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I thought someone might be interested in some good old fashioned battle reports. I'll be typing this one up over the course of the afternoon.
If there is further interest, I'll post some more in later weeks.
To begin, we have the evacuation of Outpost 272, a research outpost of the Greater Tau Empire.
Research Outpost 272 has the misfortune to be in the path of hive fleet Cthulu and we join the story near the very end of what was a brief conflict.
Tyranid biomass has been rolling over the world almost completely unopposed. The local Tau Garrision has been using hit and fade tactics to slow down the swarm to buy time for a nearby cruiser to arrive and dispatch evacuation transports. At last, these transports have arrived, but it will take considerable time for the local population to be loaded and evacuated. The remaining Fire Caste are preparing to sell their lives dearly to buy enough time to ensure at least some can escape.
The battle is a 3,000 point standard Tournament mission using Epic 40k standard lists.
Fire Warrior Cadre,
2 Gun Drones, 12 Fire Warriors
Fire Warrior Cadre
10 Fire Warriors, 2 Path Finder Teams, 7 Devilfish, 2 Hammerheads with Railguns. [Break their Spirit Target]
Fire Warrior Cadre,
2 Gun Drones, 8 Fire Warriors
Armour Support Group
4 Hammerhead with Railgun, + Skyray
Broadside Group
6 Broadsides
Pathfinder Group
2 Devilfish + 4 Pathfinder Teams
Skysweep Support Group
3 Skyray
Stealth Group
6 Stealth Teams + 2 Gundrones.
And below we have our opening deployment. Our objectives are the three grounded Orca Transports, and the three hive structures on the Tyranid side.
Spoiler:
The Tau, ready for the Onslaught, win the Initative for turn one.
Turn One:
Spoiler:
The opening moves are relatively bloodless. Eager to form a perimeter around the transports, the smaller fire warrior group on foot doubles between the garrisioning stealth suits and the pathfinders, but the range is too long for their pulse rifles to find any targets.
The hive mind responds insinctively the swarm of warriors and termigants doubling towards the stealth suits, living ammunition falling in a hail around them, causing a blast marker but no losses.
Still looking to strengthen their front line, the mechanised unit of firewarriors and disembarks on the left flank, pulse carbines flick out, destroying four stands of Termagants, but the hive mind hardly flinches, taking only a single blast marker. Heedless of the lives of its units, they then march the canifex swarm directly into the middle of the board, putting it in engagement range of both the fire warriors and the stealth units. Expecting this, the stealth suits use their pre-game overwatch fire to destroy three stands of the Hormagaunts, but they lack the firepower to threaten the Carnifexs directly.
Responding to the cries for help, the broadsides sustain fire against the Carnifxes, resulting in six hits, but impossibly the beasts shrug off every single shot, rounds bounding off their renforced chitin hides.
More Tyranids respond to the hive minds driving will as the slower Zoanathropes push themselves up the board with a march move, threatening even more of the thin, grey line.
Taking advantage of the markerlights provided by the stealth suits, the Hammerhead squadren moves up to engage the carnifexs, three railguns seek to find their targets, but even assisted by a swarm of seeker missiles only a single carnifex falls.
Emboldened by success, the Genestealers escape their crater, urged by the broodload they swarm towards the now disembarked firewarriors, sure to engage next turn...
The Pathfinders then slink up, taking cover behind their devilish they pour sniperfire into the Zoanthropes, only one exploding in a cloud of red mist. No longer needing to fear their overwatch firepower, the lictors leap out of their own crater, landing in front of the pathfingers, acidic fluid dripping from their maws.
The Crisis team shifts position forward, opting not to advance lest they get entangled in a mass assault. Their long range missile pods do pick off another unit of homagaunts further supressing the carnifex swarm.
The harridans finally make their move, sweeping across the east wall and disgorging a flock of Gargoyles threatening dropship one. Bio acid cannons spew out over the AA detachment, but fail to find a solid mark. Seeker missiles streak out in return, but likewise fail to penatrate the beasts armoured hide.
Finally, the Dominatrix and its living artillary bodyguard double, sending death raining down on the Fire Warrior Cadre on the front lines, melting their down escorts to slag and destroying a stand of firewarriors.
All that remains is some shuffling forward by the Etherial's bodyguard as they wait to react to the impending breakthrough...
And here is our map situation at the end of turn one, before regrouping.
Spoiler:
Most units are successful in regrouping, with the main exception of the Tau Firewarriors on the front line, who retain their four blast markers.
Swarming takes place and three stands of Hormagaunts regroup with the central warrior swarm, ready to charge.
Turn 2,
The Tau once again retain the initative.
Spoiler:
Terrified of being pounced by the Genestealer swarm to their fore, the mechanised firewarrior unit dig in their heels and sustain fire electing only to fire at the 'stealers in the open and spare the broodlord in the crater.
Despite fairly poor shooting, the weak armour of the genestealers ensures all six exposed stands are destroyed. The bloodlord elects to take his remainstand and retreat to the spawning cluster.
The Tau then seek to retain the initative, determined to kill as many as possible before their lines are overrun.
They succeed, and the broadsides once again sustain fire into the Carnifexs. Thick hides weakened by the fire from before, another two of the beasts drop, and the formation breaks shifting back to regroup.
