Orkin' for the Man Every Night and Day.
(Note: This is a doozy, and Warhammer 40k related. Enjoy, or flee in terror.)
Got home from a very long day helping some friends move, but I thought I'd keep everyone updated on how Friday's 40k game went. We ended up playing at 1000 points: Orks versus Blood Angel Space Marines. The armies looked like this (mainly for the benefit of those who play the game; ignore the details if you don't care):
Blood Angels:
2 Tactical Squads with flamer, multi-melta, and power weapons for the sergeants, split into four 5-man combat squads
1 unit consisting of 2 attack bikes with heavy bolters
1 unit consisting of 1 attack bike with a multi-melta
1 Baal Predator with twin-linked assault cannons, 2 heavy bolter sponsons, and a pintle-mounted storm bolter
Chaplain Lamartes, leading a 6-man Death Company with jump packs
Orks:
1 mob of 30 boyz with sluggas and choppas, one a Nob with a power klaw and a bosspole
1 mob of 20 boyz with shootas, one a Nob with a power klaw and a bosspole, and two with big shootas
1 mob of 12 boyz with sluggas and choppas in a trukk, one a Nob with a power klaw and bosspole
Warboss on a warbike, with a power klaw, bosspole, cybork body, and ammo runt
5 Nobs on warbikes, with 2 power klaws, one upgrade to Painboy, and cybork bodies for all
Matt set up terrain for Chris and me, consisting of a long diagonal river cutting the board in half, with buildings scattered around in various places, including one huge one in the center. The buildings were just books, so they counted as ordinary leveled terrain (i.e. no ducking inside for cover). There were two bridges to cross the river, one northwest of the center building, and one to the southeast (from my perspective).
We rolled for mission and deployment, ending up with Seize Ground using the Spearhead deployment. I won the die rolls to place objectives and deploy first. We ended up with three objectives on my side of the river, one on Chris's side to the east, and on dead center on the big building. This mission was great for me, because all my mobs are Troop choices, allowing them to capture objectives. Only the Tactical Squads could do the same on the Space Marine side.
Chris was able to seize the initiative from me, and took the first turn. Immediately, things started going awry. He zoomed his Baal Predator onto the SE bridge and started blasting away at my trukk, wrecking it instantly. The squadron of two bikes also moved up and pelted the trukk boyz with bolter fire. The boyz suffered casualties, but managed to make their Morale check to avoid fleeing off the board. Death Company, possessing huge movement due to their jetpacks, got in position near the big building, ready to hop over it if need be. On my turn, I zoomed out the Bikers (Warboss in the lead), turbo-boosting to make them nigh-impossible targets. The slugga boyz moved onto an objective, while the shoota boyz stayed sitting on the one they deployed around. The trukk boyz darted into the shadow of the big building, hoping to avoid further fire from the Predator. No shooting, no assaulting. A weak turn for the Orks, given their usual aggressive style.
The second turn was somewhat disastrous. A lucky multi-melta shot from a tactical squad turned one of my Nobz into goo, via the Instant Death rule. A Tactical squad with a flamer charged the Nobz, but only managed to inflict one wound on a Nob before getting wiped out. The Predator and bikes moved up, continuing to blast at the trukk boyz. Then Death Company hopped across the large building and charged in. Fortunately, Lamartes wasn't able to join the fight. Unfortunately, he was not needed. The trukk boyz were annihilated quickly. However, the Orks weren't out of the fight yet. Screaming for blood, the shoota boyz ran up, blazing away (and actually killing one of Death Company!), before charging into assault. That brutal fight would last the next couple of turns, and eventually (wonder of wonders!), the shoota boyz would emerge victorious, largely due to the efforts of the Nob and his power klaw. Meanwhile, the slugga boyz began heading east, hoping to get some of that action. The Nobz, fresh from their victory on the Space Marine turn, charged over into a combat squad with a multi-melta. They, too, were destroyed.
Things were looking up for the Orks by turn three. The Space Marines opened up on the Nobz, but failed to do any damage (thanks to automatic cover saves and Feel No Pain). The Predator and attack bikes blasted away at the oncoming slugga boy horde, splattering several Orks to the ground. Unfortunately for the Marines, the comrades of the fallen simply stomped over their dead comrades in a mad rush to the foe. One Tactical Squad started heading for the central building, hoping to claim the objective atop it (and escape from Nob biker attacks to boot). Then the Orks took their turn. The Nobz charged, taking out yet another combat squad, leaving only one Troops unit left for the Space Marines. The slugga boyz charged the attack bikes, and managed to take them both out volleys of fire and an angry power klaw. At this point, the Space Marine force was essentially down to one combat squad, one attack bike, and the Predator.
