The unfathomable take on the insatiable: Thousand Sons vs Tyranids!
I, Stylus, have been taking a drubbing on the fields of 40k recently. So what better to restore my winning streak than a rematch against the most brutal, anti-psyker, and generally terrifying list in my experience - bring on the hive fleet!
Hello! Hive Mouthpiece Kraken here, translating from the overriding psychic imperative on behalf of my slavering fellows. Having just finished everything in my cupboard for the Tyranids, I wanted to put the latest squads through their paces. The armoured shells of the Thousands Sons may be short on DNA, but they do make lovely nests for our larvae. So that's nice.
Never Mind The Genotype!
Interesting. Kraken and I hadn't discussed this before, but it appears we've both gone for infantry-dominated lists and left the heavies at home. Should make for a good match-up. Just As Intended.
My Daemon Prince returns as Warlord. I don't usually make him one, since my standard tactic is to YOLO the big guy forward, and so I don't want to give up the Slay The Warlord points. But there are no hiding places against the Tyranids, so he'll have to get by on his 3++ save.
Speaking of no hiding places, I'm going to do my best to avoid trouble: a large pack of Tzaangor (that I'm going to pop into the Webway), Scarab Occult Terminators for the teleportarium, and a brand new Terminator Sorcerer to keep them company.
I've even broken my rule and borrowed one of the Black Legion's Rhinos to store my Warpflamer Rubrics - they're just too expensive to expose to even small-arms fire. To give myself some extra mobility, I've got the Tzaangor Shaman and Elightened on Discs.
That pretty much leaves the Helbrute, kitted out for long-range fire-support, and a bunch of Cultists for the meat-shield.
Let's burn some gribblies!
Stylus is hosting, so we've got the scorching sands of his desert wastes to battle upon. I get to pick deployment, but have no strong feelings and settle for a dice roll. Search and Destroy is what we get, opposing quarters of the field with a big 9" radius circle clear in the middle of the table.
Eschewing anything subtle, I go for a huge pack near my forward edge. Fast elements like Genestealers and Gargoyles at the front, spore mines and Warriors at the rear, Swarmlord in the middle pounding his chest like a silverback.
As I deploy, I can see that Stylus is keeping a strong reserve force in the warp for later arrival, so I decide to go heavy on the board and try and finish his forward element off before the rest turn up. The only deep striker for me is the Tyrannocyte, and bizarrely, it's coming in empty. Waste of potential? Maybe, but it can still grab an objective and shoot, and that's hopefully all I need it for.
As planned, I stuff as much as I can into reserve: Tzaangor, Scarab Occult and Terminator Sorcerer are off the board, so I won't see them unto Turn 2 (unless I really need to reinforce my lines). The Rubrics go into the Rhino, which ends up hugging the backline with the Daemon Prince, Helbrute, Exalted Sorcerer, Tzaangor Shaman and Enlightened.
Only the poor Cultists get pushed forward as a screen - it's fair to say that I'm playing for the counter-punch!
Having easily outdeployed my hordes, Stylus gets the first turn. Until I steal it! Ha harr!
Of my first trio of objectives, the two I can do are to first sieze and then defend objective 1. That's right inside my deployment zone, in the ruined temple, and suits me fine! The entire army therefore runs away from it at full speed (which, thanks to Kraken advancing tactics, is pretty full). Then I drop the Tyrannocyte down in the temple, safe in the knowledge I can squat on some safe points for a bit.
The rest of the turn is quiet, as I'm mostly out of range. Two cultists bite it to Venom Cannon fire from the Tyrannids, which is spectacular overkill, but Stylus is very sensibly staying as far from me as he possibly can for now. I was hoping for some turn 1 charges, but I fail to get Onslaught off on the Gargoyles, who might have been able to reach and tie people up, so I hang back for now. Catalyst on the Swarmlord just in case the Hellbrute gets cocky, though...
Objectives Scored: Seize Objective 1 (1)
So with no objectives to chase, I dress my lines and boost where I can. The Cultists move forward to screen the choke-point, and the flying Tzaangor scoot over the Ophidian Archway to get eyes on the Swarmlord.
The Psychic Phase is something of a stumble: the only noteworthy spells are getting Prescience and Weaver of Fates on the Enlightened.
In the Shooting Phase, I'm itching to try our the Enlightened's funky Fatecaster Bows: six shots that autowound on 6s, but with the modifiers from both the Shaman and Prescience, I'll be forcing saving throws from the Swarmlord on 4+. Naturally, I roll five 3s, but Kraken does fail two of his save as compensation.
When it comes to the big guns, my Helbrute lets loose on the Swarmlord. There's enough firepower in there to wipe him out, but two shots miss (maybe I put Prescience on the wrong unit) and the final one fails against the invulnerable save.
I can't even remember if I used my Cultist's autoguns. Maybe they were too busy tying white flags to the barrels.
So no victory points and no kills - a bright begining!
Objectives Scored: Defend Objective 1 (Tyranids, 2)
To Stylus's horror but not surprise, the Cultists are immediately overrun as the Gargoyles advance first up to them, then over their heads thanks to the Swarmlord. Everything else steams up, and I'm now in range for psychic powers, so I slap Catalyst on the Gargoyles, Horror on the Hellbrute and smite most of the rest of the Cultists out of the way.
Shooting is fairly tame, as I'm still mostly short, but a pair of Tzaangor Enlightened get Deathspattered by the Warriors. Then I let rip with the Gargolyes at close range, splitting fire on the nearby Sorcerer and the Hellbrute too, and I add the Scorch Bugs strategem in to help them hurt their targets.
It goes quite well! Two wounds off the sorcerer and a scratch on the Hellbrute. I'm feeling lucky, so I go for Single Minded Annhilation too, a second Strategem to let the unit shoot again. Not so good this time, though, the Hellbrute shrugs off the beetle fire and I only get a single wound more on the Sorcerer. Probably should have concentrated on him, in retrospect.
