“Where is your army?!” W40k
Big Mik showed this Sunday why the Orks are an army to fear in 40k. Though we agreed to fight a 1000 army size battle, it is truly amazing the number of Orks you can field with given points. If I remember correctly, the Orks had at least five mobs of boyz with a klaw wielding Nobs in each one, 4 trucks, a fearsome war boss and a killer kan. Big Mik was truly trying to overwhelm me in one massive charge.
I had a platoon, a FIST squad, deep striking storm troopers, a Lehman Russ battle tank and two Hell Hounds. It initially did not look good. I needed to protect and effectively use my flame-throwing Hell Hounds.
When the armies where finally deployed on the table, my nephew who was visiting the club for the first time and watching me play someone else for the first time asked me, “Where is your army?!”; I began to worry.
We rolled a “seize ground” mission with a “dawn of war” setup. Selecting to go first after winning the die roll, Mike sets up his horde aggressively and forces his hand on my troop deployment; I follow suite and deploy as far back as I could and mounted my FIST troops.
Turn 1
Mike rushes forward. Because of turn 1 night rules; he chooses to run instead of firing, but rolls ineffectively when running. My handy-dandy searchlight turns on and allows me to pound a mob group; the Nob and a few boyz survive.
Turn 2
Mike keeps closer and again fails to get good advantage with the running die roll.
My Hellhound flame-throwers continue spitting death and I concentrate fire on the transports. Suicidal Storm troopers land and blow up a vehicle. I immobilize another transport. The Klaw-wielding Nob gets closer to my vehicles surviving a rain of firepower.
Turn3
Remember that Nob that survived on turn 1? After throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him; it reaches my Lehman Russ and destroys it. I also suffer light some troop casualties.
My Storm troops disable the killer kan; immobilizing, and castrated it (weapons destroyed). I destroy another transport. My HQ squad assaults the lonely Nob and ties it up in battle.
Turn 4
Mike’s other mobs make contact on the eastern front and overwhelms my troops holding out there. Reinforcements join the hand-to-hand battle between my HQ and the Nob; my commander dies while gutting the Nob. I clear the western side of Orks and mobilize towards the objectives; Mike consolidates and mobilizes as well. The battle is coming down to who can reach and hold the most objectives on turn 5.
Summary
Unfortunately, the random game-ending roll concludes the battle immediately and we will never know what could have been. Mike and I thought I we were close enough to claim at least one, but nay; it’s a draw. Mike game play has changed dramatically. I remember the first game he played against me about 3-4 months ago. He held back and tried having a shoot-out with me. That strategy spelled death for the Orks against the Imperial Guard; I dish out too much firepower. He realizes now the true potential of the Orks; which is hand-to-hand and charges right at me without hesitation with multiple hordes. I was really hard pressed and a bit dismayed in the beginning because I thought I didn’t have a chance with so many Orks. What is better than a Hellhound? Two Hellhounds!! These vehicles dominated the battlefield and kept my army alive. The suicidal storm troopers were very effective landing deep behind enemy lines and destroying transports and disabling the Killer Kan. They also distracted enough troops to prevent a massive Ork front line charge. Mike had a bad ass war boss in an Ork mob. He geared this character with armor that made him slow, which slowed down the mob he joined. He also deployed it a bit far. I believe if Mike would have not done this I would have probably lost. This mob never reached the front lines and never had any real effect in the battle. In my humble opinion, I would have not given it that armor, placed it right in front and charge like a mad demon to my Hellhounds. However, Mike gets better every time we play. I know he saw the flaw as well.
Imperial Guard and Orks Draw
Imperial Guard hold Ilsha!
I had a platoon, a FIST squad, deep striking storm troopers, a Lehman Russ battle tank and two Hell Hounds. It initially did not look good. I needed to protect and effectively use my flame-throwing Hell Hounds.
When the armies where finally deployed on the table, my nephew who was visiting the club for the first time and watching me play someone else for the first time asked me, “Where is your army?!”; I began to worry.
We rolled a “seize ground” mission with a “dawn of war” setup. Selecting to go first after winning the die roll, Mike sets up his horde aggressively and forces his hand on my troop deployment; I follow suite and deploy as far back as I could and mounted my FIST troops.
Turn 1
Mike rushes forward. Because of turn 1 night rules; he chooses to run instead of firing, but rolls ineffectively when running. My handy-dandy searchlight turns on and allows me to pound a mob group; the Nob and a few boyz survive.
Turn 2
Mike keeps closer and again fails to get good advantage with the running die roll.
My Hellhound flame-throwers continue spitting death and I concentrate fire on the transports. Suicidal Storm troopers land and blow up a vehicle. I immobilize another transport. The Klaw-wielding Nob gets closer to my vehicles surviving a rain of firepower.
Turn3
Remember that Nob that survived on turn 1? After throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him; it reaches my Lehman Russ and destroys it. I also suffer light some troop casualties.
My Storm troops disable the killer kan; immobilizing, and castrated it (weapons destroyed). I destroy another transport. My HQ squad assaults the lonely Nob and ties it up in battle.
Turn 4
Mike’s other mobs make contact on the eastern front and overwhelms my troops holding out there. Reinforcements join the hand-to-hand battle between my HQ and the Nob; my commander dies while gutting the Nob. I clear the western side of Orks and mobilize towards the objectives; Mike consolidates and mobilizes as well. The battle is coming down to who can reach and hold the most objectives on turn 5.
Summary
Unfortunately, the random game-ending roll concludes the battle immediately and we will never know what could have been. Mike and I thought I we were close enough to claim at least one, but nay; it’s a draw. Mike game play has changed dramatically. I remember the first game he played against me about 3-4 months ago. He held back and tried having a shoot-out with me. That strategy spelled death for the Orks against the Imperial Guard; I dish out too much firepower. He realizes now the true potential of the Orks; which is hand-to-hand and charges right at me without hesitation with multiple hordes. I was really hard pressed and a bit dismayed in the beginning because I thought I didn’t have a chance with so many Orks. What is better than a Hellhound? Two Hellhounds!! These vehicles dominated the battlefield and kept my army alive. The suicidal storm troopers were very effective landing deep behind enemy lines and destroying transports and disabling the Killer Kan. They also distracted enough troops to prevent a massive Ork front line charge. Mike had a bad ass war boss in an Ork mob. He geared this character with armor that made him slow, which slowed down the mob he joined. He also deployed it a bit far. I believe if Mike would have not done this I would have probably lost. This mob never reached the front lines and never had any real effect in the battle. In my humble opinion, I would have not given it that armor, placed it right in front and charge like a mad demon to my Hellhounds. However, Mike gets better every time we play. I know he saw the flaw as well.
Imperial Guard and Orks Draw
Imperial Guard hold Ilsha!
posted by Alex Lopez at
11:20 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the detailed battle report. I must admit that much of my improvement as a player is a result of advice and suggestions from Alex... another indication of his sportsmanship.
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