Is This Another Bug Hunt? - Militarum Tempestus vs Tyranids

Great Xenos Oocytes!
It's All-Skype Fight Night!

As the old year lurches wretchedly away into the shadows, we found time for a final excursion into 40K. 'Tis I, Kraken, hosting a battle between my two new proto-armies, with the aid of my trusty accomplice Stylus and our buckets of dice.

Indeed! I, Stylus, will be shaking off my December painter's cramp by rolling some bones!

Still comatose after the excesses of the Julbord, I found myself more than usually unable to do any maths. So we went with Power Levels instead, and played a little narrative battle. Can a well-armed Tempestus Scion squadron see off a minor Tyranid incursion? Find out, as we play Patrol!

Forces

Twas the 'Nids Before Christmas

Hive Fleet Afanc Patrol Detachment - 0 CPs, Kraken Traits

• HQ - Neurothrope, Warlord with Adaptive Biology and the Norn Crown, Smite and Catalyst powers
• Elites - 3 Venomthropes
• Troops 1 - 20 Genestealers with Toxin Sacs and a single Flesh Hooks
• Troops 2 - 20 Genestealers with Toxin Sacs and a single Acid Maw
• Heavy - Tyrannofex with Stinger Salvos, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs and a Rupture Cannon

This nascent tendril is still coming out of gestation, and I was limited to a rather scrawny selection of odds and ends. Basically everything I've painted so far, if one can consider 40 Genestealers a scrawny pick.

They're loaded for bear, seeing as sticking all the bonus growths and whatnot on them is effectively free in Power Level mode. Crazy! And yet now I've looked at the points values, this lot wouldn't actually reach 1000 points (958, if I worked it right).

It's not a very synergistic force. The Venomthropes are too slow to screen the Genestealers. The Neurothrope is a nice cheap commander but fairly tame by itself. And the Tyrannofex is a nasty shooter but slow, likely to be a fire magnet and unlikely to make use of the fancy adrenal glands and toxins I gave it, both of which would be more use with other loadouts.

I'm also running with only three command points, which I think is likely to be bad. Still, if I can just get one good trick out, it might turn the tide.

All the same, with the Kraken traits, they can all advance like the clappers! And anything the Genestealers reach is going to have a very bad day. It's just getting there that might be the issue...

The Cowardly Scions

• HQ - Inquisitor Hurous de Vaulot (Xenos), Incinerator, Power sword, Psychic Power: Smite, Terrify
• Elite - 1 x Acolyte, Stormbolter, Thunder Hammer
• Elite - 1 x Acolyte, Plasma Gun, Power Maul
• Elite - 3 x Bullgryns, Bullgryn Mauls, Slabshield
• Transport - Valkyrie, Lascannon, Hellstrike missiles, 2 x Heavy Bolters

Ordo Xenos Vanguard Detachment - 1CP

• HQ - Tempestor Prime, Warlord (Grand Strategist), Relic (Deathmask of Ollanius), Tempestus Command Rod, Power Sword
• HQ - Primaris Psyker, Laspistol, Psychic Power: Smite, Nightshroud, Mental Fortitude
• Troop - 9 x Tempestus Scions, Tempestor (Chainsword, Plasma Pistol), Vox-caster, 2 x Plasma Guns, 5 x Hot-Shot Lasguns
• Troop - 5 x Tempestus Scions, Tempestor (Power Fist, Bolt Pistol), Vox-caster, 2 x Melta Guns, 1 x Hot-Shot Lasguns
• Troop - 5 x Tempestus Scions, Tempestor (Power Fist, Bolt Pistol), Vox-caster, 2 x Flamers, 1 x Hot-Shot Lasgun
• Transport - Taurox Prime, Taurox Gatling Cannon, 2 x Hot-Shot Volley Guns, Storm Bolter
• Transport - Taurox Prime, Taurox Battle Cannon, 2 x Autocannons, Heavy Stubber

Millitarum Tempestus Battalion Detachment - 3CPs

Battleforged - 3CPs (7CPs total), Points: 52

After the Inquistion's dismal performance against the Tyranids, this operation has been put under Tempestus jurisdiction. I can fill out a battalion with three squads of Scions, along with a Tempestor Prime and a Psyker for a little psychic support (much good it may do me against the Shadow in the Warp) and to fill out a cheap HQ slot. My aim is to alpha-strike these units via grav-chute, while the two Tauroxes make for pretty hefty gun platforms (apparently they also transport things).

