BattleReport – Imperial Guard vs. Necrons, 03/05/2008

This was a game fought between Mike (Necrons) and Dean (Guard). From the outset this was going to be a blast – a year-long wait for a grudge match! Last time, the Necrons wiped the floor with the Guard (apart from a nice mauling of one Necron Destroyer Lord). This time, with more time to prepare armies, catch up on rules and prepare tactics, it WOULD be different… wouldn’t it?

Scenery:

The table was 6x4 and divided into quarters for scenery. The players decided to put two pieces of scenery in each quarter, taking it it in turns to deploy each piece, starting with Mike who won a toss of a coin. At the end, each player would then move ONE piece of terrain to another location.

Scenario:

The roll for scenario ended up with “Secure and Control”. The mission level was “Alpha” – no special rules. Basically, we got to place 3 Objective counters on the board away from any edges. The player capturing most counters would win (using scoring units within 6 inches of the counter – no enemy units in this zone).  Victory points would not win this game, only command of 2 or 3 of those Objective Counters!

Deployment:

The Necrons won the dice roll for the “side” and chose the least crowded. They then won first turn as well. They deployed one Troop of 14 Warriors on the left flank behind the Titan Leg scenery, just to the left of the long ruined wall. In the centre, the other Troop of Warriors and the Lord deployed in a 7x2 staggered pattern to limit the damage from blast templates and flamer hits. Behind the ruined wall, just left of the Lord, a unit of 5 Destroyers deployed with a commanding view of the enemy positions. On the right flank two Destroyer Troops took up position on each side of the small wood.  A unit of 4 Flayed Ones took up position on the far left, just behind the Titan Leg scenery. The last Flayed Ones unit took up position behind the central Warriors.

The Imperial Guard had little choice but to spread across the width of the table, behind the hills, ruin and wood. The left flank comprised an Anti-Tank squad, a Rough Rider squad, a veteran unit and two special weapons team (one a sniper team on the flat hilltop, the other a demolitions team).  The centre comprised of the Heroic HQ with Commissar behind the hill with Master Vox, a platoon of Guard squeezed in behind the small wood, hill and ruins, an anti tank squad on the hill side. The right side had a squad of Ratlings in the Ruins, behind that a fire support squad and to the right of these behind the other hill, another platoon of Guard and 3 Ogryns. Phew!

Deployment as seen from the Imperial Guard viewpoint

Another view of the deployment of the forces

Turn 1

The Necron central phalanx advance to close on the central Objective counter. They get within 6 inches and claim it.  The rest of the Necron keep still. The right most Destroyers easily ranged the Guard Anti-tank squad and their powerful Gauss weapons killed all but one of the six. The last man fails a morale check and falls back off table. The next unit of Destroyers on that side also fired, annihilating the Rough Rider unit.  The last Destroyer unit in the centre rear takes out two of the six anti-tank crew opposite them. One up to the Necrons.

The Imperial Guard respond with a general advance. The Ratlings earn a place in history by killing two of the central unit of 5 Destroyers. The Necrons roll 11 for Morale and Fall back off the table. Amazing. They can’t even “We’ll be back”!

Imperial Guard Rough-Riders storm up their left flank, supported by fire from an Anti-Tank squad. Snipers take up position on the hill and (extreme right corner) The Imperial Guard Hardened Veterans prepare to mop-up whatever Necron remains their squaddies leave behind. Unfortunately they ended up looking down the muzzles of 10 Necron Gauss Cannon. Apart from the Snipers on the hill, none of these troops survived the first round of the battle.

That's Mike with the camera, by the way :-)

The Necron Lines form up for battle

The Necron Warriors and Destroyers take shelter behind the shattered remains of a scout-Titan's leg and some ruins

Turn 2

The Necrons did not move. The far right Destroyer unit shot and killed 8 out of the 10 Veteran Guard opposite them. The remaining 2 Troops made their morale roll and stood their now empty looking ground. The central phalanx fires on the Guard Platoon command squad ahead of them. The Necron Destroyers between these two units despatch the special squad of snipers on the hill top.

Again, the Guard made a general advance. They now looked weak on their left flank after taking a lot of damage from the two Destroyer units. The situation on the right flank is different though, as the Guard seem to have more units than the Necrons. The Ogryns are now passing the hill terrain (difficult going). Then, Guard shooting provides one more casualty, a Necron Warrior in the central phalanx fails its 3+ save and drops to the ground.

The Destroyers begin their inexorable advance, having lost one of their number

Flayed ones and Warriors hold their position behind the ruined Titan

Turn 3

The Necron Warrior killed last turn makes a “We’ll be Back” Roll and succeeds. He reanimates and joins his battle brothers. Such is the resilience of the Necron. In revenge, this central phalanx of Warriors stands and shoots at the Platoon of Guard ahead of them. Five Guard fall dead. The leftmost Destroyer unit moves to a position behind the central Warriors and opens fire on the same Guard unit, killing one more trooper. The Guard roll 9 for morale and stand (Good old Master Vox Caster from the Heroic Senior Officer HQ). The Destroyer on the far right finish of the two remaining Veterans and the way ahead of them is now clear.

