I played last Sunday
my first game with the new Codex Tyranids.
Unfortunately, I don’t
have pictures, and I did not take notes or record anything, but I’ll try to
search in my memory and try to write a Battle Report.
My
Tyranid List (1850 points):
I try to adapt one list
of the old codex that I used 3 times with success against White Scars,
Ravenguard and Chaos Space Marines. The original list included Raveners and
another swarm of hormagaunts (in place of the Mawlok and Exocrine), but as I
forgot the Raveners, I changed it a little (and I glad that I did it), that’s
why it got 5 less points and odd things like spore mine cluster.
HQ: Flyrant with 2x TL
Devourer and High Commander (psy: Catalyst and Horror)
Tyranid Prime
with Deathspitter and Rending Claws
Troops: Hormagaunts (30)
Termagants (30)
Tervigon (psy:
Dominion)
Fast: Gargoyles (30)
Spore Mine
Cluster (3)
Elite: Hive Guards (3, impaler)
Zoamthrope (psy:
Warp Blast, Dominion)
Venonthrope
Heavy: Trygon Prime
Mawlok
Exocrine (used a
Tyrannofex to proxy)
Chaos Space Marine
HQ: Kharn the betrayer
Chaos Lord of Nurgle on bike, with lightining
claw, powerfist and a mutation
Troops: 2x Plague Marines squads in
Rhinos (can’t remember the load out, but I think that one got a melta and a
flamer, and the other a plasma; I think that they were a 6 to 8 man’ squad)
Chaos Cultists
with autoguns (15?)
10 Space Marine
Squad with mark of Khorne, close combat weapons
Fast: 5x marine bikers with mark
of Nurgle (one flamer)
Helldrake
Heavy: 2x Obliterators of Nurgle (with
veterans of long war)
2x Obliterators
of Nurgle (with veterans of long war)
Land Raider
Pre-game:
The Mission: Big guns
never tire (with 4 objectives)
The Battlefield: I put
a road in the diagonal of the table, with one side a lot of woods and a lake
and in the other side a lot of ruins.
Deployment: Vangard
Strike (which was awesome as it fits the battlefield that I made), no night
fighting.
My opponent wins the
roll off and chose the ruins side.
For Warlord traits, I
got the Mind Eater (with my Flyrant – 2 VP for killing Ind Ch) and my opponent
used Kharn’s (Hatred for his unit).
My opponent also wins
the roll off and chose to deploy first.
He puts one objective
in the ruin in his corner, surrounded by his cultists, and the other in a great
ruin near the center of the table. Only the Helldrake was in reserve.
I put one objective
behind a great forest near the middle of my large table edge, and the other behind
a small wood near the road and my small table edge. For my deployment, I put a
line of hormagaunts (that took almost all my diagonal line that limits my
deployment zone), a line of termagaunts behind (with my Tyranid Prime
attached), the Tervigon in the center of my line, with the Exocrine at its left
(with the Zoamthrope hidden behind it), the Venomthrope hidden behind it and
the Flyrant and the Hive Guards by its right.
The Trygon Prime,
Mawlok, Gargoyles and Spore Mine cluster were in reserve.
I tried to seize the
initiative for fun, and did it!
Tyranids
First Turn
Cast Catalyst in the
Flyrant and Tervigon and Dominion on the Tervigon.
We played with
mysterious objectives, and the one near my Tervigon was nothing and the other
was sabotaged!
Flied the Flyrant 24”
forward (trying to hide it from the Land Raider LOS behind a ruin), and run
everything else (no range for shooting, as my opponent has deployed very
defensively behind). The hormagaunts advanced 9” total (lame rolls for moving
and running), the termagants 8” and the rest keep up the pace (every unit,
except the flyrant, were in Venomthrope range).
The Tervigon gave
birth to 11 termagants that I left behind to take the objective.
The Flyrant shot the
first obliterator squad, and managed to kill one.
CSM
First Turn
Land Raider (loaded with Kharn and
the Khorne CSM) pivots to face the Exocrine and take two wounds of it, the
cultists keep hiding in the ruin with one of the objectives (sabotaged!) and
shot the Flyrant, hitting one time (no wound), but grounding it (took a wound)!
One Rhino moves forward and the
plague marines disembark near the other objective (nothing special), and shot
the crashed Flyrant (some wounds, but FnP all), all obliterators fired at the
Flyrant (also no wounds), the other Rhino advanced a little and shot the
hormagaunts (lost one), and the bikers advanced a little and also shot the
hormagaunts (lost more two).
The sabotaged objective in the ruins
exploded, only wounding a single cultist.
Tyranids
Second Turn
Reserves: the Trygon
Prime deep strike behind the cultists ruins, the Gargoyles at the side of the
disembarked plague marines and in front of the lone obliterator and the Mawlok
deviates from the other obliterator squad into 3 cultists in the ruins. He
kills the 3 and deployed there.
Cast Catalyst in the
Flyrant and Tervigon, Horror in the cultists (they made the Ld test) and
Dominion on the Tervigon.
The Flyrant went
behind the second squad of obliterators, shot at them but did nothing.
The Exocrine advanced
and shot the loaded Rhino (losing 2 HP and destroying the combi-bolter).
The Hive Guards blow
up the empty Rhino (FIRST BLOOD).
The Zoamthrope casted
Warp Blast in the plague marines, doing nothing.
The Gargoyles shot at
the lone obliterator, failing to wound him.
