1.6K Marines vs Tyranids

[Kierdale]

Had a 1,600-point game against the GW staff today. His Tyranids versus my (Great Crusade) Thousand Sons. With the Tyranids not known in our galaxy for a few thousand years yet we figured the 'Tyranids' were representing another 'local' alien race.

My apologies in advance for the quality of the photos, they were taken in a hurry.

Khaldun sat in the lotus position within his chambers aboard the Waxing Moon cruiser, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and steady as if sleeping. The Corvidae-cult Adept Exemptus was entranced. In his mind's eye he saw before him a set of brass scales. Plates hung by chains from each side. Upon the left plate was a bronze amulet in the shape of a two-headed Eagle: the sign of the Emperor and his union with Mars. The Aquila. The right plate bore a vellum scroll, the text within concealed, yet a pale violet, lambent light bled out from within the coiled parchment.

It was as he reached his hand toward the scales that the alarm went off within his quarters, the sound penetrating his trace. He allowed his concentration to slip and the vision disappeared as if someone had throw a stone into the pool he gazed upon.

Captain Ramtut had recent joined the Thousand Sons stationed aboard the Waxing Moon and, while Khaldun had been within the legion for longer than the captain -longer than anyone else aboard the vessel- it did not pay to keep one's superiors waiting.

"A distress signal," the thrall who manned the communications station announced to the assembled officers: captain Ramtut, adept Khaldun, apothecary Nif En-ankh, librarian Har-Khebu and sergeants Nehebkau, Minkabh, Kemnebi, Wepwawet, Menthu, Resheph and Hathor-Mnevis of Ramtut's own command squad.

"From the Imperial colony on Ichalis."

"I was not aware the system had been colonized...," captain Ramtut began, his brow furrowed under the gilt work of his helm.

"It was only recently settled, sire. The colonists are in the process of exploring as they build the colony."

"Details?"

"None, sire. It is an automated signal. There are no known Xenos presences in that sector, however the astropathic choir detects a psychic disturbance...emanating from the planet."

"Local trouble?" ventured sergeant Resheph of the expedition's Devastator squad, his lip curled. "Perhaps the nearest army task force could be rerouted?"

"Perhaps the colonist found something?" put in sergeant Nehebkau.

Khaldun nodded to himself. The timing was too perfect.

"Captain, I recommend we change course to investigate."

The other assembled astartes turned as one to regard the elder marine.

"You have seen something, Khaldun?" asked Ramtut.

The elder nodded. "A vision of scales. On one side an Aquila, on the other a scroll."

Ramtut nodded after a moment's thought and motioned to the thrall manning the cruiser's helm.

"Set course for Ichalis," and he turned back to face his battle-brothers, "We are first and foremost servants of the Imperium. The acquisition of knowledge comes second."

Sergeant Resheph sniffed, "Smells like a bug hunt to me."

Sergeant Nehebkau sidled up to Khaldun as the officers filed off the bridge and elbowed him playfully.

"It seems we'll get what you wished for after all."

Mission:

Dawn of War, 2 Objectives.

- Not the best deployment situation for me since the bugs would be able to start half way across the board, and my Devs would be walking on.

We chose a big space marine statue as one objective and a Zoanthrope as the other. The staff recently repainted some of the boards as a rather cool coastline so we played on this board (the water had no in-game effect), with a ruined temple situated on an island in the surf. The statue was placed at the bottom of a small hill, a cluster of half-built colony buildings (read: ruins) atop the rise, a few walls scattered across the beach. The Zoanthrope was placed atop the ruined temple: the alien brain-beast had been drawn to the psychic emissions from the ancient fane and was captivated by them.

Armies

Thousand Sons:

Captain Ramtut: relic blade, storm shield, aux. grenade launcher.

Command squad Hathor: 4x plasma gun, company standard.

Librarian: Avenger and -a bad choice- Null Zone. My standard choices. Should've taken Force Dome against those rending attacks...

Scout squad Kemnebi: 5 men, combi-melta, bolt pistols and knives

Scout squad Wepwawet: 5 men, combi-flamer, heavy bolter, bolt guns.

Tactical squad Nehebkau: 10 men, combi-plasma, plasma gun, missile launcher.

