The final game of the day at the Rapid Strike 40k tournament would see my Deathwatch take on Chris' T'au on the top table. 

This mission was Cloak and Shadows. In this mission, we get three cards per turn, but keep your cards secret from your opponent until you score them. 

My army consisted of:

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

I get 6 command points for the army thanks to the tournament special rules.

Chris' army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (T'au, Viorla)
Coldstar Commander- Airbursting Fragmentation Launcher, 2 Fusion Blasters, Shield Generator
Ethereal- Academic Luminary (warlord trait), Equalisers,
Shield Drone
10 Breachers- Pulse Blasters
10 Kroot- Kroot Rifles
3 Crisis Suits- 4 Plasma Rifles, 2 Shield Generators, 2 Cyclic Ion Blasers, Advancing Targeting System
6 Gun Drones
6 Stealth Suits- 6 Burst Cannons, Advanced Targeting Systems
8 Pathfinders- 5 Markerlights, 3 Rail Rifles, Pulse Carbines
Piranha- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones
Devilfish- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones

A mixed T'au army with a lot of firepower. I was going to have to hope my power armour could keep me safe for long enough to hit the T'au lines hard with my own firepower and combat prowess.



We set up the objectives as shown below:

I then chose the table side with the most objectives nearby. We then deployed our forces.

I put a unit of Intercessors in cover on the right flank and the centre, with the Razorback in the centre. I put a unit of Bikers in the centre and the left flank, ready to move up on the T'au lines. The Watch Captain went behind the Bikers on the left. The rest of my forces went into reserve.

Chris put his Stealth Suits in the Bastion, just in front of my lines. The Devilfish, Piranha and Coldstar Commander went in the centre, with the Pathfinders, Crisis Suits and Kroot on his left.








Chris chose to take the first turn and I failed to seize the initiative. Chris then used his Scout moves to move the Pathfinders and Kroot up towards the objectives.

TURN 1- T'AU

As this was cloak and shadows, I didn't know what Chris drew in his first turn. The Stealth Team moved from the Bastion, flying towards the Intercessors. On the right flank, the Coldstar commander moved up, while the Piranha and Devilfish advanced to join him. The Crisis Suits moved up to the barricade to support the T'au units already deployed there.




At the start of his shooting phase, Chris spent 2CP to allow the Stealth Team to fire twice. The Pathfinders fired their Markerlights at the Intercessors beside the Stealth Team, getting two hits.

The Commander fired at the Bikers in front of him, killing two of the squad. The Devilfish fired at the Squad, doing a single wound. The Piranha added its firepower, wounding the last Biker four times. I failed 3 saves and the squad perished.


The Crisis Suits targeted the Intercessors on the left, killing two of the squad. The Stealth Team added their firepower, wiping out the squad with their first volley. Their second round of firepower targeted the second Bike squad, but failed to do any damage.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored First Blood and Secure Objective 5. He discarded one of the T'au specific objectives in his hand.

TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I drew Supremacy, Secure Objective 6 and Defend Objective 4. For my Mission Tactics, I chose Elites.

The Bikers moved towards the Stealth Team on the right flank, while the Watch Captain moved up towards the Commander. The Razorback moved to secure the central objective.


The Razorback fired its Lascannons at the Piranha, taking three wounds from it. The Captain threw a Krak Grenade, destroying the enemy skimmer.

The Bikers fired at the Stealth Team, doing 7 wounds and managing to kill two of the squad. The Intercessors added their firepower, doing one more wound.

In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the Coldstar Commander. The Fusion Guns did one wound in overwatch, but fortunately I made my Storm Shield save. The Bikers also assaulted the Stealth Suits.

The Captain struck at the Commander, doing two wounds on the enemy warlord, one of which got through, causing four damage. The Bikers managed to do two wounds on the Stealth Team, killing one more.

The Commander struck at the Watch Captain, doing one wound, but failing to get past his armour. The Stealth Team were also unable to damage the Bikers.

I then spent 3CP on Honour the Chapter to fight with the Watch Captain, who was able to strike down the enemy warlord.


At the end of my turn, I scored Supremacy (3 points), Secure Objective 6 and Slay the Warlord. I discarded Defend Objective 4.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 2
Deathwatch- 5

The first turn had seen the Deathwatch pretty bloodied, but I had gotten a good set of cards to go ahead.

TURN 2- T'AU

The Breacher Team disembarked from the Devilfish, which then moved up towards the Deathwatch lines. The Stealth Team fell back from combat, landing behind the Bikers. The Ethereal used his Strength of Stone ability to give nearby units a 6+ save.





The Crisis Team and Drones moved up to support the T'au push.

Chris spent 2CP once more to allow the Breachers to fire twice. The Pathfinders fired their Markerlights at the Razorback, while the squads Rifles managed to kill one Biker.

The Breachers fired at the Watch Captain. The first volley only did 5 wounds but poor saves saw the Captain take three of the wounds. The second volley was sufficient to do 7 wounds and kill him.


The Crisis Suits fired at the Razorback, doing four damage on it. Their firepower also targeted the Bikers doing one wound on the Sergeant. The Drones fired at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Devilfish fired at the Razorback, taking a single wound from it. The Stealth Team fired at the Bikers, killing the Sergeant and putting a wound on the remaining Biker.

In the charge phase, the Devilfish charged the Intercessor, taking one wound in overwatch fire. The Crisis Suits failed a charge on the Bikers.

The T'au skimmer was unable to do any damage on the Intercessors, the Primaris Marines doing a single wound in reply. More importantly, the unit would be unable to fire in the following turn if they fell back.



At the end of his turn, Chris scored Slay the Warlord, Secure Objective 3 and Assassinate. He discarded Blood and Guts.

TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
In my second turn, I drew Overwhelming Firepower, Area Denial and Secure Objective 1.

The Intercessors fell back from combat, while the Bikers moved up towards the Kroot. At the end of the phase, the Kill Team and Watch Master landed in the enemy lines, behind the Pathfinders and Kroot.




In the shooting phase, the lone Biker fired at the Kroot, killing three of the squad. The Veteran Squad split its fire between the Kroot and Pathfinders, wiping out the Kroot squad and killing 6 of the Pathfinders. The Watch Master added his firepower, killing one more of the squad.

The Razorback fired at the Devilfish, but both Lascannon shots missed.

In the morale phase, the last Pathfinder fled. At the end of my turn, I scored Overwhelming Firepower and Secure Objective 1. I decided to keep Area Denial, figuring Chris would move his Crisis Suits away and allow me to get the D3 points for this in my turn.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 5
Deathwatch- 7

At the end of turn 2, I was still in the lead and had managed to do some damage to the T'au army, wiping out the backline with my reserves.

TURN 3- T'AU

The Breachers on the right flank advanced towards the Intercessors. The Drones moved back towards the newly arrived Deathwatch reserves, while the Crisis Suits moved up towards the objective. The Stealth Suits moved towards the Razorback, while the lone drone moved to secure an objectives. I think Chris was trying to grab all the objectives.




Chris again used the stratagem allowing him to fire twice on the Breacher Team, also using a stratagem to allow him to re-roll failed to wound rolls against units in cover. The Breachers opened fire on the Intercessors, killing two of the squad and wounding one. The Stealth Team added their firepower, doing three wounds, but I made all my armour saves. The Devilfish fired at the squad, killing one of them.

The Drones fired at the lone Biker, killing him. The Crisis Team fired at the Razorback, but failed to do any harm, one of the squad taking a wound thanks to overcharging their weapons.

In the charge phase, the Stealth Team assaulted the Razorback, while the Devilfish assaulted the Intercessors.



In the fight phase, the T'au and Deathwatch struck at one another, but neither side was able to do any harm.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored Domination for 6 points (ouch!) and a T'au specific card for killing an enemy unit. He discarded Defend Objective 3.

TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Secure Objective 1, Defend Objective 2 and had Area Denial.

