The once pround and populous Imperial Hive Planet of Le'Golund has been the subject of a brutal exterminatus. This followed the outbreak of heretic beliefs amongst the planets population whom, on discovery of an ancient manuscript from before the Age of Enlightenment, chose to begin worshiping the Ancient fallen goddess K'ym K'ard Ish'yan. By the time the heresy had been identified, its tendrils were sunk deep into the minds of the populace and fanatical worship was endemic. Under Inquisitorial command, the planet was subsequently bombarded from orbit for several weeks, leaving all its citizens pulverized and many of the planets Hives (constructed from an innovative modular construction system known only to this world) shattered and its surface blackened with choking layers of dust.

Ten years have gone by, and Imperial Listening posts guarding the Le'Golund system have detected ships breaking the quarantine cordon. A Tau Advanced Insertion Cadre, followed by transports of Tau settlers from the nearby Farsight Enclaves, has entered the system with the intention of colonizing the apparently abandoned world. Despite its destruction, the planets mineral wealth and location near an important interstellar crossroads on the fringes of the Gulf of Damocles make it a tempting target for many alien races, especially the Tau who look to expand on their success at Agrellan.

To stop the Tau setting up a beachhead on the planet, and deter any future Tau attempts at colonization, a small force of Space Marines from the Titan's Bastards Chapter has been dispatched with orders to root out and rid the system of its Tau visitors so Imperial Re-Colonization can resume once the quarantine has ended.

The campaign will follow the standard Kill Team Rules and be played over the six standard missions included, but with slight variations to fit the storyline.

All battles will take place in the remains of the Planets capital Hive, Bi'llund. To represent the chaotic and twisted remains of the hive and its narrow clogged streets, all battles will be fought on a 2' x 4' board.

Due to the narrow nature of the setting, the infiltrating special rule is suspended (as units will be close enough already) however outflanking will still be allowed.

Lists chosen for the first game will be used for the entire campaign. Limited changes will be allowed between each mission - each player may either;
- change one models total fit out
- make a 'blanket change' that effects a squad as bought (i.e. changing scout from bolters to shotguns)
- change one specialist and/or their specialism.

The Banetide Cadre
Advanced Insertion Cadre lead by the fearless Shas'ui El'Or'Es, AKA Banetide, charged with securing the abandoned planet and clearing the path for the Settler Mission.

Fire Warriors x6 - 62pts
Pulse Carbines x6
EMP Grenade x1
Bonding Knife Ritual x6

Crisis Suit x1 - 45pts
Cyclic Ion Blaster
Vectored Retro Thruster
Neuro System Jammer
Bonding Knife Ritual

Stealth Team x3 -93pts
Burst Cannnon x3
Bonding Knife Ritual x3

Total 200 pts

Leader - Banetide - Stealth Shas'ui

Specialist 1 - Stealth Suit BC - Haywire
Specialist 2 - Crisis - Feel No Pain
Specialist 3 - Stealth Suit BC - Ignores cover

'Blades of Atlas'
1st, 2nd and 8th Scout squads of the 10th Company, under Command of Veteran Sergeant Rheamus, charged with purging the Xeno Filth from the Emperor's hallowed lands.

Scouts x5 - 108pts
Bolt Pistol & Chainsword x4,
Heavy Bolter x1
Land Speeder Storm,
Heavy Flamer
Cerebus Grenade Launcher

Scouts x6 - 92pts
Bolters x4
Camocloak x4
Heavy Bolter x1
Veteran Serg. w/ CCW,

Total 200pts

Leader - Sergeant Rheamus (Vet Scout Serg )

Specialist 1 - Scout Serg (CCW), Fleshbane
Specialist 2 - Scout (HB) - Relentless
Specialist 3 - Scout (HB) - Rending

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Forward Push
Primary Objectives: 3 Randomly placed Objectives
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Slay the Leader / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Mysterious Objectives

Warlord Traits:
SM player rolls 'A cunning Ruse, which is useless as all hisn units already have the outflank special rule
Tau Player Rolls 'Quick Thinker' to seize initiative on a 4+

Field of Battle. All terrain counts as ruins and True LOS is in use.


