TiguriusX Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 I took my newly designed Rune Knights for a spin in league. I have a feeling they are close to ready for tournament play My list-Rune Knights ++ Super-Heavy Detachment +3CP (Imperium - Imperial Knights) ++ + No Force Org Slot + Household Choice: House Vulker, Questor Mechanicus + Lord of War + Armiger Helverins . Armiger Helverin: Heavy Stubber Armiger Helverins . Armiger Helverin: Heavy Stubber Knight Crusader: Character (Knight Lance), Heavy Stubber, Heirloom: The Helm Dominatus, Stormspear Rocket Pod, Warlord, Warlord Trait: Ion Bulwark . Avenger Gatling Cannon w/ Heavy Flamer: Avenger Gatling Cannon, Heavy Flamer . Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon w/ Heavy Stubber: Heavy Stubber, Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon The knights bring long range firepower and durability to my list House Vulker rerolls 1s when shooting at the closest target Helm Dominatus lets me shoot at a single target with Helverins on 2s The synergy combo is I get BS2 rerolling 1s on something critical for 0 CP spent The Crusader is packing 12 Avenger cannon and 2D6+3 S8 shots I can spend a CP to get exploding 6's The firepower has extreme range and can out range the typical units found in other armies I can also move and fire with no penalties to give me flexibility ++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) ++ + No Force Org Slot + Trophies of Fenris: Trophies of Fenris - 1 Extra Relic (-1 CP) + HQ + Rune Priest: 1. Living Lightning, 4. Fury of the Wolf Spirits, Jump Packs, Plasma pistol, Runic axe, The Armour of Russ Rune Priest in Terminator Armour: 1. Living Lightning, 3. Murderous Hurricane, Runic axe, Runic Terminator armour, Storm bolter + Troops + Grey Hunters: 4x Chainsword . Grey Hunter Pack Leader: Power axe . 4x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol Intercessor Squad: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle, 4x Intercessor, Intercessor Pack Leader Intercessor Squad: 4x Intercessor, Intercessor Pack Leader, Stalker Bolt Rifle ++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) ++ + HQ + Njal Stormcaller in Runic Terminator Armour: 1. Living Lightning, 2. Tempest's Wrath, 6. Jaws of the World Wolf + Elites + Aggressors: 2x Aggressor, Aggressor Pack Leader, Auto Boltstorm Gauntlets/Fragstorm Grenade Launcher Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard Pack Leader in Terminator Armour: Storm shield, Thunder hammer Wulfen . 4x Thunder hammer & Stormshield: 4x Storm Shield, 4x Thunder Hammer . 4x Wulfen . Wulfen Pack Leader: Frost claws ++ Total: [110 PL, 1997pts] ++ The Space Wolves army trick is a rune priest bomb Ideally I have 4D3 mortal wounds a turn with LL bouncing to a new target If I want to spend the CP I get a D6 living lightning The terminators are there to eat incoming fire and help the rune priests get another turn of mortal wounds off My opponent-Imperial Guard Shadowsword (anti titan killing tank) Pask 3 russ tanks with Battle Cannons and Plasma 3 Basilisks Company commander Commissar 6x10 man IG 3 mortar teams Pre-game Some backstory on designing my list When I did some theory craft it was determined I don't have enough long range anti tank If someone has T8 I can't crack it I decided every list has a counter and a tough armor list is something I just have to accept. If I play the mission and ignore the vehicles I can still pull it off. When my league opponent showed me his list today I couldn't help but laugh and accept the challenge. If I wanted to truly test the list I may as well test it against what I consider a strong counter. To tackle a vehicle list I make some minor pre-game changes using warlord/relic/spell flexibility I make my RP-JP the official warlord and give him saga of the beast slayer If it comes down to it I can go in hard with my rune axes and need a 4+ to wound T8 I spend CP to make my Knight a pseudo warlord with relic I remove Jaws as a power and replace it with another tempest wrath for the RP-TDA We roll ITC Mission 4 (What's Yours is Mine) Deployment 4 (Hammer and Anvil...the long range deployment) Most opponents I would love hammer and anvil to take advantage of my Helverins (60") and Crusader (48" and 72") However...my opponent has his Shadowsword to out range me and his 3 Russ battle tanks all have matching 72" range as well not to mention the Basilisks. I will have to make great usage of terrain and lean heavily on my infantry instead Secondary Objectives Mine Big Game Hunter Reaper Butcher His Titan slayer-Knight Crusader King slayer-RP-JP Butcher Deployment I put my 3 RPs; WG TDA; and Aggressors in reserve I try to hide as many things as possible out of LOS The Wulfen are as far forward as possible and behind LOS (the big tower in the middle...they are hidden by the curved brown roof in this shot) I drop my big knight last because his placement and the shadowsword counter placement will determine the game After seeing all his infantry go down and spread it it becomes obvious he can't just put his shadowsword wherever he wants His tanks go in the back right corner and my battle plan is set I put my knight in this location to force his shadowsword onto an extreme edge of the map with his other tanks I will be able to use that wall terrain in the middle of the map to get my wulfen up the board If I can keep his tanks in their corner I can push up and through using the LOS blocking buildings *The tracks with no turret are basilisks *The dreadnought looking things are mortars He wins the roll for first turn and I fail the seize...good luck Knight! Turn 1 He doesn't move a thing and just opens fire He starts with a Basilisk and pushes a wound through He then activates a stratagem for overlapping fields of fire to make it easier to pound on my knight The shadowsword cuts loose He gets 9 shots with his volcano cannon (max number) I fail 3 of them and eat 8, 7 and 4 damage He uses every other unit possible to drop my knight but I manage to survive with a single wound remaining *I made a major mistake here and forgot to use a CP to reroll a failed 3++ for the volcano cannon save...I ended up using it later in the shooting phase to prevent a final killing blow from a basilisk On my turn I know the knight is doomed and decide to push forward to maximize his usage before he is gone I spend a CP to let him operate at full strength I walk forward 14" and just barely reach the magic 24" to his infantry to unlock my synergy trick I walk a nearby helverin within 6" of my Crusader and activate the Helm Dominatus on the infantry at 24" I now have a Helverin with BS2 rerolling 1s firing at the unit and mow down 10/10 guard (I needed the stubber shots to do