The Watch Master and Veterans moved up towards the drones, while the rest of my squads stayed locked in combat. The Vanguard Veterans arrived, landing between the Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits in my deployment zone.



The Veterans fired at the Crisis Suits with their poisoned shells, causing 15 wounds and killing two of the squad. The Vanguard Veterans added their firepower, but failed to do any harm, leaving one Suit on one wound.

The Watch Master fired at the Drones, killing one.

In the charge phase, the Watch Master and Veterans assaulted the Drones, while the Vanguard Veterans managed to make a 9" charge on the Stealth Suits.

The Watch Master and Veterans struck at the Drones, wiping them out. The Vanguard Veterans attacked the Stealth Suits, killing one of them for no damage in reply.



At the end of my turn, I scored Area Denial (2 pts) and Secure Objective 1. I discarded Defend Objective 2.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 12
Deathwatch- 10

Getting full points for Domination had hurt, allowing Chris to seize the lead for the first time in the game. I was going to have to hope for some good cards to try and close the gap.

TURN 4- T'AU 

The Devilfish fell back from the combat, while the Breachers moved up on the Intercessors. The Stealth Suits fell back from combat, the Crisis Suit moving up to grab the objective.





In the shooting phase, the Breachers fired on the Intercessors, wounding them once. The Stealth Suits fired at the Vanguard Veterans, wounding them once, but I made my armour save. The Crisis Suit added its firepower, killing two, while the Devilfish was able to kill one more of the squad.

The Ethereal then assaulted the Intercessors, but failed to do any damage to them. In reply, the Intercessors put three wounds on the T'au character.



At the end of his turn, Chris scored Supremacy for 2 points and discarded Psychological Warfare.

TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Defend Objective 3, Big Game Hunter and Hold the Line.

I used my last CP on Tactical Flexibility to split the Veterans into two squad. One half moved up on the Stealth Suits, joined by the Watch Master, while the Vanguard Veterans moving up towards the Breacher Team.



The Intercessors fired their Pistols at the Ethereal, killing him. The Vanguard Veterans fired a Frag Grenade and Flame Pistol at the Breachers, killing two of the squad.

The Razorback fired at the Devilfish, taking five wounds from it (leaving it on 4). The backfield Veteran squad fired at the Crisis Suit, killing it. The second unit fired at the Stealth Team, finishing off a second squad.

In the charge phase, the Razorback assaulted the Breachers, followed in by the Vanguard Veterans. The Veterans were able to kill two of the squad for no damage in reply. In the morale phase, one more of the Breachers fled.

At the end of my turn, I scored no points and discarded Hold the Line.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 14
Deathwatch- 10

A good turn for Chris had seen him pull ahead in points, but my firepower had managed to wipe out a number of units.

TURN 5- T'AU

The Breachers fell back from combat, while the Devilfish moved up. The Drone advanced towards the enemy deployment zone.


The Devilfish fired at the Vanguard Veterans, doing a single wound, but failing to get past the amour. In the charge phase, the Devilfish assaulted the Razorback and Intercessors. Neither side was able to cause any damage in combat.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored Advance and discarded Priority Orders Received (Scour the Skies). I scored Defend Objective 3.

TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Secure Objective 3, Secure Objective 6 and had Big Game Hunter.

The Veterans moved up into the enemy deployment zone. The other unit of Veterans moved up towards the Devilfish. The Intercessors and Razorback fell back, the Intercessors moving to secure the objective.




In the shooting phase, the Vanguard Veterans fired at the Breachers, killing one. The Veteran squad fired at the Devilfish, wounding it three times and leaving it on a single wound. The Watch Master fired at the Devilfish, causing a wound, but it was saved. The second Veteran squad fired at the Devilfish, destroying it.

The Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Breachers, killing all but three of the squad.



At the end of my turn, I scored Big Game Hunter, Secure Objective 3 and Secure Objective 6.

We rolled to see if the game ended and it did. We both scored Linebreaker.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 16
Deathwatch- 16

A draw for the Deathwatch and T'au.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Chris for a brilliant game.

