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Hi everyone. I was up north last week and had the opportunity to play two games with my BikeStar versus the new hotness Flyrant spam. I have made some tweaks to my list to adjust for the current meta. These changes are as follows:

Double Psyker
This is something I've wanted to change for some time now. To me the psychic phase is a bit of a gamble but can pay off with huge dividends. Psychic powers can give your army an edge. Sure there are some armies that can shut you down but in a tournament environment you most likely will only face off against such an army once or twice. Space Marine Psykers have good overall stats all around too especially when you consider what you get for the points and come equipped with force weapons which are the bane of many evil things such as daemon princes and other monstrous creatures.

I now run both a Librarian and Rune Priest. The lore I choose for the Librarian depends upon what I'm up against and my go to choice is Telepathy. You can't count on rolling Insta Gizz (Invisibility) but Shrouding is awesome for the 2+ jink save and the Primaris power Psychic Shriek is really good for sniping tough enemy units such as Wraithknights and Dreadknights. I always choose Divination for the Rune Priest as this is the true go to lore for BikeStar. I gave up the Wolf Lord for the Rune Priest with a good chunk of points left over.

Air to Air
The proverbial Achilles Heel of BikeStar is versus flyer or FMC heavy armies - snap shooting grav guns is better than nothing but I found a way to include both a Stormfang and Stormtalon at 1850 points which is pretty awesome IMO . The Stormfang is the new hotness for Space Marine flyers... Much stronger than a Stormraven. The Stormtalon is also arguably a better choice than the Stormraven too - especially when we consider the points saved. By including two flyers the BikeStar becomes much more tactical all around and they compliment each other due to the inherent mobility.

So like I said I was able to play two games which is a good test. Flyrant spam features five Flyrants and is currently being promoted as one of the new top meta internet lists. My general philosophy in both games was the same - be very aggressive and put the pressure on the Tyranids right at the start.

Batreps to follow soon. Here are our army lists...

NIDZ
Primary detachment

Flyrant - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers, Egrubs, Fighter Ace (Warlord)
Flyrant - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers, Egrubs

Lictor
Lictor
Lictor

3x Rippers - Deepstrike
3x Rippers - Deepstrike

Mawloc

Void Shield Generator - 3x Void Shields

Hive Fleet Leviathan detachment

Flyrant - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers, Egrubs
Flyrant - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers, Egrubs
Flyrant - 2x TL-Brainleech Devourers, Egrubs

Malanthrope

1x Mucolid
1x Mucolid
1x Mucolid


BIKESTAR
White Scars Primary Detachment

Chapter Master
Power Fist + Auspex + Artificer Armour + Space Marine Bike + The Shield Eternal

Librarian (Lvl 2)
Melta Bombs + Force Axe + Space Marine Bike

Command Squad
2x Melta Bombs 2x + 3x Storm Shield 4x Grav Gun + Bikes 35 + Company Standard + Power Fist
Apothecary

Bike Squad
x3 Biker + 2x Grav Gun
Attack Bike + Multi-melta
Biker Sergeant + Melta Bombs + Combi-Grav

Bike Squad
x3 Biker + 2x Grav Gun
Attack Bike + Multi-melta
Biker Sergeant + Melta Bombs + Combi-Grav

Stormtalon Gunship + Skyhammer Missile Launcher

Allied Space Wolves Detachment

Rune Priest (Lvl 2)
Runic Armor + Force Axe + Bike + Melta Bombs

Stormfang Gunship + 2x Twin-linked Multi-meltas + Twin-Linked Lascannon

9x Grey Hunters + Wolf Standard + 7x Close Combat Weapon + 2x Meltagun + Plasma Pistol + Power Axe
Wolf Guard Pack Leader
Storm Shield + Frost Axe
Drop Pod

Mission was The Relic for the first game as my friend is not a big fan of Maelström missions (don't worry the second game we broke out the cards). First Blood, Slay the Warlord and Line Breaker were in play too.

Lots of terrain on the table with a fair amount of LoS blocking.

Deployment - Vanguard Strike. I got to choose my deployment zone and went second.

Night fight first turn too !