Sternguard squad Menthu: 5 men, 5x combi-melta.

Vanguard squad Minkabh: 6 men, relic blade, jump packs, 6x storm shield, 4x power weapon, 1x thunder hammer.

Land speeder storm Uraeus: heavy bolter. Actually bought an attack bike for the multi-melta beforehand but figured the heavy bolter would probably prove more useful.

Devastator squad Resheph: 4x missile launcher.

OpFor:

Hive Tyrant: bonesword, whip, heavy venom cannon, wings.

Tyranid warriors: 5

Hormaguants: about 8.

Termagants: about 30.

Genestealers: 2 units, one with a broodlord and one without, each around ten in number.

Raveners: 5.

Carnifex.

Trygon.

Deployment:

DoW so it was two Troops and one HQ each.

He deployed his termagants as far forward as possible, with the hormagaunts and hive tyrant getting a bit of cover from a building partially in the water.

I deployed my Nehebkau tactical squad toward my left and combat squadded them (not sure if that's allowed in DoW now I think about it) putting one half (sergeant with combi-plasma and plasma gunner) behind a corner to my left ready to move round and provide fire in my turn. My bolter scouts (Wepwawet) and their heavy bolter in the rightmost ruin, intending to pour some hurt down on the advancing bugs. I put captain Ramtut and the command squad in the middle ready to move wherever needed (or wherever the Tyrant went, as I hoped to plasma his big ass).

Turn One

I failed to steal the initiative and so on came the tide of Xenos scum! The termagant horde advanced up toward my marines in and between the buildings, firing their fleshborers and taking out two of the command squad! Two plasma gunners down before I had a chance to use them!

The hormagaunts leapt all the way up to engage scout squad Wepwawet, clawing their way up the walls and slaying one of the scouts though losing a few of their own.

The Hive Tyrant moved forward, keeping a ruin between it and my marines.

On his own table edge the tyranid warriors, carnifex and broodlord-accompanied genestealers came on.

The Trygon, raveners and other genestealers would be coming on as reserves...via the Trygon's tunnel later in the game...

In my turn the Devastators came on on my left side, getting a good position atop a slight crest so they could missile pretty much anything incoming. My Sternguard came on via my right hand side, hoping to shoot up the Tyrant with their special ammo.

The Vanguard jumped on (rather than deep striking or anything fancy: this time I wanted to keep everyone together) central, I wanted to keep them ready to move either way.

Tactical squad Nehebkau managed to cut down a few of the termagants with bolter-fire and a frag missile but there was still over 20 of them who would hit my lines next turn...

The command squad fired their plasma guns and the sternguard their Hellfire rounds at the Tyrant...only for all to be out of range!

Scout squad Wepwawet cut down a couple more hormaguants, losing another of their number. With the Tyrant so close there was no chance of the smaller bugs running.

Turn Two

The termagants charged into combat with the command squad (tying up my plasma guns, damn them!) and took out another member with the sheer number of attacks they put out, armour and Feel No Pain be damned. The hormaguants continued attacking the scouts...and the Hive Tyrant took aloft upon its huge wings, coming down within the ruin and into combat with the command squad from the other side!

The combat between captain Ramtut and the Hive Tyrant would go on for about three turns and was one of the highlights of the game. Ramtut -bless his former Bloodbowl-playing-soul!- was striking last every turn due to the Tyrant's whip and he saved every single wound dealt him! In return he put two wounds on the Tyrant with his relic blade in the first round of combat alone.

The Vanguard charged into combat with the termagants: I needed to finish them off ASAP before the advancing genestealers, carnifex and warriors got too close. Much xenos blood was spilled but I couldn't finish them off. Wepwawet's scouts did, however, finish off the hormaguants.

Turn Three

The Trygon came on, bursting up from beneath the sand right in front of tactical squad Nehebkau's plasma combat squad and the Devastators. I'd have to take it down in my own turn or there'd be...trouble. Either way there was now a tunnel for his reserves to come on via.

Ramtut and the Tyrant continued to spar, Ramtut's storm shield saving him again and again.

The termagants killed off the rest of the plasma gunners in the command squad...only the apothecary and captain Ramtut remained.