Objectives are spread evenly - one in centre


One in SM deployment zone


One in Tau Deployment zone


SM player wins roll off and deploys first, deploying the Camo cloak scouts, rending heavy bolter specialist and the Vet Serg., but leaving the LSS carrying 4x CCW scouts, fleshbane specialist serg. and the relentless heavy bolter in reserves to outflank.


Tau player deploys all models in his DZ.


Tau player rolls and manages to seize on a 4.

Tau:
Half of the force moves forward towards central objective, while rest lay in wait for the outflanking LSS. Nothing is in range for Tau player (18" max range) so some units run.


Captured objective in their DZ turns out to be a Targeting relay.




SM:
Scouts move forward into ruins, while vet serg. captures the objective.




Shooting from bolters takes out the furthest forward Fire warrior, giving the SM player First Blood.



The rending heavy bolter specialist also manages to kill the haywire grenade wielding fire warrior in the Tau deployment zone.



Captured objective in their DZ turns out to be a Targeting relay.



As it stands: Tau 1:2 SM

Tau:
Tau player realizes he is desperately outranged by the SM bolters, so moves most units up towards the centre and into cover.




Haywire specialist stealth suit and a lone fire warrior who stay behind to guard the objective. Burst cannon fire from the ignores cover specialist stealth suit kills a scout, but all other shooting whiffs.




Suits assault jump around for cover/better views ready for the next turn.



Captured central objective turns out to be a useless skyfire nexus.



SM:
LS and cargo comes in, and outflanks as expected near the objective in the Tau DZ.



Instead of disembarking his scouts, the SM player decides to move 12" and get an angle for the heavy flamer on both the fire warrior claiming the objective and the haywire specialist stealth suit.



Remaining scouts move towards the central objective, with the vet serg. still sat on the objective in the SM DZ.



LSS Heavy flamer kills the fire warrior on the objective, while snap shooting from the occupants manages to kill the haywire specialist stealth suit.



The other scouts manage to pick off the Tau leader in the ruins near the central objective, giving the SM player Slay the Leader and leaving the Tau player perilously close to being broken.



As it stands: Tau 1:3 SM

Tau:
Nothing moves for the Tau player, as he forgets how to use JSJ effectively.



Shooting from the remaining fire warriors takes out the rending heavy bolter specialist.



The crisis shoots at the LSS and whiffs. The ignores cover specialist stealth suit steps in and glances it once, the LSS being unable to jink.




Tau player is hopelessly out of position and forgets to assault jump his remaining suits. Not looking good.

SM:
Scouts deploy from the LSS.



Relentless heavy bolter specialist captures the objective in the Tau DZ, while two CCW scouts charge the ignores cover specialist stealth suit guarding the central objective. The fleshbane specialist serg. and other CCW scout charge the Crisis in the ruins.



Camo cloak scouts move forward to the central objective and keep the pressure on the tau from both sides.



They kill another fire warrior, and the Tau force is Broken, giving the SM player another VP.



The two CCW scouts intent on charging the ignores cover specialist stealth suit guarding the central objective actually manage to kill him with a pre-assault volley of bolt pistol rounds, leaving them free to capture the central objective next turn.



Tau player does get some luck though, rolling three out of three sixes in overwatch, instagibbing the CCW scout and fleshbane specialist serg.





As it stands: Tau 1:5 SM

Tau:
All three remaining units manage (unbelievably) to pass their broken morale checks and stay on the board. Crisis jumps behind the LSS, while remaining fire warriors stay in cover.


They manage to take out a CCW scout near the central objective



but the crisis misses the LSS from point blank range. In desperation, he then charges the LSS but whiffs his attacks again.



He does however finally remember the NSJ and casts it on the relentless heavy bolter specialist (which proves to be useless due to the bolter drill reroll).



SM:
Camocloak scouts move up to help secure the central objective


while LSS gets away from the crisis and goes after a fire warrior.



He manages to take him out with the Heavy flamer



while the last fire warrior goes down to the relentless heavy bolter specialist's fire. All other fire directed at the crisis is ineffective.



