South East London Wargames Group

Hi Everyone,

Four more 40 K Challenge Battle Reports for your enjoyment. Click on the links below to go straight to the report

Grey Knights v Orks

Space Wolves v Ultramarines

Necrons v Space Marines

Tau v Dark Angels

 Grey Knights V Orks – Neil H and Max played the Scenario was objectives (3) and deployment was table quarters

Ghazghkull advanced his force and quickly captured two of the three objectives for the mission. The boyz were in good spirits as they surrounded and secured the two points. The Grey Knight moved in position to attack and fired all their weapons managing to disable two trucks and stun the battlewagon on the first move. Not a brilliant start for the Inquisitorials but it showed the Orks what they were up against in terms of firepower.

Snikrot and his commandos failed to appear at first, must have been something in the warp! The Orks reinforced their position and returned fire on the heavy bolter detachments with their big shootas causing quite a bit of damage. However the Grey Knight reciprocated and took out two trucks utterly destroying them. Fortunately they were empty, but the loss meant that any counter attack that the Orks planned would be harder to achieve!

Then a loud cry went up from the grey knights lines as Snikrot and his commandos charged on and the Ork fire was so effective that they wiped out one squad and left another so depleted that Snikrot finished them off single handed! The Ork elation was short lived however as the Grey Knight specialists dismounted fro their landraider and with a combination of psychic powers and sheer force brutality, Snikrot and his commandos were left as smoldering remains.

The Orks reinforced their position and after more defensive shooting, they awaited the Grey Knight onslaught. Emboldened by their overpowering force, the Grey knight advanced at last on either flank and threatened the Ork positions.

Ghazghkull retaliated the only way he knew how and with typical Ork subtlety…he called a Waaaaagh! The Orks jump out and assaulted the two Grey knight razorbacks eventually destroying them both and one of the Dreadnoughts too. They wiped out another squad before being counterattacked and beaten off Ghazghkull cursing as he was overwhelmed by the ferocious Grey Knight counter attack.

So far the Orks managed to hold on to their two objectives and the Grey knight held none however the Orks were depleted and unable to match the strength of the Grey Knights and as darkness fell the Inquisitors secured the remaining objective and challenged both of those held by the Orks.

Despite the fact that the Grey knights could no longer capture any more objectives, the challenge was enough and the single point won them the game.

Grey Knight I objective losses 653 Points

Ork losses 816 point

This leaves Max tied with Steve with a game in hand. Paul G has only played one game, if he wins all three of his it will be a three-way tie and VPs will decide the league. Need to get on with the games Paul…

Neil R and Chris fought an epic battle. Here’s the report

Date 24-2-40012

Location: Verdigris – a jungle planet

Mission : Seize ground

No Of Objectives: 5

Deployment: Spearhead.

May it please your Lord, I write this report from the Excruciatus chamber. I was temporarily struck down by the warp and am being examined for signs of corruption. I feel sure that I will be found pure of spirit and return to active duty soon.

As you are aware Verdigris has been the scene of some conflict with the Ultramarines due to their overly zealous enforcement of orders from the prying Inquisition (may the Emperor curse them!). Our battle force was tasked with retrieving 5 hidden artefacts from the edge of the jungle in sector 205 of the Northern Continent. We were aware that our opponents had scouted the area but they withdrew allowing us to deploy first (Neil won the initiative roll but wanted me to have first turn).

The battlefield was dominated by a large hill in the centre of the table. Another hill sat on the eastern edge, just south of the centre line. There were numerous patches of jungle terrain  and a couple of impassable rocky outcrops.

We deployed in the South East corner of the battlefield. Our deployment zone included 3 of the 5 objectives; one deep in the corner the other two towards the northern and western edges and in open terrain. On the left of our line my brother Rune Priest, Torsten, and his squad and I with my squad deployed in our Rhinos. Behind us were lined up the 3 Lascannon armed Razorbacks. The 3 Long Fang packs were deployed close to the corner objective with 2 on the hill and the third in a patch of jungle. One small Grey Hunter squad in a Razorback with Assault Cannon deployed on the objective nearest the corner. The other deployed at the right hand end (northern end) of our line.

