The Graxxis Campaign Concludes

There's two more battle reports coming up to give the details of the conflicts, but the Graxxis campaign has reached an end through two battles:

The Battle of Founder's Plains
With a string of victories removing the immediate threat posed by xeno forces, Chapter Master Leerca decided to take the oppurtunity to counter-attack. Contacting the Thundering Wolves, Leerca and Bjorn the Fel-Handed laid a plan to crush the orks on Graxxis once and for all.
The orks were already headed towards the planetary capital and a large plain lay on the outskirts of the city. Bjorn and Leerca mustered their troops on the plains outside the city, hoping to lure the orks towards them and away from the city's ill-equipped defenders. At the ready were assault marines, terminators, and drop pods, prepared to deliver a devastating counter-attack.
The Orks, seeing a more powerful foe emerge, ran headlong into the space marine forces, falling straight into the trap, but as the Space Marines began their counter-attack, a new, unexpected threat emerged. Necron forces, drawn to the battlefield by the slaughter taking place, began teleporting or rising up from the ground and attacking the Imperial line. At the head of their assault was a Doomsday monolith, eradicating vehicles and infantry with its overcharged particle whip.
Bjorn himself, leading several of his dreadnought bretheren, assaulted the monolith, ripping into its hull with his claw. With a tremendous groan the monolith tipped forward and smashed to the ground. As it collapsed the air filled with the scream of drop pods and space marine reinforcements began to fall around Necron and Orks alike.
Even the sudden appearance of the Necron could not undo Bjorn and Leerca's plan, and the Ork forces were crushed. Although Warboss Wurrgrod escaped, most of the ork forces were left scattered and leaderless. The Necron ceased to appear on the planet, and disappeared without a trace.
After the battle The Ghost Brigades and Thundering Wolves also left the planet, each force's mission on the planet accomplished.

The Assault on Els Heights
While the titanic battle took place across Founder's Plains, a second battle of equal import was occuring at Els heights. A shadowsword, looted from the planetary armory, led an armored contingent of Chaos space marines towards the main base of operations of the Glacians. With most of the forces infantry deployed elsewhere, it fell upon the tanks of the army to halt their advance.
No less then 4 dozen armored vehicles, accompanied by infantry and walkers, took part in the battle. While the Chaos forces succeeded in breaking through to the Glacian HQ, their own rearguard was destroyed by a contingent of hellhounds and veterans aboard a vendetta, who also destroyed the Shadowsword in a titanic explosion that enveloped the center of the battlefield, eradicating traitor and loyalist alike.
With the Glacian HQ overrun and the chaos forces stretched thin, the major conflicts of the Graxxis campaign came to an end, although there will be many years more of conflict between the chaos and imperial forces on the planet, both sides crippled but not yet defeated.

The Graxxis Campaign Continues

With the final battle of the campaign drawing near, here is a summary of most of the other battles fought during the Graxxis Campaign:

The Thundering Wolves fight their way into an entrance to the Necron Tomb, set charges that collapses that entrance and crushes scores of Necron (BM: Implacable Advance).

A Necron assault into the city of Karil's Bluff is halted by a counter-attack from the Froststalkers of the Ghost Brigades (CoD: Domination).

The Thundering Wolves perform a surprise attack on an Ork column, throwing back the counter-attack and overrunning the orks (BM: Cut and Run).

Chaos forces succeed in taking a small village outside of the capital city only to be attack and cut down by Necron emerging from the ground (Seize Ground, Pitched Battle).

The Thundering Wolves and Chaos clash in a small agri-village. The wolves retreating after taking severe losses (Spearhead, Annihilation).

Outpost 26-C

When an unmanned listening post on the east side of Graxxis' mega-continent went quiet, Librarian Argentus believed it was his first chance to engage the Necron he believed were on this planet. Though the attack on the outpost bore no signs of a Necron attack, Commander Leerca allowed him to take a number of first company veterans in a drop assault on the area immediatly to prevent their enemy from escaping. Argentus landed to discover not Necron but Ork looters, pillaging the equipment of the outpost and burning it. The Space Marines took the ork completely by surprise, landing all around them and pouring bolter fire into their ranks. Orks being orks, they were completely unphased by the sudden attack, launching themselves into battle.

Ghost Brigades vs. WAAGH! Wurrgrod
1500 Points, Surprise Attack (Battle Mission)
Battle Report Writer: Bobby

Before I begin the report, let me say this was the first battle of the campaign, and one of the bloodiest. The score came down to the wire and almost nothing was left on the field. That being said, here's the break down of the game:
As per the mission special rules, every Space Marine unit deep struck, and by chance I had chosen to use my new all-deep striking list. I knew Shaun's counter attack was going to hit me hard, so I set about making sure there wouldn't be much to counter attack me with, cutting down about 30 boyz, a couple lootas and destroying a trukk. My vanguard veterans ambushed the burnas coming out of the trukk, cutting them down to a man.

