2k Batrep - Iron Hands/Admech vs. Chaos

An auspicious start

I got around to testing my Iron Hand/Admech, and my buddy threw down his own beta test of various chaos units.  Believe this was his first outing with Chaos in 8th, and my first real outing with any Admech outside of a 1,000 Battle for Konor.  Armies were -

Iron Hands/Adeptus Mechanicus/Inquisition Army

Admech Spearhead Detachment (Forge World - "take -1 to hit outside of 12")

Tech Priest Dominus - macrostubber, vulkite blaster

Cybernetica Datasmith

2x Kastelan Robots (3x heavy phosphor blasters each)

Onager Duncrawler (neutron laser, 2x heavy stubber)

Onager Duncrawler (neutron laser, 2x heavy stubber)

Inquisitorial Supreme Command Detachment

3x Inquisitors (chainsword, bolt pistol)

Iron Hands Battalion

Captain (Medusan Axe)

Terminator Chaplain

5x Assault Terminators (4x TH/SS, Lightning Claws on sarge)

5x Rievers (assault bolters, grav chutes)

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

5-man Tactical Squad (combi-plasma, plasma gun)

-Razorback w/ twin assault cannons

My logic - the Admech detachment is just plain shooty.  The Inquisitors provide psychic support to my tac squads, and the elites and HQs drop in where needed.  I can't really justify taking that much plasma without a captain, and needing 4+ to hit with thunder hammers means I really, really ought to take that Chaplain.  I'm curious about how Rievers will do, and I feel like pairing a shooty deep-striking option with the terminators is the way to go - I've got options, and can strip away a meat shield.

World Eaters Battalion

Demon Prince w/ Wings, 2x Claws

Kharn the Betrayer (real swell guy)

9 World Eaters (fist)

-Rhino

10 Chaos Marines (2x meltagun)

Cultist Squad (CCWs/pistols)

Cultist Squad (autoguns)

5x Chaos Spawn

Defiler (reaper cannon, scourge)

Maulerfiend

3x Obliterators

Lascannon Pred

Heldrake w/ flamer

His logic - test out World Eater options.  Get them on the field, get a feel for them.  That, and he's seen how much fun it is to have Heldrakes rush across the field.

Scenario - Cloak and shadows, with that happy, HAPPY little "take a penalty to shooting outside of 18 inches or so"

First turn goes to chaos.

Deployment

 I set up in the middle - the Admech folks deploy around the Dominus for re-rolls.  Each Razorback gets an Inquisitor (AKA - wannabe smite-bot) while my captain, Rievers, and Terminators wait for a good time to drop in.

Chaos Turn 01

 Chaos forges ahead.  His las-predator fails to do much interesting, and he manages to kill one of the Kastelans.  Oblits drop into cover, open up, and secure the middle objective.

Imperial Turn 01

 Well, that's a LOT of stuff in my field.  I fail to get first blood, but do significant damage to his Heldrake.  One Razorback lost its shooting due to falling back.  I drop my Terminators in his backfield, and drop the Rievers near his other objective.

 My Rievers have words with his cultists.  They prove to be mildly allergic to bolt shells.

Chaos Turn 2

 His Heldrake moves out to have words with my Rievers, and fails to do much damage between hot dice and the chapter tactic.  His cultists, regular marines, and Khorne Berserkers divert to handle my deep-strikers.  He proceeds to roll a number of '4s' to charge, which is why his Cultists get hammered to death, and his Maulerfiend has a stare-down with a Razorback.  He does kill the Kastelans, giving him First Blood.

Not pictured - Cultists, because they're dead

Charge fails

 The chaos lord watches the Razorback make too many 5+s to die.

Berserkers roll a 4 to charge

 Rievers luck out.

Imperial Turn 02

 The captain drops in to supervise the plasma gunners...because I don't feel like blowing up.  His chargers and Heldrake get it, along with his regular marine squad.