it) My Crusader then fires his RFBC and stormspear at Pask while the avenger and stubbers go into the next IG unit I roll 10 for my RFBC number of shots and activate my exploding 6 stratagem I roll a single 6 and only manage 6 wounds on Pask I have similar luck on the IG unit and only kill 7/10 with my 12 shot avenger and 6 stubber shots. He uses CP to pass morale and save them from being blown off the objective. On the left flank my Armiger and Intercessor bolt rifles push forward and mow down 8/10 IG on the far left flank. They die due to morale. The wulfen advance and hide behind the middle wall After T1 He gets hold 1 He also gets 2 of his Titan slayer points I get kill/hold and kill more I get reaper and butcher bill Turn 2 He conga lines an infantry unit closer to the objective at risk but the tanks stay put The knight goes down but the armiger rolls a few 5++ to shrug off fire from the shadowsword (only 3 volcano shots) I take 5W but am still operating at top tier He then unloads basilisk and mortar fire on my wulfen The 3++ storm shields shine and FNP kicks in a few times After the smoke clears my wulfen take 1 wound from a mortar On my turn I push both Armigers forward The intercessors on the left flank keep closing the gap with the IG in front of them I then drop all my reserves in on the far side of his DZ from the tanks I smite a mortar unit to death and then the IG become the closest unit I put a few more mortal wounds on them and tempest wrath on a basilisk In the shooting phase my aggressors and WGTDA mow down the last 2 mortars and the rest of the nearby IG unit My armigers landed multiple shots on his basilisks but he makes every single 4+ save He scores kill 1 and hold 1 He gets his 3rd and final titan slayer point as well I score kill/hold kill more and hold more I get butcher and another reaper Turn 3 He starts trying to reposition his armor but the parking lot is jammed Infantry and other vehicles are in the way He blows my weak Armiger away with his Shadowsword but the Wulfen SS stop all the Battle Cannon and plasma shots On my turn the wulfen get a nice advance roll of 5 and push in close I also sweep in with my RP task force to tighten the net The armiger hugs the wall and gets me the middle objective as well Njal smites and then LLs the commissar off the map. 1 W bounces to the nearby basilisk I fire at his infantry on the objective and only kill 2/3. However a light goes off in my head and I see an opportunity to tri-lock so i stop firing at him The key to this turn and the outcome of the game will be the upcoming melee phase My wulfen roll a 4 on the first charge roll Luckily the rules let them reroll and I pop a 9 the 2nd time around. Exactly what I need to pull off my melee tricks After killing the basilisk in melee I touch 2 nearby tanks and tri-lock the infantry model My BA friend and I had some melee discussion at the recent tournament and he has been training me in how he does tri-lock and shuts down vehicles It paid off nicely right here He gets Kill/Hold I get kill/hold kill more and hold more I get a BGH and another butcher Turn 4 He moves his shadowsword forward He also backs his tanks away from the wulfen In the shooting phase he kills my last armiger with his shadowsword (he could see the top of the stubber through the wall terrain) He also uses his basilisks to kill my 5 man GH squad in the rear In his fight phase I kill his tri locked IG and consolidate into the next IG squad and the tank On my turn I move the aggressors up to shoot at his IG on the far side of the map The terminators move up and prepare for a charge My rune priests smite and LL the basilisk down to 1 wound My aggressors shoot 6/10 IG on the far side of the map The WGTDA make the charge and my thunder hammer kills the basilisk The wulfen kill 2 infantry and pop the tank We end the game here due to the store closing He scored Kill and hold He also got butcher bill I scored kill/hold kill more and hold more I also scored butcher and another BGH Final score He got 7 primary and 4 secondary 11 total I got 15 from primary and 6 from secondary 21 total Rune Knight victory! Final thoughts and MVP That was a real fun and exciting game I was expecting all that armor to blow me off the map I kept my focus on the ITC objectives and kept hammering away at his infantry over and over I have enough infantry to make use of buildings/ruins and I can cut through chaff as well I have never played a true parking lot style list and was surprised his own numbers worked against him He was buttoned up nicely to start the game but he couldn't respond and come out after me once I switched the focus of my attack to his far flank Losing the knight is a big blow to my firepower but it is also something I can absorb if I play to the mission MVP goes to my wulfen Their SS and FNP got them through 2 turns of potential trouble and then they made an amazing advance and charge into his lines They started bashing away at vehicles and tri-locked to avoid return fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallas Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Good job, seems like a really well oiled list, and that was a solid win! My BA friend and I had some melee discussion at the recent tournament and he has been training me in how he does tri-lock and shuts down vehicles It paid off nicely right here I'm glad you're learning to apply the melee tricks available, as they're the main reason that melee units are actually potent. Tri-locking is one of the most important tools in the box! A few comments/questions about the list: You may want to think about swapping out the Stalker Bolt Rifles for regular Bolt Rifles, especially if the Beta rules stick as the Stalkers don't seem particularly great. How have they been for you so far? Has the AP/Range of the Stalker been worth it over the potential mobility of the regular BR? Grey Hunters: is the Power Axe worthwhile? It's not a lot of points, sure, but you could switch it out for something else, like a Psychic Hood (for slightly better Denial). How are you finding the Aggressors in the list? I'm interested in them for chaff-clearing firepower, although with the Beta Bolter rules, I think the Terminators could pick up that slack (4 guaranteed shots out to 24" vs 3+d6 out to 18"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Good job, seems like a really well oiled list, and that was a solid win! My BA friend and I had some melee discussion at the recent tournament and he has been training me in how he does tri-lock and shuts down vehicles It paid off nicely right here I'm glad you're learning to apply the melee tricks available, as they're the main reason that melee units are actually