MATCHUP:

Faction: Emperor’s Children

Detachment: Carnival of Excess

VS

Faction: Necrons

Detachment: Obeisance Phalanx

MISSION:

Primary: Hidden Supplies

Terrain: GW Terrain Layout 1

Twist: None

RESULT:

82 – 66 Win for Emperor’s Children

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:

• Overall game
  • EC deployed boldly with both Tormentor units infiltrating to midfield objectives, albeit behind terrain.  The rest of the army then bravely hid behind terrain in their Deployment Zone due to The Silent King and Doomsday Ark threats. 
  • Necrons also deployed aggressively, although they did it with their entire army.  They led with The Silent King and Triarch Stalker out front.  The idea was to push both vehicles into the center of the board to dominate the midfield while the Ghost Ark and Warriors held the natural expansion objective on one flank and the Lychguard and Immortals attacked EC’s natural expansion objectives.
  • Necrons’ strategy worked very well in the first 3 rounds, until it stalled out due to a combination of the Triarch Stalker getting pseudo move blocked into staying on an objective by Daemonettes and the Lychguard squads dying to combinations of Noise Marines fire and Infractor charges.
  • Patience and a willingness to use some big units inefficiently won the day for EC.  It was an ugly game for the first 3 rounds with the Noise Marines and Daemon Prince being the only reason EC stayed in the game, while the Keeper of Secrets never left its deployment zone but ended up killing both units of Triarch Praetorians when they tried to do actions or threaten it.
• EC
  • This was my first time playing this detachment and it took some figuring out.  I ended up playing it more defensively than I usually prefer with EC due to a combination of working through the various buff auras that are needed and being concerned that I didn’t have an answer for The Silent King.
  • The game turned out OK, but I can’t help but feel that I left a lot of “meat on the bone” with this detachment.  I’ll definitely be coming back to play it more as I think that it is a detachment that requires a high amount of skill and lot of practice to play well.  
  • Key Combos:
    • Noise Marines + Lord Kakophonist with Daemonettes located within 6 inches to provide the detachment buff aura.  Noise Marines with Sustained Hits on 5+ Critical Hits is scary good.  Just ask both squads of Lychguard and the squad of Immortals.
    • Aggressive deployment of the Tormentors plus getting first turn.  Technically not a combo, but this one won the EC the game as I was able to sticky 2 objectives immediately and then use EC’s movement advantage to fence the Necrons off of that side of the board.
    • Winged Daemon Prince of Slaanesh + Possessed Blade Enhancement is also scary good.  Daemonic Destruction Charge mortals into 7 strike attacks at Damage 4 with Devastating Wounds one shotted the Doomsday Ark. 
  • Key Stratagems
    • This is where I really need to improve.  I finished the game at 5 CP because often times I found that I had not properly setup the board conditions and auras to use the stratagems that I wanted to use.  Specifically, Sustained By Agony and Ecstatic Slaughter.
    • Violent Crescendo – 6 inch Pile In and Consolidate is always good and I should have been using it more in the game.
• Necrons
  • I play Obeisance Phalanx as an Aggressive Blocker, as the combination of the list and that play style create a relatively high floor for points scored.
  • The game was going according to plan through Turn 3, with the Necrons constantly ahead of EC in points by 5-10.  The turning point was the bottom of Round 3 and the Top of Round 4, when I stopped pushing forward with the Triarch Stalker and left him to sit on an objective that should have been held by the Ghost Ark instead.  This created an opening for EC to charge into and flip that objective with more OC.
  • Key Combos:
    • Overlord with Translocation Shroud + Immortals + Eternal Conqueror Enhancement + Enslaved Artifice (for 0 CP with My Will Be Done Ability).  This combination works great in literally any other game as it gives you full Hit and Wound rerolls with Critical Hits on 5+ when targeting enemies on objectives.  Unfortunately for this game, EC got first turn and stickied 2 midfield objectives so that they had no need to stand on objectives until the Immortals had been eliminated.
  • Key Stratagems
    • Enslaved Artifice – See above combo.
    • Nanoassembly Protocols – Just the threat of this made The Silent King unkillable for EC.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:

• EC
  • More reps, more reps, more reps.  My spacing was off all game and I need a clearer plan for stratagem use.
• Necrons
  • Be aggressive, B-E Aggressive!  I should have kept pushing instead of settling down in Round 3.  That allowed EC to flip the game momentum in a way that flipped the score board.

EARNED HIMSELF A NAME: Both Rhinos.  In Round 2, they sacrificed themselves by charging the Lychguard squads while also pivoting to move block two critical board pinch points.  This bottlenecked the Lychguard for a turn, which allowed the Noise Marines to survive to Round 3. The Noise Marines then teamed up to eliminate both Lychguards before dying to The Silent King.  The Noise Marines kept EC in the game for the first 3 rounds, but the Rhinos kept the Noise Marines in the game until Round 3.

MAGNUS OF THE GAME: Triarch Stalker.  He sat on his laurels, almost literally, and then lost an objective to a squad of Infractors before dying to them next turn.