The Ultras deployed a Crusader Land Raider with 6 Terminators in close to one objective. One combat squad of marines stood on the other objective in their deployment zone which was in the far NW corner. Two other combat squads with Lascannons deployed close by. The last combat squad deployed in a rhino hidden behind a rocky outcrop close to the western edge of the board. Finally 5 more terminators deployed as close to the centre of the table as possible and another 5 deployed with a Librarian just behind them. All 16 Terminators and the Librarian carried Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields. A unit of Sternguard were held in reserve together with their Rhino.

We began the battle by rushing forwards. Torsten drove west at all speed and I headed north towards the central hill. The Las-armed Razorbacks moved forward. The northern most AC Razorback also moved north. The zealots had deployed well leaving few targets. 10 missile launcher shots took down a solitary terminator. The Lascannon shots failed to breach the Land Raider’s armour.

The Ultras responded quickly. The Librarian used the psychic power Gate of Infinity to move himself and 5 fellows to within 12 marks (inches in game terms) of the hill occupied by the Long Fangs. Both Torsten and I tried to stop this psychic power but failed. These fellows then ran towards the hill. The Land Raider drove forward but stuck on terrain. The 4 Terminators from the unit we had previously targeted advanced to the west of the central hill. A Lascannon shot took out my Rhino despite the smoke shield we had created and two battle brothers died. The Multi melta on the Land Raider took out one of the 3 Razorbacks facing it. Otherwise the shooting phase was uneventful.

Torsten continued his advance west at full speed seeking to outflank the Ultras line and get into combat with tactical marines rather than Terminators. The 2 Las-armed Razorbacks moved to get better shots at the stranded Land Raider.  My squad moved due east to get line of sight to the Librarian’s squad. Everything opened up on this squad – 15 missile launchers, 2 twin linked assault cannons and the bolters from our squad. 2 terminators and the Librarian were killed. I tried a psychic power but the warp overwhelmed me and I was wounded.  The remaining terminators chose to fall back (Neil used the Combat tactics rule and chose to fail his morale test). One of the Razorbacks blew the assault cannon off the Land Raider.

The Sternguard arrived close to the north eastern corner and drove on at high speed. The 3 Terminators rallied and closed on the Razorback with a 6 man Grey Hunter squad. The 4 terminators in the centre advanced towards the Las-armed Razorbacks. The Ultras in the Rhino moved out to block Torsten’s Rhino and another combat squad moved up to support them . The 6 terminators disembarked from the Land Raider and also moved towards Torsten’s squad. The Rhino carrying his squad was destroyed by a melta gun shot. 2 brave brothers died in the inferno. At the other side of the table the 3 terminators assaulted the Razorback and destroyed it forcing out the 6 Grey Hunters.

Torsten assaulted the zealots’ Rhino and destroyed it forcing out the 5 occupants. The Long Fangs fired at the 3 terminators but failed to kill any of them. I attacked them also but they evaded the gaping jaws of the earth. The Grey Hunter squad evicted from their Razorback assaulted the Sternguard’s Rhino and destroyed it. The Sternguard debouched but were clearly rattled. (They failed their pinning test and could do nothing next turn). My own squad moved onto the northern most objective in our deployment zone.

The trap around Torsten’s squad tightened. The 6 terminators closed in and several tactical squads opened up on them, killing 3 brothers. A combat squad led by a sergeant with a power weapon charged them.  3  brothers fell but 4 of the zealots were killed. The 4 terminators in the centre continued towards the Razorbacks. The 3 terminators ignored the Grey Hunters and headed towards the Long Fangs on the hill and assaulted a squad killing 4 for the loss of 2 terminators. The remaining Long Fangs fell back.

The 6 Grey Hunters fired on the Sternguard, cutting down 2 and then charged in, bravely unfurling their standard. In the ensuing melee the Sternguard’s armour proved tougher than it ought to have and only 2 fell whilst one of the Hunters perished. Torsten and the Wolf Guard accompanying him killed the lone sergeant facing them and advanced. The terminator on the hill was finally shot down as was one of the 4 terminators who were now menacingly near the 2 Las-armed Razorbacks.

