This is my first time playing both with this group and with the Imperial Guard so I was hoping for a good showing expecting a full day of random 1v1 with space wolves, chaos marines, dark eldar and tau. Since I haven't playd
40k in the last 15 years or so, I was also hoping I han't lost my touch. For some reason I can't explain, I randomly decided to get back into it, picked up an
IG codex and a whole lot of models and asked around and it turned out someone I knew actually plays. Hazoo!
So, 2 of the 5 of us can't make it so we go in for a 1v1v1. The fluff comes in later, after the dark eldar player sees us unloading our respective armies.
The Forces of Battle:
IG:
CCS w/ lascannon
PCS1 w/Lascannon
-IS w/autocannon
-IS w/autocannon
-IS w/missile laucher
SWS w/3x
GL
PCS2 w/4x
GL
-IS w/flamer
-IS w/Plasma gun
Leman Russ
BT
w/
HB and
HB sponsons
Leman Russ BBT
w/ Plasma Cannon sponsons
Basilisk
Tau:
2x BIG tanks
2x transports w/8 warriors
1x 6 man squad of warriors
2x Single
HQ Giant armour suits with 2x very irritating floating shields each
1x Giant armour deepstriking suit w/
TL melta gun (I hate this guy)
Dark Eldar
2x paper mache (however that's spelled) sailboat tanks
3x paper mache sailboat transports
2x 10 regular close combat squads
1x 5 man/woman? close combat squad
1x rediculous WS9 3+ invuln save
HQ who attacks more times per turn than I drink beer in a week
(sorry for lack of detail on their armies. I remember what they were, just have no idea what they're called) Sadly, I forgot my camera so this will have to be a pictureless report. I'll try to use Directions so you can follow general movements :(
Set-up:
The terrain is layed out by the dark eldar player as we unload our armies, and we randomly assign ourselves 12"x24" corner deployment zones (Tau has the NW, Imperial Guard has
SW), except for the dark eldar player (he has the middle of the East table edge). In each deployment zone there is an objective and there is a 3 story fortified tower dead center on the map as the 4th objective. There is quite a bit of cover strewn around randomly for all out men to cower in so maneuvering out from my tiny corner will be arduous. Now, in addition to getting to set up in the middle of one table edge, The Dark eldar leader realizes there is NO terrain in his deployment zone. I offer to trade, as my men are way to close for my liking, but he says he`d rather risk it since he set up the table. As he spaces his transports out (he goes first followed by the Tau player, then I go), I ask what number I have to roll to "seize the initiative". He slowly removes his army from the field and declares he's simply raiding a Tau and
IG battle already in progress.
Thus the battle is set. The only deployment of note is mine (since there is no Dark eldar on the map and the Tau are set up out of
LOS except for one massive tank that can fire clean through my entire deplotment zone). With 70 models 3 vehicles and tones of terriain in my area my men look like live lobsters in a supermarket tank all piled over each other. Both Russes face off against the one of the Tau's "Rail gun" tank.
Turn 1
DE:
Mad cackling is heard by the players, but the Tau/
IG models have no idea it's 1v1v1 yet.
Tau:
His army splits in half with a tank and transport sliding along the north table edge towards the
DE deployment zone. His 6 man squad heads into a set of ruins and claims his objective, while his other tank lines up a shot an pings it off my Plasma Russ. His other transport puts a set of ruins inbetween it and my army and his
HQ's move, run, jump into the center objective securing but not capturing the objective.
IG:
The 2 Russes roll forward towards the Tau lines, followed by the Plasma squad. The Flamer squad move and and run, just making it into cover (large boulders/rocks) 12-15 inches away from the objective defended by those giant Tau's. The
CCS moves and runs to the door of an actual bunker just out of my deployment zone and gets ready to commandeer it. The
ML squad moves over and seizes my objective while the
PCS w/
GLs,
SWS, and two auto cannon squads advance and run to spread out heading in the direction of the
DE deployment zone. Then the guns open up. Both Russes fire on the Tau tank and score a penertrating hit with a "hit", but the tank makes some sort of field save of 4+ and nothing happens, with the other shot scattering off the table. Then the artillery fires and scores a direct hit on the transport but only stuns the crew. Then my Las
PCS open fire and blow the engine off the tank. Really the worst possible result as it A) got my hopes of killing it up when the tank failed it's save, and B)Did nothing but turn the flying tank into a bunker with a railgiun (which had
LOS to 85% of my deployment zone and 75% of the rest of the table). Technically first blood to me, but not nearly as much blood as I hoped.
Turn 2
DE:
ZOOM! In comes a transport and it makes for my advancing men with 10x close combat alien scum and hides behind a ruined building, removing
LOS to everything but one of my
AC squads. Also, both "tanks" arrive and make a beeline to stop the Tau advance on the
DE deployment zone. The
DE fires his lances at the tau and... nothing happens, just misses and field saves. His troops stay embarked in the transport facing off against me and the turn moves to the...
