8th Edition Battle Report- 2000 pts Deathwatch vs Blood Angels

Hi everyone, Michael here with another written battle report. This week, my Deathwatch take on some Blood Angels. For more reviews, analyses and battle reports, check out the Tactics Corner.

This week’s battle report sees my Deathwatch take on Andy’s Blood Angels in a straight up, Kill Points slug fest.

Andy and I played the No Mercy mission for our 2000 pts game at the Newcastle Warlords gaming club. Andy was new to the club, so I was hoping he would have fun playing against both my Deathwatch and my fickle dice rolling!

After my last game, I decided to change up my army. I added a couple of Frag Cannons to the squad in the Corvus Blackstar for some added firepower, as well as adding a Vanguard Veteran and Biker to the squad. This would allow me to fall back and still shoot and assault in my turn, a pretty powerful combo.

I also added some much needed anti-tank firepower with a squad of Veterans armed with Melta weapons. These would go in the Rhino to get them up the field quickly. The other squad had two Frag Cannons in another Rhino.

I also had two squads for objective holding; one with Stalker Bolters and another with normal Bolters and a Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher for some more tank-hunting capabilities.

I also added a Captain with a Jump Pack. This would give the second character some much needed mobility. I figured I could use him with the Bikers or with the Meltaguns to give me some re-rolls for shooting. The Watch Master would go in the Corvus with the squad, for those important re-rolls. He was my Warlord and took the ignore wounds on a 6+ trait.

Finally, I took two squads of four Bikers and a Corvus Blackstar. The Bikers came with a range of Power Weapons for dealing with different squads.

Andy’s army consisted of:

An interesting Blood Angels force- quite a lot of Death Company with Power Weapons. These would be all over my army quickly if I allowed them. Two Dreadnoughts and a Stormraven would also be tough to deal with, hopefully my new anti-armour weapons in the army could deal with them. Andy’s warlord was Mephiston, and he chose the Ld bubble warlord trait.

We rolled for mission and got No Mercy. After dicing off for deployment type, I won and got Dawn of War. I was kind of hoping for Hammer and Anvil to keep his forces away from me for as long as possible. Andy deployed first, the deployment order was:

1. Devastators
2. Kill Team 5 (cyclone missile launcher)
3. Scouts
4. Kill Team 4 (Stalker Marines)
5. Tactical Squad (5 Man)
6. Vanguard Veterans (reserve)
7. Tactical Squad (10 man)
8. Rhino (with Meltagun Kill Team)
9. Baal Predator
10. Rhino (with Frag Cannon Kill Team)
11. Stormraven (with Death Company Dreadnought and Death Company Squad)
12. Bikers (LHS)
13. Furioso Dreadnought
14. Bikers (Middle)
15. Mephiston
16. Watch Captain (reserve)
17. Death Company (reserve)
18. Corvus Blackstar (with Kill Team 1 and Watch Master)
19. Astorath (reserve)
20. Death Company (reserve)

When Andy deployed the Devastators in the ruins to his right flank, I decided to deploy my Rhinos and Corvus to the opposite corner, shielded from sight by the bunker in the centre (my first game of 8th had shown how much damage the Lascannons could do). I put the bulk of my forces on my right flank. The Kill Team with the Terminator were placed on the top of the building to keep them safe from a few of Andy’s units. If I needed to redeploy, I could always use the Teleport Homers to get them on the ground quickly. I put the Stalker Marines and Bikers on the left flank to deal with the Devastators and other Marines.

Seeing Andy’s deployment, my plan was to take out the Dreadnought and Tacticals on my right flank quickly. I figured the two units of Frag Cannons and Meltaguns could achieve this. The Scouts would also need to be dealt with quickly, as their Sniper Rifles could potentially take out my characters quickly, and I would need their buffs for my shooting and combat attacks. The Death Company in reserve would be a worry, as they could strike pretty much anywhere on the board and would probably walk all over my Kill Teams.

