Counter Offensive 2: Orks and Tyranids  by Patrick Eibel
So Counter Offensive weekend has come and gone, and by all accounts it was an unqualified success. Everyone had a marvelous time, and I played more 40K in two days than I played in the last two months.

In preparation for Counter Offensive, I posted two lists, one for Orks and one for Tyranids. My hope was to get some playing time in with these armies to get a better feeling of their capabilities. In the end, I played two games with the Tyranids, one game with the Orks, and one game using my Imperial Guard/Witch Hunter figures. What follows is an analysis of how the first two armies fared and possible changes for the future.

Da Orks: Footsloggers Anonymous
The Ork list I prepared for Counter Offensive was heavy on foot troops and light on vehicles other than Killer Kans and a Dreadnought. I managed to get on game in with the greenskins on Sunday morning against 2,000 points of Blood Angels (I deleted the Boar Boys and Nobz Mob to fit under the points). My opponent (Mike Sommerville, an all-around good guy) brought the following:

• Librarian w/ Fury of The Ancients, Terminator armor
• Scout Squad w/ sniper rifles and a heavy bolter
• Scout Squad w/ pistols and swords
• Two Tactical Squads w/ lascannon and plasma gun
• Two Tactical Squads w/ missile launcher and plasma gun
• Terminator Squad w/ two assault cannons
• Terminator Squad w/ two assault cannons
• Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter

‘Nids-R-Us: Choppy Death
I was able to play two games with my new Tyranid army, which was great to finally see in action. Since this was a totally new army for me, I was more concerned with remembering all the special rules for my figures than actually winning. In the end, I had mixed results on both accounts.

My first battle was a 2,500-point Take And Hold against Eldar at Omega level. John, my opponent, fielded a fairly typical Eldar army: Avatar, four Guardian Squads with bright lances or starcannons, two War Walkers with star cannons, Wraithlord, two squads of Striking Scorpions, a Farseer and an assortment of Warlocks to cast Guide and Fortune.

I set up all of the Genestealers on the left flank, the Hormagaunts backed up by Tyranid Warriors next, and the Hive Tyrant and retinue and assault Carnifex on the right flank.  The deployment was tight, only taking up half of the board in an attempt to minimize the Eldar shooting (they were spread out across the board). 

The battle went pretty much as expected, with many shooting casualties on the Tyranid side, and, once the Genestealers closed with the Guardians, much Eldar death in close combat. The only real mistake I made was trotting out my assault Carnifex into the open and obviously well short of assault range, only to have it mercilessly gunned down by the two War Walkers (I now understand the complaints about star cannons). I should have taken an extra round in cover to make sure I had the range to assault—lesson learned. Still, the game was close in the end and I only lost by 700 points; not bad for my first game with a new army.

The next game was an Alpha-level Seek and Destroy against Iron Warriors. While the Iron Warrior army did have the obligatory Obliterators (two units of 3), I was surprised at the total lack of vehicles. In this battle, I consolidated my troops even more into the corner to deny my opponent shots from his Havoc Squad (they spent at least two turns moving into position). The two best moments were:

1) When my two Lictors popped up and mauled his Veteran Squad with plasma guns (my opponent was having way too much fun double-firing the plasma guns, so I relieved him of that option), and 

2) Having a squad of Genestealers and the assault Carnifex wipe out a squad of Chaos Terminators (not just kill them, but run them down—all those points lost on a die roll!). 

I am really enthused about the Tyranids. Aside from the fact that I think Games Workshop did a marvelous job with the codex, I really enjoy the way the army play (but then, I always was a close-combat junkie). I did learn a couple of things from the games I played (I am definitely getting wings for the Tyranid Warriors so they can keep up with the Hormagaunts), and had a great time in the process.

Related Pages 
Counter Offensive
Countdown to Counter Offensive 2

© Copyright Patrick Eibel, September 2005. Used with permission.
 

Top