Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, mainly work hours, my fourth round opponent and I were unable to meet up to play out league game. By the rules of the league if the players cannot meet up the game is recorded as a draw. My opponent and I have agreed to try and arrange a friendly game using the same list in the near future. That's why I haven't posted about round four.
Round five however... was played last week against an old club player Dan and his Adeptus Custodes. This was another round where I knew I was going to do badly. Custodes are such a tough army to deal with and I don't think regular marines are quite good enough. List building for this match was quite difficult. At 1000 points there isn't much I could take so I had to default to a basic list. I asked others about what I should take and the overwhelming response was to take something capable of taking down his jetbikes. With that in mind I dusted off an old dreadnought and the list was complete.
Dan and I alternated placing terrain on the table so that we had a nice fair distribution and then rolled up our mission, Forward Push. For ease we just picked the ends of the tables were were had already unpacked our models. I got the first turn and I was pleased because it meant I could get some shots from the dreadnought off onto the jetbikes. And this is where I made a silly stupid mistake. I got myself so focused on what I needed to do that after I moved the dreadnought I forgot to move everything else before I opened fire. To say I swore and kicked myself would be an understatement. To be fair, on his turn Dan forgot to activate something as well so I guess it balanced out.
I did managed to put some wounds on the jetbikes but not enough to bring one down. Dan had a unit of some sisters of silence all equipped with flamers and I did manage to gun the whole squad down much to my opponent's annoyance. They were a big part of Dan's plans so that helped me survive for an extra round maybe. On Dan's turn things did not go too well either. He couldn't make charge rolls for toffee even with a re-roll. Small mercies.
It was turn two that saw my downfall. I managed to drop a couple jetbikes and took some wounds from his commander on jetbike. But on Dan's turn he charged in and decimated by intercessors. The dreadnought did not survive long either. The Custodes combat abilities were top notch and nothing I could do was going to change that. Turn three and my remaining forces, captain and bladeguard were felled. Dan went on to sit on the objectives, gathering a huge score at the end of the match.
After the end of the game Dan and I had a nice chat and a laugh about the game. It was heavily one side but we both had a nice game which is what really matters. At 1000 points it's much easier for Dan to built a good list to take down my marines than it was for me to find a way to deal with his forces. To further emphasise this, half of what Dan brought to the table never moved from where he placed it. Everything was his jetbikes and the two commanders, one on a jetbike and one on foot. I don't think I ever really had a chance.
My list:
+ HQ +
Primaris Captain [5 PL, 105pts]: Frag & Krak grenades, Iron Resolve, The Burning Blade, Warlord
. Heavy bolt pistol, Master-crafted power sword and Relic shield: Heavy Bolt Pistol, Master-crafted power sword, Relic Shield
+ Troops +
Assault Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 195pts]
. 9x Assault Intercessor: 9x Astartes Chainsword, 9x Frag & Krak grenades, 9x Heavy Bolt Pistol
. Assault Intercessor Sgt: Astartes Chainsword, Frag & Krak grenades, Plasma pistol
Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 205pts]: Bolt rifle
. 9x Intercessor: 9x Bolt pistol, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Plasma pistol
Intercessor Squad [10 PL, 205pts]: Bolt rifle
. 9x Intercessor: 9x Bolt pistol, 9x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Plasma pistol
+ Elites +
Bladeguard Veteran Squad [5 PL, 105pts]
. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield
. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Frag & Krak grenades, Heavy Bolt Pistol, Master-crafted power sword, Storm Shield
Dreadnought [7 PL, 140pts]: Missile launcher, Twin lascannon
++ Total: [47 PL, 3CP, 955pts] ++
