I guess I've fallen in love with Gav Thorpe and his writing. After finishing the book on Friday, and after lamenting that it's part one of a trilogy and I don't really know when the next book is coming out, I've come to realize a bunch of my favorite 40k books are made by him. Angels of Darkness, The Purging of Kadillus and lets not forget his novella The Lion. All great! And if you want to read Ravenwing, I would suggest starting with The Purging of Kadillus followed by Angels of Darkness. Even though Angels of Darkness came out years before The Purging of Kadillus, story wise The Purging of Kadillus happened before Angels of Darkness. But if you don't want to read that many books I still highly recommend Angels of Darkness. Anyway I'm now talking about something that has really nothing to do with the battle report! The full report after the break.
The Lists
Dark Angels 2000
My list wasn't as bad as my last list, but by no means a TSHFT OPEN contender.
HQ1: Warlord
- Company Master
- Terminator Armor
- Monster Slayer of Caliban
Yes I know the Mace of Redemption is better. But I wanted to roll on a chart, can you blame me?
Troop 1
- Tactical Squad x10 Marines
- Melta Gun
- Missile Launcher
- Veteran Sergeant
- Power Weapon
- Melta Bombs
- Rhino
Troop 2
- Tactical Squad x10 Marines
- Melta Gun
- Missile Launcher
- Veteran Sergeant
- Power Weapon
- Melta Bombs
- Rhino
Troop 3
- Tactical Squad x10 Marines
- Melta Gun
- Missile Launcher
- Veteran Sergeant
- Power Weapon
- Melta Bombs
- Rhino
Elite 1
- Deathwing Knights x10
- Perfidious Relic of the Unforgiven
Fast Attack 1
- Ravenwing Black Knights x9
- Ravenwing Grenade Launcher x3
- Melta Bombs
Heavy 1
- Whirlwind
- Storm Bolter
Heavy 2
- Devastators x5
- Missile Launcher with Flakk Missiles x4
That's my list. It should be right around 2000 points. When I first made the list I made it for 1850. My friend informed me that he made a 2000 point list and he refused to remove stuff. We then had about a 5 minute stand off because I didn't feel like adding anything to my list as well. Then I relented and added 3 more Ravenwing Black Knights just so we can get moving.
Chaos 2000 (Shock and Awe)
HQ 1: Warlord
- Chaos Lord
- Mark of Khorne
- Jump Pack
- Sigil of Corruption
- Gift of Mutation
- Axe of Blind Fury
- Veterans of the Long War
Troop 1
- Chaos Space Marines x9
- Bolt Pistol/Boltgun/Close Combat Weapon
- Plasma Gun x2
- Veterans of the Long War
- Aspiring Champion
- Power Fist
- Veterans of the Long War
- Chaos Rhino
Troop 2
- Chaos Space Marines x9
- Bolt Pistol/Boltgun/Close Combat Weapon
- Plasma Gun x2
- Veterans of the Long War
- Aspiring Champion
- Power Fist
- Veterans of the Long War
- Chaos Rhino
Troop 3
- Chaos Cultists x12
- Autopistol/CCW
- Cultist Champion
- Autopistol/CCW
Troop 4
- Chaos Cultists x12
- Autopistol/CCW
- Cultist Champion
- Autopistol/CCW
Elite 1
- Mutilator x2
- Mark of Nurgle
- Veterans of the Long War
Elite 2
- Mutilator x2
- Mark of Nurgle
- Veterans of the Long War
Elite 3
- Mutilator x2
- Mark of Nurgle
- Veterans of the Long War
Fast Attack 1
- Raptors x14
- Mark of Khorne
- Icon of Wrath
- Plasma Gunx2
- Veterans of the Long War
- Raptor Champion
- Lightning Claws
- Veterans of the Long War
Heavy 1
- Maulerfiend
- 2x Laster Tendrils
- 2x Powerfists
Heavy 2
- Maulerfiend
- 2x Laster Tendrils
- 2x Powerfists
Heavy 3
- Maulerfiend
- 2x Laster Tendrils
- 2x Powerfists
This time I retained my opponent's list so I wasn't just going off memory. And if you know Smurfalypse, unless he is playing in a very competitive environment (like a tournament) he tends to make unconventional lists. Regardless, it's great fun all around.
The Game
And this time we actually had time for me to take pictures!
Pre-Game Setup
We rolled up The Emperor's Will Mission and Dawn of War for deployment. Smurfalypse chose the table half were you can see the possessed (they were not deployed and were proxying for his raptors). He placed his objective on the road, while I placed my objective on the lowest level of the ruins closest to the camera.
After that we rolled for Warlord traits. I honestly can't remember what he got for his, I knew I should of written stuff down, though I do remember getting Courage of the Lion.
