Post by halos on Aug 23, 2012 13:32:11 GMT
I think this is still where Battle Reports go with the forum changes? I'm putting them here anyway...
Regardless I am back with this weeks Battle Report, this time against the Space Wolves codex. My opponent for this game had not had much chance to play 6th edition and was eager to try out new rules and things so his list is not especially 'competitive' but is quite interesting anyway.
Strictly speaking, although he was using the Space Wolves codex, I don't think his marines were actually Fenrisian space wolves, they had their own colour scheme and some neat jet-bike models:
~Set Up~
This week we even had enough space to grap a full sized table, an unusual honor for a Tuesday evening.
The mission was Crusade, with D3+2 objectives (3 in this case) on the Dawn of War deployment type (12" deployment lanes.)
The Space Wolves won the roll to pick table halves.
Terrain was rolled and ended up rather sparse with only 8 pieces on the board.
The Tyranids won the roll to place the first objective which resulted in one objective near each players deployment zone and one in the centre.
Warlord Traits were the Wolf Lord with the Command trait Inspiring Presence allowing all nearby units to use his Ld instead of their own and the Hive Tyrant with the Strategic Trait Conqueror of Cities granting all Tyranid units Move through Cover (ruins) and Stealth (ruins.)
~Deployment~
The Space Wolves won the roll for first deployment and their list was as follows:
•HQ
-Wolf Lord (Frost Axe, Bike, Iron Halo)
-2 Fenrisian Wolves
-Rune Priest (Bolt Pistol, Master of the Runes)
-Wolf Priest (Power Maul, Bike)
•Troops
-10x Grey Hunters (Power Fist, Plasma Gun)
-10x Grey Hunters (Power Fist, Melta Gun)
•Elites
-5x Wolf Scouts (4x Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher)
-5x Wolf Scouts (4x Sniper Rifles, Heavy Bolter)
-4x Wolf Guard (2x Powerfists, 2x Frost Axes, Bikes)
•Fast Attack
-4x Bloodtalon Bikers
-Bloodtalon Attack Bike (Multimelta)
-4x Bloodtalon Bikers
-Bloodtalon Attack Bike (Heavy Bolter)
•Heavy Support
-5x Long Fangs (5x Missile Launchers)
-Sargeant
The opposing Tyranids list is the same as you've seen many times before:
•HQ
-Hive Tyrant (2x TL Devourers, Armoured Shell, Old Adversary)
•Troops
-15x Termagants (Devourers)
-15x Termagants (Devourers)
-Tervigon (Crushing Claws, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught, Catalyst)
-Tervigon (Crushing Claws, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught, Catalyst)
•Elites
-3x Hive Guard
-2x Zoanthropes
-6x Ymgarl Genestealers
•Heavy Support
-Trygon
-Trygon
Captain Drogor sat atop his ancient jetbike, a formidable relic of a long forgotten age and one of the many which made his chapter so formidable in combat. Shining steeds of chromium and ceramite, more than capable of driving apart any enemy battle line or defensive formation, the Spears of the Emperor were well regarded for the ferocity in mounted combat.
The Rune Priest swaps his powers for the Divination table rolling up Foreboding (swapped for Prescience) and Misfortune.
The Grey Hunter squads deploy in reserves, their short range weaponry making them useless for the early game turns and, as the Wolves only scoring units, too valuable to risk for no gain.
The Rune Priest joins the Long Fangs atop a large ruin, hoping to use his formidable witchcraft to aid the heavy weapons. In a lower level of the ruins directly below the Long Fangs a squad of Wolf Scouts set up their missile launcher. The second Scout squad sits just behind the ruins, ready to move into it as the game begins. The Wolf Lord joins a squad of Bikers and sits in the middle of the board. The second Biker squad is deployed towards the right flank. The Wolf Priest joins the Wolf Guard and is placed behind the Wolf Lords squad as a formidable counter-charge/second wave as the game demands.
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All Tyranid psykers swap their powers for Biomancy, with the exception of the Zoanthropes who also take the Telepathy Primaris power Psychic Shriek in the hopes of wounding bikes regardless of their toughness. The Hive Tyrant gains Iron Arm and Warp Speed, the teal Tervigon rolls Iron Arm, Warp Speed and Smite and the second Tervigon Endurance, Enfeeble and Warp Speed. In addition to Psychic Shriek one Zoanthrope gains Warp Speed and the other Endurance.
The Ymgarls are placed in reserves and will enter play from the large building occupied by the Long Fang squad.
One gant brood and a Tervigon are placed on the right-most objective. A Trygon is also deployed nearby to deal with any incoming bikers. The remaining 'nids deploy centrally behind a large wall with the exception of the remaining Trygon who deploys in a ruin on the left to act as a distraction.
