BatRep: 40k (8th Edition) 500pt Escalation League.

So, a quick update on things, first.

Real Life has been very stressful and gaming time has been minimal. That's why there haven't been any reports lately.

Also, I’m presently waiting the next edition of Dystopian Wars which has been picked up by Warcradle Studios.  So hang onto your models, I hope to be doing some more games soon!

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An apology: I did take pictures.  Frankly, they're horrible, so I didn't use them in this report.

An “Escalation League” has started at one of the local hobby stores. It’s started at 500 Points and will increase to 1000pts in January, 1500pts in February and finally 2000pts. Only limitation is that the Warlord you start with doesn’t change throughout the campaign.

I decided to use my Space Wolves for the League. My forces consisted of:

Wolf Lord with Saga of the Warrior Born, Storm Shield and the relic: Krakenbone Sword (96pts)

Blood Claw Pack (106pts) with:

Wolf Guard Pack Leader with Bolt Pistol & Frost Sword
Blood Claw Pack Leader with Power Fist & Pistol
Blood Claw with Flamer & Chain Sword
3 X Blood Claws with Bolt Pistol & Chainswords

Grey Hunter Pack (78pts) with:

Grey Hunter Pack Leader with Boltgun, Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
Grey Hunter with Plasma gun, Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
3 X Grey Hunter with Boltgun, Bolt Pistol & Chainsword

Long Fang Pack (155pts) with:

Long Fang Pack Leader with Bolt Pistol & Chansword
Long Fang with Heavy Bolter
Long Fang with Lascannon
2 X Long Fangs with Missile Launchers

Wolf Scouts (65pts) with:

Wolf Scout Pack Leader with Chainsword & Bolt Pistol
Wolf Scout with Heavy Bolter
3 X Scouts with Boltguns & Bolt Pistols

So, my first opponent was Graham, playing a Deathwatch army.

Mission: Front-Line Warefare
Using Dawn-Of-War Deployment (24” “No Man’s Land” between deployment zones.

As we were playing only 500pts each, we played on a 4’ X 4’ Table.  The mission required 4 objectives be placed.  2 on the centre line, 12” away from dead center, meaning 1 foot in from each table edge.  Then 1 more objective in each of our deployment zones. Victory points are awarded for controlling objectives at the end of the game.  1 VP for controlling the objective in your deployment zone, 2 VPs for each of the centre objectives and 4VP for controlling the objective in the enemy zone!

Also, 1VP for killing the enemy Warlord, 1 for First Blood (1^st to kill an enemy unit of any size) and 1 VP for Linebreaker (having a unit in the enemy deployment zone at the end of the game – effectively making the Enemy Objective worth 5VPs)!

Mission is Random length, we roll after turn 5 and can go a maximum of 7 turns.

Deployment:

Graham deployed 2 Terminators (1 with Cyclone Missile pod and the Unit Captain with Stormbolter and Lightning Claw) in the ruins on my right side, guarding the objective on his side.  A third Terminator with Assault Cannon and Power Fist deployed on my left.

Grey Hunters, along with the Wolf Lord, deployed behind a building, guarding the objective on my left side, the long Fangs deployed in the balcony on a Stronhghold on my right.  This allowed the Long fangs the ability to cover 3 of 4 objectives.  The Scouts went on the hunt (stayed off the table) and the Blood Claws spent a Command Point to do the same using the new Chapter Approved ".

Graham won the first activation and I failed to steal it back.

Game Turn 1:

Deathwatch:

The Company Captain moved around a corner, out-of-sight.  The other Terminator on the other side advanced forward.

Cyclone missile launcher managed to kill 1Long Fang on the balcony (I removed the Heavy Bolter; the Missile Launcher and Lascannon would be more useful against Terminators).

Space Wolves:

The Grey Hunters stayed in hiding behind the building.  Facing off a terminator with an Assault Cannon at long distance was a recipe for disaster.  The Long Fangs were in a great firing position in cover, so stayed still.  The Scouts came in on the table about ½ way up the table, hiding just behind a building from the Cyclone and Captain.

Long fangs fired at the Cyclone Terminator, but the danged Invulnerable saves warded off any damage.

Game Turn 2:

Deathwatch:

Terminator on the left of the table continued to Advance as there were no targets for him..  Using a Homing Beacon, 2 more Terminators teleported beside him. Another terminator with Assault Cannon and a Librarian with a Force Axe and Storm Bolter. The terminators on the right stood still.

The Librarian tried to cast Smite, but found he had no Line-of-Sight to the Grey Hunters and just out-of-range to the Long Fangs.

Terminator shooting resulted in no casualties.

Space Wolves:

The Scouts dove into the cover of a reinforced Gun Pit by the objective on the right.  Everyone else stood still.

Wolf shooting resulted in no casualties as they either closed their eyes or the Terminators armor saved them.

Game Turn 3:

Deathwatch:

The Captain and Cyclone missile launcher came out of the ruins towards the objective. The Terminators on the left moved normally forward.

The Librarian cast Smite and successfully killed a Long Fang (taking out the Pack Leader).

In the shooting phase, the Cyclone missiles snuck between the buildings and killed 1 scout with a Frag Missile. The 2 Assault Cannons targeted the Long Fangs, but failed to wound any in spite of 12 shots!

Space Wolves:

Once again, no movement on the Wolves side.

Finally, the Long Fangs Missile launchers found a chink in the Cyclone Terminator’s armour and killed him with a Krak Missile! First Blood for the Space Wolves! The Lascannon also hit the Deathwatch Captain and successfully inflicted 3 wounds!

Game Turn 4:

Deathwatch:

The Deathwatch Captain advance moved out-of-sight from the remaining Long Fangs.  The rest of the terminators milled around a bit for better angles of attack.

