We have a Guard off today with Cadians vs Steel Legion! The Guard will at least one game on this blog in 9th Edition!

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This game was at Boards and Swords, in Derby.

Cadians 2,000 Points List

Cadian Battalion Detachment

Command Points

• Tank Ace 1CP
• Arbiter of the Emperor’s Will 1CP
• Super Heavy Aux Detachment 1CP
• I am starting on 9CP

Agents of the Imperium

• Coteaz with Smite, Castigation and Mental Interrogation

HQ

• Warlord Company Commander
• Pask Plasma Execution Tank Commander with Multi Meltas, Lascannon and Hunter Killer Missile
• Gatekeeper Tank Commander with Multi Meltas, Lascannon and Hunter Killer Missile

Troops

• 5x Infantry Squads with a Meltagun each

Elites

• Psychic Barrier Astropath
• Nightshroud Astropath
• Platoon Commander

Heavy Support

• Full Payload Magazines Manticore with Hunter Killer Missile

Flyers

• Valkyrie

Dedicated Transports

• 2x Chimeras

Cadian Super-Heavy Auxilary Detachment

• Hull-down Deployment Baneblade with a pair of Lascannon and Heavy Bolter Sponsons and Hunter Killer Missile

Steel Legion 2,000 Points List

This was not technically Steel Legion, Pete was using the Weapon Expert and Spotter Detail Doctrines.

• Steadfast Leviathan Baneblade with a pair of Lascannon and Heavy Flamer Sponsons
• Plasma Executioner Tank Commander with Plasma Cannons and Lascannon
• Demolisher Tank Commander with Multi Meltas and Heavy Flamer
• Battle Cannon Leman Russ with Heavy Bolters and Lascannon
• Punisher Leman Russ with Heavy Flamers and Heavy Bolter
• 2x Infantry Squads
• 2x Platoon Commanders
• 2x Chimeras
• A Hellhound
• A Wyvern

Mission

Deployment

The carnage is set!

Turn 1

I got the first turn! But, scoring was at the end of the battle round – so that would be trickier for me. I also had more infantry which made the Leadership nerfs in this mission doubly bad for me.

I inched forward, I should’ve gone further I think with more stuff. The Valkyrie did swoop forward dropping off its troops onto the objective that was worth 2VP. But I lost three on the drop which was bad, especially with that -1 Leadership from the Twist card.

I got both Psychic Barrier and Nightshroud off on the Baneblade. And with its Hull-Down Deployment, it was now on a 1+ Armour Save!

I managed to, with my Manticore and Leman Russ destroy the Hellhound which exploded dealing a few wounds to the localised vehicles.

I then set about destroying the enemy Baneblade with my Baneblade – which I did! This was a good start but scoring was a concern.

The enemy’s Heavy Flamers and Punishers made light work of my most forward industry with just 3 surviving. Not enough to claim the objective from the Advancing and Move Move Moving enemy infantry. I lost a Chimera too along with all of its infantry.

Turn 2

With the enemy Baneblade gone and a Hellhound, it was now time to press forward and get onto those objectives.

My Baneblade moved up to charge a central Chimera which had taken the middle objective. On the near side, my remaining Chimera and 20 infantry moved forward with Move, Move, Move towards the objective with ten enemy infantry on. Coteaz got his powers off and killed a few infantry models with his powers. My Baneblade once again got its +1 Armour Save and -1 to hit from the Astropath powers.

My shooting was just OK this turn and I had some awful rolls, and Pete had some amazing saves. The Autocannon and 18 Heavy Bolter shots from my Baneblade failed to kill ten infantry models, I think I killed 3 and he passed Morale! So he kept that objective.

I did not kill a single unit this turn I think, I had several very whiffy shots from my units which amounted to a whole load of nothing. The two Leman Russ at the back were now on 3 Wounds each – but neither was dead which was a shame. There was a lot of firepower back there still.

The charge on the Chimera did 9 wounds, which meant it lived and the objective was contested still.

The enemy pressed forward onto the objectives with vehicles and kept the infantry that was already in place stationery. I lost the Valkyrie this turn which exploded taking several infantry models with it. The Baneblade survived thanks to it being in combat and the Chimera did not Fall Back. Which I thought it would have, but where it was it was contesting the Objective. It was also stopping the Baneblade from moving any further forward and getting another charge off in turn 3. It did die though in the ongoing combat, however, but not after another Chimera came right up behind it to stop me again.

Turn 3

This was the final turn because it would come down to me basically tabling Pete’s Astra Militarum – but could I get enough points in these final turns to undo his great start.

My last-ditch attempts involved removing the final Chimera with guns and the last remaining Guardsmen on an objective too. I had to kill the Guardsmen to allow my Manticore to kill the last Platoon Commander on the objective, without doing that I would lose out on 2VP this turn and the enemy would gain 2VP.

Sadly the Manticore did as it always does and failed in the simplest of tasks, killing Guardsmen. This left the enemy on the objective so it was at least contested and not in my possession. Pask Full Throttled himself forward to get into the centre.

A victory to the enemy, but it was close and I got to shoot from great weapons and do some actual damage with them. Without the constant layers of defending dice, everyone seems to have these days.

Final Score

Cadia – 8
Steel Legion – 9

Steel Legion Victory