This week’s Grown Men Playing With Toys’ Battle Report features the Grey Knights Brotherhood Strike and Fires of Purgation against the Emperor’s Children Carnival of Excess and Frenzied Host. As backdrop for the game….
The Grey Knights do not operate in the open. They do not parade through hive cities or accept the gratitude of populations they have saved, because the populations they save are not supposed to know they needed saving. They are the Imperium’s last and most secret weapon against the warp, recruited from the most psychically gifted Space Marine candidates in existence, trained for decades, and sent into the dark to do things that cannot be spoken of afterward. The Brothers of Titan have foreseen the nightmare at the edge of reality and decided to walk toward it anyway. That is not bravery in any ordinary sense. That is something older and colder and considerably more dangerous.
The Emperor’s Children have heard this before. The 3rd Legion was the most refined, the most cultured, the most perfect of all the Adeptus Astartes before Fulgrim led them into Slaanesh’s embrace. Perfection does not stop being perfection simply because it curdled into something more chaotic and the Emperor’s Children disdain the Grey Knights. They have Defilers, Daemonettes, and Space Marines who have spent an eternity in the Eye of Terror perfecting the art of excess and they are quite certain that whatever the Grey Knights bring, it will not be sufficient to dampen the sensation and excesses of battle.
Two forces defined by absolute conviction in their own superiority are about to test that conviction against each other. The Grey Knights bring the purity of purpose and discipline of Titan. The Emperor’s Children bring the extremes of excess, sensation, and depravity.
They said we’re too old, but we said “hold our dice”…..as we find out whether the Imperium’s most secret warriors can disrupt the Carnival of Excess before the party gets completely out of hand….
JUMP TO:
Grey Knights Specific Strategies
Emperor’s Children Specific Strategies
RULES / POINTS VERSION:
11th Edition, 2026-2027 Chapter Approved
July 2026 Balance and MFM Update
MATCHUP:
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Grey Knights | Brotherhood Strike and Fires of Purgation | Disruption |
| VS | ||
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Emperor’s Children | Carnival of Excess and Frenzied Host | Reconnaissance |
MISSION:
| Category | Description |
| Grey Knights Primary | Locate and Deny |
| Emperor’s Children Primary | Extract Relic |
| Terrain Layout | Layout A |
| Deployed First | Emperor’s Children |
| First Turn | Grey Knights |
| Grey Knights Secondaries | Tactical |
| Emperor’s Children Secondaries | Tactical |
LISTS:
Grey Knights:
List
Grey Knights
Brotherhood Strike and Fires of Purgation (3 Detachment Points)
Disruption
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Castellan Crowe (100 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• Warlord
• 1x Black Blade of Antwyr
• 1x Purifying Flame
• 1x Storm bolter
Purifier Squad (260 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard ()
• 1x Knight of the Flame
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Purifying Flame
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 9x Purifier
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 4x Psilencer
◦ 9x Purifying Flame
◦ 5x Storm bolter
Attached unit 2
Grand Master (95 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
• 1x Psycannon
Paladin Squad (475 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard ()
• 1x Paragon
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 1x Paladin Ancient
◦ 1x Ancient’s Banner
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Psycannon
• 8x Paladin
◦ 1x Apothecary’s Narthecium
◦ 8x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 4x Psycannon
◦ 3x Storm bolter
CHARACTERS
Brotherhood Librarian (115 Points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
• 1x Vortex of Doom
• Enhancements: Tome of Forbidden Ways
Brotherhood Librarian (100 Points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
• 1x Vortex of Doom
Brotherhood Librarian (100 Points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
• 1x Nemesis force weapon
• 1x Vortex of Doom
BATTLELINE
Brotherhood Terminator Squad (175 Points)
• 1x Justicar
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 3x Terminator
◦ 1x Apothecary’s Narthecium
◦ 1x Incinerator
◦ 3x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 1x Ancient
◦ 1x Ancient’s Banner
◦ 1x Incinerator
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
Strike Squad (115 Points)
• 1x Justicar
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 4x Grey Knight
◦ 4x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 4x Storm bolter
OTHER DATASHEETS
Purgation Squad (150 Points)
• Enhancements: Boons of Deimos (Upgrade)
• 1x Purgator Justicar
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 4x Purgator
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Psycannon
Purgation Squad (150 Points)
• Enhancements: Boons of Deimos (Upgrade)
• 1x Purgator Justicar
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 4x Purgator
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Psycannon
Purgation Squad (160 Points)
• Enhancements: Boons of Deimos (Upgrade)
• 1x Purgator Justicar
◦ 1x Nemesis force weapon
◦ 1x Storm bolter
• 4x Purgator
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 4x Psycannon
Emperor’s Children:
List
Emperor’s Children
Carnival of Excess and Frenzied Host (3 Detachment Points)
Reconnaissance
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• Warlord
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Plasma pistol
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
Attached unit 2
Lord Exultant (120 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Plasma pistol
• Enhancements: Warp Walker
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
Attached unit 3
Lord Exultant (80 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Bolt Pistol
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Phoenix power spear
• 1x Plasma pistol
Infractors (85 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Infractor
◦ 4x Bolt pistol
◦ 4x Duelling sabre
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
CHARACTERS
Keeper of Secrets (255 Points)
• 1x Phantasmagoria
• 1x Shining Aegis
• 1x Snapping claws
• 1x Witstealer sword
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
Tormentors (80 Points)
• 1x Obsessionist
◦ 1x Plasma pistol
◦ 1x Power sword
• 4x Tormentor
◦ 2x Boltgun
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Excess
◦ 1x Meltagun
◦ 1x Plasma gun
OTHER DATASHEETS
Chaos Spawn (70 Points)
• 2x Chaos Spawn
◦ 2x Hideous mutations
Defiler (330 Points)
• 1x Ectoplasma destructor
• 2x Excruciator cannon
• 1x Heavy reaper autocannon
• 1x Heavy reaper autocannon
• 1x Shearing Claws
Defiler (370 Points)
• 1x Ectoplasma destructor
• 2x Excruciator cannon
• 1x Heavy reaper autocannon
• 1x Heavy reaper autocannon
• 1x Shearing Claws
Note: Daemonettes are not pictured as they are NSFW
FACTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES:
Grey Knights:
This will be my second time playing Grey Knights in 11th Edition and I want to lean hard into what makes the Brotherhood Strike and Fires of Purgation detachment combination unique. Specifically, the ability to bounce around the board doing serious damage in ranged shooting with multiple units. I’m especially excited for the chance to use the Purgation Squads, which I didn’t use for all of 10th, as a dedicated fire support backbone and set of debuff pieces.
