The Roost of Turkadactyl

Well, Shark Week has come to a close but that doesn’t mean I can’t still report on the predators from the deep.  To my credit this game was played during Shark Week.  Jerrod is one of the participants signed up for Badab War YEG and has been trying out combinations for his Salamanders.  Our last game I was extremely lucky.  My Grav Centurions were sharpshooters that game.  They wrecked a Land Raider in the first turn and exploded a Stormraven in the second that resulted in massive casualties.  My Assault Centurions were then able to gain the charge on the thunderhammer Terminators.  Jerrod didn’t have enough left over to deal sufficient damage to my army.  Will the Salamander’s weapons find revenge?  Will the Carcharodons continue their blood frenzy?  Read more to find out.

Last game I wanted to bring the Caestus Assault Ram but didn’t have the means to safely transport it.  Jerrod had a juicy target to ram in the form of a Stormraven.  I wrote the Caestus into this list expecting Jerrod to bring the Stormraven again.  Jerrod was also talking about trying out Grav Centurions in a Drop Pod so I braced for the worse.

I started out with models I wanted to take and quickly ran out of space.  In the end I showed up with an unbound list.  The Caestus was a must.  So was the Land Raider Achilles.  I dropped a lot of money on these models so with 2000 points as the limit they are going in.  I recently assembled a Stormraven so I wanted to give that a go to.  My love for Terminators runs deep so naturally those go in the list.  The Honour Guard show up in a lot of my lists because I love the models.  The Forgeworld models are spectacular and I don’t need much of an excuse to add the Sharknado banner.  I notice that I am running a reserve sensitive force and throw in the Damocles Command Rhino.  I was expecting to go up against Grav Centurions so I fight fire with fire.

Space Marines- Carcharodons

HQ

• Tyberos- warlord (preferred enemy infantry)
• Damocles Command Rhino- dozer blade

Elites

• Honour Guard (6 models)- chapter standard
• Assault Terminators (5 models)- thunderhammer and storm shield

Troops

• Red Brethren Assault Terminators (5 models)- lightning claws

Fast Attack

• Caestus Assault Ram- frag assault launchers, armoured ceramite

Heavy Support

• Land Raider Achilles- pintle-mounted multi-melta
• Stormraven- twin-linked lascannon, twin-linked multi-melta
• Devastator Centurions (3 models)- Veteran Sergeant, grav cannon and grav amp, missile launcher, Drop Pod

Space Marines- Salamanders

I don’t have Jerrod’s list so going off the top of my head.

HQ

• Chapter Master- artificer armour, thunderhammer, Shield Eternal, warlord (5+ FNP)
• Chaplain- terminator armour

Troops

• Tactical Marines (5 models)- Veteran Sergeant with combi-melta, grav gun, Drop Pod (whirlwind launcher)
• Tactical Marines (5 models)- Veteran Sergeant with combi-melta, meltagun, Drop Pod (whirlwind launcher)
• Tactical Marines (5 models)- Veteran Sergeant with combi-flamer, flamer, Drop Pod (whirlwind launcher)

Elites

• Assault Terminators (5 models)- thunderhammer and stormshield
• Vanguard Veterans (5 models)- thunderhammer and stormshield
• Terminators (5 models)- heavy flamer

Heavy Support

• Land Raider
• Land Raider Redeemer

We roll for deployment and get the long table, which means 24″ deployment zone for each player.  We roll Emperor’s Will and place six objectives.  Only time will tell if objective secured will win the day for Jerrod.  I win first turn and deploy the Land Raider Achilles and Damocles Command Rhino.  I hide the Damocles in a ruin and place the Achilles beside the commmand tank for deep strike defense.   The Honour Guard are buckled into the seats in the Achilles.  Everything else goes into reserve.

Jerrod embarks the Chapter Master and Vanguard in the Land Raider straight across the field from my Achilles.  The Assault Terminators and Chaplain board the Redeemer on Jerrod’s right field.  Everything else go into reserve.

We roll for night fight and the battle takes place at high noon.  Jerrod attempts to sieze and fails.

