This game I played against an oddly-weighted necron force. It was 56 Power Level (to my 55), but 36 of that 56 was taken up by three flyers you will see below. The remainder was one 20-model unit of necron warriors, and then just a couple of characters that, from what I gathered, provided buffs to the troops.
I had played this person and these necron warriors before (minus the flyers), so I knew going in that the smart play was going to be to try to completely kill off the 20 warrior unit so that it couldn't attempt to regenerate models using it's Reanimation Protocols ability.
We were playing a mission from Chapter Approved 2018 where there were three objectives, one in the middle, and one in each player's deployment zones. You would score victory points at the beginning of your turn based on what what you controlled. The objective in your deployment was worth one, the one in the middle of the board was worth two, and the one in your opponent's deployment zone was worth three points, if I recall.
I was running a Battalion, a Vanguard, and a Spearhead detachment, for a total of 10 CP. I spent one to take an extra relic, and another 2 to designate my Leman Russ Punisher as an Officio Prefectus Command Tank, basically giving it the Commissar ability to share it's (now) 9 Leadership in an aura out to 6". A normal Leman Russ has only 7 Leadership. Anyway, I was beginning the game with 7 CP to burn.
We were using Dawn of War deployment, and I deployed first, my entire army, after which he deployed his entire army, and then I took the first turn. He tried to seize the initiative, but failed.
Pics of deployment:
To begin with, I considered using Preliminary Bombardment, but the stratagem doesn't actually seem all that good for a cost of 2 CP. You roll a die for each enemy unit, and on a 6, they suffer one mortal wound. Yeah, not that good?
So in my first turn I did some moving of guys up toward the mid-field objective. I advanced my Vostroyan squad deployed in the center up toward it, along with a platoon commander. Then I advanced my Cadians on the far right up toward the center objective point, also, and in the process built a line of them to screen my Leman Russ tanks from any potential chargers. Not that it was likely, but it's good practice, good doctrine. Along with them, the command squad and company Commander and Aradia Madellan all advanced up the board toward the center objective.
In the shooting phase, I issued a bunch of orders to buff shooting with rerolling 1s, along with a Move Move Move! order (move again, advancing, instead of shooting) to my Vostroyans to get them all the way to the mid-field objective. I also shot my heavy weapons squad of autocannons at one of his flyers, taking a wound off of it. My Leman Russ with the battle cannon was able to shoot into the necron warriors with its turret weapon, but the Punisher Autocannon was out of its 24" range. Both tanks could shoot with their heavy bolter sponsons and lascannon hull weapons, though. Together they took out a handful of the necrons, five or six, maybe. Aside from them, all I had left to shoot with were a few pistols that were all out of range. Everyone else had advanced. I realize now I could have given the appropriate order to shoot after having advanced, but I think I had given the Cadian's Move Move Move! as well... or something.
I had forgotten to take a Psychic Phase this turn and only realized it after I was done shooting. With this, my first turn was done.
In the necrons turn, the warriors regenerated 2-3 models, and moved up to challenge my Vostroyans for the mid-field objective, and their flyers flew right up to where my Valhallans and heavy weapons teams were over on the left side.
In the necrons' shooting phase, the warriors killed all my Vostroyans to take the mid-field objective, and the flyers killed my whole heavy weapons squad, all three teams, and blew up my Leman Russ with the battle cannon. It even exploded, dealing mortal wounds to several units nearby. I lost a couple guys from my command squad, a commissar, a couple of Cadians, and my company commander and Aradia Madellan each took wounds, as well.
This was a pretty disastrous turn early in the game.
I wasn't done, though. In my second movement phase, I used the Valhallan stratagem (my whole army is counted as Valhallans) Send In The Next Wave! to bring back my heavy weapons squad, this time with perfect line of sight to the necron warriors.
I remembered to use Psychic powers this turn, getting in Smite from Aradia and Psychic Maelstrom from my anonymous Primaris Psyker on the necron warriors. I think they took out 4 models, combined.
In shooting, I issued a bunch of orders (turns out I tripled up on my Cadians when I should have only been able to issue them a single order... oops), and then I was able to use my Leman Russ Punisher (now in range), my heavy weapons squad, the remaining Cadians, Yarrick's storm bolter, and the Valhallan squad on the left to target the necron warriors, who were spread out pretty wide due to being a 20-model size to begin with. I killed quite a few, such that they went down to only five left on the field.
Then, hoping to finish the job, I charged my Cadians into the warriors. Unfortunately they didn't kill any, but neither did they get killed in the fighting back. In the end it was the morale test that finished off the necron warriors, but I am counting that as the main victory of this game.
In the enemy's second turn, all they were left with were the three flyers and two characters. However, he accrued more victory points for controlling the middle objective, and had also previously gotten first blood, so he was ahead of me in those terms.
From the state of the board here (ignore his warriors he placed in the upper right; they're dead and and should be off the table), I think I would have had it wrapped up, but who knows. It may have been a close fight if his flyers were able to stay on the board... I think they may have had to fly off, though. And I would have easily killed his two characters, either way.
But alas, we were playing at the store and had to pack up at 8:00. Unfortunately we didn't get started until probably 6:20ish, since he had been playing another guy before, and there wasn't anyone else there to play.
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