At this point I declared which units were going to do a Deathwing Assault. I chose to have my Company Master and the Deathwing Knights come in on turn one.
Smurfalypse rolled on his Boon table for his Lord and got the one that increases his Armor Save by 1.
Smurfalypse rolled on his Boon table for his Lord and got the one that increases his Armor Save by 1.
Side Note: after re-reading Deathwing Assault I have come to the realization that I cheated in my first game. With Deathwing Assault you declare which units are being held for Deathwing Assault and then they ALL come down on turn 1 or 2. You do not get to pick different turns for different squads. But you are able to declare Deathwing Assault units and then hold your other Terminators in normal reserves for a deep strike. I apologize to my first opponent for my poor reading comprehension.
Deployment
We rolled off and I had won. I chose to deploy first, hoping he wouldn't seize the initiative so when I scouted my Ravenwing Black Knights they wouldn't be left out in the cold. Fortunately he didn't. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture after deployment.
Smurfalypse deployed almost all of his units except for his Mutilators. The end of the first DA turn picture pretty much sums up both of our deployments.
Smurfalypse deployed almost all of his units except for his Mutilators. The end of the first DA turn picture pretty much sums up both of our deployments.
Turn 1
I had the Terminators deep strike to the left of the Ravenwing Bikers. The Rhinos on my right flank moved up, of course one of them got an immobilized result right off the bat. I then shot the Ravenwing knights into the Raptors, killing a lot of them, also getting off the Rad and Stasis Grenades. The Devastators shot into the Maulerfiends not doing much. And the whirlwind scatter off target.
 |
| End of DA Turn 1 |
Smurfalypse moved the remnants of the Raptors, with Chaos Lord and managed to get one Maulerfiend into melee with the Deathwing Knights. The Chaos Lord issued a Challenge and the Knight Master accepted. The Chaos Lord had something along the lines of 7 attacks, and I managed to fail a few of my 3++. Luckily we went simultaneously (because of the Stasis Grenade), unluckily I managed to do one wound which he promptly saved. He then rolled on his Boon Table and got "Reroll failed Armor Saves." This would bite me in the butt many times throughout this game. While a second Maulerfiend was very close to making it, it rolled very poorly on his charge range. The 3rd Maulerfiend charged the Ravenwing Black Knights and wiped them. Meanwhile one of the Chaos Space Marines got out of their Rhino and shot at the Black Knights. The other Squad stayed in their Rhino and blew up one of my Rhinos with Plasma Guns. The Cultist didn't move.
He rolled for reserves, two of his Mutilator units came on the board. One the Mutilator units scattered too close to the Deathwing Knight/Chaos Lord melee and had to roll on the Deep Strike Mishap Table. Fortunately for him they just went back into reserves. The other unit that came on scored a Hit! and stayed right next to the Deathwing Knight melee. He then moved his chaos cultists in the red water/lava pool (honestly I don't know what to call them) closer to the edge. The Chaos Space Marines that were out in the open went back into their Rhino and moved closer to the objective. The Chaos Space Marines that were in their Rhino destroyed my last remaining Rhino. The 3rd Maulerfiend charged my Tactical Squad. The Sergeant managed to destroy it with a Melta-Bomb. The Deathwing Knight/Chaos Lord melee continued. I managed to wreck one of the Maulerfiends with glancing hits. The Challenge continued. I rolled a 6 for the Monster Slayer of Caliban, so it had Insta-Death. The Chaos Lord once again got around 7 attacks. He managed to kill my Company Master, while I only managed to get one wound on him. And since The Monster Slayer of Caliban is still only AP3, he got to use his 2+, which he made with a re-roll. The Lord then rolled on the Boon Table and got +1 Attack. Which was really overkill at this point.
The Cultists were not able to rally and ran off the board. The remaining Mutilators came on the board. The Mutilators that came on Turn 2 moved closer to the Deathwing Knight melee, while the other two units Deep Striked into position to charge Tactical Marines next turn. The mobile Chaos Rhino moved over his objective. The Chaos Lord took out some more Deathwing Knights while they tried to wound the Lord and the Maulerfiend.
In the last Tactical Squad not in combat the Missile Launcher Marine stayed put while the Melta-Gunner got into better position. They opened up on the closest Chaos Space Marine Squad causing 2 deaths, the Plasma-Gunners. The Devastators and Whirlwind opened up on the other Chaos Space Marine Squad, causing them to break. The Mutilators got all but the Sergeant in my other Tactical Squad.
The fleeing Chaos Space Marine Squad ran off the board.The Chaos Lord and Maulerfiend moved closer to my devastators. The Cultists moved out of the ruins to claim the objective. The last Rhino moved up to give more cover to the Cultists. The last Chaos Space Marines opened up on my Tactical Squad, causing a few wounds and no casualties. The Mutilators that wiped my Tactical Squad in the middle of the crater charged my two marines and wiped them. While this happened the other Mutilators in combat with a lone Sergeant finally took him out, with the help of the Maulerfiend. In reality he only did this to get closer to my Devastators with the remaining Maulerfiend.
