White Scars & Space Wolves vs. Imperial Knights & Iron Hands

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

This was a 2250 point game using double FOC and allies. This was my first game versus Imperial Knights. I didn't want to specifically tailor my list to face them so this was a good test match to see if my existing list had enough of the right tools. You can take a look at my army list below and predict whether or not it can get the job done. I'm still working on my biker command squad (WIP) so my army list will eventually change to incorporate them.

 

Here is my army list:

 

White Scars - Primary Detachment I

Khan - Moondrakken /Warlord

 

5x biker Marine

2x Grav Gun - Combi-Grav (Sergeant)

 

5x biker Marine

2x Grav Gun - Combi-Grav (Sergeant)

 

White Scars - Primary Detachment II

Chapter Master

Bike - Artificer Armor - Shield Eternal - Thunderhammer

 

5x biker Marine

2x Grav Gun - Combi-Grav (Sergeant)

 

5x biker Marine

2x Grav Gun - Combi-Grav (Sergeant)

 

Stormraven (Heavy Support)

Twin-linked Assault Cannon - Twin-linked Multi-Melta - Hurricane Bolter Sponsons

 

Space Wolves - Allied Detachment I

Wolf Lord

Bike - Runic Armor - Stormshield - Wolf Tooth Necklace - Thunderhammer - Saga of the Bear

 

7x Grey Hunter

Plasmagun - Plasma pistol - Power axe - Wolf Standard

Drop Pod

 

7x Grey Hunter

Plasmagun - Plasma Pistol - Power Axe - Wolf Standard

Drop Pod

 

Space Wolves - Allied Detachment II

Rune Priest

Bike - Runic Armor - Level 2 Psyker (Forewarning & Prescience)

 

7x Grey Hunter

Plasmagun - Plasma Pistol - Power Axe - Wolf Standard

Drop Pod

 

Khan, the Chapter Master, Wolf Lord and Rune Priest all attach to one bike squad to form the deathstar.

 

 

Here is my opponent's army list to the best of my memory:

 

Imperial Knights Primary Detachment

Seneschal /Warlord

Thermal Cannon - Heavy Stubber

 

Paladin

Battle Cannon - 2x Heavy Stubber

 

Paladin

Battle Cannon - 2x Heavy Stubber

 

Iron Hands Allied Detachment

Librarian

Level 2 Psyker (Psychic Shriek & Terrify)

 

10x Tactical Marine

Missile Launcher

 

10x Tactical Marine

Missile Launcher

 

10x Sternguard

Drop Pod

 

Stormraven (Heavy Support)

Twin-Linked Assault Cannon - Twin-Linked Lascannon - Hurricane Bolter Spinsons

 

Stormtalon

Twin-Linked Assault Cannon - Missile Launcher

 

Fortifications

Aegis Defense Line w. Icarus Lascannon

 

 

Here is the mission:

 

Primary:

Big Guns Never Tire (5 objectives)

Each marker is worth one victory point. Three objectives were placed evenly across the center of the table and two were placed in my opponent's deployment zone. Note that I wanted to play it such that the Stormravens can't hold objectives while my opponent wanted to play it the other way... Let's see if it could have changed the final outcome.

 

Secondary:

The Relic

The Relic is worth three victory points.

 

Bonuses:

First Blood - Slay the Warlord - Line Breaker

 

Win Condition:

Whomever accumulates the most victory points wins.

 

Deployment:

Dawn of War

 

No Night Fight on first turn.

 

My opponent won the roll and chose to go second. It's always good to go second in objective based missions but on the other hand I'll need the jink saves for my bikers so I don't have to eat multiple pie plates to the face right off the bat !

 

My Deployment

I deployed my deathstar 12" up right in the center of the table.

 

The three remaining bike squads will all outflank. The Stormraven and drop pods are held in reserve.

 

Opponent's Deployment

My opponent broke all of his Marines into combat squads. One tactical squad would join the Librarian and man the Icarus lascannon while the other combat squad embarked into the Stormraven. The other two tactical combat squads were deployed to his left behind one of the Knights. His two flyers are held in reserve.

 

Scout Moves

I scout the deathstar 12" straight towards my opponent entering a multi level ruin, hiding the Khan and Rune Priest behind a wall.

