DA Battle Reports and Tourney Shenanigans (20/09/2017)

[Chaplain Lucifer]

As usual, a top notch report!

Thanks for sharing!

[Solrac]

Nice write up solrac. Three of any flyer is super strong in this edition and dark talon is a great flyer. I have also found one shroud is plenty and that techmarines are a waste. You should use a culexus but I understand you want to keep it pure dark angels. Your opponents lists didn't seem too ultra optimized and those tables didn't seem to have too much in the way of line of sight blocking terrain (maybe I can't tell from the pictures). It really makes such a huge difference to have at least 2 good tall pieces in middle and 2-4 other ones in corners. Changes the game a lot.

 

I'm glad your not running into some of the disgusting lists that we get over here in North America. Just check Nova and you will see what I mean lol

 

I'm sure we will see some of those list down under soon. Australia is always a bit behind the eight ball in terms of meta.

 

There were some alright LOS pieces on some of the tables but a lot of the tournament scene down here hasn't adjusted to what 8th games need in terms of terrain.

 

I'll do another write up after the tournament this weekend, stay tuned!

[oldmanlee]

Awsome report as usual solrac

Love your list I've been running 3 dark talons in my ravenwing and they never fail to impress looking foward to your next report

[Solrac]

Hey guys,

So hasn't been long since my last tournament report and I have another one for you!

I've been a very busy man!

Last weekend I attended a local tournament Warzone Central Coast. My friend Andrew TOing for his channel (that he had a break from) he is going to start building the hype back up in my local area and get his channel ramping up.

It was a small Tournament of 20 people using ITC missions but had an absolute blast.

My list was the same as last weekend's tournament:

9 Command Points (Battalion, Spearhead, Airwing, Azrael)

Battalion Detachment

HQ

Azrael (Warlord)

Primaris Lieutenant

Power Sword

Bolt Pistol

TROOPS

Scout Squad

10 Scouts

Boltguns

Scout Squad

10 Scouts

Boltguns

Heavy Bolter

Scout Squad

10 Scouts

Sniper Rifles

Missile Launcher

FAST ATTACK

Dark Shroud

Assault Cannon

Spearhead Detachment

HQ

Techmarine

Power Axe

Servo Arm

Bolt Pistol

HEAVY SUPPORT

Predator

Twin Lascannon

2x Lascannon

Predator

Twin Lascannon

2x Lascannon

Predator

Twin Lascannon

2x Lascannon

Airwing Detachment

FLYERS

Dark Talon

Dark Talon

Dark Talon

Game 1 vs Dark Angels/Sisters of Battle/Astra Militarum

My opponents list:

HQ

Azrael

Techmarine

ELITES

Relic Whirlwind Scorpius

Relic Whirlwind Scorpius

Relic Whirlwind Scorpius

(5) Ratling Snipers

(5) Ratling Snipers

(5) Ratling Snipers

FAST ATTACK

Dark Shroud

Heavy Bolter

Dark Shroud

Heavy Bolter

(5) Dominion Squad

Meltagun

(5) Dominion Squad

Meltagun

DEDICATED TRANSPORT

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Razorback

Twin Assault Cannon

Mission was Retrieval, Dawn of War Deployment

My opponent was my direct rival for the ITC rankings! Currently sitting at number 2 for Dark Angels global ranking and number 1 for south pacific rankings whilst I am sitting a number 3 and 2 respectively. This game was gonna be a grudge match.

We essentially had the same list with a different twist. Whilst mine opts for more heavy weapons and hard hitting single shots, his list goes for massive weight of dice. The Relic Scorpius are just insane (a little broken if you ask me). For the cost of just over a predator you get 48" Heavy 3D3 S6 AP-2 D2 no LOS required that can shoot twice if they don't move. This means each whirlwind will pump out 6D3 shots with re-rolls.

I won first turn and flew my Dark Talons forward to try and take out a couple of the Scorpius. I knew if I hovered them on my turn and held them back they would just get torn to shreds the following turn. Two Dark Talons went to the left whilst a lone one went to the right. He hid the Scorpius out of LOS very well so it was up to the Dark Talons to take them out. I manage to kill one outright and cripple another which I was happy about. The rest of my shooting I put the wounds on a couple of Razorbacks. My scouts also killed a few Sisters and a squad of Ratlings.

He retunred fire downing all of my Dark Talons with a massive amount of dice with re-rolls. From there it was just a shooting match. I'd take out a couple of Razorbacks and he put a few wounds on my Predators. I was scoring a lot of Maelstrom, getting lucky with my rolls.

The game ended in a draw when his last sisters squad made it into my deployment zone fore linebreaker. He was an all round top bloke and fantastic player to play against.

