40k Battle Report -1250pts Chaos VS Necrons

Warhammer 40k Battle Report 1250pts Chaos VS Necrons

We had time for one more game after the previous battle report and so we played a 1250pt battle of Chaos Space Marines against Necrons using the same board set up as before. The mission was Crusade (D3+2 objectives, 4 this game) this time with Vanguard Strike rolled as the deployment type. Chaos won the roll to go first.

Chaos Space Marines

Typhus

x5 Terminators (MoN, x4 Combi-flamers, Gift of Mutation)

x7 Plague Marines (x1 Flamer)

x7 Plague Marines (x1 Flamer)

x14 Plague Zombies

x5 Havoks (MoN, x4 Autocannons)

Helbrute (Reaper Autocannon + Missile Launcher)

x4 Chaos Spawn (MoN)

Necrons

Imotekh the Stormlord

x 10 Warriors (x1 Ghost Ark)

x 10 Warriors

Triarch Stalker (x1 TL Heavy Gauss Cannon)

x5 Deathmarks

x3 Canoptek Wraiths (x3 Whip Coils)

x3 Canoptek Scarabs
Monolith

(Note: We forgot that Imotekh forced Night Fighting to be in effect and had actually rolled for it instead and subsequently believed that it wasn't in effect until Turn 5. We caught our mistake after the first turn or so but in terms of overall outcome it made no difference.)

TURN 1 CHAOS

Despite Imotekh being able to steal initiative on a 4+ he failed to do so, meaning I still got to go first. Knowing full well that my list had nothing that could penetrate the Monolith and only one thing that could glance it I had already decided to take the most common approach to fighting them – ignore it. I knew that to have any hope of winning I needed to focus less on capturing his objectives and more on getting First Blood and, noticing Imotekh all alone behind a bunker, Slay the Warlord.

With my zombies sat on one objective and one squad of Plague Marines guarding the other I had set up in my deployment that didn't leave much to move. My Havoks started within a ruin and had a perfect firing lane down the board thanks to the extra height so they weren't going anywhere either. My other Plague Marine squad moved and ran in conjunction with Typhus and his Terminators doing the same up the right flank. My general plan was to sacrifice the marines as an easy target in order to give Typhus time to get to and squash the Stormlord. In conjunction with this, my spawn ran up and took shelter in a building just outside my deployment up the left flank.

The only shooting done during my first turn involved the Helbrute failing to do anything to the Ghost Ark on the left flank. The Havoks also opened fire on it and through very, very lucky rolling managed two glancing hits on it.

TURN 1 NECRONS

The Monolith floated forward without a care in the world (as expected). The Ghost Ark moved up as well despite the damage it had taken in my turn. Meanwhile, Imotekh stayed perfectly still as did the Warriors guarding one of his objectives. For whatever reason, the Wraiths kind of hung around this general area as well perhaps as an extra bodyguard for the objective.

The shooting phase began with the lightning strikes from Imotekh that only managed to hit the Havok squad and subsequently only managed to take out one of them which was a pretty lucky result for me overall. The Stalker could only see my Terminators and opened fire on them managing to gun down one. The Warriors that could just about see them also fired but didn't manage to get through their armour. The Monolith fired its Particle Whip and very painfully annihilated four out of seven of the Plague Marines that were moving up the board, reducing their threat level considerably.

State of the game during turn one

TURN 2 CHAOS

My second movement phase opened with a little bit of repositioning of both the Helbrute and the Chaos Spawn to impede the approach of the Ghost Ark. Typhus and his bodyguards moved up some more towards the far end of the table and my surviving Plague Marines moved towards the Warriors holding an objective.

At the start of the shooting phase Typhus cast Plague Wind on the Warriors nearby but it managed to scatter just enough to only hit one and then failed to wound. The Havoks decided to fire on the Triarch Stalker this turn but whiffed totally. The surviving marines were equally unlucky against the Warriors.

Things looked slightly up after that. The Helbrute fired its Reaper Autocannon and non-blast missile at the Ghost Ark and managed to wreck it. The Warriors chose to disembark backwards, ruining the chances my spawn could then lock them in combat and also putting them closer to where my opponent had placed his other objective in the mid-ground of the battlefield. Now unable to charge, my spawn ran forward instead.

After some discussing and rule checking we came to realize that if the Stalker locked Typhus and his Terminators in combat they would be unable to hurt it and be unable to run from combat thanks to Typhus being Fearless. Knowing that this was now his plan (as we couldn't find any rule that said otherwise) I desperately tried to charge the Warriors with my Terminators so at least I could take out something useful whether the Stalker joined combat or not. The charge was failed by half an inch.

TURN 2 NECRONS

My heart sank as the turn opened with the Triarch Stalker moving right up to the Terminators to ensure that the charge would be successful. Though not in danger, Imotekh chose to move position via the portal in the Monolith and attached himself to the Warrior squad protecting his objective. This was because he rolled the Warlord Trait that gave his Warlord and unit Feel No Pain within 3” of an objective. The Wraiths left the safety they had been in and and made a beeline for the approaching spawn.

Lighting strikes struck the battlefield again at the start of the shooting phase but didn't hit a single thing. The Monolith unleashed its Particle Whip at the Chaos Spawn and did a single wound to the closest. The Warriors nearby ignored the spawn and instead tried to glance the Helbrute to death, however only a single glance got through. The other squad of Warriors now with the Stormlord attached shot at the approaching Plague Marines but did nothing.

The assault phase saw the Stalker charge into the Terminators and Typhus. It failed to do anything and they were physically incapable of doing anything back.

TURN 3 CHAOS

Being about the only thing of value he could do now, Typhus used a malediction to open the turn and managed to give the gift of strength -1 to the nearby Warriors. The marines moved around a little bit more and the spawn moved forward ready to charge.

