40k: What Have We Learned?

I've always found you tend to learn more from your losses in 40k but let's see what was gleaned this time round and which units excelled.

The Battle of the Forge on Sunday was a great game. Chaos triumphed in the face of some serious Ork mech and held on to the Forge which will be great going into our final epic fight.

Bull did spring a couple of surprises that I hadn't really banked on. First of all his Ork army was all mech, which given that I had decked out my marines with mostly flamers again should have been a problem. However, I had included a melta gun in my Plague Marine units which worked out a treat in the end. These melta guns managed to take out the Gorkanaut in a single shot, and get three hull points off the Stompa (the last one killing it).

Given the firepower hanging off all the Ork machines, I was expecting a round or two of massed shooting as he crept forward. What actually happened was only the Stompa did any real shooting while the other elements shot forward. Alas, hesitation seemed to creep in, compounded by some heavy terrain.

The Stompa itself was a worry before the game. I was expecting it to show and on paper it could have decimated my army rather quickly. Its opening salvo destroyed one of my lovely gun batteries and injured a rather relieved Hellbrute. However, after that it became rather underwhelming despite Bull rolling high for his number of Gatling shots each turn. When Typhus turned used its volume of shooting against it (more on that later) the Stompa became the architect of its own demise. Bull did constantly forget to try and fix hull points with his Meks which made it all worse for the Orks, but it was not a great debut for the big fella.

The keystone of the Chaos defence was a bunker, protected by a void shield, containing six Nurgle Obliterators – a massive 600 point investment. These boys were well protected and although the void shield came down, it was back up in a couple of turns with no damage done. The Obliterators had a fab game. They wiped out six Killa Kans in a single turn, shot down the Ork flyer and did damage to several other units. It was my intention to bring them out of hiding towards the end and support other units in combat, but it wasn't necessary in the end and they ran out of targets for the last turn or two.

Similarly, the Chaos HQs were immense. The Sorcerer, who had Daemonology spells, managed to summon a unit of Plaguebearers (who destroyed the Battlewagon) and the Great Unclean One (who killed the Mega Nobz and a handful of Ork Boyz). Typhus dropped his malediction spell on the Stompa, making his weapons hot. This proved to be a great move and chipped away the bulk of the hull points it had. Towards the end of the battle he threw caution to the wind and engaged the Orks in combat. He probably killed half a dozen before his challenge with the Warboss saw them both die.

Elsewhere on the table, the Chaos forces had a pretty good game all round.

But what about scores?…

Typhus
Thought he might not see the outside of his Land Raider but managed to kill at least half of the Stompa and the Warboss, plus a handful of Boyz. He's expensive but he proved to be pretty vital on the day.
Score 8/10

Sorcerer
I went with Daemonology and struggled to cast anything for a couple of turns. Then a unit of Plaguebearers appeared. He then sacrificed himself to summon a Greater Daemon. Awesome for the points.
Score 9/10

Terminators
I could only take three in a Land Raider with the two HQs and this isn't really enough. They probably inflicted three or four wounds but never really recouped their value. They're more protection for T than a serious threat.
Score 6/10

Hellbrute
A late addition and a bit of a waste. Didn't managed to hit anything with two turns of shooting then died to combined Ork shooting.
Score 3/10

Chaos Marines
A cheap 5-man unit brought in to soak up the last few points and to sit at the back, loiter around the generator and obstruct Bull's Kommandos (who didn't turn up to this fight). Too far out to really contribute anything and most of them got caught under a blast template.
Score 4/10

Plague Marines
Solid choice. One unit went toe-to-toe (literally) with the Stompa and came out on top. The other unit took down the Gorkanaut and jumped into combat late on.
Score 8/10

Plague Zombies
Managed to bog down the Stompa in three rounds of combat, preventing it from shooting. So worth the points, evening if they didn't kill anything.
Score 8/10

Forgefiend
Struggled to hit anything this game, but became the focus of the Stompa's shooting for several turns.
Score 6/10

Obliterators
Stunning opening volley against the Killa Kans and pretty solid throughout.
Score 8/10

