The Fall of Bjorn the Fell-Handed

[Chalx the grey]

I played an epic game yesterday that I thought I would share, hope you enjoy. My (usual) opponent plays Tau and we have agreed some tweaks to his army to give him a slight advantage, seeing how most of his codex is a bit overcosted. Drones have very advantageus rules for him, Firewarriors get all possible wargear for free and suits and vehicles have +1 BS for free. Lists are roughly as follows:

 

My List (Space Wolves):

HQ: Bjorn the Fell-Handed

Elite: Dreadnought w Pod

Elite: Lone Wolf in TDA, Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield

Troops: Grey hunters in Rhino with melta, banner, MotW and PF+CM Wolf Guard (GH1)

Troops: Grey hunters with double plasma, banner, and termi WG with PF (GH2)

Fast: Swiftclaws x3 + att. Bike + WG with bike & PF

Heavy: Long Fangs, 4x missile launchers

Heavy: Vindicator

 

Opponent list (Tau)

HQ: Commander (melta + big template thing + shield) + shield drone

HQ: Ethereal

Elite: Crisis suit x1 (melta + plasma) w 2 drones

Troops: Firewarriors with pulse rifles

Troops: FW with pulse carbines

Troops: Kroot squad with hounds & krootox

Fast: Vespid squad

Fast?: Pathfinders with 2x rail rifles (w Devilfish)

Heavy: Sniper drone squadron w 6x rail rifles

Heavy: Broadside w 2 drones

Heavy: Broadside w 2 drones

 

We rolled we rolled for capture & control, pitched battle. He puts his objective in a ruin in a table corner in his deplyment zone. I put my objective near the middle of the board, on a layered hill. Getting up a level spends 2' of movement through difficult terrain (this will prove important late game).

 

The bulk of the Tau army castles in cover around the corner objective, with a ruined wall and building circling most of his units there. A Broadside sits in the exact corner with the sniper drones before him. The ethereal and FW unit deploy next to them claiming the objective. Next to them closing the castle formation the Devilfish holding his pathfinders and the second FW unit. The kroot deploy in a forest in the middle of the Tau deployment zone, next to them the Crisis Suits and vespid and finally the other broadside in the other ruin in the other corner.

 

The Space Wolves have some cover from the 2 high hills near the middle of the board but it is impossible to hide the vehicles from his broadsides, who cover the whole board. With nowhere to hide, the Sons of Fenris deploy everything forward using the little cover available in an attempt to overwhelm the firing capacity of the broadsides. Bjorn deploys on the left, right in front of the Tau-controlled objective along with the Lone Wolf, the Vindicator, the Long Fangs (behind cover) and GH1 rhino. GH squad 2 deploys near an old imperial bunker opposite to the Kroot, and the bikes deploy on the right side, ready to turboboost, hoping for a turn 2 assault on the lonely Broadside.

 

TURN1

-The Tau castle unloads all rail rifle and pulse rifle fire (sadly just in range) on the Long Fangs, wiping the squad. Ouch. The broadsides target the vindicator but fail. The Pathfinders leave their transport to the pulse carbine FW squad, which moves towards the enemy.

 

-The Space Wolves line rushes forward with very poor run rolls all around. The drop pod lands spot on in front of the Kroot and shoots at the vespid, doing nothing. The Vindicator is able to fire this turn, with a loud boom aiming at the bulk of the Tau force the shot scatters wildly, doing nothing. Damn.

 

TURN 2

- Without casualties, the Tau gunline pulls the trigger once more with devastating accuracy. The Vindicator loses his gun and the Bjorn his plasma cannon (bad call from my opponent, who has more to fear from the humble flamer), while the bikes are reduced to one biker and the attack bike under combined fire from the Crisis Suits and the Vespids (despite the 3+ cover save of course). To add insult to injury they are left pinned. The Devilfish jumps over the hill and appears behind the GH Rhino! A barrage of rail rifle fire takes off the CC arm from the normal dread.

