Progress: finished!
This is the first of four battle reports from the May 21st Cangames tournament in Ottawa, Canada. 1750 pt "Astronomi-con" style tournament. See
my Cangames thread in the Tournaments forum for an overview of the tables and some of the armies present.
Game 1 vs Space Marines in the Jungle:
This Thread
Game 2 vs Drop Pod Marines on the Valley table
Game 3 vs Witchhunters on the Bastions table
coming soon
Game 4 vs Deathwing on the Refinery/Pipeline table
coming soon
Strangelooper's Tyranids:
HQ: Hive Tyrant (Heavy Venom Cannon, Twinlinked Devourers with Brainleech Worms, Paroxysm, Leech Essence)
Elite: 3 Zoanthropes
Elite: 2 Lictors
Troops: 10 Genestealers (Toxin Sacs)
Troops: 12 Hormagaunts
Troops: 3 Warriors (2x Deathspitters, 1x Venom Cannon; all with dual Boneswords)
Troops: 6 Warriors (Scything Talons, Rending Claws, Toxin Sacs)
FA: 4 Raveners (Scything Talons, Rending Claws)
FA: Harpy (Twinlinked Stranglethorn Cannon, Cluster Spines)
HS: Trygon (Adrenal Glands)
Ryan Henshaw's Space Marines:
HQ: Chapter Master (Terminator Armour,
TH/
SS)
5 Honour Guard (Chapter Banner, Champion with
TH) in a Rhino
HQ: Librarian (
FD, MoA)
Elite: 5 Terminators (2 dual
LC, 3
TH/
SS) in a Land Raider Redeemer (Multimelta)
Elite: Ironclad Dreadnought (
SH/Meltagun,
DCCW/Heavy Flamer)
Troop: 10 Tactical Marines (Meltagun, Lascannon, Sgt with
PF) in a Rhino
Troop: 10 Scouts (Sgt with
PF)
FA: Landspeeder (Multimelta, Heavy Flamer)
HS: Vindicator (Dozer Blade)
Table: Jungle
Deployment: Spearhead
Primary Objective: Claim the Warp Rift uncontested to win (10/5), otherwise game is a draw (7/7)
Secondary Objectives (+/-1 each): Most/Least Kill Points, Kill/Killed General, Control Most/Least Table Quarters
Special Rules: The single objective, a Warp Rift, starts in the center of the table. At the start of each player turn it moves
d6” in the direction of the scatter die. If a hit is rolled, then one character from each army rolls
d6 and adds the result to its
LD characteristic; winner gets to choose the direction that the objective moves. At the end of each player turn, each unit within 6” of the Warp Rift must pass a
LD test or take
d6 S3 AP3 hits.
Pregame Analysis: I let out a "whoop" when I drew the jungle table, I have to admit. Lots of cover for my bugs (most of which have Move Through Cover), and a good chance to turn Ryan H's vehicle-heavy force into a parking lot - by Warp Lance, Venom Cannon or even with a judicious Lictor attack if necessary. My three
MCs can peel open vehicles in
CC, though the Land Raider will probably need Trygon treatment if the Warp Lances don't kill it. Once the marines have to get out and walk, then all the Rending claws and
MC attacks in my force should make short work of his small model count, or at least lock him up away from the objective. The objective shouldn't be able to hurt me much as I have a lot of LD10. I can keep my Hormagaunts back for a quick objective grab/contest at the end of the game, and my fast-moving models (Harpy, Raveners) should be able to claim table quarters then.
Should be a cake-walk!
Yeah...
Deployment:
Tyranids win the roll, choosing to deploy and go first. I chose the corner that had the most empty space *behind* a line of trees; I'll call it “southwest”. Zoanthropes went out front in the open, then Hive Tyrant + Guards behind them, with Raveners behind them on my northwest flank. Rending Toxic Warriors hid in the trees in the front center of my corner, with the Hormagaunts strung out in a line at the back (this might end up being my scoring unit, so I wanted to protect it). On the right (eastern) flank: Trygon in the trees, with Shooty Warrior and Harpy hiding behind for cover. The Shooty Warriors were there largely to keep the Trygon and Harpy in Synapse; I didn't expect their shooting to accomplish much. You can see the Warp Rift in the center of the table:
Space Marines deploy their Land Raider (Terminators and
HQ inside) behind the two Rhinos in the clear in their “northeastern” corner. The Tactical Squad in the Rhino splits off a combat squad with the Lascannon, placing it in the trees near the Dreadnought at the far west of their corner, with the Landspeeder in the clear at the north board edge (Dreadnought and Combat Squad cannot be seen through the foliage). The rest of that Tactical Squad stayed in the Rhino, and the other Rhino contained the Honour Guard + Librarian. The Vindicator hid in the trees midway between the Landspeeder and Rhinos.
