"Quality vs Quantity" 1750 points Cadians vs Custodians

I got to test my Guard army out again, this time against the Adeptus Custodes.  It was 1750 points so I didn't want to bring my Super Heavy but that did mean using basically using everything else in my collection so I had a few units that weren't the best, if I'd had a few more models I definite would have dropped a few and put something else in.

Either way, we played 1750 points, Secure and Control and had Dawn of War deployment.

The Lists
Astra Militarum
Auxiliary Support Detachment
Vindicare Assassin
Battalion Detachment
Company Commander with plasma pistol and power sword
Company Commander with boltgun, chainsword, Grand Strategist and Kurov's Aquila
Lord Commissar with plasma pistol and power sword
Infantry Squad with vox, chainsword and plasma gun
Infantry Squad with vox, chainsword and plasma gun
Infantry Squad with vox, chainsword and grenade launcher
Infantry Squad with vox, chainsword and grenade launcher
3 Bullgyns with slab shields and Bullgyn mauls
Command Squad with autocannon and 2 sniper rifles
Command Squad with heavy flamer, medi-pack, regimental standard and vox
Tech-Priest Enginseer
Scout Sentinel with heavy flamer and sentinel chainsaw
Cyclops Demolition Vehicle
Cyclops Demolition Vehicle
Heavy Weapons Squad with 3 lascannons
Chimera with heavy bolter, heavy stubber and multi-laser
Supreme Command Detachment
Tank Commander in Battle Tank with heavy stubber, lascannon and heavy bolters
Tank Commander in Battle Tank with heavy stubber, lascannon and heavy bolters
Tank Commander in Demolisher with heavy stubber, lascannon and multi-meltas

Adeptus Custodes
Vanguard Detachment
Sheild-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike with misericordia and salvo laucher
Sheild-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike with misericordia and salvo laucher
3 Allarus Custodians with 3 castellan axes and 1 misericordia
Vexillus Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armor with misericordia and vexilla magnifica
Vexillus Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armor with misericordia and vexilla magnifica
3 Vertus Praetors with 2 hurricane bolters, 1 misericordia and 1 salvo laucher
3 Vertus Praetors with 2 hurricane bolters, 1 misericordia and 1 salvo laucher
3 Vertus Praetors with 2 hurricane bolters, 1 misericordia and 1 salvo laucher

As I said I would have dropped some stuff from my list if I had more models, probably the Scout Sentinel and the two Command Squads at least.  I thought I would drop the Assassin as well but he actually did quite well, the loss of a CP sucked a little so maybe if I pick up one more I can run 3 as a Vanguard with the FAQ special rule for them.

It wasn't the most efficient list and the Custodian's list was pretty competitive, but it would be good to help learn the army I am only just starting.

Deployment
The 2 objectives were set up in our deployment zones, mine was on the second level of the large ruin on my left flank and the Custodian's was on the bottom of the centre ruin in their deployment.

Deployment

I set up spread right across my deployment, mainly because I felt that having the numbers advantage would be best served if I forced him to spread out.  I had two infantry squads (both grenade launcher units), the Assassin and the autocannon command squad in the large ruin to hold the objective.  The plasma commander, 2nd command squad were next to the ruin and the Chimera (with Bullgyns and Lord Commissar inside) and one Cyclops Demo Vehicle were behind it.  Next I had one of my Battle Tanks, then in the double ruin I had another Infantry Squad, my Warlord and Heavy Weapons Squad holding the centre.  On my right I had my Demolisher and other Battle Tank backed up by my Tech-Priest.  My other Cyclops was hidden behind the cargo containers.  Finally in the right most ruin I had the last Infantry Squad.

On the other side I had 3 units of Jetbikes, two on my right side and one on my left.  I also had a Shield-Captain in the centre and one on the right.  One Vexillus was deployed on the bored with the larger group of Dawneagles.  Everything else was held back in reserve. 

The Custodians finished setting up first so got +1 to go first.

The Game
So before the game I moved the Scout Sentinel forwards, I wasn't worried about turn one Deepstrike anymore but I wanted to hold the bikes up to give my tanks more of a chance to kill a few.