After his first turn, I thought that I was in real trouble. Two of my squads had been wiped out with ease, and I thought I would struggle to come back. Fortunately, I was able to get a good round of cards and kill off the Coldstar Commander to remove a potent threat and score some points.

Chris played well with the Devilfish. He was able to use it to tie up the Intercessors and stop their firepower from being brought to bear against the Breacher Team. With Fly, the Devilfish could then fall back and still fire.

That is one of the annoyances of playing against T'au. Most of the potent firepower units have Fly, making it very difficult to tie them up in combat, as they can simply fall back and pepper you with shots in their turn.

Scoring maximum points for Domination in his third turn was also a great boost for Chris, putting him in the lead. Fortunately, I was able to play the objectives to get back into the game and force a draw on turn 5. I was lucky to score Big Game Hunter to get the draw on my final turn, having to rely on my Storm Bolters to take the final wounds from the Devilfish.

Overall, I had two wins, two draws and a loss for the tournament. The rankings were done my number of victory points scored over the course of the day. At the end of the 5 games, I had scored enough points to come away with first place!

It was a fantastic event, one of my favourite tournaments in a while, full of five fun games that were very challenging and tactical. I'll be doing a review of the army and the tournament in a future post.

Rapid Strike 2019
Game 1- Deathwatch vs Astra Militarum
Game 2- Deathwatch vs Black Legion Chaos Space Marines
Game 3- Deathwatch vs Drukhari
Game 4- Deathwatch vs Black Templars Space Marines
Game 5- Deathwatch vs T'au

The final game of the day at the Rapid Strike 40k tournament would see my Deathwatch take on Chris' T'au on the top table. 

This mission was Cloak and Shadows. In this mission, we get three cards per turn, but keep your cards secret from your opponent until you score them. 

My army consisted of:

Watch Master- Guardian Spear

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Castellan of the Black Vault, The Beacon Angelis

Kill Team- 7 Veterans with Storm Bolters, Chainswords and 2 Storm Shields, Terminator with Storm Bolter and Power Fist, Vanguard Veteran with Storm Shield and Bolt Pistol, Biker with Twin Boltgun. 

10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Vanguard Veterans- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Hand Flamer

6 Bikers- Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Storm Shield, Twin Bolters, Chainswords

Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter

I get 6 command points for the army thanks to the tournament special rules.

Chris' army consisted of:
Patrol Detachment (T'au, Viorla)
Coldstar Commander- Airbursting Fragmentation Launcher, 2 Fusion Blasters, Shield Generator
Ethereal- Academic Luminary (warlord trait), Equalisers,
Shield Drone
10 Breachers- Pulse Blasters
10 Kroot- Kroot Rifles
3 Crisis Suits- 4 Plasma Rifles, 2 Shield Generators, 2 Cyclic Ion Blasers, Advancing Targeting System
6 Gun Drones
6 Stealth Suits- 6 Burst Cannons, Advanced Targeting Systems
8 Pathfinders- 5 Markerlights, 3 Rail Rifles, Pulse Carbines
Piranha- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones
Devilfish- Burst Cannons, 2 Gun Drones

A mixed T'au army with a lot of firepower. I was going to have to hope my power armour could keep me safe for long enough to hit the T'au lines hard with my own firepower and combat prowess.



We set up the objectives as shown below:

I then chose the table side with the most objectives nearby. We then deployed our forces.

I put a unit of Intercessors in cover on the right flank and the centre, with the Razorback in the centre. I put a unit of Bikers in the centre and the left flank, ready to move up on the T'au lines. The Watch Captain went behind the Bikers on the left. The rest of my forces went into reserve.

Chris put his Stealth Suits in the Bastion, just in front of my lines. The Devilfish, Piranha and Coldstar Commander went in the centre, with the Pathfinders, Crisis Suits and Kroot on his left.








Chris chose to take the first turn and I failed to seize the initiative. Chris then used his Scout moves to move the Pathfinders and Kroot up towards the objectives.