The Ork Deployment

Space Marines Deep Strike around the orks

As I expected, Shaun's counter attack hit me hard, killing my vanguard veterans, an entire squad of tactical marines, and 2 terminators. I took minor solace in my ironclad dreadnought's victory over his killa kanz, destroying both of them before they could attack.
The battle then quickly devolved into a close combat slaughter, with all of his units piling in on top of mine. When the dust settled my left flank was gone, having lost all of my tactical terminators and tactical marines on that side, even my ironclad (who took Shaun's warboss with him). The right flank was mine though, with my assault terminators butchering a squad of warbikers and tigirius and his tactical squad eliminating a squad of boyz. Now the remainder of both forces converged on the center of the battlefield...

When the dest settled all that was left was a handful of boyz, who were then sent running by my drop pods. But the game ended before they could flee of the board, and so the game came down to kill points:

Final Score: 17-14, Space Marien Victory

Just barely, I had eliminated enough of Shaun's units to win. It was bloody, and an excellent start to the campaign!

Space Marine MVP: Ironclad Dreadnought. My Ironclad Dreadnought took out two killa kanz, a squad of lootas, and Shaun's warboss before finally taking a power klaw from a nob to the face and exploding, taking two more nobz with him!

Ork MVP: Boyz Mobz. Shaun's Mobz did their job of tarpitting most of my guys, and more often overrunning them in combat with their sheer numbers. One squad in particular, the onyl one left on the board at the end of the game, kill 6 terminators, 2 tactical squads and a drop pod.

The Graxxis Campaign

The Agri-World of Graxxis has remained relatively untouched by the other battles and campaigns on the eastern fringe. This changed when strikes broke out in the larger cities on the planet. As conflicts between local law enforcement and these workers escalated, it appeared there was something more than disgruntled factory workers behind the strikes. As the situation continued to worsen, reinforcements were requested to aid in quelling what was becoming riots and threatened full-scale rebellion.

The Thundering Wolves
Player: Griffin
Commander: Runepriest Darkfur
Having strayed from the line of duty during the Pelorian Massacre, the Thundering Wolves of the Space Wolves Chapter were sent to put down the riots on Graxxis as a disciplinary action. After a few skirmishes, the young runepriest leading the force found that there was something more sinister than strikes driving the rebels on Graxxis: the taint of Chaos.

The Glacian 42nd
Player: Jack
Commander:
When the taint of Chaos was found among the rebels on Graxxis, the Glacian 42nd was rerouted to deploy onto the planet. Renowned for their adaptibility on the battlefield, the Glacians were expected to be able to assist the Thundering Wolves in putting down the rebellion in a matter of days. But as the strength of the worshippers of Chaos grew, they began to call aid from beyond the material realm.

The Krieg 72nd
Player: Justin
Commander:
One of the only Krieg regiments in the history of the Imperium to turn traitor, the Krieg 72nd appeared alongside the Alpha Legion shortly after the arrival of the Glacians on Graxxis. Highly mobile, they proved even a match for the Thundering Wolves at mechanised warfare and fought the Imperial forces to a standstill while the numbers of Chaos worshippers continued to grow.

WAAGH! Wurrgrod
Player: Shaun
Commander: Warboss Wurrgrod
Carried to the planet by the warp, the Goff Warboss Wurrgrod was at first dissapointed to see the world the currents of the warp had taken him to. With many mekboyz and death skulls under his command he had hoped fortune would take him to an industrial world filled with things to loot. He was happily surprised to find a number of armies already doing battle on the planet. Maybe there'd be plenty to loot after all.

The Ghost Brigades
Player: Bobby
Commander: Master Leerca
Carrying refugees from the Ursk evacuation Chapter Master Leerca had hoped the land on Graxxis to restock and quickly move on in pursuit of his previous opponents. Finding the world embattled by Chaos, Captain Raphael insisted on aiding the besieged Imperial forces. Chief Librarian Argentus also claimed that he felt something more than Chaos on this planet, something that would require the Ghost brigades and their particular area of expertise to combat.

The Graxxis Tomb
Player: Lucas
Commander: The Graxxis Lord
As the forces of every army began to mobilize and deploy, one final threat to Graxxis revealed itself. From deep beneath the planet, Necron warriors began to arise, assaulting Imperial, Ork, and Chaos forces indiscriminantly.

Bio - Bobby

Guess It's time I put up a full bio. I'll try not to bore you guys. I also won't say anything about my personal life like the other guys.
I've been playing 40k about 6 years, although I didn't really get good until about 2 years ago. I started with Space Marines, but I have since also started Wood Elves, Space Orks, Witch Hunters (and technically Dark Angels, but I don't play them much)
I enjoy storylines and games the most, though converting and scratch building is fun for me, if not frustrating sometimes (my dog ate my looted devilfish). If there's one thing to say about my strategy, its that I prefer blandness. I know most Space Marine players would rather hit you with their big, flashy Vanguard Veterans and Thunderfire Cannons, but for me its all built around my core of Tactical Marines and Dreadnoughts. My lists for other armies are similar (Though I get a bit flashy with my Orks because they're fun like that).
I think I'm the unofficial leader of this group, mostly because I made this blog and we play at my house when not at my local hobby shop, but if anything I'm the least interesting one out of all of us, so I'm looking forward to everyone else posting their opinions and such.