Genestealers infiltrated into a copse of trees in the east, about half way up the table, 18” from the Rhinos.
Marine Scouts infiltrated into the northwest corner, near the north board edge, in cover.
Tyranids Turn 1:
The Warp Rift objective moves towards my lines, perfect! My Trygon moves up, maintaining cover for the Harpy, which moves up behind it. The shooty Warriors move up into the trees.
Zoanthropes move forward with Tyrant and Toxic Rending Warriors close behind. Raveners get an excellent move through cover roll and head towards the poor Scouts. Hormagaunts sidle around behind the Tyrant and Guard, ready to back up the Raveners if necessary.
Genestealers spread out as they dash from one area of foliage towards another, moving up on the Rhinos.
A direct hit from the Tyrant's Heavy Venom Cannon tags the entire Tactical Combat Squad in the trees, and manages to melt both the Lascannoneer and a bolter Marine. The other three Marines glance at the gooey puddles that were once their battle brothers, then at one another, then at the treeline behind them...and they run off the board! I guess they
shall know fear... The Harpy's shooting scatters wide, but the Shooty Warrior's Venom Cannon shakes a Rhino. The Zoanthropes pass two of their Pyschic Tests, but the Librarian's Hood blocks both attempts to focus and they don't even get to shoot their Warp Lances. The Genestealers sluggishly run 2”, the Trygon surges forward almost to the ruins and turns sideways to provide maximum cover. The Raveners get a much-needed 5” on their run! The Space Marine Scouts, casually checking their weapons and ammo, look up to see four snake-bodied creatures skimming over the swamp towards them at unbelievable speed.
The front of swampwater crests over the edge of the bog and muddies the jungle floor as the Raveners roll a 6 on their move through cover dice to give them the 12” charge they need to slam into the Scouts. (apologies for the blurry photo; the autofocus got the dice instead of the combat...)
One Ravener falls and another spurts ichor as the scouts slice open their bellies on their way into the thick jungle, but 5 scouts fall to the scything talons of the beasts. Knowing they cannot possibly outrun their serpentine attackers, the surviving scouts go back to back with bolt pistols and combat knives drawn (passing their morale check), the Raveners menacing them ominously.
Space Marines Turn 1:
The Warp Drift inched deeper into the Tyranid lines. The marine vehicles roared around the corner in a cloud of smoke, keeping the ruins between themselves and the main Tyranid force. The Honour Guard's (shaken) Rhino led, followed by the Tactical Squad's Rhino and then the Land Raider. All three transports used their smoke launchers.
The Vindicator bulldozed forwards through the foliage and the Ironclad Dreadnought trudged to the edge of the jungle.
The Land Raider's machine spirit fired its multimelta through the smoke, boiling off a thick piece of the Trygon's carapace. The Vindicator cannon sent a shot that scattered wide into the empty swamp. The Dreadnought and Landspeeder melta weapons merely bounced ineffectually off of the psychic force fields of the Zoanthropes. However, the field failed to protect one of the Zoanthropes against the dark energies of the Warp Rift; it listed sideways after a lobe of its brain was sucked out of its head and into the Warp.
The Raveners continued merrily tossing Space Marine Scouts down their gullets. The last three junior battle-brothers fought bitterly to delay the beasts as much as they could. Casting brief glances over their shoulders towards the towering Ironclad Dreadnought only dozens of yards away, they cursed as the clanking construct plodded towards the main Tyranid force, casually ignoring their plight. They prepared to sell their lives dearly.
Tyranids Turn 2:
The Hive Mind coaxed the Warp Rift a few inches deeper into the southern jungle. The main Tyranid force swept north to cut off the Honour Guard's Rhino from rounding the ruins and getting close to the Warp Rift. The Tyrant stepped out front, backed up by the Toxic Rending Warriors, while the Zoanthropes floated eastward to surround the coruscating Warp Rift. Hormagaunts skittered north toward the chomping sounds of Ravener-feasting.