The Guard move forward on their right flank, toward the Titan Leg ruins. The nearby Ogryns clear the hill and move forward to within 6 inches of an Objective Counter. The Penal Platoon also close in on the same objective and face off the Necron Warriors. Each player now controls one counter each. Guard shooting is better. The Ratlings and the fire support squad in the ruins kill six (yes 6) Necron Warriors in the central phalanx. Ouch! The Penal platoon kill two Warriors in the other Necron squad. The Ogryns add one more to this. The right most unit of Guard add yet another to this total. Ouch! Ten Necron Warriors down. They make a moral roll and pass. Ld 10 is a useful thing to have! In the centre, the platoon fail to kill any Necrons in the central phalanx. One Destroyer is killed in all the fighting.

The Ogryns and Imperial Guard Platoon squads begin their assault on the Necron lines

The Ogryns and Penal Squad advance

The advance of the Ogryns and Prisoners viewed from a different angle

Turn 4

The Necrons “We’ll be back” fails to save six of the Warriors and the Destroyer. The Necron Warriors take revenge by destroying one of the units of Guard in the centre. The Destroyers cause 6 wounds to the Ogryns leaving them with one wound each (a rules screw-up we became wise to after the game). One of the Destroyer units moves and targets the small wood in the centre of the Guard position. The Central platoon loses all five of its command squad this time.

The Guard respond. The Ogryns need to get out of the guns of the Destroyers – by getting to within 6 inches of the Warriors ahead of them. The Guard near these Ogryns also moves forward. They are now close to the Flayed Ones unit near the Titan leg. The Ratlings kill one Destroyer. The Destroyers pass a morale test for 25% shooting casualties. The Support fire squad fires on the central phalanx and kills three Warriors. The Ogryns fail to kill and Warriors. The Flayed Ones near the Titan leg come under fire from the closing Guard units. They take one casualty. The Unit in the small wood fails to kill and the Anti-tank squad nearby only despatch one more Warrior. The Ogryns charge the Remaining Warriors near the Titan Leg. The Ogryns win that round of combat but the Necron pass their save and do not fall back. 

The remaining Necon Destroyers, sheltering behind the cover which failed to protect them from Ratling Sniper-fire. Their revenge was swift, however, as their gauss cannon was soon to rake the Ogryns

Turn 5

This is the point where the Necron player rolls 5 (yes five) ‘ones’ for “We’ll be back” and fails to bring back any Warriors from the unit in combat with the Ogryns. The odds of this are about 7776 to one. But still they came. It is now three Ogryns with one wound each against three Warriors with one wound each. The right most Necron Destroyers “Turbo boost” down the edge of the board and get LOS to the Guard hiding behind the hill. They can’t fire this turn as they moved so quickly. The central phalanx move forward to win the centre of the board and improve their position around the central Objective counter. The Flayed ones skulking around the rear of this unit move forward and right toward the third Objective counter but do not reach the 6 inch area around it. The Destroyers nearest the Ogryns “turbo” behind the surviving Warriors just in case they break. The central phalanx kill the last of the Guard in the small wood. The Ogryns kill one more Warrior in close combat. The Flayed Ones near the Titan leg charge the Guard platoon ahead of them. The Guard loses this combat but rolls a 7 and stands. The Flayed Ones consolidate by moving into the remaining Guard.

The Guard anti-tank squad kill two Destroyers from the centre most unit with Lascannon and Krak missiles. This unit passes its morale test and fails to fall back. Ratlings kill one more Warrior in the central phalanx. The fire support squad kills one more Warrior. The Ogryns fail to kill more Necrons. The Necrons kill 1 Ogryns but they stand. The Flayed One combat results in one kill a piece – stand off.

The Imperial Guard Anti-Tank squad, just prior to being outflanked by the Necron Destroyers

Turn 6 - Final turn

The Necrons consolidate their position by moving Destroyers and Flayed Ones to the Objective counter on their right. They stay still in the centre and carry on in combat on their left. The Flayed Ones win the close combat. One unit of Guard falls back, the other rolls 2 and stands firm. The Ogryns lose their round of combat and the survivor fails to pass the moral check and falls back. The Objective counter here is now unowned.

The Guard anti-tank squad kill one of the Flayed Ones in the centre. It is not enough. They stand.

So ends the game.
 

The rout of the Ogryn Bone'ead

Conclusion: Victory for the Necrons
Necrons: 2 Objectives, Guard: 0 Objectives.

After a couple of Turns it seemed as though the Necrons could not really lose. They already had one Objective counter and when their right flank became unopposed, the second counter was really theirs for the taking. The game could have been different if the Necron left flank had crumbled earlier. They were down to two Warriors in the end. The Guard could have just grabbed one Objective counter then moved to dispute the middle one on Turn 6 – effectively drawing the game. But it was not to be. The Necrons fought well, pounding the Guard and taking out fast, heavy and elites on one flank. Some of the Guard made a good account of themselves by getting into the fray “en masse” or shooting from the cover of ruins. The real problem came with losing the Guard left flank to withering fire from the 10 Destroyers on that side of the table. Their was no cover for them to use. Stars of the game were the Destroyers and the Ratlings with their hit of 2+ and cover save of 3+.

A good game well executed and enjoyed very much. Another grudge match anyone?