Prot Quickie Batrep: Death Guard vs. DA 2K (Mortarion) Pics

[Prot]

Hey Guys,

Quick run down of the last DG game I had. This was with forewarning that I would be using Mortarion however these games are never paired up until the actual game making it pretty hard to list tailor.

I ended up playing against Dark Angel plasma Fort. The game was Maelstrom (Kill confirmed?). The one where you can't discard any "Kill" type cards and you get a bonus VP for every unit killed on the board. This is one of my favorite Maelstroms as it seems to award killin' stuff as much as moving towards stuff.

As usual I have to start off with a shot of the game... a pivotal moment. I'll tell you one thing, this was a horrific moment for a few 'big names' in 40K:

++ Mortarion swoops into the Dark Angels' lines, but he hangs onto life by a thread. The Deathshroud try valiantly to keep their Primarch alive, but Mortarion is met by supreme resistance; the new Helblasters are untouched, as well a Lientenant, Ezekiel and the Chapter Master Azrael himself step up to meet the challenge. Has Mortarion taken on too much? Have the Dark Angels overestimated their abilities against a Daemon Primarch? ..... ++

The Game:

- 2K per side, Maelstrom, Kill Confirmed. (We always have a 'free discard' on any card which could never (at any point during the game) be completed)

- My army approx:

- Mortarion

- Typhus

- DP. w/ Wings (supporating plate)

- Plaguecaster

- Plaguemarines (9 I think 2 blightlaunchers, fist, plasma, flail)

-Poxwalkers

- Cultists

- 3 Deathshroud Termies (in reserves)

- 2 x Plagueburst crawlers

- Tallyman

- Blightbringer

Dark Angels approx:

- Azrael

- Ezekeil

- Lt.

- 2 x 10? Tacticals

- Scouts

- Dark Shroud Flyer

- 2 shooty dreads (Las/auto cannons)

- Las Pred

- Las/Plas Dev Squad

- Deathwing Termie squad (in reserves)

- Techpriest

-

Deployment/First turn:

- We roll off and get my least favorite... Hammer and Anvil. This means we're playing short edges (the long way) towards each other. The way the board was set up, it just happens that there are two large fire lances on either sides of the table. I'll have no easy path there, and the only substantial terrain runs up the middle.

- I get the +1 to my roll for deploying first, and incredibly, this time it means something! Thanks to the plus 1, I roll a tie with the DA, then another tie, finally a 6+1=7 for first turn. How fitting!

+++ The Dark Angels deployment. They are nestled deep in their zone. The Dreads (far right) have a bead on most my army and a Predator Annihilator is off to the right as well. The fire base of Helblasters, and Las Devs (on the factory ruins) have re-roll aura's galore. This will be bloody. Up a bit the scouts infiltrated). +++

+++ Death Guard deployment.Mortarion is out of lascanon range in case I don't get first turn. It might turn out t be too conservative a move. +++

Early Game:

- Since the DA fail to seize and this results in an aggressive movement phase. I get some cards I can complete, but not much else. Most of my stuff is short range, so really it's about the Psychic phase. I fail EVERY test I take between Mort/DP/Typhus/Plaguecaster. Unbelievable. I have to use a command point to reroll the DP putting the -1 to hit power on Mortarion. I also use CP's for Walking Dead, and can't shoot at the Poxwalkers.

++ The Death Guard push up the left side. The Plagueburst Crawlers unleash what the can, and manage to take a chunk out of 2 dreads, but nothing big. On the Right side, Mortarion and the DP push forward and the Plague marines advance. ++

Dark Angels Turn 1:

- They are planted deep in their zone anticpating Mortarion. I have an important objective that the Plague Marines are sitting on: Defend. Since I score this in my opponent's turn, he's going to put some heat on me with a Flyer and the Termies. Both come in hot, guns blazing.

+++ Deathwing some down, and the flyer opens up.... this could get ugly. +++

- The flyer double taps the Hurricane Bolters on the Plague marines, and the Terminators unload too. With the S10 shots the flyer tries to take on Mortarion but he passes some Disgustingly resilient but still takes a wound. The Plague marines are not as fortunate. They are tagged hard with all those shots but still 4 out of the 9 remain. I gotta hold off for the Secure points.

- Sure enough as luck would have it, the Deathwing pull off an assault and it hits the Plague marines hard. They kill all but one Plague marine, since he is ObSec, and the last survivor among the Plaguemarines, I blow 2 command points to score the two points. This puts me in a strong lead early. I felt I had to do this. It was starting to feel like he would win out numbers wise so I wanted to bank some points.

- Some cultists are shot since they are getting close to scouts. They join the Poxwalker union as new inductees. The turn ends and I have a good, but short term lead.