The Custodes started by moving up the board, most went straight forwards but the Shield-Captain in the centre moved to my left to back up the unit there.  I expected this since they couldn't out gun me but could rip me to pieces in close combat.

End of Custodian's Turn 1

While the Custodians might have been better in close combat the hurricane bolters and salvo launchers weren't to be ignored, in the shooting phase they opened up and the high volume of shots from the hurricane bolters were able to kill 6 men from the squad on my right and the autocannon command squad.  The salvo launchers all targeted my tanks and one battle tank was left with only 5 wounds.

Without any charges that was the end of the turn, but not before my remaining Guardsmen on the right side ran after a failed moral check.

I had expected losses in my 1st turn and was ready to fight back.  First I moved one of my plasma gun squads up slightly to get them in range.  My Command Squad and plasma pistol Commander both advanced up as well to head towards the Dawneagle jetbikes heading towards my objective.  I also moved up the Cyclops on my right down the left of the containers right into the middle of the group of Custodians, I moved my Sentinel out of range of it's explosion and towards the three bikes that were in the centre.  My other Cyclops moved up but stayed out of sight so he couldn't be targeted and the Chimera moved forwards to engage the bikers.

I started my shooting phase by blowing up the Cyclops, it was devastating.  I rolled well, all 10+ for the number of hits and caught the Vexillus, Warlord on Dawneagle and a unit of Vertus Praetors in the blast.  It managed to kill off the Vexillus, two of the Dawneagles and knock the warlord down to 4 wounds remaining.  It was a great start for the Guard and I was impressed with the 1st Forge World unit I'd ever used.  It did cause me a problem though, the way casualties were pull the only target my tanks could see was the Warlord but the Dawneagle bikes hidden behind the Containers and ruin were closer so I couldn't shoot him.  This meant two of my tanks were useless this turn.

End of Cadian's turn 1

Between the units on my left flank I was able to kill another Dawneagle jetbike giving me quite a nice kill count for 1 turn against Custodians.  I hadn't killed much but against Custodians every lose counts because they are so expensive and hard to kill.

In the combat phase I charged with my Scout Sentinel.  It had taken some wounds already and I knew it would die next turn in shooting, at least this way I might survive overwatch and hopefully get a swing at them before they shot me off the table, it didn't help and I lost the Sentinel.

That was the end of my turn, I expected reinforcements for the Custodians next turn but was hoping that I would be able to kill a few more and seriously reduce their combat ability.

The Custodian's had seen the damage my Cyclops did and combined with the threat of the Bullgyns coming up the left hand side of the building decided to move the other way and towards the centre.  The other Dawneagles moved towards my tanks, clearly going to tie them up in close combat.  At the end of the phase the Allarus Custodians and second Vexillus dropped in to back up Sheild-Captain and Vertus Praetors now in the centre of the board.

When they started shooting I suffered again at the hands of hurricane bolters.  My unit on top of the ruin was wiped out, again taking too many casualties then running from a failed moral test.  On the other side I fared a little better, it took the combined firepower of all 4 remaining Vertus Praetors and the Shield-Captain to take out my Heavy Weapons Squad, I knew they were going to die but used a re-roll to keep one alive forcing all 3 units to put their hurricane bolters into them and leaving my other units alone for the turn.

End of Custodian's turn 2

The Charge phase was better on the Custodians, the warlord was able to get into combat with my Tech-Priest and tanks and the 2 units of Vertus Praetors were able to get into combat with my tanks.  All only taking minimal damage from overwatch.  My tanks would be tied up next turn which was bad and that was only if they survived.

The warlord split his attacks and killed my Tech-Priest and put wounds onto the Demolisher.  The other 4 all attacked the Demolisher and by the end of the turn it was left with just 3 wounds.  It hadn't died but it wasn't looking good.

There was still all to play for, I thought I could do a decent amount of damage this turn and hold out on the left while I took their objective as well which would win me the game.  I needed both Objectives really, the Custodian's had 1st Blood and could easily get Linebreaker & Slay the Warlord by the end of the game, I could get Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord at best so I had to have more objectives then them.