TURN 1- T'AU

As this was cloak and shadows, I didn't know what Chris drew in his first turn. The Stealth Team moved from the Bastion, flying towards the Intercessors. On the right flank, the Coldstar commander moved up, while the Piranha and Devilfish advanced to join him. The Crisis Suits moved up to the barricade to support the T'au units already deployed there.




At the start of his shooting phase, Chris spent 2CP to allow the Stealth Team to fire twice. The Pathfinders fired their Markerlights at the Intercessors beside the Stealth Team, getting two hits.

The Commander fired at the Bikers in front of him, killing two of the squad. The Devilfish fired at the Squad, doing a single wound. The Piranha added its firepower, wounding the last Biker four times. I failed 3 saves and the squad perished.


The Crisis Suits targeted the Intercessors on the left, killing two of the squad. The Stealth Team added their firepower, wiping out the squad with their first volley. Their second round of firepower targeted the second Bike squad, but failed to do any damage.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored First Blood and Secure Objective 5. He discarded one of the T'au specific objectives in his hand.

TURN 1- DEATHWATCH
In my first turn, I drew Supremacy, Secure Objective 6 and Defend Objective 4. For my Mission Tactics, I chose Elites.

The Bikers moved towards the Stealth Team on the right flank, while the Watch Captain moved up towards the Commander. The Razorback moved to secure the central objective.


The Razorback fired its Lascannons at the Piranha, taking three wounds from it. The Captain threw a Krak Grenade, destroying the enemy skimmer.

The Bikers fired at the Stealth Team, doing 7 wounds and managing to kill two of the squad. The Intercessors added their firepower, doing one more wound.

In the charge phase, the Watch Captain assaulted the Coldstar Commander. The Fusion Guns did one wound in overwatch, but fortunately I made my Storm Shield save. The Bikers also assaulted the Stealth Suits.

The Captain struck at the Commander, doing two wounds on the enemy warlord, one of which got through, causing four damage. The Bikers managed to do two wounds on the Stealth Team, killing one more.

The Commander struck at the Watch Captain, doing one wound, but failing to get past his armour. The Stealth Team were also unable to damage the Bikers.

I then spent 3CP on Honour the Chapter to fight with the Watch Captain, who was able to strike down the enemy warlord.


At the end of my turn, I scored Supremacy (3 points), Secure Objective 6 and Slay the Warlord. I discarded Defend Objective 4.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 2
Deathwatch- 5

The first turn had seen the Deathwatch pretty bloodied, but I had gotten a good set of cards to go ahead.

TURN 2- T'AU

The Breacher Team disembarked from the Devilfish, which then moved up towards the Deathwatch lines. The Stealth Team fell back from combat, landing behind the Bikers. The Ethereal used his Strength of Stone ability to give nearby units a 6+ save.





The Crisis Team and Drones moved up to support the T'au push.

Chris spent 2CP once more to allow the Breachers to fire twice. The Pathfinders fired their Markerlights at the Razorback, while the squads Rifles managed to kill one Biker.

The Breachers fired at the Watch Captain. The first volley only did 5 wounds but poor saves saw the Captain take three of the wounds. The second volley was sufficient to do 7 wounds and kill him.


The Crisis Suits fired at the Razorback, doing four damage on it. Their firepower also targeted the Bikers doing one wound on the Sergeant. The Drones fired at the Bikers, but failed to do any damage. The Devilfish fired at the Razorback, taking a single wound from it. The Stealth Team fired at the Bikers, killing the Sergeant and putting a wound on the remaining Biker.

In the charge phase, the Devilfish charged the Intercessor, taking one wound in overwatch fire. The Crisis Suits failed a charge on the Bikers.

The T'au skimmer was unable to do any damage on the Intercessors, the Primaris Marines doing a single wound in reply. More importantly, the unit would be unable to fire in the following turn if they fell back.



At the end of his turn, Chris scored Slay the Warlord, Secure Objective 3 and Assassinate. He discarded Blood and Guts.

TURN 2- DEATHWATCH
In my second turn, I drew Overwhelming Firepower, Area Denial and Secure Objective 1.

