Rumored to be one of the first Exodite worlds, the Eldar of Serandir watched over the events of the 41st Millenium with great care, carefully rearranging the strings of fate to steer the many factions of the day into an outcome that would be to the benefit of their dying race. Between manipulating Chapter Master Cale Uros of the Marines Mendicant into launching a strike against a Tau exploratory force that might have uncovered a slumbering Khornate Daemon, to redirecting a Chaos Space Marine warband known as Harkanor's Reavers into an assault that blunted the WAAAGH Gruuk, an Ork WAAAGH that would have most certainly resulted in the destruction of their Craftworld, the Serandirian Eldar were, like their more prominent kin, masters of deception.
Their crowning achievement, however, was the redirection of a tendril of Hive Fleet Kraken, a tendril that would have devoured their diminutive craftworld in a heartbeat, into a staging ground for the Knights Verdant, a renegade Space Marine chapter who had fallen to the ruinous powers of Chaos. Consorting with an Iron Warriors warband, the Lord of this warband's intentions were unknown. However, the Farseer and Seer Council of Serandir felt that should these warriors be allowed to run unchecked, they would bring disaster to much of the Eastern edge of the galaxy; their raids would weaken Imperial and Tau holdings in the area, making it that much easier for the incoming Tyranids to gain a foothold in the galaxy.
To forestall this outcome, the Seer Council of Serandir captured a brood of Genestealers in a daring mission, and planted them within the Knights Verdant's staging ground. The Genestealers, released from their stasis, attracted the attention of the Hive Fleet. A mortal who has been touched by Chaos emits a strong Warp resonance, and the gathering of so many tainted souls was like a beacon for the Hive Fleet. The insidious tentacles of the Kraken constricted around the Knights Verdant as the Tyranids made landfall. One of the Knights Verdant's most experienced warriors, confined to the sarcaphogus of a Dreadnought, was sundered in the initial fighting. The Knights Verdant made a desperate push to retrieve the warrior's bisected halves while the Tyranids pressed their assault...
Hello Dakka! I recently played a 1850 point
40K game against another one of my school buddies; he brought Chaos Space Marines, and I brought my Hive Fleet Kraken. My list was as follows:
Hive Fleet Kraken:
The swarm assembled:
Hormagaunts:
HQ:
Hive Tyrant (Lash Whip/Bonesword, Scything Talons, Paryoxm, Leech Essence)
x2 Tyrant Guard
Elites:
x3 Hive Guard
x3 Hive Guard
Venomthrope
Troops:
x10 Termagaunts
x20 Hormagaunts (Toxin Sacs)
x6 Genestealers (Broodlord)
Tervigon (Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Catalyst)
Heavy Support:
Carnifex (Bio Plasma, Adrenal Glands)
x2 Trygons (Adrenal Glands, Prime)
My opponent brought the following list:
Foul servants of Chaos:
Chaos Space Marines:
HQ:
Chaos Sorcerer (Familiar, Warptime, Lash, Jump Pack)
Elites:
Terminator Squad (x4 Lightning Claws, x1 Heavy Flamer/Chainfist, Mark of Khorne)
->Land Raider (Possession)
Troops:
1K Sons Squad (Sorcerer had Bolt of Change)
Berzerker Squad (Power Weapon, x3 Plasma Pistols)
->Rhino
Berzerker Squad (Power Weapon, x3 Plasma Pistols)
->Rhino
Heavy Support:
x2 Vindicators (Possession)
Mission Type was Capture and Control, and my opponent requested that we play Pitched Battle, as we both agreed that Dawn of War would gimp both of our forces (him more so than me, as I could just pop the Tervigon down). I won the roll to deploy and go first. We used the two halves of my Chaos Dreadnought as the objectives; I got the legs and my opponent got the top half.
Pre-game table:
Tyranid Deployment:
Hungry hungry Trygon:
Staring down the enemy:
Chaos Deployment:
Tyranid Turn 1:
The swarm had tracked the source of psychic power to this camp; the Chaos Sorcerer shone like a beacon to the Hive Mind. Intent on wiping out this massive source of warp power, understanding the threat it posed to the Tyranid swarm, the Hive Mind sent its Hormagaunts forward as bait, hoping to draw the bloodthirsty Khornate warriors out into the open where they could be engaged by its more potent creatures.
My strategy here was simple; use my Hormagaunts as bait to draw out the Terminators and Berzerkers; I figured that they wouldn’t hold after my opponent’s turn passed, and that my opponent would sweep them with one or two squads of Berzerkers and the Terminators. At that point, I would hit them with Paryoxym and then a Trygon, coupled with the Tyrant.
In accordance with this strategy, I sent the Gaunts up, moving up everything. The Hive Guard fired on separate Vindicators, the first one blowing the cannon on the left Vindicator, while the right did nothing thanks to Possession. Meanwhile, the Tervigon cast Catalyst on the Hormagaunts. Everything else ran (as the Tyrant was out of Paryoxm range).
