I have been working on my Lamenters for a while off and on now and finally have enough models with paint on them that I would be able to field a 1000 point list of Lamenters fully using the Blood Angels codex. This would be my first time ever using them as Blood Angels, as I was using a combined force with Salamanders and running them as normal Codex Space Marines.
With the Berks-PA Gaming Club hosting a large tournament in May (I'm the head Tournament Organizer), we kept the game to a simple 1000 points and randomly selected one of the missions from last year's event. The mission selected was "Messengers".
In a spearhead deployment (table quarters), your mission is to get your three messengers, which each are like individual 1-model units, to escape across your opponents table edge. Their statistics are simple: ST:3 BS:3, I:3, AT: 1, W: 2, and a 5+ Invlunerable save.
My list build was nothing really extravagant, and I pretty much have a rule of thumb that I try not to field models unless they have some kind of paint on them. It's just a personal preference.
HQ: Captain with Powersword, Stormbolter, and Melta bombs
Elite: Sanguinary Priest with Power Weapon
Troops: Tactical Squad, 10 space marines with Missle Launcher, Plasma Gun, Sgt with Powerfist, Rhino w/ extra stormbolter
Troops: 5-man sniper squad, camo cloaks, 1 missle launcher, SGT w/melta bomb
Troops: 10-man Assault squad, 2 x flamers, SGT w/Power Fist ***Land Raider Crusader (Twin-linked Assault Cannons, sponson mounted Hurricane Bolters, Multi Melta)
In an attempt to be the first to carry on a special message on to local arriviung Inquisition commanders, the Lamenters find themselves competing against another Astartes chapter, the Space Wolves.
The Wolves under Berek's command are a cagey sort, and made short work of the Lamenter's messengers, subsequently gunning them down. Deployed (in a most un-fluffy) cookie-cutter formation, three squads of space wolf troops armed with a melta gun and combi-melta all in Rhinos spread out.
The space wolves were smart and ran a rhino as a screen down the western flank. The Lamenters had seized the initiative on the space wolves, and made an attempt to run their messengers North along the Eastern flank.
A tactical squad in a fast Rhino lead the spearhead, and towards the center, a Land Raider Crusader fully loaded with a 10-man Assault squad, Sanguinary Priest and Captain Xavier Raymond looked to hold down any opposition in the middle, looking to bring their multi melta to bear upon the lighter armored Rhinos.
The “Lone Wolf” of the Space Wolves continued to charge at the Lamenter messengers. Several units opened fire into him, including the 5-man scout sniper squad. Defying the odds, the Lone Wolf managed to catch up and finish off one of the messengers, another one fell to enemy fire.
The Long Fang squad armed with six missle launchers, and their ability to split their fire between different targets proved to be a constant thorn in the Lamenters side. Eventually they or a melta gun found purchase on the Lamenters Rhino, causing it to explode. The tactical squad inside had already disembarked with their Rhino haven been stunned the turn prior. They successfully managed to gun down the Lone wolf, but would take a few casualties. The last Lamenter Messenger was trying to run around the screen of yellow armored bodies to freedom, but would fall to concentrated fire from the pintle mounted stormbolters mounted on the rhinos.
As the space wolf rhinos closed in for the kill, the Land raider Crusader opened fire with its twin-linked assault cannons, causing the Space Wolf rhino to explode and take a few of the troops inside with it. The Lamenters tactical squad would be wrapped up in an assault with the Space Wolves and eventually would take out one of their squads, but themselves would fall to the second Rhino squad.
As the Space Wolves continued to move their trio of messengers south ward down the Western Flank, the Lamenter sniper scouts with a missle launcher failed to do any harm to the Rhino running a screen. The Land Raider Crusader “Bloodheart” made a u-turn and started churning in the direction of the running messengers. Rumbling its way through forests, river, and rocks, the lumbering beast of a machine delivered its cargo where it needed to go.
In a lucky round of shooting, The land raider along with the scouts managed to pick apart the Rhino running the screen for the Messengers and this slowed it up enough for the Land Raider Crusader to catch up to it. Assault ramp dropping down and the Assault squad inside, led by Captain Xavier Raymond charged the offending tank. Brother Sergeant Dutch of the assault squad managed to score a critical hit with his power fist, wrecking the drive wheels of the Rhino. This forced the Space Wolves to clamber out the opposite side door, as Lamenter troops were crowded around the rear and side of the Rhino. Because the troops had gotten stuck on their emergency disembarking, they were entangled and counted as being pinned.
This was the lucky break the oft-cursed Lamenters needed, as they were able to pull around and draw a bead of fire into one of the messengers. Captain Raymond separated from his squad, climbing over the wrecked Rhino and pouring storm bolter fire into the Space Wolfs. Flamers from the assault squad directed at the first messenger singed it but also killed off the other two. As the Blood-Raged Assault squad charged in, the Sanguinary Priest bellowed his charge and the Lamenters hit the Space Wolves with a rage they had not expected.
The assault phase at the top of turn 6 saw the rest of the messengers killed off. The Lamenters won the assault but the space wolves would stick it out, and remain locked in combat through the remainder of the combat.
The game would end, all six messengers killed. Both teams lost a full squad and Rhino, the Lamenters Captain fell in battle, but the Space Wolves also lost their lone wolf and another Rhino. The victory points were so close this would have been a DRAW no matter how you scored it.
Still it was a fun game, and I was excited to get to try out my Lamenters as “Blood Angels” for the very first time.
