|
Turn 2
Knights win the initiative in Turn 2.
They activate first, after a SC reroll, with Tbolt 1 ground attacking the remaining elements of Great Coy 1. The attack causes a single kill which wipes out the broken supreme commander. (BTS achieved)
The SW start with the Longfangs who sustain fire on the Baron formation, they only score a single hit which is saved, 1 BM.
The knights reply with Tbolts 2 ground attacking the bikes but they fail to cause any hits.
The SW then double the Predators which fire on the Lancers moving towards the blitz obj, their fire causes 4 hits resulting in a single kill.
Paladin 1 tires to kill the bloodclaws in the ruins with a sustained fire action but only cause a single kill after a hail of cannon and bolter rounds.
SW then double landraider 1 forwards and fire on the Baron's formation. 4 Hits are received but all are saved, +1 BM.
The Wardens now advance fwd and fire on Landraider 1 causing a single kill.
Great Coy 2 doubles over the large hill and moved in behind cover ready for turn 3.
The Castellans then double onto the small hill and fire on Great Coy 2, the light quakes are scary but cause no hits, thankfully the cannons come through an cause 2hits resulting in 1 kill.
SW then reply with Landraider 2 advancing onto the centre ridgeline and shooting the Castellans. 4 hits are again sustained but all are saved.
The Baron now seeks to engage Great Coy 2 before they can strike but fails his activation and regroups in prep for next turn.
The remaining Bloodclaws marshall and remove all BMs.
The Lancers seek to engage the predators but fails their activation, they regroup and remove all BM.
Finally the bikes doulbe up close to Great Coy 2.
In the rally phase the Knights rally all bar the Wardens and all SW formations Rally. This turn was a little less bloody than 1 but turn 3 is going to be tough.
Turn 3.
SW get the strategy roll off and stard with landraider 2 sustaining on the Castellans. 6 hits are caused but the 4+ RA saves all hits. (by this stage CAL is somewhat shocked at my ability to save hits...)
SW then decide to retain with Great Coy 2 who call a combined assault with the bikes on the Wardens. The intial attacks are SW 8 + 1 MW whilst the Wardens get 3 hits from FF attacks. 1 Warden manages to survive and the supporting fire from Baron's formation and Castellans kills 5 SW units. The result is close and the SW will 12:11. The surviving Warden withdraws to his own Blitz Obj.
Lancers engage the predators on the Left flank.Shock lances again fail to hit but regular attacks cause 3 hits + 2 MW hits for 1 hit in return. The lancers save but the preds are wiped out. The lancers try to cross half way with their followup move.
SW advance after the Warden with Landraider 1 detachment. The 3 tanks cause only 2 hits and both are again saved. Thanks to ATSKNF equivalent, the Warden survives this 1 BM.
The longfangs retain and fire on the Baron, cause a single hit but again this is saved.
Tbolt 1 is called in for another Gnd Attack but fails to activate.
The Bloodclaws then to engage the Baron's formation in a last ditch gamble. The combat is close with SW getting 1 hit and another 4 hits from supporting fire, the knights on the other hand get 3 hits + 2MW hits. The knights win 8:6 but loose the Baron and a Lancer. 1 Lancer remains and he flees to the left, broken. The SW formation is wiped out.
The Castellans are now sustain fire Great Coy 2. 1 is suppressed but the other 2 manage to kill 3x Grey Hunters and 3 Rhinos. The remaining stand and Rhino flee towards Landraider 2.
Tbolt 2 now ground attacks the long fangs and 3 hits wipe out the last 2 stands.
Paladin 2 doubles up close to Landraider 1 and kills one with a lucky shot.
The final activation of turn 3 sees the rallied paladin from Paladin2 engage Landraider 1. The SW tanks cause no hits and the attacks from the both Paladins and a Castellan kill 1 LR. The SW unit looses 8:5 and is wiped out.
End of turn 3, the Knights all rally bar the remaining Lancer from the Baron's formation. The SW fail to rally either the bikes or Great Coy 2.
Victory conditions are slim with the knights able to claim BTS and the SW can just claim They Shall Not Pass.
Turn 4
Knights win the strategy roll and start with the Castellans. They attempt to advance and attack Landraider 2 but fail. Fortunately the bikes are still in their fire arc and they wipe out the remaining 2 bikes.
The SW only activation was for Landraiders 2 to sustain fire on the Castellans. They again shoot poorly with only 4 hits out of 8 attacks hitting on 3s. Fortunately for CAL i failed 2 saves which left the unit broken but it was a little too late to save the SW.
Paladin 1 doubled forwards to the distant marine objective and fired on the LR for no effect other thatn a BM.
The Lancers then marched to capture the SW's Blitz objective.
Paladin 2 tried to double to the other marine objective but fails its activation, It decided to regroup and remove its BM.
The Warden manages to activate and Marches to the same objective.
Final activation are both Tbolts ground attacking the Landraider 2 formation. 3 hits are caused and 1 kill results.
Turn 4 ends with SW unable to rally any formations, Knights all rally and win 3:0
Knights achieved: Blitz, DTF and BTS whilst SW have lost TSNP due to the Lancers.
Pictures and detailed comments to follow when I have more time but quick observations:
Game points:
2 assault forces are brutal when they get close to each other.
CAL couldn't roll any thing close to decent dice. I on the other hand made a lot of good ones.
Drop should have waited to turn 2 or 3 and attacked with vehicle elements in support, as it was they were dealt with seperately. No AA for SW allowed Tbolts to achieve good effects.
SW:
List feels good and I wasn't as concerned about the big formations as I was when I fought them with a Salamanders force 2 weeks prior.
Long fangs are good and you don't want them sustaining on you and they dish out the firepower.
Grey hunters seem a good solid choice and whilst you could miss the tac's 45cm ML shot, it wasn't noticable in this game as they were mostly in assaults (where they belong). Some of these in a THawk or drop ship could be very nasty.
The big formation are quite resiliant in an assault and can win almost through numbers.
It would be interesting to see a similar force against a shooting army such as guard. Knights were probably well suited to a drop SW force as it put the knight directly into assault range from turn 1.
Knights.
Castellan is a good unit now with the 3x shots and extra Small Arms attack.
Shocklances and knight shields throughout is a good move.
Paladins are definately not as useful as the lancers but are tougher now with ATSKNF equivalent rules. I've got thoughts that perhaps the Lancer should be 5+ RA or only 4+ in FF and perhaps the Paladin could go to 3+ in CC? Regardless they certainly take a pounding when against limited MW attacks.
Its a shame the current Army list doesn't allow characters in bigger units of knights, It would be nice to give the Baron some extra body guards.
Wardens were a surprise for me, first time I've taken them and they definately supported the other knights well. I'll be taking more of these in the future but maybe 1-2 with battlecannons for some more ranged fire.
Knights were in their element this game and didn't have to go far for an assault, it would be interesting to see how this force fairs against a stand back and shoot army, particularly one with more MW shots.
Thats it for now.
Cheers, Geoff.
|
