Eaters of the Dead: Tyranids vs Necrons

Necrons! They're the new big bads for the new edition. But never once have I, Kraken, faced them on the field of honour. Until now! 

 

Step forward General Rapid and his large and well-established dynasty, hosting tonight's Skype Fight!

 

Afanc Away Team

To face the deathless host, I'm borrowing Rapid's Tyranids. Although he's apologetic that I don't have the same variety as the home hive might, he's actually got a very solid army all ready to hand. 

 

Twin Broodlords with twenty Genestealers available, which I break into a larger pack and a smaller pack. Then twenty each of Termagants and Hormagaunts, so plenty of bodies on the field. A Trygon, upgraded as a Prime for this list, with extra speed and staying power from relics and adaptations. And finally, my own favourite, the Tyrannofex, a lethal shooter that's very hard to take down. 

 

Running this as Behemoth today, because a big pack of chargers can in theory inflict some good mortal wound damage, but mostly because a lot of charge rerolls is always good! 

 

As the Termagants with Devourers were marked out by giving them blu-tack blobs, this hive has been christened after the Swedish for that stuff. This is Hive Fleet Kludd. 

 

NB - these lists were chosen under 8th Ed costs. We kept them as they were even after Battlescribe updated, we'd both have been about 150 points over in new money. 

 

Behemoth Tyranid Battalion, 1000 points

 

·                                         HQ - Broodlord with Catalyst 

·                                         HQ - Broodlord with Unstoppable Hunger

·                                         Troops - 5 Genestealers

·                                         Troops - 12 Genestealers, three with acid maws

·                                         Troops - 20 Termagants, 8 with Devourers

·                                         Troops - 20 Hormagaunts

·                                         Heavy Support - Tyrannofex with acid spray and spine banks, toxin sacs

·                                         Heavy Support - Trygon Prime with triple Massive Scything Talons, toxinspike, Warlord, Arachnocyte Gland relic and Dermic Symbiosis adaptation

 

Illuminate Me

Rapid is bringing the tremendous new Illuminor Szeras out to play, and the tall stiltsman has a pretty full cohort backing him. 

 

I don't know what scares me most, the big troop squads with horde-killing guns, their flying medi-tank or the speed and hitting power of the Wraiths and Destroyers. No, wait, I know, it's the fact that I'm going to have to kill all of them three or more times each. 

 

Their Dynastic trait is that of being Aggressively Territorial, so they shoot better if they stand still. Looks like a gunline to me...

 

Necron Battalion, 1000 points

 

·                                         HQ - Illuminor Szeras with all his gear, Warlord with Immortal Pride

·                                         HQ - Overlord with Staff of Light and Veil of Darkness relic

·                                         Troops - 10 Immortals with Tesla Carbines

·                                         Troops - 10 Warriors with Gauss Flayers

·                                         Troops - 12 Warriors with Gauss Flayers

·                                         Elites - 3 Canoptek Wraiths 

·                                         Elites - 3 Destroyers with Gauss Cannons

·                                         Dedicated Transport - Ghost Ark

 

Mission and Terrain

We're playing Forward Push! Go and take your opponent's deployment zone, is the suggestion from High Command. 

 

And here's the marvellous battlefield, a splendid bit of burned-out cityscape courtesy of Rapid. 

 

Lots of ruins for Obscuring and Light Cover, plus Difficult craters out in the streets. Our objectives are staggered across the board, and although it's the new standard board size, it feels like a lot of ground to cover to get to the big money!

 

Secondaries from me:

 

·                                         Forward Push - perform an action with a unit to get points depending on how far from my table edge it is. I need to have the objective at the start of my own turn to pull it, and it can net me 1-8 points depending on how far into enemy territory I am

·                                         Thin Their Ranks - because why would you ever not take this against what is effectively infinity Necrons?

·                                         Assassinate - because it's simple and I understand it. Plus that's a shiny general out there, I bet he tastes nice

 

Secondaries from Rapid:

·                                         Engage on All Fronts - be on three or more board quarters

·                                         Thin Their Ranks - because why would you ever not take this against massive numbers of puny bugs?

·                                         Slay the Warlord - because that Trygon Prime is coming right for us! Prepare the big skewer!