LISTS:

Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with Wings (225 Points)

  • 1x Hellforged weapons

  • 1x Infernal cannon

  • Enhancements: Possessed Blade

Keeper of Secrets (300 Points)

  • 1x Phantasmagoria

  • 1x Ritual knife

  • 1x Snapping claws

  • 1x Witstealer sword

  • Enhancements: Warp Walker

Lord Exultant (95 Points)

  • 1x Bolt Pistol

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Phoenix power spear

  • 1x Power fist

  • Enhancements: Empyric Suffusion

Lord Exultant (80 Points)

  • 1x Bolt Pistol

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Phoenix power spear

  • 1x Power fist

Lord Kakophonist (70 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Screamer pistol

  • 1x Screamer pistol

Lord Kakophonist (70 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Screamer pistol

  • 1x Screamer pistol

BATTLELINE

Daemonettes (90 Points)

  • 1x Alluress

     ◦ 1x Slashing claws

  • 9x Daemonette

     ◦ 1x Daemonic Icon

     ◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos

     ◦ 9x Slashing claws

Daemonettes (90 Points)

  • 1x Alluress

     ◦ 1x Slashing claws

  • 9x Daemonette

     ◦ 1x Daemonic Icon

     ◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos

     ◦ 9x Slashing claws

Daemonettes (90 Points)

  • 1x Alluress

     ◦ 1x Slashing claws

  • 9x Daemonette

     ◦ 1x Daemonic Icon

     ◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos

     ◦ 9x Slashing claws

Daemonettes (90 Points)

  • 1x Alluress

     ◦ 1x Slashing claws

  • 9x Daemonette

     ◦ 1x Daemonic Icon

     ◦ 1x Instrument of Chaos

     ◦ 9x Slashing claws

Infractors (85 Points)

  • 1x Obsessionist

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Rapture lash

  • 4x Infractor

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Duelling sabre

     ◦ 1x Icon of Excess

Infractors (85 Points)

  • 1x Obsessionist

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Power sword

  • 4x Infractor

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Duelling sabre

Tormentors (85 Points)

  • 1x Obsessionist

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Power sword

  • 4x Tormentor

     ◦ 2x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Icon of Excess

     ◦ 1x Meltagun

     ◦ 1x Plasma gun

Tormentors (85 Points)

  • 1x Obsessionist

     ◦ 1x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Power sword

  • 4x Tormentor

     ◦ 2x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Icon of Excess

     ◦ 1x Meltagun

     ◦ 1x Plasma gun

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (80 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

Chaos Rhino (80 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Noise Marines (145 Points)

  • 1x Disharmonist

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Sonic blaster

  • 5x Noise Marine

     ◦ 2x Blastmaster

     ◦ 5x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 3x Sonic blaster

Noise Marines (145 Points)

  • 1x Disharmonist

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Sonic blaster

  • 5x Noise Marine

     ◦ 2x Blastmaster

     ◦ 5x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 3x Sonic blaster

Necrons

Obeisance Phalanx

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Overlord (105 Points)

  • 1x Resurrection Orb

  • 1x Voidscythe

  • Enhancements: Unflinching Will

Overlord (100 Points)

  • 1x Resurrection Orb

  • 1x Voidscythe

  • Enhancements: Warrior Noble

Overlord with Translocation Shroud (110 Points)

  • 1x Overlord’s blade

  • 1x Resurrection Orb

  • Enhancements: Eternal Conqueror

Royal Warden (50 Points)

  • 1x Close combat weapon

  • 1x Relic gauss blaster

The Silent King (400 Points)

  • 1x Szarekh

     • Warlord

     ◦ 1x Sceptre of Eternal Glory

     ◦ 1x Staff of Stars

     ◦ 1x Weapons of the Final Triarch

  • 2x Triarchal Menhir

     ◦ 2x Annihilator beam

     ◦ 2x Armoured bulk

BATTLELINE

Immortals (150 Points)

  • 10x Immortal

     ◦ 10x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 10x Tesla carbine

Necron Warriors (90 Points)

  • 10x Necron Warrior

     ◦ 10x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 10x Gauss flayer

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Ghost Ark (115 Points)

  • 1x Armoured bulk

  • 2x Gauss flayer array

OTHER DATASHEETS

Canoptek Scarab Swarms (40 Points)

  • 3x Canoptek Scarab Swarm

     ◦ 3x Feeder mandibles

Doomsday Ark (200 Points)

  • 1x Armoured bulk

  • 1x Doomsday cannon

  • 2x Gauss flayer array

Lychguard (170 Points)

  • 10x Lychguard

     ◦ 10x Dispersion Shield

     ◦ 10x Hyperphase sword

Lychguard (170 Points)

  • 10x Lychguard

     ◦ 10x Warscythe

Triarch Praetorians (90 Points)

  • 5x Triarch Praetorian

     ◦ 5x Rod of covenant

Triarch Praetorians (90 Points)

  • 5x Triarch Praetorian

     ◦ 5x Rod of covenant

Triarch Stalker (110 Points)

  • 1x Heat ray

  • 1x Stalker’s forelimbs