The Tyranids attempt to Seize the Initative but fail. Night Fighting rules are in effect for the first game turn.
~Turn 1~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 0 / Tyranids 7
•Space Wolves
Nights were naught but brief respite from the burning sun of Monthal Prime, a ring of shattered debris surrounded the planet and occasional large fragments would shield the desert world below from the stars baleful gaze for blessed moments. Captain Drogor had been waiting for just such a moment to begin his strike; the battlefield ahead plunged into sudden darkness, the adaptive lenses implanted into the corneas of his warriors reduces disorientation as they gun forwards towards the massed alien forces gathered around a reeking pool in the dust-filled valley below.
The Rune Priest casts Prescience on the Long Fangs. (Although all their missiles hit without needing the re-rolls this turn.) The Wolf Priest gains Preferred Enemy: Monstrous Creatures for himself and his unit.
The green Wolf Scouts move up into the ruins for that valuable cover save. The Wolf Lords squad move rapidly forwards whilst the second Biker squad move at a more oblique angle, skirting into some ruins on the right flank.
The running scouts hastily hunker down into firing positions having spotted the Trygon hiding ineffectively in a ruined building to the south however they are forced to Snapfire, and with +2 to it's cover save from Stealth and Night Fighting, the Trygon remains unharmed. The remaining Scouts, Long Fangs and green Bikes fire into the nearby devourer Gants, however a 2+ cover save and the inability to wound models you cannot draw LoS to ensures only one gant is slain. On the other flank a second gant is killed by the second bike squad.
•Tyranids
Had the Tyranid Hive Tyrant been capable of feeling emotion in any capacity it would have been smiling; the Space Marines had rushed headlong directly into her trap. This battlefield was a deathzone for the heavily armoured troops; the valley walls were composed of loose-grain sand making it impossible to scale without slipping and sliding back down to the canyon floor. In addition the creatures under the Tyrants control were commanded to act as if weary, ready to return to the digestion pond when in reality they are freshly spawned and battle-fit. As the marines charge forwards the loose sand begins to boil upwards as the true bulk of the Tyrannic forces emerges from shallow hollows beneath the dust. Monstrous Tervigons spewing forth their murderous cargo and almost doubling the Tyranids fighting strenght in an instance.
The claimed Objective turns out to be a Targeting Relay and the central objective proves to be a useless Skyfire Nexus. The Tyrant and teal Tervigon throw up an Iron Arm whilst the Zoanthropes and remaining Tervigon cast Endurance on the far left hand Trygon and the teal devourer gants respectively. The green Tervigon also spawns 16 fresh termagants but uses her entire carrying capacity in the process.
The lone Trygon fails his Synapse check and gains Rage, sweet, but then rolls poorly through difficult terrain and is stuck far out of range of any potential charges, lame. On the right flank everything scuttles forwards to get the bikes in range, leaving the new black gants exposed like this may lose the Tyranids First Blood but the bikes need to be dealt with. In the middle everything shuffles up to the large wall-like ruin. The gants hop up onto a balcony to get some shots at the nearby bikers. The Hive Tyrant moves so that both gant broods will benefit from her Preferred Enemy bubble.
The shooting phase begins poorly; on the right both the black gants and the Tervigon fail to wound any bikers. T5 is a tough not to crack. The devourer gants then only manage to cause 6 wounds. Fortunately 5 of those armour saves are failed, and the remaining Bike flees off of the board edge. Devourers are awesome (when your opponent is ludicrously unlucky.) In spite of all probability a similar story occurs with the second Bike squad, the Hive Guard cause only one wound and the Devourer gants only 8 but this still ends up with 2 wolves, 4 bikes and half and attack bike being slain with only the Wolf Lord left on full wounds.
~Turn 2~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 0 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Gunning his bike ever forwards, battle brothers loyal and true falling behind as the air is suddenly filled with wicked projectiles. A trick! The brutes had laid a trap, as if they could think or plan ahead! It never pays to underestimate your foe, so says the codex Astartes, and this day Captain Drogor had paid that price. Still his remaining men held a readily defensible ruin, if he can return there they day could still be his. Sweeping the chassis of his bike in a wide arc to withdraw to a safe distance, only to see a looming shadow fall across his path; a monstrous Trygon stands between him and victory, lifting his axe from it's holster on the bike Drogor snarls a war-cry and guns the throttle.
Both Grey Hunter squads show up, just in time to reinforce the Space Wolves in their ruin. The Rune Priest once again casts Prescience on the Long Fangs and also manages to cast Misfortune on the nearby Trygon, forcing it to re-roll any succesful saves.
