Battle Report vs Imperial Guard, Jan 27

Our local Game Store has just finished week 4 of our current League (Wednesday nights, each League is 6 weeks long. The top 4 run semis in week 7 with everyone else having open gaming, and finals in week 8 while everyone else plays a 750 point mini-RTT). Missions are mixed, but in this League we have to keep the exact same list (2ooo points) each week.
So the mission was a single objective in the center of the field. In addition the center had a large chunk of terrain that counted as blocking LoS. Deployment was taken from the 4th edition, deploying in the diagonal run from 16" off opposite corners. Terrain was a mix-mash of ruined buildings, low hills, and a few pieces of blocking terrain. The first game-turn was Night Fight.
I won the toss and in a chose to setup first. Typically in an Objective mission their is a benefit to going second (being able to make that last run to the objective) however I felt the terrain on the side I chose was much more conducive to my List; giving adequate cover for my Inducted guard with nice firing lanes and clean open field where my vehicles could make fast time towards cover and the objective.

SETUP:

This was my deployment. The Immolator with the HQ in the bottom ready to make a dash and hide behind a ruined building. Next up an Exorcist to provide fire support into the enemies deployment area.

Then a Rhino with 10 girls. The First Platoon of Guard, 3 squads combined and the Platoon Commander. The Immolator with 2 Melta Celestians (set to position in cover on either side of the big ruin in the center). 2nd Platoon, 2 squads combined and their Commander.

Finally a pile of vehicles, 2 Exorcists, the 2nd Rhino with 10 girls, and an Immolator with Celestians (1 melta, 1 hvy flamer). From this view you can see the deployment zone shape.

The enemy setup, a pile of heretic I-Guard who have chosen to turn away from the glories of the Emperor.

Everyone piled into the corner. A Manticore as the anchor, 2 Chimeras running out from their(the top one has the Platoon Command squad, the closer one has the HQ squad), then 2 Leman Russ Executioners at the ends. The building has a combined Platoon of 3 squads with Autocannon. Not shown are 3 Vendettas and a Psyker Squad in reserve.

TURN 1:

A bad Turn one for me. I moved as planned (the major move being the Immolator moving behind the ruin for cover and the Rhinos toward the objective. The pile of vehicles moved towards the corners where Jay deployed. Shooting; I whiffed on every night-fight roll.

Jay moved his tanks out from behind the building. His night fight rolls were much better, the Command Chimera getting a great roll and Jay Illuminating the HQ Immolator with his searchlights. This allowed the Executioner and Autocannons to open up freely, destroying the Immolators T/L Hvy Flamer and immobilizing the vehicle.

TURN 2:

This pic shows my turn 2 movement. The disabled Immolator has discharged her passengers and they are moving through cover towards the advancing heretics. My shooting was almost as effective as my previous night fighting rolls. The HQ continued movement by running through the building.

Jays Turn 2. His rolling continues to be spot-on. All of his reserves come on. Here he sets 2 Vendettas ready to give my vehicles some tasty 3 T/L Las shots on rear armor. The Psyker Squad jumped inside the closer Vendetta.

In this shot you can also see where I've castled an Immolator and 2 Rhinos. The Rhinos stayed in position the majority of the game...ready to discharge the girls onto the Objective.

The 3rd Vendetta popped in on the opposite edge so he placed it in position to shoot up the Exorcist in that area, however with the the Emperor's guidance my cover saves were spot on. The paired Vendettas destroyed the weapons on the Immolator that was castled and the other Vendetta blew up the closer Immolator. The Executioner and Autocannons killed off the Vet Sgt, a bolter and the Heavy Flamer that was with the Canoness.

TURN 3:

A key turn for me. My HQ got out of the building, but not quite close enough for an assault on the vehicles (measuring for the glory range of the Melta was 7" from the closest vehicle. Naturally my melta shot missed.

The Exorcist on this side did kill the Vendetta, so that was a nice turn around.

On the other end,the girls from the blown up Immolator tryed hitting a Vendy with melta...but was out of range by 1/4 inch. The girls from the weaponless Immolator jumped out to move on the Vendettas with their 2 melta guns The remaining Immolator (sans weapons) moved out of cover to act as a blocker from Executioner.

