3/25/12 1500 pt Battle Report GKvIG

Hey guys, just typing away to fill in the gaps between the pictures once again!

Got my 40k on yesterday with my good friend Wolfgang. It has been a while since we last played and he is a great opponent: skilled, nice looking army and fun to play.

I played the evolved version of the GK Mechanicus list described in another thread. After Dozer and I analyzed the list through a shakedown on vassal, the original list showed it's many flaws, so it got redesigned into what ended up being a highly competitive 1500 point list which is listed below.

Coteaz

Henchmen-3xServitor w/MM, 2 Jokaero (Techmagi), Chimera ML, HB

(2x) 6xPurifiers-2xPsycannon, 4xHalberds, Rhino (one with Search Light)

(2x) 5xStrike Squad-Psycannon, Razorback w/TLAssC, psybolt

(2x) Henchmen-Warrior Acolytex6 w/Boltgun, Razorback w/psybolt

(2x) Dreadnought-TLAC, TLAC, Psybolt



^Picture of the GK army.

Wolfgang played a Death Korps army using the IG dex.

He had a fully mechanized army with:

Company command squad-4xCompany Command Squad w/Meltaguns, Company Commander, Astropath, Chimera w/ML,HF

(3x) Storm Trooper Squad-5xStorm Trooper w/3xHotshot lasgun, 2xMeltagun, Chimera w/ML, HF

(4x) Veteran Squad-10xVeteran w/6xLasgun, 3xMeltaguns

(3x) Hydra Flak Tank



^The Death Korps!

We played a 4 objective game with Spearhead deployment. The Grey Knights won the toss and took the North West corner of the board. That corner has two of the objectives, the others being placed next to the outpost building and the last being at the South West corner of the mountain in the center of the map.



^Grey Knights deployment.

I positioned the psybacks and the dreadnoughts on my east flank and the rest of my forces were looking to the south around the mountain in the middle at an ojective, knowing the enemy would be making for it under cover of the mighty mountain.



^The Death Korp deployment.

With all three Death Korps Storm trooper being given orders to outflank by use of scout, and so left in reserve, the rest of the guard deployed thier chimeras opposite the mountain of the grey knights and the hydras split up to provide support for a two pronged assault.

With a grand total of 16 tanks and 2 dreadnoughts on the map and 3 tanks in reserve a massive armor fight, especially for 1500 points, began explosivley.

Coteaz frowned.

"It' not like the Death Korps to ignore my warnings," he muttered to an uncaring techmagos,"they must back off at once."

Servitors shrieked metallic scrapes and banged loudly against heavy harnesses holding them tight against the frame of the Chimera's transport hold. Thier inert forms' deadweight caught up in every jostle and bump the on the heavy vehicle's path.

A monotone voice replied, "A ninety one point three seven five percent possibility exisits that vox interference from the ritual site has imparired their communications equimpment, Inquisitor. It is likely they have come for the site in a misguided attempt of heroism. They are only Imperial Guard Lord, they cannot help but throw themselves upon their own sabers for the sake of the Golden Throne."

'How apporpriate',Coteaz thought darkly, 'that's almost what they would be doing. Killed by their own kind. Again it must come to this? For days he had fought alongside the Death Korps and no less than three times had he been amazed by thier tenacity and faith in the Emporer. For a man of his age, that was rare.'

The second of the Tecnomagi in the rattling compartment turned to his peer, "The modifications are completed. Microwave stability matrix is operational, weapons should expect a twenty five to fifty percent power focus alignment and a directly reciproical improved harmonic frequency stability. Armor on the servitor units has also been reinforced."

Long, snaking cables appeared to dance rythmicly along with the vibrations of the thundering transport, conecting the first Magos to the Chimera's command cogitator. A whisker red laser flickered to life from a lens just below his left eye prothiesis and began to paint a three dimensional image of a rocky landscape traversed by seven tanks kicking up dust in their wakes. Of the seven only one was Black and red; the others, rhino variants all, reflected the day star's light in silver and brilliant red. Just inside the dustcloud ran two silver dreadnoughts of the Grey Knights, they came crashing forward to keep pace with the tanks.

On the south east edge of the display red asupex returns began flashing back in a complex wave structure that Coteaz did not recognize, he looked to the TechMagos for understanding.

"Nintey nine point three four seven percent probability that we have located your missing forces, Inquisitor."

Damn them, they were here.

The abrupt voice of the second magos spoke out, "Vox request from Whiskey-Alpha-Alpha-Charlie, Lord.

"Let me hear him."