Turn four. The Space Marines had little left for them to do. The Predator opened up on the slugga boyz, of course, and killed many. But 12 remained, so the Orks figured they still had enough to win (benefiting from the Fearless rule). The combat squad on the roof took some shots down at the biker Nobz, but scored no wounds. The attack bike pulled back and tried the same, but also failed to melt any of the Nobz. The Ork rebuttal was ferocious. The biker Nobz charged and destroyed the remaining attack bike. The slugga boyz charged the Predator, and in the course of their pummeling managed to immobilize, disarm, and destroy the tank, piece by piece. The shoota boyz, finally emerging victorious over Death Company, headed back to their original objective.
By turn five, the game was essentially over. All that remained was for the slugga boyz to approach an objective, and the biker Nobz to turbo boost to yet another. After some half-hearted attempts to see the game to the finish, it was called. With three Troop units on three objectives, and the only remaining Space Marines claiming one, the Orks achieved victory.
What did I learn from this? First, make SURE the trukk will be out of line-of-sight after the enemy takes their first move. There's no point pinning your hopes on getting the first turn. Second, slugga boyz are ferocious and tenacious, and nigh-impossible to slow down with anything but concentrated fire from several decent-sized units (a tank and two bikes just won't cut it). Third, shoota boyz are very, very good units. They can blast away at the enemy, achieving a few kills by pure volume of fire, and with a power klaw Nob in their midst, they're no slouches when it comes to close combat. I'll see if I can get 30 of them going next time I play, as that'll make them much more survivable (and deadly).
Finally, NOB BIKERS ARE NUTSO. They have excellent armor saves, permanent cover saves (as good as Space Marine armor if they turbo boost), high toughness (due to the bikes) to make them difficult to wound, invulnerable saves from their cybork bodies, and Feel No Pain to take care of what little gets through their multiple layers of defense. On top of that, they can move 12" and assault a further 6", and with their power klaws they make short work of anything, from vehicles to infantry squads to elites to... well, just about anything. Sure, with the Warboss they accounted for about half of my 1000 points, but they killed half of the opposing army (and could have killed the rest in a pinch). In short, they're almost too damn good. I may avoid them in favor of trukks and large mobs of boyz in the future, just to keep things sporting. Also, I'm itching to try out more tactics with killa kanz, and see if a Deff Dredd is all it's cracked up to be. So, don't worry, Chris. The Nobz will not be the centerpiece of every fight against the Orks. Just, you know, when I really want to win.
-Sam
Got home from a very long day helping some friends move, but I thought I'd keep everyone updated on how Friday's 40k game went. We ended up playing at 1000 points: Orks versus Blood Angel Space Marines. The armies looked like this (mainly for the benefit of those who play the game; ignore the details if you don't care):
Blood Angels:
2 Tactical Squads with flamer, multi-melta, and power weapons for the sergeants, split into four 5-man combat squads
1 unit consisting of 2 attack bikes with heavy bolters
1 unit consisting of 1 attack bike with a multi-melta
1 Baal Predator with twin-linked assault cannons, 2 heavy bolter sponsons, and a pintle-mounted storm bolter
Chaplain Lamartes, leading a 6-man Death Company with jump packs
Orks:
1 mob of 30 boyz with sluggas and choppas, one a Nob with a power klaw and a bosspole
1 mob of 20 boyz with shootas, one a Nob with a power klaw and a bosspole, and two with big shootas
1 mob of 12 boyz with sluggas and choppas in a trukk, one a Nob with a power klaw and bosspole
Warboss on a warbike, with a power klaw, bosspole, cybork body, and ammo runt
5 Nobs on warbikes, with 2 power klaws, one upgrade to Painboy, and cybork bodies for all
Matt set up terrain for Chris and me, consisting of a long diagonal river cutting the board in half, with buildings scattered around in various places, including one huge one in the center. The buildings were just books, so they counted as ordinary leveled terrain (i.e. no ducking inside for cover). There were two bridges to cross the river, one northwest of the center building, and one to the southeast (from my perspective).
We rolled for mission and deployment, ending up with Seize Ground using the Spearhead deployment. I won the die rolls to place objectives and deploy first. We ended up with three objectives on my side of the river, one on Chris's side to the east, and on dead center on the big building. This mission was great for me, because all my mobs are Troop choices, allowing them to capture objectives. Only the Tactical Squads could do the same on the Space Marine side.