Land Raider
Protected the HQ well enough, surviving a Stompa blast and a Deff Dread attack. Finished off the Dread.
Score 7/10

Fortifications
The Bunker/Shield combo was great. The Defence Line did see much use but presented a visual barrier which helped. The guns didn't contribute much (except killing a few Grots) and the Tank Traps proved their worth again.
Overall Score 7/10


…and the bonus units…

Great Unclean One
Turned out to be a bit of a bonus and tipped the balance an my right flank. Killed the Mega Nobz with ease but his biggest contribution was intimidation and the timing of his appearance.
Score 7/10

Plaguebearers
Arrived eventually and didn't scatter! They managed to destroy a battle wagon before being gunned to bits.
Score 7/10


Man of the Match / MVP
A difficult decision as a handful of units did quite well, however, I think it has to be the Sorcerer. At the cost of less than 100 points he managed to conjure up a unit of Plaguebearers worth over 100 points and sacrificed himself to summon a Great Unclean One worth over 150 points. These units definitely made a difference in numbing the Ork assault.

What have we learned?

First of all we learned that the Stompa is controllable… and Bull needs to remember it's full of Meks and can be fixed. The shooting it pumps out can be devastating but is a bit hit and miss. It's main attack is lethal in combat but the stomp attack has random results – though this too can be devastating.

The Psychic phase was great for Chaos in this game and Bull was not really in a position to counter it – I had a lot of Power dice. Again, individual spells are not devastating but can chip away at the enemy, or enhance regular attacks. The summoning was difficult to pull off (and I'm sure we did the perils of the warp wrong) but when it did come off it was great to see new units appear.

I also learned that my Plague Marines didn't often get to use their Feel No Pain roll as most of the big attacks now negated it – plus I can't roll 5+ for them, but I can for Zombies.

…And it's still all about the Shooting phase!

40k: The Battle Of The Forge

There was a strange stillness in the air, complete silence except for the whirr of a sevo or gutteral grunt of a daemonic engine. War was imminent and the defenders were ready. Then it came, a low rumble at first, followed by thick black smoke on the horizon. Gradually the noise got louder and louder, until the very floor began to shake…

It was finally time and the forces of Nurgle had the Sakar Forge firmly locked down. A bunker containing six Nurgle Obliterators, protected by a Void Shield, was the keystone of the defences. This was flanked by a defence line and Vengeance Weapon Batteries with Gatling cannons – 20 shots a turn… each! – with a row of tanks traps out front. The rest of the Nurgle forces consisted of a large unit of Plague Zombies (yay Zombicide), a Forgefiend with Hades Cannons, a Helbrute and two units of Plague Marines with Flamers and Melta guns. 

Out of shot above was the commander of the Nurgle contingent. Typhus and his sorcerer, supported by three Nurgle Terminators sat patiently in a Land Raider.

Across the table was a rather large Ork mech army. A close combat Deff Dread, a unit of six Killa Kans, a Gorkanaut containing Mega Nobz and a Battle Wagon containing our old friend Zagdakka and a unit of 20 Boyz. Off to one side was the intimidating silhouette of the Stompa – our first Lord of War model.

Ork turn 1 was rather ominous as the Stompa's big gun blew up one of the Gun Batteries and injured the Helbrute. Everything else ran forward.

It was time for the Nurgle troops to respond and in a show of superior shooting, the six Obliterators fired Assault Cannons into the Killa Kans… only missing with 4 out of 24 shots and wiping out the entire unit – an empty space where they once stood. Obliterators indeed!

The Stompa marched forward continuing its relentless shooting, with mixed results. Typhus then cast a malediction psychic power on the behemoth – all its weapons could now 'get hot', inflicting damage upon itself. Two turns later and the Stompa was down to half its hull points.

In the centre, the Deff Dread charged into the command transport but failed to do any damage. The Land Raider then moved out of the way, and the Ork mech was gunned down.

The sorcerer finally landed a summoning spell and up turned a unit of Plague Bearers who charged into the Battle Wagon and destroyed it with their rusty weapons. Out spilled 20 Orks, thanks to some shenanigans… or an in-built teleporter (when Bull upgraded the Vehicle to include the huge Killkannon the transport capacity should have gone down from 20 to 12).