As it stands: Tau 1:6 SM

Tau:
No hope for the Tau player - a slim chance he could force a draw if the game last long enough and the crisis stops whiffing everything, but he is mostly playing on for pride. Jumps next to the relentless heavy bolter specialist and shoots, again missing from point blank range. Charges him, but again fails to do any damage and now finds himself tar pitted.



SM:
Units shuffle about, relentless heavy bolter specialist and crisis trade more blows to no avail. Game ends.

FINAL SCORE: Tau 1:6 SM

CRUSHING VICTORY TO THE TITAN'S BASTARDS!

(and in case you are wondering if I just Rolfstomped my inductee, I was playing the Tau )

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Alone in the Dark
Primary Objectives: 3 Randomly placed Objectives
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Slay the Leader / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Dawn of War
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Mysterious Objectives, Death by Moonlight (Night fighting all game), Search Pattern (roll for outflanking on all units - as it happens all SM units have outflanking anyway, and Tau player doesn't want to outflank with any)

List Changes: Tau - Changes Fit out of Crisis by dropping everything and going for TL BC and Flamer. SM player changes Scouts with CCW to shotguns.

Warlord Traits:
SM player rolls 'Unshakable Dedication to Duty', giving him Zealot special rule
Tau Player Rolls 'Iron Resolve' increasing his command range from 6" to 12"



SM player wins roll off and deploys first, deploying all models. The Camo cloak scouts deploy on left flank


with leader and rending heavy bolter specialist deploying in centre.


LSS with usual crew embarked deploys on right flank, but relentless heavy bolter specialist deploys in far right corner.


Tau deploys all forces too. Ignores cover specialist Stealth suit and three fire warriors on left flank


leader and other three fire warriors in centre,


with haywire specialist Stealth suit and crisis taking the right.


Tau player fails to seize.

SM: Player deploys aggressively, all camocloak scouts moving up, capturing the central objective.




LSS moves 6" and deploys shotgun scouts to capture right hand objective. Relentless heavy bolter specialist moves into ruins for great fields of fire.



SM player whiffs in shooting, with the haywire specialist Stealth suit surviving an absolute hail of fire on his 2+ cover save.



Captured objective in centre turns out to be a Grav wave generator (not likely to be assaulted by tau)



The right hand objective being a Satterfield, further buffing the ridiculous board wide cover saves.



Tau: Most of the SM scouts have handily moved into the max 18" range of the Tau weapons, so movement is minimal. A few fire warriors reposition,




while the battle suits remember how JSJ works and jump forward for better angles.




Tau shooting would be hot this turn. Crisis suit takes out the relentless heavy bolter specialist, despite him going to ground for the 2+ save.



Haywire specialist Stealth suit also manages to glance the LSS through its jinking.



The rending heavy bolter specialist also goes down to burst cannon fire from the Tau leader, yet again despite going to ground.



Two more camo cloaks are downed on the left flank by the Ignores Cover specialist Stealth suit and his fire warrior chums, yet again despite one going to ground.




Absolute carnage for the SM player sees him lose four models, one HP and First Blood. Suits assault jump back into cover.




As it stands: SM 2:1 Tau

SM: Player abandons the left flank and consolidates the remaining scout towards the central objective. LSS cannot shoot its HF as it jinked last turn, so flat outs behind cover.



Shotgun scouts move forward towards the Haywire specialist Stealth suit, firing eight pre assault shots but causing no damage.



Shooting around the central objective kills a fire warrior, despite him going to ground, but fails to kill the Ignores cover specialist Stealth suit carelessly left out in the open.




All Shotgun scouts charge the Haywire specialist Stealth suit, but one fails the charge distance. Over watch kills one, and the remainder trade blows but combat is a draw.



Tau: Left flank pushes forward towards the abandoned objective



while troops around central objective reposition for better angles.




Crisis jumps out of hiding to pick off a shotgun scout



then assault jumps to claim the right hand objective.



All other shooting is ineffective, and combat remains locked up. Captured left flank objective turns out to be another scatter field.



