Hey everybody,
I had another game with the Grey Knights this week, 1000(ish) points of my guys vs James and his Black Templars force. We’re still both learning these armies, and to some extent we’re also just learning the ropes of 9th edition as well, so it’s been good to build up like this. We were playing the mission Centre Ground, from the core rulebook, which felt a bit similar to our last game where we were vying for control of four objectives arranged in a cross-like pattern in the centre of the board. However, neither of us went for the mission-specific secondary objective; I think I was closest to it, where I was using the Grey Knights-specific objective where I was purifying the objective markers. On reflection, though, it seemed a bit ridiculous as I only scored 2 victory points from that one, and didn’t get any of my other secondaries! James, however, scored a couple, plus controlled more objectives as the game went on, so it was something ridiculous like 30-odd points to just 7!
Our forces were similar to the last game, though the increase in points from the Black Templars bringing a Repulsor tank meant that I could bring my Paladins, plus a Chaplain. I also swapped out the Purifiers for the Purgators, though I think in the future I might keep the heavy support squad for larger point games, as they did not seem to do anywhere near as much as the Purifiers accomplished in the last game.
Mistakes were made on both sides, but from my perspective, I think sending my Paladins up against the Repulsor tank was a big error. True, they did destroy it, but it also whittled my squad down two just the two guys who, moving up to destroy an Intercessor squad, were promptly mowed down by the Emperor’s Champion like wheat before a scythe. That guy is a serious problem, I really ought to target him with Smite or something!
I destroyed the Repulsor, as I said, and I also destroyed the Redemptor Dreadnought, but it came at the cost of my Paladins, and my Chaplain, and one of my Strike Squads. The Nemesis Dreadknight had been deployed in reasonably open ground, as well, and when I failed to get the first turn, I saw it singled out and destroyed before it could even do anything! What a shame! The Chaplain was also a bit of a mistake because he stayed behind when the Paladins moved up to attack the Repulsor, meaning he could then be targeted thanks to the tweak in 9th edition to targeting characters – as he was not within 3” of a squad, he was a legitimate target. Sad face. But he had done some work, with the litany to do additional wounds on 6s.
Learning points for me, though, are most definitely to use cover more effectively, as it was really quite surprising the way the battle unfolded for me! The board did look really good though, if I do say so myself – I definitely need to start painting my terrain, though!!
On that note, I’ve built up the Sanctum kit, at long last! This is a really beautiful model, I have to say! It’s huge, and I love it so much – I’m gutted that I forgot to bring it with me to the game. Hopefully next time it can form a cracking centrepiece!
I also had the new Kill Team Chalnath expansion for my birthday last weekend, so I’ve got a lot more Sector Imperialis terrain to get through now – exciting times ahead, for sure!
spalanz.com 