Pask leads the Imperial Guard against Abaddon and his trio of Heldrakes. Will the guard line break or will Pask’s mighty punisher lay Abaddon low?
Talons: I’m a life long guard player and today I’m brining Pask with his punisher, multi-melta’s, lascannons and a dozer blade; his buddy is bringing the exterminator pattern. A company commander in a chimera, two vet squads with shotguns and flamers and a taurox. A Barebones infantry squad, valkries and a couple of hydra’s with a death strike missile.
Juice: I’ve brought one of my favorite armies to throw in flyers, Chaos and heldrakes. I’m bringing triple Heldrakes and Abaddon with some terminators with combi-plas, three Nurgle Obliterators.
The mission: Dawn of war, table quarters and kill points. First Blood, line breaker, slay the warlord.
T: My objective is to put as many units on the table and spreading out to combat these deep striking units he has coming in.
J: you’re definitely playing a unique version of Guard, we still have tanks and infantry on the table but this has got your long history of playing guard feeling to it.
T: I’ve played 17 years of dedicated guard, playing through so many editions.
J: I love that you’ve got a varity of units, some flamers in the taurox. I love that death strike missile. 160 points, shoots a large strength 10 pie plate AP 1; are you shitting me right now? Can you image that against a super friends unit? Those toughness five iron priest with feel no pain? That’s going to knock out a few of those guys. 160 points is a bit expensive but it’s scary. I’m also loving the Valkyrie with a lot of pie plates with a lot of that Wyvern feeling. Meanwhile, I brought Abbaddon, he’s my heavy lifter and I expect him to do some work again today.
T: Helldrakes played right are amazing and I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out.
J: We are using the new death from the skies, but we eliminated the dog fight aspect because there’s no models involved but we’re bringing in the hardcore break turns.
T: I’m looking to get an aggressive left flank with my taurox’s, they’re dirt cheap and make people wonder why they can’t blow them up, then all of a sudden with shotguns and flamers they’re getting into assault and freaking people out. The tanks flat out, the hydra’s get to work but only manage to kill a single cultists.
J: I’m going to forgo my options of being aggressive and just working on staying alive by going to ground; this is litterally the fastest turn 1 ever.
The vendetta’s come in and the death strike missile launcher unleashes its fury but on a Talon rolls a 2 and it doesn’t go off; the cultsits will live another turn. Pask’s punisher also unleashes its rage but thanks to conquer of cities and going to ground only a couple of cultists are punished. The vendetta’s fire on the the cultsists, juice makes 11 out of 13 3 up saves.
J: I’ve had to make a ton of saves, I’ve failed enough to take a leadership test, but all the long war vets know I don’t fail a lower leadership save and I continue to pass with a 4.
T: I’ve got the flank, and I think I’m in good position to absorb whatever he throws at me next turn.
J: I get a sizable force in, Abaddon with obliterators and two heldrakes but with enough in reserve to keep talen honest because he doesn’t know where they will come in. Abaddon lands a few inches off course but that’s better than 6 inches in another direction. The Heldrakes vector strike at S7 and manage to glance out a vendetta.
T: Glances is how you bring down the birds for sure.
J: The oblits fire melta’s but only one manages to penetrate the smoke and only manages to stun the crew.
T: I’m going to ignore the heldrakes, kill the oblits and continue to take the flank to take the battlefield.
The Guard unleashes a wave of firepower into the oblits and manages to take down one while wounding the other two. The deathstrike missile scatters 7 inches but still evaporates two cultists. A heldrake goes down while his friend manages to save 5 times.
J: If I pass my agility test, I’m going to be able move 25 inches and fly off the board; which I do and he’s off into reserve. I need to win kill points, so Abaddon is going to break off to charge a hydra but he doesn’t make his charge with a 4. Meanwhile, the oblits bring six power fist attacks going into Pask and manage two shaken results. I feel pretty solid about it.
T: I’m going to try and finish off these oblits and put some real firepower into those cultists. Pask unloads two melta shots but the obliterators love it and save two wounds but the lascannons finish them off. The vets unleash flamers and after the roll that looks like a BBQ.
J: In turn 4, this is the biggest turn I’m going to get, here come the termies and my last heldrake. My heldrakes make their agility checks and they get into position to fry up some vets. At this point, I don’t have much on the table, things haven’t gone as well as I was hoping and I’ve got to go for the gusto. I have to drop in back here; there’s a 33% chance I’ll make it. I need to pick up warlord. The roll is dead on and I’ll be getting lots of plasma shots into the back of Pask. Further, the dice gods are again in my favor and I get to claim slay the warlord.
The heldrakes do some work on the vets but because of the fireing arc aren’t able to clean up the whole squad.
T: It looks like juice is bringing some pain, I pass my leadership with snake eyes and now the other vets are going to try and take out these terminators. My shotguns and flamers bounce of the terminators; meanwhile everything else seems to be missing.
J: I weathered that storm. Now I need to focus on getting the objective secure units off the table so that I can try and claim the quarters. The terminators and Abaddon continue to kick some tires and hull out a couple of vehicles.
T: In turn six, I’m going to struggle with what’s left of these terminators, kill some cultists and just try and survive the rest of the game. The vets fail to wound the terminators so they’re just going to run away, 3 inches. My autocannons take out a heldrake. I’ve got more units but his units are better; it’s really an uphill struggle for me at this point because he’s got better firepower and he seems to be constantly saving left and right.
J: Bottom of six, I have to play as if the game is going to be over. Abaddon is in his own little corner so they only play I have are the terminators. The heldrake is vector locked. There’s not much else I can do. The other heldrake is able to wound the meltagun, that causes a leadership test, and talen rolls double long wars; that means the squad retreats. That’s important if this game ends. The terminators charge another vehicle and hull points it out. That’s another kill point and that’s what I need.
On a two, the game ends on turn 6. If you want to know all the juice details, pick talens’ brain on why he brought what units he did you’ll have to become a member. Of course, you’ll hear me talk about how amazing Abaddon is. Plus, you get lots of discounts from our sponsors. We’re committed to bringing the hobby back and we can’t do it without you.
Chaos Vs. Astra Militarum – 7th Edition 40k Battle Report
About the Author: Kenny Boucher
Kenny Boucher
Job Title: Master of Miniature Artistry & Podcast Writer
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About Kenny Boucher: Tabletop gaming since the late 1990s; Kenny joined the Spikey Bits team in 2011, communicating his vast knowledge in articles about how to paint miniatures and more.
Kenny Boucher is not just a name but a brand synonymous with top-tier miniature painting in the world of tabletop wargaming. As the creative force behind Next Level Painting, Kenny has earned his place as a respected authority in the hobby community.
Along with Rob, he co-founded and co-hosted the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes. His unparalleled skills, innovative techniques, and engaging tutorials have made him a go-to resource for hobbyists looking to elevate their painting game.
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