This Cadians vs Flesh Tearers game is for a league at Boards and Swords, but not this league I am in. This is for a 40-player league split into four divisions of ten players. The top players of each division will play off for a final winner sometime in Feb/March next year. There are ten players in a division, you play everyone once, and there is one game per month. So my games will be completed nine months from June.

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In my division, there are the following factions taking part;

• Astra Militarum (me)
• Tau – Game 1
• Craftworlds – Game 2
• Thousand Sons – Game 3
• Death Guard – Game 4
• Necrons – Game 5
• Custodes – Game 6
• Flesh Tearers – Game 7
• Grey Knights – Game 8 or 9
• Orks – Game 8 or 9

This game was at Boards and Swords in Derby.

I used the GoonHammer Tabletop Battles Beta app for this game, so the output at the bottom differs from the usual ITC app output.

Pacificus Division

Here are the current standings before this game…

Cadians 1,500 Points List

This is my first list from the new Codex! Rejoice, Comrades!

Cadian Battalion Detachment

This game uses the Nephilim GT Book.

Command Points

• Master Tactician Warlord Trait 1CP
• Kurov’s Aquila Relic 1CP
• Gatekeeper Battle Cannon 1CP
• Starting on 3CP

HQ

• Cadian Castallen with Boltgun, Power Sword, Master Tactician and Kurov’s Aquila
• Platoon Command Squad with Master Vox, Plasma Gun, Melta Gun and Medic
• Tank Commander with Gatekeeper Battle Cannon, Lascannon, Heavy Bolters and Mechanical Rat Pack Tank Ace

Troops

• 3x Infantry Squads with Plasma Gun and Lascannon
• 3x Cadian Shock Troopers with 2x Melta Guns each in a Chimera

Heavy Support

• Battle Cannon Leman Russ with Lascannon, Multi Meltas and Knight of Piety Tank Ace
• Vanquisher Leman Russ with Lascannon, Plasma Cannons, Veteran Commander Tank Ace and then the Elite Sharpshooters Regimental Doctrine

Elites

• 3x Ogryns
• Astropath with Mental Shackles attached to the Platoon Command Squad

Dedicated Transport

• 3x Chimeras

Cadian Secondaries

• Grind Them Down
• Boots on the Ground
• Raise the Banners High

Flesh Tearers 1,500 Points List

This is from memory, so might be slightly incorrect;

• 3x Characters
• 3x Tactical Marines Squads
• 3x Death Company Squads
• 2x Sanguinary Guard Squads

Flesh Tearers Secondaries

• Fury of the Lost
• Assassination
• Engage On All Fronts

The Mission – Tide of Conviction

• Control two or more objective markers.
• Control three or more objective markers.
• Control more objective markers than their opponent controls.

At the end of each player’s first, second, third and fourth turn, the player whose turn scores two victory points if they control at least one objective marker in their opponent’s territory.

At the end of the battle, each player scores four victory points if they control the objective marker in their opponent’s deployment zone and two victory points for each other objective marker that they control that is in their opponent’s territory (for a maximum of 8 victory points per player).

Deployment

Turn 1

Astra Militarum

I got the first turn and immediately forgot all my Orders in the Command Phase. Something I would repeat in turn 2, but not again. My opponent was kind enough to let me return to them.

Getting used to these Orders before moving is going to get some getting used. I have to deploy, Order and then Move ready for turn 2 Orders. I will need to plan one turn in the future for Orders.

I moved up a bit and got a Banner down on my home Objective. I was being cautious.

Shooting went pretty well, I think, from what I remember. This was over a week ago now. The enemy had hidden well, so it was tough to put all that shooting to use. I think I removed a unit of Death Company but failed to remove a second unit.

The Leman Russ felt a lot more punchy with more shots and that +1 to Hit on their main turret. They felt much more reliable.

Flesh Tearers

The enemy came forward and got off a couple of charges. The Shooting Phase was minimal, but the charges hit hard.

I lost all three Ogryns on the right flank and a whole Infantry Squad in the centre. The Ogyns seems to be a new favourite online, but I do not see it. That 5+ Armour Save is just awful.