The Wolf Lord and wounded attack bike head towards the Trygon and the bike-mounted Wolf Guard Turbo-boost across the map.
The Heavy Bolter scouts and the Wolf Lords Bikes fire into the Trygon, who loses a wound when forced to re-roll his saves. Meanwhile the Long Fangs and Scouts, now no longer fighting in low-light conditions, fling missiles across the board into the black gants caught out in the open, no cover saves for those guys and 7 are slain outright.
The Wolf Lord smashes into the Trygon, neither Hammer of Wrath attack does anything but the Lords mighty Frost Axe is more effective, cleaving down a further 2 wounds, which would have been 3 were it not for FnP. The Trygon decides to Smash as the Lord does not have the Saga of the Bear to protect him from Instant Death causing two wounds; slaying the Attack Bike and crushing the Wolf Lord through his failed Invulnerable save. The Trygon consolidates towards the Wolf Guard.
Tyranids
His jetbikes thrusters firing as fast as possible; dangerously close to a catastrophic overheat, Chaplain Logunar speeds across the desert sands just in time to see his Captain crushed mercilessly by some collosal beast. The self-same beast which even now heads towards the Space Marines building. Such a monster cannot be allowed to breach their defenses, turning his bike in a tight arc Logunar orders his loyal comrades to repel the creature at all costs.
The Ymgarls do not arrive this turn. The wounded Trygon is unfortunately just out of range of Endurance from the Zoanthropes so they cast it on the devourer gants instead. Both Tyrant and Tervigon Iron Arm themselves again and the remaining Tervigon casts Endurance on her nearby devourer gants. The green Tervigon spawns a few gants onto the central objective.
The wounded Trygon heads towards the Wolf Guard, he'll probably die from all the power weapons in there but he'll likely cause some damage regardless, unfortunately he passes his Synapse check so no Rage this turn (damnable Ld8). The remaining black gants head towards the right most objective whilst the green Tervigon and her gants move to assist the main Tyranid push. Everything else begins to move towards the Space Wolves and their formidably defended ruin.
The Hive Guard attempt to pick off some Long Fangs but their shots bounce harmlessly from thick armour.
The Trygon rushes bodily into the Wolf Guard, causing five wounds before succumbing to a hideous number of powerfist attacks. The Wolf Priest opts to take the wounds saving all but two, dieing in the process but preventing any Wolf Guard from being slain. (*shenanigans*)
Haaarrrghhhh! Punch, splat, dead
~Turn 3~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 3 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Brother-Chaplain Logunar is dead, but his death was not without cause as the collosal frame of the Trygon lies outside the Space Wolves perimeter. With the fire of Logunar's final words in their hearts the remaining jetbikes lance onwards, spying a trio of squat creatures which seem to provide the Xenos' only heavy firepower, if those beasts can be routed than holding this position becomes significantly easier...
Once again Prescience on the Long Fangs. The Hive Guard are just out of range of Misfortune, and the gants get neither cover save nor armour save in their current position, and FnP does not count as a save, so that power isn't used this turn.
The Wolf Guard head towards the Tyranid ranks and the Grey Hunters move to occupy the ruin, spreading out as much as possible to deny the Ymgarls if they show up in there.
Here we see a little bit of 6th edition trickery which I have a feeling may begin to play a bigger part of a lot of games; both the Long Fangs and the Scouts open fire into the teal gant brood. Now as you have to remove the closest model this, once FnP is resolved, opens up a hole in the gant screen allowing the Wolf Guard free access to the Hive Guard brood behind. Obviously in this case the screen was out of cover, which is unusual, but still make sure you position not just the gant screens but also the units their screening very carefully to try and prevent these occurances. The Grey Hunter runs further into the ruins, revealing the last objective to also be an ever-so-useful Skyfire Nexus.
Fortunately for the Hive Guard the Wolf Guard fail their charge move and we are denied and Guard on Guard action.
Welcome to the Space Wolve Super-Fun Holiday Villa! Now in incredibly blurry mode because Halos can't take pictures worth a damn!
Tyranids
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Carefully lining up a shot through a ruined window frame Perando heard a rustling noise from behind. Turning his head sharply he can see nothing out of place. His scout team had personally swept this building earlier for any enemy presence, it was probably nothing...
The Ymgarls decide to grace us with their presence this turn, appearing in the ruins in the space not covered by Wolf Scouts or Grey Hunters. (Am I right in thinking that they can only appear on the ground floor?) They head towards some Scouts as they probably can't take on a squad of Grey Hunters...
Iron Arm goes up as usual and Endurance is cast on the teal devourer gants. The Zoanthropes opt to save their Warp Charge to throw some Psychic Shrieking at the Wolf Guard later on.
