This one is very simple/boring, but putting it up for posterity. Faced off against my friend Kingsley today at the local game store. He brought his Iron Hands, and I brought my Ulthwé, using the same list I used over the weekend at the tournament.
Army Lists
Blazinghand's List - Ulthwé1996 pts, 1 Battalion, 1 Vanguard - 7 CP
+HQ+
Autarch on foot with Star Glaive, Relic: Faolchu's Wing, Warlord Trait: Fate Reader
Eldrad Ulthran
Warlock with Witchblade
+Troops+
5 Dire Avengers, 1 is Exarch with 2 Catapults
5 Dire Avengers, 1 is Exarch with 2 Catapults
5 Rangers
+Elites+
5 Fire Dragons, 1 is Exarch with DB Flamer
5 Fire Dragons, 1 is Exarch with DB Flamer
5 Wraithguard with D-Scythes
5 Wraithguard with D-Scythes
8 Wraithguard with Wraithcannons
+Dedicated Transport+
Wave Serpent with 3 Shuriken Cannons
Wave Serpent with 3 Shuriken Cannons
Wave Serpent with 3 Shuriken Cannons
Wave Serpent with 3 Shuriken Cannons
Kingsley's List - Imperium - Iron Hands and Elysians1996 pts, 1 Battalion, 1 Vanguard - 7 CP
++BATTALION of Iron Hands++
+HQ+
Captain with Relic Bolter, Power Axe
Lieutenant with Storm Bolter, Chainsword
+Troops+
5-man Tac Squad, Plasma Gun + Combi-Plasma
5-man Tac Squad, Plasma Gun + Combi-Plasma
5-man Tac Squad, Plasma Gun + Combi-Plasma
+Elites+
Venerable Dreadnought with 2 Twin Autocannons
Venerable Dreadnought with 2 Twin Autocannons
+Flyers+
Stormhawk Interceptor with Las-Talon, Assault Cannons
+Heavy Support+
5 Devestators: 1 Sergeant with Storm Bolter, 2 Marines with Bolters, 2 Marines with Lascannons, 1 Armorium Cherub
5 Devestators: 1 Sergeant with Storm Bolter, 2 Marines with Bolters, 2 Marines with Lascannons, 1 Armorium Cherub
Vindicator with Demolisher Cannon with HK Missile
Vindicator with Demolisher Cannon with HK Missile (this one is technically in the Vanguard but it doesn't matter)
+Transport+
Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon, Storm Bolter, HK Missile
Razorback with Lascannon, Twin Plasma Gun, Storm Bolter, HK Missile
Razorback with Lascannon, Twin Plasma Gun, Storm Bolter, HK Missile
++VANGUARD of Imperials++
+HQ+
Elysian Commander with Bolter
+Elites+
Eversor Assassin
Elysian SWS with 3 Plasma Guns
Elysian Command Squad with 4 Plasma Guns
Pre-GameWe rolled up the ITC mission Seize Ground, with 6 objectives and a bonus for contesting/holding at least 5. I selected the secondary objectives of Big Game Hunter, Recon, and Kingslayer (Eversor Assassin). I figured his Eversor was likely to get mixed up in things and would be an easy couple of points. Kingsley was running many vehicles, so BGH would be easy. And given the nature and layout of these objectives, Recon is something I'd get easily. Kingsley picked the same secondaries: BGH, Recon, and Kingslayer (Eldrad); for similar reasons.
Kingsley deployed first, but I had far fewer drops: I put down my four Wave Serpents full of bodies, with Eldrad and the Warlock taking cover in a couple Serpents while the Autarch hung out in some ruins to stay safe. 8 Wraithguard stayed in reserve via Webway Strike, and 5 Rangers were held back using Appear Unbidden. I kept my Wave Serpents near the center but with the ability to get the side objectives in my own deployment zone if needed.
Kingsley held his Elysians and Assassin in reserve, and castled up on his right with most of his forces. One Vindicator and a Razorback with a Tac squad held down his left flank. His Stormhawk stayed behind the building, ready to leap into battle.
We rolled off for first turn, and I won. Kingsley failed to seize.