As it stands: SM 1:2 Tau

SM: LSS comes forward and tries to flame the Crisis, failing miserably.



All other shooting would do nothing, while combat would remain locked yet again (Haywire specialist Stealth suit showing his tau buddies how CC is done).



Tau: Suits jump around, but most fire warriors hold position.



Combined fire from the burst cannons and fire warriors kills a camocloak scout



and picks off the SM leader, again despite going to ground for the 2+.



Last remaining camocloak does survive by going to ground however.



This gives the Tau player Slay the Warlord and Breaks the SM Force. Crisis takes out the LSS and assault jumps clear of the shotgun scouts,



who finally finish off the Haywire specialist Stealth suit.



Stealth Leader assault jumps to claim the central objective

As it stands: SM 0:5 Tau

SM: Two scouts fail their morale checks, despite the rerolls for ATSKNF, and are removed as casualties.




The last remaining shotgun scout makes a move for the right hand objective, shooting at the crisis to no avail. He knows the end is near.



Tau: Crisis Jumps in and finishes him off, claiming the last objective in the process.




Stealth suit leader jumps onto SM table edge for line breaker.

FINAL SCORE: SM 0:7 Tau

CRUSHING VICTORY TO THE TAU!

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Head Hunt
Primary Objectives: Kill opponents Leader (3VPs) and Specialists (1VP each)
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Custom (due to narrow table - Deployment zones are either both flanking ends or in centre)
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Night Fighting

List Changes: Tau changes all pulse carbines over to pulse rifles on fire warriors and haywire specialist to preferred enemy (due to it being an illegal choice, oops ). SM player changes Shotguns over to bolters.

Warlord Traits:
SM player rolls 'Unshakeable Dedication to Duty', giving leader the Zealot special rule
Tau Player also rolls 'Unshakeable Dedication to Duty'



SM player wins roll off and deploys first, deploying two Camo cloak scouts and the rending heavy bolter specialist on the left flank, with the other two Camo cloak scouts and the relentless heavy bolter specialist on the right flank guarding the leader (hiding behind LOS blocking ruins) The LSS carrying 4x scouts and flesh bane specialist serg. will outflank.




Tau player deploys all units to the centre with good fields of fire, with the leader behind ruin that block LOS to the rending HB, hopefully reducing the risk.





Tau player rolls and fails to seize.

SM: Scouts on both flanks move up into better firing position, but remain in cover.




SM shooting whiffs, the stealth suits making their 2+ cover saves. Last shot of the turn, and up steps this man...



...who promptly one hit kills the Tau leader, bagging 4VPs in one go. What a dude.



Tau: Enraged by the death of the leader, the crisis rampages off towards the SM leader with gay abandon.



While both stealth suits jump into BC range of the HBs.




Ignore cover stealth specialist kills the rending HB specialist, giving Tau 1 VP.



While relentless HB specialist goes to ground to survive a hail of shots



Until this man steps up...



And picks him off with a one shot wonder for another VP. What goes around comes around...



Suits assault jump around, with the crisis and preferred enemy stealth specialist making a run for the SM leader cowering in the corner.



As it stands: Tau 2:4 SM

SM: LSS comes in, and dumps a roadblock of scouts in the crisis suits path.



Remaining left flank scouts move up, but fail to kill the stealth suit



While 4 scouts and the LLS throw everything at the crisis suit.....and completely whiff



Tau: Crisis suit takes one look at the scout roadblock...



and jumps clean over it, along with the preferred enemy stealth specialist



Fire warriors and ignores cover stealth specialist fail to kill either scouts on the left flank



While FW shooting does nothing to the right flank scouts either



So, up step the crisis and preferred enemy stealth suit...... who fail to take out the speeder between them (8 shots, 4 TL!) and only manage to kill one scout with the flamer.



They do however manage to assault jump a massive 10 inches to bring the SM leader into view for next turn




As it stands: Tau 2:4 SM

SM: Left flank scouts decide enough is enough and try to settle things the old fashioned way.



Everything else moves to intercept the suits going after the leader...



Who do not survive the hail of bolter shells, shipping another 2 VPs



Left flank scouts charge the stealth suit...



