Alan's Tournament Diary

[Agent0range]

Game 3 vs. Andy C’s Battle Company (Crusade 4 Objectives with Hammer and Anvil Deployment)

So final game of the day and I was hoping for some points here as I’d not exactly earnt a lot so far. I looked at his list and wasn’t too worried. Lots of “bros” in metal boxes, but nothing scary other than the formation with the hunters and stalkers which would make short work of the Heldrake. He also checked with a judge before the game started if Skyfire can hit flying monstrous creatures on the ground with full BS, and the judge confirmed they can….Be’lakor was in a spot of bother.



I deploy with a refused flank, hoping to steamroll up the one side with more cover, and then just multi-assault the ***** out of everything. I was hoping the Knight could get into the mass of razorbacks and start stomping some out……but he seizes the initiative. He proceeds to scout everything up, and start firing. When the dust settles at the end of turn 1, the Knight is on 1 HP (thanks to some lucky meltas from a bike command squad that’s now only about 6” away and I flub all my 4+ shield saves. Be’lakor goes down to 1 wound too thanks to the Hunters and Stalkers that can apparently see him through several buildings and the Knight. I wasn’t convinced he could draw LOW, and I probably should have called a judge TBF but I didn’t.

So with two of my heavy hitters down to 1 wound and HP, it’s going to be an uphill struggle for the rest of the game, relying on my star to do as much damage as possible and maybe take an objective at the end. There’s no way I could be everywhere like he could, so my plan was to push forward through his stuff and take an objective that was between the middle of the board and his deployment. BY the time I’ve chopped my way there, it would probably be the end of the game and I’d get some points.

So, I line up my units to multi assault as much as possible, and power them up in the psychic phase. Be’lakor tries to psychic shriek the bike command squad and does no wounds (well done champ). The Knight assaults that bike command squad but loses the last HP to overwatching melta. He explodes and falls on to Be’lakor who fortunately makes his invuln from the Str10 part of the explosion. Be’lakor assaults the bike squad and butchers them. The star multi assault two units of marines and two razorbacks….killing all but one of the razorbacks that’s now down to 2HP.



I initially just asked him to roll for the heldrake, because I knew the stalkers would kill it with intercept fire so I couldn’t be bothered to unpack it. He insisted I did, in case the crash and burn mattered…..which of course it didn’t.
His turn he starts dismounting marines from his razorbacks and pouring fire into my star which tank it like true champs and I think I lose a single dog or something equally crazy. Again, I multiassault but this time I don’t wipe everything out, getting stuck in CC with the chaplain and his command squad.



The chaplain tanked my wounds from the Herald, and he failed to hit and run. This really slowed me down and meant I couldn’t issue another multi-assault in the following turn. The horrors get gunned down but are still alive so could still help out with cursed earth but that wouldn’t extend to the whole star now. My Warlord also perils to death as well during this turn’s psychic phase.

Next turn I finish that squad with the chaplain but its only turn 4 I think and we’ve got like 5 minutes left for my 4th turn. He had these counters to show which units had moved, which had shot, and all that. It just took forever for him to fart around with those, placing them in turn on each unit or razorback and roll all those bolter shots (with re-rolling 1’s and all sorts thanks to doctrines) to basically just kill one flesh hound. Quite frustrating.



In the final 5 minutes, I split the star up, moving the remaining hounds to the 2HP razorback that’s on my objective in my deployment zone, and move the remaining sorcerer and Herald down to the other objective in my deployment zone where a bike unit has sneaked into earlier and killed some cultists that were holding it. I needed a 9” charge from the sorcerer and a 10” from the herald, and failed them both, so couldn’t contest or take that objective. The hounds killed the 2HP razorback with ease, but only consolidated 1”. I think I needed 3” to get to within range of the objective…so other than first strike I score no points.



Game ends 1-13 where he’s still holding all three other objectives, and has Warlord, first strike and linebreaker.

Lessons Learnt
-I probably should have put invis on Be’lakor to keep him alive for one more turn, rather than the star as they tanked mass bolter fire and the odd melta with ease using look out sir, Endurance, Sanctuary and Cursed Earth.
-Getting seized on sucks!
-Battle Company is really boring!

So overall I think I came 28th, and I think I had quite a rough time. Useful tournament experience without a doubt, but a rough day. I don’t think death stars suit Eternal War type missions, and I’d have got a good number of KP’s and probably maelstrom in each mission if it was more of an ETC format. But the death star can’t be everywhere, or on objectives at the end of the game. I made a few mistakes and I’ll definitely learn from them, and will go to another Sanctuary event in the future. It was well run and the venue is cool. I was hoping I could hone in on what I wanted to use for Cally, but the Eternal War setup is too different I think to give me a good feel for a Cally type list. The death star performed very well, and I think the next plan will be to beef it up and go full Cyclopian Cabal with the Knight and maybe a Void Shield Generator to help in turn 1 if I go second or get seized on. For Sanctuary, I think a very different list is required to do well in Eternal War type missions. As Forge World is allowed, maybe a Renegades Purge detachment with lots of zombies and artillery could work.