Gehenna Back Of The Van: Scions vs Tyranids

Gehenna!

Courtesy of the web geniuses at DZTV comes the Gehenna Inferno campaign. I'm always keen to have my battles be part of something larger, so the Hagan Lampreys are deploying in defense of Gehenna Prime. Against their old foe, the Tyranids, under the command of General Rapid.

"Striking workers are below our paygrade," Corporal Morrel grumbled. 

"Stow it," Tempestor Grance snapped. The hive service tunnels were tight and cluttered. Poor firing angles, too much cover, too many blind corners. He didn't like the mission any more than Morrel did. If angry hive workers really were all they were up against here, he'd be quite content, but he had more than a hunch that the brass wasn't telling them everything. 

Gehenna Prime was a hive world, its cities hellish tangles of industry. Strangely, it still reminded Grance of the teeming jungles of Haga, his home. Cabling instead of lianas, scuttling rats instead of bhrinebugs, shuddering pipes instead of towering tokrava trees. But the same terrible fields of fire, the same sweltering heat and the same overwhelming sense of being watched at all times. 

Grance didn't like his homeworld. 

"We're here," he said, glancing down at the map on his dataslate. "Main water processing chamber."

"About time," Morrel said.

"Spread out, fire teams in twos. See any hivers, fire to suppress only. We're here to break the strike, not cause a riot."

Morrel checked the power pack on his hotshot gun and grinned. "Break 'em. Got it."

They moved further into the water plant.

Gehenna Stands!

Fighting for the Imperium again, here's a list of Scions that might be familiar from the previous report. But this is the fight they were picked for - shooting lots of squishy bugs. 

Iotan Dragons have extra range on their rapid fire weapons, which gives them the same threat on their hotshot guns as bolters have. Which is a big deal, as it means you can deep strike in and immediately rapid fire, instead of having to wait until somebody charges you. I've gone for several teams with overlapping firepower, and I'm hoping to get the Prime in the middle of them so he can shout at everyone at once. 

Shooty vehicles! Light armour of course, but against Tyranid shooting I'm a bit less scared than I usually would be. They can throw some nasty firepower out, of course, but they're not the best shots. Fingers crossed, my tanks and planes will last a little longer than usual. 

The Vulture is obviously the bird to watch. Those guns can mulch genestealers, and without fliers, the Tyranids will struggle to tie it up. Plus this is its third game, and new model syndrome will surely have worn off by now.

Iotan Dragons Battalion, 999 points, 6 CPs

• HQ - Tempestus Prime warlord with Rod of Command, Power Maul, Auto-Reliquary of Tiberius relic, Grand Strategist trait
• HQ - Commissar Lord with Bolt Pistol and Power Fist
• Troops - 8 x Scions, Tempestor has a Chainsword, there's a Vox and 2 Hotshot Volley Guns
• Troops - Same again
• Troops - 6 x Scions, Tempestor has a Chainsword, there's a Plasma Gun and a Grenade Launcher
• Troops - 6 x Scions, Tempestor has a Plasma Pistol and Power Sword, there's another Plasma Gun and a Flamer
• Elites - Tempestus Command Squad x 4, Platoon Standard, Vox, two Meltas
• Elites - Ogryn Bodyguard with Brute Shield and Ogryn Maul
• Flyer - Vulture Gunship with twin Vulture Gatling Cannons
• Dedicated Transport - Taurox Prime with Battle Cannon, Storm Bolter and twin Volley Guns
• Dedicated Transport - Taurox Prime with Missile Launcher and twin Autocannons

Gehenna Falls!

 Fighting for the end of Gehenna are the Tyranids. The second time these have been fielded by myself. My last encounter didnt go so well...

 

Down to the army. The main thrust is from a blob of Genestealers, the plan is to charge forth and murderise those squishy humans with a broodlord in tow for bonuses, psychic and of course his/her combat abilities. 

Success with Hive guard and ripper swarms in previous list make them an auto include, they are both such bothersome units and require a frustrating amount of firepower or manouvering to take them down.

 

First time running a Neurothrope, two psychic powers to throw out the D3 mortal wounds with a 3+invuln seems like a good take. Especially on 1 wound enemies.

