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Kilted_Cleric (Collin) and I (Jim) had a rematch this week. Collin let me know in advance that he was able to bulk his forces to a 1850 level with some new models. He kept mystery as to what the models/units were.. I had no problem tweaking my list to that level and was happy to be vague about what I would be facing as well.

Thanks to the local weather, I was a little late to the game. Collin thoughtfully had grabbed a pre-terrained battlefield that the FLGS had, and stuck some trees and hedges onto it for that WWI vibe. It looked really nice. During deployment, however, I realized that there was little to no cover .. Oh crud. My tanks were going to be unhappy.



Get of Freki -

HQ -
Wolf Priest - 100

Elites -
Wolf Guard (3 models leading other squads) (points accounted for below)
Dreadnaught Hrolf in a Drop Pod - 150

Troops -
9 Grey Hunters, 1 Plasma Gun, 1 PF/bolter, 1 Bolter/Mark of Wulfen, 6 basic Grey Hunters in Rhino, plus WG with power Sword - 233

10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns, 1 PF/Bolter, 1 Mark of Wulfen, 6 basic GH in a Drop Pod with Storm Bolter - 230

10 Grey Hunters, 2 Meltaguns, 1 PF/Bolter, 1 Mark of Wulfen, 6 basic GH in a Drop Pod with Storm Bolter - 230

14 Blood Claws, 2 MeltaGuns, 1 PF/BP, 11 CCW/BP, plus Wolf Guard with Mark of the Wulfen - 288

Fast Attack -
SwiftClaw Bikers - 3 basic Swiftclaws, 1 Attack Bike with MultiMelta, 1 Wolf Guard Biker with Thunderhammer - 213

SkyClaw Pack - 4 Bloodclaws (BP,CCW), 1 BP/Pfist, 1 PlasmaGun - 148

Heavy Support -

Land Raider Crusader with MultiMelta - 260

Total - 1852

Commander Farsight's Exploratory Cadre

HQ -
Commander Farsight
2 Crisis Suits

Shas'O Suit
2 Shas'vre Suits
6x shield drones

Elites -

Stealth Team
5xShas’ui 2 with fusion blaster, 1xShasvre with Marker Light=207

Troops-

11 Firewarriors, 1x shas’ui with marker light, hardwire target lock and bonding knife=

11 Firewarriors, 1x shas’ui with marker light, hardwire target lock and bonding knife=

2x Devilfish

Heavy

Broadside team (2) with Drone controller and 2xshield drones= 200

Sniper Drone Team=80 points

Ionhead Gunship with Ion Cannon, SMS, Disruption Pod, Target Lock, Multi-tracker=150

total - (points and firm list posted later)

Game start

We agreed that the river would be considered "Dangerous terrain - roll a 1 and get hurt!" and the trenches would be Difficult Terrain giving a 4+ cover.

We haul out the rulebooks and roll up mission and deployment.
Mission - Annihilation (Kill em ALL!) - thanks to both of us having transports and small unit sizes.. a lot of possible kill points here

Deployment - Spearhead!

And.. lucky me, I "win" the roll to go first.

Space Wolves deploy in the South West, hoping the majority of the Tau are on the close side of the river. Blood Claws are in the Land Raider Crusader as close to the enemy as we can get, The Grey Hunters with the Wolf Guard are in the Rhino, Bikers hug the river bank, and the Skyclaws are in the small woods in the middle of the western edge.



The Tau get the North East corner, and deploy across the quarter. Broadsides take the hill, Firewarriors in the trenches, and the other unit behind a wall. The Devilfish and Ionhead come on across the river from the troops along the eastern edge of the board.



I offered Collin the chance to "Seize the Initiative" but he didn't take the bait. Drat.

SW Turn 1

The Land Raider and Rhino surge forward over the low walls, easily crunching the stones under their treads. The Bikers easily also ride around the rocks lining the river. Remembering past mistakes, *2* of my Drop Pods descend. The one holding Hrolf the Dread lands in the middle of the river, and he clambers onto the bank, just out of danger. The second pod, holding a Grey Hunter squad, I try to place on the other edge of the FireWarrior unit behind the low wall.. and promptly scatter myself RIGHT off the board. ARRGH. I placed the pod there, thinking that if I did scatter, the odds were that I would either roll a different direction OR less than average on the dice. Hmm.. evidently the dice gods had a chuckle.. so, the Pod gets Delayed and goes into Reserves.

