Weekly Battle Report #12: Mirror Match Playtest (with pictures!)

Hey there folks!  How's it going?  Now that school is out, and summer school is in (lots more reading every night, though not as many 10-page papers due during finals week), I have some time to dedicate to Yon Blog.

Today, I wanted to give you a battle report that showcases a mirror match game I played with a friend of mine the other day.  What is this madness, you ask?  It's a BoLSCON event, where every single player in the tournament has the exact same 1500 point list, and you square off in order to find the theoretical best 'pure' player, since all lists are 'equal'.


I've always wanted to try an event like this, and since my friend who was going to do the Fantasy Team Tournament with me that Friday crapped out on me, it leaves me free to try this event.

So, here is the 1500 point list we both used (please keep in mind that this is the list that BoLSCON has already pre-released, not our own fabrication):

Captain Sicarius
Librarian w/ Terminator Armor (we got to choose our powers- I picked Null Zone and Gate of Infinity, as did my opponent

10x Scouts w/ 9x Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher, Power Fist
10x Tactical Marines w/ Las Cannon, Flamer, Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armor
10x Tactical Marines w/ Plasma Cannon, Melta Gun, Power Fist, Rhino w/ Extra Armor

5x Assault Terminators w/ 5x TH/SS

10x Assault Marines w/ Power Weapon on Sergeant

Predator w/ Autocannon, 2x Heavy Bolter Sponsons

Let's not get into a commentary on the list itself.  Suffice it to say that it's not what I'd take to any kind of competitive event, but it's alright, because both of us have to take the same list, right?  Lol, I just want to know why a plasma cannon is in there at all.

The Mission:

We rolled Spearhead, with Kill Points as the objective.

For first turn, I won the roll, and since it was Kill Points, I decided to go first.

Sicarius Awesomeness:

-I chose Tank Hunters for my Las Cannon Tac Squad.
-He chose counter-attack with his Plasma Cannon/Flamer Tac Squad.

(keep in mind that he can only affect Tac Squads)

Our Deployment:

REMEMBER:  IF YOU WANT BIGGER PICTURES, CLICK ON THEM!

So, I'm the Salamanders.  Sorry to say, we had to use some proxies, since neither of us have all the models needed yet.  You might not be able to see, but I combat squadded my scouts in the upper left corner, and his own scouts are deployed likewise in the lower right.  I'm kind of a dumbass for combat squadding the scouts in a KP mission.  Ah well :-p

 He failed his seize roll, and it was

Green Marines (me) Turn 1:

I decided that since I didn't really want to jump right into combat with his terminators, I'd go for the 'easy' kill point in the scouts to my right, and meanwhile just kind of hunker down and try to pop his rhinos.

So that's what I did.  I shifted my forces to the right- you'll see it in the picture.  Shooting didn't do much- I think I killed both storm bolters off his rhinos.  Woot.

Um, the dudes in the white are my assault squad.  And my librarian is in with the Termies.  If you didn't notice as well, the combat squads we both have out are the ones with Las Cannons, while Sicarius rides with that combat squad.

Red Marines Turn 1:

He moved up, and decided to blitz me.  I can't express how awkward it is to have a force that is exactly the same composition as your opponent.  All the counters you have, the opponent also has.

He shot at my scout combat squad, and killed a couple.  Otherwise, he didn't do much.

Kill Point Count:
Me (Green): 0
Him (Red): 0 
 

Hm, I'm starting to see the folly of my combat squadded scouts, since his Dakka Pred is in range, and I have nothing to stop it with.

Green Marines Turn 2:

The plan hasn't really changed- try to pop his transports, and in the meanwhile hide behind the area terrain, and (try to) kill his scout squad. 

Shooting went alright, with my first shot bringing down his front (smoked) Rhino.  All the other shots pretty much bounced off, however.

Combat went weirdly- I killed a few scouts (he made a lot of saves), and his sergeant killed a couple of mine with his inefficient (in most cases) fist.  He stayed in combat though.

Hm, well, first kill point is mine, I suppose.  Woot.

 Red Team Turn 2:


He kept moving up.  His assault squad moved close to my sergeant-less scout combat squad.  The disembarked marines included Sicarius, and moved up to assault my rhino, which had moved over 6".


In shooting, he killed two more of my scouts with the squad leader, leaving only the sergeant left alive.  He failed to do a whole lot else though.

Assault was a big fat fail for me.  My assault squad again failed to kill off his scouts, though his assault squad also somehow failed to kill all five of my own scouts.  Sicarius + 5 krak grenades wrecked my rhino that had moved 12", however.

Kill Point Count:
Me (Green):1
Him (Red): 1

Heh, 1-1 so far, but it's about to get ugly...

 Green Team Turn 3:


The plan has come partially to fruition:  I needed to punch Sicarius hard this turn, and the Terminators were perfect for the job, most likely netting me two kill points, in my sacrifice of only one.  With this goal, I transferred the Librarian to the combat squad with the Las Cannon, as a safety net (you'll see).  Otherwise, the terminators moved up to assault, and the tactical marines who had been forcibly disembarked got ready to blow up his last rhino.

In shooting, I was able to kill a couple of marines from Sicarius' squad, and he chose to try to stay, but rolled a 12 for leadership, and Sicarius' unit ran away, another 12 inches!  Well, so much for the terminators' easy meal.  Otherwise, my shooting didn't do much.

In combat, we each finished our respective scouts off, and consolidated.  I was able to charge his last rhino in a strategic fashion, keeping within 6" of Sicarius to keep him running.  The last rhino died to Krak grenades :)

Well, his Sicarius is on the run for at least one more turn.  Not sure what exactly to do against his Assault Squad on my left flank, however.

