40k #3 - Tau vs Skitarii

I got wind of a match-up brewing yesterday between two of the most shooty and terrifying armies that frequent Hairy T North, and decided to drop by the store to document the action and carnage!

This was a 1060 point game rolled on the Eternal War table out of the main rule book. They rolled 'The Relic' mission - a format that was sure to force each side out of their comfort zones of sniping from cover and into a heated battle over the one relic that would be placed right in the center of the battlefield.

The gist of the mission is that a single objective is placed in the middle of the table. Whoever controls the objective at the end of the game is the winner. The objective can be picked up at the end of any movement phase by a model that is in base contact with it, and can be moved in subsequent turns, but would be dropped if the model carrying it died, failed a morale check, or had gone to ground.

At the outset I give the Tau a bit of a competitive advantage since their jet pack thrust moves could be used to move the relic up to 12" a turn if they ever got their hands on it, while the Skitarii would be limited to moving the relic at most up to 6" a turn - they would have to create a defensive formation around the seized relic and protect it against the salvos of missiles that the Tau were sure to employ.

The Battlefield. Tau Deployed along the near long edge with Skitarii on the far long table edge.

The Armies

I didn't have access to exact lists of the two forces, but took some notes as the players did their obligatory list introductions. Below is a general idea of what each force was fielding for this battle.

The Tau list was absolutely terrifying - an expensive formation of Crisis Suits, a Broadside, and a Riptide ate up three quarters of the Tau points values. They were supported by a couple of squads of Fire Warriors and an Ethereal. The Retaliation Cadre formation was kept in reserve and was to automatically enter play via deep strike on turn 2, deployed initially as a single unit.

The Retaliation Cadre
Held in Deep Strike Reserve

Tau

Combined Arms Detachment

Ethereal

11x Fire Warriors (no upgrades)

11x Fire Warriors (no upgrades)

Retaliation Cadre

Battlesuit Commander w/ 2x Crisis Suits

3x Crisis Suits

3x Crisis Suits

1x Broadside

1x Riptide

The Skitarii fielded their classic Battle Maniple - Vanguard and Rangers at the core of the force, with some heavy firepower provided by two Onagers, and an assault threat looming in the form a Dragoon and unit of Infiltrators.

Skitarii

Battle Maniple

10x Vanguard w/ 2x Plasma Calivers (omnispex, omniscient mask)

10x Vanguard w/ 2x Plasma Calivers (omnispex, pater radium)

10 Rangers w/ 2x Transuranic Arquebus (omnispex)

2x Onagers w/ 1x Neutron Laser & 1x Eradication Beamer (2x Heavy Stubbers)

1x Sydonian Dragoon w/ Taser Lance & Posphor Serpenta

5x Infiltrators w/ Taser Goads & Flechette Blasters (phase-taser, phosphoenix)

Battlefield & Deployment

The deployment zones were along the long table edges, and the relic placed right in the center of the 6'x4' table. For this mission, we used the infamous "Super Drone" as the key relic. Tau bards and minstrels would recite poetry and sing songs about this Drone's exploits for generations to come following it's improbable survival against all odds - single handedly fighting off dozens of Rippers to help secure a victory for the Greater Good against the Hive Fleet Behemoth Tyranids in a recent battle. The Skitarii of course wanted nothing more than to study the little drone in an attempt to further their anti-Tyranid combat protocols. The Tau could not let this happen - they would defend their new folk hero at any and all costs. Once the sensors of the Fire Warriors caught a force of Skitarii closing in on the vulnerable drone, a Retaliation Cadre was called in, ready to put their Battle Suits, high-tech weaponry, and devastating missiles into action in defense of the one and only Super Drone!

Super Drone sits deactivated in the center of the battlefield, with a fresh Ripper corpse blocking his motion sensors

Alex's Tau won the roll-off for first turn. He chose to deploy and go first. Since his Retaliation Cadre was kept in deep strike reserve, a couple of units of Fire Warriors were deployed in the relative safety of ruins, where they would await the arrival of their Battle Suit reinforcements before engaging the advancing Skitarii.

Fire Warriors deployed in cover, with the Etheral on the bottom floor of the ruins

The 2nd unit of Fire Warriors also deploys in the cover of ruins, awaiting the Retaliation Cadre's arrival

Meanwhile, the Skitarii used their army-wide Scout move to press the action with a very aggressive deployment. The Infiltrators deployed behind enemy lines, ready to dig the Tau out of cover

The Battle Maniple deploys as far forward as possible and prepares to take
their army-wide scout move.

Skitarii deployment

Infiltrators deploy behind enemy lines, ready to close in on the Fire Warriors and Ethereal taking cover in the green ruins

Turn One - Tau Skitarii open the action

The Skitarii seize the initiative!

Deployment was complete. Infiltrators had infiltrated in, and the Skitarii had taken all of their scout moves. All that remained was a roll for seizing the initiative, and the battle was set to begin. 

The Skitarii rolled a 6 and took charge, ready to make use of their aggressive deployment to bring the fight to the Tau with their ample mid-range firepower.

The Skitarii marched forward in unison toward the two units of Fire Warriors. They had a realistic chance of winning the game outright if they could destroy both units since the Retaliation Cadre couldn't enter play until turn 2! 

