Fall From Grace III: Battle Summaries for Fighting Tigers
Long-time visitors to the Jungle know that I'm constantly creating and tinkering with army lists, usually basing them around some kind of theme (want more examples?). For FFG III, I brought some new and revised Space Marine army lists, each 2000 points, to try out. Feel free to try one as is or with some tweaking. 

"Tigers Eternal"
This is an all-infantry list based around the three Dreadnoughts (or "Tigers Eternal," as I call them) in my collection. In addition to the Dreads, the army has lots of Troops (to soak up casualties) and two Assault Squads, led by a Librarian with a jump pack. 

The concept for this army is not much different than that of your typical Tyranid swarm: some fast units to engage the enemy quickly, tying them up in hand-to-hand combat and blocking lines of fire while the rest of the army advances. In place of Hormagaunts, I used Assault Squads. In place of Termagants and Genestealers, I used Tactical Squads and Scouts. And in place of Carnifexes, I used Dreadnoughts. Though an odd composition, I think it captures most elements of what I consider to be a balanced army.

Of course, Tyranids can do this sort of thing much better: they have more numbers and superior hand-to-hand ability. This isn't a list designed to defeat every foe and win tournaments: it's meant to be fun and challenging to use. If it succeeds, fine; if not, that's fine, too. I'm old enough and have been playing long enough that I don't feel the need to dominate every game and crush every opponent just to feed my ego.
 

HQ
Chandramatie Bahl. Librarian w/ force weapon, bolt pistol, jump pack, frag grenades.	122 pts
Elites
Tiger Eternal Shiva the Destroyer. Dreadnought w/ close combat weapon (ccw) + heavy flamer, assault cannon, extra armor, and smoke launchers.	123 pts
Tiger Eternal Shrendi Vashtar. Dreadnought w/ ccw  + heavy flamer, multi melta, extra armor, and smoke launchers.	133 pts
Tiger Eternal Surya Ashoka. Dreadnought w/ twin-linked lascannons, missile launcher, extra armor, and smoke launchers.	143 pts
Troops
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has bolter-flamer and ccw. Eight Marines have bolters. One Marine has a flamer.	181 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has bolter-flamer and ccw. Eight Marines have bolters. One Marine has a flamer.	181 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has storm bolter. Seven Marines have bolters. One Marine has a plasma gun. One Marine has a missile launcher.	186 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has storm bolter. Seven Marines have bolters. One Marine has a plasma gun. One Marine has a missile launcher.	186 pts
Tigers of Puchan (Tactical Scouts). Scout Sergeant + 4 Scouts. Sergeant and three Scouts have bolters. One Scout has an autocannon.	85 pts
Fast Attack
Tigers of Kali (Assault Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has plasma pistol and ccw. Seven Marines have bolt pistols and ccw. Two Marines have plasma pistols and ccw. All have blind grenades.	330 pts
Tigers of Kali (Assault Marines). Veteran Sergeant + 9 Marines. Veteran Sergeant has plasma pistol and ccw. Seven Marines have bolt pistols and ccw. Two Marines have plasma pistols and ccw. All have blind grenades.	330 pts
Total	2000 pts

So how did this army do? 

Battle Results for the "Tigers Eternal" Army 
Mission: Patrol (page 141 of the main rulebook) 
Opponent: Tau (Dwayne Powell)
Points per Player: 2000 

What happened? In theory, there's no way I could win this battle. My forces would have to arrive piecemeal (thanks to the Reserve rule) and walk across a fairly open table into the guns of the Tau. Dwayne certainly had the tools in place: a Commander with Bodyguard, an Ethereal, a Crisis Battlesuit unit, several squads of Fire Warriors, a guy in a Broadside suit, and two Hammerheads--one with an ion cannon, the other with a railgun. 

I lucked out on the Reserve rolls and all my jump packers were on the board by Turn 3. I made good use of what cover there was, advancing behind a clump of trees that blocked most of Dwayne's line of sight. And Dwayne made two mistakes. His first was concentrating most of his fire on my Tactical Squads, allowing my Librarian and about half a dozen Assault Marines to make it to his lines. His other error was in moving his Commander and guards a smidge too close to Shiva, letting him charge into close combat. 

But what really won the game for me was the fact that it lasted 8 turns (thanks to the Random Game Length rule). Once I was able to come to grips with the Tau, it was all over for them. My jump packers tore through the Fire Warrior teams and Shiva shredded the Commander, his friends, and their drones. 