My psychic powers were as follows:

Librarian - Psychic Shriek - Shrouding - Dominate - Force

Rune Priest - Prescience - Perfect Timing - Misfortune - Force

My Warlord trait was stealth in ruins coupled with a good amount of ruins.

Nidz got mostly Psychic Scream, Onslaught and Warp Blast. Nidz warlord trait not that great.

Pre Game Analysis
Like I said my game plan was to play very aggressively. Depending upon deployment and who goes first I can either try to hit the xenos ground forces hard first or focus on the flyrants. I had a couple of games with the flyers so I had a good idea how to optimize their impact. I opted to cast psychic powers as normal but not roll a lot dice per power to limit the odds of perils... Hopefully the Emperor would smile on me in this phase. This is a tough mission for the Nids as they can't really make a play for the relic early on plus I don't have to either. I would rather go second so my two flyers come in behind the flyrants.


Deployment
I chose the side of the table with the most LoS blocking terrain - not as much on the other side of the diagonal line.

My opponent opts to hold two of his Flyrants in reserve including his Warlord. He places the other three Flyrants deep in his corner such that if I seize they are out of the range of grav guns. He also places the void shield generator (VSG) more forward but such that the Flyrants are in range of the shields. Malenthrope is placed behind the VSG.

Mawloc, rippers and Mucolids all start in reserve.

I deploy BikeStar and the two biker squads close to the Relic and in ruins. Grey Hunters, Stormfang and the Stormtalon start in reserve.

My opponent then infiltrates his Lictors behind LoS blocking terrain close to the Relic.

I then roll to seize...

... And up pops a .



1st Turn - BikeStar
The Grey Hunters pod down on top of the Relic with minimal scatter. Grey Hunters then disembark to claim the objective. BikeStar moves into position to target one of the Lictors. The other two biker squads move up as well to target the other Lictors while remaining in ruins.

I have an awesome psychic phase - first the Librarian successfully shrieks one of the Flyrants dropping three wounds (note my friend's gaming group plays it such that Shriek bypasses void shields - who was I to argue... ). He also was able to shroud BikeStar. The Rune Priest successfully cast Perfect Timing on BikeStar.

Shooting then commences... BikeStar drops one of the Lictors for First Blood (FB)... The Grey Hunters pop another one with a lucky melta shot and the two biker squads combine their firepower to drop the last Lictor. Note that all three Lictors were outside the range of the void shields.

1st Turn - Tyranids
The wounded Flyrant enters swoop mode and legs it off the table while the other two enter swoop mode and both swoop over towards the Grey Hunters while remaining inside the range of the void shields. Malenthrope sits in place.

One of the two Flyrants perils suffering a wound and loses Psychic Scream. The other Flyrant casts Psychic Scream versus BikeStar to retaliate but it's denied (3+ DtW - Shield = Admantium Will, Rune Priest = Ward and Level 2 psykers).

Shooting from both Flyrants is all focused on the Grey Hunters - they drop five Space Puppies but they stand tall not breaking plus I've still got the Wolf Guard, Wolf Standard and both meltaguns.

A good first turn for BikeStar !

BikeStar - FB, Relic
Tyranids: 0


2nd Turn - BikeStar
I roll for my reserves and in comes both the Stormfang and Stormtalon. I angle them in for what I call a stealth arrival - they move along my table edge so that they will be out of range from the Flyrants this turn. My opponent had declared his two Flyrants in reserve would come in from his table so no deep striking - it could have been handy for him though if he had.

BikeStar moves into position to charge the VSG while the two biker squads split off in opposite directions and spread out to help mitigate the possible arrival of the Mawloc this turn - they both remain in cover. The Grey Hunters move back and try to hide behind a piece of cover.

The Librarian again is able to successfully cast Shrouding on BikeStar and that is it for the psychic phase.

Both biker squads target Flyrants - a melta shot gets through and drops one wound. The Flyrant remains aloft.

BikeStar then assaults the VSG and explodes it causing one wound on the Malenthrope.

2nd Turn - Tyranids
Two ripper swarms, one Mucolid, the wounded Flyrant and another (non Warlord) arrive from reserve. Both ripper swarms deep strike into cover close to the Grey Hunters - one swarm scatters off into the open. The Mucolid drops down in my deployment in the corner away from my flyers. Flyrants all converge on the Grey Hunters. Malenthrope wisely backs away from BikeStar.

