Drawbridge Finale! And the boats are all being pushed out for a two-part battle. Cue the dramatic intro...
Easy enough to cover the army lists for this battle. Mr Oldman, would you be so kind?
Yes, we're not really bothering too much with little things like 'balance' or 'points values', I'm just throwing everything from both armies down and seeing how it shakes out.
The 'Nids have the advantage in numbers, weighing in at just over 4000 points once you work it all out. I didn't take the second Hive Tyrant, I figured that really would be pushing it, but the winged one in there has all available whistles and bells (Resonance Barb, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs). The Tervigon has the Dermal Plating physiology and two large Termagant swarms to oversee.
Then all 48 Genestealers are there including a pack of twenty with extra armour, the physiology to ignore -1 and -2 ap and the Jormungandr hive fleet trait to turn them into ultra-fast marine munchers. Everything else is as WYSIWYG as I could get it.
You might be thinking 'that's too many bugs', but 3000 points worth of Marines isn't exactly a small force either! Here's the entire Mantis Warrior army, rather character heavy but certainly not lacking punch, armour or troops. Led by the Gravis Captain, there's all my favourite options (the Drop Pod full of Company Veterans with pick and mix weapons, the full Bike squad with the Hammer Sarge and the all new Relic Terminators), plus the heavy tanks to bring the pain.
The survivors of the the Hagan Lamprey landing teams are also there - Commissar Lord Josefus Haart and five Tempestus Scions, including a plasma gun. Stylus has decreed he wants to lure the Tyranids into a killing zone as an overall tactic, and these guys are the bait.
Mobile, shooty and pretty damn fine in melee too, my suspicions are that the Marine Codex is in a good enough place right now to make this a more balanced battle than it might at first seem. But we'll see...
This is a narrative homebrew (although we're sticking to matched play rules for CP use). Three objectives (Red Os on the map below) on the Mantis side of the field, which today is a 6x4 jungle beachhead with security bunkers. If the Tyranids can hold all three by the end of turn five, it's their victory. If the Marines can keep the lot, they can keep their damn planet. Holding two is Advantage to the side that manages it, so they win the Campaign if they win the next game. Anything else is a draw, and we rumble on.
Both of us have a lot of boots on the ground, and put a fair bit into reserve.
For my part, it's the Jormungandr strategem of The Enemy Below to put all eight Tyranid Warriors and their Prime into the tunnels with the Trygon Prime, then twenty venomous Genestealers into the Tyrannocyte. The six-base Ripper Swarm and the Raveners are also lurking somewhere below.
Stylus pays CP to keep both units of Assault Intercessors and the Bladeguard Veterans back, probably as a rear-line ambush force, but you never know. The Bolt Inceptors are on high, as well as the Drop Pod with the Company Veterans, the firstborn Chaplain and Librarian with them. The Terminators are in the Land Raider Crusader, and the Tactical Squads split into five-man teams. Two of these take to the Rhino, the rest take the heavy weapons to vantage points.
After about half an hour of ladling Termagants onto the mat, these are our final positions! The Sporocyst is up on the north flank, and some spore mines drift in to the south (3 CPs to do that is a ridiculous cost, by the way), then we roll for starters.
Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 1
It was an impossible tide. The beach was seething with Tyranids, an unbroken wall of them racing towards their beachhead. Their armoured plating rustled as they moved, individually a little noise, but in these numbers like the roar of a sandstorm. Most of the horde was clouded by the dense grey smog belching from the tubes on the backs of the larger creatures, themselves merely shadows in the sporulous smoke.
Haart couldn't fire. He could hardly breathe. The Scions beside him were similarly paralysed. He had to start shooting, he had to set an example, break this horrified reverie. But where to begin?
I've got first turn, and it's a pretty easy one in terms of strategy. Almost everything pours forward, and the dice gods are feeling kind - lots of high advance rolls, and the bulk of my troops are almost immediately half-way across the ground.
That's good, although not without a downside. I'm giving up the Jormungandr extra armour for the advance wave, although the gun bugs at the back still have theirs.
The Psychic Phase gets off to a poor start with the Tyrant knocking three wounds off itself with a high Perils, and the Neurothrope doing exactly the same shortly afterwards (if only for a single wound). Ah well - this obliterates the Scion troopers with Smites, and leaves the poor Commissar on a single wound, but they've probably done the only job they could in the circumstances, that of stopping me smiting the Marines.
Shooting's a bit weak - the Tyrannofex and Carnifex put a decent dent in the Land Raider, then the Hive Guard give the Typhoon a bit of a slap. A few scouts go down, but overall it's a bit weak, exactly as I'd expect at these ranges. Probably would have been better to focus down the Vindicator or the Typhoon, who are a bigger threat to my heavy creatures, but the lines of sight weren't quite there.
