A big game this, Cadians vs Blood Angels, I have lost my two previous encounters against Lance’s Blood Angels, so this time, this time is this the winner? Right!

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We used some of my nearly painted Aegis Defence Lines and my Imperial Defence Line in this game as terrain. They are not part of my list.

I am also using my none Cadian infantry as Cadian infantry. That is why you see Valhallans and Catachans.

Cadians 2,000 Points

• Whiteshields 2CP
• Imperial Commander’s Armoury 1CP
• Patrol Detachment 2CP
• I am starting with 7CP

Cadian Battalion Detachment

• Pask in Plasma Executioner, with Multi Meltas, Heavy Stubber, Hunter Killer Missile and Lascannon
• 2x Demolisher Tank Commanders with Multi Meltas, Hunter Killer Missile and Lascannon
• 3x units of 20 Whiteshield Conscripts
• 1x Infantry Squads
• Nightshroud Astropath
• Psychic Barrier Astropath
• Mental Fortitude Astropath
• Warlord Platoon Commander with Gifted Commander
• Leman Russ with Battle Cannon, Lascannon, Plasma Cannons and Hunter Killer Missile
• Heavy Weapons Team with Autocannons
• A Valkyrie
• A Taurox

Cadian Patrol Detachment

• Company Commander with Kurov’s Aquila
• Company Commander with Laurels of Command
• 1x Infantry Squads
• Command Squad with 4x Meltaguns
• Command Squad with 4x Plasmaguns

Cadian Secondaries

• Retrieve Octarius Data
• Engage On All Fronts
• To The Last

Cadian Stratagems of Note

Stratagems I must remember, along with their corresponding books.

Warzone Octarius Book 1: Rising Tide

• Whiteshields
• Shock Troops
• Cadia Stands
• Fields Promotion

Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good

• Hail of Fire
• Relentless
• Experienced Eye

Astra Militarum Codex

• Overlapping Fields of Fire
• Take Cover

Cadians Pre-Game Gallery

Cadians Overview

I have to lay this out in my mind and now on (digital) paper in this blog article, to make sense of the overall tactics for this battle. I want it to go right, Lance has beaten me twice now, which is 100% of our games!

Pre-game/Deployment

1. Spend 2CP to make all my Conscripts in the Battalion Whiteshields
2. Spend a CP to obtain an extra Heirloom of Conquest
3. Aggressively place a 2x Demolishers forward and on either flank early in the deployment sequence
4. Before the battle begins use Gifted Commander to place a Demolisher into Strategic Reserve

Turn 1

1. Advance the Gifted Commander Platoon Commander Warlord up the battlefield to threaten an objective and get killed
2. Once dead, use Field Promotion Stratagem for 1CP to give make my Kurov’s Aquila carrying Company Commander the new Warlord and give him the Grand Strategist Warlord Trait

Now with Kurov’s Aquila and Grand Strategist obtained on turn 1, I should be able to get an extra CP from hem per turn, plus the 1CP in the Command Phase.

This is a total of 10CP over the course of the battle.

And then…

1. Cast all my powers onto a single Conscripts squad; Psychic Barrier, Nightshroud and Mental Fortitude
2. Advance it towards a central objective, preferably in cover
3. Use Move, Move, Move too
4. Use the Take Cover Stratagem for +1 to their Armour Save
5. And use Cadia Stands for another +1 to their Armour Save, if the weapon is 1 Damage
6. Unmodified Wound rolls of a 1 and 2 fail

This will get a 30 man Conscript Squad into the centre of the table, that is immune to Morale, is -1 to Hit and has a 1+ Armour Save vs 1 Damage weapons. This is possibly the toughest unit the Guard can field at the moment.

Using MathHammer, 20 Bolt Rifle shots at BS4 (because of the -1 to Hit), S4 and AP1 (this is AP0 thanks to the 1+ Save) will kill 1 Conscripts. Wow, who even needs Mental Fortitude or a Commissar on them with that kind of durability!

That ignoring AP1 thanks to the 1+ Save means that weapons like the Assault Cannon which are S6 are now like being tickled with a feather. It will not wound on a 2+ anymore thanks to Cadia Stands!

OK, it costs 2CP to do this and needs them to get to cover and all the psychic powers to work. So it may not work as required all the time.

