Battle Report: Jawaballs NEW BA vs IG

Jawaballs is back in the saddle! Finally I am able to get back into the club and get some game on. I played a game last night vs a guy named Rob at Battle for Salvation in White Plains, NY.

Jawaballs 1850 tournament list vs Middle range IG list. His list was not optimized for competition, but this was just testing for both of us any way.

Jawaballs:
Mephiston
RAZ squads x3, TL Ass Can x2, TL Las Can x1, Meltas, PW in two of them.
2 priests with PWs
3 Baal Preds 2x Heavy Bolters/Ass Can, 1x Flame storm/Heavy Flamers
2 Auto can/las can preds
1 vindicator
1 scout squad, combi melta and power fist

IG:
Psyker squad, master of fleet, etc.
Yarrik in chimera with ogryns
vendetta with 3 las and bolter sponsons with 10 vets inside, plasma and las cannon
vet squad on foot with las cannon
3x las cannon heavy weapon team
3 tanks, the long range demolisher cannon, the 20 shot cannon, and one more, cant remember the gun.
2 small vet squads deep striking with melta and plasma

Mission:
capture the flag bases

Deployment:
Dow

I won the die roll and took first turn. Sorry for lack of pictures due to dead cam! The board was heavily terrained with roman type ruins, lots of columns and ruined walls, an a huge colliseum style wall in the middle of the table. Very few lanes of fire that did not provide a cover save.

I deployed Mephiston right in the middle of the table behind the huge piece of colliseum impassible terrain. Next to him, blocking the only lane of fire from the other side of the table, I placed an Ass can RAZ with melta, pw and priest.

He deployed his Lascan team in cover on the right, with line of fire at my RAZ. 12" away, he deployed his command squad with the psykers behind terrain. LOS was blocked completely to Mephiston. He put the remainder of the troop squad in a ruined temple on the left board edge.

Turn One:
My stuff started coming on. I flank marched the 3 baals and the scouts. The scouts sole purpose is to come on behind those pesky tanks that hide in the corners and pop them. Failing that, they will assault squishy units, or take objectives. They are my Jwolf throw away squad. Cheap, but strong enough to have an effect on my opponent's planning.

Right of the bat, Mephiston used Wings of Sanguinius and jumped over the ruin. He landed just a few inches away from the psyker battle squad, and ran to assure assault range with fleet. The RAZ moved up 12" towards the entrenched Heavy weapon team. Coming from the table edge, the TL Las RAZ moved onto my objective and set up its gun on my right corner. The Asscan RAZ moved in on the left, going 18" from my edge and using terrain to block LOS. Next turn he would be in attack range. My vindicator moved 18" and took up position near where Mephiston was behind the ruin. My Las preds also moved 18" to take up shooting position for turn two. At this point I had great lines of fire, giving up very little targets for return fire. My fast tanks would be able to leave their cover and shoot up isolated units.

Poor Rob would not know what hit him! :)

So the RAZ shoots up his Heavy weapons team, dealing two wounds. Question, when shooting heavy weapon teams do you take off whole bases first? Or split the wounds up. It was not very important so we played it that he gave a wound to two different bases and didnt have to take one off.

Being DoW and BA tanks lacking Search Lights, none of my other tanks could fire. But this was good in a way, since none of his could target my RAZ.

On my assault phase, things got bloody fast. Mephiston activated his Preferred Enemy power, and waded into the IG Command. 5 of the models died instantly, leaving a commander with a fist and a psyker. The commander managed to hit back and actually wounded Mephiston! He would be purged for his insolence. They made their LD test to stay in combat.

On his turn, he knew he had to be decisive with his fire power. He brought on his heavy tanks, one on each corner and one in the middle. He reserved his deep striking vets and flank marched his Vendetta. Yarrik with his mutant body guard came on in the right corner, trying to save his heavy weapon team. But this was a VERY dark night. Three times he targeted my razor back, and three times failed to destroy it. But on his fourth time, he nailed it and exploded it. But the occupants made their LD test and saves.

In the asault, Mephiston finished off the command squad then consolidated back towards the middle of the table on his edge. He walked right past a group of ratlings who were huddled around a camp fire cooking sausages. His only reply to their "ey govna, want some breakfast?" was a derisive snort. His force weapon would not be wasted on children and cooks.

