Prime Cuts: Tempestus Scions vs Tyranids

 

Drawbridge Campaign part five - the Scions are out hunting, and there's a lot of Prime Targets!

Even as Captain Nampo's ill-fated expedition came to grief, the first of the Hagan Lamprey attack groups had struck gold. 

Brigadier Alexander 'Salmon' Cholmondley-Maugham sent fast convoys of mounted infantry south and east, searching for the creatures leading the Tyranid swarm on the ground. Roughly half his troops headed into the southern jungles, where Afanc had first landed. The rest headed east to the relief of Barbican Prime, an industrial hive currently besieged by a heavy concentration of swarm organisms. 

They arrived too late to help the citizens of the hive. Communications went dark shortly before they arrived. Once in range, they could see that the outer wall of the spire had been punctured in dozens of places, huge tunnels scoured out of the plasteel and into the infrastructure beyond. Most of the attacking hive fleet were presumably already inside the city. 

But one creature was still outside, overseeing this invasion. A massive Trygon Prime, the largest the defence force had yet encountered, was directing the movements of the swarm from the rear, and was caught relatively unguarded as the Scions arrived. 

There was no time to waste - Salmon ordered the attack and led it himself, dropping in on gravchute to oversee the operation. Either the leading elements of the Scion attack group took the mammoth creature out immediately, or it would easily be able to burrow away. 

Scies On the Prize

I, Kraken, have control of the Hagan Lampreys tonight. A bit daunting to try to follow Pootle's flawless victory on their last outing, but I'm very game for it!

Just 500 points tonight, so a small trio of infantry squads. One generalist, one heavy weapon support, one melta team, and a pair of buses to drive them about in. 

We're going Thetoid Eagles tonight, who get the original Tempestus trait of exploding hits on 6s at half range. So dash in, murder everything in hotshot range and hope nothing survives!

Leading them are a Lord Commissar, for the extra orders, and Brigader Salmon, who's packing a ridiculous relic laspistol that inflicts mortal wounds. Now that's what I call a sidearm. 

Tempestus Scions Patrol Detachment - 500 points, 3 CPs

• HQ - Tempestor Prime with Command Rod, Warlord with Uncompromising Prosecution trait, Fire of Judgement relic
• HQ - Lord Commissar with Plasma Pistol and Power Sword
• Troops - 5 x Scions, Tempestor has Chainsword and Hotshot pistol, 2 Meltaguns
• Troops - 5 x Scions, as above but with 2 Hotshot Volley Guns
• Troops - 5 x Scions as above again but with a flamer and grenade launcher
• Dedicated Transport - Taurox Prime with Battlecannon and 2 Hotshot Volley Guns
• Dedicated Transport - Taurox Prime with Gatling Cannon and 2 Hotshot Volley Guns

There is No Trygon

Filling the chitinous shoes of the Tyranids tonight is General Rapid. He's got a Trygon Prime on his team tonight, a particularly huge one, and a few bodyguard bugs to back it up. 

Behemoth give rerolled charges, so the Trygon is going to be quite capable of popping up and slamming straight into whatever it fancies eating, especially with its Arachnacyte Gland (that's 3d6+1, pick the two best and it's rerollable!). There's nothing in the Scions list that is going to have a hope against this brute in combat. Spread out so their guns can't all get eaten in one go and hope that there's enough left to bring it down? Or keep close and pray for a failed charge or some decent overwatch? 

The Nid's weakness, however, is that there isn't much else for them in the list, and all of it is fairly easily shot to bits. Cheap Termagants and a small Warrior brood, even backed by a Warrior Prime, isn't going to stay upright long against Scion shooting. 

So there's a clear goal - bring down the Trygon or die trying!

