Escalation League: 500 point vs Necrons

We have a new game store in the area!  I always like new places and being about 15 miles closer to me than our regular LGS does not hurt at all.  We had seen the store before when it opened up a few months ago but did not know they carried wargames.  Someone my friend works with told him they were starting an Escalation league to help kick off their GW side so we had to show up.  And just in time, too. We made it there on the day they started the league.

The league is a mix of new players and vets.  They want to focus as much on the hobby as the game which is good thing in my opinion.  It is a typical escalation. 500 points, no named HQ on the first tier.  Same army for the whole time on each tier and units must carry over although load out can be adjusted when the tiers step up.  Now I am not a big fan of the blanket "no named characters" but this is a new player friendly league and besides, it is only for the first month.  If we want a special character later we can take a generic version of that character now.  On month 2 my Canoness can be upgraded to a Living Saint while someone else's Chaos Lord can become Heuron.

So my list for the first month:

Canoness
Battle Sister Squad(10) with Flamers(2)
Battle Sister Squad(10) with Flamers(2)
Retributor Squad(5)
Aegis Defense Line with Quad-gun

No upgrades or options for the Canoness.  No special weapons for the Retributors.  Bolters and flamers for anti-infantry.  Quad-gun for possible flyers and light armor (which is all that it allowed in the 1st tier) and my only real heavy hitter.  The Retributors can make their weapons rending including the Quad-gun if they are opperating it.  The Canoness can either join the Retributors and fire the gun with her better Balistic Skill or join up with a Battle Sister Squad for close combat where her Act of Faith would be most useful.

My first game was last night -- no pictures so I will just toss in some stock Sisters pics -- against a Necron player.  500 points on a 4' X 4' table.  We played The Emperor's Will (2 objectives worth 3 points each) and Dawn of War setup.




Necrons (Note that no HQ is required for this tier so we ignore Slay the Warlord as well)
Necron Warriors(20) with Gause Rifles
Necron Warriors(10) with Gause Rifles
Necron Immortals(8?) with Tesla Carbines

The Sisters won the first roll and set up first.  I set the defense line out slightly to the left side of center with my objective right behind the quad-gun.  The Canoness was on the gun and attached to the Retributor squad which was on her left.  Battle Sister Squad Mari was behind the Aegis to the right of the quad-gun and Battle Sister Squad Ruth took cover behind a rock wall on the right side of the board.

The necrons main force took cover behind a hill in the center.  The smaller warrior squad was placed out of line of sight behind a rock outcrop along with their objective.  The Immortals stayed back but directly across from the quad-gun.  Between the rocjk wall on the table edge the smaller necron force was hiding and the larger hill where the main warrior force were in cover was a channel of open terrain across the board.  On the right just on the necron side of the table near the center was a large oasis which was difficult terrain but gave no cover.  Once the armies were on the field the Necrons failed to sieze the initiative so the Sisters took the first turn in the dark of night.

Turn 1

Squad Ruth was the only movement and they moved up slightly to hug their rocky cover.  Only half the Sororiats in Squad Ruth could fire at the large group of Necron warriors.  The quad-gun also fired and between them 3 necrons fell.  At the end of shooting, 2 warriors stood back up.

On the Necron's turn, the Immortals moved forward but not enough to be in firing range.  The large warrior force moved closer to the oasis and Squad Ruth firing about half thier weapons at range managing to kill 2 Battle Sisters.  The turn ended with minor results but the end of night fighting would change that.

Turn 2

Squad Ruth moved forward towards the Necron horde in order to get all thier bolters in range.  Squad Mari crossed over the Aegis and closed in as well moving diagonally acorss the table.  Firing from both Adepta squads put several necrons down and few were able to return. The large hoard was down to 17 warriors but still a powerful threat.  The Retributors made thier faith and fired on the Immortals, killing 3 but 2 returned.

The Necrons moved the Immortals close enough to fire all of their Tesla weapons while the warriors moved forward only slightly up to the edge of the oasis and still out of rapid fire range.  The warriors fired at Ruth's squad causing a few wounds that were easily saveds. The Immortals were in the gap aiming for the Retributors and the Canoness.  Firing their Tesla weapons caused 5 wounds, 2 of which arced for a total of 9 wounds.  Only 4 wounds were saved killing 4 of the Retributors and wounding the Canoness.  The Superior and the Canoness were all that remained. 

Turn 3

It was obvious those Immortals had to go.  Squad Mari was stuck as to which direction to go but decided to help out Ruth's squad with the (now smaller) mass of warriors.  Ruth's squad moved up just oputside of flamer range and only a few blters able to rapid fire yet managed to cause a large number of hits as expected.  Mari's squad fired at long range and added to the cusalties.  After armor saves and Rreanimation Protocol there were still 15 warriors on the right.  The Canoness and the Retributor Superior again made thier faith test fired at the Immortals.  With the quad-gun being twin linked all shot hit and the bolter hit was rending as well.  5 Immortals dropped and only one returned leaving 3 Immortals on the table.