In the charge phase, the Gargoyles flock carefully round the Hellbrute in such a way as to prevent the nearby characters intervening. Which is just what I want - they'll take a while to hack through, and keep the gunline busy until the others arrive. The Hellbrute even loses a wound to Gargoyle drool, and thrashes about ineffectually in return. Splendid!
The Genestealers are a bit too far out to make a long bomb charge, I think. But Stylus disagrees, and coaxes me into making the roll. He regrets this when I make it in!
(Typical. I'm a much better tactician when it comes to my opponent's army.)
And then fling another three CPs to the wind to let them fight twice. The Rhino is torn to shreds, the explosion kills three of the passengers, and I've got a big pack of happy 'stealers right up where I want them.
I roll eight dice for the disembarking Rubrics and get four 1s! With a CP re-roll, I manage to save one, but I've just lost 100pts worth of crucial firepower because I roll like a chump.
Objectives Scored: Big Game Hunter (1), First Blood (1)
I need to start clearing away this first Tyranid wave, so I'd better drop the hammer quick. My Helbrute edges back out of combat, and that's him done for the turn. The Exalted Sorcerer moves within handflamer range of the Gargoyles, while the half-squad of Rubics do the same. The Shaman flies downfield to welcome the imminent Tzaangor, accompanied by the lone surviving Enlightened. The Daemon Prince steps up to the Genestealer pack, hoping he's not the only one who'll be facing them.
To close the Movement Phase, the Tzaangor drop down behind the Genestealers, and the Scarab Occult land in the centre, equidistant from the Neurothrope and Termagants.
The Psychic Phase is a bit sketchy (as I'm now within Shadow of the Warp range): I Warptime the Tzaangor Shaman closer to his flock, cast Glamour of Tzeentch on the Daemon Prince and recover a few wounds on the Exalted with Temporal Manipulation. I also get Gaze of Fate, which is very handy, as rerolls will improve my odds for the charge. A few Smites here and there take up the rest of my powers.
In the Shooting Phase, I turn all my warpflamers on the Gargoyles, using Veterans of the Long War to make extra sure of my kills. With help from the Exalted's handflamer, the whole unit gets reduced to a handful. The Enlightened plinks a wound off the Mucolid Spore and the Scarab Occult hose down half the Termagants.
Off to the Assault Phase: the most important charge I need to make is the Tzaangor into the Genestealers and, with a fortuitous reroll, I make it in. The Daemon Prince joins them, while the Exalted Sorcerer and Enlightened go to mop up the charred survivors of the Gargoyles.
The Scarab Occult also make their charge. I chickened out of facing the Termagant's Devourer overwatch (possibly a mistake there, given my armour could weather it, but I've had bad luck with Terminators on the charge) and just went for the Neurothrope - although I did extend my charge so I could tie up the Termagants and shut down their shooting.
In combat with the Genestealers, the Tzaangor use Veterans of the Long War (somehow, I'm not complaining) and Kraken counters with Caustic Blood. Between some under-performing attacks from both beastmen and Daemon Prince, plus that damn acid blood, it ends with half the Tzaangor unit slain, and all-but six Genestealers dead. The bugs are out of synapse range, and so melt away, but I spend 2 more CPs to avoid the morale check.
I could have positioned my Tzaangor charge to cover Objective 5, but I needed as many attacks as possible against the Genestealers, and I wasn't confident that they'd last two rounds on it.
Elsewhere, the Exalted rips up the last of the Gargoyles and the Scarab Occult whiff against the Neurothrope. With two units killed, I'm off the blocks in the victory points, although if I had managed to get another it would have been D3. I may come to regret not picking on the Termagants.
Objectives Scored: No Prisoners (1)
Objectives Scored: Defend Objective 6 (Tyranids, 2)
The Terminators, in the meantime, are a big problem. I don't have much in terms of weaponry that can deal with them, and weight of numbers is looking thin. Apart from Spore Mines! So I withdraw the remaining termagants and throw the Tyrannocyst towards the Termies instead, to soak overwatch.
Elsewhere, the Swarmlord and his loyal Neurothrope/Venomthrope bodyguard slope towards objective 5. I really ought to sit on it for the VPs, but I also want to get Swarmie into combat. Preferably with the Daemon Prince, who I have no other strong counter to. Boosting myself with Catalyst (which I later forget about, of course, I realise now!), I find my other powers mostly shut down by the Thousand Sons, and dither about who to charge and whether I should.
I get my second VP for a successful Deny the Witch test - given the odds of me doing that were likely, I now wonder if Kraken would have been better advised to not cast anything this turn and deny me my denial.
While I fret over that, I at least send the Tyrannocyst into the Terminators. Its shooting against them was worthless, and I'm not expecting much from it in combat other than keeping them busy. But it's worth the cover when the Spore Mines breeze in and explode, ending half the Scarab squad straight off.
That's what they do? Note to self: shoot, shoot, shoot the Spore Mines.
Alas, the remainers hack the Cyst up quite badly, but that's not the end of the world.
The Swarmlord takes a deep breath and charges, aiming for both Daemon Prince and Tzaangor. He only reaches the beastmen though, and I'm out of CPs for any rerolls. Ah well! He butchers a bunch of them happily, taking a wound in return, but it's not great. Alone and surrounded, I can't see next turn being kind to him.
The Tzaangor obligingly melt away in the Morale phase, though. Stylus does consider keeping them in, but then decides he's got better places to spend CPs than on a bunch of beakfaced losers, and off they go. Objective claimed for me!
Objectives Scored: Terrify (1)
Objectives Scored: Psychic Supremacy (Thousand Sons, 1)
Quick to secure Supremacy, I zoom the Enlightened over to Objective 2 and move everyone to charge the Swarmlord on Objective 5. Way back at the temple, the Terminator Sorcerer makes his late entrance on Objective 1.