Ah well, I'm on my way!
Mantis Warriors - Turn 1
The pressure in Haart's head was building, a scream that wanted to escape. His heart was pounding, he couldn't even pull his pistol from its holster. That unnatural wave of monstrosities! They'd roll right over the bunker! They'd be drowned in a deadly sea of life!
There was wetness on his lip, he could taste blood. His nose was bleeding! Slowly, as though fighting a strong wind, he turned to look at his squad. They were on their knees, eyes rolling up into their heads, hands shaking with palsied tremors. Gabbet collapsed as he watched.
This was no natural terror, he realised. Xenos sorcery! There was no fighting this. The squad were doomed, only his own superior training was keeping him alive. Somehow, he pulled himself round and began to run, too slowly, towards the empty beach behind the bunker. Perhaps he could escape...?
The beach was no longer empty. A line of green armour stood there.
From nowhere, the Mantis Warriors had returned.
I start with some hard choices: I can't defend the whole line, and if I don't slow the advance down, I'm going to drown in Tyranids before the reserves get here.
The first thing I do is call down an Orbital Bombardment (regrettably I can only do this once per turn - I would have been worth all my CPs to saturate the battlefield in lance strikes) and place it between the Hive Guard, Tyrannofex and Carnifex. If they're still there in my next Command Phase, they can look forward to some mortal wounds.
Accordingly, on the landward flank, the Lieutenant leads the Intercessor squad back into the vegetation, shoring up the centre and leaving the Scouts to hold the objective by themselves (sorry boys).
The Vindicator gets nominated as the speed bump, so I roll that forward to force the Genestealers to chew on that, rather than my Land Raider (I'm counting on those hurricane bolters to thin the herd).
The Land Raider itself nudges forward into rapid-fire range, and the Rhino disgorges both squads of Tactical Marines before rolling forward to engage the Gargoyles. Everything else holds fast, and prepares to fire.
Another hard decision, but I decide to completely ignore the 20-strong pack of Genestealers with Enhanced Resistance and Extended Carapaces. With a 3+ save that ignores -1/-2 AP, there's just too much danger of my shots going to waste.
So the Land Raider turns its guns upon the pack of Termagants, and it almost proves a moot point when fully two-thirds of them miss! (as Land Raiders are no longer core units, the Captain's presence availed them naught). With help from the Bikes, one Tactical Squad and various small arms, I am able to reduce them down to two models (but that's not going to stop Momma Tervigon spewing more back out again).
To help with that, the Intercessors and other Tactical Squad shot up half of the other Termagant squad, so Kraken is at least forced to choose where the reinforcements go.
The two Tactical Squads in the sea clear away all the Spore Mines, and the Scouts plink off some of the Hormagaunts.
The big fireworks are reserved for the Vindicator. It scores three hits on the Tyrannofex, nearly killing it, before a couple of Krak Missiles from the Land Speeder Storm finish the job. That's a big relief!
The Land Speeder's heavy bolter and the Tacticals' missile launcher knock the seaward Carnifex down to two wounds, while the landward Carnifex loses a couple of wounds from the other Tactical's heavy bolter.
That's all my shooting done. I'm in no rush to charge, with the exception of the Rhino, who ploughs into the Gargoyles and fails to run any over.
One of them even jams itself into an exhaust pipe for a wound!
That was a fortuitous round of shooting for me, but now the bugs are coming into charge range...
Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 2
Haart ran desperately. Away from the sorcerous pull of the Tyranids, he had control of his body again, but he was breathless and weak. He had to reach the line of the Marines. They were standing in a line, weapons thundering as they fired past him at the bugs, stoic and unafraid of that living landslide behind him.
As he closed the distance, he heard the buzzing whine of Tyranid bioweapons. A cloud of tiny winged projectiles descended on the Marines, who mostly ignored it and kept firing. But here and there, Haart saw an Astartes drop, his armour shredded by a clawing mass of the things.
To his right, a Vindicator tank rolled forward, main gun blazing. A shuddering bolt of blue-white energy pulsed back from the oncoming Tyranids, stopping the tank in its tracks, then the alien tide crashed into the vehicle. Haart saw clawed creatures pull the hatches off the top in seconds, dropping inside to butcher the crew, then he stopped trying to watch and just ran.These marines need to be kept on the back foot, so I start my deep strikes with the Trygon and the Warriors bursting up behind the scouts. Everything else that was running forward keeps going, with the exception of the last two Termagants from the smaller pack, who run backwards and hide behind the bunker. I might be able to replenish them later, after all.