Outcome: Tigers win (1034 Victory Points to 485 Victory Points). 

"Master and Apprentice"
I was inspired by Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones to create a strike force led by two Librarians, one older and wiser, one still in training. The "master" would be Zaghnal Maratha, the "apprentice" would be an spare Librarian figure I haven't used in years, re-named and brought back into active duty.

Because each Librarian has a jump pack, I thought it would be cool to give each a squad of Assault Marines to command. 
 

HQ
Zaghnal Maratha. Space Marine Librarian w/ force weapon, bolt pistol, jump pack, Terminator honors, and frag grenades	137 pts
Chandramatie Bahl. Space Marine Librarian w/ force weapon, bolt pistol, jump pack, and frag grenades	122 pts
Troops
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Tactical Marines. Vet Sarge has bolter-flamer. Eight Marines have bolters. One has a flamer.	181 pts
Man-eater I. Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launcher, searchlight	59 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Tactical Marines. Vet Sarge has bolter-flamer. Eight Marines have bolters. One has a flamer.	181 pts
Man-eater II. Rhino w/ dozer blade, extra armor, smoke launcher	63 pts
Fast Attack
Tigers of Kali (Assault Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Assault Marines. Vet Sarge has plasma pistol and power weapon. Two Marines have plasma pistols and close combat weapons (ccw). Seven have bolt pistols and ccw. All have blind grenades.	345 pts
Tigers of Kali (Assault Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Assault Marines. Vet Sarge has plasma pistol and power weapon. Two Marines have plasma pistols and close combat weapons (ccw). Seven have bolt pistols and ccw. All have blind grenades.	345 pts
Tiger Sharks. Squadron of three Land Speeders w/ multi-meltas	195 pts
Heavy Support
Tyger Tyger. Predator Annihilator w/ lascannon sponsons, extra armor, smoke launchers, and searchlight.	154 pts
Sabretooth. Whirlwind w/ extra armor and smoke launchers.	83 pts
Tigers of Agni (Devastator Marines). Sarge w/ bolter + 4 Marines with heavy bolters.	135 pts
Total	2000 pts

At Games Day 2002, I used a smaller version of this list, but I wasn't happy with the battle I played. It was a fun and challenging game, and I managed to win, but I spent the whole game running away from the attacking Space Wolves. I wanted to try again and play a bit more aggressively. 

To say it had been an interesting week would be an understatement. The arrival of a mysterious battle barge in Vedic space had heralded the coming of an army of Space Marines claiming to be a long-lost Legion from the time of the Great Crusades.

These so-called Borderlands Marines were a strange lot. They spoke an ancient dialect, and their manners and customs were at times awkward, to say the least. By far their most disconcerting aspect was their sense of humor, which tended toward elaborate, humiliating practical jokes. Nevertheless, the Fighting Tigers had welcomed them and begun joint training exercises.

Chief Librarian Zaghnal Maratha was the liaison with the Borderlands Marines. On the morning of the fourth meeting between himself and Belisarius, the Master of the Borderlands Legion, Zaghnal Maratha was interrupted by an aide-de-camp who reported that the sacred pelt of the Tigers of Kali, the Assault Marines, was missing from their temple. Chandramatie Bahl, Zaghnal's Apprentice Librarian, was in a rage, meting out punishments and swearing revenge.

Belisarius laughed. He explained that the Borderlands Marines were a training Legion, and thus had a disproportionately high number of Scouts amongst its ranks. No doubt these Scouts had “acquired” the pelt, partly as a prank, partly to test their skills against the watchfulness of Space Marines.

With a scowl on his face, Zaghnal Maratha explained to Belisarius that this was a serious matter, and that he would be punishing his Tigers for their neglect of duty. He expected Belisarius to administer corresponding punishments to the offending Scouts.

Belisarius offered a suggestion. “Brother Zaghnal, hear my words, and ponder their worth. Truly, the Scouts of the Borderlands Legion have o’er stepped the bounds of behavior of guests that have been treated in the honorable manner that the sons and daughters of Veda have treated them! I propose the following: before each of us administers the just punishment due our respective troops, let us give your Vedic Marines the opportunity to regain some of their lost honor.

