...and I really mean I lost nothing- not even one Guardsman fell.
The game was Guard verses the new Chaos Space Marines (of course), against my regular opponent.
The question is; am I just really good at playing Guard or is the new Chaos codex a bit poo? I suspect it’s a bit of both considering that I have played Guard pretty much non-stop for the last 15 years and also a few people have griped about the codex on the blogosphere.
(Edit: Or a third point, as people have pointed out in the comments, it was a lucky match-off of a Rock vs Scissors battle!)
(Edit: Or a third point, as people have pointed out in the comments, it was a lucky match-off of a Rock vs Scissors battle!)
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| Free cover? I'll take it! |
I have a narrative battle report that will follow this post but I wanted to simply discuss the point first.
My opponents list starred Typhus, along with 40 of his signature Plague Zombies (2 x 20). He was accompanied by an ‘elite’ force of 3x 5 Terminators and 3x 3 Obliterators, all Nurgle. Then the icing on the list was a squad of Plague Bearers and Epidemius (with his lovely Tally).So that’s not a bad list full of lots of 2+ armour saves and lots of potential.
My list was a tank heavy army. Eight tanks all up consisting of a Demolisher, Executioner, 2 Exterminators, 2 Battle Tanks, a Vanquisher, and a Manticore, all as cheap as possible. Throw in a Vendetta for good measure and then the minimum command and men in blob units for HQ and Troop choices.
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| My tanks are in dire need of painitn or repainting!! |
The mission was Purge The Alien (kill points) and I rolled highest to deploy. I took a really solid, well grouped deployment and expected to unleash a big salvo of fire in turn one. My mate Seized The Initiative and used it to close some ground between us and open up with the Obliterators. I was lucky to only lose one hull point off a tank and that was it.
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| Welcome to the killing ground! |
In my turn, as expected, I opened up with everything and killed lots. But luck wasn’t all in my favour; my Manticore hit 5 Terminators and 3 Obliterators- at strength 10 all I needed were a few 2+ rolls – but I rolled 5 ones, then 3 ones.
In turn two my mate couldn't fire Lascannons from his Obliterators two turns in a row (what a load of poo rule!) . So he targeted my men and used the odd long Melta shot to target my tanks. At armour 14 the Meltas were no good (needing 6's), and because I’d ordered my blob ‘Incoming’ behind cover, a 2+ save kept them safe. Following this I ordered my men Back Into The Fight, and continued to unleash everything at anything I could see. My Vendetta also dropped in and strafed the 2+ armour rich targets.
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| Again, please ignore the 2 gross looking tanks- They are on the to do list! |
The battle went on like this with my army able to kill everything before they got into assault range with my men. Two Terminators did make it to my Demolisher but only took off 2 hull points. I then tank shocked them (just to move them into the open), they failed a morale check and I gunned them down with Las fire the next turn.
My Guard worked like a well-oiled machine but it all just seemed too easy. My tactics were sound and my list was armour heavy, but my rolls weren't amazing and my opponent’s army weren't a ‘soft target' at all. So what the hell happened?
After a long debrief and a good look through the codex we both came to the conclusion that part of the issue was the codex. The cost of everything is phenomenal and their abilities really aren't mind blowing.
Are people having similar experiences with Chaos?
Because I have utterly destroyed my mates armies two games in a row, for our next game I get to make a ‘fruity list’. Pretty much I will choose all those so called sub-par units and make it a very hard game for myself. It’s a fun challenge and after two beatings like that my mate deserves an easier game just to keep it sporting.
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| Sorry for all the blurry photos. |
Second question, in the Guard what are your picks for the worst units?
Ogryns, psykers, rough riders, ratlings, penal legion, sentinels…. Please chip in your thoughts :)