The Tervigon spawns 10 fresh gants towards the Wolf Guard.
The black Gaunts move further onto their objective and everything else heads towards the Space Wolves. I should probably note that their is an Aegis Defense Line on the board which I have forgotten to put on the map and the teal devorer gants are heading towards that now.
The Hive Tyrant finally gets to use her guns this game and, combined with the fleshborer fire from the gants slays the entire Wolf Guard squad. The Hive Guard manage to kill the two closest missile launchers and the Tervigon and devourer gants kill a couple of teal Grey Hunters.
The Ymgarls charge a Scout squad, killing all but one and losing none of their number in the exchange.
~Turn 4~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 3 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Brother Gordall turned swiftly, his neck swiveling with the curious motion observed in those used to utilising visor HUDs. The alien menace had infiltrated their last bastion by some unknown means and had lain waste to Scout squad Dominitus, as one unit Gordall and his brethren turned to engage this new foe.
The Wolf Priest attempts to cast Prescience but fails with an 11. He than attempts to cast Misfortune on the Ymgarls but they succeed in Denying the Witch.
The green Grey Hunters move to intercept the Ymgarls and the teal squad steps forwards to draw better LoS to the Tyranids.
The unengaged scouts wound the closest Tervigon with a rending shot through the eye whilst the Devastators manage to knock a wound off the Tyrant with focussed missile fire, desperate for the Slay the Warlord VP. The Grey Hunter blast into the brown gants and, with a near perfect round of shooting, slay all 10.
The Grey Hunters then charge the Ymgarls. One Genestealer can only reach the last scout but fails to scratch him. The remaining 'stealers kill two Space Marines but three Ymgarls fall to the super-soldiers martial prowess.
Tyranids
A wall of encroaching flesh and chitin is often the last thing the defenders of a world under Tyrannic assault will see; a horde of bodies far too vast for any military force to counter-act. The problem, of course, lies in that with every victory the Tyranids gain, no matter how hard though their forces grow more numerous through the surplus biomass of their vanquished foes until the foul aliens vastly outnumber any possible rescuers. At this stage the only feasible solution is total planetary annhilation. ++Notes on the dread Xenos; vol 7++
Iron Arms as usual, or at least that would be the case except all Tyranid psykers are now in range of the Rune Priests Runic Staff, which blocks every attempt made at casting a pyshic power; it's like being back in 5th edition!
The Hive Guard sidle out of LoS behind some rubble and everything else advances in a menacing fashion. 11 more gants are spawned but the Tervigon runs out afterwards.
The Hive Tyrant fires into the untouched Scout squad, using her Precision Shots to kill the missile launcher and killing another sniper in the process. The scouts fail their morale check and flee. The Hive Guard kill the last three Missiles in the Long Fang squad whilst the combined weight of fire of two gant broods kills all but two Grey Hunters.
In combat the last Scout is finally slain as are the rest of the Ymgarls.
~Endgame~
The game went on for another turn, but really that was it. The large Grey Hunter squad manned up and charged head first into the spawned gants, killing a fair few before the nearby Tervigon stepped in to put a stop to things. The teal devourer gants were put down to only 3 surviving models, but that was still enough to claim the objective from the cold hands of the slain Grey Hunters. The Wolf Priest was killed by the Hive Guards unthinking marksmanship.
The final scores were:
Tyranids: 11 Victory Points
-Primary Objective x3
-Secondary Objective x2 (First Blood, Slay the Warlord)
Space Wolves: 0 Victory Points
So, yeah, a fun game all told, although hideous luck on my opponents part; losing his Bike squads so earlier, had they stayed alive as probability dictated it would probably have been a much closer game.
Runic weapons are still dumb and need to have like a 12" range or something.
I still think Space Marine bikes are silly looking, but these jetbikes were kinda cool and they are, at least, better looking than Space Marines riding on Woves, so whatever.
In other news I have finished (re)painting my Tyranid army in it's entirety in preparation for this tournament, it's nice to have all the models in the same scheme and not clumsily daubed by a 12 year old.
Also as something of a warning I've been painting Necron Warriors for my brother and damn these are the worst models, so boring. So if you're planning on starting Necrons try and minimise Warrior numbers or something...
I still have 12 more of these damnable things to paint, bluh.
So that's that. I do apologise for using the same list over and over again, come the end of September I'll be free to try using other units and tactics again, I will maybe even take list ideas from you guys if there's anything you want to see on the table? Time will tell.
As usual comment and shout at me or whatever, I don't mind. This may be the last report for a couple of weeks, not sure if I'll be able to get a game in for a little while.