 

 

 

Deployment

 

Here we go - I deploy first, sticking the Trygon and the larger Genestealer pack into tunnels underneath. One Broodlord for each flank, each with its own pack of lesser bugs. The Tyrannofex starts in cover on my left, the smaller Genestealer squad likewise to guard my home objective. 

 

The Necrons form up in a long, deep-strike denying line, the better to cover the main avenues of approach with their vast array of nasty guns. And then Rapid wins the roll-off and very kindly lets me go first so I can run into range!

 

I chose to do this so that they would get into range of the guns sooner. Will this be a good idea?

 

 

Tyranid Turn 1

 

No point hanging about here, I need to close the gap fast. 

 

Using Metabolic Overdrive, the Tyrannofex is sent straight up to Objective B, where it can shelter behind the ruins to some extent. The Broodlord and Hormagaunts go with it, also taking cover, but that middle ruin is a short one and isn't going to fully protect anyone except Broody, they're all potential targets. 

 

Knowing I need to flood them with my dead, the Termagants run forward too, skirting the crater towards the middle, and their Broodlord keeps pace behind. At the back, the Genestealers start weaving a cosy nest on Objective A, and score me a tiny beginning for the turn. 

 

And then that's pretty much it - the psychic phase is a bust, I'm out of range for Smites (and shooting) and fail to cast Catalyst on the Termagants, and I can hear the collective suck of teeth from the peanut gallery as I lose that potential line of defense! But hey - I'm winning so far!

 

Objectives scored: 1 on Forward Push

 

Necron Turn 1

 

The Necrons know exactly what to do here, their plan is as simple as mine. 

 

With a bit of shuffling, the line organises itself to start firing. The only exception is the Wraiths, who flicker forward towards the Termagants. Szeras superglues some extra armour on the central warriors, giving them T5. 

 

Shooting is just as deadly as I feared. The Immortals hose away more than half the Termagants with their Tesla Carbines, after the Overlord gives them his My Will Be Done bonus. And on the other side, the combined Flayers of the other half of the battlefield do the same to 14 of the Hormagaunts. Yikes!

 

The only good news is the Destroyers, who fail to even mark the Tyrannofex with their relatively low-strength guns. I'm glad I'm not Primaris Marines right now. 

 

Alas, even with a reroll, the Wraiths can't make it across the crater to engage with the Termagants. All the same, I'm horrified. Just under half my army just evaporated, and I'm still not in charge range!

 

This felt good, a lot of the gribblies died but the wraiths were meant to get further forward. With turn 2 coming up and the “Deepstrike” units about to appear I feel that its about get up close and personal. The Wraiths are out in the open, its time to test 3++..

 

Objectives scored: nil

 

Tyranid Turn 2

 

The obvious thing to do is to punch back immediately and as hard as I can. The Trygon and his Genestealer tunnellers burst up in the centre front of the Necron line. Try(gon) as I might, there's no room to appear behind, Rapid has screened very carefully!

 

Everything keeps running forward apart from the rearguard 'stealers. I've got some medium-to-long charges to make here, the best shot being the severely depleted Hormagaunt squad. Everything else is 9" or more. Ow. 

 

The psychic phase doesn't bring much more succour. I get Catalyst on the Genestealers with a reroll, then manage to Perils the other Broodlord when he tries to smite the Wraiths. Oops! That's half of his wounds gone. 

 

The Tyrannofex returns fire, and with a double-tap of shooting manages to kill two and two-thirds of the Destroyers. They're a priority, they could take the Trygon to bits fairly fast if I let them. The Termagants manage to pray and spray a whole Immortal off the field, but that's my lot for shooting. 

 

Charges - it goes well. The Hormagants close in, but lose half their number to overwatch from the Warriors, then their Broodlord support fails to make the charge. 

 

Those are not adoring fans under that balcony.

The middle goes better - the Genestealers use the Hunter's Drive strategem for an extra dice on the Destroyers, and that gets a snarling pack of them underneath the last one on his balcony. The Trygon and Broodlord on the other side pick on the Wraiths, although I suspect that's a tarpit I'm walking right into. 