Turn 2

The Demolisher can come on now and start to mop up whatever has tried to swamp the Conscripts in the centre of the table from turn 1.

Repeat the Conscript manoeuvre from turn 1.

Turn 3 Onwards

This is as far I have gotten with my thinking before it was game time!

Blood Angels 2,000 Points

• Captain
• Death Company Chaplain
• Captain in Terminator Armour
• 5x Intercessors
• 5x Intercessors
• 6x Tactical Marines
• Death Company Dreadnought
• 5x Death Company Assault Marines
• 5x Sanguinary Guard
• 6x Terminators
• 5x Jump Pack Vanguard Veterans
• Ball Predator
• Sicaran Venator

Blood Angels Secondaries

• Oaths of Moment
• Engage On All Fronts
• Assassination

Blood Angels Pre-Game Gallery

The Mission – Surround & Destroy

Neither of us took the mission-specific secondary.

Cadians vs Blood Angels – Deployment

I massed my infantry altogether neat the Defence Line with Pask, a Demolisher and the Leman Russ. I then used Gifted Commander on the Demolisher to pop it into Strategic Reserve. The other Demolisher remained on my right flank.

The Blood Angels just looked like a line of red barrels and blades. The Death Company moved an extra 12″ before we started on the left flank.

Deployment Overview

Turn 1

Astra Militarum

I got the first turn and started the march of my Conscripts. One unit tore towards the centre and another made their way over and into the Defence Line. The final unit on my right flank just stayed hidden, on an objective and did Retrieve Octarius Data. The central Conscripts squad Move, Move, Moved right into the middle of the board too.

I tried to shift my Leman Russ right, out of line-of-sight of that terrible tank killer the Blood Angels had, the Sicaran Venator. But could not get it down.

The Valkyrie pushed right and then pivoted left. There was no room to disembark, but with the Taurox moving 20″ in total after Advancing 6″ I maxed Engage On All Fronts this turn.

All my powers went off, so I had one unit of Conscripts that would auto pass Morale. And another that was -1 to Hit and +1 Save, plus they were in cover.

The Leman Russ stayed still, Pask and the Battle Cannon Leman Russ ruined the Baal Predator. That removed a hefty anti-infantry unit from the Blood Angels force. The Autocannons killed one of the Death Company that had raced forward before the first turn.

All in, an OK turn of shooting. One Demolisher was off the battlefield and the other was out of range, so 50% of my main firepower was ineffective this turn.

Blood Angels

The Blood Angels all lept forward.

The Sicaran Venator melted my Leman Russ in one go. The Death Company came forward and wiped out my Autocannons with ease, I had messed up here as I had not expected them to come so far forward so quickly. I thought they would have gone to my Conscripts in the middle. But this meant I was no longer on an objective.

The Vanguard Veterans and Sanguinary Guard killed the Valkyrie in one go, easy. But I used the Emergency Disembark Stratagem for 1CP to ensure the Infantry Squad inside could get out 6″ and get onto an objective in the enemy Deployment Zone, this gave me an objective back. I did lose 3 guys in the process though.

Turn 2

Astra Militarum

The Taurox got another 20″ move this turn and ended up in the enemy Deployment Zone, with its occupants still inside. The central Conscripts moved up a bit and got to a Defence Line for some cover. The screen of Conscripts (Catachan models) pulled back a bit to the Wall of Martyrs.

The Infantry Squad from the Valkyrie did Retrieve Octarius Data this turn.

The rightmost Conscripts (Valhallan models) pulled back slightly to ensure the jump pack infantry that took down my Valkyrie had a big charge to get to them.

My Tank Commander Demolisher arrived on the left flank to take out the lone Intercessors in that far left corner. Killing them would give me the objective, thanks to the Taurox’s huge move this turn.

My Mental Fortitude power went off along with Nighshroud. Psychic Barrier failed.

For my shooting I had to take out the Death Company that just wiped my Autocannons, this was done with my Plasma Gun Command Squad and the Melta Gun Command Squad. But I was not on that objectively foolishly! I had kept my distance from the Death Company and not wanted to move – as that would undo my rerolls of 1 to hit for being Cadian.