 

Hoping to cause some annoyance and force Kraken to consider deep strike denial, the Mawloc is not the most competitive take. It does however give me the chance to appear and drop 3 mortal wounds on the target - with the stratagem

 

The final two units are a Carnifex with shooty and smashy options and the Warriors. Im a big fan of the warriors with the Assault 3 str5 weapon.  

 

Hive Fleet Jormundandr Battalion

• HQ - Broodlord with Ymgarl Factor trait, Catalyst
• HQ - Neurothrope with Psychic Scream
• Troops - 20 Genestealers with Adrenal Webs adaptation
• Troops - 3 Ripper Swarms
• Troops - 3 Ripper Swarms
• Troops - 3 Tyranid Warriors with Deathspitters and Bone Swords
• Elites - 3 Hive Guard with Impaler Cannons
• Heavy Support - Mawloc
• Heavy Support - Carnifex with Monstrous Scything Talons and Heavy Venom Cannon

Mission and Terrain

We are playing Ascension from the 2021 GT pack!

Scion Secondaries:

• 1. Ascension, the mission specific one. Hold the central objective to claim VPs equal to the current turn, plus an extra one if your Warlord is on it. I'm taking it because you can't spell Ascension without Scion. Kind of. 
• 2. Retrieve Octarius Data. Increasing points for performing an action in each of the four table quarters. My small fire teams can do this without sacrificing too much firepower, especially on the shorter-ranged squads.
• 3. Abhor the Witch, because everyone should. Kill those psychic brain bugs and watch the juicy VPs come trickling out!

Tyranid Secondaries:

• 1. Engage on All Front
• 2. Grind Them Down
  
• 3. Assassination

I hope these are complimentary to the plan and nids!

 

Gehenna Prime, I am reliably informed, is a Hive World, so we've got a grim and grimy sewage treatment plant to fight over. 

The gantries on the back wall are a first try at a vertical approach to Necromunda scenery, and I think it worked well. I'm planning on using it next time I have a skype game - easier to see it all on camera, plus plenty of falling damage! Here it's mostly set dressing, but certainly looks the part. 

Deployment

I go for a defensive stance after winning the first roll-off. Two larger fireteams along the northern edge, backed by the Vulture, the plan being to advance on objectives and scour the landscape on the way in. And one of them uses the gantries along the edge, because it'd be rude not to.

To the south, both Tauroxes with all the rest of the infantry in. Again, go in shooting, then set out the smaller units to either take out key enemy units or start retrieving Octarius data if they can't find anything to kill. The Prime is in deep strike, where i can stick him down to support whatever firing line I end up developing.

 

Im quite terrified at the prospect of the Vulture raining those bullets down on me! My plan is to be aggressive with the deployment so that every unit can take advantage. Going second is going to be painful, but its quite hard to hide 20 Genestealers from a flier with ALL the bullets. No guts no glory. I do however elect the Mawloc and Ripper Swarms to be in Deepstrike.

Looking to charge the biomass out in the open, the Genestealers and Warriors line up for the two squads. It feels cinematic for the Warriors to be charging across the gantry at the squad. Ive gone all Spacehulk...

My Hive guard sit at the back with range on the two northern squads and the flier. Neurothrope and Carnifex take aim for the distantly placed Tauroxs. Im quite glad they arent in range of the Genestealers.

Some tense rolling off for first turn, and Rapid takes it. We've got incoming!

Tyranids Turn 1

No guts no glory. Advancing the Genestealers and Broodlord towards the squad in the ruins the Genestealers get within a 8inch charge. The Broodlords advance is poor and tails behind. Warriors also advance poorly across the gantry, unable to opt for a charge.

 

No Psychic as nothing is in range.

 

The Hive guard open fire on the flier, the -1 to hit doesnt help and the dice are a whiff. 3 Wounds on the Vulture at least starts the counter downards.

My charge makes it! Opting to tail back so that the Broodlords bonuses still hit 6 of the Genestealers take out the squad. That was brutal!

Adrenal webs allows a unit to consolidate 2D6. A high roll gets them into engagement range of the unit in the gantry! Kraken of course hits back and a couple of Genestealers are taken out.