Death Guard Turn 2:

- I have a few kill cards, and an objective on his end of the table. Points add up though for killing stuff but we still have First Blood to resolve!

- His Terminators have a chance to make a real mess of me, but I can't let the Flyer get off that mortal Wound bomb. Mortarion decides to take on the Flyer, and unleashes Silence while the Daemon Prince moves to try to take down the Deathwing. This may be too much for the DP but apparently he wants to impress Mortarion!

- Psychic wise I have another deplorable turn. I'm almost out of CP's, and I fail YET again to put the -1 to hit on Mortarion. So I know he's going to take it pretty hard. Still even with this pending danger, the Death Guard do what they do best and exercise patience as the Deathshroud bodyguard stay in reserves. I think at this point we counted about 7 failed psychic tests (one passed because of a CP in Turn 1). Luckily the DP passes a Smite and strikes down a termie as a result. The Warp is a fickle mistress... she apparently hates me today.

+++ The Daemon Prince and Mortarion know the battle has to be fought in the Dark Angel's zone. These hooligans must be cleared out. +++

- Mortarion makes an 11" charge allowing him to catch the rear/side of the flyer. Silence dices it up which is expected. However at my eagerness to get Mortarion down field, I'm wondering if I put the Daemon Prince in a bad situation.

- The Daemon Prince moves in, and with Death To the False Emperor, he gets 8 hits, and wounds on all. With 2 Damage a piece just enough is failed to kill the terimes. I got super lucky on this one. A few termies stuck back there would have wrecked my DP if they got to swing, and then the tanks would have went soon after. Very close... too close.

Dark Angels Turn 2:

- The Dark Angels need a real kill here, but they draw objectives that they have to get as well. The scouts are stuck in no man's land a bit and are dangerously close to Poxwalkers. The DA start firing away at cultists and Poxwalkers but the Poxwalkers absorb the numbers of cultists... now the Poxwalkers get to use those new models to creep a little closer to the scouts.

- The true target is obviously Mortarion and without any Psychic help he is going to get pounded. Some lascannons and plasma cannons rip into him, and so does a dreadnaught and the Predator. The results are bad for Mortarion, he takes a lot of wounds and the FnP saves are mediocre at best leaving him half dead...... and just above half movement. One of the Plagueburst cannons takes shots as well, but it isn't in a damaged state yet.

+++ The smoke clears and although he is clearly injured, Mortarion hovers onward. The Dark Angels smell burning garbage... Mortarion smells fear.... +++

Death Guard Turn 3:

- The noose may be closing in.... while a lot of firepower was thrown at Mortarion, the left flank of Poxwalkers and a stumbling Typhus (his advance bonus rolls were just terrible this game) are getting very close. The Dark Angel scouts stand vigilantly but are consumed by the union of decay none the less.

- The Psychic phase is better... finally, and Mort is at -1 to hit (just in time!), and the Plaguecaster gets off plaguewind with a very respectable roll killing 2 Tacticals. Eventually the Poxwalkers consolidate into the remaining tacticals.... one of them is sneezing.

- The Devastator squad was pretty deadly so the Plagueburst crawlers unleash indirect cannon shots on them, killing 4. This is big because it leaves only a few lascannons there. One Dreadnaught finally goes down. The Dark Angel fire fort is showing its first signs of faltering....but it still holds the Helblasters, another Dread, some Devs, and the Predator is unharmed.

+++ The Union of Decay greets the Tacticals with a warm, infectious, hug. +++

- The wait is over, the Deathshroud deploy 9+ inches away from the remaining tacticals in front of the Fire Fort; they try to guard Mortarion who only needs an 8 to get into the tacticals.

+++ Mortarion down to half wounds is making the final push. The Poxwalkers have already started consuming Tacticals for breakfast. Azrael, Ezekiel and the LT. look on with the Helblasters at the ready. +++

- Mortarion and the Deathshroud make it into Close Combat with three Tactical Marines. We don't bother rolling it out, it's assumed Mortarion dices the 3 tacticals. Also Mortarion's ability in the fight phase renders some wounds on surrounding squads, including Ezekiel and Azrael.

-Mortarion and the Deathshroud are unable to make contact with the commanding Dark Angels but get very close.

+++ Mortarion is in, and easily slays the tacticals, but now he hangs in the open staring down a lot of firepower!+++

Dark Angels Turn 3:

- With the clear threat of Mortarion and the Deathshroud, the Dark Angels turn every available weapon on him. Miraculously the Deathshroud intercept most of the lascannons, Somehow the Deathshroud enjoy outstanding saves as Nurgle smiles upon them and after all is said and done, only one Deathshroud dies. Mortarion however is not as fortunate.... with only 3 wounds left at this point the Deathshroud fail to intercept the remaining missiles/lascannons. 3 Shots make it through, Mortarion fails all Invulns, and does not pass enough FnP throws and dies unceremoniously. The Helblasters realize they are about to be swamped by a cloud of Poxwalkers and clear out as many as they can.

