Battle Report 1850 CSM vs. Space Marines

With experiencing the obnoxiousness fliers could be in Game 2 of my first tournament and my Aegis Defence Line clipped out, I was anxious to field the Fortification. The Quad-gun is the better choice between it and the Lascannon, as far as I can tell. The Quad-gun suffers from less strength and range, but being 4 twin-linked shots meant it is likely to pay for itself fairly quickly, at least in theory. So I built my list up to 1848 points with the Aegis Defence Gun and Quad-gun. My opponent brought a force I'd been wanting to play against since I first started playing 40K, Space Marines with Imperial Guard allies. Onto the armies:

Chaos Space Marines
1848 total pts

HQ

230 Typhus


Troops 

142 Plague Zombies  +14 cultists

365 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher)  +5 Plague Marines, Meltagun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Melta, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

375 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher)  +5 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10


Fast Attack

269 Chaos Bikers  +4 Bikers, Meltagun x2, Combi-Melta, Power Sword, Melta Bombs, Mark of Nurgle, Icon of Despair, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x7


Heavy

158 Obliterators  +1 Obliterator, Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x2


79 Obliterator  Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War


130 Vindicator  Havoc Launcher, Siege Shield


Fortification

100 Aegis Defence Line  Quad-gun

----------------VS----------------

Space Marines
1849 total pts

HQ

200 Captain Cato Sicarius

100 Lord Commissar


Troops

227 Scout Squad with Sergeant Telion

210 Tactical Squad with Tank Hunters

155 Veteran Squad

155 Veteran Squad


Elite

220 Ironclad Dreadnought with Drop Pod

65 Guardsman Marbo


Heavy

125 Vindicator Siege Shield

100 Thunderfire Cannon

190 Deathstrike Missile Launcher


Fortification

100 Aegis Defence Line  Quad-gun


We deployed with Dawn of War and my opponent rolled the Conqueror of Cities Warlord Trait. Typhus got Weapon Virus and Plague Wind for Psychic powers. Nurgle deemed Damocles unworthy of an offering but Ebenezar became a Witch-Eater as Yuri morphed with his gun, giving him +1 Strength on his Twin-linked Boltgun.

Turn 1

I moved out first, slaying a few Space Marines as I went, getting a glancing hit off the Loyalist Vindicator with my Vindicator's Demolisher Cannon. The followers of the False Emperor returned fire, ending 1 of Damocles' cabal. My opponent's Vindicator glanced a Rhino, then the Thunderfire Cannon roared at my Bikers, blowing up the Rhino they were using for cover and killing 2 of Yuri's gang, who failed their Leadership and were riding away from the enemy. The Snipers opened fire on Yuri's Bikers, sending 2 souls to be fed on by the festering god they'd served though Telion failed to wound. The Space Marine Quad-gun, Lascannon and 3 Boltguns fired into Ruins and killed the Unit of 2 Obliterators.

Turn 2

Bad rolls for most of my army, though my Vindicator penned the Space Marine Vindicator, shaking its crew. Marbo appeared behind Zombies and Typhus. He killed 9 zombies and wounded my Warlord. The Dreadnought ended 2 Plague Marines, 1 of them holding a Plasma Gun in his death grip. My opponent's Snipers killed the Biker Icon Bearer, the Thunderfire Cannon destroyed 6 Plague Zombies, his Quad-gun exploded a Rhino and the Deathstrike Missile Launcher fired its payload, killing Ebenezar and his Icon Bearer. The Dreadnought then plowed through a Plague Marine as it Assaulted Damocles' Unit headed straight for the Chaos Champion. Damocles passed his Look Out Sir and one of the other Plague Marines took the slam.

Turn 3

The Bikers, which had been retreating, saw their Warlord in battle and regained their courage, wounding Marbo. The Obliterator could not fire upon the Dreadnought which was assaulting the Plague Marines, so it blew up the Drop Pod. Typhus challenged Marbo, who had no choice but to face the Lord of Terror. The Loyalist could not wound Typhus and Manreaper sliced into Marbo 7 times, dashing his lifeless husk to the ground.  Nurgle smiled on Typhus' offering and rewarded the Warlord with recovery from a wound. My opponent's Vindicator missed the Chaos Vindicator but his Snipers killed a Biker holding a Meltagun and the Thunderfire Cannon stilled a Plague Zombie. The Dreadnought pummeled 2 Plague Marines but Damocles was able to place a Melta Bomb on the Ironclad, destroying it.

Turn 4

The Chaos Vindicator roared with its Demolisher Cannon and destroyed the Imperial Vindicator. None of my other shots were as satisfying as my opponent was holed up tight in Ruins and behind his Defence Line. My opponent's Deathstrike moved onto the middle of the battlefield, then Snipers brought Yuri down. The Thunderfire cannon fired at Typhus but his Armor soaked the hits. The Space Marine Quad-gun, Plasmas and Lascannons finished the lone Obliterator.

Turn 5

Typhus attempted to invoke a Weapon Virus on the Snipers, but the Loyalists were able to Deny the Witch. The Chaos Vindicator glanced the Deathstrike Missile Launcher. The Deathstrike then moved itself direction in the Vindicator's path. The Space Marine Thunderfire Cannon killed 5 Plague Zombies and Typhus took a wound. We rolled to see if the game would continue but it did not. The Space Marines carried the day.

