First battle w/ my new army: VS 1750 IG

Okay Brothers, here is my first batrep. I'm not a good writer so please bear with me. I will attempt to make it as clear as possible while not trying to make too lengthy of a read...and I hope my vain attempt at diagrams help out too...so here it goes.

Opponent's 1750 Imperial Guard
HQ
-Company command squad w/ master of ordnance. Transport: Chimera w/ ML and HB
-Col. Straken w/ company command squad w/ master of ordnance plus Nork Deddog. Transport: Chimera w/ ML and HB
ELITES
5-man ratling squad X2
Guardsman Marbo
TROOPS
10-man veteran squad Transport: Chimera w/ ML and HB
10-man veteran squad (rode in one of the Vendettas)
10-man infantry squad Transport: Chimera w/ ML and HB
10-man infantry squad X3
10-man infantry squad (rode in one of the Vendettas)
3-man lascannon squad X2
FAST ATTACK
Vendetta gunship
Vendetta gunship
HEAVY SUPPORT
Leman Russ Vanquisher

Total: 78 infantry, 4 light tanks, 1 heavy tank, 2 armored skimmers

1750 Grey Knights
HQ
GM w/ psycannon, master-crafted NFW, SI & hammerhand
Retinue: 3 GKT (1 psycannon)
ELITES
BC Olorin w/ psycannon
3 GKT (1 psycannon)
TROOPS
7-man PAGK w/ targeter (Squad Armael)
7-man PAGK w/ targeter (1 incinerator) (Squad Raguiel)
6-man PAGK (1 incinerator) (Squad Uriel)
HEAVY SUPPORT
LR Sanctus Fidelis w/ EA, DB & SL
LR Draco Tempestus w/ EA, DB & SL

Total: 28 infantry, 2 heavy tanks

Mission: Annihilation
Deployment: Dawn of War

I have first turn. I will try to describe the sequence of events as best as I can. I will also enumerate my mistakes at the end as well as a couple of rule violations by my opponent.

I deployed Squad Armael to my left flank about 15” from my board edge. Squad Raguiel deployed to my right flank about 15” from the board edge also. GM and retinue deployed roughly in the middle about 10” from my board edge. Apologize if you only see my set up. The pic was taken the next day after I re-created the scene so I can have a visual aid.

Opponent deployed Command squad in a chimera at his center sitting at the board edge. He deployed an infantry squad in a chimera a little to his right side also sitting at the board edge. He deployed a 10-man infantry squad sitting in an open bunker a little to his right side about 12” from his board edge (the smaller bunker to the lower right side of the picture).
First Turn
My BC and GKTs moved in from the board edge at the center of the board. Sanctus Fidelis (painted LR) moved in from the board edge beside the big piece of terrain (Squad Uriel is embarked). Draco Tempestus moved in from the board edge on my right most flank.

Both my PAGK squads moved 6” back, Squad Raguiel towards LR Tempestus and Squad Armael towards the terrain piece. Both LR’s tried to see the chimera but failed night fighting roll. Squad Raguiel ran instead of shooting and came to within 2” of Tempestus’ access points.
Opponent’s vanquisher moved in at board edge a little to his left. Veterans in a chimera moved in at board edge beside and to the left of the vanquisher. Heavy weapons team 1 moved in beside and to the right of the vanquisher. Infantry squad positioned themselves in front and around the HW team 1. Heavy weapons team 2 moved in to the left of Troops chimera. Infantry squad positioned themselves in front and around the HW team 2. Stracken’s chimera moved in to the right of Troops chimera. Ratling squad 1 infiltrated to the right most terrain piece. Ratling squad 2 infiltrated to the middle terrain piece.
The only unit that succeeded with the night fighting roll was the vanquisher and it scored a lucky hit on Fidelis and destroyed it! …forcing squad Uriel to disembark beside the terrain.

End of Turn 1: Grey Knights – 0 Imperial Guard – 1

Second Turn
Squad Raguiel embarked in LR Tempestus and it moved 6” forward and took vengeance on the vanquisher by destroying it.
Squad Uriel moved a little forward behind the crater and GKT squad Olorin moved into the nearby terrain and they both fired on Ratling squad 2, killing only 2 thanks to cover saves improved by stealth ), however, they fell back 3”. GM and retinue and Squad Armael poured fire into Ratling squad 1 and killed them all.
Opponent’s shooting was practically ineffective thanks mostly to shrouding. First orbital bombardment however scattered on squad Olorin, killing 2 GKTs (*my mistake #1). Second OB landed on 1 of GM’s GKT but he shrugged it off. All his lascannon shots bounced off the LR.