The Vanguard advanced forward, taking control of the center of the battlefield while peppering the Fire Warriors and Ethereal with fire from their Radium Carbines and Plasma Calivers. The Rangers stayed back, sniping at the Fire Warriors with their Arquebus rifles.

Two Rangers with Transuranic Arquebuses take aim downfield with their mighty sniper weapons.

The Infiltrators pepper the Fire Warriors
and Ethereal with fire from their
Flechette Blasters

Meanwhile, the Infiltrators used their impressive speed to get behind the ruins housing the Tau warlord and Fire Warrior unit.

The Onagers set their sights on the Fire Warriors that had deployed in cover farther from the objective, near a table corner.

In unison, the tin men and their well-armed walkers fired on the Tau. When all of the blasts were resolved and the dust settled, the Ethereal as well as his entire Fire Warrior unit had been slain, and only 9 of the 11 Fire Warriors deployed near a table corner remained on the table for the Tau force. Their saving grace was that they were out of line of sight, otherwise they too may have fallen to the devastating turn 1 firepower of the Skitarii Battle Maniple.

Turn 1 for the Tau was very simple. With only 9 Fire Warriors left, he would have to stay in cover, out of line of sight, and await the arrival of the Retaliation Cadre. Anything else would be suicide against the marauding Skitarii. 

The Tau essentially passed their turn 1, staying in the safety of the ruins.

Turn Two - Mishap!

Turn 1 seemed like a disaster for the Tau, however the real firepower of the Tau force lay with the Battle Suits of the Retaliation Cadre that had yet to enter the battle. The Skitarii held map control, but with a single Deep Strike of the entire formation, the game could turn on a dime in the Tau's favour. 

The Skitarii end of turn 2 was rather uneventful. With the remaining Fire Warriors out of line of sight and too far to be charged, the Skitarii simply moved further up the battlefield and seized Super Drone. They set up a defensive formation around the relic, ready to fight off the Tau reinforcements.

The Skitarii advance to the center, seizing Super Drone and preparing to download his combat protocols for their nefarious motives.

Yikes! The Retaliation Cadre's deep strike
scatters 11" from their intended location.

Enter Tau turn 2. The awesome firepower of the Retaliation Cadre would be put to the test against the intimidating blob of Skitarii that had taken control of not only the map but also the coveted Super Drone. The Retaliation Cadre automatically enters play via deep strike on turn 2, however they still needed to roll scatter dice. With such a large unit to deploy, they would need a direct hit or favourable scatter, or a mishap could result in them being delayed until turn 3 or entering battle in a sub-optimal location chosen by the Skitarii.

The Tau player rolled scatter for the deep strike... An 11 and an an arrow result on the scatter die did not look good! After a close inspection, this would place the Retaliation Cadre right onto the walls of a ruin, and so they would have to roll on the Mishap table! This was bad news for the Tau.

This die roll spelled doom for the Tau

Bad news turned into disaster really quickly. The Mishap Table result was a 1 - the only result that meant that the Cadre had a mishap while attempting to enter combat airspace and were completely destroyed!!!

As fate would have it, the Retaliation Cadre's commander got the coordinates to the battlefield wrong and they deployed hundreds of miles to the north, right into an acidic Tyranid digestion pool, liquefying all of the battle suits on contact. 

With only one unit of Fire Warriors left on the field and Super Drone in firm Skitarii control, the Tau had no choice but to concede, resulting in an improbably quick turn 2 victory for the Skitarii, who had yet to take a single casualty!

It turns out that the massive upside from the Retaliation Cadre's special rules is not without risk. It was unlucky for the Tau for things to turn out this way, but one of the risks taken when fielding such an expensive deep strike formation without any scatter reduction. 

The Skitarii, victorious, prepared to conduct their experiments on Super Drone. Most of the Skitarii force evacuated the area, and an Imperial Knight was called in to secure the relic and return it to their Manufactorum for further study.

Bonus Batrep - Tyranids vs Imperial Knight + Skitarii

After the unfortunate and premature conclusion to the Tau vs Skitarii battle, we had some time to get an extra game in. We made it a 1000 point 'The Relic' mission - yet another battle that could decide the fate of Super Drone. The Skitarii had just secured the wondrous machine for their research and study, but a Tyranid force closed in, seeking revenge against the drone. 

This time however, the Skitarii had called in an Imperial Knight (Crusader variant) to guard the relic, recognizing it's power and importance. 

I didn't take photos of this battle, so I'll keep this brief with just a run-down of the forces and the result:

Skitarii + Knight

Imperial Knights Allied Detachment

Knight Crusader - Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon, Twin Icarus Autocannon, Avenger Gatling Cannon, Heavy Flamer, Heavy Stubber, Ion Shield

Skitarii Battle Maniple

10x Vanguard w/ 1 Plasma Caliver

10x Rangers w/ 2 Transuranic Arquebus

2x Onagers w/ 1 Neutron Laser & 1 Icarus Array

Tyranids

Combined Arms Detachment

Hive Tyrant w/ Wings, 2x Twin-Linked Devourers with Brainleech Worms

3x Hive Guard w/ Impaler Cannons

3x Zoanthropes (w/ Neurothrope)

1x Malanthrope

10x Termagants w/ Fleshborers

3x Tyranid Warriors w/ 1 Venom Cannon

5x Ripper Swarms w/ Deep Strike, Spine Fists

3x Biovores

The Verdict

Tyranid Deployment. That green ruins building
and the Malanthrope's shrouded bubble
proved instrumental.