This however, leaves nothign to stop the Termagaunt swarm and with a terrify shriek they mutli-engage the stealth suits and the mechanised tau!
Dramatic Pause!
Spoiler:
[/spoiler]
Turn 2 resumes...
Spoiler:
The combat is a bloodbath. Point blank range fire from pluse weapons shreads the incoming termagaunts into bloody plup. The drones on sentry duty are over-run, along with a stand of fire warriors cut down in melee, but the undenyable result is just five stands of warriors and three battered termagaunts sent fleeing in the other direction. With three formations driven off now, can the Tau lines hold?
Keen to keep the pressure on, the Tyranids retain the initative and send the lictors into the weakened Tau fire warrors holding the center, hoping for a more favourable result.
Unfortunately things do not go to plan, as three lictors perish, largely due to supporting fire from nearby formations and only a single stand of firewarriors dies. The remaining lictor scuttles away, and the Tau hold.
Continuing to sweep threats from their table half, the Hammerhead detachment sustains fire at the Harridans posed to over-run their lines. So excessively good shooting, greatly assisted by markerlights, sends one beast crashing down to the ground, and seek missiles thin down the swarm of gargoyles by three. Taking her brood with her, the surviour scuttles back across the wall.
The Shas'o, sensing victory, orders the pathfinders to sustain fire on the incoming Zoanthropes, but the command and control network fails under the strain. Targeting data fails to get through and they are forced to take a hold action. Still, marker light supported rail sniper rifles explode another two of the creatures.
The hive mind knows no fear. Even with most of its formations battered and broken, the Dominatrix moves forward. Acid spits forward from its bodyguards and the three hammerheads of the armoured cadre cease fire, crashing to the ground in flames, the Skyray fleeing to the table edge under the onslaught.
The Skyray AA detachment is ordered to advance and suppress the remaining Zoanthropes, but the Tau command and control network continues to fail. Disorientated only a pair of seeker missiles are launched hitting nothing.
The Zoanthropes surge onwards assaulting the pathfinder teams. The fight is tense, two rounds of shots are exchanged, but the Tyranids weak armour fails them once more, and only two warrior stands survive to retreat away, the entire formation only having managed to destroy the pathfinders devilish transports.
The Crisis suits, sensing things are becoming much safer, advance to take on the Dominatrix's unit, plasma fire exterminating almost all of the Termagaunts. However they fail to damage any of the exocrines.
The turn ends.
Situation at the end of Turn 2, before rallying.
Spoiler:
Rallying is successful on all units, all the wounded Tyranid swarms turning back. Swarming takes place on the battered warrior unit which summons an additional four stands of Termagaunts.
We move into Turn Three where once again the Tau have the initative. Is this the end for the Hive Mind?
Spoiler:
The Tau begin by moving their Crisis suits to the fore, bringing their fusion blasters to bare on the Dominatrix before it gets any ideas.
Markerlight assisted fusion blasters turn two exocrines to slag, and missile pods take care of the last of the termagaunts.
Retaining the initative, the sustained fire from the Broadsides takes out another two exocrines and the formation breaks, the Dominatrix retreating, unhurt, to the other side of the crater.
The Harridan attempts to swarm the pathfinders, but the mindless beast refuses the hive minds command, instead lingering to regroup, recovering a gargoyle swarm and losing a blast marker.
The Tau then slip the weakened firewarriors further forward, pusle rifles flicking away the last hormagaunts protecting the Carnifexs and sending the broken formation further back.
The lictor retreats to the objective alongside the tyranid board edge, as they play for time.
The mechanised Tau formation shifts forward, firmly into the Tyranid side of the board, removing six stands of Termgants from the Tyranids last effective formation.
In a desperate bid breach the compound, the warriors are ordered to march across the wall and into the far corner. However the hive minds weakening grasp on its slave fails, and instead the warriors break.
With this, the battle is all but over. The stealth suits advance, blasting away half the warriors and the remaining termigants.
When the genstealers attempt to countercharge, they fail, instead making an ineffective regroup.
All that remains is for the pathfingers to regroup by the remaining Orca Transport and the turn and the game, end ends.
Situation at end of turn 3. [Game End]
Spoiler:
And there we have it folks.
The score is 2-0 to the Tau,
Tau - Hold the line, all three Orca Dropships secure. Hold the Line - No Tyranids within the compound.
The Tyranids failed to destroy a single Tau Unit, in total the Tau lost 3 Hammerheads, two Devilfish, four stands of gun drones, and 3 stands of fire warriors.
While at the end of the game, every single Tyranid formation was broken or close to it.
I like to think that would have been a significantly closer game, but every assault the Tau insisted on making a significant number of 5+ saves, and the poor Termagaunts got none. The Carnifexs breaking before they ever got near anyone denied a significant amount of firepower, and losing the intative and repeatedly getting double sustained fire was backbreaking.
Had the Tyranids won the dice roll on turn 2 [And they only lost it by a single point!] It would have been a very different game.
Let me know if anyone wants any more of these, and if they've got any factions they'd like to see battle it out, or a scale they'd like. I normally run 3,000 point games, but with TTS there's no limit to the factions or pieces I can use.
This message was edited 19 times. Last update was at 2020/09/13 15:15:19
3000 points is a bit naff for grand battles, though it's understandably focused for tournament games. I too prefer 4k+ games where the emergent carnage at the front can sway back and forth a couple of times before a breakthrough emerges.