“Earlier this week, we held a training exercise. Let us hold another this afternoon. I will have my Scouts in the field, unsupported by their battle brothers, with but a few Veteran Marines to act as observers. Have the aggrieved Marines from your Kali temple take the field against them. This will give your troops the opportunity to exact revenge and restore their honor, and it will teach my Scouts that their battle brothers will not always be there to get them out of trouble if they foolishly seek it!”

Zaghnal agreed, and the two forces met on the Urban Training Grounds.

Story © copyright Stan Reed, August 2002. Used with permission.

Battle Results for the "Master and Apprentice" Army 
Mission: Cleanse (page 139 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Borderlands Space Marines (Stan Reed) 
Points per Player: 2000

What happened? Stan, the owner of Borderlands, has a large Space Marine army named after his store. Like the Fighting Tigers, the Borderlands Marines have a distinctive paint scheme and use the rules straight out of Codex: Space Marines. The role of the Borderlands Marines is to train Scouts from other Space Marine Chapters before they become full-fledged members. Thus, Stan has many Scout Squads painted up to represent units from other Chapters: Blood Angels, Black Templars, Ultramarines, etc. 

He and I have played before, and we had been looking forward for quite some time to a rematch. As a form of good-humored taunting, Stan had fashioned a "tiger pelt" (see below) and bragged on the Millenium Gate forum that he was going to "skin some more Tigers" when we played. I was determined to go home with that trophy and proposed that the winner of our impending game got to keep it for "bragging rights." 

Stan brought a way-cool "First and Ten" army: two squads of Terminators ("First Company") and heaps of Scouts ("Tenth Company"). They were backed up by a squad of Assault Marines and a Land Speeder with a multi-melta.

I stayed away from the Terminators, hopping my jump pack troops between and on top of buildings, harrying Scouts and the Borderlands Assault Marines. My Tactical and Devastator Marines and my Whirlwind exchanged fire with the rest of the Scouts as my Predator and Land Speeders took potshots at the Terminators. 

It was a close and hard-fought game throughout, and only decided on the last turn. One of Stan's Terminator squads was threatening to claim my deployment quarter after my Devastator Marines and Whirlwind had been taken out. My Predator Annihilator fired all its lascannons into the Termies--and three Borderlands veterans fell! The squad failed its Morale check and fell back. I was assured of at least a tie. 

If I could knock down the other Terminator squad (in another table quarter) to below half, I could win the game. Determined to have her revenge, Apprentice Chandramatie Bahl and the few Tigers of Kali she had left used their jump packs to crash through the windows of a nearby building, where they confronted the Terminators. In the brief but fierce melee, the Librarian and her attendant Veteran Sergeant hacked down three Terminators, leaving neither side in control of that quarter. In the end, the Tigers had one quarter, two quarters were contested, and one was empty. 

Outcome: Tigers win.

"The Redhead"
At Fall From Grace II, my favorite character, Raja Khandar Madu ("The Redhead," at right), was taken out by a well-placed lascannon shot during a game against my pal Thomas Prince. Thomas (webmaster of the excellent Wolf & Rabbit @ Arms, by the way) won that game and had been pretty pleased with how easily he dealt with the Turbo-Hottie of Death. He was so pleased, in fact, that for the next year, he frequently reminded me of it during our discussions on the Millenium Gate and Bolter and Chainsword forums. 

So when Thomas brought his new "Urban Tiger" Tau army to FFG III, I decided to reacquaint him with Raja Khandar Madu. This list expands on the Rogue Trader Tourney and Games Day 2002 lists I used for her, bumping her back up to a Force Commander and adding in a Command Squad. In addition, it lets me use three units I can't bring to "official" Games Workshop events: my Vedic Siege Gun (which uses the Vehicle Design Rules), a converted Scout Squad, and a smattering of Gray Tigers (which, like the Scouts, use non-GW figures). 

