Sad Defeat for the Grey Knights, curse you Dreadnought Bjorn

So I got in a single game earlier today; against a Space Wolves player that I had beaten in the last campaign/tournament. He wanted 1000 points, so I brought in two squads of Grey Knights, outfitted with psycannons on a fairly barren *and icey* board. Along with that, my Dreadnought with powefist/Lascannon and my Grandmaster and retinue with hammerhand that deepstriked by turn 3.

My bloody accursed enemy brought in two venerable Dreads; his HQ being a Dreadnought too! *Bjorn the fell handed*. Two full squads of space wolves as well. I actually stole the initiative; so what played out on the cold icy battlefield started out good. I psycannoned and lascannoned the hell out of the speeders; focusing fire on them from a building with cover and below said building the second squad of Knights did likewise. Turn 2-3 saw that I had destroyed one, and took off the other twos weapons *The bastard ran them away!!GRRR!* And as his wolves moved through cover, I unloaded on them with psycannons and stormbolters as they started to charge the ruins that my squads laid in and below.

Turn two his venerable auto deepstriked in somehow, Bjorn was on the field from the start and I had underestimated this accursed tainted behemoth! His dreadnought dropped right next to mine, scattering only an inch or so away. The pod it came in fired stormbolters at my Grey Knights throughout the entirety of the game, but never managed to wound anything. So, thanks to shrouding, I had forced the wolves to come to me. Things seemed to be going great, as I had avoided any losses and a melta had failed to even harm my Dreadnought! But here is were I made mistakes that still fill me with anger.

My turn 3, I finally get my Grey Knight Terminators and Grandmaster to deepstrike in, but they are still too far from Bjorn and the troopers around him to do much. So, failing to wound his Venerable Dread with mine, I assault it. My Grandmaster unloads BS5 Psycannons shots into a squad of wolves, as does the rest of his retinue which make very short work of them and cause them to run away failing their moral test. As for the Dreads? Horrid luck sees mine lose its CC weapon, and his wasn't even harmed. For at LEAST 3 turns of combat, my Dread loses his other arm, and fights without any weapons. It was amazing that he held for so long without any chance, as glancing saw me needing 6's.

His turn comes in, he shoots up my Terminators, I pass all the armor and invuln saves. I have no fear of his Bjorn, so bloody hubris and confident that I could destroy it with ease with my Grandmaster. So, my turn comes again. My two squads of PAGK with psycannons keep unloading at the weakened squads of Space Wolves, who hurriedly run from their range as did their landspeeders. I then assaulted the Space Wolves HQ, the Venerable Dreadnought Bjorn. I was a fool; I had not realized that he actually was bloody 13 armor and 6 WS!!!! I COULDN'T BLOODY HARM THE DAMNED THING!!

With only Str 6 weapons, and my Dreadnought stuck in close combat *With no arms* This was bad. The only weapon I had was the psyker power Holocaust; which I did. And guess what? I passed it, but I can't recall what the rule was but Bjorn was able to MAKE INVULN SAVES AGAINST MY ATTACKS! As well as make me RE-ROLL my wounds!! Augh! This was absurd. I was unable to damage it, and over the final turn he whittled my squad of Grey Knight Terminators down...they couldnt leave combat, as they were fearless! Damn it all to the warp it was cruel and painful. I even, for the first time, rolled Double 6's with my Grandmaster attempting Hammer hand again, giving him another wound! And sense we don't have eternal warrior, as soon as that Dreadnought wounded my GM he was dead and gone. THE FIRST TIME HE HAS EVER FALLEN, TO THIS ABSURDITY!!!

I am absolutely outraged; as soon as my other Dreadnought finally fell he sent his unharmed venerable to assault my Grey Knight squad below the ruins. He did; I rolled a few 6's, and penetrating, but this THING, ABOMINATION, forced me to re-roll my 6's which were just glancing on it anyway. I would have KILLED it, but no, instead my squad was all but wiped out. I failed a 2 up armor save on my Justicar *Artificer* for the last save he had to do for his squad, my Grandmaster and retinue died standing, and the opposing wolf dreads fired at the building my last squad was in, killing one last warrior before the game finally ended on turn 7, letting the misery end.