The Psychic Phase proves to be quite an effort. With nine potential powers, you'd think getting three casts would be easy. But between Shadow of the Warp and Kraken's many denials, it's an uphill struggle, even when I switch to softball powers like Smite. In the end, I manage to cast Temporal Manipulation on the Exalted (who's now back up to health), a few Smites on the Swarmlord. The star of the show is the Terminator Sorcerer, who makes up for lost time by casting a super-Smite on the Termagants. He loses two wounds, but blasts the unit down to a single model.
There's not much going on in the Shooting Phase, other than I forgot my two warpflame pistols against the Swarmlord (I always forget pistols) and, surprisingly, the Mucolid Spore did not withstand two lascannons and a krak missile.
I throw everything against the Swarmlord: Daemon Prince, Exalted Sorcerer, Tzaangor Shaman and even the Rubric Marines. There's only two wounds left on the Swarmlord, so the Deamon Prince had better do the business before he can pick on my weaker stuff. My D2 talons wound three times, and Kraken only manages two invulnerable saves - the Tyranid Warlord is slain!
And then some interesting movement: the Rubrics charged the Swarmlord, and so they can be 'activated' to pile in to the nearest enemy model. Just because the unit they charged is no longer there does not negate this, so the Rubrics move 3" towards the Neurothrope, and now their 'combat' is over, they 'consolidate' 3" towards the enemy once again. It doesn't reach the Neurothrope, but I thought I'd highlight a little-appreciated facet of the fight phase that has allowed my lumbering marines an extra 6" of movement!
Elsewhere, the Terminators hack down the Tryannocyst, losing another of their member from the Tyranid Warriors in return.
With Slay the Warlord under my belt, I also get 2D3 points for the other objectives - a grand total of 5! I am still chasing the game, but I am back in the game!
Objectives Scored: Slay the Warlord (1), Supremacy (1), Master the Warp (3)
The Neurothropes turn and flee back to the centre, and the Tyranid Warriors crest the hill, ready to charge the Terminators. Pick on a hapless little Termagant, will they? Time to pay.
First off, a little psychic sniping. It all falls flat, though, I either fail or get denied. And shooting is likewise rubbish. I've been pumping Venom Cannon rounds into that Hellbrute for three turns now and not hurt it once. The Tyranid Prime fires his Spinefists into the Terminators, but it's not really the tool for the job, so it's down to hand-to-hand to finish them. And then hopefully escape before the rest of the Thousand Sons arrive to return the favour, rather the opposite of where I was earlier in the game.
Combat goes well. The Terminators take a battering, but I don't manage to finish their leader, and I end up stuck in melee. Which I fear is exactly where Stylus wants me.
Worse, one of the Neurothropes has moved too far, back into my own deployment area in a (failed) gambit to smite the Terminator Sorcerer, so I can't score that objective either! No points scored!
Objectives Scored: None
My Helbrute and Terminator Sorcerer stand still, while everything else races forward, though the Rubric Marines are still outside of flamer range. I dither about where to put my Daemon Prince: easy kills with the Venomthropes, or take on the last big threat of Tyranid Warriors. I opt for the latter, to reduce Kraken's late-game options.
The Psychic Phase is an interesting one: I really want to Warptime my Rubrics forward, and Kraken knows it. So he gives me a free reign of spells, so he can save his denial for my last spell. I Smite both Neurothropes, wounding one and killing the other, throw around a series of buffs and, when there's nothing left, go for Warptime... which I fail.
The Shooting Phase is more effective that I thought it would be: the Terminator Sorcerer plinks off a few wounds from a Venomthrope, which proves all the encouragement the Helbrute needs to blast away all three with his heavy artillery.
It gets slightly more tense in the Combat Phase: the Deamon Prince rips up two Tyranid Warriors (and doesn't take a scratch back), but the really nerve-wracking fight is the Aspiring Scarab Occult, who needs to kill that last Termagant to claim Blood and Guts. He's been whiffing until now, but he finds his swing and pulps the bug with ease. He promptly gets torn apart by the Tyranid Prime, but the damage is already done.
Objectives Scored: Behind Enemy Lines (1), Blood And Guts (1)
Run! Hide! My Objectives include killing a Character, for example the uninjured and nigh invulnerable Daemon Prince currently murdering my remaining troops, and capturing various bits of ground way out of my reach.
It's a short and dismal turn. The DP shrugs off everything I can throw at him and nearly finishes the Tyranid Warrior pack off to boot. And the sole Neurothrope fluffs his Smite, hangs his head, and waits for a Lascannon to pick him off.
Objectives Scored: none
Objective 3 is a long way away, but Kraken kindly reminds me that I still have the Dark Matter Crystal - that would be a relic I've taken since the codex came out, and *never* remembered to use it. So I gratefully Shazam! my Deamon Prince over to Objective 3 - no points for it at the moment, but if the game continues, it's almost a sure-thing.
In the Psychic Phase, the Terminator Sorcerer seems determined to make up for last time: he casts he second super-Smite (without the Perils this time) that kills the Tyranid Prime, then takes away the Neurothrope's invulnerable save with Death Hex. Without that save, the floating jellyfish is up for grabs and the Terminator finishes off by blasting off half his wounds with the stormbolter.
With just two wounds and no invulnerable save, you'd think the Neurothrope would be easy pickings for my Helbrute, especially as Prescience means he can hardly miss. Well, he manages to defy the odds and fail with all of his shots - no Scour the Skies for me. The Rubrics ease my disappointment by roasting all-but one of the Tyranid Warriors.
Kraken rolls to end the game - and it's over!
Objectives Scored: Linebreaker (1)
After that roaring start, I got overconfident and overextended. Caught in a crossfire in the middle of the board, I squandered my board control and best attackers in that early rush, and let myself get picked apart piecemeal. All my own fault, really, although the Terminators were an excellent distraction that slowed my entire second wave down fatally. All the same, running the Genestealers out of Synapse was inexcusable!
