Okay time for the second mission. This game was against Tyranids:
HQ
Broodlord w. Implant Attack, Extended Carapace, Flesh Hooks, Toxin Sacks & Infiltrate
11x Genestealer retinue w. feeder tendrils
Troops
11x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
11x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
10x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
10x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
10x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
10x Genestealers w. feeder tendrils
Heavy Support
2x Carnifexen w. enhanced senses, barbed strangler & venom cannon
3x Zoanthropes w. Psychic Screeeem, Warp Blast, Warp Field (-3
Ld to my leadership for all units within 18" of the three xenos psykers... aaargh!!!)
The mission was quite hard to say the least. There were three objectives. The first two were placed along the table center line 12" inches from either short edge and the third one smack dab in the middle. You won if you could move more objectives off your long table edge than the opponent. Note that you had to make contact with an objective one turn then could only move it 6" each turn thereafter. The objective itself had to hit your table edge, so no conga line with the furthest most squad mate from the objective touching the table edge. Also you could not put an objective in a vehicle. So if we do the math, assuming each objective was roughly 4" wide, you started 24" in then it would take at least 6" + 6" + 6" + 6" moves to get it off... four turns plus the first turn (assuming you setup so that you could touch an objective the first turn). That is five turns of uninterrupted movement with a couple to spare if you happened to roll well for extra game turns. I don't think many people won this one... no more than four out of the 20+ players at the
RTT.
I knew it was going to be tough to win and as I said earlier I was playing to gain experience with the 5th edition rules... so I went into it with the attitude to have some fun and kill as many of the filthy xenos as possible. As it turned out I did actually have an opportunity to win late in the game then my opponent had a little tantrum when he realized this and complained about my rhinos using OCE to block off
LOS from his gun fexes targeting my squad of tactical Marines slowly dragging the objective towards my table edge. It was funny in a sense as the game ended after turn five and neither of us could move an objective off the table.
Anyways onto the battle... my opponent won the roll for deployment and first turn and chose to do so. We both had a large building in the middle of our DZs. My opponent placed both gun fexes and his Zoanthropes behind his building with all those genestealers hugging around the back of it. I setup all three rhinos on my left side to go for one objective with both Baals in my building along with the
LST. I placed my
LRC in-between the rhinos and Baals.
- First Turn -
One unit of genestealers moves towards my left objective and use fleet to get within spitting distance. The gun fexes and Zoanthropes amble into their central building. The Broodlord and his retinue hang back behind the building, while another unit of genestealers move into a building on my right, creeping up on that objective. The only bio-guns with range to my mech line are the venom cannons... they both target the rhinos but can only manage to shake one.
My rhinos pull up behind the building to my left using it for cover from the gun fexes. The
LRC is out of range and moves up a bit so it can starting pounding genestealers to the right the next turn. The
LST stays in the central building along with the two Baals, all moving up to the front edge. All heavy bolters target genestealers to the right and kill a few.
- Second Turn -
This turn the genestealers all started to pile out of their building going straight towards all three objectives. One squad of genestealers on his right (my left across from my three rhinos) moved up onto that objective while the other two objectives were still unengaged. Again only the gun fexes' venom cannons had range and did no damage to my mech line.
My rhinos all pulled up into the building where the left objective sat. Both tactical squads disembarked ready to rapid fire the lone genestealer squad to my left holding the one objective. I was also able to move one squad of tactical Marines into the objective and maintain at least 1" of separation from the genestealers. Both squads rapid fired along with all three rhinos' storm bolters. When the smoke cleared there was not one genestealer left in that unit. My
LRC, two Baals and the
LST pivoted and smoked another unit of genestealers that were moving towards the other objective over to my right. The assault Marines kept tight inside their rhino waiting.
- Third Turn -
More genestealers move up to grab the objective to my right, while the objective on my left is beyond the Tyranids' reach now and the central objective is surrounded by my
LRC, two Baals and
LST. The gun fexes and Zoanthropes all target my two tactical squads in the building to my left and do enough wounds to force both to test. I failed both leadership tests but fortunately neither unit fell back that far and could immediately regroup the next turn since there were no enemy units close enough to keep them broken.
