Tallarn Commander's Chaos (WiP Warpsmith) (2024)

Posted April 23, 2022(edited)

---------------GAME 2: NIGHT LORDS VS. GENESTEALER CULT---------------

Game 2 was against a Genstealer Cult army. I don't know much about these folks, but I've always loved the army. And the models are wonderful. In my Renegades & Heretics Chaos Militia Army half of 5th Squad is made up of Genestealer Neophyte models. If I remember correctly, this was my third game against the GSC. Here are links to my first two games (both of which I lost):

Tallarn 23rd vs. GSC back in April 2017: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/331141-tallarn-commanders-tallarn-23rd-blog/?p=4701603

Chaos Soup (Nostroman 9th Renegades and Heretics Chaos Militia and Night Lords) back in August of 2018: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/321042-tallarn-commanders-chaos-night-lords-tournament-report/?p=5371394

GSC are not a common army in my meta. But I love their sneaky playstyle, it's very fluffy.

My opponent's list was something along the lines of:

During deployment the GSC put down the traditional blip markers.

Some Cultist was probably looking at his Auspex and freaking out like Private Hudson in the movie Aliens, "They're getting closer man!"

The thin blue line at deployment. Genestealers are super fast so I set up the Cultists and Spawn as a screen.

--------------GENESTEALER CULT TURN 1---------------

The GSC won the roll off to go first. The Broodlord leapt forward along with the Genstealers and headed straight for my line. A Goliath Truck vroomed up as well after dropping off a squad of Neophytes on an objective. I love those Goliath trucks. If I ever gave my Renegades and Heretics transports, I'd seriously consider kit-bashing a pair of Goliaths.

The Board after GSM Turn 1 movement

Some very impressive Genestealers skittered up, I really like the turquoise blue

You can't see them here, but many of the Genestealers had incredible sigils and stripes painted onto their heads!

The Broodlord cast a spell but I forgot what. Then he tried to cast the +1 attack spell but Sorceress Chamorro (embarassed at having killed herself on Turn 1 of the last game) successfully stopped the power. Not much happened during GSC shooting. Like me they are a more assault-oriented army than a shooty army. His sniper could not draw a bead on Chamorro or Doom Rider because they were bravely hiding behind a ruin. Three bikers are gunned down and a few wounds stripped off here and there.

My opponent made 2 successful charges. The Genestealers charged 7th Squad's Cultists and the Goliath charged the Jackals CSM Squad.

Sadly, my opponent failed a fairly short charge (and re-roll) with his Brood Lord. I breathed a sigh of relief. I have to admit that my opponent's dice were pretty cold this game. I felt bad for him.

Genestealers Shred Cultists

Goliath Tarpits the Jackals CSM Squad. I burned a CP to overwatch with my 3 meltas, but no dice.

The Genestealers easily wiped out 7th Squad and consolidated closer to Mary and Deffy. The Goliath remained locked in melee. It had done all you can ask of a transport: it delivered its cargo to an objective and it tar-pitted an enemy unit.

---------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 1---------------

During my Turn 1 on my right I vroomed the Chupacabras Biker Squad, Biker Lord Doom Rider, and Biker Sorceress Chamorro to the right. BloodLady the Blood Slaughterer moved up to support them. I sure do enjoy bikers' mobility, 14 inches is seriously fast!

On my left I moved up with the Doomed Spawn Squad and the Harbingers CSM Squad.

Night Lords move up on the left

In the middle Mary and Deffy moved up ready to tangle with the Genestealers. The Bastards CSM Squad sat back on an objective.

During my psychic phase Chamorro was able to buff the bikers with Delightful Agonies but her attempt to cast Warptime failed.

Shooting didn't do much of anything. The Harbingers' melta shots bounced off of the BroodLord as did Deffy's shooting. The Bastards lascannons miss.

During the charge phase I sent the Doomed Spawn Squad, Mary the Maulerfiend, and Deffy the Defiler against the Genestealers. The Chupacabras Biker Squad charged in against a Neophyte Squad on an objective on my right. BloodLady, Doom Rider, and Chamorro, in an effort to help out the jackals, charged in against the Goliath Truck.

Chupacabras Charge!

Now the Neophytes had some scary mining equipment so I decided to activate my Bikers first. The Chupacabras' chainswords rolled very well and "Death to the False Everything" kicked in and I got a bazillion attacks so the Neophytes died.

Then my opponent burned 2 CP and interrupted with the Genestealers against Deffy. Now Genestealers should have seriously wounded or killed Deffy. But my opponent rolled really poorly. I then activated my Spawn who randomly rolled and got the extra attacks mutation. I also rolled really well for my number of attacks and the Genestealers went down. Chamorro's force sword managed to finish off the Goliath Truck, after BloodLadies' Slaughterblade did the bulk of the damage to the GSC vehicle.