I pay 3CP so that the Genestealers can fight again and the Scion squad is taken down to 2. The Genestealers then wrap the remaining two, stopping them from falling out of combat the next turn. This will save them from the Vultures hail of bullets.

Objectives scored: Grind Them Down - 3

Scions Turn 1

Holy cow, that went south fast! There's nobody left that I can save on the northern flank, and I can't shoot the damn Genestealers because they're holding those two survivors hostage. Accordingly, I bring the two Tauroxes roaring towards the middle of the field, then put the Vulture just in front of them. In hover mode, because I have a plan. 

There isn't much shooting, as the two Tauroxes can only see the Carnifex and patter off its armour rather. But the Vulture can see the Broodlord, who takes a very great many shots to the shell. Somehow, it's not quite enough to pulverise the big chap, but he's only got a single wound left. 

Obviously, the last of the fireteam Scions get snipped apart. Then the Genestealers roll extra big for their adrenal web consolidation, and nip 12" back towards the centre of the table. 

I believe the phrase I'm looking for is "Oh, crap."

Objectives scored: Zip

Tyranids Turn 2

That 12inch consolidation is exactly what I needed. The Taurox are now in my sights. 

Advancing the Warriors forward, they still remain out of effective range. Their guns do however take some wounds off the Vulture. 

Sensing the wholesome goodness of Primaries, both the ripper squads pop up to help me claim some points. The Mawloc pops up and does 3 MW to one of the Taurox, this along with mortal wounds from Smite gets the Taurox down further.

Hive guard open up on the Vulture, hover mode shave off its -1 to hit and with single minded annihilation its taken down to 2 wounds.

A reasonable advance on the Genestealers gets them into a relatively easy charge range, the cunning little buggers realise that the Vulture is in hover mode and can now be tagged. A multi charge is declared and both Taurox and the Vulture are tagged by the Genestealers. These guys are putting in a lot of work

Objectives scored: Primaries - 15, Engage on All Fronts - 3

Scions Turn 2

Trailing smoke, the Vulture heads north again for one last huzzah. Everyone else stays out, though, I'm not backing down even in the face of overwhelming genestealers.

There isn't much space to get out of the tauroxes, I'm bracketed by the Mawloc. But i can squeeze the Commissar and his Ogryn out of one, and the Command squad with the meltas out of the other. The Prime drops in behind them and starts telling orders immediately.

Elimination Protocols lets the melta team flatten the Mawloc without much effort, then the Prime orders himself into cover behind the building. Both Tauroxes shoot up as many genestealers as possible (three) before the Vulture finally pinpoints the Broodlord and perforates it for good. 

Then the Commissar and his bodyguard go and take some names, bringing down all but three genestealers, with only the Ogryn tanking a couple of wounds in revenge. 

Not a bad turn, really! But I'm lagging on primaries, and haven't quite figured out my plan to get them back yet.

Objectives scored: Abhor the Witch - 3

Tyranids Turn 3

Careful removal of the Genestealers last round means that both of the Taurox are still in combat. Its time for the Carnifex to charge in and do some damage! Genestealers are down to their last 3 and are not going to last any longer. They have put in a shift today!

Dispatching one of the Taurox my Carnifex gets its first taste of action. He remains in combat with the second Taurox.

My hive guard finish off the Vultures last two wounds. Even bracketed I was worried about this unit. 43 shots would still have been brutal hitting on 6s. Spinning out of the sky, its crashes into the towers.

Sensing their demise, 2 Genestealers scram and scrape at the Commisar and the Ogryn only to be dispatched by them in return. The Carnifex stands alone!

  At the end of this round I have a bad feeling. Kraken still has a lot of assets and I feel quite exposed.

 

Objectives scored: Primaries - 15, Engage on All Fronts - 3

Scions Turn 3 

I've made a bit of breathing room here, so the rest of the men can deploy. Trouble is, the room has mostly been made by my exploding tanks. All the same, I've got the guns to do something.