Final Thoughts

Was a fun time getting the Quad-gun on the field and killing a few Loyalists. I probably should not have been as aggressive as I was. In fact it would have been a far different game had I simply turtled on my Objectives. Once my opponent got First Blood though I had no choice but to push and hope for the best. Upon reflection of this game, I've decided to no longer put Typhus with the Plague Zombies. While he's a melee kinda Champion, it takes too long closing the distance with my opponent and the casualties taken have not been worth it. Instead I'll have him join another infantry Unit, one that can Deep Strike. Until next time, see you on the battlefield!

Battle Report 1750 CSM vs. Tyranids

My 6th game of WH40K was against the army I was supposed to play in my first game, the Tyranids. My opponent had a variation of a 'nidzilla army and staring down his side of the table with the number of over-sized models and Monstrous Creatures he was fielding was a bit intimidating.

Total Cost 1737


HQ

295 Hive Tyrant Warlord, Monstrous Creature, Hive Commander, Toxin Sacs, Wings, Leech Essence

295 Hive Tyrant Monstrous Creature, Hive Commander, Toxin Sacs, Wings, Leech Essence


Troops

95 Genestealer Brood

95 Genestealer Brood


Elite

207 Yngarl Genestealer Brood x 9

130 The Doom of Malan'tai with Mycetic Spore

140 Deathleaper


Heavy

240 Carnifex with Mycetic Spore

240 Carnifex with Mycetic Spore


My opponent rolled the Master of Ambush, Warlord Trait. Typhus got the Psychic Powers, Gift of Contagion & Plague Wind. Papa Nurgle was not so rewarding to Damocles and Ebenezar as they were deemed unworthy of Gifts of Mutation. Yuri, however, received 2+ Armor from the god of blight. This fight was starting off with a calm beginning as my opponent only deployed the 2 Hive Tyrants on his end of the map with the rest coming in from Reserves on Turn 2. My troops were closest to an Objective to begin with, but I was planning on splitting my forces to collect 2 other Objectives.

In Turn 1 I moved the Chaos Bikers and a Unit of Plague Marines in a Rhino towards an unclaimed Objective on my side of the board. I then claimed an Objective with my Plague Zombies and the Obliterators moved towards the ruins to get line of sight on the 2 Hive Tyrants. I then moved my other Rhino with the Vindicator to try and take a shot at the Hive Tyrants. On my opponent's turn, he flew his Hive Tyrants straight at my Bikes and killed one with a Shooting attack.

Turn 2 started off rough as my Vindicator and 2nd Rhino couldn't fire at anything, but I moved the Rhino as far as I could towards an unclaimed Objective. My Zombies didn't move and 1 Obliterator got to the 2nd floor of the Ruins but couldn't hit any of the flying Hive Tyrants. My Rhino had disembarked but none of the Plague Marines wounded either Hive Tyrant. The Bikes got off their shots and managed to wound the Warlord Hive Tyrant. At the bottom of Turn 2 my opponent brought in all his Reserves. The Genestealers flanked in as 3 Mycetic Spores spewed out the Doom of Malan'tai and 2 Carnifexes. At the start of my Opponent's Shooting phase the Doom killed a ton of Plague Zombies and an Obliterator. The Tyranid Warlord opened fire, killed some bikes and Assaulted, easily eviscerating the rest of the Bikers. The other Hive Tyrant engaged my recently dis-embarked Plague Marines.

In Turn 3 the Rhino and Vindicator fired upon the Genestealers moving towards an Objective as Typhus unleashed a Plague Wind on the Yngarl Genestealer Brood, killing one. The Lord of Terror then Assaulted, soaked a ton of hits and suffered a couple wounds before he unleashed his Destroyer Hive, killing all but one of the Yngarl which ran for its life. The Plague Marines' Plague Knives stabbed into a Hive Tyrant causing a wound. The bottom of Turn 3 brought devastation to the Chaos force, as the Deathleaper came in from Reserves, all the Obliterators were cleared off the field and the Deathleaper destroyed a Rhino.

Turn 4 started promising as a couple of Genestealers were killed and the Plague Marines in Assault with the non-Warlord Hive Tyrant brought the Monstrous Creature down. The small victory was short-lived as the Doom set its eyes on Typhus and dashed his rotting corpse to the ground and the Deathleaper killed a couple of Plague Marines. Turn 5 and 6 resulted in the destruction of all but one Genestealer, which claimed an Objective, and the Vindicator was destroyed as the Carnifexes made similar slaughter of the Unit of Plague Marines which had killed the Hive Tyrant. The remaining Unit of Plague Marines were being whittled down by an Assault with the Warlord Hive Tyrant. The game ended at the end of Turn 6 with the Tyranids carrying the day. Until next time, see you on the battlefield.

Final Thoughts

The game played out similar to a sci-fi/horror movie with a plodding start followed by an explosion of monsters popping out and ripping apart everything in front of them. My opponent's army was a beast to fight against with needing 6s to hit the Hive Tyrants when flying, to the crazy amount of Reserves that came in on Turn 2. And that Doom of Malan'tai, wow, is it worthy of its name. It made short work of the Obliterators and Plague Zombies, hitting my guys and getting stronger every Shooting Phase. Immediately after the game, I thought I made a poor choice spreading my army out as thin as I did. But upon further reflection if I'd only had 2 groups in my army, that much more would have died when the Doom and Carnifexes came in. The Plague Marines were the stars of this match with killing a Hive Tyrant and putting pressure on another and while I lost Typhus, it's always fun unleashing his Destroyer Hive. Until next time, see you on the battlefield.