Yes, this turned into something of a textbook Tortoise and Hare match-up (if the tortoise had heavily artillery and the hare had acid for blood). Kraken racked up so many victory points in the early stages that he seemed to get careless about claiming any more. That let me bring in a counter-punch to clean up. Despite the near-tabling, the points were close towards the end, and a VP here and there would have made the difference.
I knew armour would be a problem, and I was right. The armour-busting powers of my Tyrannofex was sadly missed. Or say, some Hive Guard, Exocrines or Biovores, all of which could have hung at the back and thrown death at the Hellbrute or the Rubrics without penalty. Ah, always, the lure for the wallet - it's as though GW have made a game that encourages you to spend money on it whenever you play.
You're telling me. I now have to buy another Rhino to paint blue.
The Swarmlord was a let down, too, although I think I misapplied him to some extend. I think I'd rather have a Flyrant with a decent gun for those points, the extra shooting is too handy. Still, if I'd splashed Swarmie down in the Tyrannocyte (and that was wasted points, paying for an empty transport), he might have been more use.
I always breathe a sigh of relief when a Tyrant list doesn't include a Flyrant. For myself, I was reasonably surprised with the newcomers: the Helbrute didn't have a wealth of targets, but it's a nice threat to keep in your backline. And the Enlightened bring a good bit of manoeuvrability. And I was expecting nothing from the Terminator Sorcerer as a solo deepstrike menace (he's not Exalted-level, so doesn't provide re-rolls, and there's not much merit to having him join the other deepstrikers).
Assuming you can keep them alive long enough to get into range, Warpflamers are excellent. A Deamon Prince with Otherworldly Presence is just unpleasant. And I'm even starting to get the hang of how to use Tzaangors and Scarab Occult - all in all, a solid game for everyone!
Still! Lessons learned, and a proper schooling in board control and caution from my erstwhile foe. Next time, Stylus, next time!
I, Stylus, have been taking a drubbing on the fields of 40k recently. So what better to restore my winning streak than a rematch against the most brutal, anti-psyker, and generally terrifying list in my experience - bring on the hive fleet!
Hello! Hive Mouthpiece Kraken here, translating from the overriding psychic imperative on behalf of my slavering fellows. Having just finished everything in my cupboard for the Tyranids, I wanted to put the latest squads through their paces. The armoured shells of the Thousands Sons may be short on DNA, but they do make lovely nests for our larvae. So that's nice.
Never Mind The Genotype!
It's Fight Night on Skype!
Hive Fleet Afanc
So the newbies here are the full squad of Gargoyles, padding out an Outrider detachment along with the spore mines and Neurothropes. I'm also trying out the Swarmlord for the first time, although to fit him in, I'm leaving my favourite Tyrannofex back in the hatchery.
This means this army is going to struggle a bit with armour, which is unfortunate given I'm basically fighting animated plate mail. Mortal wounds from the psykers and the mines are my best bet, although Swarmie hits like a freight train once he reaches anyone.
The troops can swarm across the midfield, hopefully, but really I'm aiming to rush into melee as soon as possible, backing up the specialist troops with assault firepower from the lesser gribblies. Swarmie can also slingshot nearby troops for a second move in the shooting phase, so first turn charges (especially with the Kraken keyword) are a very real threat.
How well this will work will depend a lot on the battlefield and deployment, as I know Stylus is getting the hang of staying the hell away from early rushes. He's also certainly got the firepower to deal with me at range, particularly from the Terminators and the Warpflamer squad, so I'm going to have to think of something clever to deal with them.
Still, we got the numbers! So there's going to have to be some pretty impressive shooting to take us all down...
This means this army is going to struggle a bit with armour, which is unfortunate given I'm basically fighting animated plate mail. Mortal wounds from the psykers and the mines are my best bet, although Swarmie hits like a freight train once he reaches anyone.
The troops can swarm across the midfield, hopefully, but really I'm aiming to rush into melee as soon as possible, backing up the specialist troops with assault firepower from the lesser gribblies. Swarmie can also slingshot nearby troops for a second move in the shooting phase, so first turn charges (especially with the Kraken keyword) are a very real threat.
How well this will work will depend a lot on the battlefield and deployment, as I know Stylus is getting the hang of staying the hell away from early rushes. He's also certainly got the firepower to deal with me at range, particularly from the Terminators and the Warpflamer squad, so I'm going to have to think of something clever to deal with them.
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| The hairy proxy army. |
Still, we got the numbers! So there's going to have to be some pretty impressive shooting to take us all down...
- The Swarmlord (HQ)
Bone Sabres, Prehensile Pincer Tail
Warlord Trait: Alien Cunning
Psychic power: Onslaught, Psychic Scream
- Tyranid Prime (HQ)
Adrenal Glands, Flesh Hooks, Lash Whip and Bonesword, Spinefists, Toxin Sacs
Relic: Chameleonic Mutation
- Neurothrope (HQ)
Psychic power: The Horror
- Neurothrope (HQ)
Psychic power: Catalyst
- 20 x Genestealers (Troops)
Rending Claws
- 20 x Termagants (Troops)
10 x Devourers, 10 x Fleshborers
- 5 x Tyranid Warriors (Troops)
Adrenal Glands, 4 x Boneswords, 4 x Deathspitter, 1 x Scything Talons, 1 x Venom Cannon
- 3 x Venomthrope (Elite)
- 20 x Gargoyles (Fast)
- Mucolid Spore (Fast)
- 6 x Spore Mines (Fast)
- Tyrannocyte (Dedicated Transport) with 5 x Barbed Stranglers
Bone Sabres, Prehensile Pincer Tail
Warlord Trait: Alien Cunning
Psychic power: Onslaught, Psychic Scream
Adrenal Glands, Flesh Hooks, Lash Whip and Bonesword, Spinefists, Toxin Sacs
Relic: Chameleonic Mutation
Psychic power: The Horror
Psychic power: Catalyst
Rending Claws
10 x Devourers, 10 x Fleshborers
Adrenal Glands, 4 x Boneswords, 4 x Deathspitter, 1 x Scything Talons, 1 x Venom Cannon
Points: 1500 | Battalion + Outrider: 9 CPs | Hive Fleet Kraken trait
The Court of Miracles: Thousand Sons
Interesting. Kraken and I hadn't discussed this before, but it appears we've both gone for infantry-dominated lists and left the heavies at home. Should make for a good match-up. Just As Intended.
