The Roost of Turkadactyl

This is the second game for Phase IV for the Badab War YEG.  All Phase IV matches will be played with the Zone Mortalis rules.  Last game featured a bloody affair between the Minotaurs and Lamenters.  That game resulted in a draw.  How will this match play out?  Both Space Marine chapters enjoy assault.  Let’s see how high-five’s they give each other.

The Carcharodons are playing the role of attacker and the Executioners will be the defenders.  Dave chose a table quarter.  I rolled for my deployment and had to deploy in the far quarter.  The mission is objectives.  Dave has the pleasure of placing the objectives and puts one in his quarter and the other two in the vacant quarters.  First Blood and Slay the Warlord are the secondaries.

This mission used both the Cold Void and Catastrophic Table rules.  As well half the army has to go into reserves.  Cold Void means any guns strength four or higher have rending when shooting against a target with an armour save of three or worse.  To mitigate this a player can take elite 2+ save troops but is quality better than quantity?  The Catastrophic Table involves players each rolling one dice at the start of the turn and adding them together.  The total determines a random event in the maze.  Nothing like a little bit of randomness to ruin a game plan.

Carcharodons

HQ

• Tyberos- warlord (Preferred Enemy- Infantry) (Reserves)

Troops

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

Elites

• Assault Terminators (5 models)- thunderhammer and stormshield (Reserves)
• Assault Centurions (3 models)- siege drill, flamer, hurricane bolters

Heavy Support

• Devastator Centurions (3 models)- grav cannon, hurricane bolters

Strategem

• Interdiction Assault- place a blast marker down on your first turn and roll for scatter with 1D6.  Up to one infantry unit in reserves per turn may enter play from the breached point.

Executioners

HQ

• Captain- Cataphractii terminator armour, chainfist, combi-flamer warlord (each turn nominate one-quarter to receive the night fight special rule) (Reserves)

Troops

• Tactical Marines (10 models)- plasma pistol, plasma gun, plasma cannon
• Tactical Marines (10 models)- combi-melta, meltagun

Elites

• Cataphractii Terminators (5 models)- chainfist x2, heavy flamer (Reserves)
• Venerable Dreadnought- heavy flamer, multi-melta
• Contemptor Dreadnought- assault cannon, storm bolter, power fist (Reserves)

Strategems

• Assault cannon sentry gun
• Barricades- provides a 4+ cover.  Aegis defence line used.

Turn 1

We roll for first turn and the Executioners win the dice-off.  Dave goes first.  Then we roll for the catastrophic table.  “Look Out” is rolled.  Dave wins the dice-off an places a Str. 5 AP 4 large blast template over my cluster of Terminators.  One Red Brethren is killed in the explosion.  Then I roll for my Interdiction Assault.  I place the small blast template close to an objective.  The plan is for the Assault Centurions to pop out.  They can’t run so this is my way of getting them into the action sooner.  The template scatters and moves backwards six inches to my quarter.

Turn 1 is quick.  Dave keeps one of his Tactical squads behind the barricade.  They also have the sentry gun with them covering two halls.  The second Tactical squad moves towards the objective that is close to my Interdiction Assault breacher point.  The Venerable Dreadnought holds its position.

I stay out of the Executioners line of site and use the cover of the rooms.  The green blast template is my Interdiction Assault breacher point.

Turn 2

We roll on the Catastrophic Table and “Look Out” is rolled again.  Dave wins the roll off again, however, this time I make all the armour saves.

Dave rolls for reserves and the Captain and Cataphractii Terminators arrive.  The advance towards the barricade.  The Tactical Marines advance towards the objective.  The Venerable Dreadnought waits for the Carcharodons to make the first move. Dave has zero options for shooting since the Carcharodons are all hiding in the shadows.

Tyberos arrives from reserves and walks in from the board edge.  Tyberos advances to an objective that is far from any action.