With close to three quarters of the Skitarii force taken up by three models (the 465 point Knight and 250 points for the 2 Onagers), the Tyranid force would have to find a way to deal with the devastating firepower of the three walkers if it was to succeed. Fortunately, Warp Lance was available to not only the Zoanthrope Brood but also to the Hive Tyrant, so some S10 AP2 Lance mind bullets would perhaps be the key, along with the S8 shooting of the Hive Guard and the Tyrant's ability to get behind the target to pepper the walkers' rear armour with S6 brainleech worms. 

The Termagants, Zoanthropes, Hive Guard, and Malanthrope spent the majority of the battle focusing their firepower on the Imperial Knight and 2 Onagers from the safety of ruins. With the 4+ ruins save and shrouded, the Tyranids enjoyed a 2+ cover save which was instrumental in their survival against fire coming from the Knight Crusader, Neutron Laser Onager, and unit of Rangers. Despite copious amounts of firepower absorbed, only the brood of Termagants and one Zoanthrope were felled. 

The Zoanthropes were able to put two hull points of damage against the Knight Crusader early on in the battle using their Warp Lances before he was able to activate the Ion Shields.

The Hive Guard supported the Hive Tyrant in destroying both Onagers, and soaking up fire from the Rangers with their T6 durability and 2+ cover saves.

The Biovores and Tyranid Warriors deployed far away to deal with a unit of Vanguard and advance toward the objective. However despite multiple rounds of fire, the Biovores didn't do too much, felling only 2-3 Rangers over the course of the battle. The Tyranid Warriors too were rather ineffective, taking out a couple of Vanguard and providing synapse to the Biovores.

A brood of Ripper Swarms, 5 bases strong, used Deep Strike to tie up the remaining Vanguard but were also ineffective, killing only 1 Vanguard before being destroyed with a combination of shooting and assault. I keep trying to find a use for the Ripper Swarms and continue to be disappointed. It seems like sinking 95 points into these Swarms was only good for tying up a similarly costed unit of opposing infantry for a turn or two - not really worth it.

Skitarii Deployment. 2 Units of Infantry,
2 Onagers, and a hulking Knight Crusader
prepare to take on the Tyranid forces.

The star of the show, as usual, was the Hive Tyrant. He opened the action with an aggressive move, swooping forward and immobilizing one of the Onagers. His warlord Trait conferred 'It Will Not Die', and he was able to regain a wound and sit at 2 wounds following the onslaught of Skyfire from the Icarus Array Onager and the Knight Crusader's Icarus Autocannon and Avenger Gatling Cannon.

The Tyrant would go on to destroy both Onagers with the supporting fire of the Hive Guard, and in turn 3 he did the improbable and single handedly put 4 hull points worth of damage on the Knight Crusader, destroying the Super-Heavy Walker and forcing the remaining Skitarii to concede as the Tyranids had lost only 185 points worth of models to the 750 of the Skitarii/Knights force.

Yet again my opponent was unlucky with the rolls for his Skyfire against the Flyrant, allowing the Tyranid Warlord to survive and inflict copious amounts of damage in the following turns. 

This was also the first game in which I got to employ the Venomthrope/Malanthrope shrouded bubble in ruins for those juicy 2+ cover saves. This seems to be a very solid tactic that I will definitely go back to in the future.

The Zoanthropes and Hive Guard also performed well. The one negative from this battle for the Tyranid side is my inability to make use of the Ripper Swarms. I love the models and want to find a place for them, but so far have not been able to use them in an effective manner. It'll be back to the drawing board for the Rippers, while the remainder of Hive Fleet Behemoth happily continues to put together a short winning streak. 

Most importantly, Super Drone was reclaimed from the Skitarii before they could return him to their Manufactorum for further research. The Tyranids were now free to take their revenge against the Tau drone... but he had fought against all odds and won in the past - could this really be the end of Super Drone!? Stay tuned to find out.

The gorgeous Imperial Knight, right before it was downed by an improbable 4 glances in one turn of shooting from the Flyrant's Twin-Linked Devourers.

Hobby Progress #1 - The story so far + Swarm Box assembled!

With the Kill Team league complete and a new narrative campaign brewing at Hairy Tarantula North, there is a bit of a lull in the action when it comes to games and battle reports. It's a perfect time to get some more elements of the Hive Fleet assembled and painted!

Over the last couple of days I finally cracked open the Tyranid Swarm box and assembled the 95 models it contained. It was a slow and tedious process, but doing them all together let me mix and match a lot of the pieces from the termagants, hormagaunts, and gargoyles to get a nice variety of dynamic poses.

That's what 135 gribblies looks like fielded all together. Barbed Heirodule hanging out in the middle for scale

Alternate angle. Getting all of these guys painted is going to take a while...

As of now I have a massive backlog, since I made sure to buy plenty of extra models so that I can field a wide variety of formations and armies - I didn't want my Nids to get pigeon-holed into a specific play style so I went all out and got over 5000 points worth of various models. No matter what the opposing force, I will have at least some reasonable formations and unit combinations to field that should be effective.