My Daemon Prince returns as Warlord. I don't usually make him one, since my standard tactic is to YOLO the big guy forward, and so I don't want to give up the Slay The Warlord points. But there are no hiding places against the Tyranids, so he'll have to get by on his 3++ save.
Speaking of no hiding places, I'm going to do my best to avoid trouble: a large pack of Tzaangor (that I'm going to pop into the Webway), Scarab Occult Terminators for the teleportarium, and a brand new Terminator Sorcerer to keep them company.
I've even broken my rule and borrowed one of the Black Legion's Rhinos to store my Warpflamer Rubrics - they're just too expensive to expose to even small-arms fire. To give myself some extra mobility, I've got the Tzaangor Shaman and Elightened on Discs.
That pretty much leaves the Helbrute, kitted out for long-range fire-support, and a bunch of Cultists for the meat-shield.
Let's burn some gribblies!
- Daemon Prince of Tzeentch (HQ)
Malefic Talons, Wings
Warlord Trait: Otherworldly Presence
Relic: Dark Matter Crystal
Psychic powers: Gaze of Fate, Warptime - Exalted Sorcerer (HQ)
Force Stave, Warpflame Pistol
Psychic powers: Glamour of Tzeentch, Prescience - Sorcerer in Terminator Armour (HQ)
Familiar, Force stave, Inferno Combi-bolter
Psychic powers: Death Hex, Doombolt - 8 x Rubric Marines (Troops)
Force stave, Warpflame Pistol, 7 x Warpflamer
Psychic powers: Temporal Manipulation - 20 x Tzaangors (Troops)
Brayhorn, Tzaangor Blades, - 10 x Chaos Cultists (Troops)
Autoguns - 5 x Scarab Occult Terminators (Elite)
Force stave, 4 x Inferno Combi-bolters, 4 x Power Swords, Soulreaper Cannon, Hellfyre Missile Rack
Psychic powers: Tzeentch's Firestorm - Helbrute (Elite)
Missile launcher, Twin lascannon - Tzaangor Shaman (Elite)
Force Stave
Psychic powers: Weaver of Fates - Tzaangor Enlightened (Fast)
Fatecaster greatbows - Chaos Rhino (Transport)
Combi-bolter
Terrain & Mission
We're playing Targets of Opportunity from Chapter Approved 2017, so have but a single turn to claim any objectives drawn before they go back in the mix. Staying mobile and available to sieze objectives is going to be very important, although (as ever) so is murderating your foe.
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| Here's the field. Objectives placed as follows: 1 in the Parthenon, 2 in the Numinous Occulum, 3 in the middle of the ruined building to the bottom left, 4 to the left hand side of the ruins in the top centre, 5 on the hill in the bottom right, 6 slap bang in the middle of the central riverbed. |
Stylus is hosting, so we've got the scorching sands of his desert wastes to battle upon. I get to pick deployment, but have no strong feelings and settle for a dice roll. Search and Destroy is what we get, opposing quarters of the field with a big 9" radius circle clear in the middle of the table.
Eschewing anything subtle, I go for a huge pack near my forward edge. Fast elements like Genestealers and Gargoyles at the front, spore mines and Warriors at the rear, Swarmlord in the middle pounding his chest like a silverback.
As I deploy, I can see that Stylus is keeping a strong reserve force in the warp for later arrival, so I decide to go heavy on the board and try and finish his forward element off before the rest turn up. The only deep striker for me is the Tyrannocyte, and bizarrely, it's coming in empty. Waste of potential? Maybe, but it can still grab an objective and shoot, and that's hopefully all I need it for.
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| Final deployment |
As planned, I stuff as much as I can into reserve: Tzaangor, Scarab Occult and Terminator Sorcerer are off the board, so I won't see them unto Turn 2 (unless I really need to reinforce my lines). The Rubrics go into the Rhino, which ends up hugging the backline with the Daemon Prince, Helbrute, Exalted Sorcerer, Tzaangor Shaman and Enlightened.
Only the poor Cultists get pushed forward as a screen - it's fair to say that I'm playing for the counter-punch!
Having easily outdeployed my hordes, Stylus gets the first turn. Until I steal it! Ha harr!
Tyranids - Turn 1
And we're off to the races!
Of my first trio of objectives, the two I can do are to first sieze and then defend objective 1. That's right inside my deployment zone, in the ruined temple, and suits me fine! The entire army therefore runs away from it at full speed (which, thanks to Kraken advancing tactics, is pretty full). Then I drop the Tyrannocyte down in the temple, safe in the knowledge I can squat on some safe points for a bit.
The rest of the turn is quiet, as I'm mostly out of range. Two cultists bite it to Venom Cannon fire from the Tyrannids, which is spectacular overkill, but Stylus is very sensibly staying as far from me as he possibly can for now. I was hoping for some turn 1 charges, but I fail to get Onslaught off on the Gargoyles, who might have been able to reach and tie people up, so I hang back for now. Catalyst on the Swarmlord just in case the Hellbrute gets cocky, though...
Objectives Scored: Seize Objective 1 (1)
Thousand Sons - Turn 1
My first turn of the cards do not bode well: Secure Objective 1 and Secure Objective 6 - both out of reach and surrounded by Tyranids. I also get Big Game Hunter - theoretically possible with the Swarmlord, although I'd have to be very lucky to get him in one-turn.