First Tournament Game 3 Battle Report 1250 CSM vs. CSM

Game 3 

In Game 3, Typhus received the Psychic Powers Weapon Virus & Endurance (made a mistake with Psychic Powers in this tournament and forgot Typhus can only select from the Nurgle line). As for Gifts of Mutation, Damocles got All-Consuming Hatred, Ebenezar got Witch-Eater & Yuri was blessed with a Mind of Metal. My opponent was running a CSM army with Khârn the Betrayer as the leader, and he had done an awesome job painting up his army in pre-heresy colors. His Khorne Berzerker Champion received the Venemous gift and his Chaos Space Marine Champ could reroll failed armor saves.

1250 total pts

HQ

160 Khârn the Betrayer

Troops

140 Chaos CultistsFlamer x2

220 Khorne Berzerkers Gift of Mutation, Melta Bombs, Power Sword, Veterans of the Long War

270 Chaos Space Marines with Rhino Mark of Khorne, Plasma gun

Heavy

210 Obliterator +2

250 Chaos Land Raider Dirge Caster, Dozer Blade, Extra Armor


For the final game of the tournament we were playing with components of the Scouring and Purge missions. In Turn 1 I had Damocles' & Ebenezar's Unit of Plague Marines at 2 of the Objectives and Typhus with the Plague Zombies at a third. My Obliterators were accompanying Damocles on the 2nd floor of Ruins and fired a couple Plasma Cannon shots at the Chaos Cultists who were sitting on an Objective. My Chaos Bikers were by Ebenezar's Unit ready to charge out. My opponent moved up on the board towards me but no casualties were had on either side, though a wound was given to 1 of my Obliterators.


That quickly changed in Turn 2. My Obliterators blew up the Rhino carrying the CSM getting me First Blood. In response my opponent fired and Assaulted my Bikers, killing a good number of them as Yuri issued a challenge and defeated the Khorne Berzerker champion, receiving Icy Aura from the Chaos Boon Table.


In Turn 3 my Biker squad was quickly cleared out as Khârn challenged Yuri and easily ended him. My Obliterators were glancing the Land Raider, but not doing much more. The Land Raider and my opponent's Obliterators had been firing at my Obliterators the whole game, and were getting a wound a turn which Typhus was able to remove by alternating Endurance casts on whichever Oblit was wounded.


Turn 4 Khârn and his Berzerkers Assaulted Damocles' Unit with The Betrayer issuing a Challenge to Damocles, who quickly died. My options were low, as I couldn't move out to face the Land Raider and wasn't in range with Ebenezar's Unit to do any good.


The game ended in Turn 5 when the rest of Damocles' Unit was killed as were the Obliterators. My opponent scored 8 VP to my 5.

Final Thoughts 

I probably shouldn't have left Typhus with the Plague Zombies again, he's a ton of points and was useless except for casting Endurance (which I shouldn't have had anyhow). I'm revising my strategy with Typhus for my next games before I alter my list. Additionally, I should have put Ebenezar's Unit in the Ruins with the 2 Meltaguns and Combi-Melta that unit had. Fun match and an awesome day playing 3 games against some fearsome armies. Until next time, see you on the battlefield!

First Tournament Game 2 Battle Report 1250 CSM vs. CSM

Game 2

In the 2nd game Typhus got the following Psychic Powers: Gift of Contagion & Iron Arm (as with the first game, I forgot Typhus can only choose from the Nurgle list). For Gifts of Mutation, Damocles got Mind of Metal which confers the Adamantium Will Special Rule, Ebenezar received Warp Frenzy which gave him +1 Attacks & Yuri got Blade of Chaos which gave his Power Sword Fleshbane. Unfortunately I didn't get a copy of my opponents' army for Game 2 and my notes are fast and loose so I'll have to wing this Battle Report.

1188 total pts

HQ

160 Huron Blackheart

Troops

175 Chaos Space Marines x9 Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath, 1 Meltagun
175 Chaos Space Marines x9 Mark of Khorne, Icon of Wrath, 1 Meltagun
63 Chaos Cultists x10 Autogun x8, Heavy Stubber

Elite

100 Helbrute

Fast Attack

170 Heldrake Baleflamer

170 Heldrake Baleflamer

Heavy

175 Forgefiend Hades Autocannon



The main mission for this game was Relic with a second element of Big Guns Never Tire (5 Objectives). My opponent went first, had his CSM with Huron Blackheart claim an Objective with a CSM Unit turtling at another. The Forgefiend and Helbrute stomped onto the middle of the board towards the Relic. On my turn, I used the Plague Marines to hold 2 of the Objectives with my Obliterators on the 2nd floor of Ruins which managed to hit 1 of the Heldrakes, destroying its Baleflamer. Typhus and the Plague Zombies moved out slowly and were able to Assault the Helbrute, which the Lord of Terror quickly destroyed, netting me First Blood.


The Heldrakes came onto the field in Turn 2 and they decimated my Plague Marines & Zombies. The Forgefiend destroyed a good number of Plague Zombies as well. The Unit of CSM my Bikers were moving towards opened fire and killed all the Bikers but the Champion, Yuri, who made his Leadership test and didn't run away. On my turn the PZs  moved with Typhus towards the relic, which one of the risen dead picked up. Fire was exchanged with my Obliterators at the Forge Fiend and a Glancing hit was made. I moved out with 1 of my Plague Marine Units to back Typhus and crew up.


In Turn 3 my opponent roasted all but 2 of the Plague Marines which had moved out, as well as the Plague Zombie that had the Relic. Huron Blackheart and the Unit of CSM he was with advanced towards the middle of the board. The Forgefiend picked up the Relic and on my turn Typhus moved to engage with the Obliterators raining hell on the Daemon-forged monstrosity.