...with predictable results due to supporting fire (10 S5 shots in total!)



Tau: With the left flank neutralized and crisis assault failed, all Tau forces flood right!



Shooting totally whiffs, until the last fire warrior lines up the LLS...



...and immobilizes it with one shot, despite him jinking



As it stands: Tau 2:6 SM

SM: scouts set up their defensive perimeter



Combined Firing kills one Fire warrior and causes another to go to ground



Tau: All fire warriors move forward but whiff in shooting. Stealth specialist jumps forward and takes aim at LSS



and duly wastes it



He then makes a 12" assault jump to lead the pack in their headlong chase for the leader



As it stands: Tau 2:6 SM

SM: Scouts need to hold their lines... and do, killing the lead stealth suit and the closest fire warrior



This gives them 1 VP for the specialist, and another VP for breaking the Tau force.
Game over.
Right?

Tau: One fire warrior fails the broke test and flees, but the other three hang tough.



The scout lines need to be thinned out before attempting another run on the leader, which is going to be tough with just three guys left, and even then they have to hope that the game carries on past turn 5. First fire warrior whiffs his shooting. Second fire warrior takes aim...



and nails him, despite the scout going to ground. Third fire warrior takes aim....



...and also hits the mark, again despite the scout going to ground. This breaks the SM force for an all important VP!

We roll to see if the game continues..... and it does! The Tau comeback dream lives on!

As it stands: Tau 3:8 SM

SM: Its now four on three, Scouts pass their broken tests thanks to the ATSKNF rerolls, but once more fail in their shooting at the fire warriors, who don't even need to go to ground.



Tau: another fire warrior breaks and flees the field.



The remaining two decide it is now or never and move forward. Both throw photon grenades at the closest scout, getting direct hits on both and blinding him



They then follow up with an assault, both making their charge ranges



and promptly kick his blinded buns to the curb.



They then top off the perfect turn by consolidating 6" into view of the elusive SM leader



We roll to see if the game continues..... and it does!

As it stands: Tau 3:8 SM

SM: End game. All the SM player has to do here is tie the Tau up in CCW and he has won. Scouts move up to charge



Leader tosses a frag grenade to try and take both fire warriors out, but it just barely scatters off both



Scouts roll for the all important charge ranges... and make it!



Flesh bane specialist makes short work of the one fire warrior, while the other is tar pitted in combat, effectively ending the game.



Tau: The dream is over. Stuck in CC, the Tau player concedes. So near, and yet so far....

FINAL SCORE: Tau 4:8 SM

VICTORY TO THE TITAN'S BASTARDS!
SM Player takes a 2:1 lead in the campaign

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Infiltrate the Camp
Primary Objectives: Attacker - 1VP for each model that leaves the defenders table edge. Defender - 1VP for every 3 units killed/destroyed
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Slay the Leader / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Defensive perimeter (no outflanking), Engines on Quiet (no turbo boosting)
List Changes: none

Warlord Traits:
SM player rolls 'Chasing Promotion', to gain an extra VP if he kills the enemy leader in a challenge
Tau Player Rolls 'Quick Thinker' to seize initiative on a 4+



Tau player wins first roll off and chooses to be the defending player. SM player wins the other roll off and decided to go first. He deploys first, deploying everything up as far as possible - the Camo cloak scouts and leader on the line, with LSS carrying 4x bolter scouts and flesh bane specialist serg. The two heavy bolter specialists hang back to provide covering fire.



Tau player sets up his gunline and waits.



Tau player rolls and fails to seize, despite his trait.

SM: SM player states his intention from the start and flat outs the speeder + cargo up the board and into the ruins.




Scouts move up



As does the relentless HB to give covering fire



Shooting, and the relentless HB opens the scoring by taking out the Tau Leader, scoring VPS for First Blood and Slay the leader. 2+ cover saves are not all that they are cracked up to be.....



Other HB is out of range, so runs forward to get a better position in cover, while the remaining scouts also run up



Tau: Tau player shuffles troop about, closing the distance for the burst cannons a little but maintaining cover for the gunline



First shot of the turn takes out the speeder, wrecking it and spilling its occupants onto the board. They also fail their pinning check and will be stuck there for a turn.