From a macro strategy perspective, this list is designed to be flexible, mobile, annoying to play against, and just lethal enough that you have to respect it. It is designed to hold its Expansion Objective exceedingly well, to have a 2 mobile and genuinely scary threats that can do damage at range or in melee, and then to include a lot of highly mobile pieces that can offer ultimate flexibility to score or do damage, depending on what the game demands. It then also has access to several abilities to impact debug the opponent via stratagems or datasheet abilities. It is designed to have a high points floor and to be very difficult to beat soundly.
From a micro-strategy perspective, the list supports the macro-strategy by featuring units that fall into the following roles:
• Objective Holders / Board Control Pieces: Grand Master + Paladin Squad, Strike Squad, Brotherhood Terminator Squad
• Fire Support / Damage Dealers: Three Purgation Squads, Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad, Grand Master + Paladin Squad
• Scoring Pieces: Strike Squad, Purgation Squad, Brotherhood Librarians
• De-buffing Units: Purgation Squad
The idea for playing the list is to use the Paladin Death Star or Brotherhood Terminator Squad to anchor the Expansion Objective. Ideally, it is the Brotherhood Terminator Squad, so the Paladin Death Star can be used to push at the opponent to force a response while the Purgation Squads fire away in order to slow down the enemy’s response time just enough to let the Grey Knights be the one taking the fight to them. Taking the fight to the enemy can be in the form of the Paladins Shooting / Charging or in the form of Castellan Crowe and the Purifier bomb dropping in to shoot at anything that dares to stand on an Objective. The Purgation Squads then serve double duty as a mobile threat to bounce around slicing at the enemy’s flanks with their Psycannon fire to pick off the scoring units while also being available to do actions themselves. Lastly, the Strikes and Librarians are the scoring units for a list that is built to be all over the board and scoring actions on every turn.
This strategy should align well with the chosen Force Disposition of Disruption, which rewards the list’s ability to project threat from multiple directions simultaneously, to constantly be scoring, and to generally react well to whatever plan the enemy has and to slow down their ability to execute it.
Win Condition: Generically speaking, the win condition for this list is to “disrupt” the enemies scoring and timing more than it is to table them. It is designed to slow down the enemy’s big ticket units, to pick off all of the “action monkey” or small scoring units, and then to drop Crowe’s unit in to blow away anything that tries to just sit on a midfield Objective. It will struggle against high Toughness Monsters or Vehicles that don’t stand on Objectives, as the only solution there is the Paladin unit. It therefore wins by killing everything except for those high Toughness units and by out scoring the opponent through its better action economy.
Specific to this matchup…..avoid the Defilers and keep Crowe and his Purifiers safe enough to be used in multiple Rounds. The Grey Knights have an answer for pretty much everything in the Emperor’s Children list, except for the Defilers. If this were a 10th Edition game, I would say that this matchup looks rough for the Grey Knights. Fortunately, this is 11th Edition and they get to choose a symmetric Force Disposition, which looks to make the matchup a bit more favorable (although I still don’t love it for the Grey Knights). The Defilers can’t be everywhere, so the Grey Knights win by focusing on maximizing points every single turn while also doing just enough damage to keep the Emperor’s Children at bay. They need to always be scoring, even if it means they start to lose the war of attrition. They also need to protect Crowe’s unit as a large part of the Emperor’s Children’s Primary score dictates that they take Objectives, so the Purifiers are needed to punish them for every Objective that they try to take.