Along side it, the Gorkanaut was taken down with a single awesome Meta gun shot, the 3 Mega Nobz staggering out of the wreckage.

Close combat proved to be a much more fruitful place for the Stompa as he literally stomped a unit of Plague Marines to death, but it was still losing Hull points to it's hot weapons.

In a final display of dedicated sacrifice, the Sorcerer gave over his mortal body to one last spell and was possessed by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle. He strode into combat with the Mega Nobz and the Orks were no more.

Having decided not to remain in combat with the Stompa, the Plague Marines fell back to the safety of the defence line. Similarly, with the Stompa on its last Hull Point, the Boyz inside fell back to the safety of a destroyed Rhino. Meanwhile the Zombies charged into the Stompa, not able to do any damage but preventing the thing from shooting. This seemed to confuse the Stompa and he seemed unable to stomp on the zombies, compounding Bull's frustration.

Having dispatched the Plaguebearers, the Ork command unit was ripe for attack. Typhus and the Terminators swept in, alas I forgot to move the Greater Daemon and his charge fell short. A challenge went out but Zagdakka hid at the back of the unit, sending in the Mech. The Terminator Champion stepped up but was unable to kill him. The other Terminators fell to mass Ork attacks and Typhus reaped a handful in return.

"Come out and face me Ork!" bellowed Typhus, but there was no reply. "Cowardly Greenskin!". Still nothing. Then amongst the melee a short, mangy-looking Ork covered in grease with a spanner in his hand stepped forward. "Pffft" spat Typhus, incensed by the sheer cowardice on display by the Warboss. "My Lord? May I?" enquired the Terminator Champion. "Please do…" sighed Typhus in relief. He would much rather repay the Warboss with more dead Ork Boyz.

The Stompa's last hull point finally fell to a cheeky melta gun and exploded in fine fashion – alas (or fortunately) nobody was in range to take the damage.

Typhus had taken a couple of wounds from a cheeky Mad Doc syringe and a Power Klaw. Then his own Daemon weapon turned on him and he took another wound. The Greater Daemon and Plague Marines joined the melee and things were drawing to an inevitable conclusion as the Orks became overwhelmed.

The challenge went out again and finally the Warboss crept out from his hiding place. Typhus decided it was time to end him so stepped forward, despite having only a single wound left that he was very likely to lose.

The Greater Daemon and Plague Marines took down out a few more Orks, and it all came down to the challenge. 

The Warboss's attacks came in and two got through – Typhus unable to save both meaning he was dead. But with one last swipe of his Reaper he managed to roll an epic 10 attacks, with six strikes getting through. The Warboss was killed outright with the first (Force Weapons hmmmm…), the other five spilling onto the remaining Orks and wiping them all out.

As the turn came to a close, the Orks had a unit of Boyz with a Big Mek (still hiding behind the Rhino, next to the crater left by the Stompa) and a handful of Grots. Chaos had lost the Forgefiend and Helbrute and a handful of marines and daemons.

The Ork attack had faltered – The Forge remained firmly in Chaos hands.

The fighting had been brutal and intense. The battlefield was strewn with bodies and a caustic smell of burnt flesh. The air was thick with psychic energy and oily smoke, both gradually dissipating as the calm returned. The Orks had been destroyed, the survivors scattering once their leader fell. Typhus too had fallen in combat, but he would return. As the chosen son of Nurgle he would never truly die. He had come to do a job and had done it well. The Orks had failed to take The Forge and had revealed their secret weapon in the process. Now the master would be well prepared when the final assault came.

40k: T-Minus 2 Days…

Typhus surveyed the defences around The Forge. It wasn't ideal but it would do. His role was not to stop the Orks outright, but to undermine and weaken them prior to the final assault on the mining facility. That battle would be fought by others and he was fine with that. Spreading death and disease in the name of the Great Unclean One was what he was brought in to do and he would do it well.


As the day of reckoning quickly approaches I have to say that I haven't managed to get any of my building or painting done. Decorating chores, as well as putting the finishing touches to the Aetherium kickstarer-funded box set, has meant I've had no spare time for weeks and game time is upon us already. Having said that, Bull and I have had some good banter across the blogs and it's going to be a great game on Sunday.