I now had a unit of Death Company and a unit of Assault Marines in my ranks.

Finally a unit Death Company unit camping out in a ruin on the left flank came out and hid behind another ruin. Pushing the enemy’s front line forward with some Tac Marines too.

Turn 2

Astra Militarum

I disembarked a Cadian Shock Troops unit to kill all those Death Company, but they failed too, and one survived. My Gatekeeper Leman Russ made short work of the Assault Marines, killing all five easily. This surprised me, and it was that D6+3 shots which made this happen.

On the left, I moved up some more and killed three of a five-man Tactical Squad.

This opened up the Character to be targeted; the Vanquisher lined up the shot and smashed 10 Wounds into the Character. Killing him, of course!

I was now moving forward on the left and had stunted the enemy’s advance on the right, thanks to killing those Assault Marines. The Chimeras were doing well, I thought; the Lasgun Arrays, not needing passengers to fire, gives 12 shots at 12″ with Born Soldiers is good, coupled with  Heavy Bolter and a Turret Heavy Bolter, they can pack a punch.

Flesh Tearers

They pushed forward again on the right, killing another unit of Infantry.

On the left, I got away pretty lightly, I think. The remaining Tac Marines headed towards a Chimera, the Inferno pistol doing decent damage, but their melee attacks did very little.

Turn 3

Astra Militarum

I Fell Back from that last Death Company model in my near my Deployment Zone and then blasted him away, finally. But I could not re-raise a banner because that is done at the end of the Movement Phase.

The Death Company on that left flank, the last unit of Death Company, were nearly finished off in my Shooting Phase – one remained.

Rather than fallback from the two Tac Marines engaged with my Chimera, I went in with another Chimera; between them, they finished off another model. A heroic unit of Infantry also disembarked from the engaged Chimera and charged that last Death Company model, killing it and helping me with Grind Them Down.

Sadly my shot across the battlefield with the Vanquisher failed to hit, despite the re-roll from Elite Sharpshooters.

There were two Eliminators in that big ruin on the right centre; I had killed two, I think, in the last turn. They were a pain.

Flesh Tearers

Pressure came from the right flank now as Sanguinary Guard came in from Deep Strike. The other unit of Sanguinary Guard had moved forward slowly, too, on that flank with a character. They made short work of me, Leman Russ, on that flank this turn.

The flank was going OK; the last Tac Marine stayed in combat and got the Chimera down to three Wounds with his Inferno Pistol. He then swiped with his Chainsword and removed a few Guardsmen in melee.

Turn 4

Astra Militarum

I was gradually getting the upper hand and gaining more and more control of the board. The left flank of the Flesh Tearers now buckled, and I could move away from there now.

The right side was more of a problem with a character and eight Sanguinary Guard models. But… the character was no more after another well-aimed shot and ten Wounds dealt by the Vanquisher. Wow, that thing is no joke now.

I did get rid of three of the four Sanguinary Guard from one squad, though. Which was a big help.

Flesh Tearers

It now came down to whether or not the Flesh Tearers could remove me from Objectives before the game ended. Sanguinary Guard came forward on the right.

The Sanguinary Guard, who was left from the first unit of four models – lept and then charged my Warlord, killing him easily. The rest just moved forward but failed their charge into my last Infantry Squad in on Deployment Zone.

Turn 5

It was close now; my Vanquisher swung around to finish off a model with its main cannon, and my Tank Commander in my Deployment Zone did its best to tidy up and ensure that my Deployment Zone Objective was not lost in this last turn. It was worth something like 8VP in the last turn. I could not take the enemy’s, but I did remove the models from it, which also removed the CP gain at the start of the Flesh Tearers’ turn.

Summary

This was a close game. Chris thought I would smash his forces off the board with a new Codex… but it was not to be, and I had no intention of playing like that.

Because of this league, neither of us got the 10VP for being painted, but we both had painted forces, so realistically it was 52 – 42. Those Hold Two Objective games are always so low scoring.

For the first run out with the Codex, I liked it. It plays very differently from the 8th Edition Codex; it will take some time to get used to.

Final Score

Astra Militarum – 42
Flesh Tearers – 32

Astra Militarum Victory