John

Sooo apparently we have a blog? But I refuse to use the word blog as it seems like a creature that lives on the bottom of a riverbed (zero punctuation).

Enough lollygagging about what about me? I am the old fart of the group but have not played the longest so around 5 years. I have a love hate relationship with this hobby it sucks up my money but I have fun with friends. I play two armies Tyranids and The Empire. Both swarm armies, the more dudes the better. I am not the most dedicated of players but i try. I hate building and painting...I lack fine motor skills; but playing is quite fun. I have been told to put more effort into my lists but as of right now i don't have the time. In another post I will talk about my armies and the general lists i use. Oh I forgot i have started to play magic as well, I'm pretty terrible but yeah I play....and DnD....but not wow

I also have played and want to play again really old board games so yeah.. personal interest thing oh and I like military history....a lot if you people of the internets want to have a debate on it feel free to yell at me. Christ I'm long winded and terrible at grammar.

Tanks, Tanks, Tanks

Bobby - If you couldn't tell by the title, this post is about tanks and strategies with them.
I love tanks. 5th edition made them so much more durable, and in my opinion nothing tops Imperial tanks. There's nothing I love more than watching my Land Raider drive full-speed into my enemy's line to disgorge space marines while my predators and vindicators pound away at their troops.

Offensively: Offensively, tanks are (in my opinion) often overestimated. They usually pack the biggest guns on the battlefield, but when you've only got a couple shots, its important to make them count. While that sounds obvious, the point a lot of people miss about it is placement. So many people worry about their precious tanks being wrecked and focus too hard on defending them, and then have to waste all those high-powered weapons against useless targets. While this isn't a problem for armies like Eldar or Guard with lots of long-ranged and barrage weapons, my Space Marine tanks don't have anything past 48" for weaponry. So my two cents is that if you're torn between placing your tank where its going to be very safe, and where it will be more exposed but will have a better shot at the targets its weaponry will be most effective against, its almost always better to place it in the second position. Tanks aren't scoring units - let them smash and get smashed

Defensively: That being said, don't go nuts with your tanks and let them get shot up before they get to fire a single shot off. Also, while they lack little power offensively, transports come into their element when using tanks on the defense. Some vehicles just lack the armor to be use defensively (Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks for example) but my 11/11/10 Rhinos have saved my soldiers countless times from small-arms fire. Yes, transports are typically meant to carry troops forward into the fray, but if your enemy is flinging their whole force at you, consider holding back and using your transports as rolling bunkers. When used correctly, that 35 point rhino can save your 200 point Tactical squad for useless casulties. Above all, any kind of tank's defense will rely on its placement. Just as you need to make sure you vehicles can make the most of their weapons, so too do you need to place tanks to maximize their survivability. Make the most of cover, your units, or even enemy units to ensure your tanks will live long enough to do their job, which is usually making sure your enemies dont live long enough to do theirs.

With all of that strategy, here's a sample 1,500 Point Armored List I use frequently with my Marines.
HQ - Chaplain w/ Melta Bombs
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Heavy Bolter, Flamer
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Meltagun, Missile Launcher
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Lascannon
^DT - Razorback
Elite - 5 Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields
^DT - Land Raider Redeemer
HS - Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
HS - Vindicator
HS - Whirlwind


--Hey guys, it's Jack, just adding some extra stuff to the above info. Definitely don't go all suicidal tanks on your opponent when you play a game- those were points and are not worth throwing away. However, like Bobby said, sticking them in nowhere land won't help either. Being strategic with tanks is the best way (like everything else in Warhammer) to do well. That being said, I usually don't have to worry all that much about tank strategy seeing as most of my standard lists have 3+ tanks in them, and most of my weapons are 48+ inches for range, so a lot of the issues range wise that Bobby has are nonexistent for Guard players. Again, don't be stupid- if you have a Basilisk (120in max range) and a Leman Russ Battle Tank (24in max range) and you decide to place the Basilisk so that it's directly in front of a squad of Boyz and you put your Leman Russ out on the corner of the map behind a building, have fun losing those 400 points. Just be aware of your max and min ranges on the weapons you have, and be smart when picking turns. If you win the dice roll for first turn/deployment, it may be in your best interest to go second so as to strategize the best place for tanks. Other times, the board may just be easy enough for you to gauge an adequate place for each tank regardless of the positioning of your opponent's models. Just remember- be smart, and don't throw away those points. Sure, 9 Basilisk Earthshaker Cannons SOUNDS like fun and deadly, but in the end you can only shoot from between 24in and 120in, and you've effectively killed about 1000 points that could have gone to more strategically smart units. They're just tanks- take it from a me, who, if I worked for the Imperium, would have been sacked long ago for my massive losses on the field in terms of artillery. Those Leman Russ factories are loving me right now