The Tank Commander Demolisher that arrived failed to kill the 5 Intercessors in that corner. 4 Multi Melta shots, a Lascannon and D6 Demoliher shots failed to kill 5 Primaris Maines. Ouch! This goes to show the power of keeping these things still for the double shot and enrolling of ones to hit. 2 Intercessors remained.

Pask got the Death Company Dreadnought down to a wound! Sadly, it was alive.

Blood Angels

The Blood Angels again moved forward, as expected.

The 2 Intercessors that I did not kill stayed on that objective and charged my Taurox, doing nothing of any note.

The Sanguinary Guard needed an 11″ charge to get into combat with my Valhallan models, and they rolled an 11. Wow. Lucky Lance! After all their attacks and a filed Morale check, 2 of the 20 Conscripts remained!

I lost the Tank Commander on the right, behind the Valhallan models to the Sicaran Venator this turn. That was 2 Leman Russ now, 1 per turn.

Turn 3

Astra Militarum

My Infantry in the Taurox jumped out to secure that objective and the Taurox pulled away.

The Tank Commander Demolisher from Strategic Reserve moved 10″ to get into range of the Terminators. I then used 2CP on Shock Troops to make it count as stationary. Between this Demolisher and Pask they killed all 6 Terminators that were heading down the centre of the table, these Terminators were on an objective too. Double win for me!

This turn my Melta Command Squad in the back left of the table did Retrieve Octarius Data.

I was doing well on the left flank, despite failing to kill those two last Intercessors this turn. But my right flank was failing because of the Sanguinary Guard munching through all my Conscripts there.

Blood Angels

With the Terminators gone it was up to the two Characters in Terminators armour to move towards the centre.

The Sicaran Venator went for Pask but failed, with it moving this turn to see Pask its weapon went from 6 damage to D6 damage. Something I perhaps should have tried to make happen earlier on in the game. Pask was on two wounds now.

The Sanguinary Guard finished the last Conscripts being consolidating towards Pask. The Veteran Vanguard unit charged and killed Pask, he Overwatched with Defensive Gunners, killing none.

Turn 4

Astra Militarum

It was close at this point, very close. I was leading in VP, but the Blood Angels were turning on the pressure. And that damn Oaths of Moment Secondary is just too easy.

My remaining Tank Commander Demolisher moved up enough to get within range of the Vanguard Veterans that killed Pask. And managed to move <5″. Yet, it did not kill all the Vanguard Veterans. This was where things mattered at this point. I had a lot on the left and not much else, but I was holding objectives and was just able to score 2VP for Engage on all Fronts at this point.

The Infantry Squad from the Taurox completed my 4th Retrieve Octarius Data this turn.

Blood Angels

The Character in Terminators armour moved to the centre to grab an objective while the Vanguard Veterans finished off my Conscripts in my central Deployment Zone. Things were moving quicker now as we had fewer models, the evening was wrapping up and fewer actions mattered for points scoring.

Interestingly the Blood Angels had to keep the Sanguinary Guard back in that right bottom corner to hold an objective. I had actually removed enough of the enemy force to make the Blood Angels waste valuable units on objective holding.

Turn 5

It all came down to this final turn. The Conscripts I had were all Whiteshields, I ordered the ones in the centre to Move, Move, Move right through the central ruin to take the objective on the other side of it, off the Character in Terminator armour. Amazing.

Having orders guaranteed on Conscripts is really handy.

A Chaplin and come up and come after my Astropaths in turn 4, so they broke away and I shot the guy off the board. The left central objective was mine too.

The Sicaran Venator was able to move forward and kill my Guardsmen in the back left corner, from the Taurox. This gave us both 3 objectives for the end of the game and the Blood Angels were only able to score 10VP on the Primary at the end of the game.

The surviving Vanguard Veterans moved over to get Engage on all Fronts for 2VP.

Cadians vs Blood Angels Summary

And so, that was that.

A very close and tight game that came down to 1 VP in the end! I think I did well considering I was up against a 9th Edition Codex and they are Space Marines.

This was played before the Balance Datasheet and having a 2+ save for the Leman Russ would have been a really great addition for this game.

I feel like I played well in this game. I could have won had I not missed objectives in the first two turns. E.g. where I lost my Autocannons.

Final Score

Astra Militarum – 79
Blood Angels – 80

Blood Angels Victory