Hope you enjoyed reading.
Regardless I am back with this weeks Battle Report, this time against the Space Wolves codex. My opponent for this game had not had much chance to play 6th edition and was eager to try out new rules and things so his list is not especially 'competitive' but is quite interesting anyway.
Strictly speaking, although he was using the Space Wolves codex, I don't think his marines were actually Fenrisian space wolves, they had their own colour scheme and some neat jet-bike models:
~Set Up~
This week we even had enough space to grap a full sized table, an unusual honor for a Tuesday evening.
The mission was Crusade, with D3+2 objectives (3 in this case) on the Dawn of War deployment type (12" deployment lanes.)
The Space Wolves won the roll to pick table halves.
Terrain was rolled and ended up rather sparse with only 8 pieces on the board.
The Tyranids won the roll to place the first objective which resulted in one objective near each players deployment zone and one in the centre.
Warlord Traits were the Wolf Lord with the Command trait Inspiring Presence allowing all nearby units to use his Ld instead of their own and the Hive Tyrant with the Strategic Trait Conqueror of Cities granting all Tyranid units Move through Cover (ruins) and Stealth (ruins.)
~Deployment~
The Space Wolves won the roll for first deployment and their list was as follows:
•HQ
-Wolf Lord (Frost Axe, Bike, Iron Halo)
-2 Fenrisian Wolves
-Rune Priest (Bolt Pistol, Master of the Runes)
-Wolf Priest (Power Maul, Bike)
•Troops
-10x Grey Hunters (Power Fist, Plasma Gun)
-10x Grey Hunters (Power Fist, Melta Gun)
•Elites
-5x Wolf Scouts (4x Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher)
-5x Wolf Scouts (4x Sniper Rifles, Heavy Bolter)
-4x Wolf Guard (2x Powerfists, 2x Frost Axes, Bikes)
•Fast Attack
-4x Bloodtalon Bikers
-Bloodtalon Attack Bike (Multimelta)
-4x Bloodtalon Bikers
-Bloodtalon Attack Bike (Heavy Bolter)
•Heavy Support
-5x Long Fangs (5x Missile Launchers)
-Sargeant
The opposing Tyranids list is the same as you've seen many times before:
•HQ
-Hive Tyrant (2x TL Devourers, Armoured Shell, Old Adversary)
•Troops
-15x Termagants (Devourers)
-15x Termagants (Devourers)
-Tervigon (Crushing Claws, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught, Catalyst)
-Tervigon (Crushing Claws, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Onslaught, Catalyst)
•Elites
-3x Hive Guard
-2x Zoanthropes
-6x Ymgarl Genestealers
•Heavy Support
-Trygon
-Trygon
Captain Drogor sat atop his ancient jetbike, a formidable relic of a long forgotten age and one of the many which made his chapter so formidable in combat. Shining steeds of chromium and ceramite, more than capable of driving apart any enemy battle line or defensive formation, the Spears of the Emperor were well regarded for the ferocity in mounted combat.
The Rune Priest swaps his powers for the Divination table rolling up Foreboding (swapped for Prescience) and Misfortune.
The Grey Hunter squads deploy in reserves, their short range weaponry making them useless for the early game turns and, as the Wolves only scoring units, too valuable to risk for no gain.
The Rune Priest joins the Long Fangs atop a large ruin, hoping to use his formidable witchcraft to aid the heavy weapons. In a lower level of the ruins directly below the Long Fangs a squad of Wolf Scouts set up their missile launcher. The second Scout squad sits just behind the ruins, ready to move into it as the game begins. The Wolf Lord joins a squad of Bikers and sits in the middle of the board. The second Biker squad is deployed towards the right flank. The Wolf Priest joins the Wolf Guard and is placed behind the Wolf Lords squad as a formidable counter-charge/second wave as the game demands.
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All Tyranid psykers swap their powers for Biomancy, with the exception of the Zoanthropes who also take the Telepathy Primaris power Psychic Shriek in the hopes of wounding bikes regardless of their toughness. The Hive Tyrant gains Iron Arm and Warp Speed, the teal Tervigon rolls Iron Arm, Warp Speed and Smite and the second Tervigon Endurance, Enfeeble and Warp Speed. In addition to Psychic Shriek one Zoanthrope gains Warp Speed and the other Endurance.
The Ymgarls are placed in reserves and will enter play from the large building occupied by the Long Fang squad.
One gant brood and a Tervigon are placed on the right-most objective. A Trygon is also deployed nearby to deal with any incoming bikers. The remaining 'nids deploy centrally behind a large wall with the exception of the remaining Trygon who deploys in a ruin on the left to act as a distraction.