 

My opponent rolled and seized the initiative then graciously declined it, which I greatly appreciated ! This was a competitive game for sure but a friendly match as well. : )

 

 

Pre-Game Analysis

My main goal is to kill all the enemy scoring units. Maybe a bike squad or Grey Hunter pack can grab an objective towards the end of the game. I'd have loved to had the biker command squad as those four prescienced grav guns would obviously be very strong versus the Knights. This will be a good learning experience versus Imperial Knights though and that's the main thing. I'm not worried about the Iron Hands but I'm sure their two flyers will be very annoying... Oh well.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

http://greenblowfly.blogspot.com/2014/04/40k-batrep-part-1-white-scars-space.html

 

More to follow soon !

[Axagoras]

Any reason you ally with space wolfs besides getting the rune priest, because a clan raukaan chapter master is just like the wolf lord but +1 wound and 2 attacks more (2 ccw) for like 15 points more, if the rune priest is what you want then its a tax you pay.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

I prefer the Wolf Lord since he always has Eternal Warrior and just as many attacks if not more plus he always hits on 3+ in melee due to the necklace. The Rune Priest is there as psychic defense and casting Divination plus he has runic armor as well. The Grey Hunters are the best troop in the game as far as I'm concerned - lots of special weapons, the standard and two base attacks.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Lots of pictures these first two turns... Enjoy them now because I became fully engrossed in the game after the second turn concluded

.

 

 

1st Turn - White Scars & Space Wolves

 

Two drop pods arrive. One lands to my right in front of the defense line and the other lands in area terrain further to the right with a clear firing lane behind the defense line. The Rune Priest successfully casts both Forewarning and Prescience, targeting the deathstar (of course... Duh). The first Grey Hunter pack disembarks to cutoff forward movement for one of the Paladins. The second pack disembarks into the area terrain. The deathstar moves just on the other side of the defense line cutting off another Knight.

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TWl2SoRsEzA/U1PglAc9B1I/AAAAAAAAIFs/bYftvPTgs2U/s640/14+-+3

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vgk4ZyCQK_k/U1PglDkYNHI/AAAAAAAAIFs/uWXk9-_Cyc0/s640/14+-+1

 

Shooting commences. The deathstar is able to strip several hull points from the closest Paladin and both Grey Hunter packs focus fire on one combat squad bringing them down to a couple Marines whom pass their morale check.

 

My opponent reminds me I can't charge since I scouted the deathstar... Heh. I'm right up in their face now though with multiple units.

 

 

1st Turn - Imperial Knights & Iron Hands

 

The Sternguard drop down taking a risky landing to cut off my Grey Hunters to my right but my opponent rolls a hit on the scatter. There's not much movement other than the drop pod. Note that the Iron Hands Sternguard split into combat squads when they disembark.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v2JuwXTt1X4/U1PglHlA4NI/AAAAAAAAIFs/5wIXnsZ2W30/s640/14+-+2

 

The Librarian successfully casts Terrify but my Rune Priest blocks it with his runic weapon.

 

Shooting then commences. I lose all of my White Scars bikers in the deathstar for First Blood to my opponent and the Wolf Lord takes a wound - I failed five LoS in a row... Dayum !!! The rest of my biker HQ are fully intact though.

 

Two Knights charge. One Grey Hunter pack is reduced to a single model and he passes his morale check. My biker HQ reduce the wounded Paladin to a single hull point then successfully Hit and Run out of combat dropping straight back.

 

 

2nd Turn - White Scars & Space Wolves

 

The third Grey Hunter pack arrives from reserve along with two more White Scars biker squads. The Grey Hunters land in the area terrain beside the other drop pod with minimal scatter. One biker squad pulls up one the far side of the area terrain well hidden from the Knights' line of sight. The other biker squad heads straight towards the Sternguard ready to blaze them hard. The Stormraven also arrives and moves in place to target rear armor on the Seneschal caught out of position.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MJITcv7Do_E/U1Pgy8j0mFI/AAAAAAAAIF8/KD3X673wXDQ/s640/14+-+2

 

The Rune Priest successfully casts Forewarning and Prescience but perils once rolling snake eyes... He's such a chump - heh.

 

The deathstar lines up to assault the Librarian along with his combat squad while the unengaged Grey Hunters line up for a charge on the closest Sternguard combat squad.

 

Shooting then commences. The deathstar refrains from shooting to make sure they'll have a two inch charge. The Stormraven manages to strip three hull points off the Seneschal. The biker squad and fresh Grey Hunter squad focus fire on the forward Sternguard combat squad—the wounded Sternguard suffer heavy losses then break off the table.

 

The deathstar charges the Librarian and combat squad blowing them off the table. The Paladin fails to inflict any wounds on the lone Grey Hunter... w00t !!! The other Grey Hunter pack charges the other Sternguard combat squad and locks horns.