The Intercessors fell back from combat, while the Bikers moved up towards the Kroot. At the end of the phase, the Kill Team and Watch Master landed in the enemy lines, behind the Pathfinders and Kroot.




In the shooting phase, the lone Biker fired at the Kroot, killing three of the squad. The Veteran Squad split its fire between the Kroot and Pathfinders, wiping out the Kroot squad and killing 6 of the Pathfinders. The Watch Master added his firepower, killing one more of the squad.

The Razorback fired at the Devilfish, but both Lascannon shots missed.

In the morale phase, the last Pathfinder fled. At the end of my turn, I scored Overwhelming Firepower and Secure Objective 1. I decided to keep Area Denial, figuring Chris would move his Crisis Suits away and allow me to get the D3 points for this in my turn.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 5
Deathwatch- 7

At the end of turn 2, I was still in the lead and had managed to do some damage to the T'au army, wiping out the backline with my reserves.

TURN 3- T'AU

The Breachers on the right flank advanced towards the Intercessors. The Drones moved back towards the newly arrived Deathwatch reserves, while the Crisis Suits moved up towards the objective. The Stealth Suits moved towards the Razorback, while the lone drone moved to secure an objectives. I think Chris was trying to grab all the objectives.




Chris again used the stratagem allowing him to fire twice on the Breacher Team, also using a stratagem to allow him to re-roll failed to wound rolls against units in cover. The Breachers opened fire on the Intercessors, killing two of the squad and wounding one. The Stealth Team added their firepower, doing three wounds, but I made all my armour saves. The Devilfish fired at the squad, killing one of them.

The Drones fired at the lone Biker, killing him. The Crisis Team fired at the Razorback, but failed to do any harm, one of the squad taking a wound thanks to overcharging their weapons.

In the charge phase, the Stealth Team assaulted the Razorback, while the Devilfish assaulted the Intercessors.



In the fight phase, the T'au and Deathwatch struck at one another, but neither side was able to do any harm.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored Domination for 6 points (ouch!) and a T'au specific card for killing an enemy unit. He discarded Defend Objective 3.

TURN 3- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Secure Objective 1, Defend Objective 2 and had Area Denial.

The Watch Master and Veterans moved up towards the drones, while the rest of my squads stayed locked in combat. The Vanguard Veterans arrived, landing between the Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits in my deployment zone.



The Veterans fired at the Crisis Suits with their poisoned shells, causing 15 wounds and killing two of the squad. The Vanguard Veterans added their firepower, but failed to do any harm, leaving one Suit on one wound.

The Watch Master fired at the Drones, killing one.

In the charge phase, the Watch Master and Veterans assaulted the Drones, while the Vanguard Veterans managed to make a 9" charge on the Stealth Suits.

The Watch Master and Veterans struck at the Drones, wiping them out. The Vanguard Veterans attacked the Stealth Suits, killing one of them for no damage in reply.



At the end of my turn, I scored Area Denial (2 pts) and Secure Objective 1. I discarded Defend Objective 2.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 12
Deathwatch- 10

Getting full points for Domination had hurt, allowing Chris to seize the lead for the first time in the game. I was going to have to hope for some good cards to try and close the gap.

TURN 4- T'AU 

The Devilfish fell back from the combat, while the Breachers moved up on the Intercessors. The Stealth Suits fell back from combat, the Crisis Suit moving up to grab the objective.





In the shooting phase, the Breachers fired on the Intercessors, wounding them once. The Stealth Suits fired at the Vanguard Veterans, wounding them once, but I made my armour save. The Crisis Suit added its firepower, killing two, while the Devilfish was able to kill one more of the squad.

The Ethereal then assaulted the Intercessors, but failed to do any damage to them. In reply, the Intercessors put three wounds on the T'au character.



At the end of his turn, Chris scored Supremacy for 2 points and discarded Psychological Warfare.

TURN 4- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Defend Objective 3, Big Game Hunter and Hold the Line.

