2000 Return to Live Tournaments. ITC Kraken/Kronos

[zimko]

After what feels like an eternity, my local State is allowing meetups of up to 50 people. So this weekend the local shop is having a 16 person RTT, masks required, followed by a 32 person GT the following weekend. 6 of the top 20 players currently ranked in ITC have tickets to go so I expect it to be highly competitive.

I'm putting my Behemoth/Kronos list on the backburner because I don't think the super Flyrant is going to do well with all the changes to Admech and AM that came out since he roamed the table. Instead I'm going with a more traditional Kraken list with extra emphasis on board control to focus on the newer ITC objectives. The bonus objectives especially are much easier to obtain.

Kraken Battalion
Broodlord: Resonance Barb -- 115
The Swarmlord -- 250
19 Genestealers -- 228
19 Genestealers -- 228
18 Genestealers -- 216
27 Hormagaunts -- 135
27 Hormagaunts -- 135

Kronos Battalion
Neurothrope: Warlord -- 90
Neurothrope -- 90
3x3 Ripper Swarms -- 99
6 Hive Guard -- 258
Exocrine -- 155

The terrain at this location includes 2 NOVA Ls in the middle, 2 ruins in opposite corners, 2 hills in opposite corners and 2 'area terrain that counts as forest' opposite each other between a ruin and hill along the long board edge. Pretty standard ITC terrain. With that in mind, my goal is to go second in most matchups. Opt for a depoyment where I'm far away from my opponent and have more places to hide such as vanguard or hammer/anvil. Then use Metabolic Overdrive and Opportunistic Advance on Hormagaunts to snag objectives for holding more at end of turn and for taking the bonus. If my opponent has speed enough to screen my own movements, then the genestealers will charge and use Overrun to accomplish the same goal. The Swarmlord, assuming he's still alive, will help get units up the board and into good hiding spots until it is their turn to sacrifice themselves for points. Hive Guard and Exocrine will keep my opponents honest, killing targets of opportunity to get me a point for kill one, and a decent shot at kill more if I can hide the rest of my army. Ripper Swarms arrive to score secondary objectives and hold objectives too far out of the way for me to keep other units there.

This strategy is similar to what Nick Nanavati uses for his GSC/Tyranids, but I want to stick to pure Tyranids. 

[brianb9999]

I actually had a coaching session with Nick a few weeks back after my first tournament back. I had a similar list, and after talking with him, we basically turned it into the list you have posted (swapping a unit of hormagaunts for gargoyles). I was thinking about taking it to this month’s RTT but I may give my gaunt carpet a spin before 9th hits. But anyway, I think the list is solid and plays the ITC board control game well.

[iniquity]

Interesting run down, now wondering if I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve been using 2 big boobs of gaunts to get sappers/recon but I usually end up holding them back and using a unit of stealers for pressure so I can explode out onto the board t2 and try to maximise manoeuvres secondaries turn 3.

[zimko]

Jun 10, 2020 6:47:29 GMT iniquity said:

Interesting run down, now wondering if I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve been using 2 big boobs of gaunts to get sappers/recon but I usually end up holding them back and using a unit of stealers for pressure so I can explode out onto the board t2 and try to maximise manoeuvres secondaries turn 3.

I think you want to send out the gaunts earlier. I wouldn't make hormagaunts sappers. Give Sappers to the Ripper Swarms. Use the Hormagaunts and genestealers to limit your opponent's movement. Then deep strike Rippers onto objectives where they are safe. On arrival, 2 units of Rippers with sappers will score 2 points if you can deep strike them onto 2 separate objectives in the mid field. Then if they both survive, you max it on turn 3. Hormagaunts and genestealers can score you recon, but if you make one of those units a sapper unit then they can't score you recon AND sapper on the same turn, and they become liability. You want your gaunts to be expendable. If you make them sappers then they're not expendable until you max sapper.

[zimko]

Jun 10, 2020 1:46:27 GMT brianb9999 said:

I actually had a coaching session with Nick a few weeks back after my first tournament back. I had a similar list, and after talking with him, we basically turned it into the list you have posted (swapping a unit of hormagaunts for gargoyles). I was thinking about taking it to this month’s RTT but I may give my gaunt carpet a spin before 9th hits. But anyway, I think the list is solid and plays the ITC board control game well.