Terminators vs. Chaos Marines

 Turns out that regular Chaos Marines don't do well when Terminators charge them.

Massive sigh of relief

 His chargers get a case of the death, between plasma, bolt guns, assault cannons and some smite lovin'.

I Derp Out

 So, I'm trying to hold 3 objectives.  I get the bright idea to charge his Berserkers (to deny them the charge).  Turns out it doesn't hold them in place, AND he consolidates into range to contest an objective.  Go me.

Chaos Turn 03

 His spawn hit my lines.  Kharn heads off after the Rievers, while his 'zerkers head towards me.  The predator plinks away at razorbacks to degrade their stats, and my Termiantors laugh off his defiler's gunfire.

Lotta Saves

 My Dominus gets charged, manages to live through it, and even kill a Spawn.  The Onager gets savagely beaten, but remains alive.

Imperial Turn 03

 Terminators advance toward his defiler (and the objective in that building).  I finally get around to throwing fire at his Oblits, and kill two.  The Dominus and Onager fall back - after repairs, the Dominus is feeling fine, and the Onager gets patched up a little.  The Spawn get a case of the rapid-fire death.

Captain for the cleanup

Chaos Turn 4

 His Rhino backs off (after sustaining some damage).  Kharn, having finished with that last stubborn Riever, heads towards the terminators.

Defiler vs Terminators - Terminators win

Imperial Turn 04

 I polish off the Rhino, and thin out the Berserkers some.  He's still got a healthy lead on objectives.  I also got around to killing that last stupid Oblit.

Chaos Turn 05

 Kharn mops the floor with assault terminators (...who saw that coming?  I did.)  His Berserkers polish off the tac squad.

 Kharn victorious.

Endgame

At this point, he's down to a handful of models - I table him, after the neutron lasers go hot, and small arms kill the last of the 'zerkers.

End result - a narrow win for the Imperium, due to tabling the enemy.

Closing Thoughts
Admech - I'm keeping that detachment.  I think it's a good balance of volume (Kastelans) and outright destructive power (neutron lasers).  Seriously, neutron lasers are totally awesome.  Canticles of the Omnissiah was a non-issue, mostly because of the invulnerable saves and the fact that everyone was next to "Mr. Re-rolls 1's".

Inquisitors - I feel like smite-bots are better on foot behind meat shields.  I got about two meaningful turns of smiting out of them.  I think Malefic Lords at 30pts a head are really the nasty, nasty spammable ones.  But, hey, Inquisitors do help with morale.  Probably more important in an actual admech army with its absolute crap leadership.

Rievers - I actually like these guys for hitting from an unexpected angle.  Bolt carbines + grav chutes let them hit from an unexpected angle.  They're also pretty durable, when you get down to it - especially if you've got cover.  They won't kill specialist units, but can thin down stuff with volume of fire from a couple feet out.

Assault Terminators - They definitely need a chaplain.  I've opted to go for claws on sarge so they've got a stop-gap vs. hordes.  It also cuts the cost a little, and with sarge you get a good four attacks that hit on 3's and re-roll wounds.

Tac Squads - they're workhorses.  5-man squads aren't super-durable, but plasma + re-rolls is pretty nasty, and a good balance to the assault cannon razorbacks.

Jump Pack Captain - I like the jump pack for the option to drop him wherever I need him.  I was a little light on points in this test, which is why captain had the Medusan Axe instead of a hammer/shield.  In fairness, if you haven't picked up another relic the axe is pretty decent.  Points permitting, cap gets a thunder hammer, a storm shield, and probably gets the shield upgraded to the Shield Eternal.

Chaos Spawn - honestly, they're kinda durable.  I'd forgotten they went up to four wounds and have AP-2 on the melee attacks - it's kinda nasty.  They'll either draw fire, or potentially do some damage when they hit.

Khorne Berserkers - they do one thing really, really well - evaporate things in melee.  ESPECIALLY with the World Eater legion tactics - +1 attack is just kinda painful.

