Sitrep (40k) Battle of Ratisbona 2012

Ratisbona is, I think, the closes Germany has to a GT. It is also the last date to make the cut for the German ETC team on merit alone. Making it a pretty tough field. Of the 100 places available at one stage they had 140 sign ups. On the day there was 98 players.

Round 1 Vs Roland Zaglauer

Deployment: Pitch battle

Primary mission: Seize Ground

Secondary mission: Assassination, enemy's most expensive HQ counts as an objective marker for the player if he is killed and you control his body at the end of the game.

Special rules: 1st round night fight, Infiltration, Outflank, Reserves, Scout

The enemy: Seize ground

The Baron

3 Haemonculuci

3 True Born Squads with blasters in venom

5 Wrack squads in Venoms

3 Ravagers

2 large beast packs

1 large Hellion squad

Dark Eldar line up

Roland brought a chess clock to the game to time rounds, which was a first for me.  Playing Venom heavy dark was not the best match-up for the Boyz. To make it worse the table consisted of impassable terrain and three small areas of terrain. Roland won the roll off and opted to deploy first. Leaving the Orks with only a small bush to hide behind.

The opening volley from the Dark Eldar was pretty heavy with Boyz and Kans dropping along the line. The Ork return fire was non existent due night fighting and flickers fields in the end only a single Venom was stunned.

Wild Boyz beat of beast pack

The second round of Dark Eldar fire was decisive. The Big Mek's kustom force field must have been overload since none of the Kans and very few Boyz passed a cover save.  The Orks tried to push forward aimed at destroying Dark Eldar scoring units and reducing the fire from the Venoms.  The Baron and his pack pounced on the screening Ork mob and quickly destroyed. Elsewhere a Beast pack tried to do the same but was badly beaten and fled.  Running out of Boyz the Orks opted to consolidate what they had. A mob got the drop on the Baron but were destroyed with little effort.

With the writing on the wall the Orks shot up a couple of Dark Elder scoring units. But it was not enough.

The Baron swoops on an Ork mob

Game result: loss Orks 17-3

I am not sold on the chess clock for 40K.  It works out both players get one hour and fifteen minutes play in the end I lasted fifthy five minutes Vs the Dark Eldar's hour and a half. It was possible to play down the clock in the Dark Eldar's turn with wound allocation and combats but what would be the point?.

Round 2 Vs Patrick Kampmann

Deployment: Dawn of Battle

Primary mission: Annihilation

Secondary mission: none

Special rules: Infiltrate, outflank, Reserve, Scout

The enemy:

1 Mawloc

2 Tervigon

Doom Of Malathani in a pod

2 broods of Hive guard

2 large packs of Genestealers

1 large pack of Homuguants

1 pack of gaunts

.

This time the table had plenty of cover, The boyz would have preferred less to allow for more shots at the bugs.  The Boyz won the roll off and opted to deploy first to deny the side with the most cover from the Bugs. Shoota boyz and Big Mek to deny the table to infiltrators with the rest of the army opting to roll on. In reply the bugs opted to all roll on turn one except the Doom who opted to pod in.

March of the Bugs

Turn one saw the Boyz consolidate their position with the lootas looking for the high ground.  The Bugs arrived and advanced behind a screen of gaunts in cover.  The Boyz open fire, destroying a hive guard unit, downing some genestealers and whittling down the skirmish line.  In response the Bugs pushed down one flank.  The Boyz continued to whittle down the Bugs while the Kans moved forward to engage them.  

Turn three saw the arrival of the Doom who podded straight into the Ork lines and started to mind drain Orks.  The Orks replied by assaulting him and beating him up pretty badly but he stayed standing. Else where an Ork shoota mob opted to assault destroy the Bug screen to take it out of play.  The bugs pushed forward using terrain to make up for the loss of the skirmish screen.  The Shoota mob was destroyed by Homugaunts and genestealers with depressing ease.  The Boyz beat up the Doom again but again he survived.