potent. Tri-locking is one of the most important tools in the box! A few comments/questions about the list: You may want to think about swapping out the Stalker Bolt Rifles for regular Bolt Rifles, especially if the Beta rules stick as the Stalkers don't seem particularly great. How have they been for you so far? Has the AP/Range of the Stalker been worth it over the potential mobility of the regular BR? Grey Hunters: is the Power Axe worthwhile? It's not a lot of points, sure, but you could switch it out for something else, like a Psychic Hood (for slightly better Denial). How are you finding the Aggressors in the list? I'm interested in them for chaff-clearing firepower, although with the Beta Bolter rules, I think the Terminators could pick up that slack (4 guaranteed shots out to 24" vs 3+d6 out to 18"). Once the beta bolter rules are live (FEB for my league) I will definitely make that swap. The bad news is I built them with 5 stalker bolt rifle sights so I need to figure that out for future tournaments that are more strict The GH ax was just me spending left over points (same with the plasma pistol on RP-JP). I usually don't get up close and personal with other psykers where a hood will matter. Right now I think Njal is enough to do that job but I could tweak it after more play testing. Aggressors are working nicely and they are cheap to fill out my vanguard. They bring anti chaff and PF to the party. If I were to replace them with WG TDA I would have to find many more points to make the swap. The biggest thing my Rune Knight list is doing is making me think is I may not need the AdMech battalion I designed and just purchased. It will cost me the wulfen, aggressors and intercessors to add the AdMech pieces in. And while the AdMech greatly boost my ranged fire I lose my wulfen in the process. I am slowly learning the wulfen are critical in the way I play this list and the threat they pose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturguard Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Tiguriusx Please don't take this the wrong way as I am just getting back into the game, and part of me is playing devil's advocate.....but doesn't the Knight and Armiger's make the list more than anything? I see that combo in alot of lists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 Tiguriusx Please don't take this the wrong way as I am just getting back into the game, and part of me is playing devil's advocate.....but doesn't the Knight and Armiger's make the list more than anything? I see that combo in alot of lists. no need to apologize i argue with people for a living the knights are my long range firepower but they are less than half the total points. majority faction is SW the knight list most people take is actually the castellan (OP cheese IMHO). my version is considered watered down and the house choice and relic are definitely non standard maybe i dont understand your question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturguard Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I know its, not 8th edition thinking, and maybe it's not what you are going for, but are there no pure space wolf units that would give the same results? I guess I'm more of a purist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturguard Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I just had a chance to read the Bat Rep, good report. When you charged the basilisk and locked the other 2 vehicles, didn't you have to declare a multicharge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shas Oh Dear Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 No you don't have to declare for that. The only reason you ever need to declare a multicharge is if you intend to attack those targets this turn, this is important if you are planning on using a strat or ability that let's you fight again once you move into the next unit. Also important when there are things nearby that can heroically intervene as they get a free round of combat against you that you cannot retaliate to if you didn't declare them. Hope this helps. I know its, not 8th edition thinking, and maybe it's not what you are going for, but are there no pure space wolf units that would give the same results? I guess I'm more of a purist. We have things with comparable fire power or resilience but very little that fulfills these in one package. The land raider excelsior with two mortis contemptor dreads would be the best approximation and that's an index and two fw options but they would be mono faction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 I know its, not 8th edition thinking, and maybe it's not what you are going for, but are there no pure space wolf units that would give the same results? I guess I'm more of a purist. My opinion is that single codex SW cant do enough in competitive tournaments. There are too many superior units out there I give kudos to those who want to do it but I'm taking the other path I chose the knights because they have superior firepower, range, damage an durability. The cherry on top is my shooty focus crusader is still a beast in combat. if you read my tournament batrep you see a game where i stomped a BA smash captain to bits using the knight in melee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturguard Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 So you are allowed to get into base contact with models you arent attacking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteySödes Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 So you are allowed to get into base contact with models you arent attacking? No you still can only get within 1” of a model that you declared the charge on. The trick is to not go all the way into base to base, then pile into new unit while getting closer the the closest model. Keep in mind though you can’t attack what you didn’t charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shas Oh Dear Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 So you are allowed to get into base contact with models you arent attacking? You can't as part of movement but you can as part of pile ins and consolidations. Learning how to triple lock and basic slingshotting is extremely valuable this edition if your army has any reliance on close combat elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 *massive editing to find invisible spoiler tags complete *don't use PASTE function to put spoiler tags in...sometimes a paste results in invisible content! The Rune Knights touched down on what appeared to be an abandoned Aeldari planet. They moved in to inspect a webway gate and were hit by an airstrike Aeldari forces 1 Crimson exarch flyer 1 Eldar flyer with the vacuums of death (range 