I just wish that I had given my PAGK squads melta bombs, had KNOWN that Bjorn had that damned 13 toughness and WS6 BS6, and that I could have cut down those cowardly insolent pups as they ran away. I couldn't win at that point, I just didn't have the right tools to do it. His troops and the like fell without a problem, dying to storm bolters and such.

*Sighs* I just feel terrible to have failed the Inquisition so entirely, my first defeat in the campaign *Not even losing a game in the last one* . Maybe it shall help to humble me out, and I can learn from it.

Any comments or advice that my brothers can give will be very much appreciated.

Don't beat yourself up Brother Nausaden. The SW are obviously very new and it'll be a while before everyone is used to all their new rules and powers. Besides, its usually in games that we lose that we learn more since we look back and scrutinize it more. I'm confident you can get him next time since you'll know what to expect and you can plan accordingly

That being said, its a good thing you weren't playing Brother DB because the SW list he mentioned he would have used for 1000 pts is wicked!!!

Wow did you agree on that before the game? Normally at my local club if your playing 750-1000 points like that, without prior permission you wouldn't be feilding that kind of tank (unless your a d#ck), because at that point level your not going to be feilding anything capable of keeping the playing feild even, especially as a GK player. Especially a unit with all those lame (cough* OVERPOWERED* cough) rules

It sucks that you lost, but personally I just see it as bad sportsmanship to add a unit like that.
What I suggest is taking a double LR army next time to fight him again at 1000 points. If he has a problem then you know he is just a cheesy loser surfing the fotm army wave.

*Nods head* Thank you very much for your encouraging words Brother Rivan; I think I can get past this and learn from it now, and come back stronger then ever to face off against the wolves for a tie breaker!

Indeed Brother Dark Bjorn, that hero is the oldest and more then likely most powerful of Dreadnoughts. It was just such a massive low blow to find that I couldn't even harm him with my Grandmaster; it just couldn't be done! Indeed, his infantry and land speeders were naught but paper in the wind against the Knights. But those Dreadnoughts took me by such a shock, my typical methods being tied up or entirely ineffective. In hindsight, I wouldn't have assaulted his dreadnoughts, and let the game end with his troops dead and mine all cozy.

As for your list Brother, I'd be hard pressed to deal with THAT. Just the crusader makes me nervous, the rest merely gravy as they say!

What I think is ridiculous is that the removed the minimum point requirement for special characters in the newer codices. That I think is so stupid.

For example, since when would Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the ultramarines and other honours, ever fight in a 1000pts or even 1500pt army. NEVER!

Its like us going, hey bro Stern, 'couple of my mates are going to crash a demon gathering, wanna come along?

That's primarily why I said that list is wicked!!!

Brother DB, I can't believe my eyes but WG all have WS5? Not even sternguard or vanguard veterans have WS5!

Oh ok, the picture of the page my son sent me was blurry so I thought it was WS 5

Primarch wrote:What I think is ridiculous is that the removed the minimum point requirement for special characters in the newer codices. That I think is so stupid.

For example, since when would Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the ultramarines and other honours, ever fight in a 1000pts or even 1500pt army. NEVER!

Its like us going, hey bro Stern, 'couple of my mates are going to crash a demon gathering, wanna come along?

LOL! Thats so true, although I think with lower point cost characters the limits could obviously be lower, but with those really powerful special characters the point requirement for the battle should of course increase, and if they are to be used in lower points it should only be by agreement. I don't even use vehicles in a game unless I know my opponent can take them out its just pathetic when your facing someone over the table and they have a list you can't effectively play against.
Its worse with the new codex's though, GWS is just playing to all the fotm army makers who will spend money every time a new army comes out just to be the #1, and it takes all the interest and fun out of the game for normal players.
Its only compounded by the fact that the last few codexes have seen the creep become an all out race, meaning even the newer codexes from just before the new ruleset are unfortunately not ideal as they where designed with totally different basic rules in mind.
With the lack of thought being put into new armies there is no reason a new codex for an army couldn't be released each week. Except the lack of new models of course.