So with no objectives to chase, I dress my lines and boost where I can. The Cultists move forward to screen the choke-point, and the flying Tzaangor scoot over the Ophidian Archway to get eyes on the Swarmlord.
The Psychic Phase is something of a stumble: the only noteworthy spells are getting Prescience and Weaver of Fates on the Enlightened.
In the Shooting Phase, I'm itching to try our the Enlightened's funky Fatecaster Bows: six shots that autowound on 6s, but with the modifiers from both the Shaman and Prescience, I'll be forcing saving throws from the Swarmlord on 4+. Naturally, I roll five 3s, but Kraken does fail two of his save as compensation.
When it comes to the big guns, my Helbrute lets loose on the Swarmlord. There's enough firepower in there to wipe him out, but two shots miss (maybe I put Prescience on the wrong unit) and the final one fails against the invulnerable save.
I can't even remember if I used my Cultist's autoguns. Maybe they were too busy tying white flags to the barrels.
So no victory points and no kills - a bright begining!
Objectives Scored: Defend Objective 1 (Tyranids, 2)
Tyranids - Turn 2
New objectives are to kill some Big Game and a Character, then to defend Objective 6, which is handily right in my path of advance. Right, time to get stuck in!
To Stylus's horror but not surprise, the Cultists are immediately overrun as the Gargoyles advance first up to them, then over their heads thanks to the Swarmlord. Everything else steams up, and I'm now in range for psychic powers, so I slap Catalyst on the Gargoyles, Horror on the Hellbrute and smite most of the rest of the Cultists out of the way.
Shooting is fairly tame, as I'm still mostly short, but a pair of Tzaangor Enlightened get Deathspattered by the Warriors. Then I let rip with the Gargolyes at close range, splitting fire on the nearby Sorcerer and the Hellbrute too, and I add the Scorch Bugs strategem in to help them hurt their targets.
It goes quite well! Two wounds off the sorcerer and a scratch on the Hellbrute. I'm feeling lucky, so I go for Single Minded Annhilation too, a second Strategem to let the unit shoot again. Not so good this time, though, the Hellbrute shrugs off the beetle fire and I only get a single wound more on the Sorcerer. Probably should have concentrated on him, in retrospect.
In the charge phase, the Gargoyles flock carefully round the Hellbrute in such a way as to prevent the nearby characters intervening. Which is just what I want - they'll take a while to hack through, and keep the gunline busy until the others arrive. The Hellbrute even loses a wound to Gargoyle drool, and thrashes about ineffectually in return. Splendid!
The Genestealers are a bit too far out to make a long bomb charge, I think. But Stylus disagrees, and coaxes me into making the roll. He regrets this when I make it in!
(Typical. I'm a much better tactician when it comes to my opponent's army.)
And then fling another three CPs to the wind to let them fight twice. The Rhino is torn to shreds, the explosion kills three of the passengers, and I've got a big pack of happy 'stealers right up where I want them.
I roll eight dice for the disembarking Rubrics and get four 1s! With a CP re-roll, I manage to save one, but I've just lost 100pts worth of crucial firepower because I roll like a chump.
Objectives Scored: Big Game Hunter (1), First Blood (1)
Thousand Sons - Turn 2
My new orders are much more useful: No Prisoners (kill things), Psychic Supremacy (successfully Deny the Witch) and Defend Objective 5 (which is on my doorstep).
I need to start clearing away this first Tyranid wave, so I'd better drop the hammer quick. My Helbrute edges back out of combat, and that's him done for the turn. The Exalted Sorcerer moves within handflamer range of the Gargoyles, while the half-squad of Rubics do the same. The Shaman flies downfield to welcome the imminent Tzaangor, accompanied by the lone surviving Enlightened. The Daemon Prince steps up to the Genestealer pack, hoping he's not the only one who'll be facing them.
To close the Movement Phase, the Tzaangor drop down behind the Genestealers, and the Scarab Occult land in the centre, equidistant from the Neurothrope and Termagants.
The Psychic Phase is a bit sketchy (as I'm now within Shadow of the Warp range): I Warptime the Tzaangor Shaman closer to his flock, cast Glamour of Tzeentch on the Daemon Prince and recover a few wounds on the Exalted with Temporal Manipulation. I also get Gaze of Fate, which is very handy, as rerolls will improve my odds for the charge. A few Smites here and there take up the rest of my powers.
In the Shooting Phase, I turn all my warpflamers on the Gargoyles, using Veterans of the Long War to make extra sure of my kills. With help from the Exalted's handflamer, the whole unit gets reduced to a handful. The Enlightened plinks a wound off the Mucolid Spore and the Scarab Occult hose down half the Termagants.
Off to the Assault Phase: the most important charge I need to make is the Tzaangor into the Genestealers and, with a fortuitous reroll, I make it in. The Daemon Prince joins them, while the Exalted Sorcerer and Enlightened go to mop up the charred survivors of the Gargoyles.
The Scarab Occult also make their charge. I chickened out of facing the Termagant's Devourer overwatch (possibly a mistake there, given my armour could weather it, but I've had bad luck with Terminators on the charge) and just went for the Neurothrope - although I did extend my charge so I could tie up the Termagants and shut down their shooting.
In combat with the Genestealers, the Tzaangor use Veterans of the Long War (somehow, I'm not complaining) and Kraken counters with Caustic Blood. Between some under-performing attacks from both beastmen and Daemon Prince, plus that damn acid blood, it ends with half the Tzaangor unit slain, and all-but six Genestealers dead. The bugs are out of synapse range, and so melt away, but I spend 2 more CPs to avoid the morale check.
I could have positioned my Tzaangor charge to cover Objective 5, but I needed as many attacks as possible against the Genestealers, and I wasn't confident that they'd last two rounds on it.
Elsewhere, the Exalted rips up the last of the Gargoyles and the Scarab Occult whiff against the Neurothrope. With two units killed, I'm off the blocks in the victory points, although if I had managed to get another it would have been D3. I may come to regret not picking on the Termagants.
