MATCHUP:

Faction: Chaos Knights

Detachment: Lords of Dread

VS

Faction: Space Marines

Detachment: Gladius Task Force

MISSION:

Primary: Linchpin

Terrain: GW Terrain Layout 2

Twist: None

RESULT:

68 – 61 Win for Chaos Knights

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:

• Overall game
  • So………Knights on an open board can be oppressive. 
  • This game went fast.  Neither list was fully optimized but it still made for a fun game.  Both sides took turns trading haymakers and the deciding factor in the game was the Super Heavy Walker ability to action while shooting and the Claimed For the Dark Gods stratagem, which ensured the Knights could keep scoring points while dealing damage and losing models.
  • This felt like an uphill battle for the Space Marines almost immediately.  Knights, and especially 4 Super Heavies can be very oppressive and it came through in spades in this game.  
• Knights
  • Knights deployed somewhat balanced with the Tyrant completely hidden near the home field objective, the Despoiler completely hidden with access to a flank or the middle, the War Dog hiding behind the Despoiler, Rotigus poised to take the natural expansion objective, and 1 Rampager in Strategic Reserves.  This left the next Rampager, with the Enhancement, with no place to hide.  It almost burned the Knights as it made that Rampager the obvious Oath of Moment target when Space Marines got first turn and he took 23 damage as a result, barely surviving.
  • Round 1, the Despoiler took the middle objective to blast anything in sight while Rotigus took the natural expansion objective and the War Dog pushed up the other flan k.  The Tyrant stickied the home field objective with OC5 and then toed in to terrain to dominate the largest firing lane on the board.  
  • Round 2, the Despoiler and Rampager went down, which was almost crippling to the Knights.  Luckily, the Tyrant blasted away all of the threats that had exposed themselves to take out the Despoiler in the middle, which included the Gladiator Lancer and most of the Sternguard Veterans.    
  • Going into Round 4, the Knights were barely hanging on with only 3 units left – Rotigus, the Tyrant, and the Nurglings.  It wasn’t fun, but they held on by investing CP to cycle secondaries and then focusing on chipping models off anything with more than OC5.  This allowed them to continue to score points even as the Space Marines started really pushing the advantage the model count and board control edge.
  • Don’t tell Steve, but I think what won the game for the Chaos Knights was flipping to a defensive approach mid-game and then focusing on blocking the Space Marines instead of trying to maximize their own points.
  • Key Combos:
    • None – its Knights.
  • Key Stratagems
    • Claimed For the Dark Gods – Got this one for free each Command Phase and it decided the game by netting me close to 24 points on primary.
    • Rapid Ingress – Setup a really nasty charge through terrain with the Knight Rampager that cleared an entire side of the board for the Knights.
• Space Marines
  • Gladius Task Force is my most consistent and best “all rounder” list.  I use it as a baseline when I think I may have another strong list.  In this game, it proved its worth by hanging with a strong Knights list on a board and mission that really favored Knights.  
  • Space Marines played the entire game from way behind thanks to a combination of bad luck and(the Rampager surviving on 3 wounds in Round 1) and deployment errors.  I also played the Doctrines too conservatively and it ended up costing the Space Marines the games.
  • This just in, getting in a shooting contest with a Knight Tyrant along a firing lane that they are dominating is a TERRIBLE idea.  The Brimstone Volcano Lance wiped out the Gladiator Lancer and Repulsor Executioner Tanks in back to back turns.  Next time, I’ll hide move them to the flanks and use the Devastator Doctrine to skirt the Tyrant instead of trying to take him head on. 
  • Key Combos:
    • Positioning of Uriel Ventriss to take advantage of his Vect aura.  In this particular game, that meant charging him through a building and into the War Dog and using him to shut down a potential Fight Phase Interrupt.
  • Key Stratagems
    • Grenades.  Do anything you can to take wounds of the big Knights.
    • Honor the Chapter – Lance against Knights was a key part of taking them down when Oath of Moment wasn’t available.  Its what helped Ventriss and the Company Heroes take down the War Dog.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:

• Chaos Knights
  • Play more defensively and patiently.  I hadn’t fully realized the power of the OC5 sticky and how much it forces the opponent to come to you.  I would have played the Despoiler more conservatively as a result.
• Space Marines
  • I would have declared the Devastator Doctrine in Round 1 and then moved my tanks to secondary firing lanes to keep them away from the Tyrant.

EARNED HIMSELF A NAME: Guilliman.  Darth G-Man’s double Oath of Moment and ability to give out free stratagems (for Grenades) to a unit within 12 inches of him was key to keeping tge Space Marines in the game, despite my Round 1 mistakes.  It also didn’t hurt that he took on 2 big Knights by himself in Rounds 4 and 5 by doing 24 damage to the last of the Knight Rampagers and then following it up with 20 Wounds into the Knight Tyrant and combat locking it to shut down a late game uppy downy. 