18" auto hit high S weapons) 1 max unit of reapers 1 small squad of reapers Wave serpent Warlock Farseer 2 units of shining spears Farseer on skyrunner Few small units of Dire Avengers Fire dragons Rangers Wraithlord About all I can remember Deployment ITC Mission 3 (nexus control) Hammer & Anvil deployment (yay!!!) Secondaries Me Butcher bill Old school Behind enemy lines Him Old school Butcher bill Kingslayer-Knight He put his fire dragons in reserve and his dark reapers plus HQs in the wave serpent I did my standard RP strike force All 3 RP in reserve Terminator escort in reserve Aggressors in reserve Wulfen in reserve (I usually leave them on the board but flyers would have eaten them) Yes that seems like a ton in reserve but the knight force has such a high point value (867 total) that combined with the troops (246) it is legal (1113 combined is over half). My opponent set up a great looking board before we even began. He made trenches and a nice city scape (all his own terrain). We moved a few pieces for symmetry but I loved the look. His objectives were things like dumpsters and statues that blended in with the game. It was enjoyable to be on the table. As for the game I was happy because I outrange him...especially those pesky Reapers. My armigers can shoot clear across the map and my knight can pretty much do the same with his Rapid Fire Battle Cannon and Stormspear rockets Turn 1 I win the roll for first turn and take it. Need to get moving and in position before flyers hurt me too bad Infantry advances on both sides to try and reach objectives + ruins for cover Knight and armigers shuffle to line up shots Armiger #1 on the far right has LOS to his bikes and fires away. They are also the closest target so his Vulker trait lets him reroll 1s I kill a mighty 1 bike... Realizing I don't have many more things that can fire I make the decision to focus and kill his weakest visible unit....5 man dire avenger in the trench with cover Knight fires his RFBC and missiles into the unit Armiger #2 fires into the unit The dire avengers are still alive... My final unit of Intercessors with stalker bolt rifles finishes the job and clear the entrenched infantry to secure a kill and first strike points Now it is his turn Flyers come streaking up the board Reapers hop out and fire His Dire Avengers hop out of the trench to get range on my infantry His shining spears get up close and personal as well He uses execute to obliterate the GH (rolls a 3 and then a 2 for bonus) His dark reaper #1 kill the armiger near his shining spears Dark reaper #2 kill 4/5 intercessors in the building on right flank (I pass morale) He also manages to push 8 wounds through on my knight T1 results I get kill + hold He gets kill + kill more and hold (2 v 3) I get old school first strike He gets a few secondary points Old school first strike KS-knight Butcher bill Turn 2 I love turn 2! Because for my army that means SW party time!!! The entire SW strike force pops up in his backline. However I had to do this tricky because he gets to intercept with Dark Reapers I put aggressors first. He ignored. I put TDA next and he thought for a long time then decided to fire at them. I lost 2 TDAs The wulfen and RPs all came in safely after that. TDA main job in this list is draw fire and keep RPs alive. I was happy with the result Smites were weak but productive. I rolled a 1 then a 2 after CP reroll for living storm. Ended up killing 3/6 jet bikes in the corner (2 wounds each). However he had placed the 3 man units so it ended up with 1/3 and 2/3 kills. The jetbikes are high threat to my ground forces because so many dice. I was ok with result Aggressors rolled and got 34 shots I should have put it into the infantry but I couldn't pass up the HQs that were exposed. 19 hits on his farseer skyrunner only 2 W made it through Meanwhile my knight walked up close and personal to the shining spears Knight had bad shooting on the wraithlord and only got 2D through. I charged in and stomped the shining spears into the mud TDA fail the charge Wulfen make it on the reroll (WOOOOO) I charged the single far seer and wrapped up the wave serpent as well He uses HI to get his other character in. He tried to get the special guy with wings in but I said that is beyond 3" Wulfen do jack...I put 2 wounds on his character I think ***At this point my opponent's father comes over and says game is over they need to go My opponent and I are both surprised. He wants to speed play his turn My notes stop after this His turn he flies towards my knight. He kills off the intercessors but my knight survives all his fire power Wave serpent stays in combat with me Farseers try execute but Njal says NOPE A few other smites and I lose a wulfen Combat ends with his wave serpent on a single wound remaining The board looks great for me but....the game ends here Final score...MVP and thoughts So the score was 7 v 16 in favor of my opponent after 2 turns He was +2 from primary and had most of his secondary completed I was just about to start racking up secondary points To be honest I was angry and frustrated at how this ended (this game was over a week ago and I needed to let it sit before I posted). I don't blame opponent because he wasn't responsible. I was playing "the kid" in our group who is about 12 or so. His dad hangs out and paints/assembles while he plays his match. Near the end of turn 2 his dad comes over and says they need to go. Can we wrap it up. This happened shortly after 9pm (our games go 6-10pm). My opponent didn't plan it and had no control over it. To make this worse this was the first week of the new league cycle so pre-game we all sat around waiting for people to commit to league and assign opponents. Started 20 or 30 min later than normal. I felt I was in a superior position to wreck his army T3. I was going to smite his wave serpent (1 W left) to free up the wulfen to assault in his HQs then consolidate into the reapers when done. My aggressors were going to mow down his foot infantry on the objective and could double fire because stationary. My HQs had 3 smites and a LL to unleash My knight was still alive and about to put a beat down on his wraith blade I was going to ignore his flyers and wipe out his ground forces while scoring points over the next few rounds. I honestly don't think he would have lasted past turn 4 So ya....ending T2 was harsh. TO and I talked about it and he adjusted points (league is not using wins to determine top players...I've been out of league for a long time this is all new to me) I greatly enjoy my knight and he had this epic pose near the webway so I'll give him the MVP shot The helm dominatus was something my opponent told me he was freaking out about