Immo'rahem Forensic

Here's a copy of my list again:

214 HQ – Canoness w/Book of St Lucius, MeltaBombs incl 5 Celestians w/2 Melta
in an Immolator w/Extra Armor, Smoke, Searchlight
474 ELITE – 3x 5 Celestians w/2 Melta in an Immolator Tank w/Extra Armor, Smoke
210 TROOP – 3x 5 =I= Storm Troopers w/2 Plasma
565 TROOP -IG Infantry Platoon: Command + Al'rahem w/3 Melta in a ML/HF Chimera
2 Squads, each w/Melta & Autocannon, 2 ML/HF Chimeras
2 Special Weapon Squads each w/3 Melta
318 FAST – 2x 5 Dominions w/2 Melta in an Immolator Tank w/Extra Armor, Smoke, Searchlight
219 HEAVY – 3x Immolator Tank w/Extra Armor, Smoke
2000 points.

Things which never got used: MeltaBombs on the Canoness, Searchlights on the HQ and Fast attack Immolators.

Things which didn't get used enough: Extra Armor, IG Meltas, Al'rahem's special Orders and Close Combat upgrades (always killed before striking due to Initiatve differences), IG Autocannon, which always lost out on shooting the first two turns at a minimum, and Faith Points, which never got used up all the way to zero.

Distilling the wisdom of the YTTH commenters and Stelek for Game 1:

1 - Start deployed 12" in, with space between the vehicles to exit via the side doors if wrecked. Getting there is everything with Immolators. 1 – Deployment: Probably should have had some units on the board to start. Possibly just the HQ Immolator as close as possible in order to get in a 12" move and flame at the first opportunity.



2 - Most telling phrase: "You have fire support, right?" In this list, no, almost none. Al'rahem Outflanking didn't make up for having Autocannon Heavy Weapon Teams instead.
3 - If de-mech'e early, run forward and threaten with the guns on foot, don't play musical chairs with vehicles.
4 - Drive through Difficult Terrain ONCE, don't risk extra chances at Immobilization.
5 - There are two types of Tau Tanks. Railheads and Decoys. Battlesuits are better targets for Melta than any tank other than a Railhead.


After Action Forensic of Battle Report #2 vs IG:


1 – Grey Knight Terminators: Were they a real threat, or a just a distraction? Even with them Outflanking, I should have ignored the walking points sink and stayed out of charge range playing keepaway.
2 – Deploy 12" in: Getting there is everything. Smoke helped because I made 7 4+ saves out of 9 Penetrating Hits.
3 – Keep Troops moving toward Objectives: Driving the Immolator of ISTs back to deal with GKTs was a mistake. If I'd have kept moving up I'd have been able to swing more Immolators toward the Objective by the Basilisk and burn more Heretics.
4 – No Long Range Fire Support: Nothing to keep stunned Vendetta from flying out of range to recover, and it came back to blow up more vehicles.
5 – Be more agressive with Immolators. Once main threat tanks are gone (Leman Russ) it's better to keep moving 12" and flaming rather than moving 6" and allowing passengers to fire at a reduced range.


After Action Forensic of Battle Report 3 vs Blood Angels:


1 – Mission rule interfered with deployment creating weak 1st wave and stronger 2nd wave of Immolators. All the "benefits" of bad deployment with only half the guilt…
2 – No Long Range Fire Support, and therefore no way to silence Predators sitting on the board edge in the center.
3 – Use spacing or Speed to avoid assault multi-charges. TH/SS Termies not as big a threat if they only hit on a 6+ Probably should have ignored after popping the Land Raider.
4 – Target priority, probably should have put more effort and resources into eliminating Baals and Predators, relatively easy killpoints compared to large Assault Squads and TH/SS mini Deathstar.


After Action Forensic of Battle Report 4 vs Imperial Fists:


1 – Deployment vs Drop Pods, probably better to 'castle up' and have a tradeoff of guaranteed death in exchange for dropping into Melta range rather than trying to minimize exposure by spreading out.
2 – Deploy as far forward as possible vs. avoiding random midfield barrages by skirting around the sides. Since it was my first Table Quarters mission determined by unit point values, I screwed this one up hard. I should have preserved muy forces and simply abandoned my starting quarter as a lost cause and focused on preserving my forces in order to claim quarters later in the game. Instead I focused on killing units. If I'd run some Immolators on the far side of the hill I'd have forced the Marines on top to move in order to see me and keep their Missile Launcher from firing by forcing him to chase after me.
3 – Should have ran away from Lysander instead of betting on a low probability gamble against him in close combat.
4 – No Long Range Shooting meant the Razorbacks remained unmolested and able to shoot without fear of reprisals for the first two turns.


After Action Forensic of Battle Report 5 vs Chaos:


1 – Deployment: Probably should have had some units on the board to start. Possibly just the HQ Immolator as close as possible in order to get in a 12" move and flame at the first opportunity.
2 – Target Priority: The Daemon Prince and Greater Daemon were worth mission points, I should have tried to pour shots into them before they made it to cover.
3 – Dismounting: Before the Thousand Sons made it to the Objective Ruins, I should have dropped off my passengers to get more shots and formed a wall of Immolators moving 12" and flaming to keep them away from the Objective.

Now, let's distill all of that into one list:

1 - Deployment: 12" in/as far forward as possible, getting the most assets closest to the enemy, with enough room to deploy between wrecks if necessary.
2 - Fire Support: 100% Necessary. How to get? Either Exorcists or Inducted IG.
3 - Movement: Full Steam Ahead with Immolators,ff de-mech'd early, run forward and threaten with the guns on foot, don't play musical chairs with vehicles. Use Speed or spacing of units to minimize multi-charges.
4 - Drive through Difficult Terrain ONCE, don't risk extra chances at Immobilization.
5 - Target Priority: Suppression Fire with IG Autocannons (shoot 'em until they can't shoot back & move on to next target). Once main threat tanks are gone (Land Raiders, Leman Russ) it's better to keep moving 12" and flaming rather than moving 6" and allowing passengers to fire at a reduced range.
6 - Decoys: Is that easy to kill unit right in front of you a decoy to keep other units alive longer? Can it be neutralized by just outmaneuvering/keeping away?
7 - Scoring: Keep Objective Grabbing Troops focused on that task. For Kill Points, go after the easier Kill Points and avoid the big juicy Deathstars. For Table Quarters, preserve your forces, run & hide, snipe when you can, and abandon Quarters with pricey Deathstars.
8 - Headology: Interfere with the enemy's plan, put a wall of vehicles/wrecks between him and the Objective, run and hide to deny Kill Points.


Let's see how that applies to this new list I'm taking to Purgatus' NOVA style event this weekend.

190 HQ - Palatine (35) w/Book of St Lucius (5), incl 5 Celestians (65) w/2 Melta (20), Immolator (65)
450 ELITE - 3x 5 Celestians (65) w/2 Melta (20) in an Immolator (65)
240 TROOP - 2x 5 =I= Storm Troopers (50) w/2 Plasma (20) in a Rhino (50)
625 TROOP -IG Infantry Platoon: Command (30) w/Autocannon (10) in a Chimera (55)
2 Squads (100) each w/Autocannon (20) in 2 Chimera (110)
4 Heavy Weapon Squads (240) each w/3 Autocannon(60)
300 FAST - 2x 5 Dominions (55) w/2 Melta (20) in an Immolator (65)
195 HEAVY - 3x Immolator Tank (65)
2000 Pts.