Tau:
The deep striker shows up from reserves and is placed within 10" of my basilisk. He then scatters 8" towards the table edge 1.5" from the side of the basilisk and 1.5" away from the table edge. The Tau in the Ruins unload on my men advancing with the tanks, but are just out of range. While the bunkertank fires again and this time just misses. Well, not one to be shot at with no reprisals, the mobile rail gun tank takes careful aim at the offending
DE "tank" and fires. But the Gunner's aim is too precise and he blasts the dark lance that shot at him earlier. The transport squeezes in between the tank and area cover and unloads the men behind cover and out of sight. The 2
HQ's unload on my men in the rocks and despite good cover saves 2 go down. Then the Deep stiker meltas the basilisk, which gets wrecked and the prepares to be the first Tau to die. First actual blood to the Tau.
IG:
Now I'm mad. I stayed up late glueing the damned thing together the night before and I only get to shoot it once. Fine. I'll use my other ordenance. The missile squad moves into 12" range of the deep striker and lasgun him until he stops twitching. The
AC squad and
SWS redeploy so as not to get caught in the same close combat, while the 2nd
AC squad, the one that can draw line of sight to the
DE transport fires and is rewarded with a vehicle destroyed result. The plasma squad runs to get closer to the Tau deployment zone The Las
PCS fire at the bunkertank and it makes it's save for the penetrating hit. The guard in the rocks move to within 12" of the Tau
HQ's and fire with the help of the grenade
PCS. One "floating disk" is blown up and one
ot their
HQ's is wounded. Then comes the big show. The plasma rus draws a beat on the Tau in the ruins and declares they will cease to exist. It fires everything at them and when the smoke clears no one is left alive. The other Russ shoots at the Tau
HQ, only to see the blast template scatter onto the Flamer squad in cover, and while two are hit, both make their cover saves. The
CCS also appropriates the bunker, and now has a "command bunker"
Turn 3
DE:
The
DE "tanks" move 6 inches closer to the Tau tanks and score a "stunned" on the transports while the tank makes it's 4+ save again. This will be the last time the
DE tanks allow the saves, unless the Tau can move away very quickly. The other 2 transports arrive and make a beeling for my lines, hiding behind the same cover the first on did. Their now foot squad moves runs and assaults an
AC squad. They slaughter 7 of them and the rest flee and are caught. Now that
DE unit has feel no pain!!!!!
Tau:
The bunker tank fires again at my plasma russ and blows the main turret clear off. The now unstunned transport moves to behind cover and unloads the men. Then both the vehicle and the gun drones it had fire on the guardsmen advancing towards the Tau zone. They lose 7 men and loss their nerve and thus flee. The mobile tank gives a repeat performance of last turn and one
DE vehicles is down to one lance and the other to 2 lances because of the foot Tau shooting by the warriors, who in true Tau form are taking shelter behind a building the farthest away they can physically be from enemy soldiers in the NE Feeling he got lucky not to really get hurt in the previous round`s shooting, the two
HQs decide that parking right in front of 100% of the
IG heavy weapons isn`t a good idea and flee. I imagine the also screamed, cried and soiled their suits but I have no proof.
IG:
Well, the bunker tank is fired upon buy a tank and both lastcannon and it makes all it`s damned saves, AGAIN. The now turretless Russ pivots to get all the remaining guns poiting at the foot tau who just got off the transport. There is one survivor who rolls double ones for his moral test and stays in it as the rest explode in plasma. It takes all 4 squads squaring off against the Dark Eldar to finaly kill 8 feel no pain warriors (and only because of an
AC and 7 krak grenades. The 40ish lasgun shots account only for 2), and break the last 2 so there`s not much else to do but pray that the best of the
DE isn`t as good as the mediocre
DE. The squad in the ruins advances towards the objecting and runs to the door. Hazoo!!!
Turn 4
DE:
The Dark eldar
hq and both the special 5 and regular 10 man squads charge the remaining
ac squad (10) and the special weapons squad (5+
HQ). The combat is both brutal and short. The
SWS is wiped and the
ac squad breaks away with 3 men left and manages to escape pursuit. Bad news for the
DE out in the open. It was feel no pain that saved them last time and I`m hoping that without it they fall like, well eldar, to lasgun fire. Their so called tanks move to within 12 inches of the Tau tanks and open up with their remaining guns. The transport is stunned and the Rail Gun blown off the tank. He was pleased to inform us that trading 3 of his weapons for 1 Railgun is a net gain, which also pleases me and I`m no where near the fighting there. The two transports turn their guns on the wounded
HQ squad and lance them. Both hit, both wound and a failed invuln save later sees the Tau down to 1 Giant armoured suit left. The sniffles tells both the Dark eldar player and I that he had plans for them...