The next 2 Turns went by quickly, with the Heldrake, whose weapon was destroyed, hovering in the middle of the board and completely blocking line of sight for my Obliterators. Yuri was finally brought down as was Ebenezars' Plague Marines. The Obliterators obliterated the Heldrake in front of them as Typhus struck down the Forgefiend with a roar. We rolled to see if the game ended, and it did. I had held 2 Objectives to my opponent's 3, scored First Blood as well as destroyed my opponent's Heavy. I scored 8 VP with my opponent scoring 9.

Final Thoughts

This was my first game fighting a Chaos Space Marine army and my opponent had fielded a lot of new Units. I'd heard the Helbrute was about worthless, and he certainly didn't do my opponent any good, but those fliers were viciously effective. Even when one of them lost its weapon it still managed to be a nuisance. If I were to play this game again, I would have moved to finish the Forgefiend first with the Chaos Bikers. They were going to die fast anyhow but they might have taken my opponent's Heavy out with them. Was a fun, close match. Until next time, see you on the battlefield!

Thinking of a festering army for 1850 points

Played my 7th game of 40k last night. After that game I'm mulling over losing the unit of Chaos Bikers and the Plague Zombies. While I like the Biker models and they are fast, I'm having difficulty keeping them alive past Turn 3 of a game. They have none of the benefits of the Plague Marines, just a nice toughness and the possibility of getting a Hammer of Wrath or 2 in Assaults. But that's not enough to get me in Linebreaker position before the Unit is blown to hell. I could try to turtle more with them, but most of my games have had my opponent placing a greater number of Primary Objectives than I, so I have to push. And these Chaos Bikers just don't push hard enough.

The only things falling faster than the Chaos Bikers with the list I'd been using were the highly situational corpses, the Plague Zombies.  They can't shoot, get no increase of Toughness as they can't get the Mark of Nurgle, are Slow and Purposeful so can't move across the board at a competitive pace. All they're left with is Fearless and Feel No Pain which only seems worth it in situations where you are in position to tar-pit an important enemy unit. Better get 35 stumbling husks for the number to properly do that for 2-3 turns, and that's if the PZs get to an enemy Unit not entrenched in Ruins before being ripped apart by enemy fire.

What I've found has worked consistently decent, even when they're backed against stiff odds, is Plague Marines. The pros of PMs are many. They can capture objectives with Typhus as my HQ. They have the stats of Space Marines with Fearless, Feel No Pain, Plague Knives (Poisoned 4+), and I'm thinking of getting 2 Flamethrowers along with them. The cons are they're slower than the Chaos Bikers, but they can take a Rhino as a dedicated transport which can bring another Havoc Launcher and Combi-bolta on the field. They aren't twin-linked, so rolling is more of a gamble and fewer hits will matter. I'm taking the belchers of flame as I plan to use these guys as my main defensive Unit for high scoring Objective control. They'll be behind the Aegis Defence Line manning the Quad-gun and roasting Assaulting infantry. So here's the revised list:

1850 total pts

HQ

230 Typhus


Troops 

367 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher) +5 Plague Marines, Flamer x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Flamer, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

377 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher) +5 Plague Marines, Meltagun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Melta, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

387 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher) +5 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10


Heavy

158 Obliterators  +1 Obliterator, Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x2

79 Obliterator Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War

152 Vindicator Dirge Caster, Dozer Blade, Havoc Launcher, Siege Shield



Fortification

100 Aegis Defence Line Quad-gun


It's been my experience the Plague Marines already make effective tar-pits, and they can actually fight back, even against larger opponents. At least, that's what I'll be trying out as soon as I get a couple Flamers. Until then, see you on the battlefield.

New 40K FAQ out and a pondering on Plague Zombies

Games Workshop recently released the 40K FAQ version 1.2. Scanning the 40K message boards shows a lot of differing opinions on whether they're the right call or not, as well as some, "I told you that's how it worked," comments. Also released was the update to the Chaos Space Marine Codex to bring it in line with the 40K adjustments. Specifically of interest to me was the wording of Typhus' Plague Zombies:

‘Plague Zombies are Chaos Cultists that have the Fearless, Feel No Pain and Slow and Purposeful special rules and cannot purchase options other than to add additional models to the unit.’

The text in the CSM Codex then explains what the Plague Zombies are armed with, only a close combat weapon, then goes on to say, "any guns are used strictly for the purposes of clubbing their victims to death!"



Now, originally, I took that to mean that they were armed just like Chaos Cultists but could only use their guns in close combat, no firing allowed (though how cool would it have been if there was a chance for the club-gun to misfire while being swung around?). Reading it again after the FAQ release, I'm wondering if that is the case. Do the models holding a close combat weapon and a gun get 2 close combat weapons in assaults? Or is it a single close combat weapon, and no additional attacks (except for charging)?

My First Tournament Battle Report 1250 CSM vs Necrons

Alright, I decided the only way I was going to be able to smooth out the rough edges in my understanding of the 40K game rules as well as my strategy and tactics was to plunge into the deep end by playing in a local tournament. So on the first Sunday morning of the year, I made up an army list, gathered my models, and headed out the door.

Game 1

In Game 1 Typhus got the Psychic Powers Life Leech (this tournament's games were played before I reread that Typhus can only take PP from the Nurgle line) & Gift of Contagion. As for Gifts of Mutation, Damocles got Stubborn, Ebenezar got Icy Aura and Yuri got Venomous. Unfortunately, I didn't record which Warlord Trait my opponent rolled. Below is the list I fielded.

1248 total pts

HQ

230 Typhus


Troops 

74 Plague Zombies +6 cultists

280 Plague Marines +2 Plague Marines, Meltagun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Melta, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x8

290 Plague Marines +2 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x8


Fast Attack

215 Chaos Bikers  +2 Bikers, Meltagun x2, Combi-Melta, Power Sword, Melta Bombs, Mark of Nurgle, Icon of Despair, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x5


Heavy

79 Obliterator  Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x3


79 Obliterator Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x3



My first opponent was a veteran 40K player who fielded a nasty Necron list.




1250 total pts

HQ

150 Overlord Mindshackle Scarabs, Sempiternal Weave, Resurrection Orb

60 Royal Court Harbinger of Despair, Abyssal Staff, Veil of Darkness


Troops

180 Warriors with Ghost Ark

180 Warriors with Ghost Ark 

260 Warriors x20


Elite

150 Triarch Stalker 


Heavy

90 Annihilation Barge

90 Annihilation Barge

90 Annihilation Barge


I didn't record which Missions we played (this tournament had multiple for each game) and since each game was timed, I didn't take as many notes or pictures as I normally would have for the battle report.



In Turn 1, one of the Necron Ghost Arks got immobilized in difficult terrain and disembarked its troops towards an objective. The Annihilation Barges and Triarch Stalker moved towards center of the map. I moved Damocles' unit of Plague Marines and Yuri with his bikers out, keeping Ebenezar's unit at an objective with a single Obliterator to support, Typhus and the Plague Marines hung back with another objective.



The Bikers got destroyed in Turn 2. Even with Toughness 6, those guys can get mowed down pretty quickly. The Obliterator on the ground got taken out in Turn 4, but my Obliterator in the Ruins took out a Ghost Ark in Turn 5. My favorite part of the battle was when Damocles' unit got in close combat with the Triarch Stalker. Several turns passed with that close combat battle and while I would take a casualty every turn, I had the rest of the unit tying up that Stalker until the game ended.

Final Thoughts 

In retrospect, I should have moved out with Ebenezar's unit, since they had the Meltaguns. Typhus and the Zombies didn't get to do much hanging back with the 3 point objective. Lastly, I should have had Damocles use his Melta Bombs on the Triarch Stalker. All in all though, it was a fun game, I scored 7 points to my opponent's 11 points, and I added a third game notch to my belt. See you on the battlefield!

Working on an Aegis Defence Line

My troops are lacking in some cover and Skyfire on the battlefield. In order to rectify that deficiency I've clipped out an Aegis Defence Line and am working on a Quad-gun. Will need to Nurgle it up some with Green Stuff later on.

Things I got wrong with Typhus and a revised list

So, just re-read Typhus' entry in the Chaos Space Marine Codex, and he has to take all his Psychic Powers from the Nurgle line. This was a stupid error, as I had been rolling from the Biomancy line as well as the Nurgle line, and there were a couple games that made a difference. So I'll be going all Nurgle all the time now. Though it is a shame Typhus is limited in this way. While there are nice powers in the Nurgle list, Iron Arm and Endurance are so good at keeping the Warlord or the Obliterators alive. May have to think about another Psyker in the army in the future. Another thing I got wrong was forgetting I had to roll to see if Manreaper would take a wound or give 2-6 extra attacks. Haven't been in a game where Typhus was lost, or even got close, but I'll have to keep that in mind. Lastly, Typhus' Destroyer Hive can be used on his Initiative as I did, but he cannot attack afterwards. That would have meant a bit of difference in at least 1 of the 5 games I've played so far. Fortunately(?) I haven't had more than 1 game where I could use it...yet.

Anyhow, after getting 5 games under my belt, I've retooled my 1,750 point army list, added a bit more punch to the Rhinos & Vindicator at the loss of some Plague Zombies. Will be headed to Dragon's Lair after work tomorrow to see how it does.

1748 total pts

HQ

230 Typhus


Troops 

142 Plague Zombies +14 cultists

365 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher) +5 Plague Marines, Meltagun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Melta, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

375 Plague Marines with Rhino (Havoc Launcher) +5 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10


Fast Attack

269 Chaos Bikers  +4 Bikers, Meltagun x2, Combi-Melta, Power Sword, Melta Bombs, Mark of Nurgle, Icon of Despair, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x7


Heavy

158 Obliterators  +1 Obliterator, Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x2


79 Obliterator Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War


130 Vindicator Havoc Launcher, Siege Shield

Battle Report 1500 CSM vs. Orks

Had my second game of 40K on Saturday evening in a pick-up game of 1,500 points. I fielded a pared down version of the same list I used in my first game, minus the Rhinos, the Vindicator and about a third of the Plague Zombies. Everything else remained the same for my Nurgle Chaos army. For Psychic powers, Typhus got Life Leech and Weapon Virus. For Gifts of Mutation, Damocles got Mechanoid, Ebenezar got nothing and Yuri got Feel No Pain. My opponent fielded the following Orks, with Strategic Genius as his Warlord trait.