 

With deployment settled, I chose to go first. Andy rolled to seize and managed it! That’s two games in a row that I have been seized on. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too brutal for me.

 

TURN 1- BLOOD ANGELS

The forces of the Blood Angels advanced, eager to get to grips with the enemy. Only the Devastators and Scouts stayed in place to make their shots, both infantry units, Mephiston and the Dreadnought advancing to cover more ground. On the right flank, the Stormraven surged towards the Deathwatch lines.

In the psychic phase, Mephiston cast both Shield of Sanguinius and Unreleased Rage on the Tactical Squad in front of him, giving them a 4+ invulnerable save and +1A.

The Stormraven targeted the Corvus Blackstar. One of the Lascannons struck and wounded the flyer, but only succeeded in doing one point of damage. The Stormstrike missiles and Typhoon missiles struck the flyer and wounded it three times. I managed to save two of the wounds and the Corvus took another two points of damage. A lucky escape for the Deathwatch flyer. The Hurricane Bolters of the Blood Angels’ flyer targeted the Stalker Boltgun Marines in front of it, but fail to kill any of the unit in cover.

The Devastators fired at the Bikers opposite them, using the Cherub to get an extra shot. The squad hit three times, but only managed a single wound, killing one of the Bikers. The Baal Predator opened fire at the Bikers, wounding one of them with its Heavy Bolters. Finally, the Scouts fired at the squad, wounding three times with their sniper rifles, but failing to get past their armour. The Heavy Bolter of the squad was equally unsuccessful and the Bikers survived unscathed.

 

The Deathwatch had weathered the storm of the Blood Angels with some good fortunate in turn 1, could they now capitalise on their luck.

TURN 1- DEATHWATCH

The Watch Master led his Kill Team out of the Corvus towards the advancing Blood Angels Marines. The squad was joined by the Meltagun Kill Team, who disembarked to target the nearby Dreadnought. The Rhinos and Corvus Blackstar moved up the right flank, while the Bikers advanced on the Devastators on the left flank. The Watch Captain dropped in from reserve, moving to support the Bikers on the far left flank.

The combined Kill Team fired their Frag Cannons at the Tactical Marines. I only managed 7 shots on my 4D6 roll. Even worse, I only got two wounds from wounding on a 3+ and one Blood Angels Marine died. The rest of the squad targeted them with their Bolters, killing three more thanks to their Vengeance rounds. The Watch Master fired at the lone survivor, but failed to wound him. Both Rhinos added their firepower, but could not slay him.

The adjacent Kill Team fired on the Dreadnought with their Meltaguns. All four weapons hit and wounded, with one being saved thanks to the cover. The three remaining shots were sufficient to annihilate the enemy Walker.

On the nearby ruins, Kill Team 5 targeted the Scouts on the Bunker. The squad’s Bolter rounds failed to do any damage, but the Terminator fired two Frag Missiles into the squad, killing two. The Kill Team with Stalker Bolters on the other flank added their firepower, killing two more of the squad.

Both squads of Bikers targeted the Devastators with their Vengeance rounds. The combined firepower killed three of the squad, leaving only the two Marines armed with the Lascannons.

Finally, the Corvus Blackstar split its fire at the Blood Angels targets. The Stormstrike missiles slammed into the Baal Predator, one hitting, but failing to wound. I used a Command re-roll to pass the wound roll and the Predator took 3 damage. The Assault Cannon of the flyer fired on the nearby Tactical Marines, killing two. The Flyer then fired on the last Scout, killing him with its Hurricane Bolters.

 

The Watch Captain assaulted the two Devastators, rolling a 12″ charge and easily cutting down the squad as he attacked.