Chris was able to seize the initiative from me, and took the first turn. Immediately, things started going awry. He zoomed his Baal Predator onto the SE bridge and started blasting away at my trukk, wrecking it instantly. The squadron of two bikes also moved up and pelted the trukk boyz with bolter fire. The boyz suffered casualties, but managed to make their Morale check to avoid fleeing off the board. Death Company, possessing huge movement due to their jetpacks, got in position near the big building, ready to hop over it if need be. On my turn, I zoomed out the Bikers (Warboss in the lead), turbo-boosting to make them nigh-impossible targets. The slugga boyz moved onto an objective, while the shoota boyz stayed sitting on the one they deployed around. The trukk boyz darted into the shadow of the big building, hoping to avoid further fire from the Predator. No shooting, no assaulting. A weak turn for the Orks, given their usual aggressive style.
The second turn was somewhat disastrous. A lucky multi-melta shot from a tactical squad turned one of my Nobz into goo, via the Instant Death rule. A Tactical squad with a flamer charged the Nobz, but only managed to inflict one wound on a Nob before getting wiped out. The Predator and bikes moved up, continuing to blast at the trukk boyz. Then Death Company hopped across the large building and charged in. Fortunately, Lamartes wasn't able to join the fight. Unfortunately, he was not needed. The trukk boyz were annihilated quickly. However, the Orks weren't out of the fight yet. Screaming for blood, the shoota boyz ran up, blazing away (and actually killing one of Death Company!), before charging into assault. That brutal fight would last the next couple of turns, and eventually (wonder of wonders!), the shoota boyz would emerge victorious, largely due to the efforts of the Nob and his power klaw. Meanwhile, the slugga boyz began heading east, hoping to get some of that action. The Nobz, fresh from their victory on the Space Marine turn, charged over into a combat squad with a multi-melta. They, too, were destroyed.
Things were looking up for the Orks by turn three. The Space Marines opened up on the Nobz, but failed to do any damage (thanks to automatic cover saves and Feel No Pain). The Predator and attack bikes blasted away at the oncoming slugga boy horde, splattering several Orks to the ground. Unfortunately for the Marines, the comrades of the fallen simply stomped over their dead comrades in a mad rush to the foe. One Tactical Squad started heading for the central building, hoping to claim the objective atop it (and escape from Nob biker attacks to boot). Then the Orks took their turn. The Nobz charged, taking out yet another combat squad, leaving only one Troops unit left for the Space Marines. The slugga boyz charged the attack bikes, and managed to take them both out volleys of fire and an angry power klaw. At this point, the Space Marine force was essentially down to one combat squad, one attack bike, and the Predator.
Turn four. The Space Marines had little left for them to do. The Predator opened up on the slugga boyz, of course, and killed many. But 12 remained, so the Orks figured they still had enough to win (benefiting from the Fearless rule). The combat squad on the roof took some shots down at the biker Nobz, but scored no wounds. The attack bike pulled back and tried the same, but also failed to melt any of the Nobz. The Ork rebuttal was ferocious. The biker Nobz charged and destroyed the remaining attack bike. The slugga boyz charged the Predator, and in the course of their pummeling managed to immobilize, disarm, and destroy the tank, piece by piece. The shoota boyz, finally emerging victorious over Death Company, headed back to their original objective.
By turn five, the game was essentially over. All that remained was for the slugga boyz to approach an objective, and the biker Nobz to turbo boost to yet another. After some half-hearted attempts to see the game to the finish, it was called. With three Troop units on three objectives, and the only remaining Space Marines claiming one, the Orks achieved victory.
What did I learn from this? First, make SURE the trukk will be out of line-of-sight after the enemy takes their first move. There's no point pinning your hopes on getting the first turn. Second, slugga boyz are ferocious and tenacious, and nigh-impossible to slow down with anything but concentrated fire from several decent-sized units (a tank and two bikes just won't cut it). Third, shoota boyz are very, very good units. They can blast away at the enemy, achieving a few kills by pure volume of fire, and with a power klaw Nob in their midst, they're no slouches when it comes to close combat. I'll see if I can get 30 of them going next time I play, as that'll make them much more survivable (and deadly).
Finally, NOB BIKERS ARE NUTSO. They have excellent armor saves, permanent cover saves (as good as Space Marine armor if they turbo boost), high toughness (due to the bikes) to make them difficult to wound, invulnerable saves from their cybork bodies, and Feel No Pain to take care of what little gets through their multiple layers of defense. On top of that, they can move 12" and assault a further 6", and with their power klaws they make short work of anything, from vehicles to infantry squads to elites to... well, just about anything. Sure, with the Warboss they accounted for about half of my 1000 points, but they killed half of the opposing army (and could have killed the rest in a pinch). In short, they're almost too damn good. I may avoid them in favor of trukks and large mobs of boyz in the future, just to keep things sporting. Also, I'm itching to try out more tactics with killa kanz, and see if a Deff Dredd is all it's cracked up to be. So, don't worry, Chris. The Nobz will not be the centerpiece of every fight against the Orks. Just, you know, when I really want to win.
-Sam