HQ

225 Ghazghkull Thraka with an Ammo Runt, Cybork Body, Bosspole, Mega-Armour, Big Shoota, and Adamantium Skull

108 Warboss Power Klaw with an Ammo Runt, Twin-linked Shoota, Bosspole, Cybork Body

Troops

258 2 Squads of 14 Boyz 2 Big Shootas, and 2 Power Klaws and Boss Poles

111 1 Squad of 11 Boyz. 9 were basic, but their Sluggas and Choppas were upgraded to Shootas, Big Shoota, Nob with Power Klaw and Boss Pole

230 9 Nobz 1 Big Choppa, 1 Shoota/Skorcha Kombi-Weapon, 1 Shoota/Rokkit Kombi-Weapon, and 1 Painboy, Grot Orderly

60 Trukk Big Shoota, Red Paint, Boarding Plank, Wreckin' Ball, Reinforced Ram

Elites

150 2 Squads of 5 Lootas

205 11 Stormboyz Boss Zagstruk with Cybork Body, Da Vulcha's Klaws

Fast Attack

135 1 squad of 3 Deffkoptaz Twin-linked Rokkit launchas

Turn 1

Orks went first, moved out, but didn't hit or wound any of the agents of Chaos. I moved my Bikes through Difficult Terrain and 1 failed the test, causing a wound and putting me down to 6 Bikes. The Plague Marines on the ground moved out at a run. Bikes shot at the Orks, killing a Big Shoota. Plague Marines missed their shots and caused no wounds. 1 Obliterator caused 1 Hull Point of damage on the Trukk.

Turn 2

Storm Boys and Deffkoptaz failed to come in from Reserves. 2 Plague Marines perished from random Ork shooting. My Bikes assaulted the Lootas, destroying them and getting First Blood. My Plague Marines and Obliterators got a few kills as well.

Turn 3

Ghazghkull killed 3 Plague Marines. Another Plague Marine fell. The Obliterators blew up the Trukk and the Bikers Assaulted the Nobs killing 4. The Plague Zombies and Typhus Assaulted Ghazghkull's Unit. As the Orks and Zombies pressed against each other Typhus unleashed his Destroyer Hive, killing most of the Plague Zombies and 3 of the Orks with Ghazghkull, the Ork Warlord himself took a few wounds. Typhus then challenged the Ghazghkull, who had failed his Leadership test when encountering the Lord of Terror, did not wound the Chaos Space Marine and Manreaper ended the Ork in a spray of crimson.

Turn 4

Bikers won the Assault with the Lootas and all but 1 Deffkopta was destroyed. My opponent conceded the game at that point.

Final Thoughts

Well, I remembered  the Gifts of Mutation for my Plague Marine and Biker Champions. As a match-up the Orks are nowhere near as tough for Plague Marines to outshoot and win in Close Combat. Being able to have Typhus use his Destroyer Hive was awesome, even though I lost more models using it, it weakened Ghazghkull enough for Manreaper to finish him off. Was a fun game and my first win. I hope for a rematch with these Orks some time in the coming weeks. Until next time I see you on the battlefield!

My First Game of 40K Battle Report 1750 CSM vs. IG

So after a month of painting my guys (all still works in progress), I finally had the 1,748 points worth of Nurgle Chaos Space Marines ready enough to field at Dragon's Lair on a Thursday night. I was supposed to be playing against a Tyranid army, but my original opponent was unable to make it. Luckily, another opponent presented himself bringing a whole hell of a lot of Imperial Guardsmen with Space Marine Allies to hold the line against Typhus and the troops dropped from the Terminus Est. It was a fearsome list to go up against.

Imperial Guard 1750 total Pts.

50 Company Command Squad HQ

90 Veteran Squad Troops Lascannon

155 Veteran Squad with Chimera Troops Meltagun x3

35 Platoon Command Squad Troops 

50 Infantry Squad Troops

50 Infantry Squad Troops

130 Veteran Squad Troops Plasma Gun x2, Carapace Armor

75 Scouts Troops

100 Librarian Troops   

140 Vendetta Fast Attack Heavy Bolters

135 Medusa Heavy

300 Leman Russ Battle Tank Heavy +1 tank

330 Leman Russ Demolisher Heavy +1 tank

110 Bastion Fortification Icarus Lascannon

Just seeing the amount of troops on the field my opponent had, the number of tanks, the flyer, the bastion...was a bit intimidating. I won the roll for deployment, but allowed my IG opponent to deploy first, which also meant he would go first when the game started. My plan was to see where he would fortify and where he planned to mobilize. The IG Warlord rolled for his Warlord Trait, getting Inspiring Presence. Typhus rolled for his psychic abilities and got Plague Wind from the Nurgle list and Iron Arm from the Biomancy list. However, here is where I made my first, of many, mistakes of the game, as my 2 Plague Marine and Biker Champions should have rolled for their Gifts of Mutation. I forgot to make this roll, and those points were sadly wasted. After setting up terrain we rolled on the mission and it ended up being Mission 1: Crusade. Since IG had deployed first, they could lay the first of five objectives down. Wouldn't you know it, 3 objectives ended on the IG side of the map, while only 2 were on the CSM side. We also rolled for Night fighting, and the dawn of this battle would be beneath the gloom of dark. Please excuse the poor-man's panoramic pictures. Had to string each one from 3 separate images at slightly different angles, but it should give a sense of how each turn played out.

Turn 1

The Imperial Guard focused a LOT of firepower on my Vindicator. First, the Demolisher Cannon got blown up. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the tank followed the cannon in a rain of sparks and shrapnel as the tank exploded, giving the Imperial Guard First Blood. Next, a single Plague Zombie was offed, followed by 3 Chaos Bikers. Toughness 6 wasn't standing up too well to the sheer amount of bullets and Las fire coming from the Guard's line. Finally, my Plasma Rhino suffered a Hull Point of damage. On my Turn, my Rhino carrying my Meltagun Plague Marines moved up to a nearby objective, disembarked and popped smoke. Typhus and the Plague Zombies stomped past the wrecked Vindicator towards the objective in the middle of my side of the board. My Rhino carrying Plasma Plague Marines moved up and popped smoke with the Chaos Bikers moving to the Rhino's right. My second mistake of the fight was not shooting the Twin-linked Boltguns on my bikes.