My opponent attempts to cast Psychic Scream on the Space Puppies but I deny it. Warp Blast goes off twice but scatters both times.

The shooting phase sees two Flyrants required to finish off the Grey Hunters. The other two Flyrants target one biker squad which jinks for the 2+ cover save - the attack bike takes a wound along with two bikers (non grav). The bikers break amd fall back approximately 12".

Score remains the same.


3rd Turn - BikeStar
I move both of my flyers off the table wanting to have them around for at least the fourth turn and hopefully at least one during the fifth turn. The broken bikers regroup and move up beside one of the ripper swarms. BikeStar moves back toward the center of the table and spreads out to fill up as much room as possible. The other biker squad moves off to one side of the table behind a tall piece of LoS blocking terrain.

In the psychic phase I successfully cast Shrouding on BikeStar again. The Librarian also gets off Shriek on the wounded Flyrant and perils but I roll a six and pass the leadership test for the 3++ save... I roll a total of 11 just dropping the first Flyrant. The Rune Priest then casts Perfect Timing and my opponent fails to deny it.

BikeStar targets another Flyrant which had already suffered a wound from PotW and I manage to wound it twice with the grav guns bringing it down to its last wound but it remains aloft.

The biker squad then charge the ripper swarm taking them down to one base - I was hoping not to finish them off so they are safe for the turn locked in combat.

3rd Turn - Tyranids
In from reserves arrives the Mawloc, Warlord Flyrant and the remaining two Mucolids. The Warlord Flyrant swoops over towards the hiding biker squad and the Mucolids both drop down in my deployment zone - the three Mucolids are spaced evenly across the back of my deployment zone claiming Line Breaker three times over. The unengaged ripper swarm remains in cover while the rest of the Flyrants move into position to focus fire on BikeStar this time around. Malenthrope boldly moves up towards the bikers locked in combat with the first ripper swarm.

My opponent thinks about it for awhile then decides to drop his Mawloc on BikeStar - it scatters a bit only covering three bikes including the Apothecary. I take one wound on the Apothecary but he passes it off via Look Out Sir to the Librarian whom then passes his 3++ save like a champ. The Mawloc drops again but then scatters way off... Could have been a big deal.

In the psychic phase the Warlord Flyrant casts Psychic Scream on the bikers but I catch a break and only take one wound on the attack bike. It then casts Warp Blast but they pass all their 2++ jink saves (stealth in ruins). Another Flyrant casts Psychic Scream on BikeStar but again I deny it a second time.

The Flyrants surrounding BikeStar unload their devourers dealing out around 30 hits but in a display of poor dice rolling only manage to inflict roughly 15 wounds. Chapter Master tanks the wounds losing a couple but regains one due to FNP. The Warlord Flyrant targets the bikers - I lose the attack bike and two bikers including one of the grav gunners - they stand tall in the saddle passing their break check though.

The Malenthrope attempts to charge the bikers but falls short by a couple inches. The bikers then finish off the rippers and consolidate towards the Malenthrope.

Score remains the same except we both have Line Breaker now and the Relic is up for grab.


Mid Game Analysis
Okay so on to the fourth turn which is a crucial point in the game since it can end next turn. I need to maintain position to win. Obviously my opponent made a few mistakes but none of them are deal breakers. He still has four Flyrants left with some ground support. I feel his major weakness though is the ground support and he is forced to play from behind since I have First Blood plus I can pick up the Relic with BikeStar and make it even more tough for him. This is probably what he expects though. BikeStar is at full strength and I have both my flyers coming in. My supporting ground units are starting to run low though which is kind of a problem with the list since I opted to drop a third biker squad in exchange for the flyers. Let's see how it plays out this turn.


4th Turn - BikeStar
In come comes the Stormfang and Stormtalon for a late beta strike. I move the Stormfang (Black Death) into position so it can drop Hellfrost and the remaining ripper swarm and light up the wounded Flyrant with its twin linked multi-meltas and lascannon. The Stormtalon (Little Raven) splits off to target the Warlord Flyrant and draw some heat off the remnant biker squad off to the side of the table. The other biker squad makes a break to the back of my opponent's deployment zone - he will have to dedicate at least one Flyrant to deal with them... The play is to force him to fragment his army. The first biker squad tucks itself into a building with a ceiling - the Warlord Flyrant will have to go into glide mode to be in a position to shoot them. BikeStar moves around the Relic to box it off setting their sights on the Mawloc for the easy target.