So the cannon Taurox falls back, leaving the Carnifex open where I can melt it. The bossy Prime gives everyone Elimination Protocols, because I really need the big bug dead, but the meltas do their job and flatten it. This lets me pour a bit of firepower elsewhere, but there isn't much to see. I try to nip a wound off the Neurothrope, fail, and that's it.

The Ripper Swarms lose a wound or two to shooting, then the Commissar and the nearby Scions squad charge them, killing a base and a bit, losing a couple of men in return, but I've taken the objective for now, so we're even on the field at last.

Objectives scored: Primaries - 5

Tyranids Turn 4

Sensing their moment, Warriors enter the game! Charging down towards the Commisar and squad. The Neurothrope fires mind bullets and takes the central squad down to a man. A long charge allows the Warriors to wrap the Commisar, he doesnt like to die does he... 

He didnt die. He is wrapped, for now he isnt going anywhere.

Hive guard split fire into the Taurox and Ogryn and take them both out. The Ogryn felt quite the punch, I was lucky he failed his charge last round and ended up in the open.

 

Objectives scored: Primaries - 10, Grind Them Down - 3, Engage on All Fronts - 3

Scions Turn 4

Oh boy. I'm running on fumes here, but there's still work I can do. The Prime bellows orders in all directions, giving the plasma squad First Rank Fire! for some extra rapid fire as they head for the Neurothrope. The Command squad move move move to the objective, and he then moves himself back into cover, holding the nearby objective in person. 

With boosted range and extra shots, even a five-man team of Scions can put the hurt on something! Overcharging the plasma gun gives me three hits, the hotshot guns are blazing away, even the flamer helps.

Trouble is, I'm shooting a Neurothrope.

Net result - one wound. On hearing this, the Commissar is so dismayed he forgets to defend himself from the Warriors, so it's goodnight from him. Now I have them loping towards me, looking angry. Hooray!

Objectives scored: Primaries - 5

Tyranids Turn 5

Last turn went well for me, most definitely. The dice were very unkind to Kraken. As its the last turn I see about killing as much as possible. Warriors about turn, move and fire into the squad sitting in the sewerage. Picking up some biomass cocktails along the way. Its all a protein apparently.

My neurothrope drops a super smite and does 5 mortal wounds on the nearest squad. That was brutal.

Hive guard shoot into the Tempestus Prime and fail to kill him. 

Charging into the final squad, my warriors fail to take them all down. The flag bearer stands alone, but he stands proud.

Objectives scored: Primaries - maxed, Engage on All Fronts - 2

Scions Turn 5

Not much to do here, except Ascend at the last minute! 

As the standard bearer falls back from the Warriors (it's the wrong kind of flag to stab them with, it's the wavey kind), the Prime decides to take matters in hand and grab the middle objective by himself.

A quick trot and a rerolled charge, and he's knee-deep in Rippers. The base there has all three of its wounds left, but he's got three attacks, so I'm probably fine.

Except he misses one attack. No matter, the last CP of the game goes on the reroll! 

Which is also a miss. And then I get snake eyes for the damage anyway. 

Well, we still have a flag. Do you have a flag, Tyranids? No? Then we win. That's the rules. Thats fair

Objectives scored: Having a Flag - All The Points

Result: 66-13 to the Tyranids. Gehenna Falls!

Locker Room

Hell of a game! Divided and conquered once more, but even though I could see the points flying away from me, it always felt like had a chance to make it back in somehow. Great fun!

And I'm a 'Nid sympathiser anyway. Great to see their big gamble in deployment paying off, especially given that I thought they were going to struggle against the firepower here. Adrenal webs are clearly great, and I need to invest in them in the future. 

Hopefully Gehenna Prime has had more luck with it's defence elsewhere. Definitely not standing on the strength of this!

 

As always, a great game with Kraken. It was quite the gamble to deploy this way. First turn to the Scions and it could really have gone the other way. My Genestealers put on a brutal performance, high rolling from the consolidations really pushed them across the board. A different hive fleet could have optimised them even further. Jormundandr's 'always in cover' didnt really help, but it was worth a try. I look forward to the next encounter! This is 1 all for Scions vs Nids between me and Kraken, perhaps a third match is needed! However, for now Gehenna Prime has lost some of its loyal officer, their biomass consumed as we speak.