Riding high from our initial victory, we prepared for our second game. The mission was Purge the Alien with Dawn of War deployment. We knew this would be a tough mission as the Tyranids tend to give up a bunch of kill points.
Once again, my list was:
Farseer
9 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent w/ twin-linked scatter lasers, shuriken cannon
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent w/ twin-linked scatter lasers, shuriken cannon
5 Fire Dragons
Wave Serpent w/ twin-linked scatter lasers, shuriken cannon
9 Warp Spiders
The Tyranid list was:
Tervigon w/ catalyst, dominion, stinger salvo, toxin sacs,
3 Hive Guard
Doom of Malantai
Mycetic Spore
8 Ymgarl Genestealers
10 Termagants w/ fleshborers
10 Termagants w/ fleshborers
Trygon Prime w/ toxin sacs
Our opponents were Necrons and Eldar. I had played the Necron player before, in the first game of Brawler Bash. In that game, he almost wiped me out. I was hoping to turn that around this time.
The Necron list was:
Overlord w/ warscythe, mindshackle scarabs, sempiternal weave
9 Warriors
Harbinger of the Storm w/ voltaic staff
Night Scythe
5 Warriors
Harbinger of the Storm w/ voltaic staff
Night Scythe
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
The Eldar list was:
Farseer
9 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent w/ scatter lasers, twin-linked shuriken catapults
11 Guardian Defenders
Wave Serpent w/ scatter lasers, twin-linked shuriken catapults
7 Striking Scorpions w/ Exarch w/ scorpion’s claw, monster hunter
Wave Serpent w/ scatter lasers, twin-linked shuriken catapults
10 Warp Spiders
We won the roll-off to choose our deployment zone and then won again and chose to deploy first. We deployed with a strong center so that we could engage the enemy fliers when they came on. The Hive Guard deployed forward so they’d be in range, while the Warp Spiders hid behind them. The Wave Serpents deployed with good fields of fire, and the Tervigon deployed out of sight behind a building. Our two squads of Termagants deployed on the flanks, where they would be able to go to ground. The thought process here was that they would not give up easy kill points.
The enemy army deployed their vehicles behind building, with their Striking Scorpions and Warp Spiders in buildings on our left. We thought we were in a strong position, and then they stole the initiative.
Turn 1
Our opponents took advantage of their first turn, advancing aggressively. Their Warp Spiders jumped forward into the center of the table. Along with their Annihilation Barges, they concentrated fire on the Hive Guard and wiped them out. Their remaining fire destroyed my lead Wave Serpent and stranded my larger squad of Dire Avengers with Farseer. On the flanks, they peppered our Termagants with fire to little effect. Like champs, the Termagants passed their morale checks. Fortunately for us, the enemy Warp Spiders only moved back 3” with their assault move.
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| The enemy Warp Spiders just after wiping out the Hive Guard. |
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| The Annihilation Barges destroy my lead Wave Serpent. |
We were battered, but we wanted to draw as much blood as we could before we were totally disarmed. (Chris: With my army mainly in reserve I hunkered down and hoped Codicier Ignatius could counter punch hard). My Farseer Guidedmy Warp Spiders and Doomed the enemy Warp Spiders. My Warp Spiders jumped forward and targeted the enemy Warp Spiders, along with my Dire Avengers, killing all but two.
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| My Eldar take vengeance on the enemy Warp Spiders. |
My Fire Dragon Wave Serpent advanced and blasted the central enemy Wave Serpent, shaking it. My Warp Spiders jumped behind a building, hiding from most of the enemy army. However, I forgot about the enemy Wave Serpent on our left flank.
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| My Warp Spiders think they're safe, but it's not to be. |
Turn 2
The Necron flyers didn’t come on, so our opponents buckled down and concentrated their firepower. The Annihilation Barges took the table center while the Wave Serpents stayed a bit further back. Their combined fire took out my remaining Wave Serpents, killing 3 Fire Dragons in the process. Their Farseer Misfortuned my Warp Spiders, who took 4 casualties from the Wave Serpent they were facing. Amazingly, our Termagants took no losses this turn; Chris was really hot with his cover saves.
We were on the back foot, but we were looking to pick up some kill points this turn. My Warp Spiders jumped forward a massive 18”, losing another warrior in the process, and destroyed the Wave Serpent on the left.
