BATTLE REPORT
Mission: The Scouring (6 objectives)
Deployment: Short board edges
Points: 1500
Date: 13 November 2012
Table: Plague World
INTRODUCTION
For this report I wanted to try something new so I asked Alan (my opponent) to jot down some notes on his army choices before the game and email them to a neutral third party. These would include why he chose each unit and what he hoped to achieve with them. I did the same and these notes are presented here with the army choices.
The battle took place on Chagas IV, a world close to the Damocles Gulf long fallen to the ravages of Nurgle. Formerly the imperial world of Iaptus Ultra, it was in aeons past part of the Nephthys Hegemony and was linked to the empire via dolmen gates.
In his relentless drive to reactivate as many Tomb Worlds as he can, ANRAKYR THE TRAVELLER has come to Nephthys and has started a grand tour of all their domains. Dolmen gates have been activated and exploratory forces dispatched. This activity has drawn the attention of the Tau Empire and specifically the Dal’yth 28th who, worried that the strange energy signatures emanating from a quarantine world are the result of a daemonic incursion, have been tasked to investigate.
TAU: DAL’YTH 28TH ARMOURED INFANTRY (1500PTS)
Alan writes:
This is a list that worked quite well in 5th Edition. It is centered on producing as much fire power as possible, to take down target with focused fire. I have forgone the use of vehicles as I find they don’t last or provide the fire power units give, and it keeps with the Armoured Infantry theme.
HQ 1: Shas’O with AFP, Missile Pod and Shield
Gen.
He will hang back with the Missile Pod Crisis team to provide medium range support. The AFP (Airbursting Fragmentation Projector) will allow him to deal some hurt up close to massed Infantry.
HQ 2: Shas’O with Plasma Rifle, Fution Blaster Shield
Gen and Shield Drone.
His task is to join up with the plasma Crisis Team and take the fight the opposition.
Elite 1: Stealth Team, with Shas’vre with Fution Blaster, Bonded.
Will use infiltration deployment, their role being to harry the enemy flank and support the Plasma Crisis team, if possible. Fution Blaster allows them to deal with heavy armour.
Elite 2: Crisis Team. Twin linked Plasma Rifles and Targeting Arrays.
Will provide up close plasma death, supported by
HQ 2.
Elite 3: Crisis Team. Twin linked Missile Pods and Targeting Arrays.
Will provide medium range support and deal with light armoured targets, supported by
HQ 1.
Troops: 3 units of 8 Fire Warriors. Shus’ui and Bonded
The Fire Warrior Units will provide fire support, and hold objectives.
Heavy 1: Broadside Team of 2. Twin-linked Plasma and Shield
Gen’s
Broadsides will deploy as advantageously as possible (preferably in cover) they will deal with the enemy armour/monsters. Their plasmas allow them to deal with closing enemy infantry or teleporting Terminators and such.
Heavy 2: Broadside Team of 2. Twin-linked Plasma and Shield
Gen’s
Broadsides will deploy as advantageously as possible (preferably in cover) they will deal with the enemy armour/monsters. Their plasmas allow them to deal with closing enemy infantry or teleporting Terminators and such.
Heavy 3: Sniper Drone team.
Provide further medium range fire support targeting predominantly 3+ armour units
NECRONS: TOMB WORLD NEPHTHYS EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (1500PTS)
This list has a bit of everything. I dropped one of the night scythes and the ghost ark to try some different combinations. Anrakyr stayed in though… his stellar performance last week earned him another go.
HQ + Troops: Anrakyr the Traveller with 10 immortals / cryptek with chonometron / night scythe
This is my hard-hitting unit. It will deploy right in the middle of Alan's forces and try to take all the initiative away from him. Anrakyr has a tachyon arrow plus he can take over another tank on a 3+ so I will aim to take out any vehicles Alan has with a combination of Mind In The Machine, Tachyon arrow and the immortals. The chronotek is there to make sure Mind In the Machine works and failing that, that the arrow hits.
The night scythe will focus on vehicles and then on broadsides.
Elite: 5 deathmarks x 2
I have split these into two small units so that I can nominate two different squads for Hunters From Hyperspace rule. They will go after broadsides and possibly pathfinders if those are becoming problematic. They will probably deploy together and function as one squad.
Troops: 10 necron warriors
Troops: 10 necron warriors with cryptek with veil of darkness
The first squad will sit behind the aegis and man the quad cannon The other one with the cryptek will start off behind the aegis and then will use the veil to either support the assault that Anrakyr will lead or else jump and grab an objective.
Fast: 5 tomb blades
These have Str6 AP4 blasts and will hunt fire warriors and kroot. They will probably take the other flank, turbo boosting, to provide a distraction.
Fast: 4 canoptek wraiths
These will be sacrificed to draw the fire of the big guns by charging up one flank. If Alan arrives with a shedload of kroot, they will go after them. They are not expected to survive past turn 2.
