40k 10th edition Orks v Templars

The Gaming Heir emerged from retirement for a game of 40k.

We grabbed the assorted GW freebies from their website (rules, army lists and points values are all available to download, though they are scattered across a series of pages) and using the Quick Start rules gave 40K a spin. 500 points, not using the CPs, straight stand up fight.

Da Boys line up. 

The wartorn desert planet

The Dreadnought Brother Waldkrauz guarded one flank.

Whilst Templar Brethren held the centre.

Waaagh!

An early Ork Rokkit had a nasty effect (we may have played this first one wrong)

Brother Waldkrauz was mobbed by Nobz.

And with a well-timed Waaagh Klan Gruzzkupp surged home.

Marine Krak took out a few boyz

The NObz dealt with Brother Waldkrauz took on some Boyz.

But more lurked in reserve.

The big fight in the middle decided things - the two commanders killed each other, but Orky weight of numbers saw the Templars dragged down and stomped. Only a badly damaged Dread remained when we called it.

40K is a very silly and needlessly complicated system. Seemingly *every* rule and role has a potential modifier - all great fun to remember and apply when you're fourteen I guess, just infuriatingly hard to do when you're Old and Grey. For instance in a turn when you've called a Waaagh, *every* roll in the Combat Phase you make with your Orks is modified, Attacks, to Hit, to Wound are all improved - it the Warboss is leading them there's another modifier too. The end result is that it feels like the winner is likely to be the person who best knows and remembers to use all their special modifier rules - that the "game" is a test of remembering mechanics and rules rather than of tactics. But I'm not (and haven't been for many years) the target market for this.

On the whole I'd much rather play Xenos Rampant.