chris did the last time I played Guard and split his forces in two. This would have forced me to either split my army to deal with both parts, or go after one section and then the other. His units had the range to take on my army pretty much anywhere on the board, so forcing my army to split would have perhaps allowed him to cause more casualties, especially as my Darkshroud would have been unable to protect the Command Squad and Black Knights, as I would most likely have split them on the two flanks.
With another decisive victory, I remained at the top of the table, being the only player to have scored full tournament points in both games. This meant I had a good chance of winning the event, but I had a feeling I knew which army I would be facing next, and I was not looking forward to it…..
For more battle reports, check out the Tactics Corner. For more written battle reports, check out my own blog, St Andrews Wargaming.
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