Woffboot XIII: T'au vs Militarum Tempestus and Inquisition

Round two for me, and this time I'm up against the Greater Good - Kas and the T'Pau Sept!

Both our armies have featured already in other reports (here and here if you want links), so I'll slap the lists down the bottom of this post and then get on with it. 

We were playing Targets of Opportunity, so each objective you draw has to be scored that turn. I'm going in hoping my speed and sky drops will give me an edge against the more static T'au gun line, but I know he's got some tough deep strikers and fast drones too. Could go either way!

Second game in the desert for me. Kas gets to pick the deployment zones, and I'm entirely unshocked when he takes the edge with the tower in it. And even less so when he turns it into T'au Central Plaza, building a huge stack of shooty infantry and support characters on the top floor!

Fourth floor - Childrens' Wear, Kitchen Ware, and Res'T'au'rant

Knowing (or certainly hoping) I've got the first turn, I opt for a fairly cocky deployment. The Inquisitors and their acolytes in the Valkyrie, small scion squads in the Tauroxes and as much as possible set up in reactive deep strike position, ready to grab objectives. The Vindicare has a good set of line of sights from the woods at the back, and knowing this, Kas puts all his other suits in as much cover as possible. 

No stealing, so we get right to it!

Scions Turn 1 

My first objective draw is all based round grabbing and defending number 4, which is just north of the square building down the right-hand side there. Objective number 3, the other one I'm told to get, is somewhere under a mound of T'au, so that's impossible. But the rest is doable, so I swoop forward with the Valkyrie and try and get the Inquisitors to grab it.

But disaster! I can't quite reach it and still get the Valk as far as I want it to go. No way can the T'au stop me, especially when I murder the nearby Breacher team with a mega-smite, but the cards vanish at the end of this turn, so I've over-committed to nothing.

You can just see Objective 4 over there in the corner, so I must be misremembering something. Or this is a picture from slightly later on, I was definitely short on this turn.

The other 'clever' reason for dropping everyone there was to use the Officer of the Fleet's artillery strike ability on the tower full of T'au. Remembering this as 'every unit within 6" of a point', I'm rubbing my hands with glee and wondering in which order to kill all the units up there. Then I actually bother reading the ability, which reveals it hits a single unit. Two Strike Team members chow down on this, but it's an anticlimax.

Still, the Vindicare picks off a Remora drone in a single hit, and I pay 2 CPs to hang on to the 'get Objective 4' card, knowing I can do it next time. Not a terrible first turn, but not the payday I was hoping for despite getting First Strike!

T'au Turn 1

The T'au's answer to this is to push forward with their Coldstar and Remora, ambushing the Gatling Taurox and very nearly murdering it - it's left looking like a sieve, clinging to life on a single wound.

The Broadsides lope out of cover to get a decent line of sight down the board, but this movement costs them. Despite everything on the entire T'au gunline lighting the Valkyrie up like an illuminated Santa's Sled, it shrugs off the majority of the firepower (even some of their special guided missiles) and takes a mere handful of wounds! This is more than I bargained for, I'd unloaded it early thinking it would go down fast, but I'm obviously delighted.

This also means no First Strike for the T'au, and although I can't remember what their objectives were, I think I took a small early lead here.

Scions Turn 2

Well, better capitalise on that lead. The Gatling Taurox unloads the Hotshot Scions as the Inquisitors pour forwards, thinking that I can eventually assault the tower and beat the fishheads in melee. I'm also lucky enough to draw Defend 5, which is in my backline underneath the Commissar Lord, Daemonhost and Ogryn. Quite the boon!

The Valkyrie, surprised to still be alive, hurtles forward into the backlines. It's bound to carry on attracting attention here, and I'd far rather it got killed than a nice Taurox. None of its shots hit, of course, but if it somehow lives another turn it can hover and shoot for a small bonus. 

Dominate is a lovely power, although not always as strong as you want it. The Enforcer at the back suddenly decides to shoot one of his mates in the neck, but luckily the Drones are having none of it and protect him. At the same time, the Xenos acolytes with storm bolters start plugging away at the drones, picking off one or two. 

The other Remora gets headshot by the Vindicare, despite not actually having a head. Then the Hotshot gunners light up the Coldstar Commander and nearly do for him too. So far, so good, and my lead slowly increases as I capture objective 4, the card I held from the last turn. 

T'au Turn 2

Mr Coldstar runs home to his Technical Drones in the backline, to get healed up. To take his place up in my grill comes a big deep strike of the other Enforcer suit along with the Crisis Team and their drones, who are very determined not to let the Vindicare carry on his reign of terror.


The Valkyrie soaks up a third round of fire before crashing, but I'm more than happy at this - it's done a fine job as a distraction, and I've had a good run on board control by this point.

The Vindicare proves very hard to shift. The Crisis suit and drones unload all they've got, knocking a single wound off him. You can't wound what you can't see!

Even the camera couldn't catch him.