Tyranid Patrol Detachment - 500 points, 3 CPs

• HQ - Tyranid Prime with Bone Sword and Lash, Deathspitter
• Troops - 12 x Termagants with Fleshborers
• Troops - 12 x Termagants with Fleshborers
• Troops - 3 Tyranid Warriors, two with Deathspitters and twin Bone Swords, one with Rending Claws and a Venom Cannon
• Heavy Support - Trygon Prime, Warlord with Murderous Size adaptation and the Arachnacyte Gland relic, triple Massive Scything Talons, Biostatic Rattle and Bio-electric Pulse with Containment Spines

Mission and Terrain

The photo is a bit foreshortened and also badly centered - the objectives were all a few inches to the right, and you can't really see the back few inches of the Scions deployment area on the left. But you get the idea!

The torn walls of Barbican are the scene for tonight, represented by this mix-and-match jungle and necromunda board. The mission is Forward Push from the GT pack, so there's points to be had by grabbing the objectives furthest from your starting side (we're deploying down the narrow edges, and this is a 5x3 board). 

The Scions go with 

1. Cut off the Head - narrative purposes, but also because if I don't cut that head off, mine isn't going to last long
2. Engage on All Fronts - a bit of fast transport and deep strike should make this a doddle
3. Forward Push - because I always take the mission one if I can, and it will twin well with EoAF, but does need a squad performing actions on an objective they hold before moving

The Tyranids take

1. Cut off the Head - it's a small head, but still tasty
2. Engage on All Fronts - Another easy one for Nids with their speed and burrowers
3. Deploy Scramblers - Roughly equivalent to Forward Push in some ways, you need to perform actions across the board

Deployment

I have a very short deployment - the Prime and his melta team go into deep strike, then the two Tauroxes deploy. The gatling one has the small mixed-weapon team, the cannon is driving the Commissar and the volley gun team. Straight down my right flank and into battle!

The 'Nids are doing what they do best, lurking in the Hive breach out of sight. Neither of us are quite starting on our home objectives, but they are both a quick grab away. 

After much rolling-off, I get the choice of first or second. There's nothing for me to shoot out there, so I give the dubious pleasure of leading the charge to Rapid!

Tyranids Turn 1

The 'Nids go for a very stealthy approach, sliding their line sideways and keeping entirely in cover as they grab the nearest objective. No psychics, no shooting, no charges - just Termagants trotting from hiding place to hiding place, as the Warriors get ready to leap through the breach once I've been lured into range!

They do get an early start on planting Teleport Scramblers, however, plopping out some disruptive eggs in their deployment zone. 

I was very aware of the vehicles guns, they can mow things down very very easily. Im hoping for a considered "pounce" on the enemy!

Scions Turn 1

It's too quiet out there, and I know that the whole field is a trap. But there's nothing for it but to walk in and pretend I'm ready to die for the cause! The Gatling 'rox zooms forward, the Cannon one ploughs straight into the nearby wood and plants itself on the objective there. I can't see anything, so I can't shoot anything (except maybe some nearby trees in a frenzy of anticipation), so that's it!

"Perkins! Get out of the flowerbed, you're ruining it!"

Tyranids Turn 2

Those cagey Tyranids aren't rushing to engage me, but they do start moving out of cover a bit. The Warriors pop up with their venom cannon as one squad of Termagants scuttles out towards the Gatling Taurox. I'm not going to grab that objective without a fight!

The shooting is mostly out of range, however, and the venom spike knocks a single wound off the Taurox. Rapid gulps audibly and stares into the barrels of the guns...

 

This was possibly not the best idea...  Beginning to think that the Trygon should have popped out to hurt that vehicle.. Lets see what happens.

Scions Turn 2

Boots on the ground, chaps - all infantry disembark, with the grenade squad advancing towards the objective as the Gatling Taurox breaks for the centre. At the back, the Cannon Taurox stays still as the Commissar leads a formidable advance towards the objective to the north. His squaddies aren't quite as keen, however, and hang back a bit, muttering nervously about keeping their uniforms parade fresh. 

Shooting, as you'd expect, is pretty brutal for the 'Nids. The Gatling Taurox mows through eleven of the Termagants, and the final one gets pipped off by a cheeky grenade from the advancing infantry squad. That's a good start, but the worst is, of course, yet to come. The ground ahead of the Scions starts to rumble...