By Request, 5,000 points of the Emperors Finest, vs 5,000 points of bugs.
I'll likely finish this one tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's a sneak peek of the 21st Arcadian Rifles prior to their deployment.
Spoiler:
Army List :
Spoiler:
Regimental HQ - Fire Support/Flak/Extra Chimera's, Commissar
Mechanised Company - Leman Russ Demolishers, Commissar
Infantry Company - Fire Support, Ogyrns, Snipers, Commissar.
Infantry Company - Infantry Platoon
Infantry Company - Infantry Platoon
Baneblade Company - Commissar
Shadowsword Platoon
Sentinal Squadren
Sentinal Squadren
Sentinal Squadren
Rough Rider Platoon - Commissar
Storm Trooper Platoon
Storm Trooper Platoon
I opted to go Infantry heavy here, forgoing titans and most super heavy units. This was to ensure that the Tyranids giant stomping beasties would feel truely epic. Nothing like losing first turn and watching your titan take a Shadowsword Company's worth of sustained fire. It also allowed me to take a slightly understrength Imperial Guard Regiment in all it's glory, complete with support elements, though it appears they've had to leave their artillary support behind...
And waiting our unsuspecting guardsmen...
Spoiler:
Army List
Spoiler:
Small Tyranid Swarm - Dominatrix, 6 Termagaunts, 4 Exocrine
Heriophant Bio Titan - Titan Bio-Cannon + Razor Claw
Heriophant Bio Titan - Titan Bio-Cannon + Razor Claw
Harridan - 2 Gargoyles
Pre Game Set up - Sorry this took so long, I was playing with different maps and hating how they all turned out.
Spoiler:
Turn One - The Imperial Guard take the Initative
Spoiler:
The Battle begins relatively peacefully. The Imperial Guard 2nd Company, under Captain Caine, march forward to provide support for the Stormtroopers blockading the road.
The Tyranids respond in kind, the smaller gaunt formation on their left flank rushing forward to menace the sentinals.
The imperium responds to this threat by ordering the 4th light company to move into firing position, but the vox fails and the order to fire doesn't come through, leaving the light company stranded part way up the table.
More Tyranids swarm up the left flank, thickening their presence at the base of the hill.
The 3rd heavy company, renforced by support platoons moves up and fires on the genstealers in the woods, the first casulities of the battle a solitar stand of genestealers, just a little too far forward to save them from massed autocannon fire.
The Ravener swarm slithers up the battlefield, joining the mass of termagants in threatening the thin green line of stormtroopers protecting the 21st Arcadian's deployment zone.
Gambling, Regimental Command orders the Shadowsword to engage the first of the walking Tyranid Titans. The vox stutters and goes out, but a command re-roll saves the day as the Shadowsword finds it's mark, blasting fully half the health of the lumbering beast
The Tyranids respond by shuffling their exocrine's down the board the board, delivering a devestatingly accurate volly of fire onto the stormtroopers guarding the main road. Thanks to their armour, faith in the emperor and a good deal of ducking, only two stands are removed.
The tank company rumbles forward, taking advantage of the tarmac to boost their speed, battlecannons seeking vengence on the exocrines. However the beasts foul hide prevents any noticeable damage.
The left flank continues its foul march, the line spreading openly across the imperial guard frontier. In response the mechanised company takes the road, the roughnecks ready to halt the advance on the strong imperial flank.
As if in defiance of this, the wounded biotitan crashes down the road, spitting acid over the leading tank in the armoured company, leaving nothing but slag where the proud leman russ had once stood.
Retaining the Initative, the Dominatrix and it's escorts crash through the forest after the titan, the bio acid splashing out, killing a further two stands of stormtroopers and causing the remainder to break, fleeing like ants past the advancing chimera's.
A small piece of revenge comes as the last heavy infantry company sends autocannon fire spitting out and removing two homagaunts from the mixed raverner formation
Meanwhile the second biotitan moves dangerously far forward, acidic slime consuming the leading sential and sending screams across the remainders vox network. Still, they hold their ground and a blaze of multilaser fire directly into the head of the titan sends the beast staggering back down the road, broken.
The remaining giant tyranid swarm marches directly up to the chimera's now covering it's road, losing a stand of homogaunts to sustained fire from the sentials lurking behind the bushes.
The Harridan doubles forward accompanied by its flock of gargoyles, plasma bouncing off the armour of the lead chimera. However, unforseen by the hive mind this is the moment the baneblade detachment has been waiting for. With a single volly from their massive cannons the Harridan disintergrates in mind air, chunks of flesh scattering across the forest with a sickening thud. A cheer eurpts from the non fleeing guardsmen as the Gargoyles screech and withdraw.
Genestealers swarm from the woods, losing a stand to well placed stormtrooper overwatch.
The final act of the turn has the stormtroopers recieve their final ever order, advancing directly into the maw of the beast. Concentrated plasma fire eliminates four stands of termigants as they toss their lives away in an effort to stall the hive mind from reaching the vunerable infantry formations behind.
End of turn round up.
Most formations pass their checks to remove blast markers and regroup. Notably both the stormtroopers and the injured titan recover and turn to face the enemy. The Gargoyles, however mindlessly flutter to the back of the table.