Advance of the Carnifex/Hive Guard/Trygon/Gaunt screen:
End of Tyranid Turn 1:
Chaos Turn 1:
As the Tyranids began to close in, the Sorcerer and his foul ilk roared a defiant challenge to the skies, raw, unrestrained bloodlust coursing through the veins of the assembled Traitor Marines as they rushed headlong into the trap set by the Hive Mind.
Seeking blood, my opponent promptly threw the Berzerkers at the Hormagaunts, while moving up with the 1K Sons. The Land Raider maneuvered to unload Terminators next turn, and the Vindicators fired on the Tyrant. The first shot missed, and the second one put a wound on the Tyrant and Tyrant Guard. The gunless Vindicator moved up, in an attempt to tank-shock my Gaunts and force the Hive Guard to shoot at it should they fail their Instinctive Behavior test.
The Berzerkers charged and wiped a bunch of Gaunts, who promptly held in combat.
[I forgot to take pictures this turn]
Tyranid Turn 2:
Forever scheming, the Hive Mind forced the Hormagaunts to hang on for a bit longer, while the Hive Tyrant coldly lumbered forward, intent on destroying the Berzerkers.
The Hormagaunts’ bravery in close combat was all the Hive Tyrant needed to throw itself into battle. The Tyrant advanced, intent on wiping the Berzerkers (and hopefully drawing other things into the center, where I could destroy them). Both sets of Hive Guard fired ineffectually at the Vindicators, doing absolutely nothing to them (as Possession shrugged off shaken and stunned results, to my irritation). Almost everything else rolled 1's on Run rolls. The Gaunts and Tyrant finished off the Berzerkers with contemptuous ease. Meanwhile, the Trygon assaulted the Vindicator and destroyed it.
End of Tyranid Turn 2:
Last two Hormagaunts:
Hive Tyrant Triumphant:
Trygon Kills Vindicator:
Chaos Turn 2:
The ferocity of the Tyranids was matched by the devotees of Khorne, who responded to the rush of the Tyranids with equal lack of regard for safety. The Hive Mind was startled as some of its largest assets fell before the assault of the Khornate warriors
The 1K Sons advanced to rapid fire on the Trygon, scoring a wound with the Bolt of Change. Meanwhile, the Terminators assaulted the Hive Tyrant, and the sons then assaulted the Trygon. The Trygon held (with 1 wound remaining), while the Terminators somehow wiped the Tyrant (as the Tyrant and Tyrant Guard BOTH failed to wound; I have never seen so many 1's rolled ever in a single sitting). The second Rhino unloaded some Berzerkers, which then promptly charged the Hive Guard, who only took a single wound while giving one in return.
The Trygon holds in Combat:
Termagaunts watch nervously:
Tyranid Turn 3:
Feeling the closest emotion to dismay that the Hive Mind could, the Hive Mind urged its larger creatures forward, hoping to use the Carnifex as a distraction while the Trygon got into position. Meanwhile, roused from their slumber, the Broodlord and Genestealers advanced, intent on wiping the tainted Marines from the objectives.
I ran forward with the Carnifex, hoping to use it to draw my opponent's fire, knowing I was buying time for the Genestealers to sneak up to his objective (in hindsight, this was a major waste, especially since I had put bio-plasma on it. GAH). Meanwhile, I charged the Venomthrope (best psychological tool in the Codex; when an opponent hears about 2+ poisoned weapons, Toxic Spore Clouds, and Toughness tests, they tend to dump fire into it) into combat alongside the Tervigon, who spawned 13 babies and promptly ran out (I just have no luck with Tervigons). The Termagaunts joined the bigger bugs in combat. Berzerkers dumped attacks into the Venomthrope, which, as expected, beat it down, while the Gaunts managed to fail to do anything to the Zerkers. The Tervigon's swings were of much bigger consequence, however, knocking the squad down to 3 Marines. The Gaunts were shredded by both the remaining Zerkers and No Retreat saves, despite Catalyst being cast on them.
[no pictures were taken this turn, sadly]
Chaos Turn 3:
Feeding off of the bloodlust of his warriors, the Sorcerer, emboldened with confidence, oncemore threw himself into the fray.
The Sorceror used his jump pack to fly over to the Trygon, in an attempt to kill it with a Force Weapon. Meanwhile, the Sons and Land Raider obliterated the Carnifex, who I thought had been out of sight of the Raider. The Vindicator scattered off of the Fex harmlessly, sadly not onto the Sons or Sorcerer. The Sorcerer charged into the Trygon, who failed to kill him with a Force Weapon due to Shadow in the Warp, while the Trygon retaliated swiftly by eating the Sorcerer. The Terminators charged into the Tervigon/Hive Guard, wiping the Hive Guard and dropping the Tervigon down to 2 wounds.