The Chaos Lord got up behind the Devastators and charged. The Last Chaos Space Marine made a break for the objective. The Lord obliterated the Devastators, they never stood a chance.
And just like last turn we managed to roll for another turn!
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 1 |
Turn 2
I moved the Marines from the destroyed Rhino closer to the Maulerfiend that was in combat with the Black Knights, I wanted to get into Melta-Gun range. While this sounded good at the time, they didn't manage to do anything to it. My last Rhino moved up taking pop shots at the closest Chaos Rhino to them. The Marines stuck in the immobilized Rhino got out and started moving to the front of the ruins. The Whirlwind took shots at the Chaos Space Marines out in the open killing a few. The Devastators shot at the Maulerfiend in the middle doing a hull point to it. The Chaos Lord once again challenged and my Company Master accepted. I rolled a 1 for the Monster Slayer of Caliban, so it was just a regular power weapon. I caused a few wounds and since he had a 2+ AND a re-roll he made them all. He once again got around 7 attacks and managed to do one wound. I used smite to try and take down the Maulerfiend, but he made his invulnerable save.
 |
| End of DA Turn 2 |
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 2 |
Turn 3
All the Tactical Squads re-positioned them selves so they would get some sort of cover save versus the roaming Plasma Guns. They also fired at the lead rhino not doing anything. Making the Devastators use their missile launchers take it out. The Deathwing Knight melee now split. A few of the knights trying to wound the Chaos Lord while the rest managed to do a hull point to the remaining Maulerfiend. The Whirlwind opened up on the Cultists in the red water/lava. The lost a lot and failed their moral save and started running off the board.
 |
| End of DA Turn 3 |
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 3 |
Turn 4
The Tactical Marines on the far side moved so they could get into Rapid Fire range of the Chaos Space Marines in the wreckage of their Rhino. The Chaos Space Marines made all of their saves. The Devastators also took shots there, but I had missed with 2 (rolling a 2 on a non Signumed model). The Chaos Space Marines made all their cover saves. The Whirlwind opened up on the Cultists in the ruins, making them start to flee. The Deathwing Knights lost the melee with the Mutilators/Chaos Lord/Maulerfiend.
 |
| End of DA Turn 4 |
The Chaos Lord, Mutilators and last Maulerfiend moved closer to the ruins with the Devastators in them. The only mobile Rhino on the board moved up a little and unloaded its cargo towards my Tactical Squad that shot on their traitorous brethren. The Mutilators got into a better position to charge my remaining Tactical Squads. The Chaos Space Marines released hell on my Tactical Squad killing all but the heavy weapon Marine and the Melta-Gunner. The Mutilators made combat, wiping one squad and almost getting the last. Oh and the Cultists rallied at the beginning of the turn.
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 4 |
Turn 5
In the last Tactical Squad not in combat the Missile Launcher Marine stayed put while the Melta-Gunner got into better position. They opened up on the closest Chaos Space Marine Squad causing 2 deaths, the Plasma-Gunners. The Devastators and Whirlwind opened up on the other Chaos Space Marine Squad, causing them to break. The Mutilators got all but the Sergeant in my other Tactical Squad.
 |
| End of DA Turn 5 |
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 5 |
We rolled to see if the game continued, which it did.
Turn 6
The Devastators tried in vain to kill the few Chaos Space Marines that remained. They managed to kill all but one. The Whirlwind also shot at the Cultists, making them take enough casualties to break and run.
 |
| End of DA Turn 6 |
 |
| End of Chaos Turn 6 |
Turn 7
With only my Whirlwind left I tried desperately to take out the last Chaos Space Marine. He promptly made his 3+.
He then moved the last Marine onto the objective and called it quits.
 |
| End of Game |
The Results
Primary Objectives:
Chaos - 1
Dark Angels - 0
Secondary Objectives:
Chaos - First Blood, Slay the Warlord, Linebreaker
Dark Angels - None
Total:
Chaos - 6
Dark Angels - 0
Final Thoughts
This was a really, REALLY, bloody game. While Smurfalypse did have a lot more on the table, it wasn't much. Though I did only have a Whirlwind and an immobilized Rhino. If he had cared, he would of tabled me. That 2+ with a re-roll on his lord really helped him with the Deathwing Knight melee. If he hadn't had that it might of been a different story and I might of irked out Slay the Warlord. Smurfalypse is also notorious for making any 5++ ever. Those Maulerfiends should of died earlier, but he kept making those saves. But to be honest he did only remember to do his "It Will Not Die" roll all except for once, which he did repair a hull point. So who knows if what I said was true.