Glad to know that I'm on the same track as Nick. I do have 30 gargoyles and thought about bringing them in place of one of the horm units. But in the end I think objective secured is more valuable. Also, gargoyles cant benefit from the Kraken stratagem so their speed isn't even higher than horms if you use that stratagem. The only advantages to gargoyles is FLY and their larger bases allow them to spread out more to block movement. It's a tough call.

[iniquity]

Jun 10, 2020 18:04:29 GMT zimko said:

Jun 10, 2020 6:47:29 GMT iniquity said:

Interesting run down, now wondering if I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve been using 2 big boobs of gaunts to get sappers/recon but I usually end up holding them back and using a unit of stealers for pressure so I can explode out onto the board t2 and try to maximise manoeuvres secondaries turn 3.

I think you want to send out the gaunts earlier. I wouldn't make hormagaunts sappers. Give Sappers to the Ripper Swarms. Use the Hormagaunts and genestealers to limit your opponent's movement. Then deep strike Rippers onto objectives where they are safe. On arrival, 2 units of Rippers with sappers will score 2 points if you can deep strike them onto 2 separate objectives in the mid field. Then if they both survive, you max it on turn 3. Hormagaunts and genestealers can score you recon, but if you make one of those units a sapper unit then they can't score you recon AND sapper on the same turn, and they become liability. You want your gaunts to be expendable. If you make them sappers then they're not expendable until you max sapper.

Ill have to try playing it that way. My thinking with making the  gaunts sappers because its super easy to double score with 1 unit on turn 2 then double score with the 2nd unit on turn 3, also baiting people into killing a unit of gaunts that is weaved in and out of los blocking terrain is super jucy for denying a kill. But i do really find my self in the situation where im trying to hide everything lol. This is probably where im going wrong. 

[zimko]

Went to the RTT. I was 2 and 1, losing the final round to Custode vehicles.

Playing this many models after a couple months away from the game was quite the challenge. I finished 2 of my games, and made to turn 4 on one of them.

Game 1 was vs Eldar/Dark Eldar with 3 Ravagers, 3 Razorwings, 2 Voidbombers, 3 Shadow Weavers, 3 Falcons and an Autarch and an Archon. I went second. It was a close game. I won 32 to 26. My general plan worked really well. I was scoring 5 points to his 1 on turns 2, 3 and 4 simply because he couldn't move all my Ob Sec units off the objectives. I used Metabolic Overdrive on Hormagaunts to sit on 4 objectives at the same time with a single unit, and he simply didn't have the guns to kill them AND the genestealers. Especially after i wiped out his Ravagers on turn 1. I did eventually run out of steam but I had such a lead that he couldn't catch up.

Game 2 was vs 3 Knights, 4 scion units with characters to give them orders, and 3 Ad Mech Disintegrator. This game stopped on round 4. If it continued I may have lost. There were only 3 objectives, and he sat a Knight on one of them such that I couldn't snipe it with a unit without that knight heroically intervening into it. I did it once to get the bonus, but giving him so many extra attacks from melee meant I ran out of models fast. I did kill 2 of the knights and one of the Disintegrators, so I maxed BGH. But that last knight was going to hurt on turns 5 and 6 if the game had continued. I won 23 to 21.

Game 3 was vs Custodes with the really big flyer that had 2 bombs (he rolls a die for each model in a unit up to 20, 4+ does a mortal), 3 big tanks (14 wounds each), 3 smaller tanks (8 wounds each), 2 bike characters with 3++ and 2 non-bike characters providing reroll auras. Everything is really resilient, and he had a decent number of shots. The bombs did a good number on my genestealers. I did have a great moment with the Broodlord. My opponent selected Postman with one of his bike captains, and moved up to take his 3rd point for Postman, but was within 3" of my broodlord. Well he shot the Broodlord to death, then I fought him for 2CP. I got him to 1 wound remaining, so I used Implant Attacks and finished him off. That denied my opponent 2 points for Postman. It came down to the last turn. My Swarmlord survived the whole game, killed one of the big tanks but he couldn't kill the other on the last turn. Game ended 30 to 27 in favor of the Custodes.