On Jay's Turn 3 he moved a Chimera with Vets into position to disgorge it's cargo of troops with 3 melta guns. He then moved the HQ Chimera into position to give Orders (1st rank/2nd rank) to the troops in the building and the Vets that just got out of the Chimera. At the shooting phase the HQ and remaining girls went Faithful and picked up Invulnerable saves. Despite that the girls succumbed to mass fire while the Canoness made hers. On the other side the girls from the destroyed Immolator got shot up, all but 2 dieing. The remaining 2 failed their Leadership and started the long haul back across the board. However the Melta gun did act as a deterrent to keep the Vendettas and Executioner back along the board edge. A Vendetta fired on an Exorcist, killing it. The Manticore finally got a good shot off stunning the other Exorcist.

Turn 4: Sorry, piccys died at this point.

I moved my Canoness strait towards the Executioner and ended up in perfect position to assault any of the 3 vehicles in that area. Rhino 1 discharged its girls directly into the objective, then moved towards the Canoness to block the Chimeras in that area. Rhino 2 dumped her girls (who moved into the cover outside the objective) and then positioned itself to provide cover from the Vendettas. The weaponless Immolator tried a Ram attack on the Northern most Chimera (with the Platoon Command Squad, but immobilized itself on terrain; but still in a good position to act as a block for the Executioner.

In assaults the Canoness chose the Executioner as the biggest threat and, Eviscerator in hand, she destroyed it.

Jay's turn 4 he repositions the northern Chimeras and Executioner around the immobilized Immolator. Over by the Canoness he moved the 30 man squad out of cover to maximize shots on the Canoness. In addition his HQ jumped out of the Chimera and readied their melta weapons for firing. The Vet Squad jumped back into their Chimera, which then moved towards the remaining Exorcist.

The Canoness goes faithful again for the Invul save. After much shooting (and saving) she still stands unwounded. On the other side the Executioner laid the smack down on the Celestians with the 2 Meltas. Despite going faithful many saves were failed and they went to meet the Emperor. The Vendettas killed off the last retreating girls and killed the Rhino acting as cover (preventing me from using it as a block against the vehicles to the north).

On assault the Canoness went invulnerable again and Jay's tarpit troop squad failed to reach her (failed terrain check) so he moved in with the Command squad. He hit first on initiative and managed to wound her with 2 power weapons and a regular attack. She finally failed one of the power weapon hits, so she too went to discuss things with the Emperor.

TURN 5:

The 2 squads of girls move deeper into the building, both holding the objective (this was a bad move on my part...more later). The Autocannons from the 1st Platoon finally get into the game by immobilizing the Chimera that was advancing on the Exorcist. The Autocannons from the 2nd platoon shake one of the remaining Vendettas. The Exorcist immobilizes the HQ Chimera, effectively taking them out of the game.

Jays Turn 5 his Vets jump out of the immobile Chimera and set up Melta shots on the Exorcist. The 2 Chimeras and the Executioner to the north advance on the objective and make ready for a turn 6 charge. The remaining Vendetta leaps into the terrain just close enough to contest the objective. Had I moved one of the sisters squads from inside the ruins to the terrain outside the walls they would have prevented the Vendettas base from getting within range while still getting cover saves/going to ground saves.

The Vets from the immobile Chimera pretty well wreck the Exorcist, but in doing so they too are now out of range to reach the objective. The Executioner dumps Plasma on the 1st Platoon Squad and manage to kill 7 Lasgunns. The Commissar keeps everyone in check and the squad holds fast.

Jay rolls the dice for turn 6 and rolls a 1. The game ends as a tie.

This was my 4th game with the Sisters and my record now stands at 2-1-1.

You've seen the Girls...Now the Boys

OK, OK. Here is my inducted Imperial Guard. This setup can also provide an excellent core Troop selection for a stand-alone I-Guard Army (or an IG Army with Sisters/Grey Knights allied).