The 6 terminators could not catch Torsten if they simply followed him, so they cut across the terrain and intercepted him. The result was predictable and he and the Wolf Guard were cut down in a flurry of thunder hammer blows. 3 terminators assaulted a Razorback and destroyed its weapon. The Sternguard and the Grey Hunters fought on. This time 4 Sternguard fell leaving only the Sergeant with the lightning claw but 3 of our brothers fell also.

A full round of shooting failed to take down another terminator. I tried another psychic attack but was struck unconscious by the power of the warp. The Sternguard and Grey Hunters wiped each other out in the bloodiest of combats. That 5 Hunters and a Wolf Guard should take down 9 Sternguard deserves an entry in the Sagas.

As darkness began to close in the battle was undecided. The Ultras held two artefacts and we had no hope of recovering them. We held two also, but lacked suitable units to take the third even though only we could realistically reach it.

There was one last act.  The 3 terminators charged into the Long Fang squad nearest to the objective we held in the corner. One died but 2 Long Fangs fell. The older Wolves stood firm. A Las-cannon shot destroyed the AC armed Razorback holding the squad on the adjacent objective and they were forced out.

The 6 Grey Hunters moved forward to form a second line of defence behind the embattled Long Fangs. A Razorback moved to stop the terminators running round one end of the line to the objective if they won their combat. The terminators killed 2 more Long Fangs who fell back and the terminators moved towards the other end of the Hunters’ line.

The final moment had come. The two terminators charged in wielding their hammers. One of them was within touching distance of the objective.5 Grey Hunters attacked and took one down. The survivor killed one in return. Now it was the Wold Guard’s turn. He had 3 Power Fist attacks. Two missed. The remaining one wounded. The Storm Shield flickered. And failed. The final terminator died.

Had he lived I would be forced to report a defeat. But by the grace of the Great Wolf we were able to retain two of the artefacts. Two fell to the Ultramarines and one lies on the field of battle still.

It is an ill day that brings us into conflict with our noble brother Astartes, and a sad day when so many great warriors fall

I remain your loyal servant,

Harald Blacktooth – Rune Priest

Neil has now finished his games and ended on 8 points. Chris is halfway there with 4, Michael has 1 and three to play and Bryan and I have not troubled the scorers.

John R played Harry in the youngest match up of the leagues. No quarter was sought or given, and a brief report.

Spearhead Cap/Ctrl. Harry won the toss and decidec to go second.

Both flags were deep in the deployment zones, but not quite in opposite corners.

T1 All the Necrons advance bar the warriors who garrison the home flag.

The marines all pull back! (a cunning plan?)

T2 Necrons continue to slowly advance

A few marine squads take casualties, in return the Landspeeders destroy all bar one of the destroyers.

T3 Final Destroyer eliminates the Librarian who was all by himself. Wariths now assault Landspeeders along with scarabs.

Landspeeders do not last long.

T4 A single lascannon from a tac squad destroys the Mononlith much to John's disgust. By now the Necrons are closing in

on the marine flag. The large amount of marine bodies and vehicles make the table very crowded in this part of the battle.

T5 Lycheguard finally get into assault with a tac squad of which 4 survive, and run away. Wraiths Move to contest the marine flag

which has a Rhino parked by it. Wraiths destroy Rhino only to find it empty!! What commander moved the tac squad from it?

Due to time constraints this had to be the last turn. So the marine turn was spent moving every unit possible to shoot at the wraiths.

After upteen bolt gun, plasma, flamer shots etc one Wraith remained. This turned out to be fairly academic, as no scoring marine unit could get within 3" of the marine flag.

The game had to end there even though there were some other combats (not critical to the result) to be resolved, hence the fairly low VP scores.

So John wins 1-0 with 645 vp, and Harry scored 520 vp.

This puts John R in a very strong position by dint of two massive wins. Only Ben can catch him now.

The last battle was between Ed and Sy, Tau versus Dark Angels. Here's the report

Capture and Control

Pitched Battle

Ed won the roll off and decided to go first.

Tau objective was placed behind a tall rocky outcrop blocking line of sight to it. Death Angels (DA) objective was placed in the centre of the table in the DA deployment area. The Tau deployed along their own board edge in a staggered line with Crisis suits in amongst the tanks providing support. The Dark Angels deployed in a similar manner.