End of Turn 1 Situation
Spoiler:
Turn 2 -
The Imperial Guard win the Intative - In the preceeding end phase the Tyranids Swarm - Adding three homogaunts to the Zoanthrope swarm.
Spoiler:
The turn opens with the combined might of the imperial armoured company sustaining fire on the rapidly closing tyranid titan. The smoke from over half a dozen battlecannons drifts across the battlefleet, along with nine lascannons and the deafening chatter of the Hydra.
However, when the smoke clears the imperials have inflicted a single wound.
Trying desperately to retain the initative before the impending charge, the mechanised company pile out of their chimera's, pouring autocannon fire into the onrushing Tyranid hoard. Between the three of them, the demolishers land a lucky shot, reducing the left carnifex to red mist, but the infantry fair much worse, reducing just five stands of homagaunts before the charge.
Out of time, the focus on the left flank costs the right flank dearly as the genstealers leap out of cover onto the thin line of stormtroopers holding back the swarm. Screams eurpt as tooth and claw meet plasma and blade. Three stands of genestealers perish, the broodlord ducking a near miss. Four stands of stormtroopers are cut down and the remaining two break after a further stand is cut down.
Keeping to the right flank, the Tyranids push the unscathed small brood into the thin line of sentinal's guarding the objectives. While they sell their lives dearly, cutting down three stands of Termagaunts, they are over-run and destroyed to a man, surrendering the objective to the hive mind.
Two formations down, play returns to the imperium, with the light company aboutfacing to pour autocannon fire into the quartet of lictors that have arisen from the grass behind them. However the armour of the foul beasts proves too strong for the imperial's weak weapons, only a singe beast falling.
Struggling to retain the initative, the Regimental Colonel gives the order to pile out of the Chimera's, attempting to find a mark on the lictors menacing their position from the treeline. However the vox network once again fails, the shadow of the hive mind driving men to madness and no shots of concequence find their mark.
Spurred on by the imperials lack of activity, the second brood of genestealers launch their assault on the armoured company, a hundred scrabbling claws scratching at the metal. While thick armour saves some, three tanks, including that of the company commissar, are destroyed before having the chance to fire a shot. As small consolation, a vanquisher shell vaporises the broodlord, and another stand is taken down by close support fire. The combat proves indecisive, and the genestealers press their advantage, avenging the brood lord by tearing open another tank and devouring its occupants. All too late, the return fire from the surviving tanks exterminates the last of the brood.
Toying with two tempting targets, the unharried lictors take the softer of the two, pouncing on the Colonel's regimental HQ. Though the Colonel himself is just out of reach of the scrabbling claws, the detachments Hydra support is not, the crews screams cut mercifully short. Return fire is quick and effective, all four lictors returning to the hive mind in pieces.
Good luck is followed by bad. The Shadowsword charges up its cannon, but the targeting matrix misfires, the shot going wide. Seeking to out do their super heavy weapondary, their supporting infantry company sustains fire on the large tyranid format to its fore, destroying the last five homagaunts.
The slightly injured biotitan hobbles forward. Opting not to charge the insignificant sentinals, it rains bioplasma on the crippled armoured company, although this time their armour holds firm. Doubling down on the same Target, the heart of the swarm, the Dominatrix and it's exocrine escorts, slowly advance down the table, spraying more bioplasma on the company, which now resembles an overstrength squadren. Another tank melts, and assaulted by genestealers, bioplasma, and with their commissar dead, the company falls back with a squeal of tank treds on concrete.
Horrifed by their strongest formation breaking, the sentinals only manage a few snap shots on the left flank, cutting down only a single stand of termagaunts.
Clearly having determined the weakness in their canned food the exocrine detachment targets the Demolishers shielding the mechanised formation, destroying tank 2. While the mixed formation focuses on the fresh food before it, the Tyranid warriors too far out to charge, but close enough to rain deathspitter down upon them, killing a single stand.
Return fire proves a little more effective, although panic is clearly gripping the imperial lines as once again the formation fails its command test, the resulting fire nailing two stands of gargoyles and a handful of termagants.
The wounded bio-titan now takes its time to act, crawling forward to vomit fire over the wounded group of sentinals who have yet to act. Two of three are demolished and the remaining scuttles back into the forest.
The heavy company finally make their move, targeting the mixed swarm with autocannons and sniper rifles. A stand of warriors falls to sniper rifle, and while the raverners manage to surive the autocannons, their expendable friends are not so lucky..
Knowing it is safe to advance, the pair of hive tyrants commanding that flank urge their brood on, none of their venom cannon shots connecting as they close dangerously close. This is the moment for the last major imperial formation to make its mark, and the Baneblades lumber forwards. Baneblade cannons turn another carnifex into red mist and heavy bolters destroy no less than five termagant stands, a hive tyrant surviving by its invunerable save alone - The blessing of the hive mind.
And then, the main event. The Tyranids charge...
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
The fight is bloody, but decisive. While the Carnifex successfully destroys both Leman russes, and a number of guardsmen and chimera's are destroyed by the onrushing teeth and claws the Imperial Guard, urged on by their commissar, drop into neat and organised firing lines, destroying every single Tyranid warrior, and a handful of the smaller beasts. Shattered, the Tyranids flee, but the Imperial Guard are left with a scattered and disorganised company, facing down not one, but two Bio-Titans, and now deprived of their heavy firepower...