The carnifex, broodlord and his genestealers and the tyranid warriors continued to advance across the beach and through the shallow water, running as much as they could (I swear he rolled only 5s and 6s for those genestealers every turn!).

On my turn I opened up with the Resheph's Devastators' missile launchers and tactical squad Nehebkau's plasma on the Trygon, slaying it before it had chance to do anything. Now there was just the problem of whatever came out of its tunnel...

Scout squad Wepwawet, brushing the last of the hormagaunt blood from their armour, put away their knives, braced the heavy bolter and put some rounds into the advancing genestealer brood, dropping a couple.

The sternguard had been advancing up my right flank, aiming for the carnifex and tyranid warriors, firstly sprinting their way through the shallow water to secure a building for a bit of cover.

Turn Four

The carnifex and tyranid warriors turned their attention to the sternguard, the former moving as fast as it could toward them, the latter advancing and firing ineffectually. The broodlord's genestealers kept on sprinting across the sand toward my main group.

The combats in the center (vanguard and apothecary versus termagants, captain Ramtut versus the Tyrant) continued, a few wounds on each side (yet still none on Ramtut!).

From the Trygon's tunnel mouth spewed forth five raveners and the second genestealer squad! The raveners failed to kill any of the Devastators with their shots.

In my turn (I think it was around now) Ramtut managed to slay the Hive Tyrant without shedding a drop of his own blood (he'll be getting some special honours for that!), the vanguard and apothecary Nif En-Ankh finished off the termagants. The vanguard turned to face the oncoming broodlord and his genestealers, hoping to at least delay them. The sternguard made it into cover in the larger building standing in the shallow water on my right.

On my left flank land speeder storm Uraeus finally came on, carrying scout squad Kemnebi. Nehebkau tactical squad, Devastator squad Resheph, the land speeder and the scouts opened fire on the raveners and genestealers. When the smoke cleared all but one of the raveners was -like the Trygon- steaming gobs of meat and mucus, and the genestealers had been thinned to only a few.

Turn Five

The genestealers with the broodlord hit the vanguard and hit them hard, slaying a couple of them despite their shields (though I'm glad I had those shields as there were a lot of rending claws there!). The other remaining genestealers charged into combat with tactical squad Nehebkau's plasma-combat squad, while the ravener retreated for cover. The genestealers cut down the five marines with ease.

The tyranid warriors and carnifex ran closer to the sternguard...

My turn. I was about to open fire on the carnifex with the Menthu sternguard squad's Hellfire rounds (since even if all five of them hit they wouldn't be able to take out the tyranid warriors) but then I remembered I had given them all combi-meltas...

WHOOOMPH!

Five hits on the tyranid warriors, four successfully wounded...four instantly crisped!

Captain Ramtut and apothecary Nif En-Ankh joined the Vanguard in fighting the larger genestealer brood...losses on both sides but neither broke.

Captain Ramtut spun his relic blade, flicking the viscous xenos blood from it and surveyed the battlefield. He could see the strange alien with the swollen cranium still hovering, transfixed by something within the ruined fane upon the island. But his attention was drawn once more to the towering bronze statue that overlooked the bay, erected in honour of the Legions Astartes. The prospect of esoteric knowledge about the natives beasts of this world...or to secure the honour of the Imperium...

he opened a channel to the scout piloting landspeeder Uraeus...

The fact that the game might end soon was preying on my mind so I moved the land speeder (and the scouts riding it) to capture the marine statue (and earn me a win if the game did finish). It opened up with the heavy bolter and took out the last ravener. The devastators fired krak missiles at the remaining tyranid warrior from across the table but missed (due to a cover save from the vanguard-genestealer combat!).

The game did not end, however...

Turn Six and Seven

The last of the vanguard, apothecary Nif En-Ankh and -saddest of all- captain Ramtut fell to the broodlord's genestealers, which then moved on to assault the missile launcher-totting half of tactical squad Nehebkau, dicing them up.

The remaining tyranid warrior turned from the sternguard and sprinted, scrabbling its way up to the ancient temple and the Zoanthrope objective-marker. The sternguard were not forgotten about, however, as the carnifex charged in and slew all five in one go (though they did take it down to one wound remaining, IIRC).