Dark Angels Draw 9 - 9

Game 2 vs Ultramarines

My opponents list:

LORD OF WAR

Guilliman

HQ

Lieutenant

Power Sword

Lieutenant

Power Sword

TROOPS

(5) Scouts

Sniper Rifles

(5) Scouts

Boltguns

(5) Scouts

Boltguns

ELITE

Primaris Ancient

Bolt Rifle

Primaris Ancient

Bolt Rifle

HEAVY SUPPORT

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Missile Launcher

Cherub

Mission was No Mercy, Vanguard Strike Deployment

My opponent was again my good friend and head honcho of our Tournament Club. The board was actually very difficult to play on as ITC had ruled that all bottom levels of Ruins are Line of Sight blocking even if they have open windows and doors etc.

He got first turn but I had deployed very well and he could only see one of my Dark Talons which he detroyed. He moved around the rest of his missile launcher squads to get LOS on me for next turn.

My Bolter Scouts went into the centre of the board to grab maelstrom points on an objective whilst my other 10 man bolter squad came out of a ruin and killed his 5 man bolter squad. My Sniper scouts climbed up a level of the ruin and opened fire on one of the Ancients doing a couple of wounds. My Dark Talons dropped bombs on some missile launcher squads killing 2 and 3 marines respectively and got bad rolls with his banner meaning his missile marines couldn't shoot as they died. My Dark Talons did some heavy damage to a few Dev more dev squads, taking fire here or there from missile launchers as they killed them. My castle of predators, characters and shrouds shuffled left to get LOS on some more marines and the lascannons killed quite a few more.

In his retaliation he killed both my flyers however one of them exploded and did heavy damage to 6 squads around it. He fired the rest of his missiles at my Predators but I made 10 consecutive 4++ saves.

From here it was a turkey shoot. The Snipers killed one of the Ancients. Lascannon fore whittled down some more squads whilst my Scouts in the Centre popped out of hiding, killed a few more marines and charged a squad to tie them up.

As his marines were dying, Guilliman made a bee line to my lines. After I had killed everythign except an ancient, a Lieutenant, Guiliman (now on 4 wounds thanks to the Snipers) and a Scout squad hiding in the corner, Guilliman finally charged into 2 of my Predators but failed to kill them due to my 4++ saves. I backed up my two tanks and opened fire on him with my 3rd Predator and Scouts, killing Guilliman.

Guilliman got back up, charged and killed my Dark Shroud and then in my return fire I killed Guilliman and his two other characters for the win.

Dark Angels win 19 - 0

Game 3 vs Raven Guard

My opponents list:

HQ

Chapter Master (spent 3 command points)

Jump Pack

TROOPS

(7) Scout Squad

2x Sniper Rifles

ELITES

(2) Veteran Squad

Boltguns

(2) Veteran Squad

Boltguns

Relic Contemptor Mortis

2x Twin Autocannon

Relic Contemptor Mortis

2x Twin Autocannon

FLYERS

Storm Raven

Twin Assault Cannon

Twin Multi Melta

Stormsrike Missiles

2x Hurricane Bolters

Storm Raven

Twin Assault Cannon

Twin Multi Melta

Stormsrike Missiles

2x Hurricane Bolters

Storm Raven

Twin Assault Cannon

Twin Multi Melta

Stormsrike Missiles

2x Hurricane Bolters

Xiphon Interceptor

2x Twin Lascannon

Rocket Pod

Xiphon Interceptor

2x Twin Lascannon

Rocket Pod

Mission was The Scouring, Search and Destroy Deployment

This list didn't look too bad however, the odds were against me as the table was horridly set up for my match up. The deployment type meant I couldn't really get far out of range of his guns and I had no LOS blocking terrain on my side of the board. And to top it all off, I didn't get first turn

His entire army surged forward to get in range to my castle. His Chapter master dropped in range of the 3 Storm Ravens and he let loose. When the dust settled he had destroyed my Dark Shroud and two of my predators and a couple of Scouts. If I didn't do something to even it up I was going to lose.

So I went for it. I attempted to table him. As the Flyers don't count as units on the table (and the vets were in the ravens so they didn't count either), all I had to do was kill 2 dreadnoughts, the Chapter Master and the Scouts. Easy right?

My Dark talons surged forward. One flew over the Scouts, dropped a bomb killing two. Another Drak Talon flew over the Chapter Master, dropping a bomb and causing a mortal wound. I placed that Dark Talon just outside an inch of the Chapter Master but within rapid fire of one of the dreadnoughts. The Last Dark Talon flew over a Dreadnought, dropping a bomb for no damage, to get into Rapid Fire range of both Dreads.