Objectives Scored: No Prisoners (1)
Objectives Scored: Defend Objective 6 (Tyranids, 2)
Tyranids - Turn 3
Hmm, I'm suddenly a bit thin on the ground. Worse, my new objectives are mostly land grabs - the Hive Mind simultaneously wants me on Objectives 3 and 5, with tactical priority on the latter. Well, not impossible, but it'll be a stretch. I can also pick up points for getting something to fail a morale check, which is far more likely.
The Terminators, in the meantime, are a big problem. I don't have much in terms of weaponry that can deal with them, and weight of numbers is looking thin. Apart from Spore Mines! So I withdraw the remaining termagants and throw the Tyrannocyst towards the Termies instead, to soak overwatch.
Elsewhere, the Swarmlord and his loyal Neurothrope/Venomthrope bodyguard slope towards objective 5. I really ought to sit on it for the VPs, but I also want to get Swarmie into combat. Preferably with the Daemon Prince, who I have no other strong counter to. Boosting myself with Catalyst (which I later forget about, of course, I realise now!), I find my other powers mostly shut down by the Thousand Sons, and dither about who to charge and whether I should.
I get my second VP for a successful Deny the Witch test - given the odds of me doing that were likely, I now wonder if Kraken would have been better advised to not cast anything this turn and deny me my denial.
While I fret over that, I at least send the Tyrannocyst into the Terminators. Its shooting against them was worthless, and I'm not expecting much from it in combat other than keeping them busy. But it's worth the cover when the Spore Mines breeze in and explode, ending half the Scarab squad straight off.
That's what they do? Note to self: shoot, shoot, shoot the Spore Mines.
Alas, the remainers hack the Cyst up quite badly, but that's not the end of the world.
The Swarmlord takes a deep breath and charges, aiming for both Daemon Prince and Tzaangor. He only reaches the beastmen though, and I'm out of CPs for any rerolls. Ah well! He butchers a bunch of them happily, taking a wound in return, but it's not great. Alone and surrounded, I can't see next turn being kind to him.
The Tzaangor obligingly melt away in the Morale phase, though. Stylus does consider keeping them in, but then decides he's got better places to spend CPs than on a bunch of beakfaced losers, and off they go. Objective claimed for me!
Objectives Scored: Terrify (1)
Objectives Scored: Psychic Supremacy (Thousand Sons, 1)
Thousand Sons - Turn 3
Dead bugs litter the ground, and my castle is still untouched, but I'm still behind on VPs by a country mile. The cards help me out: Master The Warp should be a gimme for Thousand Sons and there's D3 points to be had. Supremacy is actually possible, given my manoeuvrability (not often I say that about Thousand Sons!), and I get Domination which, as ever, is useless.
Quick to secure Supremacy, I zoom the Enlightened over to Objective 2 and move everyone to charge the Swarmlord on Objective 5. Way back at the temple, the Terminator Sorcerer makes his late entrance on Objective 1.
The Psychic Phase proves to be quite an effort. With nine potential powers, you'd think getting three casts would be easy. But between Shadow of the Warp and Kraken's many denials, it's an uphill struggle, even when I switch to softball powers like Smite. In the end, I manage to cast Temporal Manipulation on the Exalted (who's now back up to health), a few Smites on the Swarmlord. The star of the show is the Terminator Sorcerer, who makes up for lost time by casting a super-Smite on the Termagants. He loses two wounds, but blasts the unit down to a single model.
There's not much going on in the Shooting Phase, other than I forgot my two warpflame pistols against the Swarmlord (I always forget pistols) and, surprisingly, the Mucolid Spore did not withstand two lascannons and a krak missile.
I throw everything against the Swarmlord: Daemon Prince, Exalted Sorcerer, Tzaangor Shaman and even the Rubric Marines. There's only two wounds left on the Swarmlord, so the Deamon Prince had better do the business before he can pick on my weaker stuff. My D2 talons wound three times, and Kraken only manages two invulnerable saves - the Tyranid Warlord is slain!
And then some interesting movement: the Rubrics charged the Swarmlord, and so they can be 'activated' to pile in to the nearest enemy model. Just because the unit they charged is no longer there does not negate this, so the Rubrics move 3" towards the Neurothrope, and now their 'combat' is over, they 'consolidate' 3" towards the enemy once again. It doesn't reach the Neurothrope, but I thought I'd highlight a little-appreciated facet of the fight phase that has allowed my lumbering marines an extra 6" of movement!
Elsewhere, the Terminators hack down the Tryannocyst, losing another of their member from the Tyranid Warriors in return.
With Slay the Warlord under my belt, I also get 2D3 points for the other objectives - a grand total of 5! I am still chasing the game, but I am back in the game!
Objectives Scored: Slay the Warlord (1), Supremacy (1), Master the Warp (3)
Tyranids - Turn 4
Eep. I feel like I'm floundering here, all of a sudden. There's not much of the army left, and my objective draw is rather confused. The Hive Mind wants me to Advance and Hold the Line at the same time, and Kill some Witches while I'm about it. Well, that's possible at least.
The Neurothropes turn and flee back to the centre, and the Tyranid Warriors crest the hill, ready to charge the Terminators. Pick on a hapless little Termagant, will they? Time to pay.
First off, a little psychic sniping. It all falls flat, though, I either fail or get denied. And shooting is likewise rubbish. I've been pumping Venom Cannon rounds into that Hellbrute for three turns now and not hurt it once. The Tyranid Prime fires his Spinefists into the Terminators, but it's not really the tool for the job, so it's down to hand-to-hand to finish them. And then hopefully escape before the rest of the Thousand Sons arrive to return the favour, rather the opposite of where I was earlier in the game.
Combat goes well. The Terminators take a battering, but I don't manage to finish their leader, and I end up stuck in melee. Which I fear is exactly where Stylus wants me.
