Battle Report: Feb 5 2011 Oly-NOVA Round 1

The first weekend of February, I drove down to Olympia to try out the NOVA style event run by Purgatus. I knew I’d have a tough row to hoe since the first game was primarily kill points, a type of mission I have historically performed exceptionally poorly at. Compounded with a traffic ticket on the way down, and there goes my discretionary gaming money for three months. >Grump. Sad Panda Face<
Here’s a link to (a link to) the missions:
http://bestoverall.blogspot.com/2011/01/rtt-tourney-pack-including-missions.html

So, trying to shake that off, I found out the screen on the back of my camera only works AFTER taking a picture. The Horror! I am forced to use the, what’s the term… view finder like our primitive Neolithic ancestors once did. How barbaric! Here’s the least crappy of three pics of my opponents list:
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/003.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/029.jpg[/IMG]

Sisters of Battle vs Sisters of Battle. Low on Kill points too. I’d have to try my best to take him down, but I screwed up in the deployment phase and placed my units (two Autocannon Teams and the empty HQ Transport Immolator) right on the 24” line.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/004.jpg[/IMG]
Why this is bad is: I need to cover the distance between me and my opponent as quickly as possible, but I’d just added at least an extra turn (at least) of movement before any of my Immolators driving on would get into range of his units. Especially that big 20 strong squad which will take a lot of shooting to go down, but is 42” away from my board edge. The best thing? This tactical insight coming just AFTER I’d placed my models and let my opponent begin placing his.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/005.jpg[/IMG]
Well, at least I had first turn, right? Guess who seized the initiative?

So, here roll on the rest of his forces (with a Callidus Assassin to be placed later) and they proceed to shoot, Immobilizing my centrally placed Immolator and chewing up a unit of Autocannon.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/007.jpg[/IMG]
Let’s not forget the Flying Nun, who fortunately was just out of charge range to catapult her even farther forward.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/006.jpg[/IMG]
On the Right flank here come the Seraphim, and I forsee another unit of Autocannon going away. I’m psychic like that.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/008.jpg[/IMG]

Bottom of one, and I roll on, with absolutely nothing in range, and some minimal plinking by the Autocannon.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/009.jpg[/IMG]
Top of two, and the Canoness leapfrogs the lone Autocannon in order to get that Inferno Pistol into 3” or less range.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/010.jpg[/IMG]

See, I am psychic! (or is that psychotic…) Lotsa flames equal no more Autocannon.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/011.jpg[/IMG]

Exorcist fire wrecks one Immolator, while the Inferno Pistol Immobilizes another, making for the perfect charge with the Blessed Weapon…
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/012.jpg[/IMG]
…with predictable results.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/013.jpg[/IMG]

Bottom of two, and I send some tanks against the Seraphim on my right…
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/014.jpg[/IMG]
…thinning their ranks a little.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/017.jpg[/IMG]

Still a long way to go to threaten the Retributors
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/015.jpg[/IMG]

And closing range on the Exorsists and Sisters Mob. The Jump Canoness shrugs off Melta abd Bolter fire to succumb to a Multilaser shot which gets past the 2++.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/016.jpg[/IMG]

Top of three and the Sisters Mob moves up a little Also, the Callidus turns up.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/018.jpg[/IMG]

On the right the Seraphim get up close…
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/019.jpg[/IMG]
…with Meltabombs, killing all 5 ISTs in one Rhino and damaging the other two vehicles.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/022.jpg[/IMG]

A MultiMelta Immolator advances through the woods to cover the advance of a Rhino
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/020.jpg[/IMG]
And Exorcist shooting plus Melta from the Rhino and Immolator result in this crater-fest
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/021.jpg[/IMG]
Note the Callidus charging into close combat. My opponent asked why I didn’t use Faith to get the 3++ for my Celestians and I had him look up the entry in the Codex about the C’tan Phase Knife. Ah, the joy of playing someone who doesn’t know their Codex, but still being not enough of a douche to totally exploit their mistakes.


Bottom of three, and I reposition to kill a lot of Seraphim in the shooting phase.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/023.jpg[/IMG]

With almost all of my vehicles getting one-shotted out from under me, I advance and set up a kill zone for the MultiMelta Immolator and Rhino in the middle.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/024.jpg[/IMG]

On the left I finally get an Immolator close enough to the Exorcists to drop off Melta
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/025.jpg[/IMG]

Top of Four, and here comes the surviving Seraphim out for revenge..
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/026.jpg[/IMG]
…with surprising results.
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/028.jpg[/IMG]

The Sisters Mob in the middle moves forward to unload into one of my tiny squads
[IMG]http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd162/frowbakk/OlyNova%202-5-2011/027.jpg[/IMG]

In my turn we get time called, but I do manage to damage his other Exorcist. However, he’s so far ahead of me on Kill Points the game definitively goes to him. Kill Point missions have always been my bane, and the next round has Kill Points as a Secondary condition, so I’d better fulfill the Primary condition.