 Red Team Turn 3:


His Sicarius ran again, because I told him to.  Woot.  His terminators moved closer to my 10-man tac squad (who had just killed his rhino), and got ready to assault.  His other tactical marines kind of just stayed out of the way.  His assault squad moved up to my predator on the left, who hadn't moved.

In shooting, he killed my final scout with his (very useful) dakka pred.  He failed to do much more.

In assault, he killed 7 of my tactical marines, but my fist managed to snipe out his Librarian, which was vital to my game-winning plan.  I chose to flee, his Terminators couldn't pursue, but I only got 7", and he got like 5" consolidate.  I'd be running next turn.  He also managed to easily kill my Predator.


Kill Point Count:
Me (Green): 4 (rhino, scouts, rhino, librarian)
Him (Red): 4 (rhino, scouts, scouts, predator)

Time for my game-winning knock-out punch.  Remember, his Sicarius + tac squad is still fleeing.

 Green Team Turn 4:

Well, time to do it!  I placed my Librarian where I wanted him to use Gate of Infinity, with his squad, close to Sicarius and company, to ensure that they would continue running.  And here's what I rolled:

If you can't see, it's a '12' to the table edge, when if I had rolled a '10' I'd be alright, and then for a mishap, I rolled a 2 (unit destroyed)

Heh, consider the wheels fallen completely off.  I had just gifted my opponent two free kill points, in a very tight game, and even worse- Sicarius wouldn't run off the table any more.  It was a 4-point swing in his favor.  Not good at all.  Gotta keep playing though.

So, I moved my Terminators up to challenge his own termies, since that was the only thing they could do.  My own Sicarius + Combat Squad jumped out and got ready to assault his 10-man tactical squad.  My assault squad ran as hard as they could toward his own Dakka Pred + Combat Squad.

In shooting, I whittled his tactical squad down a little bit with flamers and bolt pistols.

And then my terminators charged in, losing 1 but killing 2, and ... breaking his own Terminators!  I couldn't pursue, so they ran away, and I was able to stay within 6" of them!  I guess it's not a really unlikely roll- about 1/6 chance for him to run.  But that kept me 'in' the game, so to speak.  Sicarius charged in and killed a bunch of counter-charging tactical marines, who ran away and escaped.

... interesting.  Now most of his squads are fleeing, though Sicarius + two tactical squads will regroup in his turn.  He's still waaaay ahead.

Red Team Turn 4:


His guys regrouped, though the terminators ran.  His assault squad moved up, and got ready to assault my already fleeing tactical marines.  Everything decided to focus on shooting my Terminators.


His shooting didn't do a whole lot.  If/when I play this tournament and write the report for it, expect me to say that a lot.  The list doesn't have much reliable shooting, heh heh.

In combat, he wiped my little tactical squad.

Note that he didn't kill any of my terminators.  Huge for me :)

Kill Point Count:
Me (Green): 4 (rhino, scouts, rhino, librarian)

Him (Red): 7 (rhino, scouts, scouts, predator, librarian, las combat squad, plasma tacticals)

No picture this turn, sorry.

Green Team Turn 5:

I moved the terminators in, ready for a killing blow.  The Assault Squad on the right moved up, ready to kill his predator/combat squad.  Sicarius + combat squad moved downward, to assault his assault squad who had run rampant.


In shooting, I killed a couple assault marines.  Did you know that Sicarius has a plasma pistol?

Combat ensued, and I was able to kill:  both tactical squads, Sicarius, and his predator.

Oh fate, how quickly you turn around sometimes.

 Red Team Turn 5:


It was only combat possible.  I whittled him down a little more, but nothing 'substantial'.

Kill Point Count:
Me (Green): 8 (rhino, scouts, rhino, librarian, Sicarius, tactical squad, plasma tacticals, predator)

Him (Red): 7 (rhino, scouts, scouts, predator, librarian, las combat squad, plasma tacticals)

Final picture warning!

Green Team Turn 6:

We kept rolling dice, and I was able to kill his remaining combat squad, and Sicarius killed the assault marines to the man.  Good matchup for Sicarius in the assault squad- I'll have to remember that.  He did manage to kill off my remaining combat squad members that had accompanied Sicarius to victory.

The game ended with his remaining Terminators running off the board, and... that was it for him.

Final Kill Point Count:

Me (Green): 11 (rhino, scouts, rhino, librarian, Sicarius, combat squad, plasma tacticals, predator, assault squad, las combat squad, fleeing Terminators)


Him (Red): 8 (rhino, scouts, scouts, predator, librarian, las combat squad, plasma tacticals, combat squad)

Results:  Win for the Green Team (me)!!  11-8 in the end, it was pretty close the whole way.  I had that horrendous roll for my Gate of Infinity, which would have sealed the game nicely for me.  As it was, I got slightly lucky in the form of his Terminators fleeing.

Men of the Match:  Hm... it's kind of close.  I'll have to go with the Assault Squad (for both armies).  They single-handedly killed 3 kill-points for me, and a whopping four kill points for him (scouts, predator, tacticals, combat squad).  I'd give an honorable mention to Sicarius however, who for me killed lots of tactical marines, finished off the assault marines, and kept my guys from fleeing many times, due to Rites of Battle.

My overall thoughts for this game was that it was a lot of fun.  Both myself and my opponent enjoyed the back-and-forth nature of it, and I for sure want to try it out a few more times.  Maybe this time I'll remember to bring my Blood Angels assault marines, instead of using my psyker battle squad, lol.

What are your thoughts?  Is this style of game to your liking?  Or does it annoy you because list building is half the 'fun' of the event?