The Necros were rocked by the loss of their Immortals.  The last three moved up and the objective squatting warriors moved out (leaving a trail so the objective was still in thier control) so that 5 of the warriors had lne of sight to Canoness.  The warriors may have had line of sight but not range.  The Immortals however had both.  Their weapons did not arc this time but one more wound went unsaved on the Canoness.  On the other side of the table the last of the large warrior squad moved up to the oasis towards squad Ruth (and out of range from Mari) and at the Sisters there. Even with rapid fire they caused only a few wounds, most of which were saved.  Four sisters remained in squad Ruth but they did remain. 

Turn 4

Squad Mari had a hard choice.  In the end it was determned that the best they could do was protect the Canoness.  They moved their full distance towards the defense line while the Canoness moved right close enough to join the unit.  The squad then ran instead of shooting to get in front of the Canoness (and the defense line as well due to positioning) who also moved back towards the gun.  The last of Squad Ruth moved closer and flamed the packed in warriors getting 6 hits with each flamer! After saves and reanimation the reminents Squad Ruth managed to put another 4 warriors down for good.

The last if the Immortals moved up and fired along with the smaller warrior but failed to cause any casualties.  The Warriors by the oasis moved into it diagonally towards Mari and the Canoness but fired at squad Ruth instead.  Even thugh they were rapid firing 11 gause rifles, only two Sisters failed their armor saves. 

Turn 5

Squad Mari consolidated at the Defense line leaving a few brave sisters in front to protect the Canoness from enemy fire.  The Battle Sisters (now with the Canoness) fired first and removed the last of the Immortals from the table; there would be no chance for them to return.  The flamer and bolter left in Ruth's squad followed the Warriors to the oasis and flamed them once more killing  3 necrons, all of which stood back up.   

The small warrior squad moved back into cover with their objective while the remaining 11 from the larger squad moved closer to the Defense line.  This time their gause weapons hit ture and easily killed tha last of Squad Ruth.

On a die roll of 2, the game ended.  Both holding our own objectives, both with a single kill point, but First Blood going to the Sisters.

 

What Worked:

Quad-gun!  Against armor save of 4 it really rocked.  But at 100 points (and 20% of my points allowed) it had better deliver.

 

What Didn't:

Sisters outside of of a Rhino.  It was a choice in what to take and with that Toughness of 3 it is just luck that my troops lasted as long as they did.  The Retributor sqaud was hammered in one turn by a squad that could not even fire all of their weapons.    Granted they would not have been in a Rhino anyway but on the other side of the board I could have used some mobility to get those flamers into position faster and from safety of an armored vehicle -- at least for a turn until it was destroyed.

Which brings me to my next point; poor mobility.  I was not as hampared by terain as bad as my opponent but I could not capatolize on his slowed movement either.

1000 Points vs Another Dark Angels Army

 (Photos to be added later once I get home)
I did not take notes and the game is rapidly fading from memory which is a big shame.  Spoiler allert: I lost bad.  I really wish I had taken notes so I could go over the game better and thus learn from my mistakes.  Well, that's one mistake right there I need to learn from.  I did take pics so that should help.

On to the game.

Sisters of Battle:
Saint Celestine
Battle Sister Squad(10) with meltagun(2) in a Rhino
Battle Sister Squad(10) with meltagun(2) in a Rhino
Seraphim(8) with Dual Hand Flamers(2)
Dominion Squad(5) with meltagun(2) in an Immolator with Twin-Linked Multi-Melta
Exorcist

Dark Angels (if I remember correctly)
Librarian
Tac Squad(10) with Plasmagun and Plasma Cannon
Tac Squad(10) with Plasmagun(1) supported by a Razorback with Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters.
Dreadnought with Twin-Linked Lascannon, Power Fist and Heavy Flamer
Dreadnought with Twin-Linked Lascannon, Power Fist and Heavy Flamer
Devistator squad with missile launchers(4)
Whirlwind

We played on the dessert board with a good amount of tall terrain.  I kind of messed up my lanes of fire when setting out terrain; the deployment was diagonal and I had set up as if it were the long table edges.Nothing too bad but it did make getting things in place on turn 1 was different.  We played Big Guns Never Tire from the basic rule book with 4 objectives.  I won the roll and deployed 1st.

The Dominions deployed in their Immolator front and center.  The Exorcist just behind them kept a large rock on thier side which limited the exposed sides to virtually front armor only.  The enemy would have to get into my deployment zone before they could get a side armor shot.  The troops deployed back and in cover; one out of line of sight from most of the board.  The Exorcist was on one objective and the hiden Sisters on the other.  Saint Celestine joined the Seraphim in reserves.

The Dark Angels deployed in the hills, splitting their force left and right while making a deadly cross fire zone in the center of the board. The tactical squads brok down into combat squads to better cover the area. Back and center the Whirlwind deployed fully hidden where it could fire its barrage unmolested.  Knowing the Dominios carried melta he chose to tuck his Dreadnought back behind solid cover.  Or so he thought.  The 12" redeployment let the Dominions' Immolator get a line on the right side Dreadnought.  The Dark Angels failed to sieze initiative; the Sisters kept the first turn.