Our battle brother and jedi master Sean will be joining us on the day, he plays both Orks and Chaos but it's green blood that runs though his veins so he'll be stood on the opposite side of the table from me.

I believe the game is due to be played outside thanks to a very positive forecast and I hope to keep a narrative going online throughout. Yes, I'm hoping to post a series of Tweets during the game so if you want to keep up to speed with how things are going you need to be following me at @MikeRCreative on Twitter or alternatively search for the #SakarForge hashtag. Thanks to Mr Awdry for the idea!

Stay tuned for some death and destruction…

40k: Dug In…

The next wave of intelligence (Orks?) reports came in and the overall picture was becoming clearer about the Chaos defences surrounding The Forge. Sketchy images on a screen revealed some heavy bunkers in place protecting the Plague Marines. Every now and again the image would flicker as if something was interfering with the feed… very strange, Zagdakka mused.

A hint of a smile passed across Typhus's face as he watched another group of these sneaky Orks scuttle back to the Warboss. He was drip feeding them intel quite readily now, keen that they should show their hand during the incursion at the Forge. His master would then have the advantage in the climactic battle to come and put an end to them once and for all.

T-minus 4 days…

40k: Vengeance…

Warboss Zagdakka was receiving more detailed information about the Chaos defences all the time, ahead of the assault on the Forge. This time the information was of massive importance…

++ Defence Batteries spotted ++ Vengeance Class ++ 

++ Armaments currently unknown ++ Number of batteries undetermined ++

Zagdakka had heard of these Vengeance guns and the sheer volume of shots each could unload per cycle. He would have to be very cautious.

40k: The Nurgle Plan…

As mentioned yesterday in the opening round of banter, the Chaos forces on Sakar Prime have called in Typhus and his Nurgle minions to defend The Forge from the Bull's Ork hordes.

But what's the plan?

As part of the mission rules the Chaos army has to take Fortifications of some description. This was always going to be the case and I learned a few lessons from our first battle in this respect. The question is how far do you go? Fortifications are great, but the cost can soon mount up and that's points you could spend on more Troops. So which is better – more Troops or solid bunkers and defence lines to protect the Troops you already have?

I would also like to convert the Fortifications I do have to make them more Nurgly but this would make them unsuitable for use (because I'm fussy) with other armies, and I'm not prepared to give GW more of my money. I need to go back to my roots and build terrain from scratch… if I had the time.

You may recall that when 6th Edition came out (September 2012) I began a Nurgle army, so I have a decent number of models I can call upon for this coming battle. No doubt the Iron Warriors would be more than happy to lend a tank or three but the Nurgle army has the option of quite a few daemonic vehicles which makes things interesting.

I'm using this game as an opportunity to spend more time finishing the units that were abandoned after our 6th Ed enthusiasm waned. It would be nice to put some finishing touches to the possessed Heldrake and Forgefiend, as well as some of the character models… such as my converted 'Dark Vengeance' Lord.

In addition, I started a unit of Nurgle bikers which would be awesome to field – Toughness 6 bikes! They are quite a time sink though so they may not make it in time for next week's battle. As much as we are defending the line again, I would like to have something fast (or survivable) that could get in behind the Orks and cause a disruption.

So, much like the last game, the plan is to spend some time on my neglected models. It wouldn't be fair to not have a surprise or two up my sleeve for game day – with the army list already decided I'm quite excited about this battle. I have to say this is possibly the one army that keeps me interested in 40k and so it would be good to expand it a little to compete with the Iron Warriors.

I'll post ongoing progress as soon as there is something to see!

Chaos Call In The Wolf…

"You're callin' the Wolf? Sheeeeeet, that's all you had to say!"

The assault on Sakar Prime by the Orks was taking its toll already. The small Iron Warrior garrison overseeing the Communications Array had been swept away and now the Orks were moving on to The Forge. It was imperative that The Forge was not lost – it was too important a site for the Chaos Powers. It was time that specialist forces were brought in to deal with the Ork incursion and stall their advances.