Shooting -

Bikers, Land Raider, Rhino all moved flat out, so the only thing that shoots is the Machine Spirit using the Assault Cannons into the Firewarriors in the trenches.. managing to kill 2. Hrolf lines up a side shot on the Ionhead, and .. blows it up, out, and into little peices with his Multi Melta. Hrolf does the Icky Shuffle.

Assault phase - nothing happens. (why yes, indeed.. I DID completely forget about the Skyclaw pack in the woods.. why do you ask? They didn't move or shoot this turn at all.. really well hidden in those woods.)





Tau Turn 1

Movement - None.. Collin likes where his guys are at, and just doesn't move.

Shooting - The Broadsides reallllllly like the look of the Land Raider Crusader.. target with their Railguns, and succeed in hitting it. Then Penetrating it. Then Blowing it up. Crud. However, an upsde for me it the Blood Claws inside take no casualties AND make their pinning check. Yea! All alone with no cover! The Firewarriors in the trench are JUST outside of Rapid Fire range, but still managed to take out 2 of the Blood Claws. The Devilfish fire at Hrolf the Dread, doing not much, but the Firewarriors behind the wall turn and Rapid Fire on him.. managing to remove his CCW arm! And.. the Sniper Drone team inflicts a wound on the Attack Bike, who pass their Pinning check.

Assault - Are you kidding?





SW Turn 2

Rolling up Reserves.. I get the Non-Delayed Drop Pod of Grey Hunters, and the Delayed one stays Delayed.

Movement - The Bikers move a bit to get close to the wall of Firewarriors, bouncing off rocks successfully. Hrolf steps away from the riverbed and lines up a side shot on a Devilfish. The Drop Pod attempts to land next to the trench system, and only slides 3 inches off. The Grey Hunters hop out and take aim. Meanwhile, the Blood Claws in the field move towards the trench area, and I remember the Skyclaws! So they move 12 inches towards the enemy as well. The Rhino continues it's rapid movement taking it across and into one line of trenches.

Shooting - Well.. Hrolf cannot hit the side of a barn. Crud. The Bikers and Dread Drop Pod fire into the Firewarriors on the wall, felling 4, and the Bikers rev their engines for an assault. The newly arrived Grey Hunters pour shots into the trench, eliminating 5 of the Fire Warriors.

Assault - The Bikers take on the Firewarriors.. who, thankfully being behind a wall, strike first. After every swing either missed or bounced off armour, the Bikers eliminated 4 of the Firewarriors, leaving 4 .. who failed their Morale check.. and fell back. The Bikers attempted to run them down, but the Warriors were chicken hearted enough to run faster than the Bikers could follow and left the Bikers in the dust. Crud.

The Skyclaws and the Blood Claws Run, and manage to each roll a whopping *1* for movement. Crud.





Tau turn 2 (say that fast)

Collin puts out the call.. and Commander Farsight and posse come in.

Farsight and friends land in the split between the Blood Claws and the SkyClaws.

No other movement really on the Tau side. The Firewarriors realize they have a Bonding Knife and regroup..



Shooting -

The Sniper Drone team targets the Blood Claws coming up the hill, and managed to eliminate 1. I promptly fail the Pinning Test and the unit goes to ground. Sigh. Crud. Farsight and his team pivot and take a bead on the Skyclaws, reducing them to half strength.. however, they make Morale and don't run away. The Broadside teams fire on the Swiftclaws, with the SMS systems, and blow 2 away. The Firewarriors who regrouped shoot at the Bikers, and do nothing. The Firewarriors in the trenches, shoot at the incoming Grey Hunters, and eliminate 2.

Assault Phase - No.. not today thank you..



SW Turn 3

The Delayed Drop Pod continues to be Delayed.

Movement wise, the Bikers decide to go after the Sniper Team, Hrolf stays put, (liking where he is), the Grey Hunters edge closer to the trenches and pull out Bolt Pistols. The SkyClaws run towards Farsight and the Blood Claws stay Pinned. The Rhino full of grey Hunters heads towards the hill across the trench line, and Immobilizes itself! Crud.