The Vindicator then takes a psychic beating from the Neurothrope and Zoonathropes, leaving it on less than half wounds, as the Broodlord sticks Catalyst on the Tyrant. Shooting then puts another decent set of wounds on the Land Raider (it's down to two!), but the Hive Guard are busy running from the incoming airstrike, so they don't manage more than a single wound more off the Typhoon. Marines also start dropping in the middle as the Termagants and Carnifex get in range.
But it's the charge phase where it all kicks off - armoured Genestealers charge and eat the Vindicator, which explodes! More damage for the Land Raider, which then finds itself swamped in the onrushing Genestealers.
Stupid Vindicator. I was just thinking well of it after it near-destroyed the Tyrannofex and then it goes and puts three mortal wounds on my Land Raider!
And the Trygon Prime manages a long charge (rerolled and helped with Adrenal Glands) into the Intercessors, along with the Tyranid Prime (helped by Synaptic Lure once the Trygon is in, although the Warriors themselves don't make it). Between them, they handily eat and kill all five, although it takes a second round of combat with Adrenaline Surge.
As the Hive Tyrant kills the last few sniper scouts and the Gargoyles flap helplessly round the Rhino, my second wave is moving into position...
Mantis Warriors - Turn 2
He'd made it! He couldn't hear the susurrus of the Tyranids any more, the heavy chatter of bolters drowned it out entirely. Panting, Haart made it past a line of steel-clad giants and sank to his knees.
He forced himself back up, drawing his bolt pistol and toggling on his power fist before turning back to the onrushing flood.
A swarm of stripe-carapaced creatures were penned up against the side of the bunker, a few hundred yards away, hemmed in by the burst corpses of their dead. Even as the back ranks scuttled over their fallen siblings, the Marines shot them down.
Nearby, a wave of aliens crashed and tore at the prow of a massive Land Raider. The front ramp immediately slammed open, crushing a few, then a group of towering figures strode forth. Terminators! He'd heard stories, but they hadn't done them justice. Fire and bolt sprayed the Tyranid advance. The tide seemed to hesitate for a moment.
Then more immediately poured round the other side of the bunker, hissing and snapping. A Marine clad in blue and bone robes strode towards him, effortlessly shoved him aside and faced the swarm, arm outstretched and an aura of crackling power gathering round his hooded helmet.
Lightning flashed from a clear sky, roasting more of the creatures, then the Marine staggered suddenly, sparks and smoke erupting from under his hood. The dread Haart had felt before came surging back. How could they hold these creatures back?
Since the enemy has unsportingly scuttled away from my orbital strike (or died), it's time to switch to the Tactical Doctrine and drop the hammer! (Or some of the hammer. I have many hammers)
(Bloody Space Marines and their hammers. Bah.)
The drop-pod lands in the Tyranids backline (not many of them about here) and the Veterans, Chaplian and Librarian prepare to surprise both Tervigon and Neurothrope in the rear.
The Inceptors land next to the Hive Guard, ready to hose them down and charge the remains.
On the landward flank, the Lieutenant runs back towards his own lines, only to meet the Commissar, who was doing the same from the centre. They are passed by the Justicar coming from the opposite direction, who fancies taking on a big bug and isn't shy about it.
On that same flank, the Bladeguard appear from reserves to avenge the Intercessors and take on the Trygon Prime and the Tyranid Prime. I also use Adaptive Strategy on them, so they'll count as being in all three doctrines this turn.
The Rhino pulls away from the Gargoyles, and the two Tactical squads move into rapid-fire range of them.
Everyone else mounts a rescue of the Land Raider: the Relic Terminators disembark, then join the Captain, Chaplain and Ancient to move into an easy charge range.
The Psychic Phase is a bust - the Shadow in the Warp is strong - my Primaris Librarian miscasts and take three mortal wounds, while the drop-pod Librarian fails to cast Ride the Winds (which would have really helped my charge).
On to shooting: the Terminators turn their stormbolters onto the largest (and recently reinforced) Termagant swarm, to thin their numbers. The bolters from the Bikers join in and the Termagents are wiped out!
To add insult to injury, the surviving two bugs from the other Termagant swarm (who were cowering out of sight of the front lines) are picked off by the drop-pod marines, so there's no more respawning to be done here!
The rest of the shooting isn't so impressive. I use Power of the Machine Spirit for one last huzzah from the Land Raider, who shoots away about half the surrounding Genestealers.
The Tacticals in the sea shoot up a bunch of the Gargoyles - although not as many as they should. There's clearly a lot of salt water in the barrels today.
But all my other heavy weapons are squandered trying to shoot away the last two wounds of the Carnifex. Krak missiles, heavy bolters - nothing gets past his armour! (I could do with a Vindicator right about now).
It's off to the Assault Phase. I really need the Bladeguard charge to go in (and they have to negotiate dense terrain too), so they're the ones I spend Fierce Rivalries on. They make the charge on both Trygon Prime and Tyranid Prime, though the Justicar does not.