Ouch, that was some pretty brutal shooting there. T3 units arent really going to sit there for long, especially with that volume of firepower

Tyranids Turn 3

Crunch time! Up from the ground bursts the Trygon Prime, appearing precisely on top of the northern objective and eyeing up the rather isolated Commissar. The Warriors scramble towards it from their perch, which is taken over by the Prime, and the Termagants at the back keep tucked away in cover. 

Spines and beetles start flying in all directions. The Gatling Taurox is rocked by venom and deathspitter fire, and loses three wounds, then the glorious Commissar's shouted speech ("Glory for the first man to die!") is rudely interrupted by containment spines, and he's suddenly on his last wound. 

That 9" charge is a piece of piss for the Trygon, who jumps on the Gatling Taurox with hungry glee. Overwatch! And Defensive Gunners, quick!

And from nowhere, all those sixes I didn't roll in all my previous games suddenly turn up. 

This is very upsetting!

For me too, I don't know where to look!

Hitting on sixes also gets a free second shot with the Eagles' shooty trait. The Gatling Cannon alone scores fifteen hits, with a few more in supporting fire from the Volley guns. With Rapid's usual aplomb at armour saves, half the Trygon's wounds vanish, and the big bug is bracketed. 

 

I'm just happy he didn't die.

He's got some tricks of his own, though - using Hive Instinct, the Warriors run in to join the Trygon, who is clearly in a bad mood. It throws all the toys out of the pram, then eats the pram and implants some parasitic eggs in the nanny. Picking Taurox out of its teeth (16 wounds done!), it then uses Overrun to bugger off towards the safety of the big wall near the Commissar, as the Warriors consolidate into cover behind the nearby pillar. 

Ouch!

 

Well that felt somewhat more productive, but the Trygon doesn't feel long for this.. whatever world it's on. It has however taken away a lot of bullets flying from the vehicle

Scions Turn 3

With the Trygon sighted, I need to deal with it pronto. So the Melta drop team and the Tempestor Prime hit the dirt, just as the Cannon Taurox moves a little forward to site the beast. The Volley Gun Scions follow the brave Commissar's lead and square up to the beast from close range. Over on the other side, the forward weapons team don't actually move up on the objective, contrary to the map - they perform the Forward Push action, holding super-still so that the Tyranids won't notice them. 

In my haste to get shooting, I forget all about orders. But perhaps that's just as well, as the Scions are not pulling their punches here. The Commissar overcharges his pistol, but it glances off the Trygon's armour plate somehow. Then the Volley Guns open up and wound it a couple of times, easily enough for one of the Melta team to finish it off. Rapid is contemplating using the Death Throes strategem, but doesn't bother in the end - the Trygon promptly collapses right on the Commissar, and that's the end of both of them!

Timmmmberrrr!

Deprived of a better target, the Cannon Taurox lands a lucky hit on the now-isolated Warrior Prime, which proves enough to flatten him as well. My Tempestor Prime is somewhat put out, he was looking forward to trying his ludicrous pistol, but there's nothing left in range!

Gutted that my warrior prime died. Silly positioning on my part.

Tyranids Turn 4

Hurting but not ready to concede, Rapid orders his remnants forward. The Warriors rush for my warlord, the Termagants spread forward, keeping a foot on the rear objective but able to throw a few fleshborer beetles in my direction. 

Shooting doesn't achieve much, sadly, even with the Warriors using Single-Minded Devastation to go round twice. The Termagants are mostly out of range and my armour saves against the warriors are on fire. A couple of Scions fall from the two nearby teams, but that's it. 

The Warriors still aren't giving up, however - they charge the Melta team and mulch another couple of them, then consolidate into the Prime. He lambasts them with his parade stick to little avail, as do the nearby Scions, but they really aren't tooled for melee!

 

This felt a bit more productive on my part, these guys should have been further forward far far sooner!

Scions Turn 4

They are tooled for running away, though, and duly do, as the Cannon Taurox roars past them to get lines of fire on the Termagants. The Volley Gun guys run for their nearest objective, firing over their shoulders as they go. 

