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
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment