Thursday, March 26, 2015

Another quick battle for the Waaagh

  If you've been following, then you know that my Orks haven't been faring so well.  This is for a couple of reasons, not the least is which I haven't changed the list at all and I seem to have chosen a weaker group of boyz to get going.  But that's okay, as I'm working diligently (or not at all, one of those two...) to get the army going.  I want to have a painted army for once!

  But while I'm painting like a madman, I still need to keep da boyz fresh and that calls for more battles.  This time I thought I was being cunnin' by inviting one of my other buddies over.  He, like me, tends to focus on theme and fluff for his army lists, so I can guarantee a 'soft' opponent (of course, so could he!).  In addition, my buddy plays Astra Militarum (you know, the old IG), so I actually get to use my tank top armor saves!  I was excited.

  So we're doing the typical 1000 point 'kill and 12' battle, where it's just about trying to kill each other.  It involved the typical 4'x4' battlefield, riddled with ruins and scenery bits.  It gives my Orks plenty of cover and, let's be real, the grimdark universe has far less forested areas than we think.  

Da battlefield, same as normal...
  So we roll it up and I win the roll, so I make him deploy first.  He sets up the typical lines, with the Ogryns on his right flank and the Mortar teams on the left.  Otherwise, as is the typical Mordian style, he's lined up 'close order' and in wide battlelines.  As a greenskin, I'm just happy to see so many 'oomies to chop up!

  I then deploy, sending my Warboss and his bikers straight at the Ogryns- we gotta fight da biggest things dey got!-, the Lootas in the ruins facing the middle of the battlefield, and da boyz spread between all of that.  This is where I also made my first fatal error- I deployed my Deff Dread behind da boyz in the middle, therefore keeping him in the worst possible position he could be.  But I had already deployed and wasn't thinking, so we let it be and just played on.  Make no mistake, that was definitely something that affected the outcome, but dats what Orks do!  Finally, the Deffkoptas were held in reserve, to Outflank later on.

We deployed

The Imperium's pretty little lines...

and da Orks massive Waaaagh!

  Turn one saw my Orks leap forward and begin mowing down Guardsmen with my Warbikers' Dakkaguns- felling 2 Ogryns right away!  The Lootas managed to snipe two more Guardsmen from the middle squad, proving that they learned how to take cover behind the tank traps.  The rest of the Ork army just marched forward as fast as they could.  

  Meanwhile, the Guardsmen just rushed up with the big brutes, felling a couple of bikes with their Ripper guns.  Although the models didn't move, that alone was enough to freak out the remaining boss and his Nob escort already.  The Mortar teams let loose their tubes and managed to kill a couple of the greenskins, but not enough to matter.  And the captain ordered everyone else to pitch in with their Lasguns, only to fail to cause any real damage and see the green tide surge forward.  

End of turn 1
  So my Orks, now bolstered by the nearly ineffective efforts of the 'oomies that first turn (beside the Ogryns), leap forward into action.  The Warbikers rush up and try to charge the Ogryns, only to find them a harder bunch to deal with that we thought!  With one final last gasp, the bleeding Warboss and his twisted bike try to charge the bellowing brutes, only to lose his nerve (he just saw his shield, er Nob die!).  The boyz on the opposite flank charged the Mortars, easily killing them off, but then realizing that the guardsmen has a ton of support behind that building.  The boyz in the middle simply rushed up the middle, eager to get into combat with the line of pinkos standing in the middle.  Like their other unit, they made the charge and began chopping.  Unlike their other unit, these boyz were cut down between precise fire and well-trained combat drills.  Suddenly, the tide had shifted...

  The captain of the company, seeing his Guardsmen only inches from death yet habitually beating back the odds, orders the final push.  The Ogryns and accompanying platoon simply blast down the Warboss, severing the head of this xenos snake.  The detachment in the middle rain fire down on the advancing Deff Dread, now unguarded, and watch it crumble after a single volley.  And the right flank simply folds back on itself, looking forward to shooting the Orks as they charge in, now without numerical superiority.  With smiles on their faces, they waited...

Turn 2...
  The Deffkoptas found the boyz and Lootas at the club that night, somberly accepting their drinks from shivering grots.  Funny enough, they all laughed at the failure.  But it was clear that this battle was lost and the remaining Orks either never showed up or quit the battlefield real quick.

  Yep, another loss for my greenskins.  They now stand at 1-3, I think.  My buddy, ever the gracious player (and a very gracious loser, mind you), apologized for making his army too powerful.  He continued to express how he could have made the force easier to deal with and I laughed at him.  It wasn't his force (this is exactly the kind of list I like to use).  It was poor deployment (that Deff Dread could have given some cover to boyz behind as well as gotten into combat so much quicker), poor dice (killing 6 guardsmen on a charge?  Really?!), and just bad luck (my Warboss failed a 6" charge!!!).  Plus, I think I'm just doomed to lose with this army list for now.  It is, after all, just the beginning...

  I still haven't heard much about y'all's battles.  Let me know!!!  And Happy Gaming!