What I Want to Work On This Game: The Primary Mission on this one looks wild and very different from any game that I have played to date. I want to focus on playing that mission and to focus on the emphasis that it seems to place on mobility and pulling off actions. Board awareness will be at a premium in this game and I want to work on that as I choose which units to Deep Strike to which locations and how I time up my actions or damage….especially with Crowe’s unit.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Castellan Crowe with Purifier Squad |
| Grand Master with Paladin Squad | |
| Key Stratagems: | Combat Manifestation [1CP] Movement Phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase. TARGET: One GREY KNIGHTS unit from your army that is arriving using the Deep Strike ability this phase. EFFECT: Set your unit up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 6″ horizontally away from all enemy units, but until the end of the turn, it is not eligible to declare a charge. |
| Purgation Pattern [1CP] Shooting Phase – WHEN: Your Shooting phase. TARGET: One GREY KNIGHTS unit from your army that was set up using the Deep Strike ability this turn and has not been selected to shoot this phase. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, weapons equipped by models in your unit have the [SUSTAINED HITS 1] ability. | |
| Focused Immolation [1CP] Shooting Phase – WHEN: Your Shooting phase, when a friendly PURGATION SQUAD unit is selected to shoot. TARGET: That PURGATION SQUAD unit. EFFECT: Select one enemy unit. Your unit’s ranged attacks that target that unit have: [DEVASTATING WOUNDS]. [SUSTAINED HITS 1]. | |
| Soul-locked [1CP] Movement Phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase, when a friendly PURGATION SQUAD unit is selected to make a fall-back move. TARGET: That PURGATION SQUAD unit. EFFECT: That move does not prevent your unit from being eligible to shoot. | |
| Spiritsear [1CP] Shooting Phase – WHEN: Your Shooting phase, when a friendly PURGATION SQUAD unit has shot. TARGET: That PURGATION SQUAD unit. EFFECT: Select one battle-shocked enemy unit hit by those attacks. That enemy unit suffers D3+1 mortal wounds. | |
| Key Combos: | Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad + Gate of Infinity army rule + Fury of Titan detachment rule + Champion of the Order of Purifiers ability + Sanctity of Purpose ability + Combat Manifestation stratagem + Purgation Pattern stratagem This is the big combo that this list is built around. It gives you a unit that can teleport all around the board, re-roll 1’s to Hit and Wound when it drops down, re-rolls the full Wound roll if the target is on an Objective, and puts out close to 75 total shots. Even better, it can get access to Sustained Hits for 1 CP or get access to 6 inch Deep Strike for 1 CP. It can clear entire board quarter if the opponent isn’t careful. |
| Purgation Squad + Gate of Infinity army rule + Searing Soulflame detachment rule + Boons of Deimos (Upgrade) enhancement + Righteous Persecution ability This is the combination that I am interested in trying out. It gives you 3 units that can drop in to re-roll 1’s to Hit and Wound, pump out 12 shots of Strength 10 Psycannons, and then causes the target to get pinned (-2 inches to Move, Advance, and Charge) and to have to take a Battle Shock Test at -1 Leadership. It also has access to a Mortal Wound stratagem if the target fails battleshock for 1 CP. |
Emperor’s Children:
I’m back on my favorite faction in 40K and this time with a very different list philosophy compared to the last time they hit the table. Most of my 10th Edition lists were built on a Rhino-rush strategy that utilized Lord Exultants with Infractors Charging out of Rhinos and Noise Marines providing ranged support. This one is…..different. It is built around spacing of buffs to create a devastating amount of damage and the idea that the Emperor’s Children will score points once the enemy is dead.
From a macro strategy perspective, this is almost more of a typical 10th Edition Ultramarines list than it is an Emperor’s Children list, although it is way faster. It is designed to pepper the opponent with ranged shooting from the Defilers until they are forced to commit to taking on the Defilers and then to be very dangerous in the Charge Phase and the Fight Phase via its entire army, to include the Defilers. It is designed to force the opponent into an impossible decision loop of “stay back to avoid the Defilers but risk getting Charged and jailed” or “come out to deal with the Defilers and risk creating easier charges for the EC”.
From a micro-strategy perspective, the list features units that fall into the following roles in support of that macro-strategy:
• Objective Holders / Board Control Pieces: Tormentors, Chaos Spawn, Defilers
• Buff Units: Four Daemonette units but also the whole army if I space it right
• Primary Melee Threat: Three Lord Exultant + Infractors units, Keeper of Secrets
• Ranged Support / Anti-Armor: Two Defilers
The idea is to use the four Daemonette to spread out and establish board control, while also hiding them well enough that they won’t get shot off the board in the early game (that’s the role of the Chaos Spawn if someone needs to screen or do an early action). The Defilers then go out first and blast away at everything that they see using the Sustained Hits buffs from the nearby Daemonette units. If the opponent doesn’t commit to killing the Defilers, the rest of the army slowly creeps up until launching a devastating “go turn”. If the opponent does come up to deal with the Defilers, then the Emperor’s Children rush them down with waves of Lord Exultant + Infractors and the Keeper of Secrets. The list wants to play a really lethal trading game and to table its opponent on the way to maximizing scoring.
This strategy should align with the chosen Force Disposition of Reconnaissance, which rewards the list’s speed and ability to spread across the board quickly and contest multiple objectives from the opening turns.
Win Condition: Generically speaking, this list wins by being faster, more flexible, and more lethal than the opponent….hence the Ultramarines comparison. It forces the opponent to choose between holding tight and getting slowly shot off the board or coming out and then quickly charged and tabled. It’s fast, flexible, and I am super excited to play it.
