Shenanigan BS

 

"Shenanigans here, Shenanigans there, Shenanigans everywhere!"

Welcome back! Still being out of work due to Doctor's orders, I have had more opportunities to play Warhammer 40,000 lately. And in this opportunity I was able to arrange a game with Screech who I've not played a game with in a very long time! And with him moving away soon to a promising future, we had to capitalize on this opportunity to play. So we met at The Outpost and mustered our forces. 

Fresh from their tangle with the Tyranids they felt like hunting xenos of a more techno nature. Truth is, I wanted to play the Ultramarines (it was March for Macrage month after all) but I just wasn't able to get them to a playable and transportable state. So these gluttons for punishment volunteered their services. It's the same list I used against the Tyranids, but with a Librarian and a Landraider added on (ignore the Venerable Dreadnought, he was just there to offer his insight and advice). 

1300 points of Deathwatch. 

Screech produced his Necrons, who were optimized for maximum death.

In fact, here's the full roster*:

Ahrancris Patrol (1300 points)

Necrons

Strike Force (2000 points)

Awakened Dynasty

CHARACTERS

Orikan the Diviner (80 points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Staff of Tomorrow

Plasmancer (75 points)

  • 1x Plasmic lance

  • Enhancement: Veil of Darkness

Technomancer (80 points)

  • 1x Staff of light

  • Enhancement: Nether-realm Casket

BATTLELINE

Immortals (140 points)

  • 10x Immortal

    • 10x Close combat weapon

      10x Tesla carbine

Immortals (140 points)

  • 10x Immortal

    • 10x Close combat weapon

      10x Tesla carbine

Immortals (140 points)

  • 10x Immortal

    • 10x Close combat weapon

      10x Tesla carbine

Immortals (140 points)

  • 10x Immortal

    • 10x Close combat weapon

      10x Tesla carbine

OTHER DATASHEETS

Canoptek Doomstalker (135 points)

  • 1x Doomsday blaster

    1x Doomstalker limbs

    1x Twin gauss flayer

Canoptek Doomstalker (135 points)

  • 1x Doomsday blaster

    1x Doomstalker limbs

    1x Twin gauss flayer

Canoptek Reanimator (75 points)

  • 2x Atomiser beam

    1x Reanimator’s claws

Canoptek Wraiths (110 points)

  • 3x Canoptek Wraith

    • 3x Particle caster

      3x Vicious claws

Lokhust Heavy Destroyers (50 points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

    1x Enmitic exterminator

A force of three squads of Immortals armed with Tesla Carines (Str 5, Assault with Sustained Hits 2...nasty!) The Plasmancer was attached  to an Immortal Squad. The Technomancer was attached to a squad of Canoptek Wraiths, another squad of Immortals was led by Orikan the Diviner. 

1300 of necron mess. 

Our Primary Mission was Purge the Foe (my third time in a row playing this one), Chosen Battlefield was the Mission Rule and Hammer and Anvil was the Deployment card we pulled. 

I decided to Deep Strike in all my DW Terminators so I placed the rest of the force in a defensive posture in a corner of my Deployment Zone and on an Objective. 

Deathwatch deployment. 

Full field deployed. 

The Deathwatch won the roll-off to go first. The Deathwatch Bikers zipped out and claimed the next Objective. The Landraider opened up on one of the Doomstalkers, the Oath of Moment target for this round, putting 6 Wounds on it. 

Objective secured! 

On the Necrons Turn 1, the combined firepower of the big machines knocked about half of the Wounds off of the Landraider. While the Immortals that could target the Bikers killed half of the squad. 

Deathwatch VPs: 2

Necrons VPs: 5

Objective under fire!

After a fairly soft first turn, it was about to get, as they say, "real".  At the start of Deathwatch Turn 2, the DW Bikers rolled a 12 on their Battleshock test, totally committing to holding that Objective. Furor Tactics in play really helped get the hits but it was the Terminators, all of whom I brought in on this turn via Deep Strike, that helped turn the tide. One squad brought down one of the Doomstalkers the other opened up on a unitl of Immortals and finished them off in the Fight Phase. Over confident they consolidated closer to the Wraiths. 

The Terminators gain a foot hold. 

The third group of Terminators were not so fortunate. Despite supporting fire from the DW Bikers the big unit of Immortals on top of the big rock with an objective on it. 

At the end of my Fight phase the Plasmancer teleported his unit of Immortals away. And at the start of Necrons Turn 2 he rematerialzed on the other side of the table within gun range of the Chaplin and the Deathwatch Vets who were holding, what they thought, was the securest objective. They were promptly erased by the fire power of the Immortals and the Plasmancer. 

Then came the quote of the night: "I'm pulling some shenanigan bullshit!" As he moved his wraiths over the Terminators nearest to them. This triggers a special rules they have that hits the enemy unit moved over with Mortal Wounds. Ouch. But the Terminators weathered that and fought well against the Wraiths who they were now locked in melee with. 

Turn 2 VPs 

Deathwatch: 21

Necrons: 13

If the Deathwatch was winning at this point, it didn't feel like it.  Their assets were spread quite wide and their gains were costly. The secondary objectives achieved in that round (No Prisoners and Bring it Down) were replaced on Turn 3 with ones that would be very challenging to achieve, and I didn't have the CPs to spare to burn a card. 

The fight for the ridge top.

But I wanted that objective in my DZ back so I zipped the Landraider up (which at this point only had one Wound left!) and deployed the Librarian. To help them out I even made the Plasmancer and his Immortals the Oath of Moment target for this round. He was going to Smite the Immortals and Charge them. Maybe? Not sure as the Immortals overwatched him and, even with a 4+ Invulnerable Save, was executed before he set foot off the Landraider's Assault ramp. The Landraider raider tore into the Immortals and despite killing a few of them, was unable to assault the Immortals. 

A heroic suicide 

On the other side all of fights were now locked and engaged. The Terminators and Wraiths continued to dance in melee, while the other squad charged into the other Doomstalker but just couldn't bring it down. 

"This Doomstalker is harder to kill than the first one!"

Necrons Turn three and the only the Landraider and bikers were not locked in close combat. Despite being the sole survivor for a few Fight phases he was laid low when the Reanimator joined the fray. The Terminators and wraiths kept fighting, and with reanimation protocols restoring Wounds and model everywhere, it was quickly apparent that the Deathwatch were now out matched. 

The continues.

Meanwhile the Immortals and the Plasmancer on their turn destroyed the Landraider with ease. And claimed the objective. 

"It is ours."

Outmatched by the end of the turn it looked impossible to turn the tide. The Necrons were claiming so many Objectives now and my units were locked in fights for survival that were near none of them. I considered the Gambit cards, but after seeing the time,  I had to call it regardless. I wanted to keep going to the bitter end, but it just seemed best to stop here. Maybe if the DW Terminators had the Kill Team keyword I could've used the Teleprtarium Stratagem (made sense  to me at the time since that's what got them onto the table!) but, no, that would make sense. So they were essentially stuck.

Final VPs

Deathwatch: 25

Necrons: 33

"Umm... can we get a beam up or something?"

Had we continued the Necrons would be impossible to catch up to from a points perspective, and from an attrition perspective it wasn't looking so hot for the Deathwatch either. 

Good game Screech, thanks for schooling me on Necrons. They are a fun army, but nasty to face in this current meta**. And, the so called Xenos Hunters, prove that they're just not able to handle this foe either, at least not with the assembled units available to me. 

*Exported with App Version: v1.11.0 (39), Data Version: v352

**I accept my punishment for using this accursed word.