And the Fex falls:
Tyranid Turn 4
Ever calculating, the Hive Mind directed its Trygon back to the next target of psychic importance; the Tzeentch-based Thousand Sons Squad. The surviving siege tank was also a target of importance to the Hive Mind; dispatching the Hive Guard to deal with it, the Hive Mind urged the Tervigon to hold as long as it could in close combat with the Terminators.
As the Trygon had consolidated forward towards the Thousand Sons squad, I moved it up as close as I could before firing a bio-electic pulse (for the first time ever in playing this army), picking off two Sons. Meanwhile, the Hive Guard scooted up behind the Trygon, and fired at the Vindicator, failing to do anything to its front armor. The Genestealers snuck around the impassible terrain and continued their movement towards my opponent's deployment zone. In combat, the Trygon charged in and decimated the Thousand Sons, while the Tervigon died in combat.
Trygon, before wiping the Sons;
Chaos Turn 4:
Now effectively leaderless, the Chaos Terminator squad took charge, making for the Termagaunts guarding the bottom half of the Dreadnought. The Vindicator's daemon crew kept up a steady barrage of fire while the Terminators barked orders at the Rhinos to support their move.
My opponent moved his Terminators close to the Termagaunts, refusing to fire his heavy flamer in fear that he'd be out of charge range when the time came. However, potshots taken with the
TL Heavy Bolter from the Raider, and two Combi-Bolters from the Rhinos made me take 3 casualties (after going to ground and passing my leadership check), leaving the Terminators out of charge range. The Vindicator fired on the Hive Guard, which again scattered off of target.
End of Chaos Turn 4:
Tyranids Turn 5:
The Hive Mind, understanding that it could spare no more casualties in this particularly crucial battle, especially after the loss of its Tyrant and Tervigon, made one last desperate push towards the Dreadnought's sarcophagus in an attempt to devour the remains of the warrior within and deny it to the enemy.
I moved the Genestealers so that only half of the squad was exposed, intending to rush them up should the game go on to Turn 6. The Termagaunts remained prone while the Hive Guard again fired on the Vindicator, to no success. The Trygon moved up towards the objective, intent on creating a solid base of power for a Turn 6 defense of the objective. I awaited the inevitable charge of the Terminators and hoped the game would go on; as my opponent had no scoring units remaining, I could easily win by wiping the units surrounding his objective (a hypothetically easy task for 3 Hive Guard, 6 Genestealers and a Trygon).
End of Tyranid Turn 5:
Chaos Turn 5:
Swept up by their bloodlust, the Terminators commenced their attack on the Termagaunts, while the other remaining Vehicles moved to scour the Tyranids from the Dreadnought.
My opponent, following the doctrine of Khorne, advanced the Terminators towards the Termagaunts, again not firing the Heavy Flamer. The Rhinos fired combi-bolters on the Genestealers, which failed to kill any of the creatures. The northern Chaos Rhino moved up to park on the objective, intending to deny it from me. The Vindicator fired on the Hive Guard, which the cover of the first dead Vindicator protected them from. Assault saw the Terminators completely dominate the Termagaunts in close combat; the Terminators consolidated towards the north, vainly trying to reach the Trygon.
At this point, we rolled to continue the game and rolled a 1. The game did not go on; neither side held an objective, leaving the game a tie!
End game picture:
As the Genestealers began to melt back into the shadows, with the Trygon tunneling through the ground followed closely by the Hive Guard, an Eldar Ranger of Serandir, who had observed the course of the battle, smiled. He knew that the Tyranids would not be so easily repelled; though they had taken losses, it was only a matter of time before the Hive Mind would gestate another Tyrant, who would come to sweep the survivors from the area. The Chaos Sorcerer had perished, to the best of the Ranger's knowledge, and the threat that had loomed over his craftworld had now been silenced. Departing into the shadows, the Ranger headed back to his Craftworld to report the success of the Eldar's overarching plan to blunt the offensive edge of the Knights Verdant. Had the Ranger stayed but a second longer, he would have seen and felt a dark energy encompass the half-eaten remains of the Sorcerer; the Dark Gods had other plans yet for the fallen Sorcerer, and his own plans were far from finished...
Both my opponent and I were frustrated that the game had ended here; my Turn 6 would have probably seen the destruction of that Rhino and the Trygon charging the Vindicator, while the Genestealers crept onto my opponent's objective, hopefully securing a win. The Terminators were too far out to do anything; but like a true Khorne player, my opponent wanted to spill more of my blood! I had a great game and got to get a better feel for my Tyranids (this puts them at approximately 3/4/3, a pretty decent record if I do say so myself). This game solidified my fear of Possessed Vindicators, despite my opponent's
CC elements doing much better than the Vindicators ever did.
(as a side note, Serandir and Gruuk are the names of an Eldar and Ork army in my gaming group. The Marines Mendicant are my Space Marine homebrew chapter, while Harkanor's Reavers are my
CSM)