Carcharodons Turn 1

The Grav Centurions arrive via Drop Pod.  I place the Drop Pod on the objective hidden from view in the picture you see above.  I end up scattering eight inches back towards my own zone.  I have to march the Centurions forward to get within grav range of the Land Raider.  I end up removing three hull points and immobilizing the lumbering beast.  That’s big for me.  Now the Chapter Master has to march forward.  I’ve played a few games against this Chapter Master and this is a model that can carry the game on his shoulders.  This guy is a beast in combat.

I slide the Achilles over to allow the Damocles to move out of the ruins.  The Damocles then pops smoke and braces for a Drop Pod attack.

Salamanders Turn 2

The melta/grav Tacticals try to land on the objective that my Grav Centurions attempted to land on.  The Drop Pod scatters four inches towards Jerrod’s deployment zone.  The Marines target the Grav Centurions and kill one.  The Chapter Master and Vanguard remain in the Land Raider.  The Land Raider targets the Grav Centurions and removes one wound.

Jerrod targets the Damocles with the melta/melta Tactical Marines.  Jerrod pulls a gutsy move since the Drop Pod is about three to four inches away from the board edge.  Jerrod rolls to scatter and hits the mark.  The Marines pour out and release their fire into the Damocles.  I make one cover save and the second shot finds its mark through the smoke destroying the storm bolter.

Carcharodons Turn 2

I roll for reserves and the Caestus and thunderhammer Terminators arrive.  Tyberos and the Red Brethren are embarked on the Caestus.  I use the thunderhammer Terminators defensively and drop them in my deployment zone close to the Damocles.  Jerrod moved the Redeemer eighteen inches last turn and my thunderhammer Terminators are my answer to the problem.  The Terminators deep strike and hit the mark.  I run them to spread them out.

The Damocles moves forward and parks the rear door against the doors of a ruin.  The Honour Guard step out of the Achilles and move towards the Tactical Marines.  The Achilles then spins with all guns pointed to the Salamanders.  The Achilles is not an assault vehicle so there will be no assault from the Honour Guard.  The Achilles targets the Drop Pod while the Honour Guard target the Tacticals.  The Drop Pod is wrecked and three Marines suffer grievous wounds.  The wrecked Drop Pod grants first blood.

The Grav Centurions move towards the Tactical Marines and seek cover of the Drop Pod.  * Jerrod glued the doors shut.  As per the FAQ the Drop Pod would block line of sight. We played that the Drop Pod provided a 5+ cover save. *  The power armour proves to be a death trap to the grav cannons and the unit is obliterated.

The Caestus arrives and places the Redeemer in its crosshairs.  The melta cannon manages to place a stunning hit on the revered machine.

Salamanders Turn 2

Jerrod fails the reserve roll for the Terminators.  The last Drop Pod arrives and claims the objective by the shrine.  The Tactical Marines stay hidden.  The Redeemer moves forward a couple of inches due to the Caestus blocking its path.  The Chapter Master and Vanguard stay in the Land Raider.  The Land Raider targets the Grav Centurions and remove one wound.  Both Centurions now have a wound.

Carcharodons Turn 3

I fail the reserve roll for the Stormraven.  The Caestus moves towards the Land Raider and glances the hulk and wrecks it in the process.  The Chapter Master and Vanguard disembark and attempt to hide from the Carcharodons guns.

The Achilles targets the Drop Pod beside the Grav Centurions and destroys it.  The Grav Centurions target the Drop Pod that just arrived by the shrine.  The Drop Pod is quickly engulfed in flames.

The Honour Guard and thunderhammer Terminators charge the Tactical Marines.  The power swords of the Honour Guard quickly dispose of the Salamanders.  Both units now have rage thanks to their chapter tactics.

Salamanders Turn 3

Jerrod fails his reserve roll for the Terminators.  The Chapter Master and Vanguard run towards the shrine.  They know an advance forward means death.  The Redeemer inches forward and strategically stops between two objectives.  It targets the Grav Centurions and kill one.

Carcharodons Turn 4

The Caestus drops into hover mode and targets the Chapter Master.  Jerrod wisely spread his Vanguard out to minimize losses.  The melta cannon drops one veteran.  I use the one shot four blast weapon and kill a second veteran.

The Stormraven arrives and targets the Redeemer.  It is unable to finish the job.  The Achilles targets the Redeemer and it too cannot finish the job.  The Grav Centurion conclude the shooting and wreck the Redeemer.  The Chaplain and thunderhammer Terminators spill out.  The Damocles calls down an orbital bombardment from above.  Jerrod rolls three successful saves and only loses one terminator.