Batrep - Iron Hands vs. Black Templar at 2k. Paint Rounds FTW

It's been a minute - but I finally got enough of my Iron Hands painted to throw down.  So, I grabbed them and a camera.

Iron Hands

Battalion Detachment

Captain in Gravis Armor (warlord)

Captain w/ Storm Bolter, Power Sword

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

10x Space Marines (combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher)

-Razorback (twin assault cannons)

5 Scouts

5 Scouts

Stormtalon gunship (assault cannons, skyhammers)

Stormtalon gunship (assault cannons, skyhammers)

Vanguard Detachment

Techmarine

Dreadnought (multi-melta, storm bolter)

Dreadnought (assault cannon, storm bolter)

Ironclad Dreadnought (hurricane bolter, chainfist, meltagun, assault launchers)

Admittedly, the dreads are a bit of "what I have on hand" more than anything else.

Black Templar

Damocles Command Rhino

Techmarine (warlord)

Emperor's Champion

Terminator Chaplain

5 Terminators (4x hammers/shields, sarge w/ lightning claws)

5 Terminators (4x hammers/shields, sarge w/ lightning claws)

10 Crusaders (meltagun, missile launcher)

10 Crusaders (meltagun, missile launcher)

5 Scouts

10 assault marines (2x flamers, axe/plasma pistol on sarge)

Predator (twin las, 2x lascannons)

Predator (twin las, 2x lascannons)

Scenario - Cleanse and Control

Deployment

 I end up choosing DZs, and realize I'm going second.  I deploy scouts at the edge of my DZ, and the gunships serve as additional deep-strike deterrent.  I set up around my objectives, and his warlord/CP generator set up on his.

BT Turn 01

 Rhinos advance and pop smoke.  His predators completely whiff against everything - bunch of rolls of 1-2 n his shooting and wounds, which keeps him from scoring first blood.  His assault marines drop in.

Orbital Bombardment

 I learn (the hard way) that the Damocles Rhino comes with one free orbital bombardment.  Which hurts.  Mortal wounds to the rhinos, dreads, and gunship.  Somehow the marines avoid the pain.

What were our orders again?

 His assault marines fail the assault.  Which is fine with me.

Iron Hands Turn 01

 I hold my ground and open fire.  My objectives are kinda sad - I've got to get across the board, and hold the objective right by my dreads/2x razorback squad for two turns. 

Bullet allergy

 The stormtalons shred the predator, so first blood goes to me

Scout vs Scout

 I shoot his five-man scout squad off the objective they were trying to hold.

BT Turn 02

 His Rhino unloads, his assault marines unload, and his dice finally cooperate and shoot one of my flyers off the board.

Even in death, I still serve pain

 His marines whiff the missile and meltagun against the dread, then dive into CQC with it in an attempt to deny my "hold for two turns" objective.

You got this, boss!

 His assault terminators fail the charge, but the chaplain makes it, and crushes a few skulls.

I had a wingman a minute ago

Iron Hand Turn 02

 I solve the assault problem, and move to contest/claim up the objective in his DZ.  Man, I drew some sad objectives this game.

BULLETS!

 My regular dread broke off the assault, and everyone else combined to shoot the crap out of his Crusader squads.  They died to a man.

Stalemate

 The tac squad tags the Gravis captain into the melee, and the chaplain lives.  Takes a couple slaps with a fist, though.

BT Turn 03

 His last squad of assault terminators drop in, and promptly flub their assault.

Whiff

 The fight continues, and his marines whiff the assault again.

Tyin' up everything

 His assault marines grind through a few dudes, then consolidate into everything.

Finale

At this point, we called it.  My plasma squads fail to do anything against his Terminators, and he's got a 7-2 lead on objectives at this point.  I'm out of CP and have to get across the board.  We figured that at this point, he could've kept me pinned in and/or killed a lot of stuff, while I wouldn't have been able to close the VP gap.