Turn 2

Speaking of, 2 of those bikes died at the beginning of Turn 2. These were good bikes too, 1 of my Meltagun wielding bikes and the bike carrying the Icon of Despair fell hard. Then, 7 Plague Zombies returned to papa Nurgle, their maggot-filled corpses finally stilled. On my turn, my Deep Striking Obliterators came in, and landed just a couple inches from where I wanted to place them. My Chaos Bikers moved up next to the Obliterators and 3 of my opponent's tanks. Typhus activated Iron Arm and he and the Plague Zombies moved up to the objective their Slow and Purposeful butts couldn't reach in Turn 1. My Plasma Gun unit of Plague Marines disembarked from their Rhino and then revenge began. My Plague Marines Rapid Fired 2 Plasma Guns, 1 Combi-Plasma, and a bunch of Bolters into some Space Marine Snipers, killing 5 of them. My Obliterators caused one of the Leman Russ tanks to explode, which sadly also killed my Chaos Biker Champion, Yuri. The last Biker, luckily one of the 2 that had Meltaguns, unloaded into another tank in close range. It too blew up, but didn't hurt anything else.

In retrospect, I realize I made a few errors on this turn. The first was putting my Obliterators and Bikes out in the middle of the field thinking they could weather the amount of fire that would be raining down next turn. My second was forgetting my Rhinos had Combi-Bolters, which didn't fire the entire game. My third, and possibly largest mistake of the game, was keeping Typhus, the Plague Zombies, and the Meltagun unit of Plague Marines at objectives instead of pushing with them.

Turn 3

The Imperial Guard Vendetta came in from Reserves. The unit of Obliterators were the first to die at the start of Turn 3. 5 Plague Marines, including the Champion called Damocles, were the next to fall, though 1 of the PM, behind cover provided by the Rhino, soaked up 3 shots by rolling 3 sixes in a row for Feel No Pain before finally succumbing to the barrage unleashed upon him. 4 IG Infantry were killed by Plague Marines in retribution for slaying their Champion.

Turn 4

Only 3 Plague Zombies joined the pile of rotting corpses. Well, more so than they already were rotting corpses at least. Everything else was movement for both sides in Turn 4, with my opponent's IG Infantry running for their lives after the last salvo of fire from my Plague Marines in Turn 3. My Meltagun Plague Marines abandoned the objective and moved out with the intent to murder some IG but all their potshots failed to wound any. My Plague Zombies and Typhus (who again cast Iron Arm) moved off their objective and attacked the tank/transport, losing nothing to Overwatch, but doing nothing to the tank either (we miscalculated the Strength boost Iron Arm was, so he should have done a Glancing hit to the tank, but oh well). My 2 Rhinos were Tank Shocking all they could, but still not firing their Combi-Bolters.

Turn 5

The IG Infantry which was running in fear moved straight off the board. The IG Vendetta flew by, and from my 2 Units of Plague Marines, I lost 8, wiping out the Plasma Gun unit and leaving only a handful of the Meltagun unit. The last 2 PM from the Meltagun unit withdrew back to the objective they had been holding in previous turns. Fortunately, they are Fearless and didn't have to run away after losing most of their unit. Typhus again cast Iron Arm and left the unit of Plague Zombies (who were returning to the nearby objective) to Assault the Infantry in my deployment zone. I forgot that Typhus has Lord of Terror as his Warlord Trait, so didn't mention the IG Infantry needed to make a Leadership Test when Typhus engaged. He challenged the Sgt, who bravely refused and cowered behind his troops. 4 IG Infantry were then slaughtered and served up to Nurgle. The remaining men of the Infantry unit ran away screaming, but sadly, in Terminator armor Typhus could not follow with a Sweeping Advance.

Turn 6

With Iron Arm still up, nothing shot at Typhus Wounded him. The Plague Zombies and 2 remaining Plague Marines were all behind cover on their objectives, so no other CSM fell. Typhus moved behind the 2 fleeing IG Infantry and let loose a Plague Wind which consumed 1 of the Loyalist scum. The servant of Nurgle then Assaulted the lone Sgt and brutally sent his shattered husk to the ground. My opponent had to leave at this point, so we shook hands and called the game there. The Imperial Guard carried the day with 4 Victory Points (3 from Objectives and 1 from First Blood) with the Chaos Space Marines only getting 2 Victory Points.

Final Thoughts

Well, even with my forces leaving the battlefield in defeat, it was still a fun first match. I've got a sense for how the army plays and a few things I will, hopefully, not forget to do on my second game. Typhus is a beast in close combat, especially when you roll Psychic Powers of Iron Arm and Plague Wind. Until next time, see you on the battlefield!

My Named Champions of Nurgle

  Typhus the Warlord.

  Agrippa the Plague Zombie Champion.

  Damocles the Combi-Plasma & Power Fist wielding Plague Marine Champion.
  Ebenezar the Combi-Melta & Power Fist wielding Plague Marine Champion.
  Yuri the Combi-Melta & Power Sword brandishing Biker Champion.