The massive Trygon lurched uncertainly towards the Land Raider, spewing ichor at every twitch (terrible move through cover and run rolls). The Harpy hovered low behind it while the Genestealers scuttled through the trees ahead, yet out of range to assault anything other than the impregnable Land Raider.
Flesh hooks smashed through the tempered glass of the Landspeeder from behind, wrenching the cockpit struts as the tendrils recoiled, and the terrified occupants abandoned their weapon controls to hug the floor of the vehicle (Shaken). Two Lictors scampered from branch to branch in the northern jungle, blending back into the canopy.
The bulk of Tyranid shooting, hampered by smokescreens and the Librarian's Psychic Hood, managed only to shake the Tactical's Rhino but immobilized the Honour Guard's vehicle. Parking lot established! Well, more or less. The other vehicles would have to risk grinding through the ruins, or take the long way around past the Genestealers, Harpy and Trygon.
In the northwest the Raveners continued their leisurely meal, downing all but one of the remaining Scouts - who bravely stood firm.
Space Marines turn 2:
Beeep...beeeep.... The Land Raider reversed, pivoted and ground forward to the east, disgorging Assault Terminators into the Genestealers. The shaken Tacticals' Rhino's engines screamed in full reverse, halting behind the Land Raider to disembark the Tactical Combat Squad out the rear door.
In the center, the Honor Guard deployed from their immobilized transport and ran towards the menacing Hive Tyrant. The Ironclad Dreadnought broke cover and plodded forwards to flank the Tyrant.
“There's something in the trees behind us!” radioed the Landspeeder crew from the floor of their vehicle as they reached up to hit the afterburners and rocketed over the Tyranid force. “Roger that...targeting...” crackled the reply from the Vindicator gunner.
A massive detonation from the Vindicator's cannon shell propelled branches, wildlife, and Lictor organs up out of the canopy. (I decided to *not* have the Lictors go to ground, figuring I'd make one of my 3+ cover saves and have a chance to eat the Vindicator next turn...but no, I rolled a 1 and a 2. The Lictors, hiding behind soft leaves instead of hard tree trunks, both suffered instant disintegration).
Shooting from the Dreadnought and Honour Guard put a wound on the Tyrant and one Guard, before the ancient machine followed the chapter banner into assault.
The Tyrant managed a single hit on the Dreadnought, tearing off its siegehammer; but the Ironclad's powerfist pulped a Tyrant Guard. The Honour Guards' power weapons finished off the last Guard before the Champion's thunder hammer scored 3 hits to stagger the Tyrant, then knock it to the ground, and finally pulp its head into the soft jungle floor.
Over in the east, the dismounted tactical squad softened up the Genestealers with rapidfiring bolters, supported by the Land Raider's assault cannon. The 4 Tyranids that had emerged from cover fell (too many wounding hits, failed 4 cover saves). The Assault Terminators slogged forward into the claws...
...which scrabbled ineffectually over the sealed ceramite armour, as the Genestealers failed to get even a single rend (boo!). The lightning claws and thunderhammers wiped out the Genestealers completely. Unscathed, the Assault Terminators consolidated towards the Trygon.
The Raveners in the west finally finished off the last Space Marine Scout and looked about. Seeing the back of the Ironclad, they casually slithered in its direction, sluggish and replete with their meal.
Tyranids Turn 3
With the Hive Tyrant limp and twitching in reflex, the Librarian focused his mind and wrested control of the Warp Rift, summoning the coruscating energy directly towards his squad. Wary, the Zoanthropes shuffled around the ruins to avoid the Honor Guard and to clear a charge lane for the toxic rending Warriors. Hormagaunts stayed back to avoid getting burned by the Warp Rift, and spread out to minimize damage from the Landspeeder's heavy flamer, while stringing out to be in synapse with both squads of Warriors and the Zoanthropes.
Distracted by controlling the Warp Rift, the Librarian's let his psychic hood slip off - one of the Zoanthropes actually got a shot off. Warp Lance energy crackled across the jungle, severing cables and conduits in the Ironclad's legs, immobilizing it! In the east The Trygon's bioeletric pulse, Warriors' shooting and the two large blasts from the Harpy forced enough armour saves to knock out a single
TH/
SS Terminator.
