BatRep: 800 points Emperor's Children versus Death Guard

So it was the evening at last, after 8 years and 3 editions, I returned to the battlefields of Warhammer 40.000 and would be facing of Nemesis and his Death Guard.

Now, the 800 was basically what I had painted already, and to be honest, I didn`t feel comfortable with my force... and I would be proven so right.

The units I had where mostly close combat orientated, and if there is one thing I always shunned away from in games, it`s the going up close and personal.  I`m a ranged player, but let`s make do with what we have.
I fielded an Exalted Champion, a Sorcerer, a Marine Squad with Heavy Bolter and Plasma Gun, a Cultist squad with flamer, a Rapier Quad Bolter, a unit of Possessed, a unit of Warp talons and a Spawn.

Facing me was Typhus himself, a Sorcerer, a squad of Death guard, two units of Poxwalkers and a Blight Drone.  And by Slaanesh, I developped a big hatred for that last guy.

I knew the odds where against me in that I was facing T5 guys, with a 5+ ignore wound special rule on top of their save.  High S guns where limited in my force, and as I had to rush in after deployment, my plan was basically to quickly rip the Drone to shreds, then try and swamp the marines and hope to hold out until turn 5 of the Ancient Relic scenario.

First blood went to the Emperor`s Children, with the Marines taking down 2 Poxwalkers, while the Rapier rattled a single Death Guard to pieces.  A good start for some long range firepower, but boy was I`m going to see it slide downhill.

That accursed Blight Drone nailed the Spawn before it had any chance to do anything.  Oh well, I din`t have high hopes anyways for this point filler model anyways.

In turn 2, the Talons appeared 9 inch from his Sorcerer, and charged in a mighty eleven, ripping the caster to bits.  The Children had the upperhand at this moment, but little did I know this was actually the final success in the battle.

Losing one due to Overwatch, the 4 Possessed charged the Drone.  Managing to make 4 attacks, missing with 3, and not wounding.  And of course I forgot to use the ability of the Exalted Champion nearby, and their additional ignore wound psychic power benefit...

The drone duly flew off and blasted two of the Possessed apart...

My Marines and Cultists threw themselves unto the Death Guard, and the Marines over the course of several turns of battle failed to do anything but die.  The Cultists ironically accounted in the end for 4 of the plagued servants of Nurgle.  Yes, the s3 Cultists... not the S8 Power fist, which did nothing in all rounds (and I didn`t know you could fire pistols in CC, that`s one wasted plasma pistol, but heck, it`s a first timer and it`s to learn).

Meanwhile, the Drone turns to my Exalted Champion, and out of the blue, I`m down my general... 6 hits, 4 wounds, 4 failed saves... and vengeance for the melta hit on the Drone is extracted.

Typhus and the Poxwalkers join in the fray at the building, putting even more pressure on the Marine squad.

The Sorcerer and the Possessed throw themselves on the drone... and miss with everything.  So flies the drone again, and one salvo later my Sorcerer is off to the Warp to meet his master.

Consolidating around the objective, the Possessed charge the Drone yet again, and again one falls to the machines Overwatch.  But at last, the beast is killed.

Of course, it explodes spectacularly, leaving me with one Cultist and one wounded Possessed on the board... so the last turn wasn`t even played anymore as I threw in the towel.  I also had the Rapier still around, but he couldn`t do much as everything was locked in combat in the center.

So what did I learn?

1. Read the rulebook
2. Possessed are relegated to the far back of the closet.  I don`t like close combat all that much, and they are just not my cup of tea.  The Rapier on the other hand impressed me, and I`m painting up the remaining two as soon as they arrive for a full battery around which I`ll be building my future armies.
3. Lousy dice rolls don`t help, but neither does forgetting using your psychic skill protection or character attributes.  Let`s call it beginner's mistakes.

So now it`s time to overhaul the force a bit, and in about a month I will challenge for my rematch, at 1000 points this time, and without those frakkin Possessed xD