Meanwhile, the Vanguard detachment is what remains of Inquisitor de Vaulot's team: two acolytes (which I've cheekily divided into two units, to squeeze out another command point) and a pack of Bullgryns. These guys will fly in on the Valkyrie and get up close and personal once the Tyranid ranks have been thinned. And since weapon upgrades are free, I've overloaded my Acolytes (who are here to serve as ablative wounds) with some nice toys.

The Tempestor Prime gets to be the Warlord, so he gets the Deathmask of Ollanius for an invulnerable save and a one-off wounds boost; plus the ubiquitous Grand Strategist trait to recycle command points and gain a one-off re-roll (which I'm going to forget about - spoiler alert: I do)

Interestingly, my army clocks in at around the 1,000pt mark as well (so is there really much of a difference in points or power levels?)

Appropriately for the scenario, this is a very mobile recon force: I can squeeze the whole lot into transports or deepstrike and, though I may be squishy, I'll hit hard and fast when I make my appearance. I'm already warming to the Tempestus: it's like playing Eldar but without feeling dirty afterwards.

Deployment and Terrain

Patrol sees two small forces clashing from the diagonal corners of the board. Simple really - victory points for wiping out enemy units (we house-ruled an amendment - you score based on the power level of the destroyed unit, rather than just 1pt per unit - otherwise it's an easy win for Kraken with his 5 big units vs my 12 small and squishy ones).

You start with three units out and everything else arrives as random reinforcements later. There are even some bonus strategems to help you get your mates in when you need them, if we can remember to use any.

Kraken Towers got a new and larger kitchen table for Christmas! Not quite 6x4, but 6x3 is good enough for our small forces, especially with the diagonal corners to start from. The random rolling casts me as the Defenders, which means I deploy first but can bring in my reinforcements more easily.

Here's the side view. Two new buildings in progress, just polystyrene packaging from a toaster at present. Vital to the Imperial war effort, all the same. 

My plan is obviously to try and rush the enemy. Picking the 'Thrope and one squad of Genestealers, I deploy as close as I can to the enemy position, then throw down the Venomthropes for mobile cover in case I don't have the first turn.

I'm the attacker, and narratively it makes sense for the flyer and grav-chutists to arrive in reserve, so that settles that. The two Tauroxes go on the front line - the Gatling one as close as possible, in case I get the first turn, and the Battle Cannon one enjoying its longer range at the back.

The Tempestus Prime and largest squad of Scions bundle inside the Gatling Taurox, ready to roll. The final unit drop is the Primaris Psyker, who isn't allowed inside the Taurox, so has to cool his heels outside.

We roll for the first turn, and the Tyranids take it! I may be attacking, but even commando humans lack the reflexes of the Hive Fleet. Now I'm going to find out how fast they can move.

Turn 1 - Tyranids

<<Intruders. Repel. Consume. Attack!>>

Ah! Well, seeing as I do have the first turn, I'd better make the most of it.

It's a long shot, but therefore the only kind worth taking. Blowing a third of my Command Points straight out of the gate, I go for the Kraken Strategem 'Opportunistic Advance', which doubles the distance I roll for the 'Stealers. And with them being Kraken types, I can roll three dice and pick the best. Ten bonus inches for a total of eighteen leaves them in the wood, a scant nine inches from the Gatling Taurox and therefore eight for the charge.

The HQ and Venomthropes are obviously left behind by this, but they do their best. I want those enemy psykers in Shadow of the Warp range asap. Catalyst is a no-brainer for defence of the troops, so I throw that out at least, but I'm out of Smite range.

When I declare the charge, Stylus sensibly counters with his own strategem - defensive fire pours from the turrets of the APC, doubling its chances of hitting on Overwatch. Five 'stealers cop it in the trees, and then it's time for the all-important distance roll.

Which I duly fail. Twice, with a re-roll.

Hmm. Not ideal, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say. And at least I know where the return fire is likely to focus!

Turn 1 - Militarum Tempestus

+++Commander Mace Ironside reporting in. Our reconnaissance patrol has encountered a nest of xenos. They are numerous and approaching our position with extreme hostility. Deploying infantry in dragon's teeth defensive formation+++

Yikes, those genestealers are looking awfully near, and I'm not going to get so lucky with their charges next time.