All that remains before the turn ends is for the Imperials to play their wild card - Marching their rough riders down the side of the board after the broken Tyranids.
Situation at the end of turn 2, before rallying.
Spoiler:
Rallying proceeds as normal, several of the Tyranid formations retaining their many blast markers, of the fleeing formations, only a single sentinal and the genestealers do not regroup, ready for the decisive turn three...
Turn 3 - In a suprising turn of events, the Tyranids take the initative...
[Swarming - Two more stands of Hormagaunts reassemble before the Dominatrix.]
Spoiler:
However, all does not go as planned for the Hive mind. The formost Bio-titan is ordered to charge and tear apart the BaneBlade company, however, saggered by the pummeling of battlecannons last turn, the beast fails to stagger forward, defensively, and ineffectively, spitting bio acid over the regrouping armoured company, leaving it with but a single operational tank...
Seeking to take advantage of the Tyranids confusion the heavy company is ordered to charge the Hive Tyrant swarm still reeling from last turns fire. However, in a moment of enlightened common sense, the company commander and commissar refuse the order, instead laying down a volly of cover fire which exterminates all but a single stand of termagaunts...
Seeing the threat to its back lines, the Exocrines shuffle forward to engage the advancing rough riders, however the Emperor intercedes, horse and rider passing every single one of their six up armour saves, advancing unscathed but for a sole blast marker...
Retaining the initative, and determined to size the objective and destroy the mechanised company once and for all, the Dominatrix drives it's personal brood into the attack...
The battle is intense and bloody. Surrounded by homagaunts, the Imperial Guard company commander fights valiantly, but in the end, in vain as he and half his company, including the flak Hydra are killed.
The return fire is no less deadly, slaying the homagaunts and almost all the termagaunts. As the dust settles, both formations are broken, the Hive mind retreating from the sheer numbers of guardsmen before the surviours, leaderless and soaked in gore, pile back into their four remaining Chimera's and retreat, leaving the objective up for grabs.
The light company, mindful of the Lictors to its rear, continues to sustain fire into the Xenos threat, and while their armour still holds, the single loss is enough to break the formation and once again remove it as a threat.
In keeping with the theme, the imperials attempt to retain the initative and once again the vox net fails, the full strength company on the left refusing to advance, and instead simply offering supporting fire into the Zoanathrope brood. Still, the fire is enough to slay one of the twisted psykers and some of their escort, breaking the formation and driving it back to the Tyranids home objective - Out of the fight.
Losing momentum, the damaged warrior formation regroups, swarming a single stand of termgants and removing its blast markets. The warriors lay down supressive fire, adding another blast marker to the guard company ahead.
Following ahead, the wounded formation on the far left flank spots easy prey in the form of the two lone stands of regrouped stormtroopers. Advancing atop the hill it engages them in a brief one sided firefight and annilates them.
Spoiling for revenge the surviving unactivated company on the right flank sustains fire into the regrouping tyranids, and exterminates all the little bugs, and two stands of raveners, leaving just two warriors and two raveners remaining.
Reeling in confusion, much like its sister, the second bio titan also fails its command check, staggering down the road, too dazed to shoot and is promptly met by a searing blow from the shadowsword, demolishing two hitpoints - one of these is a critical hit which fortunately does no further damage.
The last of the smaller tyranid groups on the left flank wanders down, stray bioplasma destroying another stand of guardsman and further supressing the weaking company.
The regrouped armoured company now tries its hand at titan hunting, but only managing to get shots from two leman russes, they score no damage.
Running out of options, the Hive mind sends its two Tyrants, Carnifex, and lone Termgaunt into the flank of the Imperial Heavy company in an attempt to break them. Casulities are heavy, five stands of guardsmen perishing, to a Hive Tyrant, Carnifex and gaunts. However, numbers are on the Imperial side and the Hive tyrant is forced to retreat.
Doubling down on this success, the baneblades wheel about and massed fire successfully brings down the wounded Bio-Titan.
The gargoyles, the last remaining Tyranid unit, merge with one of the smaller broods.
Little else of concequence rounds out the turn. The Imperials march the Cavalry down to the Tyranid objective, the Sentinals shuffle up, and the Regimental HQ mounts up and creeps forward.
Rallying -
Shockingly, every single Tyranid passes its rallying test, while things go much poorer for the Imperials.
The Regimantal HQ clears a blast marker, and two storm trooper stands and a single sentinal pass. All the other imperial formations fail, leaving them heavily supressed.
And with that, we go to objectives...
Blitzkrieg - With the rallying of the rear Tyranid formation, no-one scores.
Break their spirits - With the Imperials, the regimental HQ is untouched bar a single Hydra. The armoured company, still battered is not destroyed, while the Tyranid main swarm is damaged, but still functional. No points.
Defend the Flag - With the Tyranids holding one objective on each side, and the Imperials two on their side, no-one defends the flag.
Take and Hold - As per above, no points here either.
They shall Not Pass - With the Roughriders on one side, and the Bio-Titan on the other, no points here.
With a score of zero to zero, we go to turn four.
Situation at end of turn three
Spoiler:
Turn Four - Imperial Guard have the Initative.
Spoiler:
The turn begins with sustained fire from the Baneblades, an attempt to bring down the final tyrant, but only two hull points are removed. Gambling on a swift victory, the initative remains with the Imperials as the shadowsword sustains fire on the titan - But it is a glancing blow, only a single hull point lost..
