So setting up the battlefield I dropped down my large fortress that I built years ago, then threw on a Bastion that I made last year, to create an Indomitable Fortress. Gave it 6 bunker annexes, so there were 7 strategems per side. I took the one that ignores the first destroyed result on a building, but that on the tower section, took the "add a battle cannon to a building" one and put that on the tower, took the machine spirit which made the guns on one building BS3 and able to choose their target (again on the tower), finally I took Las Maze you can see the "dangerous terrain" red lines.
In the tower I put my command squad, Straken (Sharpe), Lascannon, 2 snipers, and two bodyguards. During the initail planetstrike bombardment. I was sure I was going to lose at least one section of the fortress...but Fabby had some poor rolls and only had a stunned result on the tower. The rest was unaffected by the bombardment.
I built my force around the fortress, 4 Vet squads, 3 with triple sniper rifles and a lascannon each. The 4th with Harker(Harper), 3 grenade launchers and a Hvy Bolter. Turns out they are pretty cheap without the chimeras. For Elites I took an 8 strong unit of Ratlings and put them in a bunker annex. The rest of my force was in reserve. A full squad of deepstriking stormtroopers, and Theresa (Marbo). I took a Vendatta...but kept forgetting to put it on the table (No more placing models directly behind where I'm sitting). Heavys get up to 6 slots...so I took 3 standard Leman Russes and a Leman Russ Executioner with Hornblower(Pask). They came on where you see them on the left side.
Turn 1
On came the Marines, a Landspeeder and Assault marines deep striking on the left side. Land Raider, Tri-lascannon predator, stander issue Dreadie, a Standard Termie unit with Vulcan marching and a Devastator squad marching onto the board. A thunder hammer unit of termies teleported in a little bit on the left side, but planned to go around the las maze to start the main assault. The assault marines, drifted out of assault range on the deepstrike. Then there was a lot of ineffective fire from Fab.
I got all my reserves thanks to the +3 from the campaign power rules (course I forgot to put the Vendetta on the table) The Leman Russ Executioner rounded out to 305 points...worth every one of them, the 4 plasma cannon shots with Pask all hit, wounding the thunderhammer termies 14 times...that is a lot of 3+ invulnerable save to have to make, the one that remained standing after that fell to Veteran sniper fire. The Ratlings and other Russes reduced the Assault Marines to 2 members. My stormtroopers were drooling at the chance to gun down devastator marines in the open...but they deviated out of range. Then Theresa(Marbo) showed up, threw her demo pack and killed 4 of the Regular termies! The last termies fell to a sniper shot from a veteran.
Turn 2
The above pic turned out to be too tempting a target for the Laserburn stratagem. The beam burned down from the heavens, cutting one the Executioner cannon and Lascannon off Pasks tank and hitting the ammo storage of another Russ causing it to explode.
The marines advanced, and a Sterguard unit, Tigerius, and a Bring em back strategem returned the Regular Termies to the table. The Marines managed to shake two building structures as they got closer, but that was about it.
The guard took out the remaining Assault marines, The land speeder, and Tigerius with a well placed Lascannon shot.
Turn 3, 4 and 5
You can pretty much tell the way this was going, The Marines did manage to drop three of the Bunker Annexes. Sharpe lead the counter assault out of the tower and met Vulcan, the regular termie squad and the remains of the Sternguard in an epic combat. Came down to Vulcan and Sharpe toe to toe with 1 wound left each and the higher init of Vulcan won out.
The turning point was when Pask moving up his damaged tank took out the Marine predator with a plasma sponson shot, followed by the Land Raider destruction by a well placed Lascannon shot from a regular Russ.
The game ended with the marines only having a Devastator marine, and a dreadnought (who was in the rubble of 3 structures).
Lessons Learned
1) Pay the 30 points and put two bodyguards in Sharpes command squad, they help quite a bit when you charge.
2) When you roll reserves and get them put the unit on the table, to be adjusted later. Kept forgetting the Vendetta because it was on a table directly behind me.
3) Remember that stormtroopers can re-roll their deepstrike...(Points 2 and 3 would probably have let me table the marines)
4) If you have stuff that can deepstrike and assault the first turn...risk it and put them in a position to do so. A more aggressive placement of both the Termie units, and assault marines within assault range of the walls might have altered the game on turn 1.
Fun game that was a lot closer than my battle report leads to believe.
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