There was only one individual who could get the job done and that was Typhus. His Nurgle forces were ideal for grinding down the enemy and this was what was required. This would give the rest of the Iron Warriors time to shore up the defences around the mining facility itself and prepare for the inevitable all-out attack there.

Typhus arrived, undetected by the Orks, and soon there was a plan in place. The greenskins would not find The Forge so easy a target. The Orky green tide would be washed away by a brown Nurgle tsunami of rot and disease.

40k Mission: Forge Assault

With less than two weeks to go until the next incursion, I've been doing some research into suitable missions. The game, a week on Sunday, is the Orks assault of the Chaos citadel forge, so the standard "D3+2 objectives" missions in the rulebook weren't really going to cut it from a narrative perspective. Luckily I have a copy of the Stronghold Assault rules, so I have adapted one of those missions to fit.

Mission: Forge Assault

The Orks are in possession of the Comms Array from mission 1 and are moving on to assault the Chaos citadel forge.

++ The Orks get the option of taking an additional Heavy Support choice (that's 4 in total).
++ The Chaos forces MUST take 1-3 Fortifications.

++ Chaos forces set up first, once table edges have been decided.
++ Orks get to choose whether to go first or second.

++ Both sides get 1 Victory Point per enemy unit completely destroyed or broken.
++ Orks get an additional Victory Point per Fortification destroyed.
++ Whoever is occupying the forge machine (terrain piece placed behind Chaos lines) at the end of the game receives 3 Victory Points.

Comms Array:
++ Orks may add or subtract 1 from any Reserve Rolls for the duration of this game.
++ Chaos roll 3D6 for each Reserve Roll and Orks choose which result stands.

Forge:
++ As long as they are in possession of the Forge, Chaos forces may 'resurrect' one destroyed unit on the D6 roll of 6 at the beginning of any given turn. This new unit comes on as reserves (no deep strike) and gains additional VP for the enemy if destroyed a second time. Each unit may only be resurrected once.

Random Game length.


Let the count down begin…

40k: The Orks March On…

After the fall of the Communications Array, the Forge built on Sakar Prime by the Iron Warriors legion is next on the list of targets for the Orks. Whilst the composition of the defending force has not been established, satellite imagery would suggest that it is heavily fortified and there is at least one gun emplacement (of unidentified design) present.

Breaking through the outer lines should pose no problems but the Citadel Forge itself is heavily defended and where the fighting will most likely take place.

After his early triumph, will Warboss Zagdakka get the opportunity to continue the assault on behalf of the Orks, or will someone else step up to lead the Waaagh?

Similarly, are we likely to see the disgraced Warpsmith resurface to exact his revenge?

Regardless, capturing the Communications Array has had a major effect on the coming battle…

++ The Chaos forces have a much reduced coordination and as such must roll 3D6 for every Reserve roll and the opponent gets to choose which result stands.

++ Conversely, communication between the Ork elements has improved dramatically and so they may choose to add or subtract 1 to any Reserve rolls made during the game.

++ In addition, the Orks have the opportunity to catch the Forge defenders cold so automatically win the dice roll to decide who sets up first and goes first.


To be continued…

The Vultures Circle The Battlefield…

As the vultures circle Sunday's scarred battlefield… what did we learn and where do we go from here? The bottom line is that the final result went in favour of the Orks, but the Iron Warriors fought tooth and nail (for the most part) and things were not certain until the very end. Let's run through the Iron Warrior army and see who the heroes were.

Warpsmith:
His original role was derailed before we'd deployed so he was at a bit of a loose end. He started the game in a Rhino with the Bezerkers. He managed to use his flamer on a unit of Boyz, killing a handful, then spent the rest of the game running back to the defensive line where he failed his final charge move. Not a good performance really for 110 points, but to be fair the fault was mostly mine due to indecision.
Rating 3/10

Sorcerer:
A late addition to the army list who ended up with the Bezerkers as well. He was popping off witchfire spells left and right, managed to kill a Meganob and a few Boyz. He killed a few more in combat. Again, he was running back to the line when he copped a rather large blast template on his head and died.
Rating 5/10