I used my last CP on Tactical Flexibility to split the Veterans into two squad. One half moved up on the Stealth Suits, joined by the Watch Master, while the Vanguard Veterans moving up towards the Breacher Team.



The Intercessors fired their Pistols at the Ethereal, killing him. The Vanguard Veterans fired a Frag Grenade and Flame Pistol at the Breachers, killing two of the squad.

The Razorback fired at the Devilfish, taking five wounds from it (leaving it on 4). The backfield Veteran squad fired at the Crisis Suit, killing it. The second unit fired at the Stealth Team, finishing off a second squad.

In the charge phase, the Razorback assaulted the Breachers, followed in by the Vanguard Veterans. The Veterans were able to kill two of the squad for no damage in reply. In the morale phase, one more of the Breachers fled.

At the end of my turn, I scored no points and discarded Hold the Line.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 14
Deathwatch- 10

A good turn for Chris had seen him pull ahead in points, but my firepower had managed to wipe out a number of units.

TURN 5- T'AU

The Breachers fell back from combat, while the Devilfish moved up. The Drone advanced towards the enemy deployment zone.


The Devilfish fired at the Vanguard Veterans, doing a single wound, but failing to get past the amour. In the charge phase, the Devilfish assaulted the Razorback and Intercessors. Neither side was able to cause any damage in combat.

At the end of his turn, Chris scored Advance and discarded Priority Orders Received (Scour the Skies). I scored Defend Objective 3.

TURN 5- DEATHWATCH
In my turn, I drew Secure Objective 3, Secure Objective 6 and had Big Game Hunter.

The Veterans moved up into the enemy deployment zone. The other unit of Veterans moved up towards the Devilfish. The Intercessors and Razorback fell back, the Intercessors moving to secure the objective.




In the shooting phase, the Vanguard Veterans fired at the Breachers, killing one. The Veteran squad fired at the Devilfish, wounding it three times and leaving it on a single wound. The Watch Master fired at the Devilfish, causing a wound, but it was saved. The second Veteran squad fired at the Devilfish, destroying it.

The Vanguard Veterans assaulted the Breachers, killing all but three of the squad.



At the end of my turn, I scored Big Game Hunter, Secure Objective 3 and Secure Objective 6.

We rolled to see if the game ended and it did. We both scored Linebreaker.

VICTORY POINTS:
T'au- 16
Deathwatch- 16

A draw for the Deathwatch and T'au.

AFTER-BATTLE THOUGHTS
Thanks to Chris for a brilliant game.

After his first turn, I thought that I was in real trouble. Two of my squads had been wiped out with ease, and I thought I would struggle to come back. Fortunately, I was able to get a good round of cards and kill off the Coldstar Commander to remove a potent threat and score some points.

Chris played well with the Devilfish. He was able to use it to tie up the Intercessors and stop their firepower from being brought to bear against the Breacher Team. With Fly, the Devilfish could then fall back and still fire.

That is one of the annoyances of playing against T'au. Most of the potent firepower units have Fly, making it very difficult to tie them up in combat, as they can simply fall back and pepper you with shots in their turn.

Scoring maximum points for Domination in his third turn was also a great boost for Chris, putting him in the lead. Fortunately, I was able to play the objectives to get back into the game and force a draw on turn 5. I was lucky to score Big Game Hunter to get the draw on my final turn, having to rely on my Storm Bolters to take the final wounds from the Devilfish.

Overall, I had two wins, two draws and a loss for the tournament. The rankings were done my number of victory points scored over the course of the day. At the end of the 5 games, I had scored enough points to come away with first place!

It was a fantastic event, one of my favourite tournaments in a while, full of five fun games that were very challenging and tactical. I'll be doing a review of the army and the tournament in a future post.

Rapid Strike 2019
Game 1- Deathwatch vs Astra Militarum
Game 2- Deathwatch vs Black Legion Chaos Space Marines
Game 3- Deathwatch vs Drukhari
Game 4- Deathwatch vs Black Templars Space Marines
Game 5- Deathwatch vs T'au