Chaos Nurgle Warband:
Chaos Lord with Powerfist, Sigil of Corruption, Mark of Nurgle and Palanquin.2 X Plague Marines(10), meltaguns(2) in Rhino with a havoc launcher
Havocs(5) with Autocannon(4)
Greater Daemon of Nurgle with Mastery Level 3
Plague Drones(4)
Plaguebarers(10)
Sisters of Battle:
Saint Celestine2 X Battle Sister Squad(10) with melta guns(2) in a Rhino
Battle Sister Squad(10) with flamers(2) in a Rhino
Seraphim Squad(8) with dual Hand Flamers(2)
Dominion Squad(5) with melta guns(2) and a combi-melta in a Multi-Melta Immolator
2 X Exorcist tanks
Retributor Squad(7) with Heavy Bolters(4), Storm Bolter and a Simulacrum
Aegis Defense Line with Quad-gun
The Game:
Big Guns, Dawn of War, 5 objectives, no night fighting on the first turn.Saint Celestine's warlord trait was -1 to opponent's reserve rolls.
Sisters won first turn
Since I had the first turn I put the Dominions went into reserves looking to come in on an Outflank. The rest of th forces lined up along the deployment zone's forward limit.
From left to right ... Melta troop behind a piece terrain, Exorcist, Aegis Defense Line and Retributors, flamer troop, Saint Celestine, Seraphim, melta troop #2, Exorcist.
Nurgle deployed Chaos Lord, Plague marines, Drones, havocs on high ground and plague marines.
Very little movement. Saint Celestine and the Seraphim moved forward and ran to just past mid-field. The units that had range -- both Exorcists and the Retributors -- all fired at the Havocs on the hill top. The Sisters manage to kill 2 from Havoc Squad after saves and Feel No Pain rolls.
Both plague marine squads moved 12" forward and moved flatout for 6" more. The Lord moved as far as he could up behind the left squad. Havocs shot at jump troops but they made all saves. In the center the Drones moved up to assault the Seraphim and took 2 wounds from overwatch. They managed to and kill Saint Celestine while only taking one other wound in combat. With a combat loss, the Seraphim tested for moral and failed which caused them to run. Since Nurgle forces are Slow and Purposeful, the Drones could not try for a sweeping advance/
Turn 2
Seraphim rally and move back towards their deployment zone. Saint Celestine returned with 1 wound and went after the remaining Havocs. The flamer troop's Rhino edged forward 6"and the right melta squad moved up the hill next to the Exorcist. Retributors and the quad gun shot at the left rhino but only managed a single glance. The Exorcists fired on the plague drones and managed to add a couple of wounds to the unit. Right melta troop fired at the nearest rhino and destroyed its combi-bolter. Saint Celestine killed 1 more havoc in shooting and then finished off the squad in close combat. She then consolidated towards the left.
Thanks to the -1 modifier to reserve rolls, no daemon reserves made their roll. The Marines disembarked from both rhinos. The Right side marines managed to immobilize the Exorcist with melta shots while the Left side marines destroyed the flamer rhino, causing it to explode. The Lord moved up close enough to join the plague marines. The Drones assaulted the Seraphim and lost another drone to overwatch but they did killed the Seraphim superior in a chalange. The other Seraphim finished off the last non-champion drone. At the end of combat, the surviving Seraphim tried to perform a Hit and Run bu failed.
Flamer sisters moved up towards the left marines and Saint Celestine moved down behind them. Between the flamers (getting no less than 6 hits each), rapid firing bolters and the Retributor's heavy bolters, all of the plague marines were removed. After that, the left Exorcist put 2 wounds on the Lord. Note that the left melta troop is still hiding behind terrain. The right Exorcist destroyed the rhino and the right melta troops add a few wounds to the marines. In the Assault phase, Saint Celestine charged the chaos lord and removed him from the game.
Plaguebarers made their reserves roll and came in near the left Exorcist but the Greater Daemon mishapped and went back into reserves. The plaguebarers lost 2 models to interceptor fire right away. The remaining marines on the right went after the weakened seraphim squad, killing 2 with shooting but both dual flamers remained. The marines took 2 more casualties from over watch and a 3rd during close combat but they wiped out the last of the seraphim -- leaving the marines standing in the open.
Turn 4
The Dominions came in from reserve and moved on to the table near the marines. Saint Celestine, the flamer squad and the Retributors converged on the plaguebarers and easily wiped them out with shooting. The right melta troop moved towards the marines, disembarked and shot away the last of the marines with the help of the melta Dominions. The right Exorcist then wreaked the final Rhino.
No chaos model remained on the table. We discussed letting the Greater come in but it would have to face a round of shooting from the Sister's almost full force before it could do much anyway.
What worked:
Flamers and massed fire. Most of the casualties caused by the Seraphim were from Overwatch fire. With Nurgle's ability to shrug off melta and even Exorcist missiles with Feel No Pain, it was the volume of fire which saved the day.