Reeling from the blows, and with an unearthly scream, the bio titan charges into the baneblades, shots bouncing off its armour as talons rise for the kill. The fight is brief, the Baneblades struggling to disengage and dealing no real damage in return. But the path for their retreat is blocked, the Lictors lurking in the backlines making short work of one of the great war machines as the others fall back into the safety of the nearest guard company.
The Dominatrix follows suit, pressing the attack on the crippled mechanised company, destroying another Chimera and it's occupants and sending the rest of the formation back out of the fight.
The rough riders, lurking on the flank are ordered to give the charge. The order sounds again a desperate plea from command HQ.
But from the distant horsemen, there is no reply...
The Tyranids react with glee to the failed order, if the hive mind can feel such a thing, and the zoanthrope formation assaults, taking care to stay out of base-to base combat range.
When the smoke clears, those horsemen who are not already dead are scattered and fleeing into the night - However the stress of combat on the formation is too much and the Tyranids break.
Sustaining fire with two stands of warriors on the left flank against the crippled heavy company nets another destroyed support team stand and further supresses the remaining guardsmen.
Stormtroopers, the last four stands on the table, are given the option to advance in front of the objective and tackle the exocrines. But planning on staying veterans they simply stand still, refusing their orders.
The exocrines themselves are busy with the sentinals, trying to clear the Tyranids table half. But only one of the nible machines is destroyed, failing to break the formation.
Aiming now for points the Tyranid's surviving lictors pounce on the broken baneblades. However the gamble does not pay off, and the tanks armour holds firm, the lictors destroyed.
The light company is ordered to assault and clear out the objective ahead - However, as always the imperials fail the order, and the resulting fire only kills a stray stand of infantry.
The tyranids reorganise, a lone hive tyrant falling back to claim one objective.
The guard respond by delivering withering fire to the Raverners formation, exterminating all but one stand of raverners which slips away into the woods.
The tyranid formation on the objective regroups, losing it's blastmarkers and recovering a stand of termagants.
The heavy company then doubles sucessully forward, routing the last hive tyrant and securing the objective.
The regimental HQ, sensing victory, doubles onto the objective in their deployment zone and unloads guardsmen across the objective, stray autocannon fire directed towards the Dominatrix. Despite hitting on 7's an exocrine does fall.
Fire leaps out from the armoured company, taking another wound from the Bio Titan and breaking it, shattering the Tyranids hold on the imperiums home objective.
Objectives -
With the situation little chained from before, no-one scores any points. The home objectives remain in control of their own factions, the Tyranids control one objective in their side, and one in the Imperiums, as does the Imperium.
The game then, goes to Victory points... [No additional turn was rolled]
Another great battle report. I was a bit worried for the Imperial Guard, not having any Titans, but just goes to show all a Guardsman needs is his lasgun and bayonet! A Baneblade or two as backup doesn’t hurt either.
For the next battle report my vote goes to Imperial Guard vs Chaos (preferably Slaanesh). Seeing as I voted for the last batrep though I’m happy to defer to someone else’s suggestion
El Torro wrote: Another great battle report. I was a bit worried for the Imperial Guard, not having any Titans, but just goes to show all a Guardsman needs is his lasgun and bayonet! A Baneblade or two as backup doesn’t hurt either.
For the next battle report my vote goes to Imperial Guard vs Chaos (preferably Slaanesh). Seeing as I voted for the last batrep though I’m happy to defer to someone else’s suggestion
I am a bit stuck for Chaos on Tabletop simulator.
I'm investigating with some people, but the collection of models I can amass is even worse from the Tyranid one.
[The Tyranids are drawn from two sources, one low quality, I have to draw the chaos sources from _five_]
So I prefer not to use them, but I can if you don't mind them looking awful and incoherent.
El Torro wrote: Another great battle report. I was a bit worried for the Imperial Guard, not having any Titans, but just goes to show all a Guardsman needs is his lasgun and bayonet! A Baneblade or two as backup doesn’t hurt either.
For the next battle report my vote goes to Imperial Guard vs Chaos (preferably Slaanesh). Seeing as I voted for the last batrep though I’m happy to defer to someone else’s suggestion
I am a bit stuck for Chaos on Tabletop simulator.
I'm investigating with some people, but the collection of models I can amass is even worse from the Tyranid one.
[The Tyranids are drawn from two sources, one low quality, I have to draw the chaos sources from _five_]
So I prefer not to use them, but I can if you don't mind them looking awful and incoherent.
I don’t mind if the models look incoherent, it’s Chaos after all.
In moments we make Planetfall! Below us lies the foul taint of chaos, and the Infamous Deamon, Sindri! Though our numbers are small, our faith in the emperor is unshakable.
Ready your bolters. Ready your souls. Today, we avenge every soul that has fallen at the hand of this monster. Today we strike a blow that shall be felt at the very heart of the Eye of Terror.