Bezerkers:
Taking 6 Khorne Bezerkers in a Rhino seems to be something of a crime in 7th edition. The fact that my little combat monsters can't actually charge into combat on the turn they exit their vehicle is a nonsense. The "Rhino Rush" was a common tactic in the old days and there were counters to it so disabling melee units in this way makes no sense. On the day my Bezerkers took the charge of a unit of Boyz and killed them all. After that their contribution petered out.
Rating 5/10

Noise Marines:
Did well defending the line against the deep striking Ork units, contributing to a lot of deaths. Was the first unit to get hit by the Warboss's retinue and was wiped out – didn't get to attack because we did the combat wrong. Had they been positioned a little better they could have contributed more.
Rating 5/10

Chaos Marines:
The idea was to have five guys with a flamer in each unit to grab objectives and toast the Orks. When Bull decided to completely ignore the objectives and just go for the Comms Dish their role changed. One unit went forward and was ultimately wasted. The other two came back to defend the dish, burning many, many Orks before they made the fatal mistake of charging into combat. The Havoc Launchers on the Rhinos were a waste, the extra combat weapons essential, but overall not a bad showing. The flamer marines were that stand out models here – very glad I sat up until midnight to build and paint them!
Rating 7/10

Obliterators:
One guy died in the first turn without firing a shot. The rest of the time the two remaining Obliterators were marshalling the back line, burning anything they could. They should have finished off the Warboss and Painboy in the end – Bull's ability to consistently roll 5+ Feel No Pain saved their lives. Eventually, their luck ran out and the Warboss's klaw ended them both. Not a lot more they could have contributed.
Rating 8/10

Predators:
Their Soulfire upgrade was a waste of points because I forgot about it! The terrain layout also meant that their line of sight was restricted, especially as one of them imobilised itself in a wood! What they did shoot at they killed for the most part, although there were some key misses in the last few turns. The imobilised Pred had the chance to kill the Warboss at the death, but managed to miss with almost all its dice.
Rating 6/10

Fortifications:
The Defensive Line was a mixed bag – it saved the lives of a few of my troops but similarly saved a few Orks as well. Jury is still out but I have no specific complaints about it. The Tank Traps were a genius addition. Preventing the Ork vehicles from getting right up to the line proved a big success and combined with the other terrain on the table made things difficult. The 50points spent on the Quad Gun however was a complete and utter waste. It never fired a single shot all game – I need to read the rules better.
Rating 5/10


The next battle takes place at the Citadel Forge and is a 2500 point game. No date booked in yet but that doesn't mean we can't start to think about battle plans and army lists.

The one thing we learned from Sunday's game is that 7th Edition 40k is a game of three attack phases – Psychic, Shooting and Melee. The psychic phase is very random but has the potential to be quite devastating if the dice are on your side. You wouldn't want to rely on it though and I see it more as a bonus round of shooting or buffing. The Shooting phase is where it all happens and having a poor round of shooting will hurt you as much as a good round will hurt the enemy. This is the phase when it all happens and each turn revolves around this. The Melee phase is, well, rather broken to me. You can set up an initial charge – as Bull did – but if successful you can't then move into the next enemy unit, you have to sit and be shot for a turn first. My Iron Warriors were wiping out a unit a turn with their shooting so if you're facing a 'shooty' army then you've not much hope of surviving. I see melee more as a mopping up exercise, which is a shame. One of the pivotal aspects of the game is a shadow of its former self. Still, this doesn't mean you should ignore it completely.

As for the next game – will we see the Warpsmith? Not if he knows what's good for him. I don't think the Chaos commanders will be too impressed with the defence of the Comms Dish. The forge is where the Chaos forces create all their fighting machines, so it's definitely in the Ork's best interests to see it shut down. However, it's likely to be heavily defended, especially now… but who will the defenders will be?

To be continued…

The Orks Crash Through To Victory…

…well, maybe not crash so much as scrape?

We'd been building up to this first 7th Edition game of 40k for a while. A 1500 point opener to get us up to speed with the new rules and get a narrative going. Bull has given the Ork side of things on his blog.

