Trying Out Renegades

I finally managed to get a couple of games in with Imperial Armor 13 renegades, and I was very pleased with the results.  Two of my oldest friends, Alex and Phil, wanted to get a couple of games in.  Alex and I decided to play The first game



Here was my list:

Command Squad: Mark of Nurgle, heretic magus, vox-caster, grenade launcher x2

Infantry Squad: x20, militia training, 6+, 6+ fnp, autocannon x2, flamer, chaos sigil
Infantry Squad: x20, militia training, 6+, 6+ fnp, autocannon x2, flamer, chaos sigil

Infantry squad: melta gun x2, militia training, 6+ fnp
Chimera

Zombies: x20

Chaos Spawn
Chaos Spawn

Helhound: x2

Wyvern: x2

Leman Russ: x2

Aegis Defense Line

Lord of Change: ML3, greater gift x2, lesser gift
Horrors
Daemon Prince: Tzeentch, ML3, Wings, Armor, Greater Gift x2, Lesser Gift

When I was making this list I did think, 'This is a fairly mean list', and I almost toned it down, but I remembered that both Alex and Phil play to win and do not pull punches.  When I saw Alex's list I realized that I made the right decision.

Alex brought:

Commander: drone controller
Crisis suits: plasma
8 gun drones

Kroot
Kroot
Kroot
Kroot

Broadsides: Missiles
Broadsides: Missiles

Riptide: Ion Accelerator
Riptide: Ion Accelerator
Riptide: Ion Accelerator

Piranha: x2

Void Shield Generator (3 shields)


Unit Performance:

My blob squads were amazingly resilient behind the aegis.  More surprising was the fact that I could rely on them to not run.  The combination of the command vox-caster from the nearby command squad and chaos sigil mean that they were steadfast, and I could go to ground if needed.

The Zombies absorbed a ton of firepower.  On turn one they got targeted by a squad of broadsides and only lost 4 models.  They did a great job of tying things up and not dying.

When I brought the spawn I expected to use them to smash things in close combat, but that didn't happen.  In fact spawn have become more and more disappointing in combat without some kind of buff or support.  On the other hand they were great at running around and capturing objectives.

I love hellhounds.  They always do well, and this game was no exception.

Alex's void shield prevented the wyverns from doing much, but the two times I took down the voidshield I wiped out the entire command squad.  The heavy flamers also came in great use when some kroot outflanked right next to me.

The leman russes spent most of the game plinking away at the void shield.  Such is life.

My Lord of Change summoned a couple of squads of daemons, but that was about it.  Once he got out into the open he was a fairly large target for all of the Tau shooting.

The horrors were a great support unit for the blob squads.  They hung back casting prescience and were ignored by most shooting.

Unlike the Lord of Change my daemon prince got some action and ate a riptide.  Unfortunately this left him on the ground and a priority target for two squads of broadsides.  I did not have iron arm, and while I was fairly durable with my gifts (+1 wound, it will not die, 4+ FNP)  it was not enough to weather the firepower from the tau army.


The Brief Rundown:

My army played as the classic 'hammer and anvil'.  All of the guardsmen and Zombies stood behind the aegis and took an amazing amount of punishment while the fast moving units ran around the side of the board to engage the Tau on their flank.  In general I had some difficulties getting through the void shields, but when I did I rained hell down on Alex.  I did end up winning, but it was by a narrow margin, and if the game had continued past turn five things might have ended differently.

Overall this seems like a fun army with quite a few effective builds.  I am looking forward to playing with them more.