Specific to this matchup, the Primary Mission should be an interesting fit. Scoring Primary will be all about surveilling 1 enemy unit per turn and then controlling Objectives. Sitting on Objectives is not exactly what this list wants to be doing, especially with Crowe and his Purifiers bouncing around the board. To counter that threat, the Emperor’s Children will have to play a more disciplined and deliberate game than usual. They will need to be hyper aware of board control and to do their best to keep everything in front of them. They should use the power of the Defilers to their advantage to force the Grey Knight damage dealers out early or otherwise risk the Defilers sitting on Objectives all game to maximize primary while blasting away at range. This will be an interesting change of pace from the normal EC approach of “just go smash them”.
What I Want to Work On This Game: Board control, board control, board control. In theory, the Primary Mission and list combination almost makes this game look more like an Ultramarines game than an Emperor’s Children game. I want to work on adapting my default approach to the army to see if:
1. I properly identified the needed strategy to win
2. I am able to stay disciplined enough to play the Emperor’s Children closer to a double RepEx Ultramarines list for this mission.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Lord Exultant with Infractors 1 |
| Lord Exultant with Infractors 2 | |
| Lord Exultant with Infractors 3 | |
| Strategic Reserves: | Keeper of Secrets |
| Key Stratagems: | Sustained by Agony [1CP] Fight phase – WHEN: Fight phase, just after an EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit from your army destroys an enemy unit. TARGET: That EMPEROR’S CHILDREN unit. EFFECT: Select one friendly LEGIONS OF EXCESS unit within 6″ of your unit. One model in that LEGIONS OF EXCESS unit recovers up to 3 lost wounds or, if it is a DAEMONETTES unit, return up to D3+3 destroyed models to it instead. |
| Sycophantic Surge [1CP] Charge phase – WHEN: Your Charge phase. TARGET: One LEGIONS OF EXCESS unit from your army. EFFECT: Until the end of the phase, your unit is eligible to declare a charge in a turn in which it Advanced or Fell Back, provided at least one of the targets of that charge is within Engagement Range of one or more EMPEROR’S CHILDREN units from your army. | |
| Dark Apparitions [2CP] Opponent’s Fight phase – WHEN: End of your opponent’s Fight phase. TARGET: One DAEMONETTES unit from your army that is not within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units. EFFECT: Remove your unit from the battlefield and place it into Strategic Reserves. If it arrives back on the battlefield in the Reinforcements step of your next Movement phase using the Deep Strike ability, it can be set up anywhere that is more than 6″ horizontally away from all enemy units (instead of more than 8″), provided it is also set up wholly within 8″ of one or more friendly EMPEROR’S CHILDREN units. | |
| Explosives [1CP] Shooting phase – WHEN: Your Shooting phase. TARGET: One friendly unengaged EXPLOSIVES/GRENADES unit that is eligible to shoot and did not make an advance move this turn. EFFECT: Resolve the following sequence: 1. Select one EXPLOSIVES/GRENADES model in your unit. 2. Select one unengaged enemy unit within 8″ of and visible to that model. 3. Roll six D6: for each 4+, that enemy unit suffers 1 mortal wound. | |
| Key Combos: | Defiler + Daemonettes + Daemonic Empowerment detachment rule + Revel in Desecration ability This is the combo that this list is built around. Defilers standing near Daemonettes with Sustained Hits and 5+ Critical Hits on their big guns. This is straight up nasty! |
| Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 + Daemonettes + Daemonic Empowerment detachment rule + Frantic Focus detachment rule + Excessive Assault ability + Perfectionists ability + Euphoric Strikes ability This is the second big combo of this detachment. It is used to give your Lord Exultant +1 to melee weapon Strength if you Advanced or Fell Back, Sustained and Lethal Hits, and full re-rolls to Wound if targeting something on an Objective. Even better if you get it during his “go mode” turn where he gets 3 extra attacks with +1 to AP. |
ROUND-BY-ROUND RECAP:
The Grey Knights win the roll off an elect to have the Emperor’s Children deploy first. The Emperor’s Children deploy in what appears to be a somewhat conservative way for them. Some of the units, like the Lords + Infractors, are on the line while others, like the Daemonettes and Chaos Spawn, are deployed deep to screen out their backfield. They seem to be wanting to build two castles around the Defilers until the Grey Knights come into Charge range.
The Grey Knights also deploy pretty conservatively. The Grand Master + Paladins go on the line and across from a Defiler that they obviously want to Charge at, while the Strikes and Terminators deploy near their Expansion Objective, and a Librarian is positioned to push out onto a Central Objective. Everything else is spread out and hidden in preparation for their first “uppy downy”.
Board state after Deployment is shown below.
Post Deployment
The Grey Knights win the rolloff and will go first. They then Scout Move the Strike Squad onto Objective 6, while the Emperor’s Children Scout Move all 3 Infractor units into a staging position.
Board state at the start of the battle is shown below.
