Taros campaign revisted, at 3,200 points

[mughi3]

Well this doesn't happen all that often but I managed to get my entire marine force on the table for a game, in total just shy of 3,200 points. I set up a game with a buddy of mine who is a tau fanatic (you know the ones who must have "all the things" the only things he doesn't have are a manta and an orca).

 

 

So a little background setup-I'm a fan of the newer 8th edition for epic scale apocalyptic games played at 6mm for it's simplicity for scale. however for regular 40K at 28mm many at our FLGS are still fans of previous rules sets. primarily 5th edition. we sat around for several hours some time ago and looked at all the similar editions(3rd-7th) comparing rules that would make 5th edition even better so that in mind our game today was played with the core rules of 5th edition with the following modifications-

 

.rapid fire weapon rules (ranges)(6th/7th)

.snap fire(6th/7th)

.new weapon profiles(grav etc..)(6th/7th)

.overwatch(6th/7th)

.objective secure-troops choice(6th/7th)

.CCW AP value(6th/7th)

.grenade throwing(6th/7th)

.fearless-no LD checks(3rd)

.3+ reserves(6th/7th)

.no hull points

.flyer rules with 3 exceptions(original FW rules)-jump units can assault, -12" range penalty, immobilize result= destroyed(5th)

.All AA units can choose to fire skyfire or ground fire same as aircraft(5th)

.4th edition vehicle assault rules-to-hit +armor facing

.6th edition smash for MCs(half attacks rounded up max S 10)

. independent characters can fight separate in CC(counts as separate battle)

.D/macro weapons 5th=auto pen/wound, no cover or armor- invul only/ 1 damage against MCs/instant death non-MCs/ +1 on vehicle damage chart

.vehicle squads act as talons, can break and act independent but not reform during game.

.psyker powers used when in the proper phase(shooting attacks in shooting phase, melee in CC etc..) on lD check/selecting the known powers available at the start of the game as per 5th ed rules-includes all 7th edition disciplines.

.snipers-strength 3 always hits on 2+/wounds on 4+/rending on 6+ (3rd/4th)

 

So keeping in mind this is 5th ed at it's core any codex from 3rd-7th can be used but also there is the force org chart to adhere to-

 

My force

5th ed codex space marines

HQ

1.master of the forge -full harness+3 servitors

2.brey'arth ashmantle venerable dreadnought

 

TROOPS

1.tactica squad w/las+plas razorback

2.scout sniper squad

3.scouts w/land speeder storm

4.dread talon-ironclad dreadnoughts X3

 

ELITES

.X3 venerable las/missile dreadnoughts

 

FAST

1.assault squad

2.land speeder typhoon

3.storm eagle ROC

 

HEAVY

1.land raider achillies

 

 

The tau

7th ed codex tau

 

HQ

1.r'alai

2.re'myr

 

TROOP

.X2 crisis suit teams

 

FAST

.TX42 heavy piranha squadron(proxies with regular piranha)

.X2 y'vahra riptides

 

Heavy

.longstrike/hammerhead gunship

.missile broadsides(2)

.riptide squad(2)

 

 

We used a full 4'X8' table given the size of the game. with 4 objectives

 

we both placed several units in reserve-

me

.storm eagle(mandatory), assault marines, scouts w/storm(outflanking), dread talon, brey'arth

tau

.X2 crisis teams, X2 y'vahra, piranha squad

 

standard 12" deployment, the tau won first turn......... and that's a lot of text so more to come with pictures in a bit

 

Now the battle begins-

[mughi3]

The start-

 

 

 

 

 

The tau started out hurting my venerable dreads with riptides and broadsides, longstrike tried to hurt my landraider but couldn't get through the heavy armor.

 

I returned to favor by severely wounding both his commanders, the scouts actually did well with their sniper rifles for a change 6 hits 4 of them rending.

 

turn 2 his piranhas and crisis teams arrived. the skimmers punched my left flank taking down a dread, razorback, tac squad, and ripped all the guns off my land speeder. one crisis team tried and failed to fusion my land raider(thank the machine god for imunity from the effects of melta), the second crisis team misshaped onto one of my dreads and was destroyed.

 

I repaid the favor bringing in my storm and scouts right up behind longstrike immobilizing him and putting a giant fist up his tailpipe. the dread talon came in and proceeded to much on some suits. the scouts them moved up to secure the right objective only to be badly mauled by r'myr. the storm eagle came in and did almost nothing missing with both TL's lascannons and then promptly being shot down by the missiletides getting a lucky penetrating kill shot out of only 2 hits.

 

 

with the left of the field secured he consolidated on 2 objectives and held them, the center was primarily a battle over the central objective as the ironclads worked their way through all the crisis suits and eventually after a long slog both riptides. however I lost the second venerable dread and one ironclad in the center in the process. what really saved him was those darn y'vahra's AP2 flamers that made short work of my assault marines (that got to arrive and then die)scouts on the objective and in the ruins as cammo cloaks a ruins are no save against plasma flamers.

 

I had to spend brey'ath's reserve fury on them to keep them back, he lost an arm in the process putting one of them down and wounding the second

 

by turn 6 I had put down both his commanders(the thunderfire put down r'alai , my scouts actually fisted r'myr in close combat)) and the game was tied with both of us holding a point and one contested. unfortunately for the brigade the game went onto a final 7th turn allowing him to move his broadsides onto the objective I had just removed r'alai from. his last y'vahra contested the right objective fighting with brey'arth. leaving me with only the central objective being held by ironclads. giving the tau a bloody victory holding 2 objectives contesting 1 and only 1 held on my side....I had 6 units left on the table to his 3- other than the y'vahra nothing left on his side could hurt my Achilles.

 

 

A good well fought battle, showing that the imperium's work on digging the tau out of taros was going to take a lot more work-

 

 

Side notes-lost in the battle one of the funniest notes-that land speeder typhoon. it tried to run back to the master of the forge but got glanced and immobilized and sat there for most of the game behind a sand dune with no weapons getting shot repeatedly by r'alai the piranhas finally got a shot on it and killed it at the end. I didn't miss command points or stratagems at all-the game actually seems to flow better without them.

 

 

Most ineffective units that saw battle-

.storm eagle

.longstrikes hammerhead

 

MVPs-

.ironclad dreadnoughts

.y'vahra riptides