End Result - Iron Hands are glad it's a paint-round-only match.

Closing Thoughts
Assault Cannon Razorbacks & Tac Squads
Pros - the configuration I brought is reasonably well-rounded.  Twin assault cannons have a solid volume of fire, so moving isn't THAT much of a penalty.  Plasma is decent as long as there's a captain nearby for re-rolls - and captains aren't too terribly expensive.

Note that combat-squadding a tactical squad is probably giving up first turn, period.  Your tac marines will probably take two drops at that point.

Dreadnoughts
I think these guys are gonna get lascannons next time around.  I need more long-range guns, and while the multi-melta and assault cannon are nice, I could use some longer-ranged firepower.

Ironclads
I think the hurricane bolter and chainfist are the way to go.  You don't have a ton of attacks, so the seismic hammer's -1 to hit is a bit of a pain.  The Hurricane bolter lets you do something outside of assault.

Scouts
I think a squad or two of scouts is still worth including - they're not that expensive, and they provide a much-needed buffer against deep-striking units. 

Gunships
I like the speed and firepower.  They're not too hard to kill, though, so you need to bring plenty of targets.  I'm definitely getting paint on these guys soon.  Still mixed about the secondary weapons though - the heavy bolters are cheaper, but the skyhammer rockets would be nice vs. other flyers.

BT - Assault Terminators
Really, these remind me that I need to get mine assembled.  I got lucky because he flubbed his assault roles, but if these guys don't make the charge when they arrive, you have a few options -
1) run away
2) kill them
3) bury them in bodies
Otherwise, they'll get into assault.  I think a sarge with claws is a good addition to the TH/SS guys, since it gives you a handful more attacks to thin out crowds.

Las-Preds
They're expensive and mono-purposed, but very good at what they do.  Unless the dice hate them.

BT - 10-man squad comp
He ran them with a meltagun and missile launcher - I think going with a combi-weapon matching the special would help.  Then again, missile launchers remain a versatile choice.  You don't get the AP of the lascannon (or strength) but you get the ability to do something beyond dropping a ton of damage on a single target.

Damocles Command Rhino
I'm not sure I'd take it under 2k points, but it and a cheap HQ (like a techmarine) will give you the two HQ choices for a battalion, and give you another 2-3 CP over the course of the game as long as you hide the warlord in the back. 

You want a cheap warlord choice, and you want to hide them for the CP and sit this thing in the back.  Drop that orbital bombardment on turn 01, and then sit on an objective.  If you aren't going to sit a cheap warlord in there, skip it.  BUT, getting extra CP through the game is potentially useful.

Gravis Captain
Honestly, if you have a gunline, you could do worse for an HQ than this.  A minimal captain is about 40ish points more than this guy, but this dude WILL do some damage in CQC.  I'm pleasantly surprised with this dude. 

Army Tweaks for the future
I'm thinking of re-tooling the dreads.  My first thought is to change the vanguard detachment to be 2x lascannon dreads and some grav-chute Rievers for objective-grabbing.

Batrep - Black Templars vs. Chaos Undecided

My comrade and I opted to go up to 2,000 points.  We knocked out the game prior to the release of the Codex: Space Marines, though agreed to use Black Templar Chapter Tactics.  Both of us realized those are kinda sick for deep-striking assault troops*, since 9 on a 2d6 with a re-roll is about a 50/50 shot.