As of today, I finally have all 5k+ points assembled and sitting in a display stand that my gf so kindly got me for xmas. However, only 1300 or so are fully painted. 

I'm out of practice, not having painted anything for 10+ years prior to getting back in to the hobby this winter, so its been a slow process. I feel like i'm getting more proficient at getting the Tyranids painted up to a decent standard without spending too much time, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to pick up the pace and have more and more fully painted in the coming weeks.

Below is my list of assembled models. The underlined entries are fully painted.

1x Deathleaper

2x Flying Hive Tyrant (magnetized) - 1 is painted

1x Swarmlord

1x Tyranid Prime (magnetized)

1x Tervigon (magnetized - can also be fielded as a Tyrannofex)

60x Termagants (20 devourer, 20 spine fist, 20 fleshborer) - 20 are painted

40x Hormagaunts

6x Ripper Swarms

5x Tyranid Warriors (magnetized - can also be fielded as Shrikes) - 3 are painted

16x Genestealers (8 are painted)

1x Broodlord

2x Tyrannocytes

6x Mucolid Spores (3 are painted)

3x Zoanthropes w/ Neurothrope

3x Hive Guard

3x Malanthropes

3x Venomthropes

1x Hive Crone

1x Harpy

1x Dimachaeron

30x Gargoyles (20 are painted)

18x Spore Mines (6 are painted)

2x Carnifex (magnetized, can also be fielded as Stonecrusher Fexes)

1x Trygon

1x Mawloc

3x Biovores

1x Exocrine (magnetized, can also be fielded as Haruspex)

1x Barbed Heirodule

2x Vengeance Weapon Batteries

The Hive Fleet Behemoth contingent has grown quite a bit and I have some pretty interesting options for composition in a variety of games sizes... but I really need to get more fully done since I am interested in entering some upcoming tournaments that require the entire army to be painted. 

I leave you with a few shots of my fully painted models - about 1300 points worth as today. Please excuse the poor lighting and photography, I'll try to get a better setup next time around.

 

Have some tips on colour scheme, painting, photography, etc.? Let me know, I'd love to hear your feedback!

Kill Team Battle Report #2 - Tyranids vs Space Wolves

This week's 40k night at Hairy Tarantula North saw an unexpected and welcome continuation of the Kill Team League which had just concluded. We were playing a bonus round - Some players had secured legendary weapons through relics secured in the final mission. For players that didn't secure any relics (including myself), they would get to bring an extra 50 points of units, as well as be bolstered by a small contingent provided by Tommy, the organizer.

My opponent this week was Patrick. He fielded a mighty Space Wolf force that had a strong mix of heavy + special weapons, and some resilient and terrifying assault units.

This was a 400 point game (450 for the Tyranid side)

The Armies

Patrick's Space Wolf list was an elite force with a low model count for a 400 point game (16 models). He would have to watch out for rout tests, but I would have a challenge finding enough damage output to deal with the T5 bikers and cavalry.

SPACE WOLVES

Leader

Thunderwolf Cavalry w/ Frost Claws & Legendary Pistol (S7 AP1 Blast)

Special

Thunderwolf Cavalry w/ Thunder Hammer

Long Fang w/ Lascannon

Long Fang w/ Lascannon, Targeter, Banner & Legendary Weapon (Salvo 2/3 S7 AP1 24" Range)

Space Marine Biker w/ Flamer

Space Marine Biker w/ Frost Sword

Core

10x Grey Hunters w/ 2x Flamers

Patrick's shiny new Space Wolves - a nice mix of potent special weapons and resilient elite assault units. Bonus points for pink dice!

I decided to scrap the 2x Hive Guard strategy from last week and benched one of my Guard in favour of a Lictor, whose melee prowess could rival that of the Space Wolves. Other than that, I added more bodies and a small hit squad of Genestealers to add a further assault threat.

TYRANIDS

Leader

Zoanthrope w/ Psychic Scream, Catalyst

Special

Shrike w/ Bonesword & Lashwhip, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Hardened Carapace, Combat Finesse, Flesh Hooks

Hive Guard w/ Combat Finesse

Lictor

Core

5x Termagants w/ Devourers

5x Termagants w/ Devourers

5x Termagants w/ Fleshborers

5x Gargoyles w/ Fleshborers

5x Gargoyles w/ Fleshborers

4x Genestealers w/ 2x Scything Talons

Extra Special Funtime Support (Thanks Tommy)

3x Retributor Battle Sisters w/ 1x Heavy Bolter

The Tyranid Force - Joined by 3 very confused Battle Sisters. I imagine the Emperor won't be too happy about them fighting alongside the xenos... 

The Mission

We were playing the Last Stand mission from Heralds of Ruin Kill Team. The defender deploys within 6" of the center, keeping half of his models in reserve. The attacker deploys along any/all of the table corners. I had the choice to attack or defend, since Patrick entered the contest with a higher Renown score. I figured it makes more sense for the Tyranids to be attacking the Space Wolves. 

Patrick deployed his models within 6" into a large central structure, while I was forced to split my forces due to the tiny deployment zones and synapse requirements. 

The objective of the mission was simple - the attacker must kill at least half of the defender's force to win the game. The defender must keep at least half of his models alive, although if he failed to do so he could still force a draw by killing half of the attacker's models. 

This is a fish-waffle-cookie-pancake-tyrranocyte. It was delicious.

Turn 1

Space Wolves, as the defenders, got to go first. With only half their models deployed however, and most of the Tyranids hiding behind cover, only a couple of Lascannons were able to get shots off. Two of the Gargoyles were shot down, then the Tyranids began their advance.

Much to my surprise, two Gargoyles managed to fell the decked out Lascannon-Targeter-Banner-Relic holding Long Fang with just a couple of Fleshborer shots! After that, a squad of Termagants was able to snipe out the other Lascannon-wielding Long Fang, and a single bolter shot from one of the Sisters felled a Grey Hunter armed with a Flamer. Patrick was 0 for 4 on his armour saves and had lost 3 special weapons already, what an unlucky start for the Space Wolves!

Genestealers deployed hiding behind a warp gate. Pay no attention to the drunk Blood Angels and their techno-baby - they belong to a game that was running simultaneously on the other half of the game mat (border marked by pink die).

Turn 2

The cavalry rolled in on turn 2 - literally. Patrick's reinforcements arrived, and he could choose to deploy from any table edge he wished. He decided to focus down my Genestealers first, since they are squishy and posed a significant close combat threat. He killed one and wounded another, but was unable to charge due to arriving from reserves.

Space Wolves' reinforcements have arrived. Those poor Genestealers have no clue what they're in for.

On the Tyranid end of the turn, the swarm of Gargoyles, Termagants, Shrike, and Lictor that had been advancing toward the center turned their attention on the newly arrived reinforcements. The assault was however ineffective - Only one Grey Hunter and one Biker were killed - The Frostsword wielding Biker and the Power Fist Thunderwolf Cavalry remained to threaten the Tyranids along with a retinue of 4 Grey Hunters.

The advancing Tyranid swarm, right before
realizing they have to double back to deal
with the Space Wolves' reinforcements.

On the other end of the board, Gargoyles and Termagants poured toward the central structure, which was now occupied by the 4 surviving Grey Hunters from the Space Wolves' initial deployment. With the Zoanthrope providing Synapse to the entire battlefield with his 30" syanpse range, the Sisters of Battle provided some cover fire while also advancing. One Grey Hunter was killed and another knocked down under the mass of fire and melee from the Tyranid force.

Turn 3

The remaining Thunderwolf Cavalry arrived to support the epic melee that had developed between half of the Tyranid force and the Space Wolf reinforcements. The other Thunderwolf Cavalry loosed a primal roar, charged and insta-killed the Shrike without taking any damage himeslf. A significant blow to the Tyranids, as the most expensive model was felled without dealing much damage. Meanwhile, Gargoyles and the Biker fought to a draw, and the Grey Hunters joined the melee by charging a brood of Termagants.

More than half of the points value from both lists is devoted to this epic melee.

The Tyranids struck back, infuriated by the death of their beloved Shrike. The Zoanthrope moved into the central building and channeled warp energies to cast Psychic Scream, killing 2 of 3 remaining Grey Hunters. The last of remaining Grey Hunter was left to tangle with 2 Gargoyles and 9 Termagants all by himself...

The Lictor finally joined the fray by charging the Space Wolf leader mounted on a Thunderwolf. The Lictor used his superior initiative and weapon skill to fell the Thunderwolf Pack Leader before he could retaliate. The Gargoyles and Termagants continued to battle with the remaining Biker and Grey Hunters to little effect. A couple of Tyranids and one Grey Hunter were killed.

Two Genestealers charged the sole remaining Thunderwolf Cavalry, but were unable to score a single wound, and were both instant-deathed by his Power Fist, humming with energy and covered in Tyranid bile.

The other half of the board is dominated by the Tyranid force after the disastrous armour saves in turn one for the Space Wolves.

Turn 4 & 5

At this point, half of the Space Wolves had been removed as casualties, satisfying the Tyranids' win condition. All that the Space Wolf side could do now was to ensure that half of the Tyranid force was killed to force a draw, but this would be a tall task considering the Tyranids had fielded a whopping 36 models. The Tyranids desperately fought for survival.

The Thunderwolf Cavalry was able to avenge his Pack Leader and fell the Lictor, while the Biker and Grey Hunters killed a couple more Gargoyles and Termagants, but ultimately the Space Wolf side had suffered too many losses and was unable to inflict enough casualties to force a draw by Turn 5. The Space Wolves could only hope that the random game length would allow the contest to continue, as they would surely be able to inflict one more casualty and force a tie... but luck was not with them as Patrick rolled a 2 and the game concluded at the end of turn 5.

The messiest multi-assault I have ever seen in a game of Kill Team

The game resulted in a narrow Tyranid victory - as 17 of 36 models had been killed when the game ended. Unlucky first and final rolls for my opponent.