So all my games were close. I love using Hormagaunts in this way. In the custodes game, I moved a Hormagaunt unit a total of 46" using Metabolic Overdrive, Opportunistic Advance and Hive Commander. That unit scored me the bonus and hold more that turn and managed to stay outside of 3" from the 3 characters that were on those objectives. I did something like that every game and if felt really good to be able to just snipe the bonus objective like that. But in the end, I was barely able to hold on each game. It's definitely not an easy play style.

Next weekend is the GT. I'm not going to make any changes. Fully painted is required so I'm ready to go with this list. I have another Exocrine in the box and am considering putting that in the list. But we're so close to 9th edition that I might as well wait and see if Exocrines are still good after seeing the rules and point changes before I build it.

[tomb]

Great write up, thank you. Best of luck next weekend and let us know how you get on!

[zimko]

GT finished. Placed 7th out of 32 with 3 wins and 2 losses. I played against 3 mixed Imperium lists, and 2 Aeldari lists.

Game 1 was vs Mixed Imperium with Blood Angels, Ad mech and AM. 3 Disintegrators, Skitarri, Tank Commander with super demo cannon, Tank Commander with super battle cannon, Infantry Squads, Death Company, Sang Guard and characters. I took first turn and ended up with Search and Destroy deployment. I used the Exocrine to clear out a screening unit to give my genestealers an opening to his Death Company and 2 characters. Another unit of genestealers charged 2 infantry squads and scouts, and hormagaunts used double move to spread across the board and zone out any re-deploy shenanigans. This picture is what the board looked like after my turn 1.
i.imgur.com/maPyzWD.jpg
The sang guard came in and did a decent amount of damage. Also his Demolisher TC outflanked. So he managed to get a decent number of points but the game was pretty much over after turn 1.
35 to 22 Tyranids win

Game 2 was vs Mixed Imperium Blood Angels, Ad mech and AM (I'm sensing a theme). 3 Disintegrators of course, Skitarri, Daedalosus, Tech-Priest, Archaeopter (the new flyer), Demolisher Tank Commander, Company Commander, 3x Infantry, Smash Cap, Sang Priest, 3x Scouts, Sang banner, 2 units of Sang Guard (8 man and 9 man). Jonas is a very experience player and knew what he was doing. He also got first turn. I chose the pointy Hammer and Anvil deployment. This was after deployment.
i.imgur.com/sA5s3nK.jpg
The flyer is super annoying. He turned, flew straight into my middle genestealers, then turned mid-flight and flew into my back right corner. It can fly 70" and make a turn during flight. Which means, even though it's in the corner and facing the corner, it can turn 90 degrees before moving, move a milometer, then turn 90 degrees and move in the complete opposite direction from where it started. And it has bombs. He rolls 10 dice on a unit of 10+ models and deals a mortal on 4+. Usually a bomb ability like this is once per game but not for this guy, he gets to do it every turn. So on his first turn he bombed some genestealers with it, and on my first turn I used Hive Guard and smites to blow it out of the sky. Still for only 100 pts that is super annoying.
Anyway, rant over. It was a very close game. There was a lot of back and forth play, lots of stuff died. I don't remember everything because all the Imperium games kind of blurred together but the end score was...
28 to 24 Imperium wins