Chaos Undecided

Battalion Detachment

Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster

Herald of Khorne on Juggernaut - Warlord

Hellbrute w/ Reaper Autocannon, Flail

15 Poxwalkers

15 Poxwalkers

12 Cultists w/ Heavy Stubber

12 Cultists w/ Heavy Stubber

Foetid Bloat Drone

Foetid Bloat Drone

10 Hounds of Khorne

Maulerfiend w/ Lasher Tendrils

Superheavy Detachment

Traitor Knight w/ chainsword, thermal cannon, stubber, icarus cannon

Black Templar Battalion Detachment

Chaplain Grimaldus - Warlord

Emperor's Champion

5 Assault Terminators

6 Terminators w/ Assault Cannon

Sternguard squad

Cenobite Servitors

Crusader Squad - 5 men w/ plasma gun, plasma cannon

-Razorback w/ Twin Lascannon

Crusader Squad in a pod (9 guys, meltagun, fist, sword)

Crusader Squad in a pod (9 guys, meltagun, fist, sword)

The Scenario - Secure And Control (capture the flag)

Deployment - Search and Destroy (table quarters)

My Plan

So, I look at the army lists and realize I'm not going to first.  Second, I'm going to have a heap of deep-striking units to deal with.  Well, this is why I bring pox walkers and stuff - I'm going to need them to take up lots of space so I can try to dictate how he deep-strikes.  I know there's melta in his deep-striking squads, so I ensure that my big stuff (the greater demon and the knight) will be out of range on the first turn.  My hounds and herald go into the ruins close to the middle, while cultists and the Hellbrute hold my objective.  The hellbrute is placed so the Razorback can't see it, AND it denies my opponent an easy deep-striking zone, because if he can deep-strike there and land more than one unit I think I lose.

Deployment - Chaos Castles Up

 His objective is in the building in his table quarter - not that you can see it, but there's a five-man crusader squad with cenobites sitting on that objective.  His las-back is in ruins, and his sternguard are at the middle line.

BT turn 1 assault

 He opts to bring in just one squad on turn one - terminators in the middle, which promptly dig into my bubble wrap.  His las-back knocks some wounds off my Knight.

Chaos Turn 01 - Counter-Assault and Desultory Gunfire

 ...so naturally, I'm going to go handle the problem.  His other stuff will come in when it comes in; I just need to start dealing with it now.  My Bloat Drones start pushing up to try to deny more deep-striking space.

Khorne Dogs vs Sternguard

 The Bloodthirster, Herald, Maulerfiend and Hounds burst out of cover and into his guys.  The Herald gets roughed up, and the Bloodthirster kills enough stuff to keep my Maulerfiend from attacking.

Templar Turn 2 - In Which More Terminators Arrive

 So his assault terminators arrive, and Grimaldus and Friends (TM) arrive as well.  Note that those Terminators are standing where a Bloat Drone used to be.

Grimaldus Charges in to Buff His Comrades - 2CP Later He's Dead

 He charges Grimaldus in - I spend CP to ensure that the Bloodthirster gets to swing.  As this happens before the Bloat Throne gets used like a pinata, this gets me both First Blood and Slay The Warlord, which is crucial.

Chaos Turn 02

 Alright, it's a furball now!

Knight vs. Terminators + terrible rolls

 The Knight decides that Terminators won't be that bad.  Turns out the knight can't roll dice for spit.

PLAY! PLAY!...and the combat goes on

 This combat is going to go on for quite some time....

Bloodthirster remains happy

 Bloodthirster controls the middle, poxwalkers work to slowly grind away at marines and terminators.

Turn 03 - Emperor's Champion Arrives

 His champion drops - and his terminators in the middle drop my Bloodthirster.  The Heralds has gone back into cover with the cultists, since he's sitting on about 3 wounds, and I want to deny him the VP.

Knight is SAD

 My opponent makes an inordinate number of saves, and the knight loses a chunk of wounds.

Middle Battle continues, minus Bloodthirster and friends

 The middle is one hell of a furball.

Chaos Turn 3 - Knight disengages, Puppy charges, Bloat Drones Pushes

 The Maulerfiend, having failed a charge earlier, decides to go handle the drop pod - it also eyes the razorback meaningfully.

Still at it in the middle

 Man that's a lot of zombies.  Some of them used to be space marines.