The Kill Team in the ruins also assaulted the last Tactical Marine, this time rolling the opposite and a double 1 for the charge, but still making it in to combat. They easily killed the last member of the squad.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 0
• Deathwatch- 4 (inc. First Blood)

 

TURN 2- BLOOD ANGELS

Seeing their brethren fall, Astorath led the Death Company to the field, landing on their right flank, behind the Deathwatch Bikers. Mephiston led the Tactical Squad towards the nearby Bikers, trapping them between his psychic might and the mighty Death Company. The Stormraven turned to the left flank, moving to engage the enemy forces that had wiped out their brothers.

In the psychic phase, Mephiston attempted to Smite the Bike squad in front of him. Andy rolled a double 1 for his psychic test. He decided to use a Command Point re-roll, but then rolled another 1, perilling the test! Fortunately, Mephiston only took a single mortal wound. He then cast Shield of Sanguinius on the Tactical Squad.

The Stormraven targeted the Corvus Blackstar. Its Lascannons struck the enemy flyer, wounding it 5 times. The Stormstrike and Typhoon Missiles then locked on target, blowing the Deathwatch Flyer out of the sky. It fired it’s Hurricane Bolters at the nearby Kill Team, killing one of the squad.

The Tactical Squad fired at the Bikers, wounding twice with their Bolters and once with the Plasma gun. I managed to fail both the Bolter saves, and one Biker died.

The Baal Predator fired at the full strength Biker unit, killing one of the squad with its Assault Cannons, the Heavy Bolters failing to do any damage. The Death Company fired at the squad, killing one of the Bikers.

The Tactical Squad charged the Bikers in front of them, but Mephiston was unable to make the distance. Astorath and one unit of Death Company tried to also charge to support them, but failed to make it as well. The second Deathwatch Company succeeded in charging the second unit of Bikers.

The Death Company struck at the Deathwatch with the fury of Sanguinius, obliterating the squad before they could react. The Tactical Marines were also able to vent their fury on the second squad of Bikers, hitting them 6 times and wounding them 5 times (even though he needed a 5+). I then failed four saves and the squad was wiped out. The Tactical Squad consolidated into range of the nearby Teleport Homer, shorting it out.

 

TURN 2- DEATHWATCH

The Vanguard Veterans arrived, landing on the other side of the woods next to the Stormraven (I figured if I failed my charge, the woods might provide some protection from the Blood Angels firepower). The Watch Captain advanced on the Death Company, while the Stalker Bolter Deathwatch were resigned to their fate.

On the right flank, the Watch Master joined the Meltagun squad in the Rhino, as it advanced towards the Predator, joined by the second Rhino. Kill Team 1 moved and advanced towards the Stormraven, hoping to bring their Frag Cannons to bear.

The Kill Team fired their Frag Cannons at the Stormraven, only scoring 11 hits (I used a Command Point to re-roll one of the dice, but only managed to change a 1 to a 2!). The shots managed to wound the flyer twice. The Terminator fired two Krak Missiles at the flyer, one hitting and wounding, doing another 2 damage to the Stormraven.

The Stalker Marines fired their Hellfire rounds at the Death Company. The squad only managed three hits, but wounded three times. Andy then failed two of his three saves and two Marines perished.

The Vanguard Veterans charged the Stormraven and I had to use another Command Point to make the charge. The Watch Captain also assaulted the Death Company.

The Vanguards struck at the Blood Angels flyer. The two armed with Lightning claws managed to put two wounds on it. The Heavy Thunder Hammers then struck, getting two wounds, only causing 6 damage. However, Andy managed to save that wound on a 6+. Fortunately for me, the second wound also rolled a 6 for damage. The Stormraven was heavily damaged, but not done yet.

The Watch Captain attacked the Death Company, hitting four times, but only wounding once. Andy failed his armour save, but managed to negate it with his 6+ Feel no Pain. The Black armoured Marines struck back, wounding the Captain twice.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 3
• Deathwatch- 4 (inc. First Blood)

The game was fairly even at this stage, with only First Blood giving me the edge.