The Tyranids attempt to Seize the Initative but fail. Night Fighting rules are in effect for the first game turn.
~Turn 1~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 0 / Tyranids 7
•Space Wolves
Nights were naught but brief respite from the burning sun of Monthal Prime, a ring of shattered debris surrounded the planet and occasional large fragments would shield the desert world below from the stars baleful gaze for blessed moments. Captain Drogor had been waiting for just such a moment to begin his strike; the battlefield ahead plunged into sudden darkness, the adaptive lenses implanted into the corneas of his warriors reduces disorientation as they gun forwards towards the massed alien forces gathered around a reeking pool in the dust-filled valley below.
The Rune Priest casts Prescience on the Long Fangs. (Although all their missiles hit without needing the re-rolls this turn.) The Wolf Priest gains Preferred Enemy: Monstrous Creatures for himself and his unit.
The green Wolf Scouts move up into the ruins for that valuable cover save. The Wolf Lords squad move rapidly forwards whilst the second Biker squad move at a more oblique angle, skirting into some ruins on the right flank.
The running scouts hastily hunker down into firing positions having spotted the Trygon hiding ineffectively in a ruined building to the south however they are forced to Snapfire, and with +2 to it's cover save from Stealth and Night Fighting, the Trygon remains unharmed. The remaining Scouts, Long Fangs and green Bikes fire into the nearby devourer Gants, however a 2+ cover save and the inability to wound models you cannot draw LoS to ensures only one gant is slain. On the other flank a second gant is killed by the second bike squad.
•Tyranids
Had the Tyranid Hive Tyrant been capable of feeling emotion in any capacity it would have been smiling; the Space Marines had rushed headlong directly into her trap. This battlefield was a deathzone for the heavily armoured troops; the valley walls were composed of loose-grain sand making it impossible to scale without slipping and sliding back down to the canyon floor. In addition the creatures under the Tyrants control were commanded to act as if weary, ready to return to the digestion pond when in reality they are freshly spawned and battle-fit. As the marines charge forwards the loose sand begins to boil upwards as the true bulk of the Tyrannic forces emerges from shallow hollows beneath the dust. Monstrous Tervigons spewing forth their murderous cargo and almost doubling the Tyranids fighting strenght in an instance.
The claimed Objective turns out to be a Targeting Relay and the central objective proves to be a useless Skyfire Nexus. The Tyrant and teal Tervigon throw up an Iron Arm whilst the Zoanthropes and remaining Tervigon cast Endurance on the far left hand Trygon and the teal devourer gants respectively. The green Tervigon also spawns 16 fresh termagants but uses her entire carrying capacity in the process.
The lone Trygon fails his Synapse check and gains Rage, sweet, but then rolls poorly through difficult terrain and is stuck far out of range of any potential charges, lame. On the right flank everything scuttles forwards to get the bikes in range, leaving the new black gants exposed like this may lose the Tyranids First Blood but the bikes need to be dealt with. In the middle everything shuffles up to the large wall-like ruin. The gants hop up onto a balcony to get some shots at the nearby bikers. The Hive Tyrant moves so that both gant broods will benefit from her Preferred Enemy bubble.
The shooting phase begins poorly; on the right both the black gants and the Tervigon fail to wound any bikers. T5 is a tough not to crack. The devourer gants then only manage to cause 6 wounds. Fortunately 5 of those armour saves are failed, and the remaining Bike flees off of the board edge. Devourers are awesome (when your opponent is ludicrously unlucky.) In spite of all probability a similar story occurs with the second Bike squad, the Hive Guard cause only one wound and the Devourer gants only 8 but this still ends up with 2 wolves, 4 bikes and half and attack bike being slain with only the Wolf Lord left on full wounds.
~Turn 2~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 0 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Gunning his bike ever forwards, battle brothers loyal and true falling behind as the air is suddenly filled with wicked projectiles. A trick! The brutes had laid a trap, as if they could think or plan ahead! It never pays to underestimate your foe, so says the codex Astartes, and this day Captain Drogor had paid that price. Still his remaining men held a readily defensible ruin, if he can return there they day could still be his. Sweeping the chassis of his bike in a wide arc to withdraw to a safe distance, only to see a looming shadow fall across his path; a monstrous Trygon stands between him and victory, lifting his axe from it's holster on the bike Drogor snarls a war-cry and guns the throttle.
Both Grey Hunter squads show up, just in time to reinforce the Space Wolves in their ruin. The Rune Priest once again casts Prescience on the Long Fangs and also manages to cast Misfortune on the nearby Trygon, forcing it to re-roll any succesful saves.
The Wolf Lord and wounded attack bike head towards the Trygon and the bike-mounted Wolf Guard Turbo-boost across the map.