Although he's running, the Tempestor Prime is also barking orders (now I think of it, I should check if he's still able to do that!). He tells himself to run faster, so moves on to the back objective, and yells at what's left of the Melta team to keep shooting. Which they do, along with the Volley Guns, and between them manage to take down one of the towering warriors. 

The Cannon Taurox blasts a big chunk out of the Termagant squad, and just as before, there's just one left at the end of its shooting. Also just as before, this one takes six frag grenades from the launcher bearer, and goes up in smoke. 

This is going too well. It must be a trap...

 

Nope, no trap

Tyranids Turn 5

Still determined to eat my commander before the end of the game, the Warriors once more stalk forward and fire with the same single-minded determination as before (i.e. twice). This plinks off half the Tempestor's wounds with the first barrage, and the other half with the second, so he sinks down, riddled with venom spines. 

 

Something else died!

The Warriors then pelt into the Volley Gun team and start hacking, but my dice are clearly not my own tonight. I save most of the damage, and a lone trooper falls, although I can't hurt anything in revenge. 

 

It would have been great to mulch these guys, but alas.

Scions Turn 5

Not in melee, anyway - the Volley Gunners keep running, and the Cannon Taurox pulls a screaming U-turn and comes back for the Warriors. Despite much exploding, I can only claim five out of six of their wounds, and as the game closes, that last wounded Warrior is still screaming defiance. 

So how has the scoring gone?

Result

Tyranids: 20 (15 on Primaries, 2 on Engage on All Fronts, 3 on Cut Off The Head)

Scions: 62 (40 on Primaries, 8 on Engage on All Fronts, 6 on Cut Off The Head, 8 on Forward Push)

Locker Room

Oof - I suppose I should have seen it coming. Either that Trygon was going to eat everything and win, or it wouldn't, and the Scions would triumph. Cheers to Rapid for taking his licks in good part!

We talked a bit about changes for a more effective list. Laying all your giant space insect eggs in one basket/face is always a risk, much like fielding, say, a Knight in one of those old 8th Ed soup lists. Maybe the Warriors could have been ditched for Hive Guard? Or a single blob of Termagants with better weapons alongside some even cheaper Rippers? I chose the lists, so that's on me!

My thinking is that leaving the Trygon out for one more turn was probably a bad call, although very understandable in front of all those guns. It could have ambushed me more easily and pinned me in the back, eating a tank and following up into the troopers within. Not that would have helped with the freakishly powerful overwatch, mind you!

Good fun, and super quick (two hours all in), so thanks again to Rapid!

 

Definitely needed the Trygon down in Turn 2. A squad of Termagaunts in with it just to make use of those 12inch guns and take the focus off my warriors and prime a little. Hasty positioning and thinking on my part I believe.

Thanks again for hosting dude!

Campaign Update

The Hagan Lampreys succeeded in their ambush. Although the Trygon burrowed into the earth as soon as it felt the tremors of their approach, it emerged again to attack the Scions, wrecking the lead tank before dying under the weight of focussed fire the rest of the attack group brought to bear. 

Not for the first time, the Defenders of Drawbridge had underestimated Afanc's cunning, however, and Salmon's triumph was extremely short-lived. 

As he barked orders to fire crews on the ground, keeping all guns trained on the huge beast, he missed a smaller attack force. A small group of Tyranid Warriors hurtled straight past the point team and cut the leader of the Scions down where he stood. His expertise and leadership were sorely to be missed in the days to come, although his name entered Hagan legend. 'To land a Salmon' came to mean making a perfectly targetted grav-chute drop immediately before dying in action.

Worse than this loss, the Hagan forces shortly came to realise they had merely taken a prize, merely bait. Barbican Hive, other than the showy tunnels bored into the surface, was intact. Gargoyle swarms had descended on their comms arrays and destroyed them, then the rest of the Tyranid seige force had melted away other than the Trygon and its assassin teams. The inhabitants had been unable to warn the Scions as they fell for the ruse - this had been no vital synapse creature, merely a decoy. 

Everything now rested on the final recon group, the Lampreys that were heading towards the southern jungles.