TURN 3- BLOOD ANGELS

The Death Company and Dreadnought disembarked from the Stormraven, moving towards the nearby Deathwatch forces. The Stormraven flew over the Bunker, past the two Deathwatch Rhinos. Mephiston and the Baal Predator advanced on the Rhinos, while the Tactical Squad, Astorath and the Death Company moved up towards the Stalker Marine Kill Team.

Mephiston cast Smite at the Rhino, taking three wounds from it. He then tried to cast Shield of Sanguinius on the Stormraven, failing at first, but using a Command Point re-roll to succeed.

In the shooting phase, the Baal Predator fired at the Rhino holding the Meltagun Kill Team, taking one wound from it. Mephiston fired his Plasma Pistol at it, taking another wound. The Stormraven fired all its shots at the second Rhino, taking 6 wounds from it with its combined firepower.

The Death Company closest to the Vanguard Veterans fired at them, but failed to do any damage. The Tactical Squad fired at the Stalker Marines. The Heavy Flamer did a single hit, but a Command Point re-roll gave it 6 hits, killing two of the squad. The Squad’s Bolters fired at the Vanguard Veterans, but failed to do any damage.

The Dreadnought fired at the Kill Team in front of him, killing the Biker in the squad with his Heavy Flamer.

The Death Company in combat with the Captain fired their Bolt Pistols at him, taking another wound from the Deathwatch leader.

In the charge phase, the Tactical Squad charged the Stalker Marines, losing one of the squad to overwatch fire. The Death Company joined them in the assault. The other unit of Death Company assaulted the Vanguard Veterans, while Mephiston assaulted one of the Rhinos. The Dreadnought charged the Kill Team, taking two wounds from the overwatch fire of the Frag Cannons.

The Death Company struck at the Stalker Marines, only getting one hit out of 7 attacks. The one hit was enough to kill a Deathwatch Marine. The Tactical Squad also attacked, killing another. The Stalker Marines attacked the Tactical Squad, killing one of the Blood Angels.

The Death Company attacked the Vanguard Veterans, killing two of the squad. The Heavy Thunder Hammer-armed Marines struck back, killing two of the Death Company.

The Dreadnought struck at the Kill Team, killing two of the squad. In reply, the Deathwatch attacked the enemy walker, but failed to do any damage.

Mephiston attacked the Rhino, initially doing 2 hits, but Andy used a Command re-roll to get three hits. All three attacks wounded and he rolled a triple 6 for damage, easily wrecking the Rhino. The squad inside were unharmed as they disembarked.

The Death Company then attacked the Watch Captain, wounding him twice. I failed both saves and used a Command re-roll to then pass one, leaving the Captain on a single wound. The Captain struck back, killing one of the Death Company.

 

TURN 3- DEATHWATCH

The Kill Team in the second Rhino disembarked, moving to support the Watch Master and other Kill Team against Mephiston. The Kill Team engaged with the Dreadnought fell back from combat, moving towards the Death Company, as the two surviving Vanguard Veterans fell back as well.

The Terminator fired two Krak Missiles at the Dreadnought, hitting with one of them. The shot failed to wound, but I used a Command re-roll to succeed and put three wounds on the Dreadnought. The nearby Kill Team fired their two Frag Cannons at the Dreadnought. The hard shells of the Deathwatch weapon hit and wounded the enemy Walker, causing it to explode. The Bolters from the squad fired at the Death Company, killing one.

The Meltagun Kill Team split their fire between the Stormraven and Baal Predator. Both Meltagun shots hit the flyer, but both failed to wound! One shot wounded the Predator, taking 5 wounds from it.

The second Kill Team turned their Frag Cannons on Mephiston, getting a great 16 shots and 13 wounds. The punishing fire was too much for the Blood Angels’ psyker and he perished under the withering storm. The Watch Master fired at the Stormraven, but failed to do any wounds.

The Stalker Marines fired their Bolt Pistols at the Death Company they were engaged with, killing one of the squad.