The Heavy Bolter scouts and the Wolf Lords Bikes fire into the Trygon, who loses a wound when forced to re-roll his saves. Meanwhile the Long Fangs and Scouts, now no longer fighting in low-light conditions, fling missiles across the board into the black gants caught out in the open, no cover saves for those guys and 7 are slain outright.
The Wolf Lord smashes into the Trygon, neither Hammer of Wrath attack does anything but the Lords mighty Frost Axe is more effective, cleaving down a further 2 wounds, which would have been 3 were it not for FnP. The Trygon decides to Smash as the Lord does not have the Saga of the Bear to protect him from Instant Death causing two wounds; slaying the Attack Bike and crushing the Wolf Lord through his failed Invulnerable save. The Trygon consolidates towards the Wolf Guard.
Tyranids
His jetbikes thrusters firing as fast as possible; dangerously close to a catastrophic overheat, Chaplain Logunar speeds across the desert sands just in time to see his Captain crushed mercilessly by some collosal beast. The self-same beast which even now heads towards the Space Marines building. Such a monster cannot be allowed to breach their defenses, turning his bike in a tight arc Logunar orders his loyal comrades to repel the creature at all costs.
The Ymgarls do not arrive this turn. The wounded Trygon is unfortunately just out of range of Endurance from the Zoanthropes so they cast it on the devourer gants instead. Both Tyrant and Tervigon Iron Arm themselves again and the remaining Tervigon casts Endurance on her nearby devourer gants. The green Tervigon spawns a few gants onto the central objective.
The wounded Trygon heads towards the Wolf Guard, he'll probably die from all the power weapons in there but he'll likely cause some damage regardless, unfortunately he passes his Synapse check so no Rage this turn (damnable Ld8). The remaining black gants head towards the right most objective whilst the green Tervigon and her gants move to assist the main Tyranid push. Everything else begins to move towards the Space Wolves and their formidably defended ruin.
The Hive Guard attempt to pick off some Long Fangs but their shots bounce harmlessly from thick armour.
The Trygon rushes bodily into the Wolf Guard, causing five wounds before succumbing to a hideous number of powerfist attacks. The Wolf Priest opts to take the wounds saving all but two, dieing in the process but preventing any Wolf Guard from being slain. (*shenanigans*)
Haaarrrghhhh! Punch, splat, dead
~Turn 3~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 3 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Brother-Chaplain Logunar is dead, but his death was not without cause as the collosal frame of the Trygon lies outside the Space Wolves perimeter. With the fire of Logunar's final words in their hearts the remaining jetbikes lance onwards, spying a trio of squat creatures which seem to provide the Xenos' only heavy firepower, if those beasts can be routed than holding this position becomes significantly easier...
Once again Prescience on the Long Fangs. The Hive Guard are just out of range of Misfortune, and the gants get neither cover save nor armour save in their current position, and FnP does not count as a save, so that power isn't used this turn.
The Wolf Guard head towards the Tyranid ranks and the Grey Hunters move to occupy the ruin, spreading out as much as possible to deny the Ymgarls if they show up in there.
Here we see a little bit of 6th edition trickery which I have a feeling may begin to play a bigger part of a lot of games; both the Long Fangs and the Scouts open fire into the teal gant brood. Now as you have to remove the closest model this, once FnP is resolved, opens up a hole in the gant screen allowing the Wolf Guard free access to the Hive Guard brood behind. Obviously in this case the screen was out of cover, which is unusual, but still make sure you position not just the gant screens but also the units their screening very carefully to try and prevent these occurances. The Grey Hunter runs further into the ruins, revealing the last objective to also be an ever-so-useful Skyfire Nexus.
Fortunately for the Hive Guard the Wolf Guard fail their charge move and we are denied and Guard on Guard action.
Welcome to the Space Wolve Super-Fun Holiday Villa! Now in incredibly blurry mode because Halos can't take pictures worth a damn!
Tyranids
Carefully lining up a shot through a ruined window frame Perando heard a rustling noise from behind. Turning his head sharply he can see nothing out of place. His scout team had personally swept this building earlier for any enemy presence, it was probably nothing...
The Ymgarls decide to grace us with their presence this turn, appearing in the ruins in the space not covered by Wolf Scouts or Grey Hunters. (Am I right in thinking that they can only appear on the ground floor?) They head towards some Scouts as they probably can't take on a squad of Grey Hunters...
Iron Arm goes up as usual and Endurance is cast on the teal devourer gants. The Zoanthropes opt to save their Warp Charge to throw some Psychic Shrieking at the Wolf Guard later on.