Start of the Battle
ROUND 1:
| Phase: | Go First: Grey Knights |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Draw Secondaries: No Prisoners & Display of Might [Grey Knights] Strike Squad uses Sanctifying Ritual on Objective 6 |
| Movement | [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Makes a Normal Move to Hide [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Makes a Normal Move to Hide [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 2 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 5 to Perform an Action [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Makes a Normal Move to Hide [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Makes a Normal Move Away From Objective 6 to Hide [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 6 to Perform an Action [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Advances Towards Objective 3 to Stage |
| Shooting | [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 2 Performs Decoy on Objective 5 [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Performs Decoy on Objective 6 |
| Charge | [Grey Knights] None |
| Fight | [Grey Knights] None |
| End of Turn | [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 4 VP |
| Score at End | 14 |
| CP at End | 1 |
Quiet first turn for the Grey Knights as they focus on performing Decoy on the closest 2 Objectives and then positioning for the 2nd Round. This is not unexpected against a dangerous enemy and for the first time playing this mission. We’ll see how long it takes for the game to heat up.
Board state in the middle of Round 1 is shown below.
Middle of Round 1
| Phase: | Go Second: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: No Prisoners & Forward Position [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors uses Objective Defiled on Objective 4 |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 5 to Perform an Action [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Advances Onto Objective 5 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Removes Decoy on Objective 5 [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 3 [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Makes a Normal Move to Screen [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 4 to Stage [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 4 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Advances Towards Objective 6 to Stage [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 1 Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 6 to Screen [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 3 Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 5 to Screen |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Tormentors Performs Surveil on Brotherhood Librarian 2 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Shoots Brotherhood Librarian 2 and Deals 1 Damage |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Charges into Brotherhood Librarian 2 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Fights Brotherhood Librarian 2 and Destroys Unit |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 4 VP [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Strike Squad uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 14 |
| CP at End | 2 |
The Emperor’s Children answer with a relatively quiet turn as well…..at least by their normal standards.
Going into the turn, the plan was to start trying to put the Grey Knights into a decision making bind. The Emperor’s Children wanted to push forward just enough to start eating into some of the Grey Knights’ Primary scoring and to set themselves up for a big Round 2 of Primary, unless the Grey Knights do something about it. The goal was to force the Grey Knights to commit significant resources to react so that the Defilers can shoot them in Round 2.
Based on how much thinking the Grey Knights had to do at the end of the turn before declaring which units to put into Gate of Infinity, I would say the Emperor’s Children accomplished their goal. The score is even, Grey Knights now have to come out to play or risk falling behind on the scoreboard before being rushed next turn, and, most concerningly, the Emperor’s Children have established a massive board presence and there is next to no where to Deep Strike into. This will be interesting for the Grey Knights next turn.
Board state at the end of Round 1 is shown below.
End of Round 1
ROUND 2:
| Phase: | Go First: Grey Knights |
| Score at Start | 14 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Draw Secondaries: Overwhelming Force & Bring It Down [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 4 VP |
| Movement | [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 4 to Charge [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 1 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Shoot [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Deep Strikes Near Objective 6 to Screen [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 6 to Charge [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Deep Strikes Near Objective 6 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Deep Strikes Onto Objective 3 to Perform an Action |
| Shooting | [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Split Fires and Shoots Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 to Kill 4 Models and Shoots Daemonettes 1 to Kill 2 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 uses Righteous Persecution on Daemonettes 1 to Pin the unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 uses Searing Soulflame on Daemonettes 1 [Grey Knights] Daemonettes 1 Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 Shoots Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Kills 2 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 uses Righteous Persecution on Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 to Pin the unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 uses Searing Soulflame on Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 [Grey Knights] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Shoots Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Kills 2 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Righteous Persecution on Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Searing Soulflame on Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 [Grey Knights] Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 Fails Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Shoots Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and Destroys Unit [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Performs Decoy on Objective 3 |
| Charge | [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Charges into Tormentors [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Declares a Charge – Charge Failed |
| Fight | [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Fights Tormentors and Destroys Unit [Grey Knights] Grand Master + Paladin Squad Consolidates Onto Objective 4 |
| End of Turn | [Grey Knights] Scores Secondary: No Prisoners — 4 VP [Grey Knights] Scores Secondary: Overwhelming Force — 3 VP [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 6 VP |
| Score at End | 31 |
| CP at End | 3 |
Going into the turn, the Emperor’s Children had pushed forward pretty deliberately, while also putting forward 2 Infractors units as threats that the Grey Knights had to deal with or risk getting Charged next turn. They also severely limited the Grey Knights ability to use Gate of Infinity to bounce around the board, which was tremendously annoying. Facing this difficult puzzle to solve by the Emperor’s Children, and after much deliberation, the Grey Knights choose violence and push back pretty hard that turn.
The plan was to kill Lord Exultant + Infractors 2 and the Tormentors to guarantee a decent Secondary score with the extra goal of trying to kill Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 as well.
The latter did not happen, but the Grey Knights were able to secure 2 kills and also roll a big enough Charge to get the Paladins onto Objective 4. This makes them a major threat that the Emperor’s Children need to deal with NOW. Even better, the Grey Knights were able to sneak the Strike Squad onto Objective 3 to steal it away from the Defilers and to perform a sneaky Decoy action for yet more points. It turned out to be a great turn for the Grey Knights, let’s see how much it costs them in return…..
Board state in the middle of Round 2 is shown below.