Reinforcements aren't coming until next turn at least, and so I make the counter-intuitive decision to pile everyone out of their nice armoured vehicle and form a firing line (we can't afford to let even one of those bastards get through). The two Taurox stay still, as they've no shortage of targets.

Everybody dressed for winter combat. Except for the Psyker, the moron.

In the Psychic phase, I go defensive and put Mental Fortitude on the Scions (assuming any will be alive to make a Morale check), and then we're off to the Shooting.

The Primaris Psyker opens the batting, with a well-placed laspistol shot that actually fells a genestealer. Everyone else joins in: the Tempestor Prime orders First Rank Fire! Second Rank Fire! on the squad, who unleash 20 hot-shots, followed by some plasma (although I'm appalled to learn that the Vox-Caster traded his lasgun for a laspistol with a tiny range - we'll be having words with him back at the barracks).

After the infantry have cut down half a dozen genestealers (their Catalyst is helping them out some), the vehicles get to speak. The Gatling Taurox mows down a wave of the beasties, with rolls of six exploding into more shots at half-range (I'm already more than a little impressed with the Tempestus).

Finally comes the Battle Cannon Taurox - fewer shots, but dealing more damage. This actually makes harder work of the genestealers, since they are single-wound with invulnerable saves and catalyst, but I manage to blast away the final one with my last shot (so it turns out that Psyker's laspistol was crucial, after all!)

The dust settles, and I'm feeling pretty damn good about this first turn: I've blazed away half of the Tyranid troops and lost nothing in return.

Turn 2 - Tyranids

<<Aggression! Protect, swarm. Devour!>>

Reinforcements are called for! Luckily, they all arrive. The Tyrannofex lumbers into a firing position, the other Genestealers pour in behind it.

Which leaves me with a mild conundrum - run backwards with the Venomthropes to cover these newcomers and risk leaving the HQ stranded? Or stay put to cover the forthcoming advance?

I plump with the latter, and the brain bug and his portable shields take cover behind a nearby rock.

It's a short turn after that. I'm outside Smite range still, and cast Catalyst on the Tyrannofex, but then it fluffs its shooting and fails to damage the Battlecannon Taurox. I can almost feel the laser sights flickering over my carapaces...

Turn 2 - Militarum Tempestus

+++Commander Ironside supplemental. The first wave of xenos have been eradicated, but more have appeared. Request immediate grav-chute insertions and deployment of air support+++

Without a massive pack of genestealers breathing down my throat, I'm more confident about this turn. And at least the proximity of the Venomthropes, and pretty much nothing else, helps with my target selection. I advance the Scions into the forest, just close enough to be in range of the Venomthropes, then keep the vehicles stationary for some more glorious dakka.

In the reserves roll, I spend two CPs to fire up an attack signal and increase my odds of getting reinforcements. It pays off, and both the Valkyrie (carrying the Inquisitor, his two acolytes, and Bullgryn squad) and the flamer-armed Scions turn up.

All well and good, but what I really want is the melta-armed Scions to drop down and nuke the Tyrannofex. No such luck, even with a stratagem re-roll (although I do get to recycle the command point).

So the Valkyrie appears in the very corner, out of the Tyrannofex's range, but within shooting for itself. The Scions drop in along the main battleline, but their flamers are out of range of the minimum nine inches (take note kids: flamers are a stupid choice for grav-chute alpha-strikes).

With my point-and-click-and-delete method of target selection, almost my whole army mows down the Venomthropes. The only exceptions are the Taurox Battle Cannon and the Valkyrie's long-range weapons, both of whole fail to put a dent in the Tyrannofex's carapace.

It falls to the two plasma-gun Scions, who have wisely been ordered to re-roll 1s, and so can safely overcharge their weapons. Unfortunately, even a re-roll can't save one gunner, who promptly explodes. The other shots does make a dent in the Tyrannofex for two wounds, so it's a fair trade.

Turn 3 - Tyranids

<<Evade. Lure. Await. Ambush.>>

Right, well, the Neurothrope is looking a little on the exposed side, so it wibbles back towards the rest of the bugs. I'm not going to reach the advancing guardsmen this turn, so the Genestealers go and hide behind the nearby building, while the Tyrannofex strokes its big gun lovingly with a slobbery claw.