In the charge phase, the Rhino charged the Stormraven to soak up the overwatch fire. One of the Missiles hit, doing 3 damage on the transport and leaving it on 2 wounds. The Hurricane Bolters then fired, doing two hits and wounding twice. I then failed both armour saves (on a 3+) and the Rhino was destroyed. I used my last re-roll on one of the armour saves, but failed again. To make matters worse, the Rhino exploded, killing two members of each nearby Kill Team and wounding the Watch Master twice!

The Frag Cannon Kill Team decided to assault the Baal Predator. Andy managed five overwatch hits with the Assault Cannon and four wounds. I then failed all four saves and the unit was wiped out. The Watch Master decided to assault as well. He suffered one wound from overwatch, but made his armour save. He was quickly joined by the surviving Kill Team.

The Watch Master struck at the Baal Predator, wounding it once, but only rolling a 1 on the D3 damage roll. The Kill Team struck at the enemy tank and managed to do 3 wounds, destroying it. Fortunately, it did not blow up.

The Watch Captain struck at the Death Company he was engaged with, wounding them three times. Andy passed one 6+ armour save, then made another 6+ Death Company save, meaning only one Marine fell.

In the other combat, the Death Company attacked the Stalker Marines, but failed to cause any wounds. The Deathwatch Marines struck back, killing the last of the Death Company. The Tactical Squad struck next, killing one of the Deathwatch.

Finally, the last Death Company squad attacked the Watch Captain, wounding him once, but I managed to make my invulnerable save (fortunately, as I only had a single wound left).

That was a brutal turn on both side. Some amazing overwatch fire from the Blood Angels’ vehicles had caused much more damage than I had expected and stalled my assault on their ranks. The Captain and Stalker Marines were holding out for now, but would likely not last long.

 

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 6
• Deathwatch- 9 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

 

TURN 4- BLOOD ANGELS

The Stormraven went back into zooming mode, moving across the battlefield once more to engage the Deathwatch. Astorath leapt over the combat to target Kill Team 2, while the unengaged Death Company squad went after the retreating Vanguard Veterans.

The Death Company fired their pistols at the Watch Captain, but failed to kill him. The two squads engaged with the Stalker Marines also fired, but caused no wounds.

The Stormraven fired at Kill Team 5 on top of the ruins. The Lascannon hit once, but failed to wounds. Andy used a Command re-roll, but was also unsuccessful. The Typhoon and Stormstrike missiles fired at the unit, killing one of the squad. Finally, the Hurricane Bolters opened fire, wounding them three times. I then failed two of my 2+ saves, and two Deathwatch Marines perished.

Astorath charged the Kill Team in front of him. Some poor rolling only saw seven hits from the two Frag Cannons, wounding him all 7 times. Some terrible saves saw Astorath take 3 wounds on the charge. The Death Company also assaulted the Vanguard Veterans.

In the assault phase, Astorath struck at the Deathwatch. He only managed 3 hits and a single wound that killed one of the Frag Cannon Marines. The squad struck back. The Vanguard with the Lightning Claws wounded twice, but Astorath made both his 5+ saves. The other Deathwatch Marine failed to do any damage.

The Death Company attacked the Vanguard Veterans, killing one of the squad. The surviving member then missed with his two Heavy Thunder Hammer attacks.

The second Death Company unit finally succeeded in finishing off the wounded Watch Master. The last Stalker Deathwatch Marine then attacked, failing to hit with his attacks. He too was cut down by the Blood Angels.

 

TURN 4- DEATHWATCH

The Watch Master and Kill Team move up to engage the damaged Stormraven, the Kill Team advancing to get their Meltaguns in range to fire. The Kill Team engaged with Astorath fell back from combat.

In the shooting phase, the Watch Master targeted the flyer, wounding it once with his Vengeance rounds. The Kill Team trained their Meltaguns on the flyer, hitting once but failing to wound.