End of Turn 2: Grey Knights – 2 Imperial Guard – 1

Third Turn
I had a dismal shooting turn where my LR just stunned the chimera w/ veterans (*my mistake #2) and my other units just managed to kill 3 guardsmen in the open bunker.
His shooting was pretty dismal also again because of shrouding (including the OB’s that scattered way off). However, his first vendetta came in at his right flank and disembarked an infantry squad beside the terrain where ratling squad 1 was. It made the shrouding roll and opened fire on my GM unit with 3 TLLC and 6 HB shots, giving my GM 1 wound and killing 2 GKTs. One lascannon from HW squad 1 managed to shake the LR.
Guardsman Marbo also came in and positioned behind the squad in the open bunker.

End of Turn 3: Grey Knight – 2 Imperial Guard – 1

Fourth Turn
LR (using POTM spirit) fired HB at lascannon team and only caused 1 wound due to cover saves. Squad Uriel and Olorin finish off the ratling squad 2. Squad Armael and GM kill 5 more guardsmen in open bunker. However, they hold firm.
Opponent’s second vendetta came in. He tried to outflank and wanted to come in near my LR. However, the roll caused him to come in at the other edge (thank the Emperor!). All the lascannon shots on the LR bounced off again except for one that destroyed a sponson. All his other units, including the 2 vendettas, failed shrouding except for Stracken’s chimera w/c fired on the GM with ML and HB. GM took 2nd wound. OB’s scattered to no where…again.

End of Turn 4: Grey Knights – 3 Imperial Guard – 1

Fifth Turn
LR speeds 12” and parks in front of wrecked vanquisher and disembarks squad Raguiel in front of veteran’s chimera. LR shoots and destroys vendetta #2. Squad Armael moves forward and kills 8 guardsmen but they pass leadership. Olorin shoots psycannon at Marbo but he succeeds with cover saves. GM tries to knock down vendetta 1 but fails. Squad Uriel moves forward into crater terrain and fires on remaining 2 guardsmen in open bunker but they make their cover saves. Squad Raguiel assaults chimera and destroys it. Veterans forced to disembark bunched up behind chimera wreck.
Opponent moves vendetta a little forward and pours fire into GM, killing him and last GKT. One chimera manages to kill 1 GKT from squad Olorin. HW squad’s lascannons bounce off LR….again. Troops in front of HW squad 1 moves closer to squad Raguiel and unleashes a ton of shots; HQ chimera also moves closer and unleashes a hail of ML and HB shots; together, they kill…1 grey knight. Col Stracken’s chimera also moves and kills 1 GK from squad Armael. OB’s scatter and miss again (**rule violation 1)

End of Turn 5: Grey Knights – 5 Imperial Guard – 3

Sixth Turn (opponent rolled a 3)
Squad Raguiel swings around chimera wreck and incinerates/shoots veterans, killing all. LR (*mistake #3). Squad Uriel finished off troops in open bunker. Olorin shoots Marbo and again, he makes his cover saves. Squad Armael finishes off remaining 2 guardsmen at board edge.
Opponent’s troops continues to shoot at squad Raguiel, killing none. Lascannons bounce off LR again. Vendetta moves closer to Olorin and finishes the BC. Veterans in terrain move forward and rapid fire on squad Armael, killing none. Stracken’s chimera fires ML, HB as well as all fire points, and kills 1. OB’s does nothing.

End of Turn 6: Grey Knights – 7 Imperial Guard – 4

Seventh Turn (I rolled a 6)
Opponent concedes the game. Grey Knights win!!!!

My mistakes:
1. I inadvertently took off the GKT w/ psycannon because I wasn’t paying attention I could have used the extra psycannon shots in the next few turns.
2. I shot the chimera w/ the TWLC but totally forgot to use the POTM to shoot the HB at another target like the HW squad.
3. I totally forgot to shoot with the LR in turn 6

Rules violations:
1. I found out that Master of Ordnances can only call an OB if they did not move in their movement phase. Since both HQ chimeras moved to shoot, they shouldn’t have been able to call OB’s in turn 5.

I'm giving my opponent the benefit of the doubt that he had mis-understood the rules or just forgot.
Lessons learned: My opponent was very frustrated because he kept failing the shrouding roll. My tactic of staying past the 30-33" range (w/ the constant use of my targeters ) really helped me pick him off with my psycannons. Also a key element here is deployment. I won first turn and choice of sides. While my first instinct was to choose the side that would give me more cover, I elected to go the other way and give my opponent the side with more cover. Why? Hopefully, with the good cover saves he'll have, it'll prompt him to stay put and refrain from moving. It definitely worked. I had the freedom to move and choose where I was going to get close and assault. Also, I chose to go first because I wanted him to see my deployment and I hoped to influence the way he would deploy his gunline. It also worked. When he saw my strongest units (HQ and ELITES plus 1 LR) in the middle, he totally expected me to go down the middle and engage him. He did not expect me to attack from the flanks instead. Another contributing factor I guess is my opponent was almost sure I would try to get into CC ASAP in order to massacre his units. I on the other hand, was happy to pick his units apart and stay just 1 or 2 kill points ahead. Only in the 5th turn did I charge my LR forward and assault (but again, from the flank). I believe he conceded the game at the 7th turn given the current positions. Squad Raguiel will most likely shoot and assault the nearby infantry squad. The LR will most likely destroy the HQ chimera whilst simultaneously eradicating HW squad 1 w/ the TWHB (no more cover saves for the HW squad). The veterans on the edge of the board were within charge range of Squad Armael and the vendetta was within charge range of Squad Uriel. That's another potential 5 KP.
Overall, it was a well played game on both sides. I believe my opponent should have changed his strategy and started moving his mobile units (chimeras) to make something happen. If you think about it, I never even saw Col Stracken and Nork Deddog since they never got out of the chimera. Aside from the lucky (and quite disheartening) hit on my LR in Turn 1, the dice rolls pretty much went my way (I believe Draco Tempestus was shot at for 6 turns and only got shaken once and lost 1 sponson).