My Scout Snipers killed his Chapter Master doing two mortal wounds and then he failed two saves for the kill. Good start. The Dark Talon that was next to the Chapter Master opened up on the closest Dreadnought getting him down to 6 wounds. And then, my luck ran out. The Talon that was tasked with killing the Scouts failed to do so with the Hurricanes and then didn't hit one of the Dreadnoughts with it's Rift Cannon. The Other Dark Talon got the wounded Dreadnought down to 1 wound and my last Predator only did 5 wounds to the other Dreadnought.

From here it was a downward slope on my way to getting tabled as next turn I lost my Predator and a few more of my Scouts.

Dark Angels Loss 0- 19

Game 4 vs Chaos Space Marines/Renegade Knights

My opponents list:

HQ

Chaos Lord

Bike

Fleshmetal Exoskeleton (Relic)

Chaos Lord

Bolt Pistol

Chainsword

Sorceror

Jump Pack

FAST ATTACK

(3) Bike Squad

2x Plasma Gun

Combi Plasma

(3) Bike Squad

2x Plasma Gun

Combi Plasma

(3) Bike Squad

2x Plasma Gun

Combi Plasma

(5) Raptors

(5) Raptors

(5) Raptors

HEAVY SUPPORT

(5) Havocs

4x Lascannon

(5) Havocs

4x Autocannons

Predator

Twin Lascannon

2x Lascannon

LORD OF WAR

Renegade Knight

Gatling Cannon

Reaper Chainsword

Mission was Big Guns Never Tire, Front-line Assault Deployment

I lost the roll off to go first. The Autocannon Alpha Legion Havocs infiltrated on my right but did no damage. THe Knight surged forward. The Lascannon Havocs, Knight and Predator did 5 wounds on one of my predators combined. Two Bike squdas zoomed up and plinked a couple of wounds off another Predator. All 3 Raptor units came down. two failed the charge whilst the 3rd made it into my Sniper Scouts after they Warp Timed from the Sorceror but got lucky and killed 2 in overwatch. The Remaining Raptors killed a Scout. One of the bike squads made it in to another Scout squad but only killed two of them. My Scouts managed to kill them in close combat when I got to attack thanks to Azrael and the Lieutenants re-rolls.

My counter attack hit hard. The Dark Talons flew forward. One flying top the left flan, dropped a bomb on some Raptros, killing 4. The Rift Cannon opened up on the Knight doing 4 wounds and the Hurricanes killed a Lascannon Havoc. The other two Dark Talons went right, one of them bombing Raptors and killed two. The Hurricanes finished the Raptor squad and killed a biker whilst both rift cannons decimated the bike squad on his deployment holding an objective. The Predators opened fire after some repairs one of them killing the Chaos Predator and the other two dropping the Knight to 10 wounds. The Sniper Scouts scaled the building and sniped the remaining Raptor on the left flank.

Turn 2 saw the bikers assault more scouts, the Sorcerer death hexed a Predator so it couldn't use Invulnerable saves and assaulted the scouts but didn't kill any. The knight made it into combat with the death hexed Predator but took 4 wounds from overwatching Lascannons. The Knight then made short work of the Predator. Nothing else in his army managed to do any damage and he seemed to be ignoring the Dark Talons.

The next turn was his death sentence. The Knight was blow up by my predators. One of the Dark Talons doubled back and bombed the Autocannon havocs then gunned them down. The two other Talons flew toward the Lascanon Havocs and lords, killing the biker Lord with Rift Cannons and the Havocs with Bolter shots. All my characters charged the remaining bikers and cleaned them up.

The following turn the two dark talons hovered and killed the reaminaing lord and my sniper scouts fled combat so the Lascannon Predators could put Lasers int othe Sorceror, tabling him Turn 3.

Dark Angels win 19 - 0

Game 5 vs Raven Guard

My opponents list:

HQ

Kaavian Shrike

Librarian

Jump Pack

Force Sword

Lieutenant

Chainsword

Bolt Pistol

Captain

Chainsword

Botl Pistol

TROOPS

(5) Scouts

(5) Scouts

(5) Scouts

Sniper Rifles

ELITES

(3) Centurion Assault Squad

6x Melta Gun

3x Hurricane Bolter

(7) Vanguard Veterans

Jump Packs

2x Storm Shield

Power Fist

(7) Vanguard Veterans

Jump Packs

2x Storm Shield

Power Fist

Culexus Assassin

Culexus Assassin

HEAVY SUPPORT

(5) Devastator Squad

2x Lascannon

2x Missile Launcher

(5) Devastator Squad

2x Lascannon

2x Missile Launcher

(5) Devastator Squad

2x Heavy Bolter

2x Plasma Cannon

(5) Devastator Squad

4x Grav Cannons

Mission was Secure and Control, Spearhead Assault Deployment

I'd never faced a full infantry list before and was a little concerned with all the deep strikers/infiltrators. He put the Centurions, Grav Cannon Devastators and the Librarian into the shadows for infiltrating, both Culexus infiltrating and Shrike with one of the Vanguard squads in deep strike reserve.