Worse, one of the Neurothropes has moved too far, back into my own deployment area in a (failed) gambit to smite the Terminator Sorcerer, so I can't score that objective either! No points scored!
Objectives Scored: None
Thousand Sons - Turn 4
The Tyranids are on the ropes, and I need to push on! My orders agree, and give me Behind Enemy Lines (my Terminator Sorcerer just needs to stay put), Blood And Guts (kill something in melee) and Advance (my backline Helbrute is going to stop that one).
My Helbrute and Terminator Sorcerer stand still, while everything else races forward, though the Rubric Marines are still outside of flamer range. I dither about where to put my Daemon Prince: easy kills with the Venomthropes, or take on the last big threat of Tyranid Warriors. I opt for the latter, to reduce Kraken's late-game options.
The Psychic Phase is an interesting one: I really want to Warptime my Rubrics forward, and Kraken knows it. So he gives me a free reign of spells, so he can save his denial for my last spell. I Smite both Neurothropes, wounding one and killing the other, throw around a series of buffs and, when there's nothing left, go for Warptime... which I fail.
The Shooting Phase is more effective that I thought it would be: the Terminator Sorcerer plinks off a few wounds from a Venomthrope, which proves all the encouragement the Helbrute needs to blast away all three with his heavy artillery.
It gets slightly more tense in the Combat Phase: the Deamon Prince rips up two Tyranid Warriors (and doesn't take a scratch back), but the really nerve-wracking fight is the Aspiring Scarab Occult, who needs to kill that last Termagant to claim Blood and Guts. He's been whiffing until now, but he finds his swing and pulps the bug with ease. He promptly gets torn apart by the Tyranid Prime, but the damage is already done.
Objectives Scored: Behind Enemy Lines (1), Blood And Guts (1)
Tyranids - Turn 5
Run! Hide! My Objectives include killing a Character, for example the uninjured and nigh invulnerable Daemon Prince currently murdering my remaining troops, and capturing various bits of ground way out of my reach.
It's a short and dismal turn. The DP shrugs off everything I can throw at him and nearly finishes the Tyranid Warrior pack off to boot. And the sole Neurothrope fluffs his Smite, hangs his head, and waits for a Lascannon to pick him off.
Objectives Scored: none
Thousand Sons - Turn 5
I've got the lead, but I can't let it slip. My objectives are Scour The Skies (and there is a floating Neurothrope left), Ritual Slaughter (that won't happen: there aren't nine foes left to kill), and Defend Objective 3.
Objective 3 is a long way away, but Kraken kindly reminds me that I still have the Dark Matter Crystal - that would be a relic I've taken since the codex came out, and *never* remembered to use it. So I gratefully Shazam! my Deamon Prince over to Objective 3 - no points for it at the moment, but if the game continues, it's almost a sure-thing.
In the Psychic Phase, the Terminator Sorcerer seems determined to make up for last time: he casts he second super-Smite (without the Perils this time) that kills the Tyranid Prime, then takes away the Neurothrope's invulnerable save with Death Hex. Without that save, the floating jellyfish is up for grabs and the Terminator finishes off by blasting off half his wounds with the stormbolter.
With just two wounds and no invulnerable save, you'd think the Neurothrope would be easy pickings for my Helbrute, especially as Prescience means he can hardly miss. Well, he manages to defy the odds and fail with all of his shots - no Scour the Skies for me. The Rubrics ease my disappointment by roasting all-but one of the Tyranid Warriors.
Kraken rolls to end the game - and it's over!
Objectives Scored: Linebreaker (1)
Final Scores 10 : 8 - a win for the Thousand Sons!
Bolt of Changing Room
Well, shucks, I stuffed that up somewhat.After that roaring start, I got overconfident and overextended. Caught in a crossfire in the middle of the board, I squandered my board control and best attackers in that early rush, and let myself get picked apart piecemeal. All my own fault, really, although the Terminators were an excellent distraction that slowed my entire second wave down fatally. All the same, running the Genestealers out of Synapse was inexcusable!
Yes, this turned into something of a textbook Tortoise and Hare match-up (if the tortoise had heavily artillery and the hare had acid for blood). Kraken racked up so many victory points in the early stages that he seemed to get careless about claiming any more. That let me bring in a counter-punch to clean up. Despite the near-tabling, the points were close towards the end, and a VP here and there would have made the difference.
I knew armour would be a problem, and I was right. The armour-busting powers of my Tyrannofex was sadly missed. Or say, some Hive Guard, Exocrines or Biovores, all of which could have hung at the back and thrown death at the Hellbrute or the Rubrics without penalty. Ah, always, the lure for the wallet - it's as though GW have made a game that encourages you to spend money on it whenever you play.
You're telling me. I now have to buy another Rhino to paint blue.
The Swarmlord was a let down, too, although I think I misapplied him to some extend. I think I'd rather have a Flyrant with a decent gun for those points, the extra shooting is too handy. Still, if I'd splashed Swarmie down in the Tyrannocyte (and that was wasted points, paying for an empty transport), he might have been more use.
I always breathe a sigh of relief when a Tyrant list doesn't include a Flyrant. For myself, I was reasonably surprised with the newcomers: the Helbrute didn't have a wealth of targets, but it's a nice threat to keep in your backline. And the Enlightened bring a good bit of manoeuvrability. And I was expecting nothing from the Terminator Sorcerer as a solo deepstrike menace (he's not Exalted-level, so doesn't provide re-rolls, and there's not much merit to having him join the other deepstrikers).
Assuming you can keep them alive long enough to get into range, Warpflamers are excellent. A Deamon Prince with Otherworldly Presence is just unpleasant. And I'm even starting to get the hang of how to use Tzaangors and Scarab Occult - all in all, a solid game for everyone!
Still! Lessons learned, and a proper schooling in board control and caution from my erstwhile foe. Next time, Stylus, next time!
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