Salamanders Turn 4

Jerrod deep strikes the Terminators on the side of the Fortress closest to his deployment zone.  Jerrod scatter eleven inches towards my deployment zone and right into the shark tank.  He is surrounded by the Achilles, Honour Guard and thunderhammer Terminators.  The Salamander Terminators take aim at the Centurion on the battlements of the Fortress and are unable to remove the model.

The thunderhammer Terminators and Chaplain perform a tactical retreat behind a building.  There is an objective hidden from the view of the Carcharodons.  The Chapter Master and Vanguard join the Tactical Marines hiding behind the shrine.

Carcharodons Turn 5

The Achilles targets the Terminators and kills one with a multi-melta.  The blast from the Thunderfire scatters backwards and lands on my Drop Pod.  I cause one glance from the four blast templates.  The Honour Guard shoot with their bolt pistols and kill another Terminator.  My thunderhammer Terminators and Honour Guard charge the three survivors and the power swords make short work of the Salamanders.

The Caestus takes to the air and zooms into Jerrod’s deployment zone.  It cannot shoot since there are no units in its crosshairs.  The Stormraven targets the Chapter Master and fails to cause a wound.

Salamanders Turn 5

The Chapter Master and Vanguard move towards an objective.  If I was paying attention I should have placed the Caestus there in my turn.  It would have blocked Jerrod from claiming the objective.  I have two objectives, first blood and linebreaker for eight points.  Jerrod is holding three objectives for nine points.  We roll for turn six and I luck out.  We play another round.

Carcharodons Turn 6

The Caestus drops into hover mode and Tyberos and the Red Brethren disembark.  I keep my options open and move close enough to the Chapter Master and Tactical Marines.  I am not certain who I want to charge.  The Caestus and Stormraven target the Chapter Master and kill on Vanguard.  Tyberos goes for the bigger prey and charges the Chapter Master.  The last two Vanguard are slain in combat and the Chapter Master takes two wounds.  My Veteran Terminator and a Red Brethren are killed by the mighty hammer of the Chapter Master.

Salamanders Turn 6

Jerrod’s Chapter Master is not close enough to claim the objective.  He moves his thunderhammer Terminators from the safety of the building in hopes to claim another objective.  The Chaplain remains hidden.  Jerrod attempts to charge my Honour Guard and comes up short.  The Chapter Master kills another Red Brethren.  I am now winning 8-6.  We roll for turn seven and the show must go on.

Carcharodons Turn 7

My Honour Guard move to the unclaimed objective.  They as well as the Grav Centurion and Achilles fire on the Salamander thunderhammer Terminators and leave the squad with one survivor.  I attempt to charge with my thunderhammer Terminators and fail.

The Caestus and Stormraven target the Tactical Marines.  The unit goes to ground and Jerrod rolls a fantastic amount of sixes.  He only loses one Marine.

Salamanders Turn 7

The thunderhammer Terminator charges the Honour Guard and receives a brutal beat down in combat.

My two Red Brethren are unable to cause any damage to the Chapter Master.  They in turn receive critical damage to their suits and are unable to recover.  Tyberos powers up his chain fists and cuts down the Chapter Master.  The game now ends with a 15-6 victory to the Carcharodons.

My concern going into the game was my low model count.  Had Jerrod used his Grav Centurions and Stormraven this would have been a lot closer.  His list was ideal for mine.  I had the tools necessary to deal with the two Land Raiders.  I was also able to outnumber Jerrod in most combats.  Had Jerrod went with a higher model count I’m sure I would have lost a lot more.  I was able to deal with each threat in sufficient time.  I wasn’t pressed with too many threats at the start.  I was able to weather the storm in turn 1 and Jerrod was not able to recover.  It was Shark Week and these sharks were not going to be denied a victory.

On a side note my wife and I ran a Spartan race the previous weekend.  It was a 5 km run that should have taken around 45 minutes.  It rained a lot during the morning with the rain letting up prior to our heat.  Half of the race went through a residential development area.  That means the ground had been leveled and vegetation removed.  The result was a lot of mud.  The race took about an hour and a half due to the conditions and as you can see in the picture we got a wee bit muddy.

Thanks for reading.