A deeply booming and intense voice came across the harsh crackles of the vox. "Lord, we have Imperial Guard forces at the ritual-site. We ask you your orders?" it paused, then added "Do not forget the testaments of this ritual, none but those in this convoy may bear witness, this is too important to risk."

'How could he forget? On this point, they had been specific.'

"You do your order well Knight, but do not remind an old Inquisitor of what he already loathes that he knows. The order of the Flame will have their prize."

Coteaz stroked the back of his psyber-eagle.

Opening a command wide vox Coteaz began "Knights and Arbites, hear me. What we do is for the Long War and the Emporer. The Death Korps here are declared traitoris. May thier bravery be not forgotten by us, and may the Emprorer save their souls...

once we're done with them."

The Death Korp, at first caught off guard by the arrival of Inquisition forces, rallied quickly once they came under fire.









Grey Knights turn one. My east flank moved to aquire targets and threw a hail of psy-ammuntition into the chimeras heading north along the west side of the montain. One dreadnought stiches autocannon across the hull of a hydra parked in some woods at the board's edge, wrecking it.







The Death Korps' first turn sees him split his forces with his command chimera and a veteran squad heading to the South West objective and two veteran squads head north, supported by a veteran squad who will hold the South East objective. A hydra flak tank exploded a purifier squad's rhino and the purifiers took cover in the crater it formed. Later on we started using large blast templated for craters. The Death Korps Immobilizes one of the Strike Squads' Passbacks. It is also shaken, but fortitude's out of it.







Coteaz' spider sense is tingiling and he gets his chimera over to the board edge using the I've been expecting you! tactic to keep the out flanking Chimera's & veterans options limited. No one in their right mind would allow 5 free out of sequence multi-melta shots! A passback detonates a Chimera as it rounds the south west mountain corner, all but two veterans are killed in the blast.



In comes the outflanking veterans on turn two, all of them! All narroly avoid Coteaz' special rule and move into range.





Meanwhile on the eastern flank the dreads come periously close to the meltagun toting troops in the chimeras advncing north. But little damage is done when they fire into the dreds and psybacks.



BOOM! Coteaz loses his ride, a techmagos and a servitor to the veterans' meltaguns. The psyback that was immobilized earlier gets wrecked forcing out the strike squad inside, which gets hammered by AP3 lasguns, meltaguns and multi lasers. They lose three brothers and break, only to immediatley rally and head back for the objective.



Hydras look into the daystar, but relentlesly blast away with thier autocannon.



Coteaz, the purifiers, and the 2 strike squaders react to the Chimera's presence. With ample side shots, the multimeltas and psycannon blow one up and wrecked the other two.



The second strike squad in its passback advance towards the South West objective.



Ok, see the lone dude with a meltagun on the hill to the right? See him? Good. That dude who is broken with little hope of rallying continuously rolled 1's and 2's and kept firing off his meltagun as he slowly passed by purifiers. For a guy who's morale just fell apart, he calmy walks off the field taking pop shots.



As the Death Korps begin it's third turn my second strike squad loses its Passback to either a hydra or the command squads vets. I cant remember which.



The arbites, having lost the TLHB off of the psyback step out around the objective ready to gun down infantry with thier boltguns.



Coteaz and company move forward where the Techmagos is able to unleash a heavy flamer firestorm into the verterans taking cover in the remains of the Chimera. They are all burnt to popcorn death korps nuggets in a box.



On the eastern flank a dreadnought asplods a chimera. What Kriegorians aren't killed by the blast are cut down by the Arbites' boltguns.



The purifiers head to support the eastern flank.





The eastern flank briefly heats up as the DK try to gamble on a 5th turn end. It was close, had the game ended on the 5th turn and his DK had shot the arbites off the objective he would have won. Objective games often have these moments where an underdog, or beaten army can pull off a W by just seeing the opportunity and getting lucky. If someone does this to you, it is a sign you are playing a skilled opponent.



The purifiers advance and assault the command unit, halberds and flames tear the guard appart and the order of the Flame turns toward the South Objective.



Coteaz looks on in regret that the Imperium lost fine soldiers this day. Ah, hell they got in the way... /fuk'em. This is followed by some inquisitorial high fives that don't connect becasue the servitors are too stupid to know what to do.

The game ended on turn 5 even though the dice roll let the game continue. It was conceded by Wolfgang. It was a rough fight for the IG. They got stuck with the worst corner and were pressured to come into a knights castle, driving headlong into the GK guns with limited space to manuver. The GK getting the "good" corner, made so when two objectives were placed within the deployment zone, and the first turn made all the difference in this fight. That and my dice were on fire, literally.



^If you don't believe me, Just ask Dozer. He was there.