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2016/05/28 10:18:59
Subject: [1850] Mech (not Mecha) Tau - Terracon 2016 - Game #1 Up
So, after thoroughly enjoying my experience at last years Terracon with my Thousand Sons and Tzeentch Daemons (shameless link http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/653893.page), I decided to make the ~6000km trek again. The tournament is still running Community Comp (obligatory link: http://www.communitycomp.org/) though as a living document, it has changed a fair bit from the previous year.
This year, I have decided to play the codex that got wrecked by my Thousand Sons in my first game last year - Tau. But seeing as how I like running what I like instead of what is good, I present to you below the list I am taking;
Tau Empire Armoured Interdiction Cadre
115 - Skyray, SMS 126 - Hammerhead, Ion Cannon, BSF, Gun Drones
126 - Hammerhead, Ion Cannon, BSF, Gun Drones
126 - Hammerhead, Ion Cannon, BSF, Gun Drones
1850
10 Comp (0 is the softest list, 20 is the hardest list you may take)
I'm suspecting that I'm going to regret taking 9 breachers instead of 7 and a D-Pod, as well as the lack of markerlights but it's too late for that now since the list has been submitted.
So, yeah. No Riptide/s, no OSC, no Buffmander, no Mark'O, no Stormsurge/s, no Broadsides. What could possibly go wrong? Why would I do this? Because I like the look of hammerheads (though after chain painting 10 hammerhead chassis, my fascination has decreased somewhat) and I enjoy running Mech armies. Yes, suits are cool, but so are tanks.
Something to bear in mind is that this is also going to be played without the GWFAQ's that have/are currently being released, since the cut off date for army submission would have caused a bunch of problems. The only thing that it really affects in my army at this point is the ability of my breachers to fire at full BS if their devilfish jinks, though I'm sure that once the Tau Dex FAQ's are released that there would have been a bunch of other stuff.
The general mission rules are again modified from what they were the previous year and I understand that these are basically the Australian ETC missions and scoring system, though I'm not part of that circle so couldn't say for sure.
Rules Changes
Spoiler:
Missions
Spoiler:
So, after aiming for single win with my Tzeentch forces last year and achieving 2, I will be aiming to better that and hopefully go 3-2 or better this year, though the competition should be fierce and the comp restrictions favour assault armies.
Early predictions on army performance is somewhat below par due to the lack of markerlights and an insufficient volume of fire from the bulk of my forces, but hopefully this is at least somewhat countered by the amount of people relying on cover due to the tradional lack of tau presence in the community comp meta due to heavy handedness in the way that they're comped. I would have liked to have run a hunter contingent with a double cadre, but the comp was too high and would have forced me to make too many compromises in theme, but such is life.
I'll put this up now for anyone crazy enough to speculate on W/D/L ratio, comments on the army or just general heckling. Will update with games after the tourney.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/06/23 09:23:47
Peregrine wrote: What, you don't like rolling dice to see how many dice you roll? Why are you such an anti-dice bigot?
2016/05/28 17:51:12
Subject: [1850] Mech (not Mecha) Tau - Terracon 2016 - Pre Game
Nothing special here, just spamming AV13 front skimmers and support elements. Only theme restriction was that everything had to be able to deep strike, was a skimmer or was transported in a skimmer.
Crisis were to cover anti-TEQ and deepstrike defence as well as act as reserve anti-MC and anti-tank duties, Gun drones to run interference and charge block as well as provide some volume of fire, Breachers in ‘Fish to create a bit of a threat bubble around objectives, railheads for tanks and ionheads for MEQ and anti-MC duty.
Lots of reactions from most attendees about the disgusting amount of tanks, but despite most peoples initial reactions, this list really doesn’t have much shooting at all, and definitely not enough markerlights to support the small amount of shooting it has.
Yep, that’s a thing. One of apparently only 3 Gladius’ out of 84 entrants and the only white scars gladius (the others were Fists and Ultras apparently). I can’t break a sufficient amount of transports open, and stop the bikes, and stop the pods, and stop the dreads before they hit my lines.
Table Matchups
Spoiler:
Mission, Set up & Objectives
Spoiler:
****.
That’s game right there I think. I’m not getting any objectives, so it’s gonna have to be aiming for a tabling, but I doubt I have the firepower to actually achieve it. This mission is bad anyway, since if you’re winning, you just win harder and if you’re getting stomped, there’s very little way to come back.
Warlord, Powers & Deployment
Spoiler:
Khan gets his fixed thing that nobody cares about
I roll on the tau table and get stand up after gtg stand up after gtg. ****.
Neither side has psychers, a rarity for me.
He wins the roll for Objectives and table sides, I win the roll for deployment and choose to go 1st.
I set up trying to push him towards my right by putting the crisis on the left to try and survive the drop while providing protection to my skyrays and at least 1 breacher team, figuring that I can crossboard more easily than he can since I’ve got decent range on my guns.
He sets up on the line roughly in the middle except for the lasdevs and a pair of scout units which take up residence in each corner building, then infiltrates and scouts everything else to the middle while still holding objectives.