 

Combat goes about as you'd expect. Rapid interrupts with the wraiths after the Broodlord kills one first, and they take a pair of wounds off him, but can't finish it. Then the Trygon kills none of them in return, which what I feared! The Genestealers eat the last Destroyer whole with chips and overrun into the central Warrior unit, who beat one up in return. The Hormagaunts mostly bounce off the Warriors. 

 

Big money time - the Trygon has a second round of combat for 3 CPs, and eats another Wraith, but only just. It's a good start, but I haven't finished many of them off...

 

Objectives scored: 1 on Forward Push, 10 on Primaries

 

Necron Turn 2

 

This has gone somewhat sideways, I’m feeling the pinch from not getting forward onto C in points. My Destroyers should have been positioned in a much more secure location. I didn’t consider the 5” engagement range of 9^th.

 

Necrons obviously never panic, they're not wired for it. All the same, I sense an element of desperation from Rapid, who is penned into his deployment zone by more bugs than he hoped. 

 

Most of his line fall back, but several of them get up on the way. Including a Wraith, thanks to a strategem. Rats!

 

This is a great stratagem, but it’s risky because there aren’t any buffs to it away from the HQ.

 

The Ghost Ark leaps over the 'stealers and then opens up on them, downing a rather scattered handful after a disappointing set of dice, and the Immortals score a terrifying number of hits on the Trygon (twenty five or so!) but only get two past its armoured hide. The Overlord nearly takes out the wounded Broodlord, but a rerolled invulnerable save squeaks me through, then Szeras just misses a sniper shot on the other Broody. 

 

Then the Ghost Ark charges the 'stealers, hoping to pin them in place for a turn. It even squashes one! But the rest climb all over it and take off a few wounds. 

 

Primaries are now being scored, which is bad news for Rapid. The Trygon and Broodlord pushed the Wraiths off Objective C, so he only held one at the start of the turn. Are the Necrons getting overrun?

 

Objectives scored: 5 on Primaries

 

Definitely feeling the pinch from staying as a gun line, focused a bit too much on Deepstrike denial methinks..

 

Tyranid Turn 3

 

This is a stronger position to be in than I could have hoped for. By way of consolidation, I bring the Termagants across the field to babysit Objective B, freeing the Tyrannofex to lumber forward, spewing bile. The Broodlords charge their nearest targets (the Ghost Ark and the Wraiths), the Trygon slithers back into the midfield. 

 

What's left of the Hormagaunts charge the Warriors again, and get taken to bits in short order. The one they'd killed has even got back up, in fact, so that's poor gains! Catalyst on the 'stealers again, and what little shooting I can manage either splashes off the Wraiths or mostly patters off armour. The Trygon kills a lone Warrior, in fact, that's my lot. 

 

Shooting is not where I shine, though, and combat is much better. The hurt Broodlord dismantles the two Wraiths in short order, and the other Broodlord jumps on the back of the Ghost Ark and starts pounding. I'm seeing Hulk at the end of Avengers, basically, and the big transport is quickly looking rickety. Big Tryg smashes up a pair of Warriors in a rather whiffy attack, but at least he's tying them up. 

 

But I've not made much forward progress. This Forward Push may yet come unstuck, I'm not killing enough of those troops!

 

Objectives scored: 10 on Primaries, 1 on Forward Push

 

Necron Turn 3 

Ah, right so.. Erm. What do we do here then..

 

Everything that needs to falls back again. The Immortals swiftly shoot the wounded Broodlord apart with a little help from the Overlord, who also slaps a pair of wounds on the Trygon with his lightstick. As does Illuminor Szeras, who thinks carefully about a charge on my Warlord before deciding someone else ought to do it for him. 

 

In as much as I want to throw him forward, the Trygon is an absolute unit.....He will “Try”, and he will be “gon”

 

All the other guns target that same Prime, but its armour holds relatively firm. Normally, it'd be a bracket down by now, on six remaining, but that Dermic Symbiosis is worth its weight in chitin. 

 

Thanks for reminding me...

 

The Ghost Ark stays in combat so it can shoot up the Genestealers, but it's damaged and they're not easy targets. All the same, you'd expect more than two down from twenty shots! Alas, that's a last gasp from the Ark, and it finally drops under the weight of its hitchhikers. That frees up some nasty charges for me...