Conclusion & Analysis

The Thunderwolf Cavalry really were able to pull their weight. Having access to S10 assault and T5 in Kill Team matches is incredibly powerful. The space doggies are a serious force to be reckoned with! The downside of expensive elite models in Kill Team however is having a low model count, and since a number of the missions (as well as rout tests) rely on model counts, this can sometimes be a disadvantage. Space Wolves are a lot of fun to play with and against, and I look forward to more melee-fests with Patrick, who I hear just ordered a bunch of the terrifying new Wulfen to bolster his force!

Warhammer 40k Battle Report #2 - Tyranids vs Skitarii 750pts

Prior to the bonus round for the Hairy Tarantula North Kill Team League, I got a chance to play a small game against Gareth's Skitarii force (you may recognize them from Kill Team Battle Report #1). This game was 750 points, rolling on the Eternal War Mission table from the 40k Rule Book.

 The Armies

Gareth's 750 pt Skitarii list was a Battle Maniple. That is their 'decurion-style' formation that grants a ton of nifty special rules. Army-wide scout and crusader is really really nice to close the gap quickly and maximize their lethal mid-range shooting. In addition, the warlord's (and his unit of Vanguard) had Preferred Enemy. His Warlord trait let that unit overwatch at BS 4.

* looking back at the Skitarii Codex, I think this formation is a bit more restrictive- He would have had to take 1 Vanguard and 1 Rangers unit instead of 2 Vanguard. Also, the Onagers would have to have been in the same squad rather than deployed separately, and he would have had to take a unit of Ruststalkers. I didn't know this at the time however, and since the Skitarii don't really have an abundance of formations that would fit into a 750 point game, it's ok that it counted as a Battle Maniple anyway.

BATTLE MANIPLE

10x Vanguard w/ Alpha (1 Plasma Caliver)

* Vanguard Alpha above is Warlord and has the Omniscient Mask Relic

10x Vanguard w/ Alpha (1 Plasma Caliver)

5x Sicarian Infiltrators w/ Flechette Blasters and Taser Goads

Sydonian Dragoon w/ Taser Lance & Phosphor Serpenta

Onager Dunecrawler w/ 2x Cognis Heavy Stubbers & Neutron Laser

Onager Dunecrawler w/ Icarus Array

I brought a Tyranid list that I had been planning to make as versatile as possible, to be used in the upcoming Escalation campaign. It is built to be shootier than most Nid lists, with the Living Artillery Node formation from the Rising Leviathan dataslates as the centerpiece of the force. I rolled on the Strategic Warlord traits table and got Master of Ambush - my Hive Tyrant and 3 other units were granted the Infiltrate special rule. I ended up using Infiltrate on my Zoanthrope and Terrmagants, but decided to not split the force and risk losing synapse. The Hive Tyrant, wanting to get the jump on the terrifying Icarus Array Onager was kept in reserves, hoping to outflank and blow it up before it could unleash it's barrage of Skyfire dakka. (I made sure to let my opponent know beforehand that I'll be bringing a Flyrant, so he has a chance to bring some Skyfire and not be caught off guard)

COMBINED ARMS DETACHMENT

Hive Tyrant w/ 2x Twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms, Wings

1 Zoanthrope

10x Termagants

10x Termagants

LIVING ARTILLERY NODE

3x Tyranid Warriors w/ 1 Venom Cannon

3x Biovores

Exocrine

Mission & Deployment

The mission was 'Crusade' - d3+2 objective markers placed on the board were each worth 3 points to whoever controlled them at the end of the game. Slay the Warlord, Linebreaker, and First Blood were each worth 1 point. We rolled a 1 for the objectives, so there were only 3 objectives - 1 was in the center of the table while the other two were at opposite ends of the battlefield. No matter the deployment zones, it was clear that we would each start in firm control of one of the objectives and that there would be a fight over the middle. We rolled for random deployment zones and the result was Hammer and Anvil - one that I didn't mind too much with the relatively shooty Nid list I had brought. The Skitarii deployed first but Gareth threw me a curve ball when he elected to go 2nd following our deployment.

The battlefield before deployment with the 3 objective markers. Skitarii deployed along the left short table edge and Tyranids along the right.

Tyranid Deployment

Skitarii Deployent

Turn One - A Cagey Affair

Tyranids unexpectedly went first. I thought something might be up after my opponent conceded first turn after deploying first, so I was very cautious in moving forward on turn one. One of the Termagant broods ran forward into the cover of a large ruin close to the center of the table. The other brood of Termagants made sure to stay out of the 24" Vanguard's threat range, which could wipe them out in a turn of shooting with their 18" Assault 3 Radium Carbines. 

One brood scuttles forward into cover, while the other sits back, out of range of the Vanguard's Radium Carbines.

The Infiltrators were a little too close to my Living Artillery Node units for my liking, so I decided to not advance with my shooty formation and instead dug in on top of one of the objectives. 

The Infiltrators stay behind the relative safety of a ruin, with the support of a Dragoon and Onager right behind them.

The Zoanthrope opened the action by suffering a Perils result when he rolled 6-6-6 casting The Horror on one of the Vanguard blobs. I hadn't even done anything yet and my Synapse web was already looking shaky for the Termagant blobs. Yikes. The Vanguard passed their test and the Zoanthrope scuttled back out of their 24" threat range with a run move.