Roll to sieze = 6. Double ****.
Turn 1
Spoiler:
Marines
Dread pods both come down turn 1, both scatter, but inertial guidance means he doesn’t care. The first dread heads for the devilfish, the other for the railhead. The rhinos don’t move because scouting grav cannons, the bikers get into double pen range but not much more, the culexus moves up a bit and the scouts shimmy forwards a couple of inches.
Dread #1 explodes the middle Ionhead with his multimelta for first blood. Grav from a pair of the marines in rhinos takes 3 hull points and wrecks the right devilfish but the breachers pass their pinning check. Bolter scouts and the pair of pods drop all 5 markerdrones. Dread #2 immobilises the Railhead hiding behind the building through another failed jink. Middle railhead jinks 3 grav shots and a pair of multi meltas from the bikes. Far left ionhead lets a trio of lascannons shots bounce off FA13, far right ionhead shakes off 4 lascannons from the other squad for only a single glance. Melta bikes explode the other devilfish, taking 6 breachers with it, who fail morale and run 6” backwards.
He scores a pair of maelstrom cards for capping objective #3 and destroying a tank. 0 - 2
That … wasn’t fun, and if the game hadn’t already been decided before, it was now. Both ‘Fish gone with both breachers still in their own DZ and one of them fleeing, railhead immobilised with a dread 2” away, ionhead exploded, another jinking, markerdrones gone, crisis out of position. At least the ‘Rays are still alive I guess?
Tau
Fleeing breachers rally and shuffle forwards. Other breachers move up against the melta bikes, right Ion moves forward 6” to try and bait the middle dread away from my remaining forces, crisis head forward to try and turn his forces while taking care of the lasdevs and run through his backline popping rhinos. All other vehicles remain in position to defend the skyrays as best they can.
Ion AIC marker goes onto the left lasdevs, Rail AIC marker into the cluster of rhinos. 9 breachers into a pair of attacks bikes, all within 5” results in 2 unsaved wounds, crisis fire everything (8x plasma, 2x melta outside of doublepen range) into a rhino and achieve … a single crew stunned result. FFS. Ion skyray puts a pair of markers into the lasdevs, left ionhead burns them for ignores cover, overcharges successfully and then scatters (12-4)8” off to the back corner (11-4)7” off towards the other lasdevs on the other side of the board. Other right Ionhead overcharges into the same lasdevs and scatters (11-4)7” towards the back of the board (6-4)2” towards the back of the board, causing 3 wounds on the devs and 1 on the scouts, but the devs only lose 1 and the scouts are fine due to cover from the ruins. Rail skyray puts markers into one of the rhinos but misses with both despite the re-roll and sms can’t manage a glance either. Immobilised railhead into dreadnaught prays for a miracle but it goes unanswered, jinking railhead into the rhino misses, right railhead fires submunitions into the scouts, scatters (10-4)6” directly onto the breachers (7-4)3” back towards the jinking bikes, failing to wound either of them or the pair of scouts caught under the blast.
Crisis assault move 7” towards the only bit of cover they can reach, some paltry boxes midfield.
I score a maelstrom card for controlling objective #2. 1 - 2
Turn 2
Spoiler:
Marines
1 Tac pod comes down, landing behind the crisis and moving towards the left ionhead. Dread #2 gets behind the immobilised railhead while dread #1 moves to get within 12” of the right ionhead. Scouts move up to ensure a successful charge on the breachers while the bikes head left for the tanks. The 2 right rhinos move up 12 and pop smoke.
Both grav marines pump grav into the crisis, combining with the pods, left las devs and scouts. dropping the commander down to 1 wound (due to 3 consecutive failed LOS! Rolls) and killing a pair of plasma crisis and putting a wound on a fusion suit despite a 4+ cover from going to ground behind the 5+ cover boxes, but they pass morale and hold. Jinking melta bikes try to threaten the remaining tanks, but I gamble and don’t jink and it pays off when he can’t fish any 6’s. The far right ionhead is glanced again by a lascannon from the right lasdevs, the breachers are killed to a man by the dreadnaughts heavy flamer. The podded marines melta the left ionhead but jinking saves the day and he’s fine. Dread #2 pends the immobile railhead, but can only roll crew stunned.
Dread #2 charges the railhead and explodes it, bikes fail their charges on the tanks.
He scores 2 maelstrom cards for controlling objective #1 and #3. 1 - 4
Tau
The remaining 3 breachers move up to within 5” of the pair of attack bikes, the commander and friends use the commanders warlord trait and get up and head for the safety of the lasdevs ruin. The railheads shuffle away from the melta bikes as best they can.