HQ
Raja Khandar Madu. Space Marine Force Commander w/ master-crafted lightning claws, artificer armor, Iron Halo, and Terminator Honors	165 pts
Singh (Command) Squad. Sarge + 4 Marines. Sarge has bolt pistol and close combat weapon (ccw). Standard Bearer has Sacred Standard, bolt pistol and ccw. Techmarine has bolt pistol and power weapon. Apothecary has bolt pistol and power weapon. One Marine has a flamer.	150 pts
Man-eater IV. Razorback w/ twin-linked plasma guns and lascannon; dozer blade, extra armor, smoke launchers.	98 pts
Elites
Gray Tigers (Veterans). Sarge + 5 Veteran Marines. Sarge and 4 Marines have bolters. One has a plasma gun.	114 pts
Troops
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Tactical Marines. Vet Sarge has bolter-flamer. Eight Marines have bolters. One has a flamer.	181 pts
Man-eater I. Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launcher, searchlight	59 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Tactical Marines. Vet Sarge has bolter-flamer. Eight Marines have bolters. One has a flamer.	181 pts
Man-eater II. Rhino w/ dozer blade, extra armor, and smoke launcher.	63 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Vet Sarge + 9 Tactical Marines. Vet Sarge has storm bolter. Seven Marines have bolters. One has a plasma gun. One has a missile launcher.	186 pts
Man-eater III. Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launcher, searchlight	59 pts
Tigers of Rudra (Tactical Marines). Sarge + 4 Tactical Marines. Sarge has bolt pistol and ccw. Three Marines have bolters. One has a melta gun.	85 pts
Man-eater V. Razorback w/ twin-linked lascannons; dozer blade, extra armor, smoke launchers, and searchlight.	104 pts
Tigers of Puchan (Scouts). Vet Sarge + 4 Space Marine Scouts. Vet Sarge has bolter-flamer. Three Scouts have bolters. One has an autocannon.	108 pts
Fast Attack
Tiger Shark. Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter.	50 pts
Tiger Shark. Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter.	50 pts
Tiger Shark. Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter.	50 pts
Heavy Support
Tyger Tyger. Predator Annihilator w/ lascannon sponsons, extra armor, smoke launchers, and searchlight.	154 pts
Vedic Siege Gun. Fully armored, w/ Earthshaker cannon	140 pts
Total	2000 pts

So how did this army do?

Battle Results for "The Redhead" Army 
Mission: Take and Hold (page 145 of the main rulebook )
Opponent: Tau (Thomas Prince) 
Points per Player: 2000

What happened? We rolled the mission randomly, then used Strategy Ratings (page 129 of the main rulebook) to determine who would be the attacker. I won and pondered my options--while I did that, Thomas placed the objective (a small bunker) at one end of the board, smack in the middle.

I'm not the world's brightest guy, but I figured out fairly quickly that I was better off letting Thomas defend, forcing him to deploy his Troops (four Fire Warrior Teams and two Kroot Carnivore Squads) and Heavy Support (two Hammerheads and a Broadside unit) where my entire army could swiftly reach them. If I was going to charge his forces anyway, why not make it easy on myself and have most of them already in the middle of the board? 

By Turn 2, my Tactical Squads (led by Raja Khandar Madu) were tearing through the Tau lines. As each Tau unit fell back or were wiped out, my Tigers swept forward, ignoring the fierce counterfire the Tau pumped into them. The difficult terrain (the toxic waste pool in the photo above) slowed some of my foot troops and immobilized one of my transports, but I persevered, my Tactical Squads swarming over and even entering the objective. Surely, I had the game won, right?

Well, perhaps not. Thomas gave me a scare late in the game when he used Tank Shock to shove a Hammerhead past my Tactical Marines and get its nose up against the wall of the bunker/objective. If the game ended at that point, he could argue that he had forced a tie even though I had Marines inside the bunker. 

Fortunately, the game went on another turn and the plasma gunner of my Gray Tigers unit successfully hit the tank, rolled a "6" to score a glancing hit against the front armor, then rolled another "6" to destroy the Hammerhead. Truly, that "fallen Tiger" redeemed himself and would be welcomed back into the Chapter!

Outcome: Tigers win.

DOH!
I played one more game with my Tigers, against my pal Ken Lacy and his all-consuming Ripper Swarm army. Ken's army consisted of six Tyranid Warriors, two Carnifexes, and 60 (no, that's not a typo) Ripper Swarms. We played a Recon, and Ken won (2094 Victory Points to 1135). But it might have been closer (or even had a different winner) had I not forgotten to deploy and use:

• 5 Terminators (including one with assault cannon and one with Cyclone missile launcher);
• 3 Land Speeders with heavy bolters (in a squadron);
• 3 Land Speeders with heavy bolters (in a squadron); and
• 3 Attack Bikes with heavy bolters.

How frustrating...and embarrassing.... 

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© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, September 2002
 

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