The Tervigon spawns 10 fresh gants towards the Wolf Guard.
The black Gaunts move further onto their objective and everything else heads towards the Space Wolves. I should probably note that their is an Aegis Defense Line on the board which I have forgotten to put on the map and the teal devorer gants are heading towards that now.
The Hive Tyrant finally gets to use her guns this game and, combined with the fleshborer fire from the gants slays the entire Wolf Guard squad. The Hive Guard manage to kill the two closest missile launchers and the Tervigon and devourer gants kill a couple of teal Grey Hunters.
The Ymgarls charge a Scout squad, killing all but one and losing none of their number in the exchange.
~Turn 4~ Victory Points: Space Wolves 3 / Tyranids 8
Space Wolves
Brother Gordall turned swiftly, his neck swiveling with the curious motion observed in those used to utilising visor HUDs. The alien menace had infiltrated their last bastion by some unknown means and had lain waste to Scout squad Dominitus, as one unit Gordall and his brethren turned to engage this new foe.
The Wolf Priest attempts to cast Prescience but fails with an 11. He than attempts to cast Misfortune on the Ymgarls but they succeed in Denying the Witch.
The green Grey Hunters move to intercept the Ymgarls and the teal squad steps forwards to draw better LoS to the Tyranids.
The unengaged scouts wound the closest Tervigon with a rending shot through the eye whilst the Devastators manage to knock a wound off the Tyrant with focussed missile fire, desperate for the Slay the Warlord VP. The Grey Hunter blast into the brown gants and, with a near perfect round of shooting, slay all 10.
The Grey Hunters then charge the Ymgarls. One Genestealer can only reach the last scout but fails to scratch him. The remaining 'stealers kill two Space Marines but three Ymgarls fall to the super-soldiers martial prowess.
Tyranids
A wall of encroaching flesh and chitin is often the last thing the defenders of a world under Tyrannic assault will see; a horde of bodies far too vast for any military force to counter-act. The problem, of course, lies in that with every victory the Tyranids gain, no matter how hard though their forces grow more numerous through the surplus biomass of their vanquished foes until the foul aliens vastly outnumber any possible rescuers. At this stage the only feasible solution is total planetary annhilation. ++Notes on the dread Xenos; vol 7++
Iron Arms as usual, or at least that would be the case except all Tyranid psykers are now in range of the Rune Priests Runic Staff, which blocks every attempt made at casting a pyshic power; it's like being back in 5th edition!
The Hive Guard sidle out of LoS behind some rubble and everything else advances in a menacing fashion. 11 more gants are spawned but the Tervigon runs out afterwards.
The Hive Tyrant fires into the untouched Scout squad, using her Precision Shots to kill the missile launcher and killing another sniper in the process. The scouts fail their morale check and flee. The Hive Guard kill the last three Missiles in the Long Fang squad whilst the combined weight of fire of two gant broods kills all but two Grey Hunters.
In combat the last Scout is finally slain as are the rest of the Ymgarls.
~Endgame~
The game went on for another turn, but really that was it. The large Grey Hunter squad manned up and charged head first into the spawned gants, killing a fair few before the nearby Tervigon stepped in to put a stop to things. The teal devourer gants were put down to only 3 surviving models, but that was still enough to claim the objective from the cold hands of the slain Grey Hunters. The Wolf Priest was killed by the Hive Guards unthinking marksmanship.
The final scores were:
Tyranids: 11 Victory Points
-Primary Objective x3
-Secondary Objective x2 (First Blood, Slay the Warlord)
Space Wolves: 0 Victory Points
So, yeah, a fun game all told, although hideous luck on my opponents part; losing his Bike squads so earlier, had they stayed alive as probability dictated it would probably have been a much closer game.
Runic weapons are still dumb and need to have like a 12" range or something.
I still think Space Marine bikes are silly looking, but these jetbikes were kinda cool and they are, at least, better looking than Space Marines riding on Woves, so whatever.
In other news I have finished (re)painting my Tyranid army in it's entirety in preparation for this tournament, it's nice to have all the models in the same scheme and not clumsily daubed by a 12 year old.
Also as something of a warning I've been painting Necron Warriors for my brother and damn these are the worst models, so boring. So if you're planning on starting Necrons try and minimise Warrior numbers or something...
I still have 12 more of these damnable things to paint, bluh.
So that's that. I do apologise for using the same list over and over again, come the end of September I'll be free to try using other units and tactics again, I will maybe even take list ideas from you guys if there's anything you want to see on the table? Time will tell.
As usual comment and shout at me or whatever, I don't mind. This may be the last report for a couple of weeks, not sure if I'll be able to get a game in for a little while.
Hope you enjoyed reading.
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