Middle of Round 2
| Phase: | Go Second: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 14 |
| CP at Start | 3 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: Cleanse & Centre Ground [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Fails Battle Shock |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 4 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 3 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 remove Decoy from Objective 3 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 6 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 remove Decoy from Objective 6 [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 uses Scuttling Walker to Advance Onto Objective 5 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 1 Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 5 [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 3 Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 4 to Perform an Action [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 2 Makes a Normal Move to Stage [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets Deep Strikes Near Grey Knights Deployment Zone |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 3 Performs Surveil on Grand Master + Paladin Squad [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Shoots Grand Master + Paladin Squad and Kills 10 Models [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Split Fires and Shoots Strike Squad to Kill 3 Models and Shoots Purgation Squad 2 to Kill 1 Model and Shoots Brotherhood Terminator Squad to Kill 1 Model |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Charges into Brotherhood Terminator Squad [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Charges into Grand Master + Paladin Squad [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Charges into Strike Squad [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Charges into Purgation Squad 3 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 uses Horrifying Beauty [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Fails Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses Euphoric Strikes [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Fights Grand Master + Paladin Squad and Destroys Unit [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad uses Counter Offensive for 2 CP [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Fights Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 and Kills 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 uses Euphoric Strikes [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 Fights Brotherhood Terminator Squad and Kills 2 Models [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Fights Strike Squad and Kills 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Fights Purgation Squad 3 and Kills 2 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 Fights Defiler 1 and Deals 1 Damage [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Fights Daemonettes 4 and Deals 0 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Centre Ground — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 9 VP [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 28 |
| CP at End | 4 |
Well that was…..unsubtle and fairly rude.
Going into the turn, the Emperor’s Children knew that they needed to deal with the Paladins before they were able to Charge into one of the Defilers, as they were the only real threat to one of those Daemon Engines. The plan was to move both Defilers into range to Shoot the Paladins while also having Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 as backup via a Charge. From there, the goal for the turn was to take back Objective 3, clear all Decoys, and pressure Objective 6.
Instead, Defiler 1 rolled a 6 to Advance followed by a 10 to Charge, which basically put it clear across the board and next to the Grey Knights Home Objective, while Defiler 2 blew away 10 Paladins in a single activation by converting 8 Hades Autocannon shots into 12 Hits and 7 Devastating Wounds. I’ve played Carnival of Excess Defilers before, but that set of activations was wild.
From there, they basically accomplished everything else that they set out to do. The Emperor’s Children have a massive board presence now and look poised to bully the Grey Knights with Defilers and a Keeper of Secrets for the rest of the game. Let’s see if the Grey Knights respond or if they are too shell shocked by that turn.
Board state at the end of Round 2 is shown below.
End of Round 2
ROUND 3:
| Phase: | Go First: Grey Knights |
| Score at Start | 31 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Draw Secondaries: Beacon & Burden of Trust [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 is designated as the Beacon [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad is designated to Guard Objective 6 [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad uses Insane Bravery for 1 CP to Pass Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad uses Narthecium to Heal 1 Model [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 4 VP |
| Movement | [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad Deep Strikes Near Objective 6 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 6 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 3 Falls Back Away From Objective 1 [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Deep Strikes Near Objective 2 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Deep Strikes Near Objective 3 to Shoot [Grey Knights] Strike Squad Falls Back [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Deep Strikes Near Objective 2 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 uses Fire Overwatch for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Snap Shoots Purgation Squad 3 and Kills 1 Model |
| Shooting | [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Shoots Daemonettes 2 and Kills 6 Models [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Shoots Daemonettes 4 and Kills 4 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Shoots Chaos Spawn and Deals 3 Damage [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Righteous Persecution on Chaos Spawn to Pin the unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Searing Soulflame on Chaos Spawn [Grey Knights] Chaos Spawn Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad uses Purgation Pattern for 1 CP [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad Split Fires and Shoots Daemonettes 2 to Destroy Unit, Shoots Daemonettes 3 to Destroy Unit, and Shoots Daemonettes 1 to Destroy Unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Performs Decoy on Objective 6 |
| Charge | [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Charges into Daemonettes 4 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 uses Horrifying Beauty [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Fails Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Fights Daemonettes 4 and Kills 4 Models [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Terminator Squad Fights Lord Exultant + Infractors 1 and Destroys Unit [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Fights Brotherhood Librarian 1 and Deals 2 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 2 VP [Grey Knights] Drops Secondary: Burden of Trust for 1 CP |
| Score at End | 37 |
| CP at End | 2 |
The Grey Knights crack back and it is equally rude in its own unique way.
Going into the turn, they were feeling on the back foot and still reeling from watching the Paladins get annihilated. To deal with it, they fell back on their pre-game game plan and decided to use their mobility to try to remove as many of the non-Defiler, non Keeper of Secrets models as possible. The goal was to Deep Strike in to locations where they could retain some amount of Line of Sight blocking from the Defilers and then to kill as many of the Infantry and Beast units as possible.
They ended up accomplishing this pretty well. The Chaos Spawn tanked more damage on their Saves and Feel No Pains than expected, which is annoying, and also passed Battle Shock with “box cars”, doubly annoying, but that was offset by Crowe’s unit of Purifiers popping off almost as well as Defiler 2 did last turn. Crowe and his Purifiers killed 3 Daemonettes units and cleared and entire flank of the board themselves. Combine that with the Librarian killing most of the 4th Daemonettes and the Terminators killing Lord Exultant 1 and this was a really good damage turn for the Grey Knights.
