Whining how I didn't like the game anymore and selling my army etc to make sure I didn't had to refuse challenges, this was the best way to avoid me from having any chance ending in the top spots of a league I created myself.
But now, with only 3.5 months of game time to go, in which I can get tops 5 battles in anyways, I'm somewhere in the midfield and it is time to unleash the hurricane of pinks and purples again on the contestants.
And the first in my path is a force of Salamanders, who also are fielded by one of the top league players, Wim and have some pretty ccurate shooting build with them. Nevertheless, I'm going the way of high risk, high reward this time (yeah, a bit against my nature) and going with a heavy close combat orientated force. Now, the list I`m taking was made to face Tau, but my opponent had to cancel last moment and Wim stepped in for a game.
Consisting of a tooled up Demon Prince, a sorcerer and Lucius for the character slots, the force also takes along some serious blocks of troops in the form of a 20 man cc squad, a squad of Noise Marines and a block of Cultists. To add even more troops to the party are 2 units of daemonettes to be summoned to the field when and where needed, as their claws can get very nasty against battle suits. A squad of Havocs with 2 lascannons and 2 chaincannons, and the support of a laser destroyer and a quad bolter, make me able to lay down a serious amount of covering fire as well while the force advances over the tablefield, ready to rip up some Loyalists...
Opposing me? Salamanders known for their abundance of lascannons and heavy bolters. A Captain, an Apthecary and 2 Techmarines provided the logistics, backed by three 5 man tactical squads, three heavy bolter devastator squads, 2 dual lascannon equipped forge world dreadnoughts, a Predator with heavy bolters and autocannon, and a Xyston fighter...
The table rolled was set up nr 3, with the 9" circle in the middle, and Wim rolled the Cloak and Shaodws scenario. I loved this, the -1 would help hopefully in my rush forward...
So the forces where deployed, and we where ready to go to war...
Turn 1
I had the first turn, and started a long run down the centre towards the enemy gunline. I would have to pass through the central bottleneck to get there, so this might become a slaughter, or if I was lucky, would get me there swiftly. To reinforce this rush and cause some distraction on the flanks, both units of daemonettes arrived as well.
The Salamander player chased hs airplane down his open flank, firing as it went. He had by then lost already a small tactical squad that gained me First Blood, and his Predator had been severly damaged, but survived at 2 wounds to give his Techmarine some work on his hands.
However, his retaliation was brutal, decimating my close combat marines to only 4 models (and forcing me to use an Insane Bravery), but I rolled a 6 (for 3 points) on an Areal Denial amongst the other cards I could score, and giving me a strong 1-6 lead and outting him on the chase.
Turn 2
While my demon princess charged his airplane, a unit of daemonettes charged another of his Tactical squads. Wim was comforted by Mike saying those daemonettes don't have much AP... so 4 rolls of 6 later...
The princess made short work of the airplane as well, boosted by Diabolical Strength (and giving me Rise to Glory). His retaliation was not as severe in the previous turn, but the deamonettes did pay dearly. This also meant my "oomph" was shot out of my army, but with a 1 - 8 lead, I decided to play the defence game from now on, withdraw on my own half and try to consolidate the lead.
Turn 3
That Predator had to die, not because it was so fantastically performing, but for the moral victory. With my Havocs and Rapiers uickly decimated by the lascannons opposing me, it came down to the Noise Marines who finished the machine off.
In the centre, it where the Salamanders who where now forced to advance, and charged a unit of Cultists cowering behind a building... losing two of their number for 4 poor cultists.
With a 3 - 10 lead, I went into turn 4. This would be do-able I guess, and Wim realised he needed good objective cards to turn this all around.
Turn 4 and 5
Continuing the waiting game, only Lucius charged forward, out to get to grips with a Techpriest after the Salamanders had destroyed the Noise Marines last turn. Albeit at the expense of some wounds on his characters. In close combat, the master duelist finished the wounded guy off swiftly as a result... and consolidated right towards his general (in front of stacks of lascannons...)
Wim threw the towel at this point, only playing his turn to nuke Lucius for some mental comfort "as his 5th turn"...
And the game ended at turn 4 / 5, with a 4 - 11 win for the Emperor's Children!
Victory to Slaanesh and another relic for my Altar. In what was an odd going battle, looking at the table it was like I was constantly being hammered, and in a way that was as such. But I had far more luck then Wim on the draw, and the gap I created in points in the first two turns meant I only needed to make sure to have at least one survivor at the end of the game....
Great game!
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