Raveners assaulted the immobilized Dreadnought, climbing all over it and prying futilely at seams with their claws. Needing double sixes on the armor pen roll in order to glance AV13, they accomplished absolutely nothing. The toxic rending Warriors smashed into the Honor Guard, rending through 3 of the arificer armour suits to the juicy prizes inside. However, the champion's thunder hammer instant-killed three Warriors, and rest of the power weapons combined with many no-retreat wounds accounted for a fouth, leaving only two.
The Trygon and Harpy both assaulted the Terminators. The Harpy, shrieking, picked at them gingerly but failed to score any hits. The Trygon launched itself into their midst, a flurry of talons and lashing tail. The storm shields easily repelled the crushing blows– only the lone lightning claw Terminator fell to the Trygon. The thunder hammers rose and fell along the overextended length of the Trygon, pulverizing the gigantic beast into paste. The Harpy, bereft of the support of the Hive Mind (out of Synapse range: oops) fled over the trees, almost off the board.
At this point time was called! The Space Marines player unfortunately never got his third turn in.
Result:
My two remaining toxic rending Warriors were within 3” of the Warp Rift, but so were the Honour Guard contesting it.
Primary Objective: Draw: 7 Battle Points each!
Secondary Objectives: I lost 3 points for losing my general (the Hive Tyrant), having the fewest table quarters (both the western quarters were contested, and the Space Marines held the entire east), and gaining the fewest kill points (I only finished off 1 Tactical combat squad and the Scouts for 2
KPs while I lost my Tyrant + Guard, Lictors, Trygon and Genestealers for 4
Kps). The Space Marines player gained 3 battle points for the same reasons, putting him at 10
Bps and myself at 4. So...sort of a tie, but really the Tyranids kind of got pwned.
Post-Game Analysis:
I really expected the jungle to be awesome for the Tyranids, but as has been pointed out, there wasn't much actual
LOS-blocking. Lack of grenades was not terribly relevent, as I only got to charge 3 times and only one of those was into cover (the Raveners on the Scouts, where I admit that I did lose a Ravener before it got to strike). I even got lucky with the Warp Rift, having it move towards me most of the game, and I only ever took one wound on a Zoanthrope from it. We did roll for the Warp Rift wounding all game, I just stopped mentioning it because my squads almost always passed their LD10 check.
My inability to crack open his transports hurt me the most, as he was able to disembark and assault me. This was mostly due to the Psychic Hood blocking my Zoanthropes. My Venom Cannons were only able to stun, it seems.
The Champion with thunderhammer running with the Banner was pretty sick – even needing 4+ to hit he devastated my Tyrant and instakilled 3 Warriors. Thunder hammers all around were making for sad Tyranids, really. The Ironclad's AV13 was really hard to crack – that extra 1
AV halved my Raveners chance of doing anything at all to it, and made it impossible for them to outright destroy it.
The shooty tyrant was pretty horrible in assault. In retrospect, I should have aimed his attacks at the Honour Guard. But he only hit once anyways – he really needs rerolls, even one set of Scything Talons would have helped out a lot. I think I may paint up some bonesabers and make him a Swarmlord soon.
I had hoped to use the Genestealers to reduce down his Terminators before sending in the big guys, but they were a huge disappointment. Their complete lack of rending was depressing, though they didn't get the charge (so had fewer attacks than they should have) and they were facing storm shields anyways, so it may not have made much difference. Rerolls to wound from Toxin Sacs usually gives me lots of rends – the Warriors benefited from that, but the Genestealers fluffed it.
I should have moved my shooty Warriors up to support the close combat instead of hanging them back shooting. Never got the chance to pick out
ICs with the boneswords...
It was too bad that we only got 2 and a half turns in. We had two hours for the game, but that included table assignment, reading the missions, deploying etc. Rolling for the Warp Rift movement, control of its movement, damage rolls etc did actually eat up a fair bit of time.
I don't think I completed a single game during the whole tourney, and I imagine that most other players didn't either. These table-tailored missions have lots of cool special rules and I like them, but they do eat up time. I think 1750 in 2
hrs with special rules at each table was perhaps a bit ambitious. I'd have rather completed three rounds than had 4 incomplete games.
2000 
2000 
1200
600 
190 
in progress
5000+ pts. 
