My FTO list:
Reclusiarch with Infernus pistol and melta bombs
Furioso Dreadnought with frag cannon and heavy flamer
7 Sternguard Veterans with 4 combimeltas, 2 combi plasmas and a heavy flamer
7 Death Company with 2 Infernus pistols and 2 power axes
Death Company Dreadnought with Blood Talons
Predator with lascannon sponsons and searchlight
2 Stormravens with twin-linked multimelta, twin-linked assault cannon and hurricane bolters
Baal Predator with heavy bolter sponsons and searchlight
2 Land Speeder Typhoons (separate)
1747 points total.
This is the latest evolution of the FTO list, with all the fat cut out, designed to gain victory through overwhelming violence. For those who haven't been following the progress of my Blood Angels, FTO stands for F*** the Objectives. Yes, of course I realize there aren't any scoring units. This list is designed to achieve victory through overkill. Here's how it works...
The Baal Predator, Predator and 2 Typhoons are there to be on the board in Turn 1 and hopefully use their firepower to hurt any anti-aircraft weaponry the opponent may have. Turn 2, the Stormravens come in, hopefully, and use their firepower to further neuter the enemy's ability to shoot down the Ravens. This is important, because when they come in, they're going to be in a position to let their cargoes unleash hell in Turn 3. If both Ravens survive, the ensuing violence in Turn 3 will usually cause enough violence to knock the fight out of the enemy.
I got 2 games in with this list this weekend. Read on for brief summaries of the battles:
Vs Jun Tseng's Imperial Guard
Company Command Squad with master of ordnance, commisar and 2 grenade launchers
Veteran Squad with shotguns, 2 plasmaguns, a meltagun and a Chimera with a heavy stubber
Veteran Squad with shotguns, 2 plasmaguns, a meltagun and a Chimera with a heavy stubber
Platoon Command Squad with 2 grenade launchers
2 Infantry Squads
Heavy Weapons Squad with 3 missile launchers
Vendetta with heavy bolters
5 Rough riders with a grenade launcher
Squadron of 3 Leman Russ Battletanks with hull lascannons
Squadron of 2 Leman Russ Demolishers with hull lascannons
Comes to 1655 pts, I believe. For the life of me, I can't remember what else was in this army...
Scenario: The Relic
Deployment: Vanguard Strike
That's a lot of big horrible guns! Had to be a little careful with my deployment. Jun Tseng had the first turn, so I deployed my tanks way out of reach of the Demolishers. 1 Chimera full of vets was blown up in the first turn, with a Typhoon slinging frag missiles into the survivors for the rest of the game. The Demolishers chased the combi-Pred and missed or failed to penetrate with EVERY shot for 4 turns. Ah, well, long story short, the Stormravens came in and did what they were meant to. The Guard were wiped off the table by Turn 5.
Grimdark moment: A frazzled Veteran Guardsman, the lone survivor of his squad, most of whom perished when their Vendetta gunship went down, made a break for the Relic as all around him, the Blood Angels tore into tanks and men alike with gun, chainblade and horrifying ferocity. As dusk fell, he managed to lay hands on the Relic, and was ready to drag it back to his lines, but the battlefield had gone eerily silent... Out of the dark, searing beams of lascannon fire passed scant inches from him, and he was dazzled by the glare of a searchlight. He took what cover he could from a nearby pillar as large caliber autocannon shells pounded into it, spraying him with dust and fragments. From the opposite direction, the roar of a hovering Stormraven filled his ears and his last sight as he pressed his back against the pillar, clutching the Relic, was the glow of the gunship's multimelta...
Vs Ian's Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Lord on a Bike, with Mark of Slaanesh, Veterans of the Long War, Sigil of Corruption, plasma pistoland the Murder Sword (aiming at the Reclusiarch)
5 Chaos Bikers with Mark of Slaanesh, VotLW, 2 plasmaguns, a plasma pistol and and power fist for the Champion
6 Chaos Bikers with Mark of Slaanesh, VotLW, 2 plasmaguns, a plasma pistol and and power fist for the Champion
6 Chosen with Mark of Slaanesh, VotLW, 2 plasmaguns, 2 meltaguns, a combiplasma and power sword for the Champion, all in a Rhino
6 Noise Marines with VotLW, Blastmaster, 4 Sonic Blasters and Doom Siren
6 Chaos Marines with Mark of Slaanesh, VotLW, extra close-combat weapons, 1 meltagun, a combimelta and power sword for the Champion, all in a Rhino
6 Chaos Marines with Mark of Slaanesh, VotLW, extra close-combat weapons, 1 meltagun, a combimelta and power sword for the Champion, all in a Rhino
2 x Predators with Lascannon sponsons
Hell Blade
I swear, the loadouts for Ian's marines are so complex, there's only so much I can remember. But what the hell, that looks like around 1,750 pts to me...
Scenario: The Emperor's Will
Deployment: Hammer & Anvil
Nothing complicated, really. Just followed the standard procedure: Turn 1, shoot what I can; Turn 2, Stormravens come in and soften the foe up some more; Turn 3, the Ravens only took one glancing hit, the contents poured out and annihilated every thing within reach. By the end of Turn 4, Ian had 3 bikes and the Predators. The Warlord's squad of bikes was torn to pieces earlier by hurricane bolters and an enthusiastic Death Company Dreadnought. On my side, I'd lost a Typhoon, and one Stormraven was immobilized. It was pretty clear where things were headed at this point, so Ian was forced to concede.
Afterthoughts:
Well, 2 games, 2 satisfyingly violent victories. I'm perfectly happy with this incarnation of the FTO list and how it works. I really wonder, however, how to counter it... Well, without the use of Sabre Platforms, anyway...
I love how this list plays. It strikes me as an awesome display of Astartes might, gunships hurtling into a storm of enemy fire, guns blazing, disgorging elite shock troops to carve the heart out of the enemy resistance in a shocking avalanche of violence. It does this beautifully, and the Turn 3 disembarkation of the Death Company, Sternguard and Dreadnoughts is the highlight of any game where I field this list.
Still, it is a little scary playing it. A lucky shot will send at least 580 pts crashing into the ground! That having been said, I've fielded this list or variants of this list about 15 times, and have only known defeat twice. Once because 9 Nurgle Obliterators is more than I can handle, the other time because of the other risk inherent with fielding the FTO list - the enemy survived long enough to take objectives...
Anyway, back to the shelf! I want to experiment with Deathwing some more! At least until I meet some Tau worth inflicting the horrors of FTO on...
No comments:
Post a Comment