Doom of Malathani pods in

With the Bugs closing, the Kans moved in for the pin. But disaster struck with all three Kan mobs failing to make contact, leaving the Boyz open for Bugs assault.  Next turn saw the arrival of the Mawloc and the Bugs hit, destroying three mobs in combat. Freeing up the Doom in the process.  The badly damaged Bug mobs opted to hide out of sight of the remaining Orks. While the Orks in returned tried to repair their battle line.  The Kans again failed to make contact with the rampaging genestealers. In reply, one Kan mob was destroyed by the  Mawloc .  The Orks open fire whittling down squads but not getting any kill points.  The Mawloc ate another Kan mob. With that the game ended.

Mawloc eating kans

Result: Ork loss 17-3

Round 3 Vs Thomas Goeritz

Deployment: Spear Head

Primary mission:Capture and control

Secondary mission: Secret lovers? Nominate one unit in your army if it survives the game you count as scoring an objective. Also nominate one unit in your opponents army if it is destroyed you count as scoring an extra objective 

Special rules: Infiltrate, Out flank, Reserves, Scouts

The enemy:
1 Libarian
3 Purifier Squads, two with razorbacks
3 pysker retinue
1 Arco-Flagellant retinue in chimera
1 Assassin retinue
1 Melta gun retinue
2 Dread Kinghts
1 Dakka dread.

Thomas is a Dresdener and we had played before. The last time he had a fate weaver and bloodcrusher bomb. Unfortunately, it met the Sisters just after they had solved the Kairos Conundrum. Thomas is also an awesome painter/convertor and once ran his own sculpting line.

Orks line up for Grey knight attack

The Grey Knights won the roll and opted to deploy first. Their objective went into a forest while the boyz one went behind a hill. Dreadknights deployed in the flanks while purifiers went in the centre with the retinues behind them. The boyz deployed the shoota mobs behind some kans covered by a Big Mek. While the lootas opted for the high ground. 

Dread Knight advances

The Serect lovers had to be declared after deployment. Predictably both side picked units in the front line for their opponent secret lover, kans for the Knights and a squad of Purifiers for the Orks. While their own unit was hidden at the back of the army, Melta gun retinue for the Knights and a Big Mek for the Orks.. Turn one saw the Grey Knight destroyed the valuable Kans while the Dread Knights opted to move around the flanks. The remaining Grey knights moved into cover near the Librarian who prepared to cast Shroud to boost the cover save of near by units.  

In reply one mob of Orks assaulted a nearby Dread Knight, while the lootas destroyed the valuable purifier unit.  The rest of the boyz started shooting at transported with little effect.

 The Grey knights began to advance with pykser retinues laying down covering fire to whittle down the boyz. A purifier squad assault the mob attacking the Dreadknight and between it was quickly destroyed.  The remaining orks got no reinforcements this turn the lootas destroyed to of the knights transports while the boyz whittled down the purifiers.

The Knights continued to advance trying to threaten ork objective and the valuable Big Mek. Final the orks got some reinforcement in the form of two slugga mobs and a kan mob.  The kans targeted the Knights valuable meltagun retinue which was also conveniently guard the Knight own objective and destroyed it. A choppa mob attacked and destroyed a Dread Knight while another pinned the other Dread Knight in combat. The Lootas finished of another Purifier squad.   

Killa Kans over watch Grey Knight objective

The loss of two objective in one turn triggered a change in the Grey Knights battle plan. All of the Pykser retinues pulled back and raced to reclaim their objectives while the rest of the force tried to push on to the Orks objective. The Grey Knight dread raced to intercept the killa kans that covered the now empty Grey Knight objective. The purifiers backed up with the Liberian again decimated the orks with the surviving squad killing sixteen boyz in a single round of shooting.

Grey Knights advance

The Boyz grudging gave ground ineffectively firing at the grey knights while the lootas proved to be out of range of the pykser retinue. The last turn saw one of the retinue just make it into claim range of the grey knights objective. Final score was 3-2 on objectives

Results: Draw 12-8 to Orks