Turn 1

The Dominions moved forward and disembarked in front of their target Dreadnought.  They fired twin-linked with their faith plus the Immolator's main guns all in double penitration range yet managed only a glance and a weapon distroyed against the Power Fist.  The Exorcist could not get line of sight to the Dreadnought and quit frankly I thought I would not need to back up the Dominions in taking out a Dread.  The Exorcist fired 4 missiles into the right side tacticals killing one marine.

The Dark Angels unloaded on the Dominions.  Krak missiles and plasma fire wreaked the Immolater and the Dreadnought killed 2 Dominion Sisters with shooting and a 3rd in the assault phase.  On the other side of the board one combat squad of Dark Angels in their Razorback moved to engage the forward most Battle Sister squad.  The squad disembarked and fired but only managed to cause two galncing hits after saves.

Turn 2

Saint Celestine and the Seraphim did not come in from reserves, which hurt.  The wounded rhino moved forward where the Battle Sisteres disembarked in front of the Razorbaks troops.  The second troop squad had nothing they could reasonablly get to so held their position on the objective.  The Exorcist fired a single missile at the Librarian but failed to wound.  The only good news came from the disembarked Battle Sisters who fired meltaguns rapid fired their bolters into the combat squad and managed to kill them all in one turn.  The two Dominions syated locked in combat with the Dreadnought as neither side managed to cause a wound.

On the Dark Angels turn, the disembarked Battle Sisters made a perfect target for the Whirlwind's large blast.  Heavy Bolter fire from the Razorback killed2 more and the remainder were removed as the second half of the combat squaded tacticals moved in closer.  The right side tactical squads moved forward around the Dreadnought combat closing in on the Exorcist.  However before they could reach, the missile launchers from the Devistator squad caused a penitrating hit which distroyed the Exorcists weapon.  In the assault phase, one more Dominion fell to the Dreadnought which left the remaining Dominion Superior locked in combat.

I have grown to use my Exorcists as a guide to how the battle is going.  If at the end of turn 3 I still have an Exorcist that can fire I almost always win.  Having no working Exorcists at the end of turn 2 was a bad, bad omen.

Turn 3

The reserves failed to come in yet again.  The wounded Rhino had nothing it could do but the second squad moved forward just enough to fire its meltaguuns from inside.  The Now useless Exorcist moved back trying to get out of line of sight from everything.  The Battle Sisters melta fire did nothing to the Razorback.  In the assault, the final Dominion fell. 

On the Dark Angels turn, the Whirlwind moved at top speed out from behind its cover so that it could use direct fire on its next turn.  The Devistators and the Razorback turned their attention to the remaining Rhino and managed to wreak it; the embarked troops bailed out of the back and covered the objective they had recently left.

Turn 4

... and the reserves automatically came in.  Finally.  I chose to deepstrike them in close to the squad covering their objective in hopes to either drive them off or (more likely) get a resurection denial from the Saint next turn.  Unfortunantly the Seraphim scattered bad and landed on top of the Dark Angels squad.  Mishap had the be placed by my opponent who rightly chose to place them at the far table corner.

On the Dark Angels turn ... well, what's to say?  Scattered half-hearted firing from the Dark Angels removed about half of the remaining Battle Sister squad.  I conceded the game at the end of 4.

What Worked:

(* crickets chirping *)
Rapid firing bolters was my only strong point for the game.

What Didn't:

My dice for one.  Now it is easy to blame a loss on bad luck but it sure gave me a steep hill to climb when scouting Dominions unload on a walker at close range and only manage to remove a single close combat weapon.  They consistantly take out land raiders this way. Each penitrating hit has a 50|50 chance of exploding the vehicle but not if you roll 1's and 2'.  That and my opponents Razorback was deadly with that heavy bolter.  He consistanly rolled 6's on penitration rolls and ate up Hull Points from two rhinos one after the other.  And he was shrewd; he keep the Razorback at a range where his heavy bolter could could fire but outside of what the melta sisters could reach on their next turn.

But luck can only go so far and I should have done better with what I had.

Reserves left me cold.  My big anti-infantry unit sat out the game waiting to come in. 

Deepstrike goes right there with it.  With no way to help bring them in faster and no way to reduce scatter it is always a risk to Deepstrike for the Sororitas.  I kept them back so they would not be shot up as they made their way across the board and I think this was a big mistake. For one thing they will take a turn of shooting when they come in from reserves anway.  Plus they will probably be in the open when they come in via deepstrike.  Also they will possibly be assaulted on the opponent's turn where they will not get the extra attack AND not have any faithpoints to use when they are assaulted.

So, I need to watch my lanes of fire when setting out terrain and remember where the deployment zones are.
No more deepstriking Sisters.  Have I said that before?  If I have not written it down before I know I have surely said it to myself.  Stop it.  Serapim do better crossing the board in the open (which they should be finding cover of slipping along the flanks) than they do sitting in reserves and mishapping on the way in.

And in the end, I did have a fun game and my opponent was great guy to play against.  Besides, sometimes you can learn a lot more mistakes than you can from successes.