 

- The Space Wolves continue to push forward, now with a more consistent run roll. Bjorn starts heating weapon systems for a turn 3 flame'n'assault manouver on the sniper drones, followed closely by the Lone Wolf. The Vindicator, toothless, positions itself to provide cover for the Rhino. GH1 leaves the realitve rhino safety and the combined fire from them and GH2 plasma guns send the Devilfish up in the air in a ball of fire. Half of the passengers die in the explosion! The dread, assaults the vespids, a good enough target now that he has lost his CC arm.

 

TURN3

- Railguns focus fire on Bjorn. The ward of the Primarch is not enough to save him from an internal hit. The ensuing explosion silences the battlefield for a moment. Bjorn has fallen. The Sons of Russ must recover his remains and bring them back to the Fang, else the most ancient member of the Chapter be lost forever. Gamewise, all wolves are now fearless and Bjorn becomes a third objective! The Kroot shoot GH2, killing one. The remains of the bold FW team who dared move in into my lines runs towards the kroot. The Crisis suits kill another biker, leaving the att. bike alone. The Lone Wolf is targeted by half the Tau army and only loses a wound. 2+ and FnP go a long way...

 

- Grey Hunter Squad 1 jumps back into the Rhino and moves flat-out towards the bulk of the Tau army, filled with rage. The Vindicator covers the Rhino flank. The Lone Wolf assaults the Sniper drones killing 3, the rest flee. GH2 advances and shoots on the retreating FW team, killing all but 2. The att. bike, free to move, assaults the Crisis suits in a suicide attept to delay them, and succeeds with a tied combat. The dread keeps killing vespids at a slow but purposeful rate.

 

TURN4

- The rhino is stopped in its tracks by a well-placed railgun shot. The Tau Ethereal flips a coin and decides to shoot at the Lone Wolf instead of the angry Grey Hunter squad that just got into assault range. Hit by 19 pulse rifle shots the Lone Wolf is felled at the feet of Bjorn. The Crisis suits kill the attack bike and prepare to come back to the thick of it. The Kroot move to rapid-fire GH2 squad, killing 2 marines.

 

- Retaliation is at hand! GH1 squad goes for the kill, assaulting both the Ethereal Squad and the Pathfinders. Despite using their banner, only 2 of the Fire Caste die. Damn those photonic grenades. Regardless they win combat and the Tau hold. The other GH squad in the center assaults the Kroot squad, producing 8 wounds to 3. While the remaining kroot flee, the terminator-clad Wolf Guard commands to consolidate towards the near central objective.

 

TURN5

- There is nothing there for the railguns to shoot! In a last effort, the Tau commander jumps above the mountain into the middle objective, shooting GH2 while in flight, killing some. The 2 lost Fire Warriors make it to the central objective, claiming it! Them and the commander surround the objective, making it impossible for the approaching Grey Hunters to contest unless they assault through the mountain slopes, and kill some more as they come. Close combat for the objective continues with many more Tau casualties, but the Ethereal makes them hold! The close Apocalypse Suit comes to protect the objective if his comrades fall, lest it fall in super-human hands!

 

- GH2 is ready to assault the Crisis suits. Snake eyes. The great soldiers of Russ fail to climb the steep 2' slopes!!! Are the Tau going to win this? The fight against the Ethereal continues with one-sided casualties, but there seems to be no fear in the eye of the Tau soldiers, such is their faith in the Greater Good. The Vindicator moves to claim the remains of Bjorn. A dice is rolled, and turn 6 ensues

TURN6

The Crisis suits destroy all but the Terminator Wolf Guard, who has just passed his "useless" 5++. The Ethereal bites it, and the Tau lines shiver, Grey Hunter Squad 1 consolidates, claiming the objective but there is yet a Broadside to contest. The Terminator Wolf Guard assaults the crisis Suits and kills a drone! There is a turn 7

 

TURN7!

Grey Hunter Squad 1 assaults and sends the Apocalipse Battle Suit down from 2 rends, after bolt pistol fire got rid of its drones. With teeth and nails, the Wolves claim the objective. Unable to unlock the combat with the suits, each party holds an objective and its a tie!

 

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I hope you enjoyed the (long!) read, the game was as close as could be with very few models on the table at the end of the match. I was lucky the game went on until I could draw, but I'm happy to see that with just some free toys the poor Tau are able to hit hard with just what they have!!

[CronSpacePup]

Sounds like a fun battle! Poor bjorn didn't do much that battle :(