They didn’t score as much as possible but do have the Emperor’s Children back on their heels a bit now, which is a big accomplishment after last turn.
Board state in the middle of Round 3 is shown below.
Middle of Round 3
| Phase: | Go Second: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 28 |
| CP at Start | 4 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: Assassination & Outflank [Emperor’s Children] uses New Orders for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Drops Secondary: Outflank [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: Overwhelming Force [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Fails Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 8 VP |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 1 [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 5 to Shoot and Charge [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Advances Onto Objective 4 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Advances Onto Objective 3 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Makes a Normal Move Away From Objective 1 to Charge |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 uses Command Re-roll for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Split Fires and Shoots Brotherhood Terminator Squad to Kill 2 Models, Shoots Purgation Squad 3 to Destroy Unit, and Shoots Purgation Squad 1 to Kill 4 Models [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Shoots Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad and Kills 10 Models |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Charges into Brotherhood Librarian 1 [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Charges into Purgation Squad 2 [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Charges into Brotherhood Terminator Squad [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 removes Decoy from Objective 6 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 uses Horrifying Beauty [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 1 Fails Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Fights Brotherhood Librarian 1 and Destroys Unit [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses Icon of Excess to Gain 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses Sustained by Agony to Heal Daemonettes 4 for 5 Models [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 uses Command Re-roll for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Fights Brotherhood Terminator Squad and Destroys Unit [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Fights Purgation Squad 2 and Kills 1 Model [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Makes an Overrun Move into Strike Squad [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Fights Strike Squad and Destroys Unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Fights Chaos Spawn and Kills 1 Model |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Assassination — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Overwhelming Force — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: No Prisoners — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 5 VP [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad uses Gate of Infinity to Go into Reserves |
| Score at End | 56 |
| CP at End | 3 |
The Emperor’s Children storm back and hit the Grey Knights with an absolutely massive damage and scoring turn. That might have been the single most devastating turn that I have ever had in my time playing 40K.
Coming into the turn, the Emperor’s Children knew that they needed to start scoring Secondaries and to address the “Crowe problem”. Rather than getting too fancy, they burned a CP for New Orders to get line up a bunch of Secondaries that supported the desired “I choose violence” approach. They then launched an absolutely savage series of shooting and fighting activation that essentially table the Grey Knights. The result was a ~30 point swing on the scoreboard and the Grey Knights now scrambling to not get blown out. Huge turn for the Emperor’s Children.
From a Grey Knight perspective, they really only have 1 more turn before they get completely tabled. They need to make it worth it by scoring enough points to get above 50 and to avoid getting a differential scoring 20-0 blowout.
Board state at the end of Round 3 is shown below.
End of Round 3
ROUND 4:
| Phase: | Go First: Grey Knights |
| Score at Start | 37 |
| CP at Start | 3 |
| Command | [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Draw Secondaries: Defend Stronghold & Cleanse [Grey Knights] uses New Orders for 1 CP [Grey Knights] Drops Secondary: Defend Stronghold [Grey Knights] Draw Secondaries: Plunder |
| Movement | [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad Deep Strikes Onto Objective 2 [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Deep Strikes Onto Objective 2 [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Deep Strikes Onto Objective 2 [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Passes Battle Shock [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Falls Back [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Soul-locked for 1 CP |
| Shooting | [Grey Knights] Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad Performs Decoy [Grey Knights] Brotherhood Librarian 3 Performs Cleanse [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 1 Performs Plunder [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Purgation Pattern for 1 CP [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 Shoots Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 and Kills 3 Models [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Righteous Persecution on Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 to Pin the unit [Grey Knights] Purgation Squad 2 uses Searing Soulflame on Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 [Grey Knights] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 passes Battle Shock |
| Charge | [Grey Knights] None |
| Fight | [Grey Knights] None |
| End of Turn | [Grey Knights] Scores Secondary: Plunder — 5 VP [Grey Knights] Scores Secondary: Cleanse — 2 VP [Grey Knights] Scores Secondary: Beacon — 5 VP [Grey Knights] Scores Primary: Locate and Deny — 4 VP |
| Score at End | 53 |
| CP at End | 1 |
The Grey Knights did what they had to that turn to avoid a complete wipe out of a game. The plan was to use their CP on New Orders, hope for as many action based Secondaries as possible, and to drop all 3 units in Reserves onto Objective 2 or into the EC Deployment Zone to score as many points as possible before the inevitable bottom of 4 massacre occurs. They accomplished all of this and were able to clear 50 points, which I’ll take as a minor victory.
Board state in the middle of Round 4 is shown below. Please note that Purgation Squad 1 is hiding in a ruin on Objective 2.