The Ion AIC marker goes halfway between the right lasdevs and the podded tacs, the rail AIC marker goes on the rhinos again. The Ion skyray puts both markers into the lasdevs and racks all 6 missiles into them with ignores cover, killing 4 but the SMS can’t get through 3+ armour to drop the last one. The left ionhead overcharges into the podded tacs and scatters (6-4)2” and drops 2, failing to even glance the pod. The rail skyray puts everything into the far rhino and doesn’t even scratch the paint! 1 railhead puts a slug into the single attack biker, making him jink but nothing more while the other explodes a rhino, pinning the crew. The 3 breachers force the double attack bike unit to jink needlessly as they hit with 1/6 and then fail to wound. The commander and crisis split their attacks between the remaining dev and the scouts, fusion into the dev, plasma into the scouts, popping a pair of scouts but the dev remains annoyingly alive, but failing morale and running 3” towards his board edge.
The commander and chums jet pack to the second floor of the ruin safely. (they were put on the table as they were somewhat precariously balanced so they’ll be out of view in the next pic)
Owning 0 objectives, I can’t generate anything and as such, can’t score anymore cards. 1 - 4
Turn 3
Spoiler:
Marines
Second Tac pod comes down, marines get out, head for the right skyray. Dreads move left along with bikers.
1st melta tacs into the left ionhead who jinks safely, newly arrived melta squad pens and shakes the right skyray, jinking 2 man bikers into the remaining breachers, killing 2 and causing the remaining guy to fail morale. 2 grav squads and the remaining scouts into commander and crisis buddies for the loss of a fusion suit, the other and the snap firing demeched squad into the right railhead who somehow jinks 4 6’s and a pair of glances from the right lascannon team. Melta from the top dread misses the jinking railhead, bottom dread is incapable of even glancing the side of the right skyray.
Double attack bike squad runs down the breachers as he fails to rally and they consolidate backwards to where they started.
He claims get an opponent to fail a morale check and control twice as many objectives as your opponent (d3 rolls a 4, so 2 points) 1 - 7
Tau
Commander and friends move deeper into the ruin, tanks stay roughly where they are.
Ion AIC token on the 1st tac squad, rail AIC token at the double attack bike. Ion skyray gets both markers on the tacs, SMS still can’t beat power armour though. I boost the jinking Ionhead to BS3 and hit with all 3 in single shot mode and proceed to roll triple 1’s to wound. FML. Rail skyray only lands 1 markerlight on the bikes, so I boost 1 rail to BS5 and he forces a jink but nothing more. The other hammerhead shoots a rhino to try and claw back some kill points but can only glance and the rhino makes its 5+ cover save anyway. Commander and entourage put their guns into the scouts but can’t hit worth a damn and don’t kill anything.
They decide to charge and the commander soaks a pair of bolter wounds (1 on armour, 1 on stims, both failed LOS! attempts), commander challenges the scout sarge and beats him silly, the crisis also put down another scout, they win combat and the remaining scout makes Ld but hit and runs 12” towards the rhinos. Crap.
Still no objectives, still no cards. 1 - 7
Turn 4
Spoiler:
Marines
The double biker unit sails straight through the ruin to get into clear firing on the left skyray, 1st tacs move up towards the ionhead, dreads continue to shuffle left.
Commander and crisis get shredded by grav, the scout, the las dev, the other lasdevs, the drop pods and the stormbolters on the rhinos. #1 tac squad immobilises the left ionhead, tacs #2 pops the skyray after the bottom dread caused it to jink, the double attack bikes cause the other skyray to explode as well and despite 2 wounds, make both their saves.
He scores recon and something else for d3 (rolling a 5, so 3 points) 1 - 11
Tau
A railhead explodes a rhino in a final act of pointless retribution and that’s about it.
Still no objectives, still no cards. 1 - 11
Turn 5
Spoiler:
Marines
Game called. GG
Tau
Game called. GG
Results & Summary
Spoiler:
Yep. Deploy poorly against a white scars gladius full of drop melta and scouting grav with a vehicle heavy force and get seized on in a mission where getting most of your points is tied to ObSec? You’re gonna have a bad time.
Even if I had’ve deployed better (drones off to one side, crisis in the middle to control pods better, staggered my tanks more, better sight lines), with the way my rolling was, I’m not sure it would’ve mattered, especially not with the way the mission was against everything having ObSec. Regardless, it was a very, very unfun game, though my opponent was a nice enough dude.
Still don’t agree that the lists were equal, maybe without khan I might have had a reasonable chance, but I doubt it. Asked my opponent what I could have done better/different and he said that he thought I shot the right things, but rolled poorly and just didn’t have enough firepower to take out all the Obsec before he pulled away big time on maelstrom. Agreed with me that I should have deployed the crisis blob in the middle where the drones were. He asked why I didn’t have D-pods on everything and I reminded him I don’t get 150 free points of vehicles.
I also completely forgot to use my drones as screens until after game, which while it wouldn’t have stopped much, it would have made it less of a slaughter. Still, I played poorly and got beaten.
Peregrine wrote: What, you don't like rolling dice to see how many dice you roll? Why are you such an anti-dice bigot?
2016/06/23 12:09:38
Subject: [1850] Mech (not Mecha) Tau - Terracon 2016 - Game #1 Up