The Commisars. Gives the assigned unit Stubborn and a second chance on failed Morale Checks (summary execution). In addition he provides an extra Close Combat model in the event of assaults. Rather than assign them to a 5 man Platoon Command Squad I put them in each platoons number 1 squad. This way if you want to do a combined squad (to reduce you number of Kill Points available to the enemy say) then the whole mash of 20-50 guys ends up Stubborn. The models are made from Command Squad bits with bolt pistols in place of Las-pistols. The heads from the IG vehicle accessory sprue. The peaked tank commander caps match prety well with the Commisars cap.

A simple conversion for a Plasma Gunner. Take an arm with a Lasgun and cut the gun off. Trim off the trigger and handle from the Space Marine Plasma gun. Trim the guns shoulder stock to fit (or just cut it off). Glue the gun to the top of the hand where the Lasgun was. Add the opposite arm bit to match.

Now if we can just do something about that "gets hot" thing.

My heavy weapons. Autocannons in this case. The trick here is swappable weapons. Rather than using the tripod I took a 3/8" styrene tube (Evergreen at most hobby stores) cut 1/4" long. Cap off the end with a bit of card. Let dry completely!!! Now, place a small rare earth magnet on the center of the 60mm base. Glue the capped section of tube over the magnet (I place another magnet on the top of the tube to pull the covered one away from the glue). Add whatever scenery bits you desire to the base. Once dry, prime, add the gunners, paint, and flock.

Now the gun. Cut the small nub off the bottom that attaches the gun to the tripod. imbed a small rare earth magnet in green stuff and mold it to the base where the nub was. Prime and paint. Now all you need to do is set the gun on top of the tube with the lose magnet trapped inside. The magnetic force will clamp the gun right onto the top of the tube.

If you want Lascannons or bolters you need only swap the gun out rather than buying and building an entire new model.

THE BOYS!

2 Platoons. 2 Command squads. 3 infantry squads in platoon 1, 2 squads in platoon 2. Seven (!) Autocannons (otherwise known as "get out of your wrecked transport and start walkin").

THE GIRLS!

Canoness. 3 Celestian squads with Immolators. 2 girl squads with Rhinos. 3 Exorcists. The things on the end are miniature cherub Christmas ornaments attached to flying bases. I use them as markers for Faith Points. A visual reminder of how many I have, and to show squads currently Faithful.

The whole Army.

So what do the Girls look like?

Never satisfied with just doing whatever scheme the book has, I just had to be different. I chose to paint my girls in Ice Blue armor and White robes. The vehicles will be a great Cobalt Blue (Micheals...$1 for a 2 oz bottle...5 times as much paint than GW at 1/3 the price...and color selection is HUGE!!!) with Ice Blue highlites. For the Guard I went with a lite blue denim color with black and white camo-splotches. They mimic the US Navy's new Camo uniform. The shoulder pads were done in Ice Blue to give them continuity with the Sisters Chapter they were inducted into.

First up, The Canoness. Amazing how much painting errors show up when the piccy is full sized. Note the lack of eyes, lips, shadow from an ink wash. I've been getting the Army table-top ready and will cover detail later. That and I'm about as far from a "Golden Demon" painter as you can get. I am pretty happy with the fire in the brazier. This was my first attempt at painting flames.

This is one of my Exorcists. This conversion was made using the old school Rhino. Mounted on top is the Immolator top. The front plate is a new Rhino front (sanded down about a 1/16 from

each side to fit the width of the old Rhino body. The missile racks are from the Space Marine Land Speeder; 2 launchers with the mounts choped off then glued side by side for each side. The mount is from the Immolator with the headrest cut off and the top and front enclosed with plasti-card. Turns out the

Immolators glass shield fits the cupola as a perfect dome.

This view shows the Immolator top and the new Rhino front piece on the old Rhino chassis.

My other 2 Exorcists are more basic. A new style Rhino with the Razorback weapon plate. These launchers are the rocket pods from the Valkerye Transport. Same trick enclosing the Immolator Turret. It looks alot like the Forgeworld kit.

Next up we have the Immolator. Again, the Immolator and new Rhino parts added to the old Rhino. The weapon mount was plated over like the Exorcists. The reason being I never did like the look of the girl sitting exposed in a gun chair. It just seemed silly. So I turned it into a turret. The guns are not glued so I can swap between Flamers, Melas, or Bolters as needed.