because of his flyers so he was trying to down the armigers and knight ASAP. That is exactly what I want so I was happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Rune Knights v Astra militarum and Custodes My army I decide NOT to use the helm dominatus this game I swap to the endless fury relic (14 S6 AP2 D2 shots with exploding 6s) basically 2 more avenger gatling shots with auto exploding 6s so I don't need to spend a CP every turn to activate Vulker special stratagem His army Special vigilus artillery 2 basilisks 2 wyverns Bunch of HQs to help master of artillery harker Salamander command tank 4+ scion units with plasma guns Shield captain on bike Some new FW custodes with heavy bolter type guns 3 man unit of close combat custodes with a 2+/3++ Deployment ITC Mission 2-Cut to the heart Spearhead deployment Secondary missions Me Butcher bill Big game hunter Behind enemy lines Him Titanslayer Head hunter Butcher bill He put all his scions with plasma in reserve I did my RP strike force in reserve Wulfen started ON the table. I wanted them to draw fire and be bait until I could knock out his artillery. He had no good targets for me to hunt anyways I won the roll for deployment selection which helped. I forced him to take the side with more open firing lanes. Great advantage with guns that go 60" and 72" He put his artillery in the corner and I responded with my knights. Goal #1 was HUNT THE ARTILLERY I set up as far away as I could and behind cover. If I get first turn I can move and fire with no penalties. I rolled a 1 He also rolled a 1!! I get first turn with a 1!!!! Turn 1 I move up to get in firing range Knight gets to 36" to unload (honestly should have gone ahead full speed instead....close to melee the better) My wulfen advance to the middle objective and make all kinds of noise as a distraction In the shooting phase my brain turns off and I decide to split my fire from the Crusader....I whiff badly and kill nothing This is post LVO and over half the group is missing (they volunteer as judges at LVO and stuff). The handful of people hanging around are laughing in good humor at me. Never split fire! I nod my head....acknowledge my failing and vow to do better. The good news is I drop a basilisk to mid tier On his turn he moves a few infantry units around and sends the custodes after my wulfen His shooting is bad as well. He uses all his artillery and tricks (1 time basilisk shot from an HQ) I lose 2 wulfen total. I'm happy b/c no shots bother my infantry holding the objective Turn 1 ends with NO units killed on either side My opponent has hold more though and takes a 1 point lead Turn 2 I realize I should be pushing forward with Crusader and I have nothing to fear b/c his 1 melee powerhouse is on the opposite side of the map. Crusader max moves forward RP strike force comes in. I need to roll the flank with artillery for max points then I can just play down the rest of the turns Aggressors line up to try and clear infantry Terminators try to form a wall and protect the RPs (I expect his plasma to drop in on me too) In the shooting phase I thin out his guardsmen (they merged together the prior turn) I do a better job of focus fire and kill 1 basilisk and wyvern. I needed a 60" across the map shot from my last helverin to do it but I got the job done Wulfen make their charge into Custodes. I figured at least I can swing then swing again from frenzy if I die I died....I did nothing round 1....but striking after dying took 2/3 custodes with me My opponent once again stays parked and shuffles infantry He FORGOT to drop his reserve plasma squads though (I thought it was on purpose because I was tightly packed and protected) His shield captain takes 3 dmg on overwatch but gets in and puts some wounds on the armiger Thats about all that was worth reporting I get kill more but he has hold more so we tie on primary I racked up big game hunter (2 times) and butcher bill to start pulling away on secondary points Turn 3 First thing I do is back the heck away from his captain...I want him to choose between armiger or objective The rest of my forces start pushing towards his objective and the middle objective RP strike force primary job is clear all that infantry while the Crusader mops up the artillery I absolutely obliterate everything in front of me Between psychic smites and all my bolters I kill 5 units this round Basilisk Wyvern mobbed up guardsmen psyker harker His turn the reinforcements come down he has a clear shot at my RP here. I use chooser of the slain with aggressors to thin the unit out. After firing at BS 4 I kill a mighty 3 infantry! He starts with the overcharged assassin plasma at my RP The armor of russ is too cold for that and I only take 2 wounds total from all the plasma and las fire He has similar bad results with the terminators (I lose 1 that already had a wound) And he kills a few intercessors The worst damage came from the shield captain wiping my objective sitting GHs in the rear End of turn he had 1 kill He actually gets the bonus point as well and pulls ahead 3-2 for primary this round However he has 0 secondary points and it is not looking good for him Turn 4 I line up his shield captain hoping to get lucky but no shots go through. If he wants to kill me he has to leave my objective My other armiger prepares to stomp on guardsmen if his guns fail The deathstar finally clears the moon and has guns prepared to unload on his backfield Aggressors mow down his infantry making the salamander tank the closest target to crusader (reroll 1s baby!!) I put all my anti tank into salamander and anti infantry into the large guard squad EVERYTHING dies...and the salamander explodes killing the artillery HQ standing behind it However...he has a single HQ standing who can easily walk back up to the objective and I have no more shots to deal with it (I set my JP RP up to charge the vehicle from behind LOS....in hindsight I should have gone full jump after his HQ) My armiger and intercessors combine to kill the small unit of plasma. The armiger then charges into the guard to stop them from firing at my weak intercessor unit My terminators SB his middle scion squad down and make the charge. When morale is rolled the unit is gone and his HQ is surrounded We are notified we need to wrap up so this is our final turn. My opponent tries to get as many points as possible and manages a kill on a single survivor intercessor Final round I get kill and kill more (2) He gets kill...hold...hold more and bonus again (4) He is ahead on primary points and his bodies are doing their job However...he scored 0 total secondary all game. Meanwhile I have 3/4 butcher 4/4 big game hunter and 1/4 behind enemy lines (would have got 3/4 