Here is the second batrep from the RTT. I was up against my long time friend and chief nemesis, Gareth. I've never beaten him in 5th edition and having just revamped my list I was really looking forward to the game. We are both very competitive so I knew it would be one of those epic matches that keep us highly focused.
The mission was killpoints which I was very glad to see as this store typically does not use them for their events. To me killpoints are a part of the balance for 5ed. Without them I tend to see MSU armies having a distinct advantage. On a side note one of the reasons why I like this store is because they tend to cater to players who invest time and effort into the appearance and background of their armies. You'll typically see some older guys there like myself who have been playing for over a decade and can bore you to death with a myriad of details and minutiae regarding our armies and why we play them.
So basically you had to beat your opponent by at least five killpoints to win, which is a tall order. At first vehicles were listed as giving up zero killpoints but after some discussion with the TOs they decided to include them as killpoints. I thought that was cool. Deployment was Spearhead (which doesn't really affect me since I run a DoA list).
Here is Gareth's list:
Wolf Lord/Thunderwolf mount, Saga of the Bear, thunderhammer, stormshield, wolftooth necklace, runic armor
3x Thunderwolves/3x stormshields, power fist, MotW, meltabombs
Wolf Lord/Thunderwolf mount, power fist, stormshield, wolftooth necklace, runic armor
3x Thunderwolves/3x stormshields, power fist, MotW
Rune Priest/JAWS & Living Lightning
5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher
5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher
5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher
5x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, meltagun - rhino
10x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, 2x meltagun - rhino
10x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, 2x meltagun - rhino
There was also a special rule for endless reserves. Any time one of your troop choices was destroyed the next turn it could re-enter play either coming in from your own long table edge or by outflanking. Personally I liked this rule and found it to be fun. If you recycled a troop choice then your opponent would score another killpoint if they destroyed it.
We rolled for the first turn and again I lost and had to go first. Gareth deployed in a very tight cluster using his rhinos and Thunderpups to screen his Long Fangs from my Vanguard.
I rolled for the Red Thirst and again none of my units get it. The sergeant with a power fist and infernus pistol receives the Angel's Blessing. The Sanguinor chooses the Bear Lord as his victim.
[b]1st Turn[/b]
Space Wolves shuffle their rhinos a bit so I will have to hit them on a 4+ if I can charge them and they pop smoke. That's it.
[b]2nd Turn[/b]
I roll for reserves. In comes everything except for the Stormraven. I drop the assault squad with the Priest attached behind the Space Wolf castle. The other assault squad comes in on the side able to target another rhino with their meltas. Also both assault squads are close enough together they will both benefit from the FNP bubble cast by the Priest. I can't position the Vanguard to get a charge on the Long Fangs since they are well screened so I decide to charge the doomed Bear Lord and his Thunderpup calvary... The idea is to inflict some wounds and weaken them so my heavy hitters will have an easier time taking them out. If the Vanguard can survive their initial assault then they will keep that unit tied up and provide cover to my other units on the table. The Sanguinor drops down behind some trees far enough away from the Space Wolf castle in hope that he wont draw any fire - I was planning to use him in concert with the Librarian and Honor Guard to stack their attacks in a later round assault.
Shooting sees one rhino destroyed and another wrecked. The Rune Priest will have to foot it the rest of the game. Not bad versus smoked vehicles plus some more cover. The Vanguard charges the Bear Lord and his thunderpups putting one wound on each of the thunderpups plus the sergeant is able to snipe one wound from the Bear Lord. In return all of the Vanguard except the sergeant dies and its a drawn combat. I don't think it could have gone any better, I've taken out two rhinos and weakened the Bear Lord and his posse, plus the Vanguard sergeant managed to survive.
Gareth's turn all the Grey Hunters move into position to shoot and charge my assault squads while the unengaged Wolf Lord and his thunderpups swing back to also charge my assault Marines. The Long Fangs focus fire on one squad of assault Marines but my cover saves are on fire and I only lose two to three. The Grey Hunters then blaze away with their bolt pistols and meltas but again my saves and FNP are really hot - I end up losing another couple of Marines. Gareth then charges in, even with all his combined attacks he cannot break either squad of assault Marines. The lone Vanguard sergeant is killed though so it's 2 killpoints to 1 killpoint in my favor. The Bear Lord and his posse consolidate towards the Sanguinor.
[b]3rd Turn[/b]
In comes my Stormraven and I fly it up beside the Sanguinor keeping it behind the thicket of trees. It fires on the last rhino and wrecks it. We go straight back into assault, again both of my assault squads are able to weather another round of close combat and not break, including the Priest, but they have taken lots of damage.
Gareth's turn the Bear Lord and his wounded posse move up towards the Stormraven and the Sanguinor. He just manages to wreck the Stormraven with one penetrating hit that got through my cover saves and wrecks it... Drat. The Bear Lord and his posse are just able to reach the Librarian and his Honor Guard moving through cover to assault. My Librarian succssfully casts both Unleash Rage and the Sanguine Sword. With two bonus attacks each (Sanguinor and the banner) I am able to kill off all the thunderpups plus put another wound on the Bear Lord. In return I lose one Honor Guard with a lightning claw and stormshield. The Bear Lord then passes his break check and armor saves due to No Retreat. Over on the other side of the battle only the sergeant survives that close combat and breaks, not falling back far enough to be able to regroup the next turn. The other assault squad is down to just two Marines and the other sergeant... They pass their break check and remain stuck in. The other Wolf Lord and his Thunderwolves then consolidate toward the treeline - note that each of these Thunderwolves have all lost a wound. The Priest also goes down this turn so I have 3 killpoints to Gareth's 4 killpoints. It's very close and I'm still in the thick of it with all my heavy hitters on the table in position to counter attack.
[b]4th Turn[/b]
The Sanguinor moves up to take out the Bear Lord while the Furioso drops back to shield the Librarian and Honor Guard but unfortunately fails his dangerous terrain test while shifting through the wrecked Stormraven and is immobilized. No shooting this turn and the Sanguinor kills the Bear Lord. So it's dead even on killpoints at 4 apiece.
Gareth moves up his other Thunder Lord and posse hoping to be able to charge through the woods into my Librarian and Honor Guard. Two squads of Long Fangs shoot through the woods at the Librarian and his Honor Guard but all the missiles bounce off their stormshields - nice ! The other squad just manages to wreck the Furioso with one penetrating hit. Gareth then blasts the lone assault Marine sergeant off the table with a squad of unengaged Grey Hunters. On to close combat - the remaining Thunder Lord and his thunderpups make it through the trees to assault my Librarian and his Honor Guard. Again the Librarian successfully casts both Unleash Rage and the Sanguine Sword. All the thunderpups are destroyed and the Librarian kills the Thunder Wolf in a fit of black rage.
That's pretty much it and time is called. There is a 5th turn with both of my assault squads coming back to outflank but no more killpoints are to be had. Gareth lost both Wolf Lords, both squads of Thunderwolves and three rhinos. I've lost both assault squads, the Priest, Vanguard, Stormraven and dreadnaught. So it's a draw since you needed to win by a margin of at least 5 killpoints.
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