I started by getting my Bullgyns and Commissar out of the Chimera and moving them towards the Custodians, the Chimera started to move towards the Custodian's objective.  I also moved the remaining Command Squad member (with heavy flamer) and the Company Commander up towards them.  My Cyclops moved back to the other side of the ruin since that was the way the Custodians had gone.  I pulled both tanks out of combat, they couldn't shoot but I was going to force the Custodians to face overwatch if if they wanted to charge me again.  Finally my Infantry Squad moved towards the two units of Dawneagles.

In shooting I opened up what I could.  Most of my decent firepower was gone or tied up but I could put some down.  The Assassin was able to do two wounds to the last Vexillus, his ability to hit and wound on 2+ and ignore invun saves (which the Adeptus Custodes really like) was great.  Like I said I think I might pick up another Assassin (I already have a Vindicare and Eversor) and run a Detachment of them.  I also used the Grenadiers Stratagem on my Bullgryns to get a shooting attack out of them before they charged and apart from that my turn was pretty much ineffective.

In the combat phase my Infantry Squad changed one of the units of Dawneagles.  When they did my opponent got very paranoid, he thought I was up to something (which I was) and didn't know what.  He then said it didn't matter what I had planned because he was going to kill them all, but that was fine.  I knew next turn the hurricane bolters would wipe out the squad so I decided to get some damage in first.  I attacked with the Guardsmen but as expected the bayonets were no use against the best the Imperium has to offer.  But when the Custodian's fought back I was very careful about what models I took off in what order, as my last Guardsmen died, it was my vox-caster, I used Fire On My Position.  Hitting both units of jetbikes and the warlord I was able to kill one biker, put wounds on another and put wounds onto the warlord.  It cost me a unit of Guardsmen but given they were dead next turn it was worth it and they probably earned their cost back with that one charge.

End of Cadian's turn 2

On the other side my Bullgyns and Commissar charged the two Vertus Praetors.  The weight of attacks and strength of the Bullgyns were able to kill the remaining bikers.  The Bullgyns were in the thick of it next turn but had dealt a serious blow to the Custodians on this flank.

It hadn't been the best turn with poor shooting, but I had killed a few more Custodians and every one was a bigger lose to them than a Guardsmen was to me.

The Custodian's turn was fairly quick with so few models left to move.  The only real movement was the warlord chasing after my Battle Tank and the two man unit of Dawneagles moving over towards my other Battle Tank.

During the shooting the Custodians were able to take out the Demolisher, that freed them up to charge other targets.

End of Custodian's turn 3

During the charge phase there was plenty of action.  I used Defensive Gunners on my Battle Tank to score a couple of wounds on the warlord as he charged and although he was hitting hard he couldn't eat though all the wounds left on the Tank Commander.  In the middle the single Vertus Praetor charged my warlord who was still tucked behind the two ruins.  It was a one sided fight and I was never going to come out on top, my Commander died and scored the Custodians Slay the Warlord. 

On the other end of the board the two Vertus Praetors charged my Battle Tank, it was already low on wounds and didn't take much to finish off.  The last of the Custodians in the centre joined in the fight with the Bullgyns.  They killed one of the Bullgyns, but the last one standing was able to fight back and kill the Vexillus Praetor before being killed by the Sheild-Captain.

I was further on the back foot now, I'd lost most of my heavy hitters now and it was more a game of trying to take out enough that I could hold out on the objectives now to win me the game.  I had an Assassin, a Company Commander, an Infantry Squad, Cyclops, a Battle Tank Commander and Chimera left to fight against two Shield-Captains on Dawneagles, 3 Vertus Praetors and 2 Allarus Custodians.  It wasn't good for me but if I could score a couple of kills I might be able to hold out long enough to score the objectives at the end.

End of Cadian's turn 3

I started by moved the Tank Commander back out of combat, again I wanted the Custodian to take overwatch if he wanted to charge me, he was running low on wounds and a half decent roll could take him out and free up my last tank.  Next I brought the Cyclops round and got him up close and personal with jetbikes.  Last I brought my Chimera up to go round the back of the ruin to the objective, that was my final play, get the transport on the Objective for Linebreaker and 3 VP from the Objective.