My turn both tactical squads regroup and the one unit touching the objective was still in contact since they had only fallen back a few inches and had spread out around it. Unfortunately I could not move that turn so that the objective sat still. Mephiston bailed out of the
LRC and rolled up next to a unit of genestealers close to the central objective while the assault Marines disembarked as well and moved into a position to shoot and assault another unit of genestealers that had moved up towards my left objective that I now controlled. The two rhinos that had carried the tactical Marines rolled into place to cutoff some
LOS from the gun fexes and Zoanthropes that would be shooting the Marines holding my left objective. The
LRC, two Baals and
LST sat still ready to shoot all guns into the genestealers over towards my right objective. One beauty of the mechanized army is that you can roll up and shoot enemy units outside of terrain such that they are denied cover saves from other friendly units. Both tactical squads inside the building to my left opened up on another unit of genestealers double tapping them to death. The
LRC, two Baals and
LST vaporized the unit of genestealers moving towards the right objective. The assault Marines drenched their closest unit of genestealers and charged them, killing enough to bring them below half strength and keep them tied up for another turn. Mephiston fired his plasma pistol, killing one genestealer, rolled for Might of Heroes successfully and killed another five before they could hit back (i.e., I7 on the charge due to proximity with Corbulo) and survived the return attacks also keeping his enemy unit tied up for another turn. There were just enough genestealers left to surround Mephiston but my opponent bunched a couple together so that the Broodlord would have a spot to dig into my Librarian the next turn. I did not say anything and let it ride. I should also mention that Mephiston was now touching the central objective due to his movement during the charge.
At this point early in the game the genestealer unit kill count was roughly 1 + 1 + 1 + 1/2 + 1/2. :ph34r:
- Fourth Turn -
The Broodlord and his retinue come out of their centrally located building ready to counter attack Mephiston. There are no genestealers over to my left, so that objective is mine as long as I can keep moving back and pass any morale checks due to enemy shooting. There are just too many Space Marine guns in the middle for the Tyranids to take the central objective so the two remaining genestealer units besides the Broodlord's retinue move out towards my right objective but trying to keep in terrain for some desperately needed cover. One gun fex targets the
LST and manages to immobilize it. One of the Zoanthropes cannot target the tactical Marines moving the left objective so it shoots the rhino that had transported the assault Marines and shakes it. The rest of the Tyranid shooting is poured onto the tactical Marines carrying the left objective... I take a couple wounds but they pass their leadership test! The Broodlord is able to move into base contact with Mephiston by being placed on top of the central objective... but he completely whiffs in close combat. The Broodlord's retinue is not in base contact with Mephiston so my Librarian goes simo with the remainder of the genestealers from the previous round of combat and kills them all while amazingly taking no rending wounds. Mephiston is then surrounded by the Broodlord's retinue. The assault Marines are trashed by the genestealers they are fighting but a couple of Marines survive along with their sergeant and finish off the unit... they consolidate back into the left building beside their shaken rhino safely out of sight from the Tyranids bio-guns... nicely done.
My turn the tactical Marines carrying the left objective roll for
DT and up pops a 6! They move back towards my table edge and out of the left building (to the left) to wisely forgo anymore
DT tests. At this point they are effectively out
LOS from one gun fex and two Zoanthropes. The
LRC pulls up to the Tyranid building so that Corbulo and the
DC can gang charge one of the gun fexes and one of the Zoanthropes. I machine spirit the
LRC linked assault cannon on another Zoanthrope still in the Tyranid building and it drops a wound. The two Baals and
LST sit still pounding into the two right most genestealer units, taking another unit below half. The other tactical squad and assault Marines move into a position to drop the last wound on the already wounded Zoanthrope with massed gun fire and do so. Corbulo and the
DC gang charge dropping one wound on the Zoanthrope and another wound on the Carnifex by way of
DC rending attacks. In return the Carnifex manages to splat one
DC Marine... so now only one Carnifex and Zoanthrope can shoot at my tactical squad ferrying the left objective. The Broodlord has a good round of close combat and finishes off Mephiston - oh well, he did his job. The Broodlord and his retinue consolidate back towards his table edge pulling the central objective with them, but left out in the open.
- Fifth Turn -
The Tyranid player is sweating now as he is not going to be able to get an objective off his table edge while his shooting has been drastically reduced. The remaining genestealers to my right come out from cover and go for that objective... too little too late. The Broodllord and his retinue move back again with the central objective looking across the table at my two Baals and
LST. On top of that the
LRC is right there to the left of their central building. He cannot assault the
LRC with the unengaged gun fex if he wants to shoot at my tactical Marines carrying the left objective... the same applies with the unengaged Zoanthrope... so he chose to shoot the Marines but failed to do any wounds.
My turn is when the game became un-fun. I used OCE for two rhinos to completely cut off
LOS to my tactical Marines carrying the left objective and my opponent went nuts when he realizes I could move the objective off the table the next turn. He claimed I was making extra movement at the end of the rhino movement phase to make sure I cut off his
LOS. The way I saw it each rhino could move up to 18", which I did with one but nothing beyond that measure. I asked the
TO for his opinion after the game and he told me it was okay. Anyways it didn't matter that much to me... sure I would have liked to win but I was more interested in having a fun game, which had been up until this point. So the tactical Marines dropped back again in position to ferry off their objective the next turn. The
LRC poured everything into the Broodlord and his retinue, killing a good number of them. Both Baals and the
LST continued to shoot the last of the genestealers to my right dropping them below half.
My opponent rolls for turn six and up pops a
! I had to laugh. The game was a good opportunity to learn more about using my mech army in a multiple based objective mission so that was a good thing.
G
