Armoured Company

This could be quite the interesting match up, those meltaguns, assuming they are allowed to close, could do some real damage to the tanks, even front on. And the powerfists, given long enough, could also do a lot of damage... However, I think the mission is strongly in favour of the tanks.

The tanks set up clustered together presenting only front armour to the scouts. From there, they unload on them every turn while advancing towards the far board edge. This leaves the Death company with two options, either, try and kill tanks, or go for the objective. Either way I don't see it being winnable. The tanks can pick off units of scouts each turn even while crossing the field, they also can survive a reasonable amount of punishment, even with the powerfists facing them. The assault sqaud will drop in, however, they will have to start out fairly far away or risk scattering into a tank and being whiped out. So on turn 1 they won't get their 2d6 (most likely) making them unlikely to hurt their target. Even if they do, on the next turn they'll likely be blown away by concentrated Str 8 template fire.

That leaves just the scouts to take out all of the tanks (in close combat) and get across the field and stay inside the company's deployment zone, I just don't see it working. The Scouts can do a fair amount of damage to the tanks yes, but they'll take heavy losses from all the heavy bolter fire, flamers, and templates from any tanks that move more slowly. End result, a lot of dead scouts, outside the company's deployment zone, several dead tanks, but the rest of them inside the target zone. Tanks win, it'll be rough, but because the death company can only take them down in close combat the tanks can secure the objective while the death company can't.

 

Ac

Scouts can infiltrate on each side of the tank formation and should be able to charge first turn for side armor, or if they're lucky rear armor. This allows ony one tank per side to fire at the squads at a time with a sponson heavy bolter, or risk scattering their ordinance into themselves. Next turn the scouts can go for rear armor, forcing the tanks to turn around and deal with scouts or charge off towards the DC's deployment zone for the mission objective. The assault squad can skirt around the field picking off tanks one at a time.

 

If you'll pardon me for being blunt...
First turn charge on the side armour? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!


Ok, so the scouts infiltrate, that puts them between 12 and 18 (most likely closer to the 18) inches from the front of the tanks. Then they "fleet" earning them at most (emphasis on most) 6 more inches. So long as the tanks don't set up to let the scouts hide (and trust me, being able to infiltrate only 12 away takes some doing, especially with 10 man squads. If even 1 of the squads could get a first turn charge on the front armour I'd be amazed (since they have to start at least 18 away). 1st turn charge on the side, no way it's happening.

Any reasonably intellegent comander is going to set up the tanks in a wedge, either groups of 3-4 to present the maximum front armour, or a super wedge (put all the tanks together making a roughly 240 degree front arc). Set that up against the scouts, there's no way the scouts will be able to hit side armour on turn 1, it's just not happening.

Even if they get side armour (which I think I showed they won't) the tanks then pull away 6 inches, turn (which doesn't cost them) they then present wedges 5-6 inches wide (3 tanks) and 3-4 inches deep. How are the scouts getting rear armour again? It just isn't going to happen.

Yes, it's going to be rough, but the scouts will not be able to hold the armoured company deployment zone. The scouts won't destroy all the tanks on turn 1. Their forces will then be hit heavily by heavy bolters and\or pie plates. They're going to lose a lot of troops on turn 1 or 2. And it's going to cost them, a lot. It won't be a blowout, but there's no way the death company wins this one (at least I don't see a way for it to happen, if anyone can give me a reason to change my vote I'll do so, but "first turn charge on side armour" simply isn't going to happen.)

 

armored company

I just see too much AV 14 for the scouts to deal with. By using the table edges and each other the tanks can keep their side armor protected from the scouts for the first couple of turns while they riddle them with a large amount of AP4 fire and a few insta-killing ordinance blasts.

The melta-guns would be a problem but they probobly won't make it across the table before they get splatted by ordinance.

 

I'm not sure either way, I mean yes the armoured company have the ability to cross the field and get enough of their own to the death company deployment zone but that does greatly effect their shooting. (Remember that if the tanks move then their average scatter is most likely four or higher.) It could turn out that by moving, the only thing they end up accomplishing is getting themselves closer while only hurting some of the scout squads rather than wiping them out and possibly leaving them vulnerable to return damage. (A scout sergeant charging the front of those tanks causes .41 glancing hits. Not much but thats if the tank being charged wanted to move and fire. The number doubles to about .83 glancing hits if the tank stood still for some reason.)

As for first turn charge; Paul is right in that its not happening. Now given cover, area terrain, and if those tanks form up in one or two wedges they cannot cover all line of sight lanes to keep all six squads from infiltrating that close. Regardless, deployment zones are still 15" out so the armoured company can probably manage to keep the 18" infiltrating squads from getting a first turn charge and maybe even the 12" squads if they deploy far enough back. (But then they run the risk of not being able to make it the the opposite deployment zone in time what with no less than four or five turns of constant movement needed to put them in the deathcompany deployment zone. That would be four or five turns, barring those wedges having to compensate for difficult terrain and area terrain.)

The wedges themselves are a big reason as to why I'm not to sure; yes they leave the armoured company fairly impenetrable but at three or four tanks they are large and somewhat unwieldy. At some points they are going to have to break formation to keep moving to the objective and that/those time(s) are the biggest openings for the death company to do damage.

 

would the death company even be able to enter the enemy deployment zone if no enemy were within it? or am i misunderstanding the whole 'as long as you end the move closer to the enemy' thing?

 

That's actually a really good point. I believe the rule says that they must end their turn closer to the enemy than they began it.

So all the armoured company has to do is get all their units out of their own deployment zone and it will render the death company completely unable to gain the objective. And then they'll just need to get one tank into the enemies deployment zone to win. Think they can do it?

 

If the armoured company keep driving the Death Company have to follow them. As for getting side armour its not hard to deploy formation to deny an assault on the side.

And remember theres a nasty little hellhound in this list.

 

Ac

um yea.

Armored company knows there is only 1 unit that can deploy by infiltrate in a blood angels list.

They therefor put all their tanks in the open.

Then they truck to the other side of the battle field, blasting all the way.

 

:yes: yay me, i actually contributed to something