In the shooting phase I detonated the Cyclops.  This one wasn't as hard hitting as the last one but I killed one of the bikes and did some wounds to the other in the unit.  My Assassin also did some more wounds to the Allarus Custodians.  Again I didn't have much fire power but I was still making a dent in the elite Custodians.

I didn't do anything else, no charges to make and for now I needed to hold back.

During the Custodian's turn the Warlord and another bike moved towards my Tank Commander, the other regular jetbike moved on my Assassin.  The last Shield-Captain moved on the ruin with my Objective in and the Allarus Custodians went for my Chimera.  This was effectively mopping up what was left of my forces.  I still thought I might be able to hold out and win on points, but it really depended on how the next to turns went.

Their shooting was pretty weak by this point and only 3 Guardsmen were killed by the hurricane bolter from the Shield-Captain.  Nothing else had much effect because either they couldn't wound or made their saves.

End of Custodian's turn 4

Everyone made the charges that I expected of them, the Allarus Custodians charged Chimera, the warlord and one Vertus Praetor charged my Tank Commander, another Vertus Praetor charged my Vindicare and the Shield-Captain charged my Company Commander and Infantry Squad.  I managed to do 3 wounds to the Shield-Captain that charged my Infantry Squad with a well placed krak grenade from the grenade launcher.  I also hit one of the bikes with some blind grenades from my Assassin.  I thought this was my best chance of keeping the Assassin alive for one more turn.

In combat they were able to kill my Tank Commander and kill 1 more Guardsman, plus put 2 wounds on my Company Commander.  My Chimera and Assassin both survived but weren't any good fighting back.

My turn was do or die, I could outrun the Allarus to the Objective and if the game ended turn 5 the Dawneagles couldn't get there to stop me.  But I had to keep the objective in my half or it was all pointless.

I moved the Chimera round and out of combat towards the objective, I could make it there next turn.  Everything else stayed in combat, I figure the Assassin was better off firing his pistol than not shooting at all and getting charged again.  Same with my Commander and Infantry, using Fix Bayonets would be better than falling out of combat and getting shot with a hurricane bolter again.  It wasn't a great plan but I only needed to hold out and both bikes were getting low on wounds so it was possible.

End of Cadian's turn 4

My Assassin shot his pistol and although it hit he failed to wound (pistol wounds infantry on 2+ but annoyingly this wasn't an infantry model).  My Company Commander did wound with his plasma pistol but the Shield-Captain made his invun save.

In combat I wasn't able to finish off either biker in combat and lost my Company Commander and Vindicare in return.

It was the end of my turn, I hadn't been able to kill either jetbike and had lost my best chances of doing it.  Looking at the board I couldn't win, there was no way the few Guardsmen left would hold out against two Custodians next turn so I would lose my objective, that would give me 3 VP for holding their objective + Linebreaker and them 3 VP for holding my objective + Linebreaker, First Blood & Slay the Warlord.  I decided it was best to call it a day there and I conceded.

Post-Game
It didn't go great for me but I did think it was a close game.  My Guardsmen definitely held out well, however once I started losing heavy hitters I wasn't able to keep killing Custodians but they were still effective against me.

I didn't have an optimised list and maybe if I had included a few other hard hitters I might have killed one more Custodian early and that might have changed the whole game.  But I know I also made a few mistakes, mainly with my tanks.  I set myself up badly and ended up losing the 1st round of shooting because of them losing line of sight after a few casualties were pulled.  This might have been a costly mistake because after that I was basically only shooting overwatch with them and that is far less effective.  A couple of good shots with them and maybe I'd have a few less Dawneagles to deal with later in the game.

Overall a fun game and tense because right up until turn 4 I thought I could still win.  Anyway I'm still learning to use my Guard army and it's not going too badly.  I look forward to playing them again and I can now run 2000 points with my Superheavy (plus I picked a few more models up later in the week) so look forward to playing a bigger game.  Now to buy more Leman Russ tanks.