End Game:

- With Mortarion dead the Death Guard have to push the initiative home and pin the Dark Angels deep. A lot is dead now...on both sides. Against the odds the Plagueburst crawlers lash out at the Pred taking it down to half wounds. not a great turn of shooting. The Poxwalkers get in deep, but it is the Deathshroud that have their moment in their anger of having failed Mortarion.....

+++ The Deathshroud take their anger out on the Dark Angels. Ezekiel, Azrael and the Lieutenant anticipate the charge.... this will be the last major clash of this battle... +++

- The Deathshroud come in shooting. The Daemon Prince is -1 to hit, and the Poxwalkers have caught up to the plasma base. The Dark Angels are effectively shut off from the rest of the firebase. The Smite and Plague wind hit the Helblasters but only one falls.

- In the shooting phase the hand flamers of the Deathshroud hit Ezekiel and Azreal but they shrug most of it off. The charge ensues and the attacks are split between Ezekiel and Azrael.

- The Deathshroud slice both of the leaders down, but in a last gasp effort, thanks to 2 command points, Azrael rises from the dead long enough to absolutely annihilate the Deathshroud. All 4 models are wiped from the game, but that gets the Death Guard a lot of points, killing a psyker, and warlord kill.

- At this point the Dark Angels concede. The Poxwalkers run amok in their zone, and the Daemon Prince (my warlord) is free to do as he pleases, while Typhus finally waddles into the zone just in time for the end (as usual).

- The score wasn't close... something like 18 to 6 for Death Guard, but I assure you both sides were thoroughly beaten.

- For the record, Mortarion's Kill count: One Darkshroud Flyer, and 3 Tactical Marines.

Until next time... I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for reading!

[WarriorFish]

Looks like a good win, up in the (foul) air for a bit until you made it count :tu:

[Brother Chaplain Tyranus]

Nice batrep! Love reading these. Keep it up

[happyslugger]

I love it when deathshroud get into combat as they just wreck face. Awesome stuff.

[USNCenturion]

Awesome stuff Prot. I have a very similar list keyed up in BattleScribe, so thanks for the write up and preview

[Honda]

The Warp is a fickle mistress... she apparently hates me today.

 

 

It's the "red" DP. He clashes with everything and throws off your psyker mojo.

 

Very interesting batrep and it sounds like it was pretty intense the entire game. Is your list built because that's what you have painted or is it what you prefer to field?

 

My reason for asking is in regards to resilience. My general impression of DG armies in previous codexes is that they were hard to take down because of high toughness over a lot of the army and lots of bodies (e.g. blocks of zombies).

 

So is the army as resilient as you think it should be? Or is it suffering in that regard because you need Morty, and Typhus, and a DP, and other characters to project force and points-wise, they take up a lot.

 

Therefore you don't have enough to bulk out the rest of the list.

 

Just an observation.

[Prot]

I love it when deathshroud get into combat as they just wreck face. Awesome stuff.

 

Yes they were something else. To be fair it felt like Mortarion was guarding them. lol

 

 

Awesome stuff Prot. I have a very similar list keyed up in BattleScribe, so thanks for the write up and preview keep these coming !!

 

What trait was on your DP? Did the Crawlers turn the dial more toward positivity? Did the Tallyman make any CP back during the fight?

 

I always use the trait that allows my plague weapons to reroll to wounds.

 

The Crawlers did not do terribly well. They were a late edition because I felt with Mortarion on the board they would attract very little attention while he lived. In that way I was correct, however Hammer and Anvil put the side sponsons out of the action too long.... Moving and hitting on 5's without any re rolls is absolutely painful. 

 

That being said people hate shooting at them with DR, T8, etc. The Entropy Cannon does hit like a truck, but it also shoots like one. To be fair the indirect shots allowed me to plink away at most of the Dev squad which was armed to the teeth with Plasma Cannons and Las. 

 

I find them to be a necessary evil, but when you have a Lord near them, or DP aura, they can be a lot of fun. I just didn't have that kind of list today.

 

Tallyman.... this is the first game I can recall he didn't refund me a single CP! But his re-rolls make him must take for me. I'm very surprised more people don't use him. With him I'm actually considering removing Typhus from Pox support role. It's just a tremendous waste of ... 180 points? It just feels wrong... most nurgle stuff does though. Maybe it's the rash?

 

 

 

The Warp is a fickle mistress... she apparently hates me today.