Tau:
Not wanting to lose the rest of his vehicles to
DE fire, the Crisis suits move to within shooting range of the `tanks` and blew one up. Heartened the men also advanced and blew up the other `tank` with small arms fire. Clearly the
DE and my
IG are not using the same definition of the word tank, but I`m glad they don`t have ac14 skimmers. The sole Tau foot slogger on the battlefield anywhere near me high tails it back to his objective and runs in to reclaim it, and with no men in the area or indirect weapons, that means he`ll likely control his objective without issue.
IG:
Well it`s make it or break it time. I`ve broken the tau`s army`s back and halted their advances in the North and driven off the unit guarding the center objective and am now locked in a life and death struggle with the dark eldar for control of the south half of the board just to the east of my deployment zone. A
FRFSRF order by their commanding officer has the missile squad open up on the 10 man Eldar squad without feel no pain. 21 lasgun shots and a las pistol sees all but two die. The missile launcher team also fires a frag missile, but it bounches of a rock and scatters backwards 12 inches. Right into my command bunker. Luckily the rolls to wound are very poor and the gunner is not excecuted later, the missile labeled a dud as no one died. Thankfully, my tank with the battlecannon turret still attached hadn`t hardly moved all day and was able to trun around and move back 6 inches to just stick it`s gun barrel around the command bunker and pointed the battle cannon point blank at the
DE. Fire and scatter. But only 5 minus 3 inches, and all that did was take it off the main squad and just clip the retreating two man squad left from last turn. So, along with the hull heavy bolter, they reduce the
DE army to two transports, a single survivor of the 5 man squad and the
HQ unit. Battletank to the rescue!!! While my goal was always victory, sundenly, my thoughts turn from surviving the comming turn`s charges with enough men to win, to simply finishing off my enemies and basking in glory. So of course the
CCS lascannon crwe fire on the Eldar General, who dodges the blast!!! But the squard ring off three lasgun hits... 3 wounds... and 1 save! Sadly the captain of my force was JUST out of laspistol range, so that was it for shooting at the non-attached Eldar general. The flamer squad moves into the center tower and claims objective 2 for the Imperial Guard!
Turn 5
DE:
With very little to speak of left (2 transports and a soldier and the general with a single wound), the dark eldar player hops back into the transports and speeds out of
LOS and behind cover, planning his next move. He reasons, correctly, that if he can stop the Tau transport and hit the footsoldiers in
HTH combat, he can hold his own objective, and then he only needs to get his general to take the center bunker and it`s a three way draw! Well, it`s not likely, but not mathematically impossible either.
Tau:
So, with a possible victory within grasping reach, the Tau army sets up for a Turn 6 victory sweep. His soldiers mount up on the transport which moves closer to the
DE deployment objective and his
HQ suit moves to attack my men in
HTH combat in the middle objective. His remaining tank fires it`s pieplate at the objective and sadly kills 3 of the 8 remaining men. Then in comes his
HQ suit. My men blow up one of his shielding disks and he crushes two of them in return. Sadly they break and flee out of the tower.
IG:
With 3 times both my enemies forces combined left, I`m confidant of victory, so long as I press forward. I advance to just out of change range with my troops in the area of the center objective and run close. Firing takes a wound off the
HQ unit and find my
CCS lascannon 51 instead of 48 inches away from a sweet side armour shot of the remaining Tau transport. I have solid firing lanes to the whole field by this point and my tanks are in position to punish my remaining foes. Victory is all but assured.
Turn 6
At the start of the game, we decided at the end of turn 5 we'd roll 4+ to continue, 5+ on 6, 6 on 7 and 8 would be the very last in we got there. Well at the end of turn 5, the dark eldar player rolled a 2! GAME OVA!!! NOOOOOO!!!!
Closing thoughts:
Well, had the game go on just one more turn, victory would have 95% been mine. I had 37 infantry models left (32 "troops" and 5"
hq"). Combined, my enemies had 12 ( 1
DE troop, 1
DE HQ, 9 Tau troops and 2 tau
HQ [stupid shielding thingie]). So I called the moral victory. Had the game continued another turn, barring truely epically bad dice, there would have been no hope for the enemies of the imperium.
Every team had their moments and it was a true 3 man free for all. Sadly the final tally is 1 objective for the guard, 1 objective for the Tau and none for the Dark Eldar.
So, I'm pleased with my first game as the Imperial Guard. My army had enough men to hold off 85+% of the
DE force and 70% of the Tau. There is a 1500 point mini tourney happening at the store in a fwe weeks which I plan on attending. I have all but 160 points done for my 1500 army, but I can't decide on the last little bit. When I get the chance I'll post the army list and ask for opinions then.
Thanks for reading!
BLU