Kill Team 5 split their fire between Astorath and the flyer. The Terminator fired at the Stormraven, finally destroying it with his Krak Missiles. The Bolters of the squad fired at Astorath and succeeded in killing him.

The last Kill Team targeted the Blood Angels Tactical Squad. The lone Frag Cannon made up for his previous results by rolling a double 6 for its shots. However, my poor rolling returned and I only wounded 5 times, killing 3 of the squad.

The Watch Master charged the Death Company engaged with the Vanguard Veterans, easily slaying them before they could strike him down.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 8
• Deathwatch- 12 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

The Deathwatch had managed to increase their lead in the game, but both sides had little left and two units of Death Company were still around.

TURN 5- BLOOD ANGELS

The Death Company on the far right flank advanced, moving up 14″ to get at the Deathwatch. The remaining Blood Angels forces moved to targeted the Kill Team in the woods.

The Tactical Squad fired on the Kill Team, but failed to kill any thanks to the cover afforded by the woods.

The squad then assaulted the Deathwatch, losing two of their number thanks to the overwatch fire. The Blood Angels struck, killing one of the squad and leaving only the Vanguard Marine. The Vanguard attacked with his Lightning Claws, wounding once, but Andy made his armour save.

TURN 5- DEATHWATCH

The Watch Master moved up to engage the Tactical Marines, as the Veteran fell back from combat. The Meltagun Kill Team fired their Bolters at the Death Company, but failed to get past their armour. The Kill Team on the ruins fired at the two Tactical Marines, but failed to do any damage.

The Watch Master charged the Blood Angels Tactical Squad, cutting down the last two Marines.

 

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 8
• Deathwatch- 13 (inc. First Blood and Slay the Warlord)

We rolled to see if the game would continue and it did.

 

TURN 6- BLOOD ANGELS

The Death Company used their Jump Packs to get in range of the Watch Master. They fired their Bolt Pistols at the Vanguard Veterans, but failed to cause any wounds.

They then assaulted the Watch Master. The Death Company Marines struck at him, wounding him 3 times, but his Iron Halo blocked all three wounds. In reply, the Watch Master did a single wound on the squad, but once again, the Death Company save came to their rescue.

TURN 6- DEATHWATCH

The last two Vanguard Veterans moved to support the Watch Master, assaulting the Death Company. The Veteran with the Lightning Claws succeeding in killing two of the squad, while the Thunder Hammer Veteran killed the last of the Blood Angels on the field.

VICTORY POINTS:

• Blood Angels- 8
• Deathwatch- 15 (inc. First Blood, Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord)

A first win for my Deathwatch in 8th edition!

 

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS

Thanks to Andy for a great game of 8th edition, it was a blast and I learnt a lot about the army.

I think the game was actually a lot closer than the final score suggested, as I actually only had a few models left in each of my units on the board, and only a single model in two of the units. A bit more luck with Andy’s dice rolls for some of the combats and those units would have been wiped out.

For me though, the funniest/most infuriating part of the game was the charge of the Rhino on the Stormraven. Some fantastic overwatch fire saw the Rhino destroyed on the charge, blowing up and taking a lot of my surrounding units with it. I should have saved that final command point for re-rolling the explosion result, rather than trying to pass the armour save.

 

Overall, I think that my plan worked well. I was able to take out the right flank quickly, after Andy rushed everything forward to get to close range. Dealing with the Devastators early was also useful, as I saw from previous games how hazardous they could be to vehicles in my army.

In addition, some of the units held out longer than expected in combat with the Death Company. There was poor rolling on both sides in this game, as Andy kept failing to wound with his Power Sword-armed Death Company Marines, while I was able to kill them off with normal Veterans. To make up for it, he kept making those damn 6+ Death Company saves at the most infuriating of times.

I actually like the new set up for the Deathwatch army. This will be the army that I will take to Caledonian Revolution. It will be interesting to see how it performs in a competitive environment.

 

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