Finally, 4 vehicles demonstrating the variuos hull and weapon mixes possible. The 2 different Exorcist versions in back. An Immolator on the left. A Rhino on the right. For the Rhino I used the Razorback plate and put the large Fur de lis plate over the hole. Surprise...a perfect fit. This gives me the option of swapping out weapons and hulls depending on the list used.

So thats a quick and dirty on the girls. Next up...The inducted Imperial Guard.

A site for my Sisters of Battle

Welcome to the inaugural entry for my Sisters of Battle.
For the uninitiated the Sisters are a gaming Army from the Games Workshops (r) Warhammer 40000 universe.

My girls got started in December of 2009. After years of playing Space Marines and Orks (WAAAAGGGHHHHH) I decided it was time for a change. A major change. Not only did I start a new Army, but I've also decided to convert the trash pit some would call a garage into a full up gaming room.

So, after taking 2 weeks off work in December I've put together a respectable Army...painted and based no less. While Games Workshop makes great models, I've always been a converter at heart; my love for the Ork Army coming through.
I decided to go with Sisters and inducted I-Guard. Not only wil his give me flexibility, but this will also put together a core Guard Army should I decide to expand in that direction.
My Sisters list:
HQ: Canoness; Book, Cloak, Bolt Pistol, Eviscerator.
Elites: Celestian 1; bolter x 2, Melta gun x 2, Vet with Book, Bolt Pistol, Brazier. Mounted in an Immolator (Twin-Link Heavy Flamer, extra armor, smoke)
Celestian 2 & 3; bolter x 2, melta gun, heavy flamer, Vet with book, bolt pistol, brazier. Mounted in an Immolator as above.
Troops: 2 squads of Sisters; bolter x 7, flamer, heavy flamer, vet with book, melta bombs, bolt pistol, brazier. Mounted in Rhinos with extra armor and smoke.
Heavy: Exorcist x 3. Enough said.
Inducted Imperial Guard:
Infantry Platoon 1:
Command squad with heavy weapon team (Autocannon).
Infantry squad 1-1: Commisar attached, heavy weapon team (autocannon), Plasmagun x1.
Infantry squad 1-2: Heavy weapon team (autocannon).
Infantry squad 1-3: Heavy weapon team (autocannon).
Infantry Platoon 2:
Command squad with heavy weapon team (autocannon).
Infantry squad 2-1: Commisar and heavy weapon team (autocannon), Plasmagun x 1.
Infantry squad 2-2: Heavy weapon team (auto cannon).

This setup gives me 3-18 S8 shots from the Exorcists. Excellent for killing tanks, Monsterous Creatures, Demon Princes, and even Teminator squads who try and teleport in.
An HQ with a S6 weapon with a 2+ invulnerable save on 3 wounds. The lady has already taken out entire Terminator Squads without taking a single wound. You go girl.
4 Melta guns (1 Celestian squad with 2 for tank hunting) mounted. Perfect for killing vehicles. Transports (Rhinos, Trukks, etc) die quick, which is great for Kill Point missions. Don't forget, Immolators still fall under older 3rd edition rules...2 girls can pop the hatch and fire. The girls dump melta into the transport, the Immolator toasts whatever jumps out.
2 regular flamers (and 5 one shot Braziers), 4 Heavy Flamers, and 3 Immolators. Bring on the new T4 Tyranid swarms.
And all of those S7 shots from the Guard. 7 Autocannons and 2 Plasmaguns. Kills transports and T6+ characters pretty quick. Not to mention if a swarm Army gets too close the Commander orders "1st Rank FIRE 2nd Rank FIRE" and you can send a ton of S3 shots down range. With the Infantry Squads ability to combine into 1 big unit that could mean up to 60 shots in one volley. Not including the Autocannons,Plasma, and the pistols. Even if the swarm survives and does not break, they end up assaulting a tarpit with several SGTs and a Commisar (Stubborn and Summary Execution) geared for Close Combat. Sure, you will kill off some Lasguns, but not enough.

So that is the list and the philosophy behind it. In future posts I hope to cover battle reports and critiques of what worked and what did not, the Conversions I have done to my models and my garage, and perhaps even a piccy or 2 (hundred).
For now, a new venture starts. Comments are always welcome.