In the psychic phase I first attempt to Shroud BikeStar again but it's finally denied... Most of the unit is situated in ruins though for the 2+ cover save (Stealth in Ruins). Next I Shriek the Malenthrope toasting it back into the local spawning pools. Oh well Xenos we knew yee well. The Rune Priest then successfully casts Prescience on BikeStar.

Little Bird fires into the Warlord Flyrant forcing it to jink and drops a wound. Black Death vaporizes the remaining ripper swarm with Hellfrost via PotMS and also punks out the wounded Flyrant. BikeStar then literally obliterates the Mawloc.

Another great turn for BikeStar. Tyranids are down to three Flyrants and the Mucolids plus I have Line Breaker twice over.

4th Turn - Tyranids
My opponent decides to go for the easy target moving his remaining Flyrants to target my Flyers. Warlord Flyrant will target Little Bird while the other two go after Black Death.

Psychic Phase - again I am able to deny Psychic Scream on the BikeStar... I can tell my opponext is getting frustrated. He then hits them with a couple Warp Blasts and my Chapter Master suffers another wound bringing him down to his last two wounds.

Warlord Flyrant manages to down Little Bird with some hot dice. The other two Flyrants combine to glance Black Death twice but can't manage to knock it out.

We both lost some this turn but I maintain my lead.

Looks exciting. I think you really want to go first to have a shot in this game. With your Scout move and 1st turn, you can move to within VSG range. Otherwise, if bugs are going first, their alpha-strike can really hurt.

Looking forwards to this.

Hi buddy - Scars can only scout move if they have Khan. The good news is night fight is very good for them.

Oh, ok. In that case, you need to blow up the VSG with your drop podding unit.

Of course !

Mission was The Relic for the first game as my friend is not a big fan of Maelström missions (don't worry the second game we broke out the cards). First Blood, Slay the Warlord and Line Breaker were in play too.

Pre Game Analysis
Like I said my game plan was to play very aggressively. Depending upon deployment and who goes first I can either try to hit the xenos ground forces hard first or focus on the flyrants. I had a couple of games with the flyers so I had a good idea how to optimize their impact. I opted to cast psychic powers as normal but not roll a lot dice per power to limit the odds of perils... Hopefully the Emperor would smile on me in this phase. This is a tough mission for the Nids as they can't really make a play for the relic early on plus I don't have to either. I would rather go second so my two flyers come in behind the flyrants.

I play Eldar/DE, but I share your outlook concerning the psychic phase. At this point the only thing making eldar the primary over DE is that I want 2 farseers. I completely agree about the psychic phase being a potent tool, especially when you can garuntee psychic shriek and presc. Being savy about which powers you fish for can really let your army react to even the worst matchups, and let your army punch way above its weight.

Using two farseers to augment a full unit of Reavers has made for a nasty little deathhstar that manages to always be relevant. They don't have quite the impenetrable defense seer council had, but they hit so much harder that the Def. powers provide makes them pretty comperable.

That's pretty much how I see it... If I roll box cars on 2 or 3 dice so be it but the odds are low. Some should get through so I'll cast the optimal powers and go for it.

My psychic powers were as follows:

Librarian - Psychic Shriek - Shrouding - Dominate - Force

Rune Priest - Prescience - Perfect Timing - Misfortune - Force

Warlord trait was stealth in ruins coupled with a good amount of ruins.

Nidz got mostly Psychic Scream, Onslaught and Warp Blast. Nidz warlord trait not that great.

Lots of terrain on the table with a fair amount of LoS blocking.

Deployment - Vanguard Strike. I got to choose my deployment zone and went second.

Night fight first turn too !

Perfect Timing will play a big role in this game.

I am looking forward to this. 2 strong armies. I'm cheering for bikes. 5rants is a tough and top tier list but I believe the mission favors the the bikes pending on the Nids tactics on first turn. Fingers crossed

I'm thinking of running a similar list for the caledonian, although with red hunter bikers instead of wolves. I feel that the RH give a bit of flexibility to the list.