My Exocrine had no targets at which to fire, but did not want to advance against the assault threat of the Infiltrators and Dragoon, so it sit tight in cover and waited for on opportunity to make use of it's Bio-Plasma Cannon. The Biovores and Warriors each fired their blast weapons, but despite the formation allowing re-rolls to scatter, they both rolled 6-6 and scattered off into the middle of nowhere. 

The Living Artillery Node bides their time while holding on to one of the game's 3 objectives
(the Meiotic Spores were used as objective markers)

A very cagey and ineffective opening turn for the Tyranids... all the 6's rolled when I least wanted them.

The Skitarii advanced forward on the bottom of turn one. One unit of Vanguard were all out of range and so advanced toward cover, fearing the S4 AP4 barrage threat from the Biovores. The other unit of Vanguard advanced toward the Termagants, killing several of the little guys that were holed up in the central ruins. The Onager's Icarus Array managed to finish off the Zoanthrope with snap shots to score First Blood, while the other Onager's Neutron Laser put a wound on my Exocrine, leaving him at 4. The Infiltrators cautiously advanced behind cover and were able to kill a few Termagants that had advanced into the large green central building.

The Skitarii's elite assault force moves toward the middle. The key central objective lies just behind the statue in the intersection.

Turn Two - Enter the Flyrant... sort of

Turn two opened on a positive note. The Flyrant was poised to enter from reserves. Using the Outflank rule, I was hoping to position him right behind the Onager fielding an Icarus Array - the one significant threat that could potentially take him out in just one turn of shooting. I needed a 3+ to be able to outflank from the side I wanted, but rolled a 2. That was an unfortunate setback. Both Onagers were positioned at the extreme flanks, so the Tyrant's 18" shooting wouldn't reach the Icarus Onager. I decided to plant him on some area terrain and take out the Onager with the scary S10 AP1 blast Neutron Laser instead.

The Exocrine stare downfield at an Onager
Dunecrawler, while the Biovores launch
barrages of spore mines from the safety of
some ruins.

That's when things went from bad to worse for the Flyrant. He took a wound from the Icarus' Interceptor fire. Fortunately he wasn't grounded. The Flyrant then manifested a Warp Blast into the rear of the Onager... but suffered a Perils result! 2 for 2 so far, yikes. He lost another wound, and to make things even worse the Onager made his 6+ save against the penetrating AP2 hit. No worries, surely the 12 S6 shots into the back of the Onager would take it out anyway. The Flyrant scored 4 penetrating hits against the Onager's rear armor, but miraculously Gareth made another 2 6+ invulnerable saves, leaving the Onager shaken but still operational with 1 Hull Point remaining. The Flyrant passed yet another grounding test from his perils wound, and I had a sinking feeling that he would be destroyed by the Icarus Array in the upcoming enemy shooting phase before he had really done anything. With the Zoanthrope down, that would leave only my squishy Warriors for synapse. Scary times were ahead.

Fortunately, the other members of the Tyranid Force, perhaps bolstered by the arrival of the Hive Tyrant, were much more effective. Between fire from the Biovores, Exocrine, and Warriors, 3/5 Infiltrators were killed, seriously hampering the Skitarii force's close combat muscle. 

The Skitarii, recognizing the new threat posed by the Flyrant, now with 2 wounds remaining, swarmed the Flying Monstrous Creature. The Dragoon and Infiltrators even moved underneath the Tyrant, ready to charge him should he be shot down and survive. The Icarus Array had fired one of it's 3 profiles already as Interceptor fire, so it's firepower was a bit limited. With some unlucky to-wound rolls, and a few 3+ armor saves, the Flyrant took only one wound the Skyfire, leaving him with just one wound left, but still alive. A unit of Vanguard then shot up into the sky. Under the sheer weight of fire they were able to inflict 2 wounds on the Tyrant, which however bounced harmlessly off his chitinous shell. The Tyrant lived! He passed yet another grounding test, and all the misfortune from his initial perils and Onager's 6+ saves was quickly forgotten. 

Now with the Infiltrators and Dragoon out of position, I may be able to capitalize with the Living Artillery Node's shooting.

The unsuspecting Onager is ambushed by the Hive Tyrant, while a unit of Vanguard within the ruins fire desperately at the wounded monster.

Turn Three - Lucky Tyrant's Foot

With one of the Termagant broods down to 3 surviving members and the Zoanthrope down, the Tyranid right flank was buckling under the firepower of the Skitarii. However the Biovores had firm control of one of the objectives in their deployment zone while the Skitarii had advanced upfield past their objective in order to maximize firepower. If the Tyranids could maintain their synapse web and take the central objective, victory would be all but assured. 

The remaining Termagants all scuttled forward to the central ruins which lay within striking distance of the central objective. The Exocrine and Tyranid Warriors finally began to advance, hoping to provide the Hive Tyrant some backup as he was surrounded by Skitarii forces. 

The Tyrant used all 3 warp charges for the turn to cast Catalyst, providing himself Feel No Pain as a last resort, but managed to get a Perils result yet again! With only 1 wound left, this surely would be the end of the Tyranid warlord... but he rolled a 5 on the Perils table and passed the ensuing leadership test! He had tempted fate and somehow survived to fight on. After that scare, he unleashed his Twin-Linked Devourers into the Sydonian Dragoon, felling the walker in a hail of fire. 