I deployed very conservatively, combat squading my scouts for area denial to prevent my opponent from starting too close. The Predators had a good field of view to the three Devastator teams in the big ruin in the centre of his deployment. Another unit of Vanguard were also hunkered down here for a counter attack and the Devs were supported by the Captain and Lieutenant.

I rolled successfully to go first and he didn't seize so then he placed his infililtrating units in a ruin in the Centre of the board.

I knew I had to cripple his infantry so I could start advancing with my castle in the later stages of the game. One of my Dark Talons flew forward to the centre ruin and dropped a bomb on the Grav Devastators killing 4 then gunned down a couple of Scouts and the Rift Cannon insta killed a Centurion and put two mortal wounds on another. The other two Dark Talons made a bee line fore the centre ruined. One dropped a bomb on the Vanguard killing 3, the other couldn't drop his bomb. The Dark Talons killed all the Vanguard and killed a couple of models from each of the Lascannon/Missile Dev squads. The rest of my army fired at what it could see killing another Lascannon marine and the last of the Grav Devastator squad (the -1 to hit to all infantry when more than 12" away was working pretty well for him).

His counter attack was swift but a little lacklustre. Shrike came down with the Vanguard next to the dual Dark Talons. The Vanguard failed the charge and Shrike only did 4 wounds to the other. The Centurions and Devastator Squads left alive killed the Dark Talon that was harrassing them. A Culexus came on on my right flank and one on my left but didn't do any damage and failed their charges.

I was racking up some good Maelstrom points by this stage so started the offensive. One of the Dark Talons flew over the Vanguard and killed 3 with his bomb then shot and killed another 3. The other Dark Talon went the other way and finished off the scouts and the Centurion with the aid of one of the Predators as they had now moved forward. One of the Predators finished off the Lascannon Dev team and the other finished off the last Vanguard Vet. My characters all charged a Culexus and managed to kill him with solid rolls from Azrael.

From here I was rounding up kills and grabbing points. One of the Dark Talons killed Shrike by shooting him with all weapons at point blank range and eventually tabled him Turn 4.

Dark Angels win 19 - 0.

Conclusion

I feel have got a good handle on my list so far and enjoying how it plays. I still find that some deployments can really put me off and obviously sometimes going second can be a death sentence if your opponent does have a lot of firepower even with the great defensive combo that we have.

Now I have played this list a bit more I know I can sacrifice 5 scouts and the Techmarine to add in Ezekiel for some Psychic defense. The Techmarine is good in a pinch but most of the time if your opponent is gonna nuke a vehicle at a time he really doesn't do anything. At least with Ezekiel I can debuff/buff and have my own shot at doing some Smites.

This will be my last Tournament until November where I will go to the NSW Masters event. I am going to a 200 power per player apocalypse event at my local Games Workshop this Sunday so hoping to take photos and putting up a batrep for a more fun battle report.

Happy gaming guys and hope you enjoyed the photos (didn't realise most of my photos were of the second game, sorry!).

Edited September 20, 2017 by Solrac

[JJD]

Thanks again for a good read and as ever the pictures really help.

 

I will be interested to see what you do with Zeek.

[Helycon]

Seems like it was a pretty good day.

 

How did Gulliman charge your Dark Talon btw? Was it in hover mode?

[Captain_Krash]

Really awesome. I take it it's only power armor around your parts geeeze

 

Krash

[Solrac]

Seems like it was a pretty good day.

 

How did Gulliman charge your Dark Talon btw? Was it in hover mode?

 

He didn't? Just had a read through the second game and can't see where I wrote he charged my Talon. He charged my Predators and then my Dark Shroud before he died.

[Helycon]

 

 

Seems like it was a pretty good day.

 

How did Gulliman charge your Dark Talon btw? Was it in hover mode?

He didn't? Just had a read through the second game and can't see where I wrote he charged my Talon. He charged my Predators and then my Dark Shroud before he died.

I must have mixed the shroud and talon in my head, apologies!