Middle of Round 4
| Phase: | Go Second: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 56 |
| CP at Start | 3 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: Beacon & Secure No Man’s Land [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets is designated as the Beacon [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 8 VP [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Fails Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Passes Battle Shock |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Makes a Normal Move Onto Objective 2 to Shoot [Emperor’s Children] Chaos Spawn Makes a Normal Move Towards Objective 3 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Makes a Normal Move Towards Purgation Squad 2 to Charge [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 removes Decoy from Objective 2 |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 uses Explosives for 1 CP [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Deals 4 Mortal Wounds to Purgation Squad 2 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Shoots Purgation Squad 2 and Destroys Unit [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Fails Hazardous and Takes 1 Mortal Wound [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Split Fires and Shoots Castellan Crowe + Purifier Squad to Destroy Unit, Shoots Purgation Squad 1 to Destroy Unit, and Shoots Brotherhood Librarian 3 to Deal 3 Damage |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Charges into Brotherhood Librarian 3 |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 2 Fights Brotherhood Librarian 3 and Destroys Unit |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Beacon — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Secure No Man’s Land — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Forward Position — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 5 VP |
| Score at End | 84 |
| CP at End | 3 |
As expected, the Emperor’s Children table the Grey Knights and have an easy path to 100 VP. Insert joke about the Emperor’s Children playing “perfectly” here.
Board state at the end of Round 4 is shown below.
End of Round 4
ROUND 5:
| Phase: | Go First: Grey Knights |
| Score at Start | 53 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP |
| Movement | [Grey Knights] None |
| Shooting | [Grey Knights] None |
| Charge | [Grey Knights] None |
| Fight | [Grey Knights] None |
| End of Turn | [Grey Knights] None |
| Score at End | 53 |
| CP at End | 3 |
Nothing to report as the Grey Knights are tabled. Board state in the middle of Round 5 is shown below.
Middle of Round 5
| Phase: | Go Second: Emperor’s Children |
| Score at Start | 84 |
| CP at Start | 4 |
| Command | [Emperor’s Children] Gains 1 Core CP [Grey Knights] Gains 1 Core CP [Emperor’s Children] Draw Secondaries: Burden of Trust & Plunder [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets is designated to Guard Objective 1 [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 is designated to Guard Objective 3 [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 is designated to Guard Objective 6 [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Passes Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Lord Exultant + Infractors 3 Passes Battle Shock [Emperor’s Children] Scores Primary: Extract Relic — 8 VP |
| Movement | [Emperor’s Children] None |
| Shooting | [Emperor’s Children] Keeper of Secrets Performs Plunder [Emperor’s Children] Defiler 1 Performs Cleanse on Objective 6 [Emperor’s Children] Daemonettes 4 Performs Cleanse on Objective 3 |
| Charge | [Emperor’s Children] None |
| Fight | [Emperor’s Children] None |
| End of Turn | [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Burden of Trust — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Cleanse — 5 VP [Emperor’s Children] Scores Secondary: Plunder — 5 VP |
| Score at End | 100 |
| CP at End | 5 |
And the game ends with the Emperor’s Children getting the perfect 100 VP and beating the Grey Knights soundly. Board state at the end of Round 5 is shown below.
End of Round 5
RESULT:
Singles Format: 100 – 53 Emperor’s Children
WTC Teams Format: 19-1 EC WIN
GAME REVIEW:
Oof. This one hurts from a Grey Knights perspective. I don’t know that it was the closet matchup to start with, but the way the Grey Knights played their Paladins made it worse. Once they were lost, the Emperor’s Children could bully the rest of the army with the 2 Defilers and Keeper of Secrets with little to no fear of retribution.
It was still a fun game to play, but I prefer more closely matched games instead of this kind of blow out. That said, I definitely see why Emperor’s Children and Carnival of Excess is one of the most taken factions/detachments at the upcoming World Teams Championships. The Emperor’s Children’s list was scary good and powerful.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:
- Grey Knights
- I would deploy differently, as I think the Grey Knights lost this game with a combination of list building and deployment. The specific thing that I would change is that I would have started the Paladins in Reserves and then used the Grand Master’s Warrior Strategist ability to Rapid Ingress for -1 CP. Ideally, I would then ingress them in out of Line of Sight but within striking range of one of the Defilers. Defiler 1 would have been a prime candidate for this when it overextended in the early game. I’m not sure it flips the game, but it could have given the Grey Knights a chance to take down a Defiler and force the Keeper of Secrets to do more than sit on Objective 1 and rack up VP. Combine that with the solid work that the other units were doing in clearing out the EC infantry and I see a path to a closer game.
- Emperor’s Children
- Not a ton here, but expending so much Infantry early in the game in order to line up targets for the Defilers bears watching. It won’t work against opponents who can take down a Defiler or Keeper of Secrets and could be a fatal over extension in a more balanced matchup.
EARNED THEMSELF A NAME:
Defiler 2. It single-handedly swung the game with one activation in Round 2 by “one shotting” 10 Paladin models and then followed up with an encore to close out the game by also destroying Castellan Crowe and the Purifier Squad over the course of Round 3 and 4. No other unit in the game had anywhere near this much direct impact on the final outcome of the game.
MAGNUS OF THE GAME:
Grand Master + Paladin Squad. A 500+ point investment that got exactly one moment of payoff, the Round 2 charge that destroyed the Tormentors and flipped control of Objective 4, before being annihilated in a single Defiler 2 shooting activation. This is another example of a bad habit that I seem to struggle with, committing the center piece unit either too early or too late. In this case, it was too early and the Grey Knights never recovered.
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