Onto the Knights. I really liked how the Deathwing Knights tar pitted a good half of his army points wise. I definitely will continue to bring them with me. Although Smurfalypse did bring up a good point, other than against Chaos, they are only AP4. So they are going to be kind of bad versus a Space Marine Hamminator squad. Which is true, you have to hope you cause enough wounds so he fails some armor save before the Thunderhammers strike. However, I'm probably going to start taking some advice from Ronin_eX and start taking Belial with TH/SS in that unit. Give it a little extra umph. The Ravenwing Black Knights once again died really early in the game. That's probably due to the facts that I'm very inexperienced in using bikers, and they are a really scary unit that Smurfalypse wanted off the board. But I just can't get over how much I like them. While they aren't going to be in my lists always, like the Deathwing Knights are probably going to be, I am going to try and take them as much as possible.
The Monster Slayer of Caliban. Man what a terrible weapon. I had heard people talking bad about it and figured it couldn't be that bad. You get to roll on a cool chart, and it gets Insta-Death! Oh man was I wrong. It is over costed for what it does. Now if they changed it so 1-2 was a normal power sword; 3-5 +1 strength power sword; and then made a 6 +1 strength, Insta-Death AP2. Then, and only then, would it justify the 15 point price difference from the Mace of Redemption. Which will continue to be a clear winner. How can you say no to AP3, +3 Strength, with Bane of the Traitor and Blind? It's ridiculous! I know I won't be making that same mistake again.
The rest of my army performed as much as I thought it did. The Whirlwind making up more than its cost. I probably won't get over the fact they lowered this thing's points. The only thing I'm going to change with my Tactical Squads is probably take Plasma Guns instead of Melta-Guns. I don't like the chance of suicide on my models, but the decline of heavy armor and the rise of foot sloggers. I'm going to have to make that change. 12" is just too close for a somewhat shooty squad. And the performance of Smurfalypse's Plasma Guns in this game kind of sealed that deal.
With that said, it was a very enjoyable game. Probably one of the closest games I've had versus Smurfalypse. I have a new list in my head involving the Standard of Fortitude that I want to get on paper, but I'm waiting for Army Builder to update. It's just so much easier to get a list written up with it. I'm also trying to stay away from the Standard of Devastation. There are already so many people trying to use this, as with the list I linked earlier. Don't get me wrong, the Standard of Devastation is brutal and really good. I just don't want to jump on that bandwagon.
Onto the Knights. I really liked how the Deathwing Knights tar pitted a good half of his army points wise. I definitely will continue to bring them with me. Although Smurfalypse did bring up a good point, other than against Chaos, they are only AP4. So they are going to be kind of bad versus a Space Marine Hamminator squad. Which is true, you have to hope you cause enough wounds so he fails some armor save before the Thunderhammers strike. However, I'm probably going to start taking some advice from Ronin_eX and start taking Belial with TH/SS in that unit. Give it a little extra umph. The Ravenwing Black Knights once again died really early in the game. That's probably due to the facts that I'm very inexperienced in using bikers, and they are a really scary unit that Smurfalypse wanted off the board. But I just can't get over how much I like them. While they aren't going to be in my lists always, like the Deathwing Knights are probably going to be, I am going to try and take them as much as possible.
The Monster Slayer of Caliban. Man what a terrible weapon. I had heard people talking bad about it and figured it couldn't be that bad. You get to roll on a cool chart, and it gets Insta-Death! Oh man was I wrong. It is over costed for what it does. Now if they changed it so 1-2 was a normal power sword; 3-5 +1 strength power sword; and then made a 6 +1 strength, Insta-Death AP2. Then, and only then, would it justify the 15 point price difference from the Mace of Redemption. Which will continue to be a clear winner. How can you say no to AP3, +3 Strength, with Bane of the Traitor and Blind? It's ridiculous! I know I won't be making that same mistake again.
The rest of my army performed as much as I thought it did. The Whirlwind making up more than its cost. I probably won't get over the fact they lowered this thing's points. The only thing I'm going to change with my Tactical Squads is probably take Plasma Guns instead of Melta-Guns. I don't like the chance of suicide on my models, but the decline of heavy armor and the rise of foot sloggers. I'm going to have to make that change. 12" is just too close for a somewhat shooty squad. And the performance of Smurfalypse's Plasma Guns in this game kind of sealed that deal.
With that said, it was a very enjoyable game. Probably one of the closest games I've had versus Smurfalypse. I have a new list in my head involving the Standard of Fortitude that I want to get on paper, but I'm waiting for Army Builder to update. It's just so much easier to get a list written up with it. I'm also trying to stay away from the Standard of Devastation. There are already so many people trying to use this, as with the list I linked earlier. Don't get me wrong, the Standard of Devastation is brutal and really good. I just don't want to jump on that bandwagon.
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