Beginning of Round 1The Rangers emerge from the webway onto my left home objective.
Top of Turn 1 (Ulthwé):
On the right, a Wave Serpent spits out 5 Dire Avengers onto my rear right objective, then Advances forward with Matchless Agility Stratagem. Combined with my Rangers on my left rear objective, and my Wave Serpents grabbing the two center objectives, I now either control or contest 5 objectives, which will qualify me for a bonus point. At the end of my turn, I bring in 8 Wraithguard with Wraithcannons, ready to shoot at the Demolisher and Razorback in my opponent's center. Kingsley Auspex Scans them with his Devestators, and due to a judicious use of the Lightning-Fast Reactions stratagem, no Wraithguard die.
In the shooting phase, the Wraithguard pop the Razorback and deal 5 wounds to the Demolisher. The Wave Serpents and Rangers shoot basically ineffectively, picking off 3 Devestators, none of whom have heavy weapons, and pinging a few shots off of the Demolisher hull.
I score 3 points on Primary: 1 for killing a unit, 1 for holding at least 1 objective, and 1 for holding or contesting 5.
I score 2 points on Secondary: 1 for BGH, and 1 for Recon.
Bottom of Turn 1 (Imperials):Kinsgley disembarks his tac squads, and moves them into rapid-fire range of my vehicles and Wraithguard. Most of his vehicles remain still, and his Stormtalon flies around my left flank to get a good angle on my Wave Serpent holding Eldrad Ulthran (the far left one). He drops in Elysians to shoot at my Rangers, and his Assassin to go at my Dire Avengers. I gear up for a tough shooting phase.
Kingsley proceeds to have the worst shooting phase I have ever seen in over a decade of tabletop gaming. His Vindicators fire 4 Demolisher shots, his Razorbacks and Devestators fire their (collectively 6) Lascannons, and his Stormhawk fires its Las-Talon, and his Hunter-Killer missiles fire, all at Eldrad's transport. Many of these units are re-rolling 1s to hit and 1s to wound. Somehow, my Wave Serpent takes no damage, as none of these successfully wound it! Kingsley's midrange guns, which he hoped to use on other targets, such as his autocannons, assault cannons, plasma guns, etc put some scratches in the paint bit by bit of the Wave Serpent. In the end, everything in his extensive firebase shoots at the Wave Serpent and it lives with 4 wounds.
The odds of something like this happening (failing all 15 attempts of 3+ to hit, 3+ to wound) is like one in a thousand, not even accounting for rerolling 1s.
His Elysian Special Weapons Squad and Command Squad and Commander pour plasma and lasgun fire into my 5 Rangers and 1 of them lives. His Assassin fires his pistol at my Dire Avengers and does nothing. It was an astonishingly bad shooting phase.
At this point, Kingsley is ready to concede, as he has failed to dislodge my troops in the backline or crack open Eldrad's transport and kill anything inside. However, we play out the Assault phase. His Elysians fail the charge on my Rangers. The Assassin gets in with the Dire Avengers and only kills 1. A Tac squad bonks the Wave Serpent ineffectively. Another Tac squad wraps around the Wraithguard to make it so they cannot break away from combat easily.
He scores 1 point on Primary: 1 for holding at least one objective.
He scores 1 point on Secondary: 1 for Recon.
For end of Round scoring:
I score 1 point on Primary because I killed more units (1) than Kingsley did.
The End of Round point on objectives is not awarded since each of us controls 3 objectives.
At this point, having spent a round dealing almost no damage, Kingsley concedes, noting that it is unlikely he can win from this position. His army relies on dealing at least
some damage on the first turn.
Kingsley Concedes.This is my first victory over Kingsley, but I can't attribute it to my skill. WH40k is, at its core, a dice game, and so sometimes a player will lose without being outplayed. That happened here. Over the course of 12+ games with Kingsley, it was a matter of time until he had an unusually bad run of luck. So, this isn't satisfying for me. That being said, we have made plans for a rematch. I hope to defeat Kingsley in the future, even when his dice are bringing him normal rolls.
Overall, the ITC mission was good and I will be trying out the other Champion's Missions as well.