 

 

It's the "red" DP. He clashes with everything and throws off your psyker mojo.

 

Very interesting batrep and it sounds like it was pretty intense the entire game. Is your list built because that's what you have painted or is it what you prefer to field?

 

My reason for asking is in regards to resilience. My general impression of DG armies in previous codexes is that they were hard to take down because of high toughness over a lot of the army and lots of bodies (e.g. blocks of zombies).

 

So is the army as resilient as you think it should be? Or is it suffering in that regard because you need Morty, and Typhus, and a DP, and other characters to project force and points-wise, they take up a lot.

 

Therefore you don't have enough to bulk out the rest of the list.

 

Just an observation.

 

 

The Daemon Prince: He's from my KDK army. I still haven't cracked out Khorne Daemons since the codex dropped. I have a full army of them, mostly painted. So he gets pinched for my Death Guard. The thing is... I know this won't be popular to say, but I like that DP model better than the "nurgle" DP model with the hemorrhaging eyeball thing going on. I'd rather buy another plastic DP and just give him talon hands (no sword) and paint him appropriately.

 

I think Death Guard are indeed resilient. I've played a lot of games with them now, and this was my first with Mortarion. I had a feeling he would be lacklustre. I believe I can build better pure DG lists without him than with him. (I love Blightlord DG termies for example and they are extremely resilient and flexible with combi weapons)

 

I think the Blocks of Zombies you refer to are the most powerful thing in the codex. There is nothing in my games that opponents can't stand getting tangled with than my Poxwalkers... I've absorbed multi assaults from Orks, Genestealers... you name it. In the end they all join the Union of the Heinous Stoink.

 

I play one block of usually 20 because it works, and Cultists make good zombies if you play it right, and frankly I don't want to use anymore. Plague Marines aren't that great in my opinion. In almost every example I think Poxwalkers are just better for the points and being ObSec. 

 

So yes, some of the choices are because I want to feel like I'm playing Death Guard and not disgruntled postal employees from Theta-zon VII with the measles from hell. :)

[Charlo]

Great Batrep as always Prot buddy.

 

Interesting that Mortarion only killed a few models - with that considered, is he worth it do you reckon? Did he do his job in the list, providing enough of a distraction to get things done?

 

Considering you deployed on the short edges, the Pox Walkers making it into combat at all is a triumph! They seem so damn strong.

 

How do you think something like Bloat Drones would have performed instead of the Cralwers? Or maybe some Blight Haulers providing cover for the pox with some extra heavy weapons?

[Wolf Lord Loki]

Thanks for the battle reports. It helps show what works and what is mearly theory hammer!!

 

Ive been debating what sponsons to put on my Crawler and i think looking at your pictures you have the entropy cannons. Would you say they make for better artilary with lazors -shooting from afar or infantry support with flamers and the occasional wound from the mortars?

 

Debating where its worth magnatising the weapons or simply just picking one and using as is?

[Prot]

Great Batrep as always Prot buddy.

 

Interesting that Mortarion only killed a few models - with that considered, is he worth it do you reckon? Did he do his job in the list, providing enough of a distraction to get things done?

 

Considering you deployed on the short edges, the Pox Walkers making it into combat at all is a triumph! They seem so damn strong.

 

How do you think something like Bloat Drones would have performed instead of the Cralwers? Or maybe some Blight Haulers providing cover for the pox with some extra heavy weapons?

 

In today's meta... I really don't know if Mortarion is worth it. My guess is 'no'. If I walk into my local GW and play some unaware people, then yes, I'd probably smoke them with Mort. But I find anyone aware of the competitive environment can handle him.

 

As I said in the Batrep it turns out Mortarion was guarding the Deathshroud! Those guys kicked butt. :) It was my highlight.

 

Funny you mention the Bloat Drones, they were the big guys I wanted in this game but did'nt have them painted .Next time they're in!

 

 

Thanks for the battle reports. It helps show what works and what is mearly theory hammer!!

 

Ive been debating what sponsons to put on my Crawler and i think looking at your pictures you have the entropy cannons. Would you say they make for better artilary with lazors -shooting from afar or infantry support with flamers and the occasional wound from the mortars?

 

Debating where its worth magnatising the weapons or simply just picking one and using as is?

 

Honestly I can't answer this yet. I magnetized the side sponsons, it was very easy though. I should be trying them as flaming Tanks, I just think the Blight Drones with "fly" are inherently better at it, but the survivability of the Plaguecrawlers is a real thing that can't be denied. The Entropy cannons are amazing... if you can get them to hit at 36" and BS4. ;)

[Wolf Lord Loki]

Thats kinda what i thought. Apart from plasma and daemonprinces i have really got anything to take on tougher monster/ vehicle targets