Scions Turn 3

Ignore the Valkyrie back there, it was dead by now

Now that I know where the T'au have landed, I can stick my own strike teams in. I surround the Crisis teams with Badger and the rest of the Scions, the Cannon Taurox heads back to offer fire support as the remaining Scions jump out, and the Commissar takes his tiny group towards the Enforcer in the back line.

Determined to keep the pressure up and split the T'au fire, I also drop a melta squad in the T'au deployment zone, where there's a tiny open space at the back.

It's a good turn. Repairing the Gatling Taurox with Field Repairs knocks it up a bracket, and between it and the Hotshot Volley guns, as well as the Scion groups, I roundly whip the Crisis teams. But the same woods that saved the Vindicare's neck also protect the suits, so although I kill almost all the drones, I only get a single wound through to the actual targets.

The Daemonhost gets blown up as it charges in against the drop Enforcer, but the Ogryn makes it in past the T'au overwatch, screening for the Commissar Lord. Between the two of them, they beat the big ochre commander to a thick clay.

There was a steady drip of VPs in here somewhere, but I forget what - we were holding more or less level, though I had a small lead still. It wouldn't take much to flip that, though.

T'au Turn 3

Clever lot, the T'au. This was the turn Kas pulled out his Kauyon ability, and suddenly all the heavy guns ran over to where they could see my Inquisitor assault party. Then the Coldstar guy swishes forward again, leaping on to an objective on the cantina building.

The Crisis Team are determined, and now they're in flamer range, the Vindicare vanishes in a blaze of fire. The Coldstar finishes off the Gatling Taurox, then the newly-placed gunline opens up on the Inquisitors and the nearby Scion teams.

It's not pretty - the Terminator Inquisitor fatally intercepts some rail rounds. Markerlights and Pulse fire take out a unit of acolytes and the nearby Scion team, and missiles put some wounds here and there. Although I've got a lot of presence left, it feels like the T'au are gaining on me here.

Scions Turn 4

There was no Gatling Taurox by this point, I fear

The melta squad in the backline run up to the drone marksman and melt him. Camped in the trees, they ought to put up some resistance to the T'au shooting, and at the very least will force Kas to split his fire. Surely he won't waste Rail rounds on grunts?

Elsewhere, the Crisis team prove remarkably fire-resistant. Everything I can throw at them, from Cannon Taurox to plasma fire, is stymied by the woods. As the smoke clears, there are still two of them left, which is two more than I'd hoped for.

I'm still slowly garnering points, though. Killing something by shooting it (the marksman) and grabbing an objective somewhere or other, I think it was.

T'au Turn 4

Now, however, I'm really in their sights. The Cannon Taurox gets perforated by Rail rounds from the Broadsides, and the hail of seeker missiles wipes everyone but the last Inquisitor from the assault group. The Crisis team mow through some nearby Scions, the Coldstar guy gets started on the Volley gun squad (not on this map, sadly), and overall I'm suddenly looking very thin on the ground.

Kas is also slowly racking up VPs from a variety of sources. The T'au card that gives him points for splitting my army up, for example - he scores simply because I've got units near his backline and my own at the same time! Cursed Xenos cunning!

Scions Turn 5

I try to consolidate, surrounding the Crisis team and concentrating fire on them. The last one goes down to a single wound, but is somehow still alive. Everything else tries to hide from the seeker missiles, which is of course a huge waste of time, but there's really not much else to do - at least I hide on an objective for a few more VPs.

The Coldstar Commander takes a few wounds from an Ogryn frag bomb and Commissar Bleeth's trusty bolt pistol. Given it's covered in melta guns, I suspect the return fire is going to be painful.

Going into what could be the final turn, I have a tiny lead. Can I preserve it? Well, that depends on what Kas draws!

T'au Turn 5

The T'au finally come out of the tower, hoping for a few more turns to start grabbing ground. Alas, the last draw isn't especially kind, and although I'm sure Kas scored something or other, he doesn't quite pull even with me.

As the last of my Inquisitors dies and the dice settle, it turns out that was the last turn after all.

I've won!

Result: 13-11, a Minor Victory to Scions

I'm very happy with this, obviously. Keeping the T'au on the backline for the game meant I had a fairly free run of the board, and that kept me ahead on points. It all boiled down to getting lucky draws when I needed them, of course, and another turn or two would probably have seen the shooting wipe me out.

Without the lucky ablative Valkyrie, it might have been a different story! But the T'au did seem to struggle a bit with its heavy armour, somehow. Various melta and rail guns should have done for it - it must have been watching the Bloat Drone in the next room and taking notes.

So far, I'm placed third in the runnings. The last game, against my old foe Stylus, could count for a lot. A good win might boost me into the heights of second place...