Fortification: Aegis defense line with quad cannon
I am going to deploy this as far forward as possible in a straight line. The quad gun will target vehicles first and then broadsides.
Heavy: Annihilation Barge
This will deploy right up there with the aegis and claim cover from it. It will be there to try and lend support where needed. It's 24" range though might be a problem. This has been chosen as I have never used it before and it needs a night out.
TERRAIN AND DEPLOYMENT
Alan won the role for deployment and chose the 3 Maggot Mounds as these would provide him with a good cover save (if his troops could stomach the pits of maggots everywhere).
There were three objectives near him including the prize 4VP one so things looked good so far.
The necrons deployed the Aegis across their front lines in front of the Rock Of Rebirth. There was one 3VP objective at the back, another 3VP one close to the dolmen gate and inside the slime of the Spire of Sputem and a third out in the open.
Alan deployed his fire warriors in and around the cover with his Stealth Teams and some suits on the left flank (including his commanders). His broadsides were all in cover.
Tactical Considerations for the Necrons
This mission was all about grabbing the objectives and only troops could grab them. This more or less informed my plan. We each had three troops choices… Alan had his three fire warrior squads and I had two squads of warriors plus my immortals. I would concentrate in the early game on wiping out his troops whilst preserving mine. To this end all my other units were deemed expendable.
I deployed one squad of warriors around the quad gun with the annihilation barge in support and another (the one with the Veiltek) right at the back out of site. The aegis was hopefully going to protect them and the others were out of range.
On my left were my wraiths and tomb blades. These were going to go on a suicide run, the wraiths drawing fire and the tomb blades targeting the first of Alan’s fire warriors (on my left). The deathmarks and anraykr were all in reserves.
TURN 1
TAU
Night fight was in effect and so there was very little that was going to happen. Alan was conservative in his movement and mostly tried his luck at shooting. I lost a warrior plus a wraith plus one wound off the quad gun and everything else saved.
NECRON 0 / TAU 0
NECRONS
I charged the wraiths and tomb blades up the left flank and moved the annihilation barge out of cover on its own suicide run (right in front of the broadsides with their rail guns). Both the tomb blades (upgraded to particle casters), the quad cannon and the barge targeted the fire warriors and succeeded in wiping them out.
First blood to the necrons.
NECRON 1 / TAU 0
TURN 2
TAU
With night fight out of the way the Tau shooting was far more effective. The suits on Alan’s right flank poured everything into the wraiths and easily wiped them out. The broadsides engaged the barge and blew it into tiny fragments. The other broadside team and the scout team destroyed the quad cannon. The fire warrior squad in the centre moved up to claim an objective worth 1VP
NECRON 1 / TAU 1
NECRONS
Despite having a reroll from the cronotek the night scythe failed to come on but both squads of deathmarks did. I decided to stick to the plan and focus on the fire warriors with what I had. I kept the 10 warriors with the veiltek far away and safe for now and marked the two fire warriors for doom with Hunters From Hyperspace.
The deathmarks deployed right in front of the two Maggot Mounds and so were each close to their respective targets.
The tomb blades moved up and targeted the bunched up fire warriors in the centre. Thanks to some good rolling (I rolled 19 hits) the tomb blades wiped them out. The two deathmark units then fired on the now last remaining fire warrior squad and caused enough wounds for them to fail their pinning test.
At this point, the Necrons moved into ascendancy… Alan was down to one pinned weakened troops choice and I still had my three troops unharmed. So now I had to focus to NOT LOSING rather than WINNING.
NECRON 2 / TAU 0
TURN 3
TAU
Alan’s right flank easily wiped out the Tomb Blades but their job was done and they teleported back to the repair barges for a well deserved oil bath.
On his left he wiped out one squad of deathmarks and killed another from the second squad.
NECRONS
Anrakyr and his immortals arrived, wiping breadcrumbs from their mouths as they had been on a picnic.
I made what could have been a telling mistake here by shooting at the last remaining fire warrior squad with the deathmarks first. They failed their pinning test and went to ground in area terrain, thus giving them a 2++ save. I should have shot the immortals first. Live and learn. So they were pinned and survived the hail of fire from the immortals. Silly silly silly.
TURN 4
TAU
Alan poured everything he had into the immortals but with a combination of luck and good armour only five were killed and they made their break test.
NECRONS
The veiltek squad jumped in from the back and between them and the immortals did enough damage to the last remaining fire warrior squad that they broke and fell back
At this stage the game was tactically over.
I moved my other warrior squad up to claim an objective, the veilteks moved in and claimed a second one and in the last few turns Anrakyr left his squad and killed Alan’s warlord and his squad in single combat, first nailing them with the tachyon arrow and then using his warscythe.
Final
VP NECRON 9 / TAU 0
Thanks Alan for a great game and bringing a wonderfully painted army.