Templar Turn 04

 I kill his drop pod on his turn.  The Emperor's Champion heads off in search of cultists/herald, and his Crusader buddies head towards the middle.

2 wounds left - BUT ALIVE!

 The knight finally finishes combat, heavily damaged but technically alive.  It did about 21 wounds to that last guy.

Chaos Turn 4

 The Puppy slaps the razroback a little, and melee continues.  My bloat drone has, by this point, traded itself for the Crusader squad.  It got in, fired, and then ate an overcharged plasma volley that cost the plasma gunner his life before the fistfight started.  The plasma cannoneer smashes the drone, then dies in the explosion.  It's the stuff of legends, except I doubt the Cenobite servitors would actually tell the story.

BT Turn 05

 At this point it's getting close to winding down - time isn't on my side.  The combat in the middle continues, but the Crusader squad does a lot better at killing zombies than terminators due to volume vs. quality of attacks.

Wrapping up

I just need to hold one objective - at this point, the Knight is (somehow) still alive, and the Maulerfiend is in position to grab his objective, so even if I end up having to handle troops and possibly lose mine, I've got another one.

Emperor's Champion vs. Cultists

 The cultists actually thought they could beat the Emperor's Champion.  They DID knock off two wounds in shooting though.  And force a number of saves.

Endgame

 You don't see the Maulerfiend in this picture because it's sitting on his objective.  At this point, the survivors are -
CHAOS
12 Cultists
Hellbrute
Knight (2 wounds remaining)

BLACK TEMPLAR
Crusader Squad
Couple of Sternguard

Razorbacks - not so hot in melee

Maulerfriend on BT objective

Closing Thoughts
1) Bubble Wrap is your friend
Those two poxwalker squads were crazy useful - in large part because they managed to take up space.  Same goes for the cultists squads, to an extent - they're cheap, the fulfill my troops requirements, and can hold objectives in the backfield.

2) Black Templar Chapter Tactics
Deep striking assaulty troops are going to be money for these guys.  Having a 50/50 shot at making the charge off the bat is disgusting.  I think the real winners with this are going to be Terminators (either variety) and Assault Marines with jump packs.

Regular terminators are versatile - and god help you if they get into cover and you have to shift them.  Assault terminators love showing up nearby, though if you're going hammer-heavy you may want a Chaplain or something else to give you some re-rolls.

3) Knights - Mixed Feelings
Turns out that Thunder Hammer assault terminators are rough on knights, especially if he has some hot dice on the saves.  That being said, the thermal cannon was a bit underwhelming - then again, I didn't have great targets for it this game; the razorback managed to make saves and otherwise I killed a few terminators.

That being said, the ability to walk out of combat, shoot, and assault again make knights stupid mobile and productive.  Which frankly, they need to be, since that one was almost 500 points.

4) Khorne Dogs - kinda sad
I'm not super-impressed with them this time around - with the change to WS, they aren't as hard to hit in melee.  I do like the bonus attacks/strength on the charge, but they really need to hang out next to a herald to get the +1S after that.

More testing is needed, but I'm not as psyched about them as I was in 7th.  Then again, I was also fighting power armor marines with a decent volume of attacks.

5) Foetid Bloat Drones - Mainstays
They're mobile, hard to hit, and durable.  I'd have a hard time leaving home without these or Helldrakes for the mobility.

Up Next
I expect the release of the Chaos codex and the new SM book will shake things up a bit.  I like the versatility of Chaos Undecided, though I'm thinking about a Sorcerer on a Disc of Tzeentch - things like Warptime are silly, and the extra-heretical part of me really, really wishes I could use Warptime on a Bloodthirster - but I'll have to settle for using it on a Hellbrute or Maulerfriend.

*I'm assuming we did the deep-strike reserves correctly - if deploying a squad in a transport counts as placing one unit on the field, I'm assuming it's the same for reserves, and that's how we agreed to play it.  I should probably RTFM or something to be sure, but it seemed logical at the time.