The Tau kicked off the first turn with some spectacularly poor shooting, even managing to hit with all three railguns and after the smoke had cleared both the Rhino and Predator with lascannons were immobilised.

The DA first turn saw 5 Terminators and Belial deep strike right on the Tau objective, there was not much shooting to be had as the rest of the army advanced toward the Tau lines and Rhino repair it’s immobilised results on a 6. The Predator with the Las cannons scored a direct hit on a Hammerhead’s anti grave engine immobilising it.

The second turn for the Tau saw 3 battle suits deep strike and, with support from marker lights, wreck the Predator with  las cannons and a hammerhead blew off the Vindicator’s main weapon. The Tau also concentrated over 3/4 of the army’s firepower of the Terminators on their objective and after the salvoes upon salvoes of rockets and pulse fire came to a close Belial and his 5 Terminators lay dead upon the floor. In the second Dark Angels turn the army again advanced  toward the Tau lines along with the repaired Rhino

Third turn and again with help from the marker lights the 3 Crisis suits managed to destroy the Vindicator in a ball of flames. Marines were picked off here and there by accurate missile fire and in a game defining moment the 5 Terminators making a heading for the Tau objective suffered three wounds and proceeded to roll three 1’s. The Tau piled on the firepower and left only 1 Terminator and the Chaplain standing. The Dark Angel bikers used their speed to rush forward and begin picking off the pathfinders causing them to fall back.

In the Tau fourth turn the Devilfish surrounding the home objective shuffled around with the crisis suits jumping in and out here and there. The pathfinders also regrouped and moved back into terrain. The remaining Terminator was downed and the Chaplain reduced to 1 wound. Several more marines were shot down as they moved across the board. The remaining predator went up in flames with a loud bang from a direct Railgun hit. In the DA fourth turn the bikers again harassed the pathfinders causing them to fall back once again right up to the board edge. The Chaplain assaulted a Devilfish but to no avail.

The Tau used the fifth turn to consolidate around their home objective by killing the chaplain and putting several missiles through the front end of the Rhino hitting the engine and causing a large explosion. The fire was directed at the Elite Squad left alive and the last man of the other remaining troop squad fell under a barrage of Smart Missiles. The Bikers also suffered several casualties from the Railguns. The remaining Bikers then moved and opened fire of the other pathfinder squad causing even more wounds and they fell back also, there was something about the Death Angel bikers that had these pathfinders spooked. The remaining space marine from the Elite Squad assaulted the once deep striking Crisis suits, killing one outright and sweeping the other after the combat was over.

The die was rolled and another turn continued. The Tau killed the last remaining Space Marine from the Elite squad, and then directed their firepower at the Bikers until all that remained was charred and burning Bikers. Finally the Tau caused several wounds on the HQ squad on the DA objective. The DA turn 6 saw nothing in range for the remaining 2 Space Marines from the HQ squad to shoot at. The die rolled once again and the game ended.

The Tau were uncharacteristically brutal leaving only 2 Space Marines of the loyal Death Angels standing after this brutal encounter. It was a good game, Sy was unfortunate at times, and especially when rolling a triple 1 for the terminators saves. However it was the Tau who systematically targeted the anti-tank weaponry and then troop mobility. Without these two assets the foot slogging Death Angels were at the whimsy of the mobility of the Tau and their ability to bring maximum firepower where it was needed.

A good game and thanks to Sy, it was very enjoyable, good luck with the rest of the League.

Control of Objectives

Ed – Tau 1

Sy – Dark Angels 0

The result means that there is now a tie between Ed and Mike Y with Mike having a game in hand. Phil, we need you to get on with your games to resolve this!

So, all in all, its getting very exciting. Hope there are some games tonight. I'm playing Mike H so that should move us on a bit. Ben, Joe, Phil and Paul- let me know if you are going to be able to get your games in- the leagues are getting tight and you will have a crucial role in deciding them.

Thanks as always to those that gave me reports- Ed, Chris, and Neil- it helps people know what went on.

If you play any games, please remember I need the overall result and how many VP each player scored.

Keep rolling high

 Tony