I pip off a Scion with a Smite (I instruct Kraken to remove my Vox-Caster - that'll teach him to leave his lasgun at home!) then fail dismally to put Catalyst on the Warlord, so it'll be relying on that shiny Warp Field save to live through the next round. At least I can look forward to the shooting phase!

Oh no I can't. Although I hit and wound that cannon Taurox twice, it somehow saves both shots and remains unscathed (I got boxcars just when I needed them - my dice rolls were unconscionably hot during this game). At least I pick off two more Scions with the spike barrage thingy the 'Fex has, but it's hardly even a bloodied nose to the foe. Grimly, I await further fire.

Turn 3 - Militarum Tempestus

+++Mace Ironside calling in. We've lost visual on the xenos and I'm getting vox-transmissions that our air support is under Inquisitorial jurisdiction. Please confirm. We need fire control from the ground, not grandstanding+++

My melta squad is still circling the clouds, so I'll have to make do with what's on the table. Not wanting to press too deep into the skulking genestealers, I just dress my line of Scions and keep the Taurox where they are parked.

Inquisitor de Vaulot has other plans, and the Valkyrie screams upfield, where it can get a plumb target on anything - it's closest to the Neurothrope and has eyes for the Tyrannofex.

The Psyker tries and fails to get off a Smite on the Neurothrope (really, he has better luck with the laspistol).

With only two targets visible, it's not a great stretch of target selection: heavy stuff into the Tyrannofex and everything else into the Neurothrope.

A combination of poor shooting and good saves means the Neurothrope is still alive after weathering nearly all my shots, including the Gatling Taurox. I throw all the Battle Cannon's Taurox side-weapons at him, but keep the main gun for the Tyrannofex. As it happens, my split fire cost me the kill: the Neurothrope clings onto his last wound and the Battle Cannon whiffs against the big monster.

As a consolation, the Valkyrie's lascannon burns five wounds off the Tyrannofex (everything else missed), but this is my first turn without making a kill, so my luck may have ebbed.

Turn 4 - Tyranids

<<Danger! Protect! Gather, Prepare. Devour!>>

Eek. Lucky to survive that last round of fire, I was. So I quickly rush an ablative screen of 'Stealers round the two bigger bugs and hope for the best. 

Catalyst on the Tyrannofex, and a little smite to scrape the Valkyrie's hull, but it's quiet after that. Once again, the Tyrannofex whiffs its shooting (its wounds don't help with this either) and it fails to hurt the rear Taurox at all this time. It fails, not me or my dice rolling. It's entirely the model's fault. 

Turn 4 - Militarum Tempestus

+++Ironside here. What in the Emperor's nutsack is that Inquisitor doing? Tell him to take his bird back into the sky and let my crew do their job!+++

The melta squad is obliged to land on this turn, so at least I have that in the bag. With that confidence, I sound a general advance: the two existing squads push forward, and even the Gatling Taurox finds the ignition switch and chugs forward into range of the genestealers.

The melta-gun Scions drop directly in front of the Tyrannofex, warming up their cookers for the big beast. Meanwhile the Inquisitor orders the Valkyrie into hover mode, with an eye to taking the Tyrannofex's scalp himself (although all the passengers remain inside the ship - there are still plenty of genestealers out there).

Since the flyer is looking a wee bit vulnerable, I cast Nightshroud onto it during the Psychic phase, just in case it gets picked on by shooting.

"Just set it down anywhere. This can't possibly go wrong."

The Tempestor Prime tries to issue an order to the melta squad, but realised that he's lost the vox-operator in the squad closest to him (opps...) and so his commands won't be heard. Notwithstanding, in the shooting phase, one of the melta guns manages to burn off a chunk of wounds.

This leaves the Valkyrie to mop up - and with a successful wounding by the lascannon once again, I spend a CP to turn 1 wound into 6. The luckless Tyrannofex collapses to the ground.

The rest of the shooting is less effective, and only four genestealers are downed by my small-arms.

All my forces are now deployed, and just a mob of genestealers to go!

Turn 5 - Tyranids

<<Spring! Destroy! Overwhelm and Assimilate!>>

You know, if you're going to hover a big plump birdie right in front of me, I'm going to take the bait. As one, the Genestealers rush the Valkyrie and the Melta-Scions, and if I take losses in the Overwatch fire (three or four, I think) I don't really mind. 