Stormfang, Rune Priest and good ole Grey Hunters are so darn good ! Won't leave the barge without em.

I'll bite, how vital are they for your list? I run a bike spam list with 2x CS, Khan, and Libby. I'm looking for another few units to help pad it out.

They are all quite vital -

Stormfang drops the pieplate Hellfrost which is the new JAWS version 2.0... for example a failed S test can make a Chapter Master disappear just like that plus you can shoot it at one thing via PotMS and fire yer AA weapons at flyers or FMC.

Grey Hunters causes immediate problems for opponents - they are a nuisance that cannot be ignored.

Rune Priest I am really glad to have back again as you'll see in the batrep.

: )

Deployment
I chose the side of the table with the most LoS blocking terrain - not as much on the other side of the diagonal line.

My opponent opts to hold two of his Flyrants in reserve including his Warlord. He places the other three Flyrants deep in his corner such that if I seize they are out of the range of grav guns. He also places the void shield generator (VSG) more forward but such that the Flyrants are in range of the shields. Malenthrope is placed behind the VSG.

Mawloc, rippers and Mucolids all start in reserve.

I deploy BikeStar and the two biker squads close to the Relic and in ruins. Grey Hunters, Stormfang and the Stormtalon start in reserve.

My opponent then infiltrates his Lictors behind LoS blocking terrain close to the Relic.

I then roll to seize...

... And up pops a .



1st Turn - BikeStar
The Grey Hunters pod down on top of the Relic with minimal scatter. Grey Hunters then disembark to claim the objective. BikeStar moves into position to target one of the Lictors. The other two biker squads move up as well to target the other Lictors while remaining in ruins.

I have an awesome psychic phase - first the Librarian successfully shrieks one of the Flyrants dropping three wounds (note my friend's gaming group plays it such that Shriek bypasses void shields - who was I to argue... ). He also was able to shroud BikeStar. The Rune Priest successfully cast Perfect Timing on BikeStar.

Shooting then commences... BikeStar drops one of the Lictors for First Blood (FB)... The Grey Hunters pop another one with a lucky melta shot and the two biker squads combine their firepower to drop the last Lictor. Note that all three Lictors were outside the range of the void shields.

1st Turn - Tyranids
The wounded Flyrant enters swoop mode and legs it off the table while the other two enter swoop mode and both swoop over towards the Grey Hunters while remaining inside the range of the void shields. Malenthrope sits in place.

One of the two Flyrants perils suffering a wound and loses Psychic Scream. The other Flyrant casts Psychic Scream versus BikeStar to retaliate but it's denied (3+ DtW - Shield = Admantium Will, Rune Priest = Ward and Level 2 psykers).

Shooting from both Flyrants is all focused on the Grey Hunters - they drop five Space Puppies but they stand tall not breaking plus I've still got the Wolf Guard, Wolf Standard and both meltaguns.

A good first turn for BikeStar !

BikeStar - FB, Relic
Tyranids: 0

Why did the Tyranid player deploy the lictors!?! Yeesh. That was a huge mistake.

Also, why did the Tyranid player not deploy all 5 of his flyrants! Wow....deployment mistakes like that will cost him big time.

Also deploying lictors/almost anything out of range of the void shield...especially when you have perfect timing....me oh my. The hive mind has a bad feeling about this one....

It's not his normal build... Let's see if he can make a come back.

I think he wanted to put some pressure on the Relic with the Lictors early on - obviously wasn't a wise choice seeing how it worked out for him. You'll see how he uses the Flyrants as the game progresses.


2nd Turn - BikeStar
I roll for my reserves and in comes both the Stormfang and Stormtalon. I angle them in for what I call a stealth arrival - they move along my table edge so that they will be out of range from the Flyrants this turn. My opponent had declared his two Flyrants in reserve would come in from his table so no deep striking - it could have been handy for him though if he had.

BikeStar moves into position to charge the VSG while the two biker squads split off in opposite directions and spread out to help mitigate the possible arrival of the Mawloc this turn - they both remain in cover. The Grey Hunters move back and try to hide behind a piece of cover.

The Librarian again is able to successfully cast Shrouding on BikeStar and that is it for the psychic phase.

Both biker squads target Flyrants - a melta shot gets through and drops one wound. The Flyrant remains aloft.

BikeStar then assaults the VSG and explodes it causing one wound on the Malenthrope.

2nd Turn - Tyranids
Two ripper swarms, one Mucolid, the wounded Flyrant and another (non Warlord) arrive from reserve. Both ripper swarms deep strike into cover close to the Grey Hunters - one swarm scatters off into the open. The Mucolid drops down in my deployment in the corner away from my flyers. Flyrants all converge on the Grey Hunters. Malenthrope wisely backs away from BikeStar.

My opponent attempts to cast Psychic Scream on the Space Puppies but I deny it. Warp Blast goes off twice but scatters both times.

The shooting phase sees two Flyrants required to finish off the Grey Hunters. The other two Flyrants target one biker squad which jinks for the 2+ cover save - the attack bike takes a wound along with two bikers (non grav). The bikers break amd fall back approximately 12".

Score remains the same.

2nd turn is up !

 Dozer Blades wrote:
One of the two Flyrants perils suffering a wound and loses Psychic Scream. The other Flyrant casts Psychic Scream versus BikeStar to retaliate but it's denied (3+ DtW - Shield = Admantium Will, Rune Priest = Ward and Level 2 psykers).

As a heads up, these don't stack. Ward isn't its own unique rule--all it does is give you Adamantium Will again.

That's a good question for YMDC.

 Dozer Blades wrote:

I think he wanted to put some pressure on the Relic with the Lictors early on - obviously wasn't a wise choice seeing how it worked out for him. You'll see how he uses the Flyrants as the game progresses.

Just FYI, but the way Tyranids should play in the Relic is this. If you are really concerned about bikers grabbing the Relic and then dragging it along with them, then this is what you do. If Tyranids have 1st turn, then move 1 flyrant on top of the Relic and keep another flyrant about 12" away. Next turn, move the flyrant off of the Relic and then move the other flyrant onto the Relic. Bikers won't be able to touch the Relic unless they are able to shoot down the flyrants.

Then between Turns 1 and 2, the enemy should be eating 120 TL-S6 shots from all 5 flyrants. After that, you don't need to worry about him getting anywhere near the Relic anymore.

Tyranids didn't have 1st turn so that wouldn't have worked out for them. The Relic is hard for both armies to hold onto if they don't want to eat a lot of shots to the face so FB and StWL are both criitcal.

True, but that was because you stole the initiative. Going into the game, the Tyranid player didn't know that.

BTW, that tactic could still potentially work even with Tyranids going 2nd (and I've done it before). What you do is to move 1 flyrant as close as possible to the unit with the Relic and cast Onslaught on him. Then with the other 4 flyrants, try to take out that unit (or cause them to drop the Relic). Then with the last flyrant, run 2D6" forwards onto the Relic and then continue shooting the enemy. It's tricky and might not always be doable, but it's something that you can potentially achieve under the right conditions.

 jy2 wrote:

 Dozer Blades wrote:

I think he wanted to put some pressure on the Relic with the Lictors early on - obviously wasn't a wise choice seeing how it worked out for him. You'll see how he uses the Flyrants as the game progresses.

Just FYI, but the way Tyranids should play in the Relic is this. If you are really concerned about bikers grabbing the Relic and then dragging it along with them, then this is what you do. If Tyranids have 1st turn, then move 1 flyrant on top of the Relic and keep another flyrant about 12" away. Next turn, move the flyrant off of the Relic and then move the other flyrant onto the Relic. Bikers won't be able to touch the Relic unless they are able to shoot down the flyrants.

Then between Turns 1 and 2, the enemy should be eating 120 TL-S6 shots from all 5 flyrants. After that, you don't need to worry about him getting anywhere near the Relic anymore.

I think that the Nid player is misplaying this one honestly, in quite a few ways. With the strong ground presence of the bike star I wouldn't be surprised to see you hold onto the Relic and take the game. Very surprised to see him reserve two Flyrants, any ideas on what his thought process was? I'm looking forward to seeing how this wraps up, but I'm thinking that this BatRep will prove that a Pentyrant list is not as point-and-click as we perhaps thought. Obviously someone with jy2s skill level will be able to do exceptionally well with it, but I don't think it's as auto-win as some of us (myself included) initially thought. As much as I want Tyranids to do well, I am actually rooting for Dozer on this one... I enjoy playing a skill army and I don't particularly like the idea that my codex would become the "next big spam" like what happened with Wave Serpents. I know plenty of Eldar players who have succeeded without using more than 1-2 Serpents, and I hate that that Codex is often defined because of one broken model getting spammed.