Undivided Terminator Retinue - 4 Terminator, 1 Deamon Prince [Sindri/Supream Commander] 2 Oblitorators
Black Legion Retinue - Cult Marines, Havocs, Sorceror Lord, Chaos Champion, Deamonic Pact [Mark of Tzeench]
Chosen - Mark of Nurgle
Raptors - Mark of Khorne, Chaos Lord, Deamonic Pact,
Armoured Detachment - 4 Predators, 1 Landraider
Bike Company - Demonic Pact, Icon Bearer, Chaos Sorcerer [Mark of Slaanesh]
Feral Warhound Titan
18 Lesser Deamons,
3 Greater Deamons
Spoiler:
All Space Marine forces beyond the Scouts start inside the transports, which start inside the Strike Cruiser It's Planetfall time!
Turn One - Space Marines have the initative.
Spoiler:
With a supersonic boom, the Imperiums finest drop from orbit, two thunderhawks escorting the thunderhawk transporter as His Fist makes it's orbital pass.
Fire rains from the sky on the chaos board edge shrine, narrowly missing the assembled formations. One Thunderhawk makes it to the scouts targeted landing zone without misshap, the others veer off course, the transporter scattering backwards, and the Librarian's transport skipping further up the board.
Retaining the initative, the Librarian sets his sights on the Khorne Raptors in the far corner...
Brothers! Sustain Fire on the savages! Cut them down in His Holy Name! Missiles streak out, and a stand of raptors is blown apart, shots bouncing off the chaos lords thick armour.
It does not take Sindri long to reply to the insult.
Extending a demonic hand, he gestures towards the nearest landed thunderhawk, and the chaos armoured column trundles forward, bringing its lascannons to bare on the grounded thunderhawk. Shots bound of the armour as the Thunderhawk struggles to rise, battered and holed however, it does not explode.
Retaining the momentum, the Chosen of Nurgle sustain fire with their black autocannons against the newly arrived devastators. However the marines armour holds firm, the Emperor protecting, for the moment.
Bring their foul machines down! Let loose fire of holy rockets! The devistators, unscathed and uncaring of the autocannon fire armour them they lock targets on the incoming armoured group and destroy two of the machines, breaking the formation and leaving it crawling back to the the board edge, leaking smoke.
Uncaring, the Feral titan makes an almost animalist snarl as it powers up, scenting blood it stalks towards the wounded thunderhawk, shelling the downed aircraft without mercy. However the Thunderhawk's armour continues to hold firm. The same can not be said for the armour of five battle brothers, caught in the open under a high explosive barrage from a fallen god engine and destroyed, utterly.
The scouts dive from cover to cover, raking the choosen with accurate, yet ineffective fire.
The Thousand Suns vanguard advances, ready to clear a path for their demonic master. As they move forward, faster than any normal man, reality ripples and cracks a lord of change manifesting itself out of the shimmering desert mirages to lead the advance on the armoured landing zone. Fifteen battle brothers die, as sorcerous rounds of bolter and autocannon fall around them, fully half the detachment.
Spreading out to protect their reeling battle brothers, the scouts corner off the landing zone, a thin blue line unloading heavy bolters on the fallen angels. By some small miracle, a stand of chaos marines falls afoul of the bolters, and collapses into dust.
Speeding along to greet them, the Slaanesh bikers zip towards the scouts, dragging three stands of demonettes into reality before them. Regrouping, the tactical marines greet them with a hail of missiles, inflicting no damage.
The last Chaos unit to move, the wounded khorne lord dashes forward, bloodletters shimmering into reality around him. Too far to assault, they instead occupy the dry and dusty woods, threatening victory next turn.
In return the the assault marines, lead by the Chaplin, charge into the attack - Not against the impossible numbers of blootletters to their fore, but instead leaping atop the chaos chosen...
For the Emperor! Attack!
The Nurgle marines, fat and bloated with sickness and rot, laugh at the assault, severed limbs and deep cuts having no effect, every single attack twarted. Except for one. With a roar, Aurelius hacks around him, lashing out at marine after marine, chanting the litany of hate. In return the nurgle worshipers plow rounds of sickness afflicted bolt rounds into the assault marines, five brothers falling in the combat, but not Aurelius.
The combat drags on, the first round a draw, but the second is ineffective. While the imperium's bolt pistols are outmatched, Aurelius blessed aura keeps him safe from harm... Still yelling the prayers of the Emperor, he urges his brothers on and suddenly the chosen break, ten cut down in an instant the remaining five fleeing as the assault marines advance into the crystaline cover.
The scouts in the center shift postion in their rocks, and all that remains is the armoured company.
Doubling forward, all but pedel to the metal as they rumble out the assault ship they proceed into range of their primary target - The Titan.
It's void shields collapse, and a point of hull is stripped away, relentlessly punished by volly after volly of Lascannon fire - Accurate even on the move.
Situation at the end of turn 1, before rallying.
Spoiler:
At the end of turn, the two Thunderhawks and the lander successfully disengage. Every single formation on both sides passes its regroup check and the bloodletters and the Greater Deamon return to the warp. The deamonettes, bound by the Icon, do not.
Chaos Win the Initative!
Turn 2 -
Sindri Arrives!
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
The immaterium shifts. Sindri and his personal bodyguard arrive - Directly behind the Captain. With a Snarl the Warhound leaps forward, ignoring the ruinious firepower of the predators, catching the Devastators in a crossfire!
More through luck than grace, a single stand falls, and then Sindri seeks to retain his initative.
The Terminators assault Librarian Invictus, the Librarian turning to face the deamon price.
The fight is short. The space marines are butchered to a man, the terminators suffering not a single loss.