All other shooting is a bust for the Tau player.

As it stands: Tau 0:2 SM

SM: camo cloak Scouts move up



HB fire only manages to force a single fire warrior to go to ground



Snap shooting from pinned scouts does nothing



remaining scouts run to make up some ground. Bad turn for the SM player.



Tau: Crisis jumps forward and leads the hail of fire poured into the scout group



Carnage ensues, with three scouts going down including the leader and flesh bane specialist, giving up two VPs (Slay the leader and 3x dead)



Crisis Assault jumps back into cover



And the Tau line remains unbreached



As it stands: Tau 2:2 SM

SM: Right flank Scouts keeping moving forward, looking for assault



Left flank scout tries to sneak by without being noticed



HBs pick off the Preferred Enemy specialist stealth suit



While fire from remaining scouts/HB pin both fire warriors (who go to ground)



two scouts assault the stealth suit, while one tries to tarpit the crisis



Crisis blows the scout away in overwatch though, giving tau another VP



While the others trade blows with the stealth suit to no avail



Tau: Crisis jumps forward to put the beat down on the remaining two scouts, but whiffs



Fire warriors take aim at the HB



But only manage to get him to go to ground



Combat is once more a bust, but the stealth hits and runs out



As it stands: Tau 3:2 SM

SM: Scouts continue moving towards the Tau table edge



two scouts shoot bolt pistols at the crisis to no avail, lining up the 3" charge



Heavy Bolters take out two fire warriors



Scouts charge the crisis



Loosing one to overwatch, and doing nothing in CC



Scout on left continues his sneaky march



Tau: Stealth and fire warrior move in for the kill



blowing away the two lurking camo cloak scouts between them, picking up a VP for breaking the enemy



Three remaining fire warriors aim to take out the sneaking scout but fail to hit



Combat continues to be a draw



As it stands: Tau 4:2 SM

SM: No shooting this turn by SM player. HBs give up their supporting roles and decide to make a dash for it, probably too late...



Sneaking scout goes for it too, ignoring the chance to shoot



HBs run 6"



As does the sneaking camo cloak scout



End zone is in sight!



Tau: Fire warriors line up the sneaking scout for some rapid fire (not trusting their combat skillz) but fail to kill him anyway



Stealth lines up a running HB



And takes him out, giving Tau another VP for another three enemy down



Combat continues to be a bust for the crisis



And so we roll to see if the game continues - but it doesn't! How cruel the dice gods are! So close for the brave scout... but at least he picks up linebreaker as a consolation prize.

FINAL SCORE: Tau 5:3 SM

CLOSE VICTORY TO THE TAU!
Campaign is tied at 2:2

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Secure the High Ground
Primary Objectives: 1 VP for each model within the boundary of the ruin at the end of the game
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Slay the Leader / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Night fighting
List Changes: Tau make none, SM player exchanges Heavy Flamer for Heavy Bolter on LSS

Warlord Traits:
SM player rolls 'A cunning Ruse, which is useless as all his units already have the outflank special rule
Tau Player Rolls 'Been there, seen it, done it' and chooses Rending (CC)



The ruin



SM player wins roll of and deploys first, deploying the Camo cloak scouts and leader as far forward as possible, but leaving the LSS carrying 4x bolter scouts, fleshbane specialist serg. and the two HB.



Tau player deploys the Crisis and Stealth teams to the centre to provide the punch into the ruin, while fire warriors flank on both sides to provide fire support



Tau player rolls and fails to seize.

SM: LSS zips up the field and plants itself in the heart of the ruin. Plan here is for scouts to stay inside the LSS and use it as an armoured shooting platform, giving them AV10/jinking protection for a turn or two, as well as getting 7 models into the objective immediately.



Snap firing from the LSS and occupants does nothing



Rest of the scouts move up



Tau: The Tau line advances up to the next barricade



Ignores cover specialist stealth suit takes aim at the LSS



And explodes it first time, giving tau First blood. It gets worse for the scouts, as they lose two in the ensuing fireball. Random allocation results in both HB specialists going down. Ouch



The rest of the suits concentrate their fire on the ruin too, killing another two scouts and causing one more to go to ground. It's a slaughter in the ruin.



