"40k Battle Report - Fate of Konor: Invasion!" Topic

We are a bit behind the curve on our Fate of Konor games, but we figured we would weigh in as the Death Guard invade Ultramar. Astaramis is being defended by the Marines Errant as Plague Marines, Poxwalkers, and Cultists all crash down upon their lines, ably assisted by a few Daemons of Nurgle.

Armies
We just used small 60-point forces (Power Ratings, heresy!) for a short afternoon's worth of play, and I decided to forgo the most powerful units to take a small horde-ish ‘comedy' force.

Army of Nurgle (Battalion)
Lord of Contagion (Tenacious)
Plaguecaster (Miasma of Pestilence, Gift of Contagion)
Herald of Nurgle (Miasma of Pestilence)
Plague Marines x 7 (Power Fist, Plasma Gun)
Poxwalkers x 20
Chaos Cultists x 20
Plaguebearers x 20 (Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos)
Nurglings
Foetid Bloat-Drone

We are going with a fair horde here, with 70 models racing across the battlefield to invade Astaramis. The Plaguecaster and Herald will be using Miasma of Pestilence during the advance to keep the Plaguebearers who will be at a -2 to be hit!) and something else relatively safe, which the Bloat-Drone will be buzzing about because I know how much the Marines Errant player likes to see it in an army (!).

Marines Errant
Chaplain
Tactical Squad
Tactical Squad
Terminator Assault Squad (Lightning Claws)
Assault Squad (Sergeant with Lightning Claws)
Devastator Squad (Missile Launchers)

With the ability to use cover all round, this looks like the perfect defensive force for the Marines Errant.

For the full report and lots more piccies: link

Another very nice AAR. It emphasizes one thing I'm not sure about with 8th--units don't retreat (failed morale), so there's no way to drive attackers back and casualties seem to be even higher overall.

I've looked at 8th edition with an open mind and a little hope that it would return 40K to the realms cool and fun gaming.
Sorry, I just don't see it. I have watched ten games and asked lots of questions while trying to grasp how this game works and they have all looked the same to me, just like this report.
Haphazardly line them all up, roll a bunch of dice, remove some figures, grumble, consults a few logic and sequence distorting "special rules" roll some more dice, remove some more figures, pack it all up and go home. No tactics, no maneuvering, just a contest of special rules that make zero sense and feel like a collectible card game rules bonanza. No one seems to be having much fun…..not even the winners.
What am I not seeing that others might be?

Emckinney: Falling back is a voluntary thing, and it happened a lot in that battle. Marines are pretty resilient to Morale, but the Death Guard lost a lot of men that way.

Der Krief Geist: Not sure what to tell you – we had a huge amount of laughs in that battle. The Marines Errant made two attempts to flank the Death Guard, but got beaten back twice, and you should remember that (aside from the drone) there were no fast moving vehicles – this was an infantry battle where one side was advancing into a defended position.

As for the special rules… you have to buy into the universe for them to make sense (if you do, they do). If you are not really into 40k… well, cannot really recommend you get into it. It is about the universe more than the game.

In a nutshell, it is a system designed to get models doing cool things on the battlefield akin to the novels. If you go looking for that, you will have a good game. If you are looking for something else… another game may better suit you.

Der Krief Geist: I'll put it another way :)

Take a look at the photo in the original post.

The forces of Nurgle have attacked a set of Imperial worlds and have bombarded the agri-planet of Astaramis. The Marines Errant know the enemy have landed and are advancing to wipe them out. Then, slowly, out of the mist, they see the Poxwalkers and Plaguebearers advance towards them. The Chaplain gives the order to take aim…

If you want to know what happens next, play 40k. If not, then (as I said), another game may be better for you. It is not as if there are not loads of them :)

Thanks for the feedback. :) I get it. I like narrative in games also. I play WH40K RT and 40K 2nd ED. I just find the new rules all image and no substance. The fluff is inconsistent and illogical to the maximum,and I am a fantasy and sci-fi affectionato, so I have a lot of room for fluff,McGuffins and unobtainium. I just find the the new 40K seems to take sounding cool much more seriously than actually being cool. Guess I just tire of special rule hero hammer……. or I am missing some point somewhere.

I don't know if you are missing something. Background-wise, 40k is a lot tighter today than it was in the 2nd edition days (and a lot more than RT – I date back to those days too :).

On top of that, if the background is your thing, they have nailed the rules set in 8th. It is kinda like the rules become 'invisible' during play – after a game or two, you will never consult the core rules again (like AoS), as everything you will need is on the Datasheets.

What issues are you having with the fluff?

"(Power Ratings, heresy!)"

Heh, my club uses Power Ratings too. Just far faster to put together lists and try out new things without having to worry about point whoring to the nth degree. Fortunately we have a good group so there really isn't any blatant taking advantage of the lack of granularity :)