Catalyst and Smite on the way in, the latter of which gives my vampiric boss brain a wound back. It'll need it. 

"Spunkmeyer, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Combat is everything I dreamed it would be. Three Genestealers are more than enough to tear the Melta boys to shreds, and the rest rip the Valkyrie up in short order.

Take note, self: flyers are often at their most effective in the air.

It doesn't explode (phew) but it does disgorge an angry pack of Inquisitorial Ogryns and their boss, far enough away that I can't overrun into them sadly. 

Well, at least I made a mark! 

Turn 5 - Militarum Tempestus

+++It's Mace, damn you! I've been ignoring your damn signals because your damn Inquisitor got his damn ship blowed up and now my damn troops have to squish the damn bugs so we can pull his dumb damn carcass out of the damn bug's nest! Damn it!+++

Last turn, no air support, and a host of genestealers to pick my way through before I can get a shot at that Neurothope. Here goes....

With a combination of Smite, flamers, incinerators, lasguns, gatling gun, battle cannon and every other sidearm I can muster, I just about take out all fourteen of the genestealers. But that leaves me with no guns left, and a long charge as my only chance for a decapitation.

The Inquisitor is closest; he fails. The Acolyte hefting the thunder hammer is next; he misses by an inch.

That leaves the Bullgryns needed a 10 - I roll double-6 and the big boys are in! 

Even with their murderous close-combat attacks, it's still a near-run thing. I whiff a lot of my wound rolls, but a bullgryn maul finds its mark and the brain-bug is squished.

52 : 14 - Victory to the Militarum Tempestus Inquistion! (amended by Inquisitorial decree)

Locker... Warren? Hatchery?

Well, nice that my newest army won! 

Hive Fleet Afanc needs work. Chiefly, it needs chaff, although I realise that a better deployment would have been both troops and the Tyrannofex, so I could have maximum threat value on the board. Neither Neurothrope nor Venomthropes really paid for themselves in this game, dying isolated and alone without really affecting the game much. 

The 'Fex would probably have been better with the Acid Spray (cheaper too, for points games), as it could then have advanced and assaulted as well. I bet it would have eaten up Overwatch fire pretty effectively, screening for the 'Stealers. Who were of course brilliant, but just can't last against firepower of such magnitude at this, or indeed any, range. 

Still, that first charge would have spun the game if I'd made it, so I regret nothing. And I know, of course, exactly why the Tyrannofex rolled so poorly. The real model was sulking, unpainted, from the sidelines, almost willing me to fail. 

That was brutal! It certainly doesn't pay to be on the receiving end of a Militarum Tempestus gunline (and I should know). I enjoyed more than healthy slice of luck in this game: my random shots/wounds were never less than average, my big rolls came in when they needed to. I'm going to pay for it in some future game, but I was seeing an awful lot of sixes.

And the most crucial vicissitude was the double-fail of Kraken's genestealer charge in the very first turn. A few more inches and that would have surely popped my Galting Taurox, exposed half my infantry and put me on all kinds of defensive backfooting. Still, that's the breaks when running assault-vs-firepower lists.

(although the Tyranid's firepower was desperately unlucky. I've seen Tyrannofex's devastate armies before - hence my focus on taking it down - but this one must have been hatched from a rotten egg)

A thought on the scenario: in many ways, it was the most 'direct' game of 40k I've played. this surprises me for a Narrative mission, which I'd thought would be more than an escalating slugfest. Maybe without tactical objectives in play there's no incentive than to do anything but kill each other. Or maybe it was just the types of armies we picked (both do depend on inflicting a huge amount of damage in the first strike.

Maybe if we pick Narrative again, we need to tailor our forces in advance, to be sure of getting something suitably fluffy. Or maybe that Taurox need to stop being such awesome tanks masquerading as transports.

On the subject of Narrative play, I think our house-rule about point scoring was a good one. If we'd gone by 1pt per destroyed unit, the final score would have been 5:3 in favour of the Imperium. I don't know about you, but that battlefield didn't look like a 5:3 result.

Either way, a splendid way to see out the year: killing xenos in the 41st millennium!

P.S. A little side note on the painting - I was hoping to have the Scions finished by today, but my girls were home with 'flu and I didn't quite find the time to do it in I hoped for. 85% done, maybe, at least, so just fine details to finish off. Don't judge them yet, that's all I'm saying!