 

 

At this point the Iron Hands have suffered heavy losses and two Knights have lost a significant number of hull points... Chipping away at the big stone !

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

2nd Turn - Imperial Knights & Iron Hands

My opponent's Stormraven arrives from reserve and makes a beeline towards mine. The Knights shift around to shoot and assault. His Marines hold their ground to rapid fire my Grey Hunters.

 

His Stormraven blows mine out of the air. Rapid firing fails to inflict any damage. My Wolf Lord and Chapter Master tank all the shooting from his Knights.

 

The Seneschal makes it into combat with the deathstar but his unengaged Paladin comes up short. The other Paladin crushes the lone Grey Hunter. The deathstar suffers no wound then destroys the Seneschal for Slay the Warlord and consolidate into base contact with the unmanned Icarus lascannon. One down, two to go !

 

 

3rd Turn - White Scars & Space Wolves

My last White Scars biker squad fails to arrive this turn and the Rune Priest successfully casts both his Divination spells.

 

The remaining Grey Hunters form up to charge the Iron Hands with one White Scars biker squad moving forward into the fray to lend their support. The other White Scars biker squad moves into position to target the wounded Paladin.

 

Khan fires the Icarus lascannon into the wounded Paladin - the shot slips through and penetrates taking the Paladin down to its last hull point. The free roaming White Scars biker squad fail to finish it off. The Grey Hunters fire their pistols into the remaining Sternguard along with drop pods and drop a couple but the enemy unit doesn't break.

 

The Deathstar charges one of the wounded Paladins and blows it apart. Again another Knight is laid low. The mega blast scatters onto the remaining Paladin striping a hull point. My Grey Hunters and one biker squad assault the remaining Sternguard wiping them all out. The Deathstar consolidates back into base contact with the Icarus lascannon while the Grey Hunters and White Scars spread out... aka Chinese fire drill.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/20/605163_sm-.jpg

 

One last Knight remaining now !

 

I think at this point the writing is on the wall. My apology if this is a bit anti-climatic.

 

My conclusion is my list is just fine as is. Melee is the quickest way to drop Knights. Three Knights suck up so many points the supporting units are rather weak overall.

 

Ave Imperator .

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

2nd Turn - Imperial Knights & Iron Hands

My opponent's Stormraven arrives from reserve and makes a beeline towards mine. The Knights shift around to shoot and assault. His Marines hold their ground to rapid fire my Grey Hunters.

 

His Stormraven blows mine out of the air. Rapid firing fails to inflict any damage. My Wolf Lord and Chapter Master tank all the shooting from his Knights.

 

The Seneschal makes it into combat with the deathstar but his unengaged Paladin comes up short. The other Paladin crushes the lone Grey Hunter. The deathstar suffers no wound then destroys the Seneschal for Slay the Warlord and consolidate into base contact with the unmanned Icarus lascannon. One down, two to go !

 

 

3rd Turn - White Scars & Space Wolves

My last White Scars biker squad fails to arrive this turn and the Rune Priest successfully casts both his Divination spells.

 

The remaining Grey Hunters form up to charge the Iron Hands with one White Scars biker squad moving forward into the fray to lend their support. The other White Scars biker squad moves into position to target the wounded Paladin.

 

Khan fires the Icarus lascannon into the wounded Paladin - the shot slips through and penetrates taking the Paladin down to its last hull point. The free roaming White Scars biker squad fail to finish it off. The Grey Hunters fire their pistols into the remaining Sternguard along with drop pods and drop a couple but the enemy unit doesn't break.

 

The Deathstar charges one of the wounded Paladins and blows it apart. Again another Knight is laid low. The mega blast scatters onto the remaining Paladin striping a hull point. My Grey Hunters and one biker squad assault the remaining Sternguard wiping them all out. The Deathstar consolidates back into base contact with the Icarus lascannon while the Grey Hunters and White Scars spread out... aka Chinese fire drill.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/20/605163_sm-.jpg

 

One last Knight remaining now !

 

I think at this point the writing is on the wall. My apology if this is a bit anti-climatic.

 

 

My conclusion is my list is just fine as is. Melee is the quickest way to drop Knights. Three Knights suck up so many points the supporting units are rather weak.

 

Ave Imperator .

[Paulochromis]

your last 2 posts are duplicates

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Fixed. Must have clicked on the wrong button.

[netminder69]

I'm surprised his Knight's chainsword didn't do anything in combat. A D-weapon with three attacks that whiff is a reason for the controlling player to cry. :)

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

The Rune Priest and Khan were causalities but that's it .