 

It did slow the advance for a short time, but I’ve just realised that I should have been taking some more reanimation rolls from proximity to it. Aaaand it’s exploded.

 

Objectives scored: 10 on Primaries

 

Tyranid Turn 4

The Termagants start Forward Pushing on objective B as everything else keeps up the pressure. 

 

The Tyrannofex manages to claim a pair of Immortals and no more, I'm keeping it trucking forward for a possible double tap in the final turn. The Trygon shoots up the Warriors to reasonable effect, and the Broodlord smites off a couple of Warriors. 

 

Run! Run, tiny tin men!

Those same Warriors shoot off half the surviving Genestealers in overwatch! They also kill two of the rest, but only after losing half their number to the few that reached them. The Broodlord whistles past them, however, and sinks its talons into Szeras. Who, as it turns out, lacks an invulnerable save...

 

Three scores of six to wound from the Broodlord's monstrous rending talons are more than enough to switch off the Illuminations. The Trygon celebrates nearby by throwing a bunch more Warriors around, but neither squad is looking much like they're bothered, there's plenty of fight left in them!

 

Objectives scored: 10 on Primaries, 2 on Forward push, 3 on Assassinate

 

Necron Turn 4

 

It's getting late - we've pre-agreed a 2300 finish time, and it's nearly on us. Rapid is also disheartened by the loss of his expensive Warlord. A final burst of shooting sees the Immortals repeat their previous performance of millions of hits and almost no damage on the Trygon Prime. 

 

The Warriors on my left stay in combat with the Genestealer and easily kill it, but this lets the Broodlord heroically intervene into them from the side, and he rips half of them apart with ease. Aware that field control is slipping from him, and with the deadline upon us, we call it there. 

 

Objectives scored: 10 on Primaries

And Totalling up the points for Thin Their Ranks, the Necrons have killed over 40 bugs and score 4, whereas the 'Nids have eaten the same Necron some twenty-odd times, plus the Ark, and score 3

 

Result: 41:29 to the Tyranids!

 

 

Locker Room

 

Genuinely, I thought I was doomed after turn one. Those guns are not enjoyable to run into! And I was dead certain the rest of my force was going to go the same way. 

 

But it swung round, somehow. Keeping the Necrons pinned on their back line was the winner in the end. Gunlines don't fare well under the Primary Objective system, and just that single round of pushing them back off Objective C was enough to win the game for me on primaries alone. 

 

Of course, it wasn't until the day afterwards that Rapid remembered his Overlord had the Veil of Darkness...

 

Panic was really my best weapon here. In the crush of melee, and desperately trying to fight free of all the bugs, it's very easy to forget all the tools you've got. A unit of Immortals in my back line, squatting on Objective A and racking up points whilst losing me Primaries would have been extremely useful. 

 

Short of that, maybe sending a loaded Ghost Ark forward? Harder to screen against the dreaded Trygon strike, of course, but there wouldn't have been much that could have stopped it getting at least half way across and then buffering the midfield with troops. 

 

Hive Fleet Kludd has some nasty options, and I'm definitely considering a Trygon myself now. But it was a bit of a lucky win for me rather than skillful, I'd say. Although a shot in the arm too, after four losses to date, so a big thanks to Rapid and his bugs! 

 

Really awesome battlefield too, here's another pic from earlier in the game!

This was a lesson for me in positioning & forgetting rules. Forgetting to use the Veil of Darkness, the additional reanimation from the Ark. Actually using the Ark!!

 

My destroyers was a bad move, they should have stayed behind the line. If even to go up the other building in my deployment zone. That would have made the charge much more difficult and possible screened by the Immortals.

 

In my attempt to keep the immortals in cover I totally overlooked keeping hold of the objective. I’ve also experimented in letting others go first with a view of getting them into range etc. This won’t be happening any more, even if only to take a few models off the board. It’s the objectives that are important, going first and better positioning would have least netted me some VP from them, even pinned down the two objectives could have been held.

 

As Kraken said, using the Ghost Ark to get up the board. Those 'stealers may have been squishy enough to die from the Ark. But then it couldn't kill more than one from the other squad!! A squad of Warriors dropping mid board to contest the other objective might have been a good call too!!

 

As usual, a great game! Looking forward to the next and seeing if I can pull one back..

 

Thanks!