Tau assault jump around into cover



As it stands: Tau 1:0 SM

SM: Enraged by the death of his team, the serg charges out towards the Tau lines, hoping to tar pit at least one suit and minimize the fire bought to bear on the ruin.




The remaining scouts on foot move up to the ruin.



As the serg charges, he tosses a frag grenade at the stealth suits but fails to wound



Scouts run into the ruin for 3+ cover with the camocloaks



While the serg charges



But is mercilessly cut down by overwatch and supporting fire (16 shots!)



Tau: Tau mostly hold their position



While the crisis gets an angle for his flamer



Despite the scouts going to ground for the 2+ cover, the barrage of fire from the Crisis and Stealth suits kills another three scouts, including the leader for a VP. The scout force is also now broken for a further VP



Crisis jumps slightly further away and behind cover, everything else holds position



As it stands: Tau 3:0 SM

SM: Remaining two scouts move up into the ruin



Scout misses the crisis with a crack grenade, but the other does manage to snipe the tau leader, despite his 2+ cover save, for a VP



Tau: Crisis and stealth suits pour yet more fire into the ruin, killing the two newly arrived scouts and forcing the third to go to ground again



Fire warriors join the suits and encircle the last remaining scout




As it stands: Tau 3:1 SM

SM: given the dire situation and the fact he is pinned, the final scout surrenders



Tau: Tau house party

FINAL SCORE: Tau 12:1 SM

CRUSHING VICTORY TO THE TAU!
Tau Player takes a 3:2 lead in the campaign

Factions: Tau vs Titan's Bastards SM

Mission: Supply Drop
Primary Objectives: 6 Random, scattered objectives - 'Primary Drop' is worth 3VP at end of game
Secondary Objectives: First Blood / Line Breaker / Slay the Leader / Break the Enemy (kill more than 50% of opponents force)

Deployment: Dawn of War
Game Length: Variable
Mission Special rules: Night fighting, Primary Drop (when an objective is captured, roll a D6. On a roll of a 6, it becomes the primary drop and all other objectives are removed)
List Changes: Tau trades various bits of kit for VRT on crisis, SM player makes no changes.

Warlord Traits:
Tau player rolls 'A cunning Ruse, which is useless as the narrow map makes outflanking pointless
SM Player Rolls 'Quicker Thinker' meaning he can seize the initiative on a 4+

Objectives are represented by the downed drones (grey).


Tau player wins roll off and deploys Second. SM player deploys two Camo cloak scouts and the rending HB on the left flank, five scouts including the leader and fleshbane specialist in the centre, while the remaining two camo cloak scouts, the relentless HB and the LSS go on the right flank.





Tau player deploys preferred enemy specialist and three fire warriors on the left flank, the Crisis and the stealth leader in the centre and the ignores cover specialist and remaining three fire warriors on the right. Both forces hedging their bets as to where the primary drop will be located.....





SM player rolls and manages to seize!

SM: Scouts on right flank move forward, with HB getting to firing position. LSS bombs forward to capture the first objective. SM player rolls a 6, making the first objective captured the Primary drop. All other objectives are removed.




Centre scouts move up but stay out of LOS



While left flank also moves up



Heavy fire on the right flank forces all the fire warriors to go to ground, but one still buys the farm handing SM player first blood.



All other shooting for SM is a bust.

Tau: Left flank, and the stealth suit moves into firing position



While the three fire warriors start moving right to reposition for the objective



Centre suits reposition



as does the right flank stealth specialist



However the Tau player whiffs all his shooting, leaving the three fire warriors to run further towards the right flank



As it stands: Tau 0:4 SM (holding Primary VP)

SM: Scouts move in to help secure the objective



While some move centrally to try and draw the crisis suits attention



And keep pressure on the Tau left flank



Shooting whiffs for the SM player this time, so some scouts run to get into better supporting fire positions for the objective



Fleshbane specialist has another bout of insane heroism and charges the crisis suit



only to be flamed to death in overwatch



Tau: Left flank begins to contract, stealth specialist backing off the camo scouts



While fire warriors continue moving right



Crisis suit moves in to take on the huddling scouts



While right flank remains static



Tau leader takes out his counterpart, despite him going to ground, for Slay the Leader.