Getting Started with WH40K

The purpose of this blog is to document my first year of modeling, painting and gaming with Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000. I'm also hoping it will keep me focused on completing models. I plan to update this blog several times a week with project updates, list ideas, battle reports and anything else related to my interest in the 40K hobby. If you're new to the game of Warhammer 40K, watch this video from Miniwargaming.com (just know that this video was created during the 5th Edition of the game) to get some tips for starting out.

I've been interested in wargames for a long time but have only played a few games of Clix Mechwarrior and Rackham's AT-43. While I enjoyed both, I got started with them when those games were dying. So I wasn't going to do that a third time and decided to get into a wargame that has been around for 25+ years and recently released its 6th edition of rules, Warhammer 40K. I've long admired the excessively grim/dark universe of the 40K setting, but was intimidated by the start-up costs and the amount of modeling and painting the game requires to field the most bad ass army your skill with a brush will allow. The timing of the new edition helped, as well as the release of the Dark Vengeance starter kit, because vengeance just isn't as satisfying unless it's dark. I purchased the limited edition box with the Dark Angel Chaplain, as well as the paint set with the 5 Dark Angel Space Marines, in November 2012. And that was just the beginning.

I painted up the models that came in the paint set and flipped through the rule book as well as surfed the Games Workshop website, gaping in awe at the variety of infantry and vehicle models. The Chaos Space Marine Codex had just come out, and with how great the models for the Chaos armies looked I picked it up and read it cover to cover. I then mapped out what seemed a decent 1500 and 1750 army to field. Then I totaled up how much it would cost and how few models from the DV box I would be fielding and got a little discouraged. I searched eBay daily for an army close to what I had listed out, and got damn lucky one day. A fellow from New Jersey was selling an army with a lot of the models I was looking for. Before my eyes was a single auction with 50 Plague Marines, 7 Chaos Bikers, 5 Possessed Chaos Marines, 4 Rhinos with Forge World doors, 1 Vindicator, 1 Nurgle Demon Prince and 1 very well-painted Typhus. 1 bid and a few days later I had won the auction.


My next step was to start kit-bashing the Chaos Cultists from the DV box, turning them into warp mutated Plague Zombies. And I needed a lot of them. I sawed, trimmed, filed and glued a bunch of plastic in the following days. The next step was to paint the zombies, but I'd not done much miniature painting before. I drove down to Tribe Games and started talking with one of the owners. He didn't play the 40K wargame but was running a 40K RPG, and had painted up many models to use on a battle grid. I told him what I was doing, and he gave me some tips as I was checking out. I thanked him and as I was walking out, he stopped me and handed me a sealed copy of the How to Paint Citadel Miniatures book. The book's cover was on upside down, and he told me he didn't know if there were any other defects with it, but that I could have it, free of charge. I thanked him and raced home, tore off the plastic and skimmed through the book. All the pages were there, as was the DVD, and they were in their proper order & orientation. I threw on the DVD and read along as I started experimenting with the paints I had. I quickly wished I had a larger range of colors, and I knew just where I'd get them. After my next trip to Tribe Games I had enough paints to get started.


The Plague Zombies, like just about everything in my army at this point, are still a work in progress, but when the boxes full of Plague Marines arrived, I started looking into what I'd need to get to convert those figures and have them fielding the kind of weapons I wanted. So I scoured eBay and the Games Workshop store for Meltaguns & Plasma guns, as well as Power Fists. I was fortunate there are some awesome folks on the various message boards I frequent with extra bits they didn't need, and I got a couple of Nurgle standards that way. I kit-bashed 8 Plague Marines and 4 Chaos Bikers with new weapons & gear. As it stands now, I've got 2 Plague Marine Champions both with Power Fists, 1 with a Combi-Melta and the other with a Combi-Plasma. 2 Plague Marines are sporting Meltaguns and 2 have Plasma Guns. My Biker Champion has a Combi-Melta and a Power Sword and 2 of the Bikers have Meltaguns.


My next steps are to continue painting up my army and reading the rules, as of today I'm a few pages into the Vehicles chapter of the main rulebook, so need to finish about 30 pages before my first game this Thursday. My opponent will be fielding a Tyranid army, but I'm hoping I've got enough guns to whittle his army down before they get into close combat. And even then, with all my infantry (except for the Plague Zombies) rocking the Mark of Nurgle, they'll be tough SOBs to knock down. Below is the army I'll be fielding come Thursday.

1748 total Pts.

230 Typhus HQ

142 Plague Zombies Troops +23 cultists

365 Plague Marines with Rhino Troops +5 Plague Marines, Meltagun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Melta, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

375 Plague Marines with Rhino Troops +5 Plague Marines, Plasma Gun x2, Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Melta Bombs, Combi-Plasma, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x10

269 Chaos Bikers Fast Attack +4 Bikers, Meltagun x2, Combi-Melta, Power Sword, Melta Bombs, Mark of Nurgle, Icon of Despair, Gift of Mutation, Vets of the Long War x7

237 Obliterators Heavy +2 Obliterators, Mark of Nurgle, Vets of the Long War x3

130 Vindicator Heavy Siege Shield

With this list I have 3 scoring units (Typhus allows Plague Marines to be counted as troops and the Plague Zombies are simply Chaos Cultists with some benefits/hindrances) and Typhus will roll behind the Vindicator, surrounded by 33 Plague Zombies. I'll flank the tank with a Rhino on either side, the Rhino carrying the Plasma Gun squad will be escorted by the 7 Bikers. I plan to have the Obliterators Deep Strike to where they'll be most effective.  To shave the list down to 1500 points I just remove the 2 Rhinos, Vindicator and drop the Plague Zombies down to +11.