The Thunderhammer Terminators pop out of the room into the line of fire of the sentry gun and Tactical Marines.  They Red Brethren round the corner and open the door to the chamber containing the Dreadnought.  Both squads prepare to charge the Dreadnought.

The Devastator Centurions move into the room that contained that Thunderhammer Terminators.  They position themselves to be able to open fire on the Executioner Tacticals.  The four plus cover save proves to be sub par and seven are killed.

Both squads of Terminators charge the Venerable Dreadnought.  The Red Brethren charged to get out of line of sight of the Assault Cannon and remaining Tactical Marines.  The Venerable Dreadnought crushes one of the Red Brethren and loses one hull point from the Thunderhammers.

Turn 3

We roll on the Catastrophic Table and get “Dust Fall”.  All models ballistic skill and initiative is reduced by one for the turn.

The surviving Executioner Tactical marines open fire on the Devastator Centurions and manage to take away one wound.

The Cataphractii lumber over the barricade.

The Venerable Dreadnought kills one Thunderhammer Terminator before coming a wreck himself.  The Terminators consolidate towards the chamber the Dreadnought started in.  Carcharodons score First Blood.

The Assault Centurions arrive and pore out from the breachers point.  One marine opens the door allowing the other two line of site onto the Tactical Marines.  They flame the Executioners and the Cold Void is too much pressure for the power armour to bear.  I roll a few rending rolls and kill eight Executioners.

The Red Brethren attempt to charge the surviving Tactical marines and fail the charge.  The Devastator Centurions retreat, looking for a more optimal location to shoot the Cataphractii.

Turn 4

We roll on the Catastrophic Table and get “Look Out” again.  Dave wins the roll-off again and targets the Devastator Centurions.  They take no damage.

The Contemptor Dreadnought enters the battle.  He enters through a hallway, opens the door and targets the Thunderhammer Terminators.  I don’t know what Scooby Snacks he was eating but it worked because he kills the last four members of the squad.

The Captain and Cataphractii change their course and advance towards Tyberos and third objective.  The Carcharodon Devastator Centurions read their scanners and move towards a hallway in my starting quarter to wait for the Captain to emerge.

The Assault Centurions open fire on the two surviving members of the Tactical marines and wipe the unit out.  The Red Brethren advance towards the objective.

Turn 5

We roll on the Catastrophic Table and what would you know, we rolled “Look Out” again and of course Dave wins.  The blast scatters off target.

The Contemptor Dreadnought wasn’t satisfied with wiping out one unit of Terminators.  He sets his sights on the Red Brethren and kills the three remaining members.

I played my hand too soon with my Devastator Centurions.  I exposed them in the hallway and thought I had enough distance to keep them out of close combat.  The Captain rounds the corners and goes for the Hail Mary.    The Cataphractii are nine inches out and Dave rolls a ten.  The Centurions are wiped out.

The Assault Centurions step back to the hallway they emerged from and use their hurricane bolters on the Executioner Tactical Marines stationed behind the barricade.  They eliminate the last three members and this forces the Contemptor to move from the door and reclaim objective.  If the game ends Carcharodons will win 2-0 (First Blood and one objective).

Turn 6

The game goes on.  We roll on the Catastrophic Table and nothing happens.  The Contemptor Dreadnought reclaims the objective behind the barricade.  The Captain and Cataphractii move towards the chamber containing Tyberos and an objective.  The sentry gun opens fire on the Assault Centurions and does no damage.  The Assault Centurions move back to the objective by their Interdiction Assault breacher point.

Turn 7

This is a quick round.  The only thing to note is the Executioners and Cataphractii moving to within 3 inches of the objective and contesting it.  It’s not enough though.  The Contemptor Dreadnought is claiming a point for the Executioners while the Assault Centurions are claiming a point for the Carcharodons.  The draw is broken with first blood for the Carcharodons.  Victory for the Loyalists.

Phase IV now tied.  It will all come down to the third and final game with the Astral Claws versus the Star Phantoms.