Meanwhile, the Biovores' barrage finally hit the mark, destroying half the Vanguard squad which had now advanced out of their coveer, ready to provide fire into the central alley housing the key objective marker. The remaining members of the Vanguard unit failed their morale check and retreated to the Skitarii table edge - something that actually worked in my opponent's favour since turn 5 was quickly approaching and they would need to double back to secure an objective anyway.

On the Skitarii end of the turn, the Vanguard rallied, while the Icarus Array Onager maneuvered to get a clear shot on the injured Flyrant. The Neutron Laser Onager sniped two of the Tyranid warriors from behind their cover with it's powerful S10 AP1 blast weapon, weakening the Tyranid side's synapse web. The Icarus Array loosed all of it's might at the Tyrant, and in an incredible display of fortune, I was able to make 4 consecutive 3+ armour saves and one 4+ cover save to keep the warlord alive! The Vanguard continued to pepper the skies with fire from their Radium Carbines and Plasma Calivers, putting two more wounds on the Flyrant. One failed save later, all that stood between the Tyrant's demise and death was a single 5+ Feel No Pain save... Which he made successfully!!! 

The two remaining Infiltrators assaulted my Exocrine, which had advanced up field. However one of them was felled by overwatch, and the other crushed under the sheer weight of the monstrous creature's clumsy yet powerful attacks. 

Turn Four - Advantage Tyranids

Having felt the might of the Onager's Neutron Laser, The Hive Tyrant tried his luck again with the Warp Lance into the damaged Onager's side armour this time.  The Warp Lance melted the Onager's ceramite plates and the Skitarii walker was destroyed. The Exocrine and Termagants advanced toward the remaining unharmed Vanguard unit, hoping to secure the middle of the map and the all-important central objectives. After taking fire from the entire Tyranid force, a couple of the Vanguard remained - injured and surely terrified, but still able to vie for the all-important objective. This also granted the Tyranids 'Slay the Warlord' since the unit's Alpha was the warlord for the Skitarii force.

The Onager's Icarus Array finally found it's mark and felled the Flyrant on the Skitarii end of the turn. Much to the relief of my opponent, the Skitarii too scored Slay the Warlord and finally removed the pesky flyer. The rear-most unit of Vanguard retreated further back into the Skitarii deployment zone and secured an objective. 

At the end of turn 4, each side held one objective, but the Skitarii had a 5-4 lead from the extra point earned for First Blood. Even though they were ahead on points at this time, the Tyranids had a decided numbers advantage, with 3 Biovores, Exocrine, 12 Termagants, and a Warrior still on the board against only 6 Vanguard and an Onager whose Icarus Array would be ineffective against the remaining ground targets. Neither side was in position to score Behind Enemy Lines.

Turn Five - Hail Mary

In order to secure the victory, the Tyranids would have to do one of two things: (A) Make sure that the remaining Vanguard and Onager could not contest the central objective, or (B) use the Biovore's 48" Barrage to shoot the rear-most Vanguard off the objective in the Skitarii deployment zone.

Making full use of the Living Artillery Node's reroll to scatter dice, the Biovores scored 3 direct hits on the Vanguard and completely destroyed the unit. With them removed, all the Nids would have to do is ensure that the remaining Onager and 2 Vanguard didn't take sole control over the middle objective. The Vanguard fell to Tyranid fire, and only the Onager remained. The Termagants swarmed all over the objective, throwing their bodies in the way. As long as at least 1 of them remained within scoring distance, the little guys would have the advantage using the Objective Secured rule granted from being fielded in a Combined Arms Detachment.

The Onager's Icarus Array poured fire into the Termagants, felling a couple - but not enough to remove them from the objective. When the Onager attempted a charge and failed to roll a 8+ however, the objective was left under Tyranid control.

At the end of turn 5, the score was 7-2 for the Tyranids. With just 1 Onager remaining, the Skitarii force was decimated and unable to vie for objectives. A victory was secured for Hive Fleet Behemoth!

This game was very intense, with lots of important and non-statistical rolls dominating the action. It was also much closer than the score and kill count suggested. It could have gone either way, and it seemed that the dice shifted favour from Tyranid to Skitarii each turn.

Conclusion & Analysis

I had decided before the game began that I would play this match-up more cautiously than before, as Gareth's Skitarii had dominated my Tyranids in our previous games through the sheer power of their mid-range shooting. I think the strategy worked out well - Having most of my units survive and able to relocate to where they are needed in the mid to late game was a huge boon compared to charging forward with uber-aggression as I had in the past.

I unfortunately forgot to keep taking photos for the blog after the intense turn 3 :(. I'll make sure to keep the photos coming next time!

The Biovores played a key role in filling the role of long-range shooting for the force. I liked them very much and will probably look to take them again, especially in games against 4+ armour infantry. The Tyranid Warriors were once again lackluster, but in the end provided me that last bit of synapse to keep the force together after the Zoanthrope and Tyrant were killed, so I guess I can't complain. I'm a big fan of MSU Termagant squads - They are so cheap and if you use them in cover, those 10 wounds for 40 points can go a long way to drawing fire and securing objectives with the survivors.

After this match I played a bonus round from our Kill Team campaign against Patrick's Space Wolves force, which was one hell of a game. Stay tuned for more!