On my turn the three remaining scouts of Wepwawet squad began to sprint for the marine statue, as did the Devastators, hoping that the broodlord's genestealers would take one or the other as bait (preferably the Devs!).

I don't remember the exact order of events here but while the genestealers were kept busy dicing up the Devastators I jetted the landspeeder storm across the board to challenge the tyranid warrior over by the Zoanthrope-objective.

The genestealers managed to chop up the Devastators all too quickly and captured the marine statue.

Wepwawet's scouts gave up sprinting for the statue and opened fire with their bolters and heavy bolter. If I could take out enough of them to force a Ld test and make them run then they would lose that objective...I killed enough but they passed the test!

Captain Ramtut's long duel with the Hive Tyrant was one of the big two dramas of the game. The other big drama came in the last two turns, with the scouts aboard the landspeeder. Coincidentally it was the same scouts who managed to win me an objective and take out an Ork superheavy tank in an Apoc game HERE.

The landspeeder arrives at the island...

...and gets clawed by the carnifex! He needed 6s to hit and rolled a pair...

sergeant Kemnebi and one of his scouts were taken out as the huge beast's claws tore through the speeder's engines and detonated them, sending the speeder crashing to the ground...

The three remaining scouts pulled themselves from the wreckage and opened fire with their pistols before charging the last tyranid warrior. I failed to kill it but at least contested the objective.

Final Result:

The broodlord's genestealers held the marine statue: 1-0.

A loss but an extremely fun game.

What worked:

- Tyranids don't have grenades, so I made sure that when he assaulted my marines they were in cover.

- Sternguard. I knew I'd need them against Tyranids (I glued and painted like crazy just to get them basecoated so I could use them) and though I only got to use the melta-element of their weapons, they did well. Hopefully they'll live longer and get to use their special ammo next time.

- Keeping my forces together. All too often in the past I've split my units up, sending them this way and that to tackle the enemy. This time all the units could support each other, combine fire to finish off bugs, etc. I guess I'm learning.

What didn't work:

- Must get better at judging ranges. Missing with the sternguard and command squad plasma in the first turn was bad. They could instead have thinned the termagants severely.

- Not so much `didn't work` as `forgot to try`: firing Hellfire shells from Wepwawet scout squad's heavy bolter as opposed to normal rounds. The things were designed for killing bugs after all, no?

- Librarian. I used Avenger a couple of times to crisp some genestealers but really should've thought more about my choice of powers.

Any questions, comments or advice is welcome ;)

[Polythemus]

Terrific pictures good little backstory. Looks like it was a fun game. Seemed like your tactical choices were sound and sacrificing your devs to slow the genestealers was probably a good option. Do you think anything could have been gained by reserving any units?

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Nice little read and glad to see decent pictures, but!

 

There was one hand on display, but nary a crotch shot in sight! Don't you know how this works!? :)

[Brother Ambroz]

Looks like a fun game and the batrep was nice. Sounds though like you had your lucky times in the beginning (with all those 3+ saves against his tyrant) and then he had his later.

[Kierdale]

Thanks for the comments. Afterwards we dissected the game and went over a few 'What if's', for example if the scout sergeant had survived the speeder crash he could have taken out the tyranid warrior with his combi-melta, etc...and on his side if he had taken more termagants rather than the hormaguants (which died surprisingly quickly) then he could have tied me up in close combat in the middle for even longer.

 

Polythemus, I don't think I could have achieved any more by keeping anyone as reserves. I needed all the guns and blades I could get as soon as possible. Though that does remind me: I kept the Vanguard and LSS in reserves but eventually chose not to Deep Strike but rather just moved on from my own table edge. Why didn't I just bring them on as normal with the rest of the army in Turn 1?? That would definitely have helped.

 

Another point to add to my 'Lessons Learned':

- Just because a unit can go in reserves and Deep Strike does not mean it should.

 

Ah the benefits of hindsight! :lol:

 

Captain Juarez, I'll try to get you some juicy crotch-shots in my next report. Fur and early-morning dew.

 

Tanith Ghost, yes, I think it was so enjoyable as we both had a fair share of good and bad luck.

 

I guess the 124th's next battle will be in 6th Edition...