if game completed) Final score....MVP and thoughts Final score is 17 to 12....wolves victory!!! I had 9 primary to his 12 I had 8 secondary to his 0 I'm realizing the knight crusader carries a great load for this list I am enjoying the 1-2 punch of knights at range with the RP strike force just coming in like a scalpel and slicing away at a specific point of the board Once those RP are down the smite combination from all 3 is like a buzzsaw. I have mainly been cutting through chaff with it but I honestly think they can tear through elite troops as well. They never even get into melee where they can do even MORE damage with the runic weapons and fury of the wolf spirits And finally 1 player conduct note. Pre game we were sitting around talking about our lists and what we have. My list is printed out. My opponent (wasn't assigned to me yet at that time) mentioned not having any knights and relying on custodes. I said oh I have a knight I'm loving it. After we are paired up I'm going up and down the stairs grabbing terrain and notice my opponent is on his phone not helping Turns out he was tailoring his list. When I ask to see his army to pick secondary I see he has a castellan. I call him out on it and he admits he changed it to deal with my knight. I tell him thats not ok go back to what you had He went back to his original and we went on just fine. So my odd MVP choice this round is me...stand up for yourself Point is...if you are reading this....don't let anyone pull one over on you. But if they do deal with it and move on. The guy I played is generally a nice and amicable guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 This batrep is going to be mostly pictures. I handed the scoresheet to the league organizer and he forgot to give it back before leaving. All my notes were on the scoresheet... Rune Knights v Pure Space Wolves His army He had double battalion Njal Bjorn WL-jump smash WGBL-jump smash 2 LF plasma squads 2 rhinos 2 units of wulfen Pre-game ITC Mission 3 (Nexus control) Deployment 3 (Search and destroy) Secondary missions Mine Butcher bill Old school Marked for death (LFs and Wulfen) His Old school Recon Marked for death (Armigers TDA and Wulfen) I tried to hide infantry from LOS and set up my move to keep infantry as a wulfen buffer behind me I outranged his plasma so I was ok hanging back He setup to hide behind his rhinos and push forward Turn 1 He seizes first turn from me and pushes his left rhino full speed ahead Rhino #2 disembarks some troops and moves up The troops advance to the middle of the board to start scoring recon and hide in the ruins His psychic phase gets a smite off but fails TW He uses cloaked by the storm His shooting Bjorn aims at my armiger and I rotate ion shields. 1 lascannon gets through for 1 damage His plasma fangs overcharge at intercessors standing on the objective in the open and drop them down to the Sgt only but he passes morale His plasma fangs on the other side use keen senses and move to shoot at my GH reducing them to sgt + wgpl but they also pass morale No kills turn 1 for him I maneuver my shooting units and decide to deal with the units cloaked by the storm. If I can clear them I have free shots at njal and born The rhino kill came down to the final wound roll from the heavy flamer of the Crusader That lets my armigers fire at the LFs and I pick off a few from both squads The rhino kill earns me 3 points (first blood...kill...kill more) and I jump out to an early lead Turn 2 Turn 2 his wulfen come in and his HQs make their way for my knight The dice go ice cold for him I kill his WL and WGBL in overwatch He fails EVERY other charge roll so nothing gets in He concedes and I tell him just take a break and come back after...those dice sucked He returns and we play on My turn 2 and I figure my knight can outrun the wulfen and move away from them. I have a 9" headstart and I move 12" I head towards the rhino and intend to charge for even more distance My armiger does the same thing and moves forward 14" away from the wulfen Now that I have a buffer I figure I don't need my RPs in the rear...I can dig out his infantry in the ruins and come in from the other flank in a pincer movement The 3 RP come down and I use the TDA as a buffer if the wulfen come my way I drop my wulfen out of LOS to threaten his rear GH and hope to run down Bjorn RP smite and chain lightning the GH out of the ruins but fail to TW the wulfen and fail fury of the wolf spirits Both of those fails came from double 1s so Njal and the JP RP eat 2 wounds each....the cold dice were hitting me now In my shooting phase I wipe out the LFs and then charge the knight and aggressor into the rhino My armiger on the far left charges into the GH to try and prevent them from moving up and finishing off my weak GHs Turn 3 He rolls a 6 for his Wulfen advance. They quickly close the gap to the knight His other wulfen roll a 5 and get in tight with my TDA Bjorn decides to tackle the armiger on his own and creates space from my Wulfen Bjorn takes a LC shot at my armiger in the far corner and drops it to the lowest tier The wulfen make the charge but he only rolled a 5. He decides not to risk it and only engages the TDA I do NOT HI because he also declared my RP as a target. If I go in he can kill me. I need all my smites to clear the wulfen in my turn His wulfen obliterate my Crusader I get all my psykers ready to smite and charge into his wulfen My armiger limps to the board edge using a CP for full performance I fire into his single GH instead of the wulfen to guarantee a kill point this round My wulfen roll a 1 for the advance and can't get close enough to anything worth charging. I decide to send them towards my psykers just in case The psychic phase is an absolute failure I get smite damage rolls of 1 and he FNPs them I get lightning with D6 and roll a 2 I fail TW and fury of the wolf spirits again I was hoping the psykers would buzzsaw his wulfen but instead he loses a single model The psykers charge in to do this the old fashioned way and fail miserably Many 2's rolled for wounding (they need 3s against wulfen) The wounds that do land are stopped by storm shields His return blows are devastating and I start losing models Turn 4 The game is essentially in clean up mode right now. His wulfen have me tied up and are hammering me down My wulfen eventually come in and kill his unit but it is far too late to impact the game We go a full 6 turns but I stop taking pictures b/c it is mostly just standing around scoring points for him Final thoughts and MVP Final score I had 15 he had 34 I believe Deployment played a MAJOR role in this game and I need to care more about what side I choose. Terrain was supposed to be symmetric