UGH! I just tried to publish the batrep and it failed to process, I lost every thing after this! I spent 45 minutes typing it... :( Bah.

Ok, time to get back to work.

Turn Two:
Mephiston activated his wings again and flew over a tank to land between the tank and his chimera. My RAZ who had their transport exploded moved up with their melta gun to get in range for a shot and assault. The only reserves to come on was my flamer tank. My RAZ moved up 12" on the left and disembarked the melta to try to pop his 20 shot tanke that came onto the board behind the temple. The flamer tank lined up the squad in the temple for maximum carnage... they thought they were safe! My shooting opened up and things started dieing. Except for the chimera. The melta failed to penetrate and Mephiston's plasma gun backfired. My lascannons destroyed his tank in the center and also, with a lucky shot and a failed cover save, the one in the left corner. The flame tank put the squad in the temple to the torch. 16 wounds later, they were all crispy critters and climbing out of the holes in the walls on fire. Mephiston ordered his marines to let them burn. The Emperor offers no mercy to heretics. The vindicator moved out from behind its cover to shoot at his tank in the right corner, but missed.

In my assault, Mephiston charged and hit the chimera with 4 Str 10 shots... but failed to do more then a stun. I dual assaulted it with my RAZ, who also dragged the heavy weapon team into assault. They failed to do more then stun the chimera as well, and only killed a couple of heavy weapon guardsmen.

On his turn, he realized that things were going VERY badly. He brought on his two deep striking vet squads and his Vendetta. The vets came down. one landed too far away from one of my preds to really hurt it, and only immobilized it. The other scattered off the table while trying to get close enough to my base and pop my TL Las Razor holding it. He scattered to safety first, but was not close enough to pop the tank so rerolled. The next roll sent him off the table. Bad luck. The Vendetta blew both las cans off the other pred. That would be just about all the damage he would deal.

On his assault, Yarrik and the ogryns disembarked. Their shooting failed to hurt Meph, so they assaulted. Mephiston, the wise one he is, showed his contempt for the IG commisar and focused on the mutants instead. 2 of them died instantly. This was enough to force LD tests, which yarrik failed. He ran from the battle leaving Meph with the two ogryns that dumbly stumbled and evaded mephistons blade from blind luck.
The assault squad was having trouble dealing with the heavy weapons team. They only managed to kill two, and they made their test the brave bastards! His ratlings started using their sniper guns to cook hotdogs over the burning tank.

Turn Three:
It would all end soon.

So one of my Ass can preds came on into range to shoot the vendetta. My RAZ on the left got back into their transport and it moved 12" to fire on the vendetta as well. The Vindicator turned around and vaporized the vets who deep striked to immobilize my pred. They turned into red mist in a nanosecond. My ass cans opened up on the vendetta, exploding it! 4 of the vets inside perished. Oh, my scouts came on too. They came in behind his last tank. The melta shot missed though.

In the assault, mephiston and the RAZ finished off their handi work. The scouts assaulted the tank and stunned it.

On his turn we threw in the towel. His ratlings finally decided to attack and shot at Mephiston, but failed to hurt him. Turn four would see me wipe the table clean so we did not bother.

After the game we discussed tactics and his list. First of all, it was daunting for him to face wave after wave of my stuff coming on. All of it hurt and was very good at what I used it for. I did not even get my 3rd Baal onto the table! The las preds were superb offering me the luxury of range that I have never had. I can finally reach out and touch my opponent.

I suggested that he drop the ogryns and buy another vendetta instead. Place all those vets who deep striked into the Vendetta. And place his psyker squad into the chimera. Also I suggested he replace the 20 shot tank with one of the other two he fielded. And he should drop Yarrik. A couple of quick and easy changes would make his list way more powerful.

The key to victory was him deploying his psyker squad too close to Mephiston. On turn one I was in his ranks and slaughtering guardsmen. With nothing to slow down my reserves, they came precisely when I needed them and worked to maximum effect.

All in all it was a good test for my new Blood Angels, especially since I have very little experience using a psyker and I will need to master Mephiston if I plan on winning in Vegas!

Jawaballs