Thanks jifel. I agree with your thoughts on spamming the best units. I will explain why my opponent reserved two of his tyrants in the post game analysis so as not to give a away the game play.

In a mission like this if I win two out of three secondaries including FB while denying the opponent the primary it's a win. That is how you win versus a tough army with BikeStar. The relic is now free so the Tyrants can hover over it all they want but the moment they touch ground they are dead meat.


3rd Turn - BikeStar
I move both of my flyers off the table wanting to have them around for at least the fourth turn and hopefully at least one during the fifth turn. The broken bikers regroup and move up beside one of the ripper swarms. BikeStar moves back toward the center of the table and spreads out to fill up as much room as possible. The other biker squad moves off to one side of the table behind a tall piece of LoS blocking terrain.

In the psychic phase I successfully cast Shrouding on BikeStar again. The Librarian also gets off Shriek on the wounded Flyrant and perils but I roll a six and pass the leadership test for the 3++ save... I roll a total of 11 just dropping the first Flyrant. The Rune Priest then casts Perfect Timing and my opponent fails to deny it.

BikeStar targets another Flyrant which had already suffered a wound from PotW and I manage to wound it twice with the grav guns bringing it down to its last wound but it remains aloft.

The biker squad then charge the ripper swarm taking them down to one base - I was hoping not to finish them off so they are safe for the turn locked in combat.

3rd Turn - Tyranids
In from reserves arrives the Mawloc, Warlord Flyrant and the remaining two Mucolids. The Warlord Flyrant swoops over towards the hiding biker squad and the Mucolids both drop down in my deployment zone - the three Mucolids are spaced evenly across the back of my deployment zone claiming Line Breaker three times over. The unengaged ripper swarm remains in cover while the rest of the Flyrants move into position to focus fire on BikeStar this time around. Malenthrope boldly moves up towards the bikers locked in combat with the first ripper swarm.

My opponent thinks about it for awhile then decides to drop his Mawloc on BikeStar - it scatters a bit only covering three bikes including the Apothecary. I take one wound on the Apothecary but he passes it off via Look Out Sir to the Librarian whom then passes his 3++ save like a champ. The Mawloc drops again but then scatters way off... Could have been a big deal.

In the psychic phase the Warlord Flyrant casts Psychic Scream on the bikers but I catch a break and only take one wound on the attack bike. It then casts Warp Blast but they pass all their 2++ jink saves (stealth in ruins). Another Flyrant casts Psychic Scream on BikeStar but again I deny it a second time.

The Flyrants surrounding BikeStar unload their devourers dealing out around 30 hits but in a display of poor dice rolling only manage to inflict roughly 15 wounds. Chapter Master tanks the wounds losing a couple but regains one due to FNP. The Warlord Flyrant targets the bikers - I lose the attack bike and two bikers including one of the grav gunners - they stand tall in the saddle passing their break check though.

The Malenthrope attempts to charge the bikers but falls short by a couple inches. The bikers then finish off the rippers and consolidate towards the Malenthrope.

Score remains the same except we both have Line Breaker now and the Relic is up for grab.

Turn 3 is up !

Relic is just an objective too - so holding it doesn't matter at all - unless you are a troop and keep it as obj secured unit. For the most part in these types of armies it is not worth it to pick it up and just define the fighting area where it is.

 Dozer Blades wrote:
That's a good question for YMDC.

Not really. AW is an "at least one model" special rule. You just happen to have two models with Adamantium Will instead of one. I assumed you just weren't aware that Ward just gives Adamantium Will.

Beyond that, it just gets thrown onto the pile of "why doesn't my USR stack with itself?"

Yah you're right - it's just grants Admamtium Will - still get a 4+ to deny though which is pretty darn good.

Yep Goatboy that's how it works now... Just wanted to move it over to my side to make the Nidz have to work a little harder.