Excellent read Brother Rivan! Your diagrams were far from futile, I actually found them very helpful. An exciting battle, shame that the Grandmaster fell, but at the least the foul taint from the IG has been vanquished. Glad to hear that the shrouding worked out well; the targeter idea was genius. It's gotta be good to fire, then run back a bit to stay out of range

Your use of psychology in placement of units was the thinking of a real strategist; you certainly put a lot of thought into it, and it paid off. No matter what he reinforced, it would leave his other sides weaker, and he must have been too blood thirsty for your Elites.

All and and, great report, and I look forward to more debriefings of your games.

Hey bud great Battle Report- it was an amazing read. The diagrams that you drew were a huge help in understanding the fight, thank you very much for the time you must of put into writing this report.
It was a nice touch to hear about your thoughts on why you did different things in the game.

Btw- gratz on the win ^)- Turn 7 huh lol.

Again, AMAZING work on the Battle report!

-Cease

Thanks Brothers. I still chide myself for making very elementary mistakes. Plus, I need to be more knowledgeable about my opponents' rules. I should have caught the rule mistakes on his master of ordnance because that could have really changed the outcome of the game.

lol don't beat yourself up, getting the hang of the multitude of rules in the new 5th ed book takes enough time to learn than to learn your opponents' codex's rules to boot. It's hard sometimes, but you just have to have some faith that your opponent will be honest in their rules, but honest mistakes do happen.
The biggest thing is that it sounds like you had fun, and now you know for the next game that you have against that player.

Brothers: I edited my batrep to reflect my error regarding my opponent's use of a master of ordnance and Nork Deddog. I re-read the IG codex and found out that if Nork Deddog is attached to the command squad, no bodyguards are allowed, but master of ordnance is allowed so my opponent was legally allowed to have the 2nd master of ordnance.

However, they still shouldn't have been able to call the OB's in the 5th turn due to moving in the movement phase. Apologize for my error.

OOOH! So that was how you did it! Dang! You beat Daniel(one of the best players at the LGS I game at)!

Great report Brother Rivan! As stated above, the diagrams were very helpful.

If I were you I would be very pleased with the Grey Knight's (aka your) performance in this battle.

Your strategies were sound as was your execution of them. You really put a lot of thought into the game and it payed off! I am REALLY impressed with how you chose the side with no cover, knowing that it would cause the IG to hunker down and not use their mobility to their advantage

A tip that may help you to remember things like firing your HB with POTMS or using your LR is to write them down. It sounds kinda weird I know, but it really does work

I also think that you are right to give the benefit of the doubt to your opponant for his rule violations. I played friend, a Tau player (when Tau first came out) who would shoot his Broadside battlesuits every turn whether he moved or not! We (our group) could not figure out why they were sooo powerful and hard to kill but then we realized that he had forgotten the rule about moving and fireing in much the same way your opponant had He was definatly not a cheat, so it just goes to show that mistakes happen .

Well-fought brother Rivan. The Annihilation scenario is the one best suited for pure GK's IMHO. The report was top-notch. How you're able to remember which unit moved where and in what turn is beyond me. As for those mistakes, that's what the chaos of battle is all about. We all make 'em. Though as GK's players, we can't afford to make too many.

Great report, it was fun to read about and see in a diagram. I especially liked seeing the land raider carve through the enemy's flank!

Very well written batrep, and great depictions of the battle!
Sounds like you did really well all things considered, don't beat yourself up about a few mistakes it often happens, and honestly its part of the game. As you play more you become more experienced you don't make this mistakes, and can sometimes have the opportunity to point out to an opponent when they do!

Thanks Brothers, appreciate all the feedback. Brother n00bk1ng and I played a friendly 2000pt game on my last day in Singapore. Since I can't upload the turn by turn pics of the game. I will send all the pics to Brother n00bk1ng as well the batrep and he will post it.

We treated the game as a paint ball match since we were both using Imperium armies and he fielded a squad of GKTs also. Let me just say that his Marines, along with Pedro Kantor and Korsarro Khan were pretty much covered in paint! LOL

Stay tuned for the batrep...

I eagerly look forward to said battle rep Brother Rivan!