From the Iron Warrior perspective I had a bit of a problem in that the models I own are based around my tournament lists from 10 years ago. Alas the game has changed so much that most of the things I have aren't very effective these days. Bull on the other hand has a massive Ork collection so could almost choose anything from the new Ork codex, knowing he had the models somewhere.

I decided to take the Warpsmith as my HQ for the simple reason he was a character that had been developed as part of the narrative build up. The idea was that this was a communications outpost a little cut off from the rest of the chaos forces so only had a basic contingent to defend the comms dish. I was struggling to compose a list that stood the slightest chance against the Orks, so ended up building and 'painting' half a dozen flamer models the night before. I had a basic plan in mind but little did I know – because I hadn't read the minutia of rules in 7th Ed – that it was flawed before I left the house.

The basic premise was that I would take a defensive line with tank traps to ensure the Orks couldn't roll up to my doorstep in their vehicles – they'd have to get out and walk – and this proved a good decision. The flaw was that I also purchased a Quad Gun with the idea that my Warpsmith (with his superior ballistic skill) would man the gun and cause devastation. Alas what I didn't know was that the Quad Gun is primarily anti-aircraft so can only hit ground-based target on a 6 – ignoring the ballistic skill completely.

Fate would throw us another curve ball as we rolled for deployment – length ways was the result and so our carefully placed terrain created a mass of narrow fire lanes and blocked vision. I struggled to place my defensive line and my guns were struggling to see anything clearly. My plan was truly in the toilet at this point – I'd have to wing it.

Bull went first and he decided to go balls-out in the Psychic Phase, teleporting his Wierdboy and unit into my backyard. The dice gods were with him and the arrived unscathed mere inches from the Comms dish. Another zap of Psychic energy and one of my Obliterators dropped dead. There would have to be some kind of backlash – impertinent greenskin!

The reply was devastating and within minutes there was nothing left of the Wierdboy or his unit. It had distracted my guns from the approaching vehicles though.

The following turn more Orks turned up in my deployment zone, this time with jet packs.

Again, the response was devastating as they too were (almost) wiped out.

By turn 3 it was time for the Ork Waaagh, Bull's Warboss and retinue barrelled into my defensive line – that was a lot of Orks.

On my left, the Bezerkers, Sorcerer and Warpsmith (who had been taking pot shots at a large group of Boyz and a unit of Meganobz) finally saw combat. The Boyz charged in (the Meganobz ran away) but the counter-attack was devastating and the greenskins were wiped out.

The triumphant Bezerkers ran back to aid the defenders on the line, but got hit by a large blast on the way back. The sorcerer and a couple of Bezerkers died, which was very annoying. The Noise marines who had taken the initial charge were gone but the Orks were surrounded by multiple guns.

The shooting all but wiped out the Orks, only a Painboy and the Warboss remained. The Obliterators charged in to finish them off but the combat stagnated for several rounds. Then the Chaos forces made a fatal mistake.

Just like all the bad guys in every film you've ever seen, we grasped failure from the jaws of victory…

With the Warboss down a wound I decided to charge the two supporting units into the combat to 'take it over the top'. Alas, my champions have to make a challenge (most stupid rule ever) and Bull chose the Painboy to step up. He managed to kill my Champion and the Warboss finally killed the Obliterators. The rest of the Iron Warriors only managed to take a single wound off the Warboss (thanks to all his re-rolls). The following turn, the rest of the marines were killed or ran away – disaster – though the Painboy finally dropped. Had I not rushed in, the marines could have executed the Warboss and Painboy with a volume of Bolter shots once the Obliterators had died and melee combat ended.

Despite shooting every gun I had available the Warboss held onto his last wound. Now supported by a another unit of Orks (who were subsequently reduced to half strength by my Predators) he was sitting untouchable it seemed. My final roll of the dice was to get my Warpsmith into combat with the Orks to reduce their number further, but the dice gods weren't listening and he didn't make it.

Though technically I owned more of the objectives than Bull (yay Rhinos!), he had his hands on the Comms dish which had been the point of the exercise. I only had the Warpsmith, two Rhinos and two Predators left.

It was time for the Warpsmith to make a sharp exit…