For once, we remembered to roll on the crazed table for the Helbrute and he got the Fire Frenzy result meaning he couldn't move but got to fire everything twice. Even after two missiles and two sets of shots from a Reaper Autocannon, the Helbrute was only able to knock over three Warriors – a terrible result. The Havoks took shots at a slightly visible Warriors and didn't do a thing. The Plague Marines shot at the Warriors using the surviving Flamer in the squad but, thanks to the Feel No Pain given by the objective and Imotekh's presence, failed to kill any.

Knowing that they'd just be annihilated by combined fire next turn, the Plague Marines charged the Warriors since it was their best chance for survival. One tripped, fell, and died on the way in leaving two. Since my Plague Champion was still alive and the Stormlord was joined to the squad I had to issue a challenge and it was accepted. The spawn easily charged into the other squad of Warriors - however, due to some shocking rolling, did absolutely nothing. This was echoed in the fight between Typhus, his Terminators, and the Stalker.

TURN 3 NECRONS

The Deathmarks came in from reserve this turn. They scattered quite a lot during the Deep Strike but ended up closer to my full strength Plague Marine squad sitting on one of my objectives. Naturally, this squad of marines then became their marked targets.

The Monolith took a shot at the Helbrute and managed a fairly ineffective glancing hit. The Deathmarks launched their attack on the Plague Marines but despite being marked managed to fail to do a single wound.

Easily making their charge, the Wraiths joined the combat between the spawn and Warriors. Nothing happened in the combat with the Stalker, the challenge between the Plague Champion and Stormlord remained a draw with no wounds happening between the other combatants around them either and the Warriors did nothing to the spawn. In retaliation however the spawn took down two more Warriors and then the Wraiths dissected two spawn.

TURN 4 CHAOS

Once again my turn opened with Typhus trying to give a 'gift' to the Warrior squad nearby. This time they suffered -1 attack which, on a base 1 attack model, was utterly pointless. Elsewhere I rolled for the Helbrute's crazed result and this time he gained Rage for a turn, so I moved him next to the Deathmarks. There was nothing else to move as they were either sitting on objectives or in combat.

Havoks opened fire with their Autocannons on the Deathmarks and knocked one over. The Plague Marine squad sitting on my objective rapid fired everything they had...and only managed to knock over another one. The Helbrute fired at them and wasn't able to deal a single wound, so he charged into combat straight after making good use of Rage.

The combats going on elsewhere were largely uneventful. The Stalker still failed to deal any wounds to the unit it had successfully trapped. The challenge with the Stormlord amazingly was a draw again and nothing else happened with the surviving marine in that combat either.

The Helbrute battered into the Deathmarks knocking down enough to win combat. The Deathmarks failed their morale and in a wonderful stroke of luck were caught in a Sweeping Advance and wiped out to grant me First Blood.

Elsewhere, the other squad of Warriors dealt two wounds to the surviving spawn and then the Wraiths finished them off. The Wraiths consolidated into cover and the Warriors went back up the board a little in order to hold the mid-ground objective. It's interesting to note that if we had done these two combats in the opposite order then Necrons would have gotten First Blood.

Elsewhere the spawn may have died, but this is the combat worth watching

TURN 4 NECRONS

I had totally forgotten that there were any Scarabs on the table. They had quietly been staying behind the Monolith the whole game moving in time with it waiting for a moment to strike. Given that the Helbrute had served me well I'd say they waited too long, but either way they chose this turn to shoot out and head straight towards it. The Wraiths also headed in that general direction as well with a mind to contest my objective guarded by Plague Marines.

The Monolith fired to no effect against the marines.

In the various assaults little progress was made. The Stalker managed to kill a Terminator making that the only thing of interest to happen in that combat for the whole game. The challenge was a stalemate for a third (!) turn in a row, but the other Plague Marine caught in the fight with the Warriors around them managed to kill one.

TURN 5 CHAOS

Turns for me got really fast now since I was running out of units. The Helbrute moved into a position to fire at the Scarabs as best it could purely since the only other thing in visible range was the Monolith. The Plague Marines opened fired on the approaching Scarabs as well and managed to remove a base (inadvertently meaning the Helbrute couldn't see at all). The Havoks couldn't see anything that they could wound thanks to the Monolith being in the way.

There were no casualties in any of the combats.

TURN 5 NECRONS

The Wraiths began this turn by ignoring the Helbrute completely and moving into position for an easy charge against my Plague Marines in order to contest the objective they guarded. The Scarabs moved into position to eat the Helbrute for dinner.

The only shooting involved the Monolith yet again failing to do any damage with the whip.

Assaults began. Scarabs rushed the Helbrute hoping for a quick snack and although they chewed his armour down didn't manage to finish him off. The Wraiths charged into the Plague Marines (and as I write this up I realize we forgot to take into account the fact they were in cover and that they had defensive grenades) and killed two out of seven.

Elsewhere in the astonishing on going challenge, the Plague Champion actually managed to both stay alive and put a wound on Imotekh. Nothing else happened in the fight going on around them.

RESULTS

Due to time constraints we chose to end the game at turn 5 rather than rolling for it. It should be obvious but I'll say it anyway – if the game did go on for one or two more turns it was pretty much a guaranteed loss for Chaos as my luck had to run out sometime. However, as things stood at the end of turn 5... it was a Chaos victory.

We both contested one objective and safely held another. Due to Vanguard Strike deployment zones neither of us quite had Line Breaker meaning it came solely down to me having First Blood. It was a victory, but a hollow one and very, very lucky.

The Plague Champion was my MVP by a country mile. Had he have gone down in the four rounds of combat he survived against Imotekh the Stormlord it would have been a loss.

(A video of this battle report will be posted in a day or two!)