At the end of Turn 1, my army was doing pretty well. II had lost a Cultist Squad and my opponent was down a Goliath Truck, a Genestealer Squad, and a Neophyte Squad. Both of us had pretty good board position. It felt odd because usually my CSM armies in 9th edition are casually dis-membered by the opponents.

Mary and Deffy are both rather surprised they are both alive at the end of Turn 1. Mary waves a paw and Deffy waves a claw.

---------------GENESTEALER CULT TURN 2---------------

During GSC movement the Broodlord shuffled up to my left to threaten the Harbingers CSM Squad. The gaggle of GSC characters sat in his backfield and did various buffing things. Then in true GSC fashion, numerous units emerged from the shadows and deployed at the end of the Movement phase. A Goliath Rockgrinder full of Aberrants showed up in my rear alongside a Neophyte Squad and a Kellermorph. Uh oh!

Neophytes, Rockgrinder, and Kellermorph Pop Up in My Backfield

I cannot recall what happened during the psychic phase. I think my opponent got off the +1 attack spell.

In my front another squad of Neophytes appeared escorted by an Iconward and a mean-looking Hybrid Squad. Shooting saw the sniper and Kellermorph seriously hurt Sorceress Chamorro and drop Biker Lord Doom Rider, dropping both down to 1 wound. Ouch! Various mining lasers missed.

The board after GSC Movement Turn 2

During the charge phase the Rockgrinder made it in against the Jackals CSM Squad. The Brood Lord made it in against the Spawn and the Harbingers CSM Squad. In addition, the Hybrids made it in against Mary.

Goliath Rockdrill Charges the Jackals CSM Squad

Brood Lord Charges Harbingers CSM Squad and the Doomed Spawn Squad

Hybrids Take on Mary the Maulerfiend

He wisely activated the Hybrids first and killed the hapless Daemon Engine. RIP Mary the Maulerfiend. I then paid 2 CP to interrupt with the Doomed Spawn Squad against the BroodLord. I rolled really well again and the Spawn took out the Brood Lord. The RockGrinder easily killed off all of all of the Jackals except for Aspiring Champion Jinx who failed his morale check. With a dramatic flip of his dragon-scale cloak, he said "I'm out." and he wisely went back to the Night Lords Battle Barge.

--------------NIGHT LORDS TURN 2---------------

On my left I moved the Harbingers CSM Squad onto the left. On my right the Chupacabras Bikers Squad bravely hid in a building on an objective. The Doomed Spawn Squad, having killed off a Genestealer Cult and a Brood Lord, were feeling pretty good about themselves. They moved up alongside Deffy, preparing to charge the Hybrids, Iconward, and Neophytes in front of them.

Doom Rider, knowing that he was down to 1 wound, drove right in front of the Kellermorph and leveled his combi-melta at the assassin. Biker Sorceress Chamorro bravely hid behind a building. BloodLady moved up to either charge Neophytes/Iconward in the middle of the board or the RockGrinder on my right.

Then my 2 deep-strikers came out. I brought the Bats Out of Hell Squad out of deep-strike and plopped them on a terrain piece so I could use "From the Night" to give them +2 to their charge. The Warpnight Warp Talons Squad dropped down in my opponent's rear and eyed a Neophyte Squad and a gaggle of GSC characters.

During my psychic phase, Chamorro strips some wounds off of the Rock Grinder with Smite.

During my shooting phase, the Bastards' lascannons chip wounds off of the Rockgrinder as does Chamorro's melta. And then BloodLadies' Impaler Harpoon finishes off the GSC transport. Then Doom Rider's meltagun treats the Kellermorph with extreme prejudice and the assassin is melted into a slag. He uses a shoot-on-death strat and kills Doom Rider. Well, no one ever really kills Doom Rider, but the Kellermorph caused Doom Rider to fade back into the warp.

Bastards' Lascannons Take Potshots at GSC Rockgrinder from a Gantry

During the assault phase the Raptors made it in against the Neophytes in the middle and did some shredding. The Spawn charged the Iconward, Neophytes, and Hybrids. BloodLady charged the Aberrants. And Deffy made it in against the Hybrids. This big scrap in the middle pretty much ended in a draw, with a few Neophytes, Raptors, and Hybrids becoming casualties.

In the GSC rear Warpnight the Warp Talon Squad burned a CP on "Raptor Strike" and made it in against a character and a Neophyte, killing both. They consolidated into other characters. And on my right BloodLady charged the Aberrants who interrupted her and promptly laid her low with their lethal street signs of doom.

Aberrants Interrupt and Kill BloodLady

I do love the Aberrant model where the guy is holding a street sign!

So Turn 2 ended with lots of scary stuff in his backfield, lots of scary stuff in my backfield, and a big scrap going on in the middle. A very close game!

....................TO BE CONTINUED BELOW..................................

Edited April 23, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

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