MAGNUS OF THE GAME: 1 Squad of Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs.  When your commander spends a CP to put you in Assault Doctrine and then gets you within 6 inches of a 3 wound Knight Rampager, he is expecting you to make that charge and deal mortal wounds thanks to your ability.  He is NOT expecting you to roll snake eyes and then stand by helplessly as a Despoiler points a Gatling Cannon at you and the Rampager charges at all of your buddies on a nearby objective.

LISTS:

Chaos Knights

Lords of Dread

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Knight Despoiler (375 Points)

  • 1x Daemonbreath meltagun

  • 1x Despoiler gatling cannon

  • 1x Despoiler gatling cannon

  • 1x Havoc missile pod

  • 1x Heavy darkflamer

  • 1x Heavy darkflamer

  • 1x Titanic feet

Knight Rampager (365 Points)

  • 1x Diabolus heavy stubber

  • 1x Reaper chainsword

  • 1x Warpstrike claw

Knight Rampager (390 Points)

  • 1x Diabolus heavy stubber

  • 1x Reaper chainsword

  • 1x Warpstrike claw

  • Enhancements: Throne Mechanicum of Skulls

Knight Tyrant (435 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Brimstone volcano lance

  • 1x Ectoplasma decimator

  • 2x Gheiststrike missile launcher

  • 1x Titanic feet

  • 1x Twin Desecrator cannon

  • 2x Twin daemonbreath meltagun

  • Enhancements: Warp-borne Stalker

OTHER DATASHEETS

War Dog Huntsman (140 Points)

  • 1x Daemonbreath meltagun

  • 1x Daemonbreath spear

  • 1x Reaper chaintalon

ALLIED UNITS

Nurglings (40 Points)

  • 3x Nurgling Swarm

     ◦ 3x Diseased claws and teeth

Rotigus (250 Points)

  • 1x Gnarlrod

  • 1x Streams of brackish filth

Space Marines

Ultramarines

Gladius Task Force

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Ancient (50 Points)

  • 1x Bolt pistol

  • 1x Bolt rifle

  • 1x Close combat weapon

Captain (95 Points)

  • 1x Heavy bolt pistol

  • 1x Master-crafted power weapon

  • 1x Relic Shield

  • Enhancements: The Honour Vehement

Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (70 Points)

  • 1x Combi-weapon

  • 1x Paired combat blades

Roboute Guilliman (340 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Emperor’s Sword

  • 1x Hand of Dominion

Uriel Ventris (95 Points)

  • 1x Bolt Pistol

  • 1x Invictus

  • 1x Sword of Idaeus

BATTLELINE

Intercessor Squad (80 Points)

  • 1x Intercessor Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Bolt rifle

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 4x Intercessor

     ◦ 1x Astartes grenade launcher

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Bolt rifle

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

Intercessor Squad (80 Points)

  • 1x Intercessor Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Bolt rifle

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 4x Intercessor

     ◦ 1x Astartes grenade launcher

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Bolt rifle

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs (90 Points)

  • 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant with Jump Pack

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 4x Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs

     ◦ 4x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 3x Heavy bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs (90 Points)

  • 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant with Jump Pack

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 4x Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs

     ◦ 4x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 3x Heavy bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

Bladeguard Veteran Squad (80 Points)

  • 1x Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Heavy bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Master-crafted power weapon

  • 2x Bladeguard Veteran

     ◦ 2x Heavy bolt pistol

     ◦ 2x Master-crafted power weapon

Company Heroes (105 Points)

  • 1x Ancient

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Bolt rifle

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Company Champion

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Master-crafted power weapon

  • 2x Company Veteran

     ◦ 2x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 2x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Master-crafted bolt rifle

     ◦ 1x Master-crafted heavy bolter

Gladiator Lancer (160 Points)

  • 1x Armoured hull

  • 2x Fragstorm grenade launcher

  • 1x Icarus rocket pod

  • 1x Ironhail heavy stubber

  • 1x Lancer laser destroyer

Repulsor Executioner (220 Points)

  • 1x Armoured hull

  • 1x Heavy laser destroyer

  • 1x Heavy onslaught gatling cannon

  • 1x Icarus rocket pod

  • 1x Ironhail heavy stubber

  • 1x Repulsor Executioner defensive array

  • 1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber

  • 1x Twin heavy bolter

Scout Squad (70 Points)

  • 1x Scout Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

  • 4x Scout

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

Scout Squad (70 Points)

  • 1x Scout Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

  • 4x Scout

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

Sternguard Veteran Squad (200 Points)

  • 1x Sternguard Veteran Sergeant

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Sternguard bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Sternguard bolt rifle

  • 9x Sternguard Veteran

     ◦ 9x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 9x Sternguard bolt pistol

     ◦ 7x Sternguard bolt rifle

     ◦ 2x Sternguard heavy bolter

ALLIED UNITS

Callidus Assassin (100 Points)

  • 1x Neural shredder

  • 1x Phase sword and poison blades