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| My Warp Spiders prepare to destroy a Wave Serpent. |
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| They then take cover int the nearby ruin. |
The Doom of Malantai landed next to the Striking Scorpions, sucking a few wounds off them.
My Farseer Doomedthe Annihilation Barge in the center, but my Fire Dragons failed to kill it. Fortunately, the Trygon erupted from the ground behind it and blasted it from the sky.
Finally, the Ymgarl Genestealers erupted from a building sheltering a Wave Serpent and tore it to pieces. However, this left them sitting out in the open so they would be unable to shelter themselves in the ruins from any sort of counter punch.
Turn 3
We had had a good Turn 2, but the Necron Night Scythes both showed up this turn. One strafed their board edge, dropping off its squad and annihilating the Ymgarls. The other swung over the center of the table, killing my remaining Fire Dragons. The Annhilation Barges blasted my Dire Avengers with the Farseer, killing all but 2, while the enemy Dire Avengers disembarked from their Wave Serpent to shoot the Trygon. Fortunately for us, they couldn’t kill it. Finally, the Striking Scorpions assaulted the Doom of Malantai; though they did a few wounds, they couldn’t quite kill the hungry Zoanthrope.
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| The Necron flyers blaze onto the table. |
The Tyranids took to the offensive this turn. The Tervigon assaulted the Annihilation Barge in front of it, destroying it, while the Trygon assaulted the Dire Avengers that had shot it, slaughtering them and leaving one alive who eventually would flee the table. My Eldar generally hid, trying to preserve victory points, though the Warp Spiders made an ineffectual attack run on a Night Scythe. The Doom sucked a few wounds from the Striking Scorpions, who continued to bounce off its 3+ invulnerable.
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| The Tervigon takes the battle to the Necrons, while my Dire Avengers try not to become a kill point. |
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| The Trygon prepares to devour some tasty Dire Avengers. |
Turn 4
We had dealt with the enemy Eldar pretty well, but the Necron reinforcements were doing their best to clean up our remaining forces. Combined fire from the Guardians and a Night Scythe and its Warrior squad killed off my remaining Warp Spiders, while another Night Scythe deployed in our deployment zone to gun down my small squad of Dire Avengers. Some lucky cover saves meant that 2 survived. Necron fire lashed both the Tervigon and Trygon. When the lightning dissipated, both monsters were wounded but alive. The last Annihilation Barge killed the Mycetic Spore, while the Striking Scorpions ineffectually tried to kill the Doom.
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| The counter attack the brought down my Warp Spiders. |
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| The Striking Scorpions continue to batter the Doom, who continues to eat their souls. |
We didn’t have much left on the table at this point. My Dire Avengers tried to hunker down out of sight while the Tervigon advanced, hungry for victory points. The Trygon assaulted the last enemy Wave Serpent, destroying it utterly.
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| The Trygon continues its rampage, taking out the last Wave Serpent. |
Turn 5
With few targets left, the enemy started to withdraw and consolidate. Some shot at the Tervigon and Trygon but still failed to kill the massive creatures. Sadly, the Warriors in our deployment zone killed my small squad of Dire Avengers, netting another Victory Point. The Striking Scorpions finally managed to kill the Doom.
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| The Striking Scorpions finally emerge victorious. |
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| This Necron squad finally caught up to and slaughtered my small squad of Dire Avengers. |
My last 3 Eldar models hid in a building, while the Trygon moved back toward our deployment zone to take cover in a building. The Tervigon tried to assault the last Annihilation Barge, but rolled a 3 for its charge distance. With that, we rolled to see if the game went on and it (mercifully) ended.
Lessons Learned:
1) We actually think we played this game pretty well. We initially were mauled when we lost first turn, but we slowly clawed our way back and made a game of it. At the end of turn 2, we were down 5-0, but it was 13-7 at the end of the game.
2) The Wave Serpents and Warp Spiders are good anti-air units, but they were destroyed before the Night Scythes arrived on the table. I need to be more careful with them when I’m expecting lots of flyers.
3) Chris: Playing a Tervigon aggressively, especially in a kill points mission, is not a bad way to go. It’s a lesson that I think really hit home over the course of the tournament. In a team environment and when he’s not spawning gants, he’s still a monstrous creature and has some real ability to cause some damage. Its 6 wounds give it a lot more durability then I give it credit for. Since he doesn’t move faster than a basic infantry unit it’s important to move him early in order to get him within range to do some damage. This is especially important in this age of armies who sit back and just shoot each other across the table.