Game 3 was vs Mixed Imperium. Space Marines and AM (no ad mech). 2x Primaris Psykers, 2x30 Conscripts, 4x5 Scions, Tank Commander Demolisher, Tank Commander Battle Cannon, a Trojan, 2 Basilisks, 1 Wyvern, 2 Captains, 1 Librarian, 3x5 Scouts, 2x3 Eliminators.
I won choice of attacker and defender, I chose attacker. Deployment was Hammer and Anvil. He castled up around a ruin in the corner. He put his 60 conscripts into 2 massive arcs that were nearly base to base around his castle. He made a mistake in putting the 2 sets of conscripts too close together so that I didn't need to overrun to reach the second unit, but it wouldn't have changed the outcome. I used swarmlord to launch a unit right in front of the conscripts. Everything else just moved up. Hive Guard moved, received Onslaught, and killed a unit of Eliminators. I attempted to shoot twice and kill the other unit but he used a stratagem that made them untargetable due to scouts being closer, so I killed those scouts instead. My exocrine softened up the first unit of conscripts since it was the only thing he could see. The genestealers, ate the rest. Then I consolidated up, fought again, and piled into the other unit of conscripts and killed all but 2. They died to moral.
So I asked him about the conscripts and why he took them. Apparently, with a bunch of psychic powers, they can get up to 3+ armor and 4 or 5+ invul? That is a hefty screen and would allow his artillery to slaughter. But me going first meant he couldn't get all those buffs off before I just destroyed them.
Anyway this is the board after my turn 1.
i.imgur.com/4drCDyG.jpg
The rest of my army was within attack range. So it was just way too much for him to kill. I swarmed him.
39 to 19 Tyranids win.

Game 4 was vs Harlequins, actual pure harlequins. He had 3 Troupe Masters, 1 Shadowseer, 1 Death Jester, 1 Solitaire, 6x5 Troupes with Fusion Pistols, 6x Starweaver transports, and a unit of 6 Skyweavers and a unit of 5 Skyweavers with Haywire Cannons and Zephyrglaives.
He won the roll off and chose to go first. I castled and waited for him to come to me. Then we had lunch. There's not a lot to say about this game. He didn't have enough volume to kill me and I had plenty to kill him. His army looked good though.
i.imgur.com/VR0L2uh.jpg
42 to 17 Tyranids win

Game 5 vs Harlequins and Aeldari. 2x Warlock Skyrunners, 5x Dire Avengers, 2x8 Storm Guardians, 2 Shadowseers, 1 Troupe Master, 1 Death Jester, 1 Solitaire, 3x10 Troupes, and 3x6 Skyweavers.
So he had almost twice as many skyweavers as the last guy, and he knew a stratagem that the last guy didn't. It's a new stratagem that lets up to 3 units redeploy. He won the roll off to go first. I basically deployed the same way on opposite side from his Skyweavers, but then they all redeployed and were all able to get within charge range of my screens on turn 1. He also had better target priority than my last opponent, and fired everything he could into Genestealers. He also used a stratagem for 6" advance on a unit of troupes, plus the psychic power for double move, to push a unit of troupes to also be in charge range. With their smaller bases, the were able to leap over the hormagaunts to charge some genestealers that were softened up by the Skyweavers. They killed all those genestealers, and piled into the Hive Guard. They fought again and kill the Hive Guard. The Skyweavers charged my hormagaunts and kill all of them. So after turn 1, I lost 2x27 Hormagaunts, 1 full unit of Genestealers and another unit was reduced to 10 models, and all 6 Hive Guard. Yikes. In return however, I managed to make a game of it by using the Swarmlord, my remaining genestealers, and a super charged Exocrine (2CP for +1 damage) to reduce his 18 Skyweavers to 7. I also killed the invasive harlequins. Next turn, I lost another unit of genestealers. Solitaire and some troupes charged the Swarmlord, and he survived with barely a scratch. In return, the Swarmlord and Broodlord punched out the Solitaire. Then on my turn the Swarmlord finished off a unit of Skyweavers. This back and forth continued, with him lauching more units at me to snag the bonus, while I feasted on sweet fragile elf things. In the end he won, but it was a bloody match. I never left my deployment zone except for some rippers that snagged Engineers on a far-off objective.
42 to 24 Aeldari win

Decent enough results. Everyone was a little rusty but friendly about allowing some give and take with screw ups. (For example, I'd allow my opponent to take back a move that he obviously wouldn't have intended and he'd do the same for me). Overall it was very sportsman-like and everyone wore masks and avoided touching other's stuff. With the results in ITC I went up in points slightly so I'm happy with that. I look forward to 9th edition when the points increase so I don't have to run so many models!

[garg]

Thanks for the write up zimko, keep safe out there.