New Year's Destruction!

++Black Templars beat(en) down++

So I headed over to one of my local Games Workshop Warhammer stores for a New Year's game of 40K. This was my first trip to the Harajuku shop in Tokyo, and I enjoyed stepping into a GW as it is something I rarely do - even rarer that I play a game on site.

My opponent and I had previously agreed 1,500 points. I decided to take Black Templars, and he brought Daemons. Not having played a game in ages, I took a very standard list that I had read about online as it matched the models that I have (and I really didn't have any idea about my opponent's models or list).

TL:DR
In a game of Purge the Alien I got crushed and we called it at the 5th.

• Enemy VPs: 12?! (2 from destroying my independent characters. 7  from eliminating my units, 3 from Firstblood, Linebreaker, and Kill the Warlord)
• My VPs: 2 (1 from eliminating a unit, 1 from an enemy Deepstrike mishap)

Lessons learned:

• Templars yearn to get up close and personal. Let them! (I let my Tau gene rule my head and tried to rely on firepower from the back. Didn't work!) Otherwise you are just wasting the (limited) Chapter Tactics we have that come into play when advancing or getting into close combat.
• It is one thing to have Adamantium Will, but Daemons bring SO much psychic power to the table you should expect to just eat it. 
• With dedicated transports/ vehicles giving up Victory Points, fragile skimmers and flyers are easy points (and a lot of psychic shooting will take them down!)
• Space Marines are of course going to go down to massed flamers.

First, my list:

+++ Black Templars 1500 pts  +++

+ HQ +

• Chaplain [Bolt Pistol, Crozius Arcanum]
• The Emperor's Champion

+ Elites +

Sternguard Veteran Squad

• x2 Veteran [Combi-Grav]
• x2 Veteran [Combi-Melta]
• x1 Veteran Sergeant [Bolt Pistol, Chainsword]

Venerable Dreadnought [Assault Cannon, Powerfist w/ Built-in Storm Bolter]

Drop Pod [Storm Bolter]

+ Troops +

Crusader Squad [Rhino]

• Sword Brother [Boltgun, Boltgun, Melta bombs]
• x3 Initiates [Boltgun]
• Initiate (Heavy Weapon) [Multi-Melta]
• Initiate (Special Weapon) [Flamer]
• x2 Neophytes [Space Marine Shotgun]

Crusader Squad

• Sword Brother [Chainsword, Melta bombs, Power Fist]
• x6 Initiate [Chainsword]
• Initiate (Heavy Weapon) [Multi-Melta]
• Initiate (Special Weapon) [Flamer]
• x6 Neophyte [Chainsword]

Land Raider Crusader [Extra armour, Multi-Melta]

+ Fast Attack +

• x2 Land Speeder Typhoons [Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher]
• x1 Stormtalon Gunship [Twin-Linked Assault Cannon, Typhoon Missile Launcher]

Created with BattleScribe (http://www.battlescribe.net)

The plan was simple:

1. Put the big Templar squad and the Emperor's Champion in the Landraider.
2. Keep the smaller squad with the Rhino back field for objectives.
3. Deepstrike everything else, using the Landspeeders and Stormtalon to harass anything on objectives, or threaten my opponents back field.

(Edit) My opponent's Daemons list (1,499 points)

Daemonic Incursion detachment:

x1 Lord of Change (Exalted Reward)

x1 Daemon Prince (Lvl 1 psyker)

x1 Daemon Flock of 8 Chaos Furies

Warpflame Host

x1 Herald of Tzeentch (Lvl 3 psyker, Exalted locus, exalted reward, paradox)

x2 Exalted Flamers of Tzeentch

x11 Pink Horrors

x11 Pink Horrors

x11 Pink Horrors

x11 Pink Horrors

x3 Flamers of Tzeentch

x3 Flamers of Tzeentch

x3 Flamers of Tzeentch

So what went wrong?

a.) I didn't get stuck in and stayed on my side of the board with my LRC and big CC squad, effectively wasting them for most of the game!

b.) Relying on my guns to whittle down the enemy was a mistake. Sure I had plenty of Typhoon missile launchers and cannon support from the LRC but I just didn't manage to finish off some units.

c.) Without taking advantage of the Black Templar Chapter tactics, a regular Crusader squad is going to struggle in CC, and a Chaplain is no wrecking ball!

d.) Multiple flamers make short work of Space Marines.

Visual Highlights (and lowlights)

Brother Marius drops in and takes a stand, by good fortune blocking the board.

Dreadnought Brother Marius had a fortunate Drop Pod arrival, not going where I wanted, but still managing to block the center of the board and take down a fair number of daemons before being destroyed.

Brother Marius faces the Daemon horde alone.

A squad of Sternguard drop onto the table to high ground, but their poisoned weapons fail to do any damage to one of the larger Daemons (bad luck? Or was this ordained?)

5 Sternguard drop onto the Flyer pad, overlooking the enemy below.

A Chaplain makes his final stand, his squad all but obliterated by Flamer and Close Combat.

When I decided to disembark my big Templar squad, I intended to move into close combat and then leapfrog from that into the next Daemon unit. However, I failed the charge miserably, leaving the squad out in the open.

Big Crusader squad takes to the field...felt good.

This allowed them to be surrounded by flamers. A unit of three appeared....

...until Daemon flamers turned up to turn this into a barbecue party. Three at right.

 ...then one more at top (a big one!) and the remaining flamer from another unit (at bottom.) Under all of these flamer attacks, the squad got roasted!

...and another flame attack from below, and ALSO from top left. Voila! No Templars!

Stormtalon v. Flying Daemon Prince? That is a one way ticket to hell for the flyer!

Despite being tabled, I had a good time. My opponent was friendly and patient, and we had some good laughs at fate and dice rolls (I rolled x4 ones at least once, but some other good rolls too).

Happy New Year!

p.s. If you are ever in the Harajuku area, don't hesitate to drop into the Warhammer store there. Although very small, it has very friendly staff, a decent selection of items, and a small gaming area in the main shop too. (Also, it is only a few minutes walk from the station.)