Shooting -
Hrolf hits the Devilfish and takes off the Burst Cannon. The Bikers fire into the Sniper Team and eliminate all the Drones. The 2 Drop Pods fire their Storm Bolters into the 4 strong Fire Warriors, and kill none. The Skyclaws do nothing to Farsight. The Grey Hunters pop off 2 Fire Warriors in the trenches with handgun shots.

Assault -
The Bikers kill the Sniper, the Grey Hunters kill the Firewarriors in the trenches.. both with no losses. The Skyclaws (who obviously bought into the whole "Tau are no good in melee" party line) run into the meat grinder that is Farsight, and all perish before they have a chance to hurt. What? The ONLY guy in the whole Tau nation that is good at Close Combat? Arrrgh. (oh.. and Crud).





Tau Turn 3

Collin's Sha'so team arrives, as does my favorite unit of his, the Stealth Team.

Stealth Team deep strikes next to the immobilized Rhino, and the Sha'so team lands squarely next to the Grey Hunter drop pod. The wounded Devilfish scootches away from Hrolf, landing in the river, but not immobilizing itself.



Shooting -

The Crisis Suit with Farsight that is packing TL Fusion Guns manages to miss the Rhino, but the Sha'ui in the Stealth Team cracks it open. In fact, BLOWS it open.. with a blast radius of 1 inch.. so NONE of the Stealth Suits are eliminated, but 3 of the Grey Hunters, including the Wolf Guard inside, die. The remainder of the Stealth Team starts mowing down the Blood Claws as well as Farsight and his buddy. The Devilfish combine to eliminate 2 of the remaining Bikers, and the Broadsides Immobilize Hrolf. Lastly, the newly arrived Sha'so team pop 2 of the Grey Hunters in the trenches. The Wolf Guard Biker fails his Morale and toodles off behind the Drop Pod.

Assault - Farsight and his buddies move a bit farther away from the Blood Claws.





SW turn 4

The Delayed Drop Pod.. continues to be Delayed!!! AAARGH.

Movement - The Blood Claws stand up, and move slightly towards the Sha'so team on the hill.. The WG on Bike remembers that he Knows No Fear, and regroups. Hrolf tries to move, and remembers he is Immobile. The Grey Hunters in the trenches head back towards the Sha'so team as well.

Shooting - Hrolf punches a hole in the rear of the Devilfish in the river, wrecking it. The Drop Pods shoot at the Fire Warriors, eliminating 0 leaving 4. The Wolf Guard biker shoots them, and misses. The Blood Claws, and the Grey Hunters strip all the shield drones from the Sha'so team, and put a wound on one.. all with Bolt Pistol shooting! Woo Hoo! The Grey Hunters over by the Stealth Team destroy 2 of those suits.

Assault - The Grey Hunters pile into the Sha'so team, and remove 1 suit, and wound the 3rd. The Crisis Team understands that it is for the Greater Good to stay in combat.



Tau Turn 4

No reserves left for the Greater Good.

Movement - None of the Tau move with the exception of the Stealth Team, who move back 6 inches.

Shooting - Farsight and his suits and the Stealth Team, all fire into the Blood Claws, taking several down. The Broadsides target and destroy Hrolf the Dread, and the FireWarriors and Devilfish that remain manage to kill the Wolf Guard Biker.

Assault - The Grey Hunters dispose of the 2 Crisis Suits, and consolidate towards the lone Fire Warrior squad.

SW turn 5

Reserves - The delayed Drop Pod arrives by default! Yea! I place it between the Broadsides and the Grey Hunters.. and manage to roll scatter and 12 inches, and it goes OFF the table again! I was 10 inches away from the edge, and botched it again. This time, the Mishap allowed Collin to place the Pod wherever he wanted.. so, it went down in the woods on the western edge of the board, where the Skyclaws started.. Crud.



The Blood Claws retreated to the cover of a wall, and the Grey Hunters moved around the trenches to get a bead on the FireWarrior 4..

