What I wanted from this game was frustrated before I even got to take a turn. It's what I think is the single biggest problem with the 40K ruleset--that you can have models removed from the board before they've ever activated even a single time. This is the second time it's been down to the same unit with the same loadout, as well. A Tau Coldstar Commander with four Fusion Blasters flies over and casually blows up a tank. This time it was my 11-wound Vindicator. Last time it was my 16-wound Land Raider. This is not fun! How is this OK, but a turn one charge is to be avoided? Answer me that, rules writers!
OK, now that I have vented, I think there are some lessons to be learned from this sound drubbing. I think it has to go back to list conception. Specifically in the context of the mission, No Mercy, which is a mission to kill as many enemy units as possible. That's really about it.
I had a list prepared for a 500 point game, and once I learned what the mission was, I made the sensible decision to modify the list to better suit it. I don't think I went far enough, as it turns out. I was still running multiple small units only 6 wounds strong, making them somewhat easy pickings, despite the higher toughness of the bikers. I think this might have gone better had I more bikers, to run a larger single unit of them. I could then have denied a kill point to the opponents, and also gotten more value of any stratagems used on the unit. It might not have changed a ton, but it's something to think about.
Below are all the forces. My White Scars, some Alpha Legion and Tau Farsight Enclaves as the opposition, and my allies the Crimson Fists.
The Alpha Legion's cultists start to move up.
Our deployment:
The Tau start to move.
The Commander blows up my Vindicator in one round of shooting.
A Chaos Lord behind the Rhino and the cover takes pot shots at my bikers. Two are killed in shooting.
My scout bikers getting ready to roll out.
I made one big dumb mistake in my first movement phase. I'm not sure how it happened, but I merely moved, and did not advance, my Khan and biker Sergeant up the board. This meant that come Charge phase, I was out of possible range for the target I had planned to send them to. So why did I not advance them? I have no idea. I really don't know what I was thinking. Merely moving clearly put me outside 12" of the target, so I would have had to advance to make a charge even a possibility, but for whatever reason I only chose a normal movement.
Actually, now in writing this, I recall that during movement I had planned to focus on some cultists, but then come shooting phase, and conferring with my teammate, changed priority to the Tau Commander. However, my bikers were already in position to charge the cultists, rather than the Commander. But then, after measuring, the rhino turned out to be a bit closer than the cultists, so that's why the bikers went into it.
At this point I've charged my Khan and surviving biker Sergeant into the Alpha Legion Rhino. The Khan will destroy it in combat, making the squad inside debark, and killing one in the process.
My scouts weather shooting and overwatch to charge the other Tau Commander. Unfortunately it's whiff city over here. Also, my dice rolls were averaging 1 most of this game, while the Alpha Legion averaged 6.
The Crimson Fists Land Speeder drives through on the way to shoot at the Tau.
My Khan and Sergeant in combat with different Alpha Legion units.
The squad of heretics by the Khan fell back, so I used Butchered Quarry to give him a free swing at them. It was saved against, on a 6. I also spent my remaining 3 CP for this detachment on command re-rolls, trying to staunch the bleeding. It mostly didn't work.
Now my brave riders accelerate to their doom.
The Tau Commander in combat with the scout bikers also fell back, to leave them open for being shot from elsewhere.
My suppressors were able to hang out here in cover all game, doing some decent damage here and there, but not actually finishing anything off.
By now, my Suppressors are all I have left on the board, so I'm only playing enough to coordinate firing with my allies, and to roll saves on the opponent's turns. I do roll a lot of good saves in this portion of the game.
Some cultists charge up to the Crimson Fists Reievers, and get cut down for their trouble.
I did about half its wounds in damage to the Venomcrawler, so it was not performing at peak levels.
My Suppressor Sergeant was the last model left alive on our side of the board going into round 7.
So there you have week one of the club's 40K league. Week two will be played with 750 point lists, but the mission is as of yet undetermined. However, 2v2 is again recommended. I'll work on a list concept based on what I've determined here. We're allowed 2 detachments at 750, so I should take both for CP.
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