BatRep 007: 10/03/1999: CHAOS! Khorne vs Nurgle, Cleanse

By those who violently snatch away men's souls, and those who gently release them;
by those who float at will and those who speed headlong;
from the first day until the end of days,
all hearts shall be filled with terror,
and all eyes shall stare with awe.

Brian (most vile and pestilent Lord of Nurgle): Brian's been too busy painting his other armies to spend much time fleshing out his Nurgle forces, so he still has to field his entire shelf just to make the points. Fortunately, the Chaos Codex favors lots of customization, so even with a small force like Brian's you can push points around without having to worry too much about what the model looks like.

Unit	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Save	Notes	Points
Sorceror Lord	5	5	4	5	3	5	3	10	2+	Terminator Armor, twin bolter, plague sword, Mark of Nurgle, blight grenades, Stream of Corruption	163
Retinue: Terminators (5)	4	4	4	4	1	4	2	10	2+	1 w/ Autocannon, 4 w/ bolter-meltas; 1 w/ Power sword, 1 w/ chainfist, 3 w/ power fist	235
Plague Marines (6)	4	4	4	5	1	4	1	9	3+	Bolter; Blight grenades, plague knife; 1 w/ flamer	138
Aspiring Champion	4	4	4	6	1	4	2	9	3+	Mark of Nurgle	+30
Rhino										Nurgle Infestation; Storm Bolter, Smoke	98
Chaos Marines (5)	4	4	4	4	1	4	1	9	3+	1 w/ Missile Launcher	85
Chaos Predator										Autocannon; Lascannon sponsons; smoke launchers	128
Dreadnought	4	4	10			4	3			Plasma Cannon, Heavy Flamer, smoke launchers	140

Ben (fearless and bloody Prince of Khorne): I like to play an aggressive and bloody style, so Khornate troops suit me perfectly (and Genestealers, and Blood Angels, and Orks...) Remember, Khorne craves blood, and doesn't give a damn where it comes from-- don't count victory points, just count bodies! For this battle I wanted to play a more daemonic army, so I took a Daemon Prince instead of a Chaos Lord-- even though we all know by now that Daemon Princes get whipped up, down, and sideways compared to a fully-equipped Chaos Marine.

Unit	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Save	Notes	Points
Daemon Prince	6	-	6	4	3	5	3	10	5+	Wings; Mark of Khorne; Axe of Khorne	120
Possessed (5)	4	4	5	4	1	4	1	9	3+	Bolt pistol, ccw; randomly gained Strong and Invulnerable	150
Beserkers(10)	4	4	4	4	1	4	2	9	3+	Bolt pistol, ccw, frag grenades	210
Rhino										Destroyer, extra armor, storm bolter, smoke, duly consecrated	78
Chaos Marines (5)	4	4	4	4	1	4	1	9	3+	Bolter; frag grenades	80
Flesh Hounds (5)	4	0	5	4	1	5	1	10	5+		75
Obliterators (5)	4	4	5	4	1	4	2	9	2+	morphing weapons	300

Deployment: With the Cleanse scenario, too much of an advantage is given to the player who gets to place first. Almost always the astute player will place something big and nasty right on the center of the board. Since the opponent cannot deploy within 18" this gives control, from the center of the board, over all four table quarters. To help alleviate this we play by a house rule where neither player can set up within 9" of the center of the board. This keeps all the models at least 18" away from each other, and it also spaces them out so both players have an equal chance to spread out and capture table quarters.

The Khorne forces were able to deploy first, leading off with the oversized squad of Obliterators, the Beserkers in their Rhino, and the Possessed (for which, as you can see, I always use my converted Chaos Beastmen). The Daemon Prince was put out of sight behind the woods and the small squad of "vanilla" Chaos Marines deployed farther down the line to scoot over and contest the bordering quarter.

The Nurgle forces likewise deployed in a powerful knot, the Lord and his Retinue at the front, supported closely by the Dreadnought and the Plague Marines in their Rhino. The Predator and the Chaos Marines were positioned so that they could deploy rapidly and cover the center of the board, without sacrificing themselves to first-turn fire from the Obliterators (the Marine squad out of sight down the long edge of Brian's deployment).

Brian won the second die roll and chose to let me go first, so that he could take the last turn of the game. This is a strategy you should always use in a Cleanse mission. Unless you are very foolish in your deployment, there is no way the enemy can damage you enough in the first turn that it is worth giving up the huge strategic advantage you gain by going last. By reserving the last turn of the game for yourself, and playing prudently through the first five turns, you leave yourself in a position to make a last push on turn six, when your opponent cannot counter what will surely be the deciding maneuvers of the game.