Vigilus: 1300 IG vs Genestealer Cults

The List

This week, I took on Colin’s new Genestealer Cults army. The army is still being put together and the Codex isn’t out yet, so I think Colin was at a bit of a disadvantage going in. The mission was Data Recovery, as last week, except that I would be the attacker.

I couldn’t make a 1300 point list work with the AdMech – the models I have built are expensive, points-wise – so I went with a pure Guard list basically consisting of all the models I have. My initial deployment would be the three the company commander within vox-caster range of the three infantry squads, which I deployed as far forward as possible, along with the Manticore and Master of Ordnance hiding in the back corner. Aside from a few craters dotted around, we both had some buildings in our respective corners, and a massive piece of terrain across the middle of the board.

Colin deployed some infantry on top of something I’d not seen before – fortifications, sporting enough weaponry to want me to keep well back from them.

The Manticore did sterling work blowing up the fortifications, helped on round 1 by the Master of Ordnance’s artillery barrage. I’d not run the Manticore for a little while, but I think it works better than, say, a lone Leman Russ.

I did a bit better in bringing the infantry forward than previously. I’m starting to regard them as a tax for the battalion detachment; they’d probably work better with a heavy mortar team in each. They did end up moving up to engage with some hybrids, a primus, and a patriarch, though that was largely because it took until round 4 to bring on the anti-infantry tank.

The Taurox took a few potshots, but was otherwise unable to do much for most of the battle as the battle tank had come on ahead of it but was effectively stopped by the appearance of the above-mentioned hybrids, primus, and patriarch. A gap between the large scenery piece in the middle of the board and another building was thus effectively blocked by the Leman Russ. It made a dash for one of the data canisters that fell on the large scenery piece, but its cargo of Crusaders (and helpers) never left the safety of their APC.

After pulling back to allow the infantry to deal with some of the Genestealers, the Leman Russ ended up dashing forward to grab a marker where three data canisters had fallen. The Valkyrie had been trying to take out the remaining bastion, but had flown over to allow the Scions to grav-chute out onto those canisters and deal with the xenos on there. A charge by the Genestealers allowed me to use a stratagem to have the Valkyrie help out the Scions in overwatch. By now, the Valkyrie was barely flying, with one hitpoint left, but the strategem meant it could hit on a 4+. That left the Genestealers able to deal with either the remaining Scions or the tank, but not both.

With those three canisters contested, and so not scoring, I was able to manoeuvre enough units – the punisher tank, which had come on late and had a go at taking out the neophytes in the fortifications, and an infantry squad – into places that controlled the other canisters to secure a victory.

All in all, a fun game.

A few more general thoughts before I forget them: I need to come up with a more convenient way that BattleScribe printouts for reference during the game. I felt I was spending a lot of time leafing through papers. I also need something similar for stratagems, doctrines, and orders. I’ve got to know the orders and most of the stratagems, but I do forget the bonuses from doctrines and have to look them up. The same goes but double for when I bring the AdMech along.