Orks Vs. Necrons: 1,500 points, December 12, 2009

The map is shown below. Objectives are red dots. Green dots are trees. The brown ovals are hills, the central feature is a swamp, the grey box with two posts is an altar, and the long thin grey lines are fences. The mission: capture a majority of the three objectives on the board at the end of four turns.

Necronoob won the roll for the side selection (boxcars!) and chose the south side, with the two small hills. He then proceeded to win the deployment roll, and opted to deploy and move second.

D'Ork's deployment is shown below:

The two wagons deployed to the right, with a long line of bad moon shoota boyz in the center. To the left is a Trukk filled with Nobz, ready to charge up the hill. I felt pretty good about this arrangement, since the Kustom Force Field (KFF) in the inside wagon was protecting itself, the other wagon, and all of the Bad Moonz. The only risk was the nobz. They were already getting the short end of the stick, what with being stuck in a Trukk instead of a wagon - and now they were alone on the left flank, without KFF support. I was heartened by the fact that they would at least get to move before Necronoob's guns hit them. The Bad Moonz could support everyone from the center, and protect my middle from teleporting Necron warriors. The wagons could move through the relatively open right side towards the objective there, assuming they got past the fences. This setup basically gave the far left objective in the forest to Necronoob.

Necron deployment:

Necronoob deploys a massive 18-man Necron unit led by his Lord to his right, screened by scarabs. Two 10-man warrior units deploy, one to his center and another on his left. All of the Destroyers - two 3-man squads, one Heavy Destroyer, and a Destroyer Lord - all deploy to his far left.

Below is a shot of the map with everyone ready to go, and Agnes wondering what the hell she's gotten into:

Ork Turn 1:

Predictably, the Orks roll forward en masse. All three vehicles pass their dangerous terrain tests, rolling over fences and hills. We decide that the fences are destroyed. The Deathskullz, led by the Warboss, disembark from their wagon and run towards the necrons. The Goffs in the second wagon bide their time, deciding to let the Deathskullz take the brunt of the Necron firepower. The Nobz jump out of their trukk and bravely cower behind the hill with the objective. With the main hill slowing them down, the Bad Moonz are forced to run just to keep pace. With so much movement, there is no gunfire, and no necrons are harmed in the making of this turn.

Another look:

In the bottom of Turn 1, the Necrons respond:

So much for "protecting [the Ork] middle from teleporting Necron warriors." They do it anyway, and stick the landing again, directly behind the Bad Moonz. The other warrior units all move forward, and the Destroyer Lord moves toward the Deathskullz. The other Destroyers, including the Heavy, move to outflank the Ork right side and get shots on the soft side armor of the wagons.

Another shot (that's Agnes' Dalek from Doctor Who in the foreground, looking over the battle):

Necronoob's teleported warriors unload on the Bad Moonz, handing out 17 wounds to the 30-man mob. But - for the first time in Ork history - the KFF makes itself useful, saving 7 of them from certain death. One unit of Destroyers unloads on the Deathskullz, killing plenty despite the KFF. The Heavy Destroyer nails the closest wagon, and the KFF fails, but the Orks get lucky and he doesn't penetrate the wagon side armor of 12. The other Destroyer unit also goes for the wagon, and gets six hits. Needing a 4+ for KFF saves, D'Ork does this:

That's three 5's and three 6's. No way to plan for that. KFF rules!

The warriors on Necronoob's right side fire on the Trukk, stunning it. The Destroyer Lord on Necronoob's left flank opens up on the Deathskullz, and charges them. The Deathskullz manage to knock down the Destroyer Lord, and then pass their casualty LD check, thanks to the Warboss. [MISTAKE! The Deathskulls should have taken their shooting-casualty Ld check immediately after the Shooting Phase, before the assault, see rulebook page 44. In this case it didn't matter, because they passed anyway. But if they had failed and fallen back, the Destroyer Lord assault may not have happened, and/or they could have been routed. A unit can be forced to take two LD checks in a turn if they suffer shooting casualties of 25% or more, and then lose an assault.] They use their consolidation move to get closer to the nearby warriors.

Ork Turn 2:

D'Ork fails a 4+ roll to bring the Kommandoes in from reserve. The nobz adjust their position slightly to continue hiding, but otherwise remain in place. On D'Ork's right, one wagon shifts to cover the nearby objective, and the Warboss and his remaining Deathskullz charge the nearby warriors. That assault turns into a push, with two Orks and two Necrons falling.

In the center, the Bad Moonz spin on their heels to deal with the teleported warriors, and the Goff's wagon-driver throws it into reverse, spilling his charges and the Big Mek into the fight. Gunfire from the two wagons fails to do anything, and even the concentrated firepower of the Bad Moonz and the Goffs only knocks over two Necrons. The resulting assault became the pivotal battle of the game.

The Lord has Gaze of Flame, that eliminates the Ork charge bonus, but through sheer numbers and Furious Charge, the Orks manage to knock over all but one warrior and the Lord with their attacks. The Orks lose two boyz in return, thanks to the Lord's Lightning Field. The Necrons lose the assault and fail their morale check (it would have required snake eyes on 2d6), and then move only 5" in their fall back. The Necrons are "Trapped!" [see rulebook page 45] and destroyed. [MISTAKE! D'Ork forgot to take his consolidation move for the Goffs and the Bad Moonz]. 


Necron Turn 2:

Here Necronoob takes his WBB rolls. One of the dead warriors facing the Warboss gets back up, and the Destroyer Lord rises. But critically, the Necron Lord and his Resurrection Orb do not make their 4+ roll, and as a result neither do any members of his large warrior squad. The result:

The Heavy Destroyer shoots for the far wagon, but misses. The Destroyer Lord and one Destroyer squad shoot and assault the Deathskulls, killing off the last boy and the nob, and leaving only the boss. The other Destroyer squad assaults the nearby wagon, stunning it with their shots but failing to damage it in close combat. The warrior squad on Necronoob's right moves around the hill a bit and takes aim at the trukk, stunning it again.

Ork Turn 3:

D'Ork kicks off the turn by again failing to bring the Kommandoes in from reserve, even tho he only needs a 3+. Calling down the WAAAGH, the Goffs double-time it to help the assaulted wagon. The Morkolith (black wagon) and the Bad Moonz fire at the Heavy Destroyer, but the Heavy makes his armor saves. The nobz hold their ground, and the Warboss is still locked in combat.

Before the assault phase begins, Necronoob decides that the Destroyers in combat with the wagon and the Goffs would be lost, and concedes the game. His warrior squad on the hill would have fallen back to the third, unclaimed objective. The Goffs would have rolled forward to finish off the few remaining warriors on  D'Ork's right, and the Bad Moonz would have sat on the objective near them; the nobz would have continued to sit on their objective, for a final score of 2 to 1 - a marginal Ork victory.