[oldmanlee]

I might have to steal your list solrac

Also could this list work without the scouts as in the 15+yrs I've owned dark angels I don't have any scouts at all odd realy that I've never bought any lol

[sneakybamsen]

You cannot not bring bubble wrap if you want to be competitive. Conscripts offer the most bang for the buck, scouts are useable, but tacticals for wrapping are too expensive. You burn too many points and you do not have "infiltrate" to keep deep strikers further away. It all depends how competitive you want to be. For casual gaming this is over the top, I'd say. For tournaments, go ahead, but without good wrapping it's going to struggle. Some suggest this build with tacticals including heavy weapons. But that's just even more points removed from the castle itself.

[Chmur]

Hello Solrac!

 

Thanks for the reports, enjoying them very much. As I am facing my first tournament at the end of October, was trying to come up with a list. As my test games were unsuccessfull, I have turned to internet and found your lists and reports here.

 

I am currently looking at one of your earlier lists, mainly because the tournament places a Detachment and Spam limitations, ie 2 Detachments max and only 2 identical units, exception for Troops (3) and Dedicated transports (any). The below list fits the bill, I will just swap the Tactical squad for Scouts with Snipers.

 

My question is, is there something you would change on the list, knowing the 2-of limitation? I have access to all the models below and could possibly borrow another Dark Talon / Nephilim. I can change most of Razorbacks and of course any heavy weapons.

 

I am not really that experienced player, so I reckon I have better chances with tighter list than something homebrew I can come up with, but are there any basic tips you can give me that were not mentioned in your Batreps?

 

2000pts, 10 Command Points

Battalion Detachment 1

HQ
Azrael

Primaris Lieutenant
Bolt Pistol
Power Sword

TROOPS
Tactical Squad
5x Space Marines
Grav Cannon
Combi-Flamer

Tactical Squad
5x Space Marines
Grav Cannon
Combi-Flamer

Tactical Squad
5x Space Marines
Meltagun
Combi-Melta

FAST ATTACK
Dark Shroud
Assault Cannon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Razorback
Twin Assault Cannon
Storm Bolter

Razorback
Twin Assault Cannon
Storm Bolter

Razorback
Twin Assault Cannon
Storm Bolter

Battalion Detachment 2

HQ
Techmarine on Bike
Power Axe
Servo Arm
Twin Bolter

Company Master
Power Axe
Storm Bolter

TROOPS
Tactical Squad
5x Space Marines
Lascannon

Scout Squad
5x Scouts
4x Bolters
Heavy Bolter

Scout Squad
5x Scouts
4x Bolters
Heavy Bolter

FLYERS
Dark Talon

HEAVY SUPPORT
Predator
Twin Lacannon
2x Lascannon

Predator
Twin Lacannon
2x Lascannon

 

Thank you!

 

Update: The TOs just leaked some information about lists, as this is supposed to be semi-competetive tournament and no part of series etc. They hinted that superheavies are definitely out there, from 4 lists so far received (deadline in 2 weeks) there is a Pylon, Falchion, Skull lord and "maybe a titan".

Edited September 29, 2017 by Chmur

[sneakybamsen]

That list has 4 tactical squads, not 3. Just an error in typing?

 

Looks decent enough to me, though I'm not certain if the company master will grant much to your castle. I'd rather bring something that can help vs psychic than him.

[Chmur]

That list has 4 tactical squads, not 3. Just an error in typing?

 

Looks decent enough to me, though I'm not certain if the company master will grant much to your castle. I'd rather bring something that can help vs psychic than him.

 

That is Solrac's list copy pasted - I will swap that for either Sniper Scouts or Conscripts for better wrap.

 

The concern about psychics is real, possibly a Librarian would be good choice.

Edited September 29, 2017 by Chmur

[Solrac]

Maybe take out a Razorback and find the points for a second Dark Talon? Probably the only thing I would change with that limitation. I would also prefer Ezekiel or Librarian over the Company Master. Psychic defense is very worth it.

[sneakybamsen]

For psychic defence, you could bring a culexus. Better than a librarian, even though it doesn't cast spells. It's less points, so you could spend those elsewhere.

 

Unless of course the idea is to keep everything from the first legion. Then I think I'd go for Ezekiel.

[Chmur]

@Solrac - thanks for the feedback. I will keep the Razorback in for now (mainly because I will not be able to get and paint another Dark Talon in time) and Razorbacks are ready. The change for Libby/Ezekiel has already been done, as with the blob movement the 2nd company master does not bring that much I don't think.

 

@sneakymabsen - yes, the idea is to go with First (to keep it a bit fluffy despite having only one competetive approach) and I do not have the model/could not manage to get it painted in time. And yes, I have some strange obsession of using my own models over borrowing them.