Gritting their superhuman teeth, the Predators seek a new target. Switching from the battered titan to the armoured company as it comes about, lascannon fire lashes out.
When the smoke clears, every chaos tank lies a twisted, charred wreck.
The first Thunderhawk then swoops back to the battlefield, strafing the Thousand Suns formation. Unfortunately, so damage is done.
The revving of engines signals the advancing of the Slaneesh bikers.
The screams of the scouts- Brief, indicate their end as they are wiped out without a second thought.
The Raptors then, leap out of the woods and onto the hapless devastators.
A swirling melee develops, five more battle brothers perish, hacked appart by the laughing screaming mob.
But the captain holds firm, dispatching ten of the attacking raptors.
But it is not enough, using the last of his luck to survive the supporting fire from the terminators, the captain and four battle brothers are all that manage to escape, broken, falling behind the scouts.
The Thunderhawk transporter circles, stray heavy bolter fire destroying the last of the choosen while the damaged thunderhawk again fails to score any hits on the thousand suns.
The Thousand suns about face, moving to engage the armoured detachment. The hunter, caught on the flank is destroyed by a direct hit from a sorcerous missile, but the other shots fail to fine their mark.
Going for glory, the assault marines jet into the air, and meltabombs in hand, down into the fallen titan...
A thunderous explosion lets up bits of metal falling in every direction as the war machine topples - And falls lifeless to the ground.
Meanwhile the fifteen remaining tactical marines vow to sell their lives dearly, killing a single stand of deamonettes.
The scouts spray fire at the raptors, breaking and driving back the victorious manics.
The other scouts only mannage to thin out the deamonettes, destroying another stand.
End of Turn 2.
The only stand not to regroup is the space marine captain, apparently knowing some fear after all.
Spoiler:
Turn 3 - The Imperium has the initative.
Spoiler:
The scouts, strung out on the left flank and facing impossible odds with nowhere to run, sustain fire on Sindri's formation.
For a moment, it looks like the oblitators unholy armour might buckle, but as the smoke clears....
Nothing.
Struggling to retain the initative, the space marines gamble and lose, the second unit of scouts under their captain once again inflicting no damage.
The thousand suns advance, flamers swirling into existance around them. Not close enough to assault, instead they content themselves to lazily destroying a predator with autocannon fire.
Confident in victory, the Chaos then surrender the Initative to Aurelius.
He does, what any good space marine would do, when faced with impossible odds, alone with no backup.
The Chrozius flies home.
The deamon. Is dead.
However, not a single battle brother survives the deamons fall, a bloody line of rent and torn ultramarine corpses leading up to the headless deamonprince.
The marines sustain fire next with the surviving three stands of tacticals, sending two stands of deamons back into the warp.
The deamonettes carve through the tacticals, there's no survival.
Pushing home their advantage, the Khorne Raptors leap into the inexperienced scout formation.
In a questionable turn of events, the scouts expertly dispatch the Khrone lord in melee, shatter his formation and destory it in the rout. [Winning the fight by six points]
The surviving tanks regroup - Having no armoured targets left, they toss a demolisher shell at the flamers.
It misses.
Both thunderhawks make attack runs on the biker column.
They both miss.
Situation at end of turn 3
Spoiler:
Turn 4 -
Spoiler:
Turn four is a space marine withdrawal. The landing craft, spitting heavy bolter fire, makes a emergencing landing on top of the captains position, destroying a stand of oblitorators in the process, while the tanks make an emergency withdrawal, marching back to the objective on the marines side, and away from the slow moving thousand sons.
Another against the odds combat takes place, waves of demonettes crash against the four scouts in the center, and while three stands are cut down, two demonettes fall in return. Clearly of disorganisation unlike the blast marker ridden chaos space marines, by the will of the emperor the single remaining stand of scouts wins the combat, driving the bikes off before breaking and retreating themselves.
The remaining terminators sustain fire on the scouts, the emperor still intervening to save them from further harm.
Meanwhile the undamaged thunderhawk swoops low, landing next to the broken scouts it rains fire onto the approching thousand suns, destroying two stands.
It is not enough however, as even supressed and doubling there still remains enough power to butcher the scouts, the last one falling at the open ramp of the transport.
With that, the game ends. No side has achieved enough objectives to counterance an overall victory, it goes down to Victory points.
A narrow win to the forces of Chaos. While Sindri was killed, it appears the almost complete destruction of a space marine company was too higher price, only _Five_ Marines,and twenty scouts along with four tanks escaping, out of a full 100 marines and sixty scouts and six tanks.
One thunderhawk is badly damaged in addition.
End Game-
Spoiler:
Next up, Eldar Vs Necrons!
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2020/09/21 20:55:37
Played some Epic Armageddon with my motorized XIV supported by a Reaver against an infantry Krieg force. A grueling match that was looking like a tie until the fourth turn, when the guardsmen charging the middle factory suffered an unexpected loss as they assaulted into the titan's support range and got blasted off the walls before a fatal charge of the Krieg commander out of the woods got broken against Captain-Commander Erasmus' tactical detachment, turning the game into an Astartes win on kill points after neither side could achieve a decisive win on objectives.
Spoiler:
Using titans takes some getting used to, they take such a chunk of your points and force you into a disadvantage in the activation economy. Being able to obliterate whole Russ formations out of existence with laser blasters felt helpful, though.
