Events
and Battle Reports
New Year,
New Enemy, 2006
Part
1 <> Part 2
New Year, New
Enemy, 2006 (Part 1)
Battle
report and post-game analysis by Kenton Kilgore; post-game analysis by
Patrick Eibel
On (or close
to) every New Year’s Day, my friend Pat and I get together for some 40K
brutality. This year, Pat had something new and icky up his sleeve: a swarm
of Tyranids. For this battle, we thought we would play out a scenario suggested
in Episode 2 of the fiction series Traveller
of Both Time and Space. Hordes of Nids from Hivefleet
Ravana are bearing down on RS 19, an icy, mining world at the outermost
end of the star system held by the Fighting
Tigers Space Marines. A detachment of Tigers has arrived before
the Nids to evacuate the miners and fend off the Tyranids. As more Nids
flood onto the planet, Raja
Shamshir Talatra leads a detachment to bolster the initial Tiger
forces.
Fighting Tigers:
2996 points
I divided
my army into two detachments: a static, shooty element to whittle down
the Nids as they closed; and a mobile, assault-oriented force to deal with
them at close range.
Detachment
One: 1930 points
-
Chaplain
(Master of Sanctity) Talwar Chakram w/ crozius arcanum, rosarius,
storm bolter, and Terminator armor (130 pts)
-
Tigers
of Puchan, Jatis Ghuyarashtra (Space Marine Scouts). Veteran Sergeant
w/ bolter-flamer and auspex; nine Scouts w/ bolt pistols and close combat
weapons (150 pts)
-
Tigers
of Puchan, Jatis Mahaduyana (Space Marine Scouts). Veteran Sergeant
w/ bolter-flamer and auspex; nine Scouts w/ bolt pistols and close combat
weapons (150 pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Ghuyarashtra, Squad 3 (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant
w/ storm bolter; Marine w/ plasma cannon; three Marines w/ bolters (115
pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Mahaduyana, Squad 3 (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant
w/ storm bolter; Marine w/ missile launcher; three Marines w/ bolters (105
pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Ghuyarashtra, Squad 4 (Tactical Marines). Sergeant
and two Marines w/ bolters; Marine w/ plasma gun; one Marine w/ heavy bolter
(90 pts)
-
Man-eater.
Razorback w/ twin-linked lascannons, extra armor, smoke launchers, searchlight,
dozer blades (104 pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Mahaduyana, Squad 4 (Tactical Marines). Sergeant and
three Marines w/ bolters; Marine w/ plasma gun; one Marine w/ missile launcher
(110 pts)
-
Man-eater.
Razorback w/ twin-linked lascannons, extra armor, smoke launchers, searchlight,
dozer blades (104 pts)
-
Flying
Tiger Squadron. Three Land Speeders w/ heavy bolters (150 pts)
-
Tiger
Sharks Squadron. Two Land Speeders w/ heavy bolters (100 pts)
-
Tiger
Claw. Vindicator w/ extra armor, smoke launchers, searchlight, hunter-killer
missile (148 pts)
-
Tigers
of Agni, Jatis Ghuyarashtra (Devastator Marines). Veteran Sergeant
w/ bolter and auspex; five Marines w/ bolters; four Marines w/ missile
launchers (247 pts)
-
Tigers
of Agni, Jatis Mahaduyana (Devastator Marines). Veteran Sergeant w/
bolter and auspex; five Marines w/ bolters; four Marines w/ heavy bolters
(227 pts)
Detachment
Two: 1066 points
-
Raja
Shamshir Talatra (Space Marine Commander [Master]) w/ Space Marine
bike, power weapon, Iron Halo, and Terminator honors (160 pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Ghuyarashtra, Squad 1 (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant
w/ bolter-flamer; Marine w/ flamer; Marine w/ meltagun (Cleanse and
Purify Trait); seven Marines w/ bolters (186 pts)
-
Man-eater.
Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launchers, searchlight, dozer blades (63 pts)
-
Tigers
of Rudra, Jatis Ghuyarashtra, Squad 2 (Tactical Marines). Veteran Sergeant
w/ bolter-flamer; Marine w/ flamer; Marine w/ meltagun (Cleanse and
Purify Trait); seven Marines w/ bolters (186 pts)
-
Man-eater.
Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launchers, and searchlight (59 pts)
-
Tigers
of Kali, Jatis Ghuyarashtra (Assault Marines). Veteran Sergeant w/
bolt pistol and power fist; two Marines w/ flamers; eight Marines w/ bolt
pistols and close combat weapons. All w/ jump packs and frag grenades (262
pts)
-
Tigers
of Kali (Attack Bikes). Three Attack Bikes w/ heavy bolters (150 pts)
Tyranids: 3001 points
Pat also divided
his army into two detachments (you will see why under Setting Up),:
one stocked with lots of Gaunts, Warriors, and Big F’Ugly Critters; the
other with Genestealers.
Detachment
One: 1998 points
-
Hive
Tyrant w/ enhanced sense, toxin sacs, adrenal glands (+1 WS), venom
cannon, lash whip and bonesword, The Horror (156 pts)
-
Two
Tyrant
Guard w/ rending claws and scything talons (90 pts)
-
Two
Lictors
(160 pts)
-
Carnifex
(Elite unit) w/ enhanced senses, adrenal glands (+1 WS), twin-linked devourers,
scything talons (115 pts)
-
Carnifex
(Elite unit) w/ adrenal glands (+1 WS, +1 Initiative), two sets of scything
talons (111 pts)
-
Sixteen
Termagants
w/ fleshborers, toxin sacs, Without Number ability (96 pts)
-
Eighteen
Hormagaunts
w/ toxin sacs, scything talons (216 pts)
-
Eighteen
Hormagaunts
w/ toxin sacs, scything talons (216 pts)
-
Four
Tyranid
Warriors (Fast Attack unit) w/ wings, enhanced senses, toxin sacs,
rending claws, and deathspitters (196 pts)
-
Six
Tyranid
Warriors (Fast Attack unit) w/ wings, adrenal glands (+1 Initiative),
rending claws, and scything talons (236 pts)
-
Two
Zoanthropes
w/ toxic miasma, warp field, and warp blast (110 pts)
-
Carnifex
w/ enhanced senses, venom cannon, and barbed strangler (148 pts)
-
Carnifex
w/ enhanced senses, venom cannon, and barbed strangler (148 pts)
Detachment
Two: 1003 points
-
Broodlord
w/ extended carapace, flesh hooks, rending claws, and scything talons (83
pts)
-
Ten
Genestealers
(retinue for Broodlord) w/ extended carapace (200 pts)
-
Twelve
Genestealers
w/ extended carapace (240 pts)
-
Twelve
Genestealers
w/ extended carapace (240 pts)
-
Twelve
Genestealers
w/ extended carapace (240 pts)
Setting Up
We played
on a 4' x 7' table in my garage. Pat set up the table to make it resemble
a desolate, wintry scene: the white drop cloth represents ice. The action
takes place near the entrance to a mine, so Pat used purple gravel to represent
slag piles and various pieces of stuff he found in my garage to represent
mining machinery and buildings. He ran a swimming pool hose around the
perimeter of the table to represent a pipeline or a transport system. He
plunked down an indoor fountain (that tall, pyramid-like object you see
below)
to serve as the entrance to the mine.
Above: Scouts
hold the line and Marines on the hill stand ready to fire
Deployment
zones were the same as those used for the "Strongpoint" mission: as the
Defender, I had a box 24" square, anchored on a table edge, in which to
deploy my first detachment. Pat could deploy his first detachment anywhere
on the table 18" away from my deployment zone. We agreed that on Turn 4,
more Tyranids (in the form of the Genestealers) would arrive from Reserves,
to represent the encroaching Hive Fleet. Also on Turn 4, my second detachment—reinforcements—would
arrive.
We set up Heavy
Support first, followed by Troops, Elites, HQ, and Fast Attack. I put my
Vindicator in the front, to deal with the Carnifexes and Zoanthropes Pat
had deployed nearby. My Devastator and Tactical Squads set up atop the
mine entrance, with plenty of cover and excellent lines of sight. The Razorbacks
were set up to target Carnifexes. Talwar Chakram and both Scout squads
massed at the base of the mine entrance, in response to a mustering of
gaunts and Warriors on the Tigers’ right flank. Finally, I spread out my
Land Speeders to the left and front of the mine entrance.
As mentioned,
Pat massed all his Troops along my right flank, backed by both broods of
Warriors and two Carnifexes (one venom cannon/barbed strangler and the
twin-linked death spitter ‘fex). The Zoats and other Carnifex with venom
cannon and barbed strangler started in the center, near the Tyrant and
his Guards. The Lictors were in Reserve and the Carni with the twin
scything talons started waaay off on Pat’s far right (my left).
New Year,
New Enemy, 2006
Part
1 <> Part 2
Posted February 2006
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