The Librarian once more cast Smite and killed 2 Long Fangs (Leaving me with just the Lascannon).

In the shooting phase, the Assault cannons managed to kill off all the scouts except 1 (the Heavy Bolter, naturally).

Space Wolves:

Finally, the Wolves strike!  Blood Claws deploy in the Enemy Deployment Zone behind the ruins that protect Graham’s Objective marker.  This was to force Graham to make a decision: have the Captain fall back and try to deal with the Blood Claws (Game could possibly end in turn 5) or continue to the Centre and try to claim that objective.  The Long Fang moved a bit for a better position to get LOS on the Librarian.  Finally, the Grey Hunters and Wolf Lord came around the corner of the building to confront the Terminators on the left.

In the Shooting phase, the Grey Hunters managed to wound the closest terminator with an Assault Cannon (the Librarian was too far away to “safely” charge).

In the charge phase, the Grey Hunters were not hit by the Assault Cannon so all made it into contact as well as the Wolf Lord.  The Wolf Lord’s ability to always strike first allowed him to dispatch the Terminator easily, in spite of the Terminator’s invulnerable save. The pack then consolidated behind a “obstacle” that provided a bit of cover from the remaining Assault Cannon. 

Turn 5:

Deathwatch:

Graham moved his Captain closer to the Objective while the Librarian moved towards the Grey Hunters. The last Terminator with Assault Cannon fell back towards the other Objective and away from the Grey Hunters (and the Wolf Lord).

The Librarian cast “Might of Heroes” onto himself for extra strength and attacks, but then failed to cast Smite.

The Librarian and Assault Cannon shot at the Grey Hunters, killing 3.

The Librarian then charged the remaining 2 Grey Hunters.  The Wolf Lord was allowed Heroic Intervention as he was within range of the Grey Hunters.  Normally the Wolf Lord’s saga would allow him to strike first, except if there is an equivalent ability (like Charging), then first swing is dependent on who’s turn it is. The Librarian decided to go after the Grey Hunters and killed 1 more for a total of 4 Grey Hunters killed.  The Lord and Grey Hunter failed to wound the Librarian.

The remaining Grey Hunter passed its morale test due to the Wolf Lord’s presence.

Space Wolves:

Blood claws move into the ruins and capture the Objective.

The Scout with the Heavy Bolter and the Long Fang failed to wound the Deathwatch Captain.

The Wolf Lord finally killed the Librarian, bringing the death toll for the Deathwatch up to 3 Terminators Dead.

Graham rolled and the game continued to Turn 6.

Game Turn 6:

Deathwatch:

The Captain moved forward, staying within the 3” range of the Objective, while the other terminator fell back a bit.

The Terminator on the left fired the Assault Cannon and killed the last Grey Hunter. The Captain fired the Stormbolter at the scout and a “Gauntlet Grenade Launcher” at the Long Fang.  Neither shot caused damage.

The Captain felt he was a little too far away from the Scout to charge this turn. The other terminator had no desire to charge the Wolf Lord, who was probably out of range anyway.

Space Wolves:

Having no shooting weapons and needing to vent some anger, the Wolf Lord moved towards the Terminator so that he could charge this turn. The Blood Claws were already holding an Objective so didn’t need to move. Nor did the Scout or Long Fang.

The Scout and the Lang Fang shot at the Deathwatch Captain, but the Terminator armour was too tough to penetrate.

The Wolf Lord declared a charge on the Terminator.  In a brilliant round of Overwatch, there were at least 5 hits! The Wolf Lord’s Invulnerable save let 2 wounds through.  The Wolf Lord’s charge JUST made it within the 1” range.  After a flurry of blows, the Terminator only took 1 wound, and inflicted none back on the Lord.

I rolled and the game went on into a final Turn 7!

Game Turn 7:

Deathwatch:

The Captain moved forward towards the Scout, staying within the required 3” to the Objective – just in case…

With no shooting this turn, The Captain declared a charge on the Scout.  The Scout failed to stop the Captain and the Captain’s Lightning Claw showed how ineffective Scout armour is to Power Weapons.  The Captain then consolidated back towards the Objective. The other side, no wounds to either the Terminator or the Wolf Lord.

Space Wolves:

The Lascannon targeted the Deathwatch captain – and missed.

On the other side, the Wolf Lord quickly dispatched the Terminator and consolidated within 3” of that objective.

End of Game:

Deathwatch:      2VPs (1 – mid-field Objective)

Space Wolves:  8VPs

2              Mid Field
4              Enemy Objective
1              First Blood
1              Linebreaker

Space Wolf Victory!

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So, while it appears as though the Wolves crushed the enemy, I need to point out a couple of points:

Out of 16 Space Wolf models that were on the table since Turn 2, only 2 Survived!  14 dead Space Wolves compared to 4 Deathwatch Terminators!

The Blood Claws were not touched and we originally thought each objective was worth 1 point. It wasn’t until I re-read the rules and realized my mistake.  Using our original “points”, the game would have been 4-1 and the decision to keep the Deathwatch Captain near an objective rather than trying to force the Blood Claws to flee when the game could end “That Turn”, I would have done the same thing.

The Librarian was a nasty surprise. I didn’t think anyone would bring one in a 500pt game. I’m going to have to re-consider for next game.

Graham’s advantage was taking all terminators and heavy weapons made for small army and not much time wasted moving figures. The disadvantage was by having 5 “units” of single models, killing any one was horrific and allowed me a quick and (relatively) easy “First Blood” VP. Also, with only 5 models, it was harder to cover the entire table or, worse, try to deal with a Squad that deployed in his deployment zone after most the game was over. I wonder what would have happened if I deployed both the Scouts and the Blood Claws in his deployment zone…

Anyway, good game and I look forward to the next battle!