but when the game started my opponent had an objective he could hide inside a ruin and claim while I had to stand in the open for mine I usually picked sides based on where I am (i.e., lazy) because terrain is supposed to be the same. I need to pay closer attention in the future Anyways...his safely hidden infantry influenced me on turn 2 and I made a blunder of epic proportions splitting my forces instead of defending the crusader The deployment also impacted secondary selections...I usually love behind enemy lines and just drop a major force there turn 2 I didn't adapt my play style to the secondaries. There was 0 reason for me to drop so far behind enemy lines and leave my knight alone to face wulfen In hindsight I should have dropped in MY corner and focused on killing 1 unit of wulfen at a time Once I cleared the wulfen my knight would have controlled the board completely MVP of the game are his 2 units of Wulfen. I have never faced them on the opposing side. Now I know why people hate mine I was absolutely expecting to clear them with my psykers and had no answer when they remained standing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiguriusX Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Rune Fang Knights v Harlequins My army ++ Super-Heavy Detachment +3CP (Imperium - Imperial Knights) ++ + No Force Org Slot + Exalted Court: Exalted Court: 1 Extra Warlord Trait Heirlooms of the Household: Heirlooms of the Household: 1 Extra Heirloom Household Choice: House Krast, Questor Mechanicus + Lord of War + Armiger Helverins . Armiger Helverin: Heavy Stubber Armiger Helverins . Armiger Helverin: Heavy Stubber Knight Crusader: Character (Exalted Court), Character (Heirloom of the House), Character (Knight Lance), Heavy Stubber, Heirloom: Endless Fury, Stormspear Rocket Pod, Warlord Trait: Ion Bulwark . Avenger Gatling Cannon w/ Heavy Flamer: Avenger Gatling Cannon, Heavy Flamer . Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon w/ Heavy Stubber: Heavy Stubber, Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon ++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) ++ + No Force Org Slot + Trophies of Fenris + HQ + Njal Stormcaller in Runic Terminator Armour: 1. Living Lightning, 2. Tempest's Wrath, 6. Jaws of the World Wolf Rune Priest: 1. Living Lightning, 4. Fury of the Wolf Spirits, Jump Packs, Runic axe, Saga of the Beastslayer, Storm bolter, The Armour of Russ, Warlord Rune Priest in Terminator Armour: 1. Living Lightning, 3. Murderous Hurricane, Runic axe, Runic Terminator armour, Storm bolter + Troops + Grey Hunters: 4x Chainsword . Grey Hunter Pack Leader: Chainsword . 4x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol Grey Hunters: 4x Chainsword . Grey Hunter Pack Leader: Chainsword . 4x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol Grey Hunters: 4x Chainsword . Grey Hunter Pack Leader: Chainsword . 4x Grey Hunter w/Bolt Pistol + Elites + Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield . Wolf Guard Pack Leader in Terminator Armour: Storm bolter, Storm shield Wulfen . 4x Thunder hammer & Stormshield: 4x Storm Shield, 4x Thunder Hammer . 4x Wulfen . Wulfen Pack Leader: Frost claws + Heavy Support + Long Fangs . Long Fang: Plasma cannon . Long Fang: Plasma cannon . Long Fang: Plasma cannon . Long Fang: Plasma cannon . Long Fang: Plasma cannon . Long Fang Pack Leader: Chainsword, Plasma gun ++ Total: [111 PL, -2CP, 1999pts] ++ I dropped the aggressors and intercessors to buy LF-plasma Had to lose the vanguard detachment so it also cost me a CP Totally worth it to bring the overwhelming plasma firepower... Keen senses and wolf's eye if I want to go crazy Also gives me a better shooting attack for Chooser of the Slain if I need it His army I dunno...."stuff" Do you guys even read this part? You should know I don't take meticulous notes of them by now haha Seriously though 3 skyweaver transports 3x 5 man shooty foot units with TONS of fusion blaster pistols 3x 12 man assault foot units 6 man jet bike unit of NASTY stuff Couple of HQs Basically all the flying stuff had -1 to hit defense And EVERY SINGLE THING had a 4++ Pre-game and deployment ITC Mission 6 (Crucible of Champions) Deployment 3 (Search and destroy) I swap my knight relic to the Judgement missile launcher (increases range and AP of the stormspear plus reroll failed hits) Secondary missions Mine Old school Reaper Marked for death -Bike -Assault infantry 1 -Assault infantry 2 -Assault infantry 3 His Big game hunter Behind enemy lines Marked for death -Wulfen -Long fangs -Terminators -JP Rune priest The deployment zones were good for me b/c it prevented a turn 1 attack against my knights. My knights were designed to fire clear across the board and use range to their advantage so I am happy I put them out of his max range (fly plus fusion pistol range was about 25 I think) but ready to walk forward and clear firing lanes RP strike force includes Terminators and newly added LFs Wulfen start on the table as bait...they have no real job to do against this opponent and I just hope they soak up a turn of fire to keep my GH alive He puts most of his things in the transports and a few in reserve Turn 1 He wins the roll for first turn His jet bikes can advance and fire/charge with no penalties so they zip 20" towards my objective holding GHs His fusion pistol troops inside the transports go point blank with my wulfen The rest of his army also fans out and he gets the bonus point for 3 characters on 3 different objectives In his firing phase the bikes erase my GH His first volley of fusion pistols land 5 hits on my wulfen I roll 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 3 SS wulfen are gone His next volley kill the remaining 2 wulfen His third and final volley reduces my GH to 2 models (but they pass morale!) Not exactly how I wanted the game to start but it is my turn now I change my initial battle plan from a potential aggressive attack to fall back and survive I NEED my knight to get through this game so I fan out as best I can to prevent any deep strike haywire tricks for his turn 2 My 2 man GH squad jumps on the objective In the firing phase I activate my helverin's skyreaper protocols and fire at a transport I only manage to put 4 damage on the 6 wound transport (stubber got through too!) Helverin #2 generates 5 shots and fails to put anymore wounds on the transport My knight was hoping to shoot up the infantry that fell out but that is not an option. I unload my RFBC and relic missiles into a fresh transport and pour the stubbers and avenger cannon into the damaged one I barely manage to kill his weakened transport (1 avenger round got through...if the stubber earlier hadn't done the job he would not have