While the crisis ignore the closest scouts and takes out the relentless HB specialist.



A plucky fire warrior then steps up and one-shots the LSS, penning and exploding it, leaving the objective unclaimed



Left flank suit assault jumps away from scouts



While fire warriors continue running right to get a better position



As it stands: Tau 1:1 SM

SM: Camo cloak scout on right flank continues to pressure the stealth suit, but can't quite take him out



While rending HB lines up the tau leader...



...and snipes him out, giving the SM player Slay the Warlord.



3 scouts make a move on the crisis, but fail to wound with bolt pistols



They make the charge



but lose one in overwatch



However they manage a wound in exchange



but the crisis makes a hit and run test and jumps away from the combat.



Tau: Left flank continues to contract



While fire warriors finally make it to right flank



Their journey was not worth it though, as their shooting would suck



Leaving it to the crisis to do all the hard work and take out two scouts with his flamer. This breaks the scout force for a VP.



before assault jumping onto the objective



As it stands: Tau 5:2 SM

SM: Both HB and camo cloak fail once more to take out lone stealth suit on left flank



While the remaining two scouts in the centre fail to hurt the crisis on the objective



Tau: Fire warriors line up scout in ruins



and nail him, despite his 2+ cover save



While crisis jumps off the objective to deal with closest scout



Who survives by virtue of going to ground



Crisis and stealth suit assault jump onto objective.



With the closest scout pinned and two more essentially out of the game on the left flank, the SM player concedes

FINAL SCORE: Tau 5:2 SM

VICTORY TO THE TAU!

Tau: It was a hard fought campaign for the Tau, who overcame an early reversal to score some good victories over what was a very mobile and potent scout force. Tactics wise, I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn that the Tau favoured a more stand-off approach, allowing the enemy to make all the movement towards objectives and just back themselves to shoot them off of them, then move in to grab them T5. The suits were predictably good, with the crisis + FNP specialism proving to be very resilient indeed. The fire warriors also showed themselves to not just be filler in the list - even though slight hamstrung by their BS3, the 30" range and S5 makes them quite deadly at range.
MVP: On the whole, probably the Ignore Cover Stealth Specialist, racked up the most kills including the LSS which was probably the biggest threat to the Tau.

Scouts: My opponent went for the right tactic most of the time which was to play the scouts aggressively, getting up into the Tau faces as soon as possible. However, he was very unlucky with some of the penetration and vehicle damage rolls on the LSS, especially in the last three games. Also wasn't maybe aggressive enough in getting the scouts into close combat and possibly a bit too objective orientated at the expense of eliminating enemy units. Overall though I think the scouts performed really well, ATSKNF making them almost impossible to break and the LSS with HF being deadly to fire warriors (when it lived long enough). I look forward to trying them out as a kill team myself in an upcoming campaign....
MVP: Tough call for the scouts, probably the Rending Specialist HB though as he managed to snipe the Tau leader on many occasions, racking up a nice haul of VPs all by his lonesome.

The Tau Advanced Insertions Cadre, fresh from the fighting at Agrellan and well versed in the art of Urban warfare, has proven too durable even for the mighty Space Marines to eradicate. Their seeming ability to apply fire power to pressure points of the Space Marines front just at the right moment has proved their undoing, exasperated by a lack of heavier support to turn the battle when it started to go against them. What started as a game of cat and mouse in the ruins of the Hive city soon turned into a killing ground, littered with the detritus of the Imperial war machine.

What was to be a simple mission of slaughtering xeno colonists has proved to be anything but, and the cunning Tau now settle in for a long future at Le'Golunds helm. As the remaining scouts return to their Chapter world of Tethys, battered and bruised, they do so sure in the knowledge that they will return to avenge their fallen brothers.

The Le'Golund War has begun.....