Around the Land Raider and the Terminators and HQs all easily pile into the Genestealers.
In the back field, the Inceptors fail their charge on the Hive Guard, and the Veterans fall short of the Tervigon. Only the Chaplain makes it in against the Neurothrope, and makes a killing amount of wounds, only to have them fail against that damn 3++ invulnerable save.
I select the Bladeguard to go first, since I've put a lot of my CPs on them. They don't disappoint (much) - hacking down the Trygon Prime and taking the Tyranid Prime down to two wounds. I did underestimate the Tyranid Prime, though, as it cuts down on the Bladeguard in return.
Kraken decides to interrupt combat with the Genestealers, and I then realise my folly of putting all my characters in harm's way. Fortunately, the Captain and Chaplain ride their invulnerable saves, and the whole team manage to bring the toughened Genestealer swarm down to just two models.
That takes off some of the pressure from my lines, although both Genestealers and Gargoyles (both caught out of synapse) don't suffer combat attrition. I may rue the failed charges in my back line, and my landward flank is essentially gone, but I'm still defending two objectives.
Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 3
Emperor preserve me, Haart thought. A shadow blotted out the sun, an enormous winged beast like the one he'd seen on the beach a few days ago. Maybe even the same one, he could see ringed scars around its chest, matching the plasma blasts he'd seen the Lampreys hit it with. This one was healed, though, and protecting itself with an iridescent bubble of energy. Another robed marine ran towards it as it dropped towards their firing line. He looked ludicrously small in comparison.
A shockwave knocked him to the floor. An Astartes immediately threw an armoured leg over him, standing tall as a statue above him. Shrapnel span past him, a bent and torn door, chunks of burnt turf. The Land Raider was a burning ruin, beyond which he could see power-armoured figures struggling with taloned beasts. Smog started to roll in over the battle, the grey-green soup the Tyranids brought with them.
Overhead, engines screamed. Looking up, he saw one of the Mantis Warriors' Land Speeders spiralling out of control, pilot and gunner thrown flailing out as the machine twisted. It vanished into the treeline, leaving an expanding pillar of black smoke behind it.
"Commissar! Get to your feet," the Marine above him said between bolter rounds. "The line must hold."
It's actually starting to look pretty dangerous for me out there - there are still way too many marines left, and I'm running out of troops. Time to drop the rest in, however, and twenty more Genestealers in the Tyrannocyte cheers me up a bit. The Raveners deploy behind the Tervigon in case the Company Vets get ideas, and the Ripper Swarms go for the north objective so my stuff up there can head to support the middle.
The wounded but so far unkillable Carnifex shoots the Typhoon away as it lumbers in, as the Zooanthropes leave the Neurothrope to bang three wounds off the Chaplain. Wondering where his pals have gone, he once more bounces off its psychic shield.
Which the Warriors do - shooting away a bike as they close in, they rip into the Bladeguard Veterans at close range. Their Prime goes down, but there's only a single wounded Bladeguard after that.
The Hive Guard ignore the Inceptors and instead shoot away two marines from the nearest Tac squad in the sea - this lets me pop Hunter's Drive on them, so the Genestealers get best two of three dice for their charge through the surf, and I'm glad they did as they make it in. Ripping through the first squad, they take only a couple of hits from the back lot before tying them up. Alongside them, the Gargoyles surround the Rhino. No getting away this time!
The Tervigon lurches closer and smites away the Land Raider, the Venomthropes and Carnifex charge the Terminators along with the smaller Genestealer squad. And the Hive Tyrant slaps Paroxysm on the Judiciar before charging him - this is the first time I've ever found a good use for it, it means I beat his slow-time hourglass!
The melee in the middle is a mess, though. The Terminators interrupt and kill the Carnifex before it gets going, as well as finishing off the last two armoured Genestealers. But their squad is a man down from Zooanthrope psychic fire, and there are more Genestealers yet to go, who are doing a reasonable job of grinding down the tough marines and their leaders. The Venomthropes don't impress, but don't depress either.
Finally the Tyrant starts a duel with the Judicar, and they're pretty evenly matched. But the Judicar does slightly better on the dice, leaving me bracketed for only a pair of wounds back.
We're halfway through! But this is a big game, and thus a bit slower than our usual Skype nights. So we're returning to it next week for Stylus's big comeback. Can he swing the game round on his clutch turn?
TO BE CONCLUDED...
This is fantastic, well done guys. I love the idea of smashing some big armies together - harder to do on Skype but not a huge problem. And this is making an epic conclusion to the campaign. Very much looking forward to seeing how the battle pans out.
ReplyDeletePS - I like the subtle selfie in the final pic!
Yeah, I'm like Hitchcock.
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