died) The 2 man GH squad then fire at the infantry killing 2 The 5 man GH squad can't fire because they advanced 1" to screen out the knight He gets max points (hold/kill/hold more/kill more/bonus I get kill/hold He takes a commanding 5-2 lead that round I also pick up first strike for my old school secondary He picks up a marked for death from the wulfen Turn 2 He smells blood and comes point blank to my knight His reserve forces take control of the objective where my GH started the game His jet bikes come in tight for haywire as well The bikes and haywire drop helverin #1 down to 3 wounds (bottom tier) He chooses to weaken helverin #2 with his next attack instead of finish me off. He drops helverin #2 down to 5 wounds (middle tier) Finally he fusion pistols my knight and 1 gets through. He rolls 1 damage only In the assault phase his 3 man foot squad wipe out my 2 man GH and take the objective from me However...my knight is a character and I HI into his transport (he was not aware this was possible) I easily stomp it to death My knights don't have much room to maneuver but they try to get in tight with his last transport and infantry The last surviving GHs daisy chain the objective and get LOS on his infantry that fell out of the transport The RP strike force comes in to combine firepower with my knights instead of going far away and fighting a separate battle like last game (a mistake I won't repeat again) His forces are now pinned between mine I smite and LL the infantry squad to my left removing 7 or so models I also tempest wrath his jet bike squad and use cloaked by the storm to try and keep my strike force alive In the firing phase my 3 wound armiger gets a surge from his machine spirit and operates at full health (1 CP stratagem used at the beginning of my turn) The 5 wound armiger uses skyreaper protocols to reroll misses against flyers I unload both armigers into his jet bike squad. The bikes have a 3++ but armigers don't care about that. I only have AP1 and he is an ideal target I drop 2/6 bikes (he used a stratagem for another -1 so basically -2 to hit these bikes) My crusader puts his RFBC and missiles into the last transport but fails miserably The avenger cannon and stubbers go into the infantry near my RPs My LF use my last CP to keen senses and overcharge into his bikes I kill 1 more bike (3 left) My GH reduce the foot squad to a single model Don't remember exactly what my terminators shot but they did probably helped wipe out an infantry squad The terminators were the thing he feared most at this point in the game. The dakka just shreds him despite all the 4++ All 3 knights charge into the transport My crusader would stomp it to death and the infantry would pop out I only partially charge the last troop because I need the objective point It costs me as the 2 GH in range fail to kill him I score kill/hold/kill more He scores kill/hold/hold more and bonus He has a 4-3 round but my army is starting to ramp up He scored behind enemy lines Turn 3 His large assault unit comes toward me. They all basically have marine power swords (S4 AP3) I failed with my DS deployment here. I was TRYING to leave a path for my JP RP to intervene with his armor of russ. But when I went to move him I bumped the bases and agreed I made it too narrow. However...I was still enough of a factor that he only charged the LFs. He only got a few models into base with them and when the dust settled I had 1 LF pack leader alive and he passed morale. He then consolidates into my terminators preventing me from firing. I kill a few models off in return His jet bikes flee to the tower. I honestly don't remember what they shot...probably haywire into my crusader but minimal damage His foot infantry and lone model move to finish off the armigers Despite the low model count he still has 5 or 6 fusion blasters among these models They easily blow my armigers off the table Unfortunately for him the crusader HI into him again Unfortunately for me he made ALL his 4++ saves and I rolled many 1s to wound. Literally 0 models stomped to death On my turn I try to move the knight into charge range to clear the HQ off the objective if needed I fire the relic missiles and RFBC into the bikes killing 2 more (1 last survivor) and avenger cannon and stubbers into a single infantry model near my RPs and I heavy flame the 5 man fusion blaster squad *Funny note here. I was trying to not waste the knight on an infantry model but I HAD to remove the infantry so i could target his HQs. All my other small arms fire failed (3 RPs and LF with his rapid fire plasma) So yes...it was overkill but I needed the model dead My terminators are stuck in combat so I move the RPs around to get smites lined up I get JUST enough smites and LL through to remove the bodies from my terminators allowing them to fire I unload my SBs into his lone HQ on the objective He rolls extremely well for his 4++ but I gun him down The last thing remaining near my RP strike force is an HQ and we make quick work of him in assault Final thoughts and MVP So this game ended on turn 3 due to league business I came into the final week in 3rd place but top 3 were all very close scores My opponent never showed. I waited an hour for a possible replacement but none were available League TO said I auto win which puts me in 2nd place and got his army to play a match with me The score in turn 3 of this game had me behind on points. I had 8 primary to his 13 I had 6 secondary to his 6 However we both agreed I would mop up and secure the win over the next 3 turns He had nothing to quickly deal with my knight and my RP strike force would tear through anything in LOS MVP this match was the Knight crusader once again Even the "shooty" knight is a beast in melee with his S8 stomp attacks. He basically has 12 power fists in combat And aside from the model there are so many tricks and stratagems....the worst offender is the surge of the machine spirit letting me operate at full strength It has 24 wounds and 3++ against shooting I have basically replaced my SW leviathan with the crusader A leviathan is nice and all but nowhere near the power and durability of a knight Honestly I think knights are too much for the point and CP cost I'm not even using a castellan (the OP cheese monster) Anyways I had a great league run with my Rune Knights but the saga ends here Finishing 2nd place was totally unexpected. I was just going to play. I got $30 store credit that had to be used so I picked up an enginseer for my next project. I will be preparing the Stygian Wolves for war next An admech/SW force (maybe the knight can tag along too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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