Flesh Tearers Update & A Battle Against The World Eaters

This is going to be a two part post because both will probably be quite short (or at least the 1st part will).  First off we are going to do a quick update on my Flesh Tearers after last weeks post and 2nd I'm going to talk a bit about a battle I had a month or so ago that I didn't do a battle report for against a friends World Eaters.

Flesh Tearers Update
Last week I talked about another new army idea.  Well after I wrote that it was announced that Blood Angels and Dark Angels would each be getting a new Codex before the end of this year.  This obviously affects me as a Flesh Tearers player since they will be in the Blood Angels codex (although I do hope we get our own mini-codex again later in the edition).

I have already said I will be keeping my Flesh Tearers even once I start my new project so I will get the new codex.  My issue is what changes it might bring.  As a new book is released it may change what is good and what is bad in the army.  Now I'm not a power gamer so don't really care if I don't run the most powerful army list, I never ran assault squads in razorbacks when that was a thing because they got really cheap, really fast transports, but if something gets really bad, or really good, I will want to change my list around.  I plan to keep updating my army and will probably pick up the odd unit in between purchases for my new army if something in the new codex takes my fancy.  To be fair I probably will do anyway because although I think my army is now in a good place, there are still things I can add.

My other issue is with some of my HQs.  When I started I planned to build an all jump pack army, then we couldn't do that any more so I added other units in, however most of my HQ choices have jump packs.  Games Workshop have made it clear that if a unit isn't a model they make it isn't in the codex.  My Chaplain is fine because they make that model, but they don't make a model for a jump pack Librarian or jump pack Sanguinary Priest, both of which I use after kitbashing them.  Now I know I can carry on using datasheets from the Index for models that aren't in the codex but I'd rather not do that long term.  This might mean adding in new HQ models without jump packs and shuffling my army list a bit to get them where I want them another way.  Again I will probably do this as a side project while working on my new project.

Either way I'm looking forward to the codex, the 8th edition updates so far have been better than the index so it will help keep me competitive against armies that already have their codex.

Flesh Tearers Vs World Eaters
So I didn't get photos of this and it was a little while ago so can't remember what happened 100% clearly so this wont be like my other battle reports.

The battle was Secure and Control with the short table edges as our deployment zones.  The World Eaters had two large footslogging units of Khorne Berzerkers and a Dark Apostle on one side backed up by a Defiler and Kharn in a Rhino with a smaller unit of Berzerkers on the other.  5 Terminators with Lightning Claws were in reserve.  I was running with a Librarian, Chaplain, Priest, Death Company unit and Assault Squad in reserve and two Tactical Squads holding both ruins in my deployment zone (one was the objective).  I also had a Vindicator and Melta-Dread backing up a Tactical Squad each.  Finally some sniper Scouts were backing up the unit holding my Objective.

As the game started the World Eaters moved up since their only really shooting was the Defiler and I was shooting at them concentrating my Missile Launchers on the Rhino with Kharn in which I managed to get to its lowest wound bracket on my 1st turn which made it faster to for Kharn and his Berzerkers to get out and walk.

I managed to wipe out the Berzerkers that Kharn was using as a screen but Kharn reached my lines.  I had dropped my Assault Squad, Chaplain and Librarian to support my Tactical Squad and the Vindicator that was with them from Kharn.  He declared a charge against my Chaplain, Librarian and Vindicator and on the charge managed to kill both HQs and put wounds on my Vindicator.  I pulled the Vindicator out of combat and declared that my Tactical Squad would fire everything it had into Kharn.  1st shot I fired was my Meltagun and popped him in one go, which wasted the rest of my shooting, but it was definitely worth it to get rid of him.

On the other side of my lines the Terminators had dropped in to assault my Dread.  To counter I dropped my Death Company and Priest, my Death Company failed to charge the Terminators on the turn they arrived and I stupidly charged my Priest anyway...at which point the Terminators ripped him to shreds.  When the Death Company got into combat the Terminators were quickly dispatched and luckily the footslogging Berzerkers hadn't quite reached my lines.

The Berzerkers got the charge on my Death Company and wiped them out before they could fight back, next turn they did the same to my Tactical Squad and then the Scouts so they were now holding my Objective and I only had the Tactical Squad, Assault Squad and Vindicator on the other side of my deployment zone.

I had 1st Blood, we both had Slay the Warlord and if we both held each others Objectives we would both have Linebreaker as well meaning I would win on points because of 1st Blood.  The World Eaters Objective was undefended because the Defiler had moved forward to shoot.

Once Kharn had been killed I had starting trying to run my Assault Squad that had been there to help kill him (and it turns out weren't needed) to their objective.  It was a race against the game clock.  I had worked out that I could make it if the game went to turn 6 if I rolled well for my advance rolls or would reach it by turn 7 no matter what.  Only shooting from the Defiler and Rhino, could stop me and both were in their lowest wound bracket so had trouble hitting anything.  I rolled poorly for my advance on turn 6 and then the game ended so I was a few inches too far from the objective to hold it.  This meant the final score was 5-3 to the World Eaters.

There were a few things I know I did wrong which I shouldn't have.  I dropped to much on Kharn, I had planned to drop my Assault Squad later in the game on the Chaos objective so that I held that, which would have won me the game, but I panicked when Kharn got close and over commited to killing him.

My next mistake was charging with my Priest after my Death Company failed the charge, he was never going to swing the combat himself because the Dreadnought didn't have enough attacks to get through all the Terminators, it was the Death Company that I needed to get into combat and the Priest was just a bump to their strength.

Finally I let Khorne Berzerkers charge me.  With them fighting twice they get a stupid number of attacks especially when they all have chainswords and chainaxes as well.  The weight of attacks meant that they took every unit they charged out before I got a chance to fight back.  I should have used the speed of my jump pack Death Company to keep back before charging them rather than being close enough they could charge me, my positioning was really bad.  If I had charged I might have been able to kill enough that when they fought back they wouldn't have had enough attacks to take me out.

Anyway, it was a fun game and Khorne Berzerkers are definitely way too powerful if they get into combat.  For 17 points they can get 6 attacks each turn and have a good strength so wound easily.  In future I will have to either put more fire into them before they reach me or charge them so at least I fight first.

Anyway that was just a quick update on a game that I didn't get a chance to do a proper write up for.