Shooting - Knowing Kill Points were important maybe.. I decided to shoot the Drop Pod Stormbolters and the Grey Hunters into the FireWarrior 4.. making them the FireWarrior 2. The other Grey Hunters in the trenches did little better, dropping zero of the Stealth Suits.. the Blood Claws fired and watched their shots bounce off Commander Farsight's Suit..except for the Wolf Priest who managed to injure himself with his own plasma pistol. Ouch! (and Crud.)

Assault - None.. just out of range .. like the whole Board Length!



Tau Turn 5

Farsight and friends move back a little, not sure why. The Stealth Suits stays put, as do the remaining Tau forces on the eastern flank.

Shooting -
Farsight etc and the 3 Stealth Troopers fire into the Blood Claws, reducing them to 1 model (Wolf Guard) plus the Wolf Priest.

The Fire Warriors and Devilfish take out another 2 Grey Hunters.. and the Broadsides remove a Storm Bolter from a Drop Pod. The Stealth Suit Shas'ui fusions a Grey Hunter.



We roll to see if the game continues.. and it does!

SW Turn 6

The Grey Hunters on the hill move down towards the Fire Warrior 2. The newly arrived Grey Hunters make it thru the woods and spy Farsight within Rapid Fire range.

Shooting - The Fire Warrior 2 are eliminated! The Grey Hunters in the trenches ALMOST eliminate the whole stealth team, leaving only the Sha'ui. The steel rain that lands upon Farsight and pals .. is ignored. CRUD! The Blood Claw remnants do nothing.

No Assault.



Tau Turn 6

Nobody moves.

Farsight and pals fire into the Blood Claws, totally eliminating them. One more model is removed from the Trench Grey Hunters. The Broadsides blow off another Storm Bolter on the other Pod. The Devilfish reduces the Grey Hunter squad to 5.





End of turn, roll to see if game ends... and it does! (whew, I was getting worried)



Final tally..

Space Wolves earn 6 Kill Points (Devilfish, Sniper Team, FireWarriors x2, Sha'so team, Ionhead)
Tau earn 7 Kill Points (Land Raider, Rhino, Blood Claws, Wolf Priest, Sky Claws, Swiftclaws, Hrolf)

Victory for Commander Farsight (and Collin!)

Man.. what an AGGRAVATIN' game.. the dice did NOT likey me at all. I think every cover save I tried to make vs Fusion or Plasma was failed.

Collin deserved this win.. if I HAD won, it would be amazing. The terrain and line-of-site favored him with his high-powered weaponry and long range.

My picks for top performers..
SW - The Grey Hunter squad that landed first.. took out a Crisis team, and finished off 2 Fire Warrior squads while only losing 5 guys.
Tau - Commander Farsight and the Broadsides.. most of the men I lost fell to Farsight, and the Broadsides took out my vehicles handily.

Underperformers?
SW - Drop pod #1.. off the table, refusing to come on, then deploying no where near the battle. Sigh. Guys.. you just weren't trying.
Tau - Devilfish .. really didn't do much, just hung around taking pot shots..

Honorable Mention - Sniper Team.. in the 3 games I have had vs Collin, this is the first game they had dealt wounds and pinned a unit!

Nice battle report. Collin still needs some pathfinders.
Believe me, marker lights are a Tau player's best friend. I'm happy to see he's got his hands on some broadsides; me loves them. Farsight can actually hold his own in close combat, maybe he should have assaulted with the dawn blade allowing no saves....

Happy gaming!

Nice Report.

Collin could definitely use some marker lights, and I'd prefer to see some more railguns in the list. There's really no reason a dreadnaught should ever be wandering around in the Tau back field for three turns

I play opponents who use the same tactic (dread /w multi-melta in a pod) and I reserve my hammerheads against it. Let it come down and blow up a DF or a shield drone, then give it a railgun to the face

Also, I was surprised that the pods survived the railgun fire. Did you add +2 on the damage chart (AP1, open topped)? I usually like pods in annihilation just because they tend to be such easy kill points.

yep.. that is why I lost Stormbolters on the pods.. he rolled low on them a lot.. a couple of railgun shots failed to penetrate even..

porkuslime wrote:yep.. that is why I lost Stormbolters on the pods.. he rolled low on them a lot.. a couple of railgun shots failed to penetrate even..

Yep, that happens, just thought I'd check

Great board! awesome write up, thank you!