Lists

T'AU

Battalion - Bork'an Sept

• Cadre Fireblade (HQ)
  Markerlight
• Commander in XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit (HQ)
  4 x Missile pod, 2 x MV7 Marker Drone
• 5 x Breacher Team (Troops)
  Shas'ui, Markerlight, Pulse blaster
• 5 x Strike Team (Troops)
  Shas'ui, Markerlight, Pulse blaster
• 5 x Strike Team (Troops)
  Shas'ui, Markerlight, Pulse blaster
• DX6 'Remora' Stealth Drone w/ Seeker missile (Flyer)
  2 x Long-barrelled burst cannon, Seeker missile
• DX6 'Remora' Stealth Drone w/ Seeker missile (Flyer)
  2 x Long-barrelled burst cannon, Seeker missile

Vanguard: Vior'la Sept

• Commander in XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit (HQ)2 x Fusion blaster, Missile pod, Shield generator
• DX-4 Technical Drones (Elite)
• Firesight Marksman (Elite)
• XV8 Crisis Battlesuits (Elite)
  3 x MV1 Gun Drone, 2 x MV4 Shield Drone, MV7 Marker Drone
  Shas'ui - Cyclic ion blaster, Flamer, Shield generator
  Shas'ui - Flamer, Fusion blaster, Shield generator
  Shas'ui - Drone controller, Flamer, Plasma rifle, XV8-02 Crisis Iridium battlesuit

Outrider: T'au Sept

• Commander in XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit (HQ)Advanced targeting system, 2 x Cyclic ion blaster, Fusion blaster, 2 x MV4 Shield Drones, Vectored manoeuvring thrusters
• Darkstrider (HQ)
• 5 x Pathfinder Team (Fast)
  Shas'ui, Markerlight
• Tactical Drones (Fast)
  2 x MV1 Gun Drone, MV4 Shield Drone, MV7 Marker Drone
• Tactical Drones (Fast)
  2 x MV1 Gun Drone, MV4 Shield Drone, MV7 Marker Drone
• XV88 Broadside Battlesuits (Heavy)
  3x MV8 Missile Drone
  Shas'ui - 2 x Smart missile system, Heavy rail rifle, Seeker missile, Shield generator
  Shas'ui - 2 x Smart missile system, Drone controller, Heavy rail rifle

Points: 1500 | Battalion + Vanguard + Outrider: 10 CPs

SCIONS

+ HQ +

• Colonel 'Bunny' Badger - Tempestor Prime: Display Astra Militarum Orders, Power maul, Relic: Kurov's Aquila, Tempestus Command Rod, Tempestus Drop Force
• Commissar Colderine - Lord Commissar: Grand Strategist, Plasma pistol, Power fist, Power sword, Warlord

+ Troops +

• Militarum Tempestus Scions: Tempestus Drop Force 4x Scion
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Hot-shot Volley Gun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Hot-shot Volley Gun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Hot-shot Volley Gun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Hot-shot Volley Gun
• . Scion w/ Vox-caster: Vox-caster
• . Tempestor: Bolt pistol, Chainsword
• Militarum Tempestus Scions: Tempestus Drop Force
• . 2x Scion
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Grenade Launcher
• . Tempestor: Chainsword, Hot-shot Laspistol
• Militarum Tempestus Scions: Tempestus Drop Force
• . 2x Scion
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Meltagun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Flamer
• . Tempestor: Chainsword, Hot-shot Laspistol
• Militarum Tempestus Scions: Tempestus Drop Force
• . Scion
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
• . Scion w/ Vox-caster: Vox-caster
• . Tempestor: Chainsword, Hot-shot Laspistol
• Militarum Tempestus Scions: Tempestus Drop Force
• . Scion
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Meltagun
• . Scion w/ Special Weapon: Meltagun
• . Scion w/ Vox-caster: Vox-caster
• . Tempestor: Chainsword, Hot-shot Laspistol

+ Elites +

• Militarum Tempestus Command Squad]: Tempestus Drop Force
• . Tempestus Scion: Hot-Shot Lasgun
• . Tempestus Scion w/ Medi-pack: Medi-pack
• . Tempestus Scion w/ Platoon Standard: Platoon Standard
• . Tempestus Scion w/ Vox-caster: Vox-caster
• Officer of the Fleet 
• Ogryn Bodyguard - Bullgryn Maul, Bullgryn Plate, Slabshield
• Tech-Priest Enginseer 

+ Flyer +

• Tempestus Drop Force, Imperial Ingrid - Valkyrie: Hellstrike Missiles, Lascannon, 2x Heavy Bolters: 2x Heavy bolter

+ Dedicated Transport +

• Brunhilde - Taurox Prime: Taurox Battle Cannon, Two Autocannons
• Sigurny - Taurox Prime: Storm Bolter, Taurox Gatling Cannon, Two Hot-shot Volley Guns

++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Inquisition)

+ HQ +

• Inquisitor Hurous de Vaulot - Inquisitor with Force sword, Inferno pistol, Ordo Xenos. Psyker: Terrify
• Inquisitor Volx Mardi - Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in Terminator Armour, Nemesis Daemon Hammer, Storm bolter. Psyker: Dominate

+ Elites +

• 1 x Daemonhost 
• de Vaulots's Acolytes - 3 Ordo Malleus with Chainsword, Laspistol/Chainsword, Plasma pistol/Bolt pistol, Plasma gun
• Mardi's Acolytes - 3 Ordo Xenos with Laspistol, Storm bolter