Game 1 vs Graeme with balanced Tau;
Buffmander
2 crisis w/fusion
plas
Ion tide
EWO
Burst tide
EWO
2x Kroot
6 fire warriors
6 fire warriors w/fish
2x 5 pathfinders
Max sniper drones
3 broadsides
EWO
Skyray
Mission; scouring primary 4 pts, modified maelstrom 3 pts, first/last blood, warlord and line breaker 1 pt each.
Deployment; hammer and anvil
Warlord traits; farsight's default for me and the same for my opponent.
Pre game analysis;
I was supposed to be playing a nurgle daemon list with a forgeworld
GUO who's name escapes me. But due to no shows the pairings got switched around which was unfortunate for me as one of the worst match ups for the bomb is another Tau list. Especially as Graeme had diversified marker support/ignores cover from five sources!
I also struggle a bit more vs riptides with this incarnation of the bomb due to having dropped all the plasma and being wary of the charge due to no fearless or
ATSKNF.
This was going to be tough be I was looking forward to the challenge.
I won first turn and took it so I could get the bomb on ASAP.
You can see my deployment on the line maximise my some what feeble alpha strike from the two rays.
My opponent deployed his riptides aggressively as there's nothing much on the table currently which can really hurt them.
Turn 1 I dump 12 missiles with three marker hits into a squad of pathfinders to try and get first blood, a maelstrom and a scouring point early. The last batch of six missiles with two markers for ignores cover were all ones and twos! So two pathfinders survived.
My opponent makes a mistake and uses two marker hits from his marksmen to up the
BS of a riptide rather than stripping cover for the broadsides. He manages to take the ray down to a single
HP.
Turn 2 I roll double 2s for the bomb to come in. It happens 1/12 games and is pain but recoverable as long as the bomb is on turn 3 most of the time. Fortunately both kroot stay off but my marker crisis team come on which I hope to use in order to take out some of the other pathfinder squad. But they scatter 9 inches off the board...Graeme gets to place them near his sniper drones. I jump two drones into cover but one dies and they fall back.
I believe I make a mistake with my movement as I send a piranha onto a maelstrom objective along with the single
HP skyray. I think I should have held back and given up on secondaries and gone for the primary, conserving my fast piranha. I back up my other skyray to my table edge to protect the rear armour for what it's worth.
He drops in with his warlord and destroys my previously unharmed skyray. He also takes out the other skyray, piranha and the crisis team withy the help of some outflanking kroot. Leaving me with a single piranha and three detached gun drones.
Turn 3 and the bomb comes in, I bring it down away from his riptides behind the broadsides and sniper drones. I think this was a mistake and I should have deep struck more centrally and risked the Riptide charges with stubborn up, this would have put me in a better position for late game. He kills three or four drones with
EWO.
The bomb dos what it does on the drop; skyray blown up by fusion, broadsides insta-gibbed, all but 4 snipers and all marksmen down, two pathfinders survive as well as taking out a few fire warriors. 3 marker sources neutered with the pathfinders and drones falling back.
My kroot also come in near his deployment zone 3 point objective. At this stage he is edging ahead on secondaries and I have very few units left. I move my last piranha 30 inches towards his deployment hoping vainly it can survive. For the bombs assault move it manages six inches and I move into cover towards midfield.
Graeme moves his devilfish out of his deployment into midfield away from the bomb. He manages to take a hull point off the piranha but not much else.
Turn 4 I finish off the devilfish and a few straggling drones and fire warriors whilst my kroot hang back near the 3 pointer. Only 4 inch jump for farsight and co as I slowly edge towards mid and the 2x two point objectives. My kroot even with the re-roll come in on the wrong side near objectives when I wanted them threatening a two pointer on my right. They will do nothing now other than die ignonimously.
He drops my piranha despite jink with the ion tide and starts gathering around my deployment 3 pointer with his burst tide about 16 inches from a two pointer.
Turn 5 and he has moved out of range of a lot of the bomb, I dump my missile pods into something, probably the burst tide to not much effect. I have a three point and a one point. I need a good jump move to get into midfield to contest the 2 pointer and roll snake eyes for the assault move!
He novas up the burst tide for a
4d6 move which makes it onto the 2 pointer giving him 5 to my 4 on primary. I need another turn and I should get at his riptide and be able to break off farsight to get 2x 2 pointers. I let my opponent roll and it's a 2. He takes secondaries comfortably and 5-4 on primary. He gets a big win 9-1.
I really put myself in a bad position turn three as I was greedily maximising my kill potential rather than thinking ahead, I still should have had enough time to get into mid but poor assault moves hampered me. I felt a few key dice rolls went against me this game;
Reserves for the bomb
Kroot outflank turn 4
Assault moves
Game ending
My opponent did play well though and he put pressure on with the riptides almost tabling me before farsight and co arrived. Pretty rubbish losing game one but I learnt some lessons and my opponent was a cool guy to play against.