The Trygon shot at the
cultists, which went to ground and lost 3. They fail their Ld test and fall
back 5”.
The Tervigon gave
birth to 12 Termagants that run towards my second objective.
The Hormagaunts and
Termagants run forward.
My objective explodes,
and takes one termagant.
CSM
Second Turn
The Helldrake came in,
and vector strike taking 2 wounds of my Flyrant, and burned some Gargoyles.
The cultists regroup,
going back to the ruin and failing to shoot the Flyrant.
The obliterator squad
fired at my Flyrant (jinked), taking another wound (only one left).
The plague marines
fired at the termagants (taking 4).
The bikers didn’t
shoot at the hormagaunts, to keep the charge distant at 7”. However, they
failed to charge.
The Land Raider moves
forward a little and take out the Zoamthrope.
The remaining damaged
Rhino advances, and disembarks the plague marines (shot the hormagaunts, taking
only one).
The lone obliterator
burned 8 Gargoyles, and charged them. I took a wound of him, but he passes his
I test and didn’t get blind. He killed another 2.
Tyranids
Third Turn
Reserves: the Spore
Mines Cluster deep strike near the bikers.
Cast Catalyst in the
Flyrant and Trygon, Horror in the obliterators (failed the test and fall back)
and Dominion on the Tervigon.
The Flyrant had one
last wound, and was jinked, so I decided to flew it back to Reserves, doing a
unsuccessful vector strike at the helldrake (stupid thing, should have vector
striked the obliterators).
The Trygon shot at the
Helldrake, taking one HP (should have shoot at the bikers or the obliterators).
The Exocrine advanced
and shot some plague marines (2 down).
The Hive Guards missed
the Helldrake.
The Tervigon gave
birth to 6 Termagants (and rolled double) that run towards my second objective.
The Gargoyles keep
trying to kill the obliterator, but at least blinded him.
The Termagants went
forward and shot one plague marine down.
The Mawlok charged the
cultists (passed Fear test), but it was a 0 x 0 assault result.
The Hormagaunts and
charged the bikers, but as they were assaulting through difficult terrain
against a unit with blight grenades, they did nothing. The bikers hit first and
only 5 hormagaunts lasted.
No explosions this
turn.
CSM
Third Turn
The Helldrake vector
strike the Exocrine, but failed to wound it, then burned some termagants in the
second objective.
The obliterator squad
regrouped and took a wound of the Trygon Prime. Then assaulted and were smashed
up by the Trygon.
The plague marines
fired at the termagants, but causing only one wound.
The other plague
marine squad charged the Gargoyles, and got blinded (doing only 2 wounds). The
obliterator continued blind, and did no wounds.
The bikers killed all
hormagaunts, except for one.
The Land Raider moves
forward a little and take out the Venomthrope.
Kharn and the Khorne
CSM disembarked and charged the termagants. Kharn challenged the Tyranid Prime,
and both died (SLAY THE WARLORD for me!), and the rest of the squad killed all
termagants except for one.
The remaining damaged
Rhino tank shocked the 6 unit of termagants and the Tervigon. They all got out
of the way and let it pass.
The Mawlok killed 2 or
3 cultists, which passed the test and remained engaged.
Tyranids
Fourth Turn
Flyrant came in from
reserve, and took 3 plague marines that were in the objective.
Tervigon casts
Dominion and wrecked the last Rhino.
Exocrine and the Hive
Guards shot down the helldrake.
The Trygon gangs up
with the Mawlok and wipe out the cultists. The Trygon consolidates hiding
behind the ruins (near the objective) and behind the Mawlok.
The Gargoyles kept the
plague and the obliterator blind, but fails to wound and keep losing numbers.
The lone Termagants
died in the assault, but take one Khorne CSM with him.
The 6 unit of
Termagants shots at the plague marines, but fail to wound. The others two
spawned termagants units kept the objectives on my side.
The Spore Mine Cluster
assault the bikers (looked in combat with the last Hormagaunt), but failed to
kill.
No explosions this
turn.
CSM
Fourth Turn
The last obliterator
and the plague marines manage to kill all the Gargoyles.
The other plague
marine squad fired at the Flyrant, but failed to wound.
The land Raider moved
and fired at the Exocrine, but failed to wound.
The bikers went for
the Trygon and charged it. One biker dies, and Trygon loses a wound.
The Khorne CSM charged
the Termagants near my explosive objective and wiped them out, consolidating in
the cover.
The Mawlok killed 2 or
3 cultists, which passed the test and remained engaged.
The objective on my
side explodes, and kill one Khorne CSM.
Tyranids
Fifth Turn
Flyrant vector strike
and shoot at the plague marines that were in the objective, killing only one.
Tervigon casts
Dominion and kept hiding behind the wrecked Rhino (fearing the Land Raider).
Exocrine and the Hive
Guards only manage to kill one Khorne CSM, which went to ground.
The Trygon lost 2
wounds, but took one wound from the Chaos Lord. The Mawlock charged and smashed
one biker.
The 6 unit of
Termagants advanced to contest the objective and shots at the plague marines,
but fail to wound. The other remaining spawned termagants unit kept the
objective near the forest on my side.
No explosions this
turn.
CSM
Fourth Turn
The Land Raider and
the last obliterator and the plague marines try to put down the Flyrant, but they
all failed.
The Trygon dies,
leaving the Malok looked in combat with only the Chaos Lord.
The Khorne CSM are
still on the ground, but keeping the objective.
The objective on my
side explodes, and kill one Khorne CSM.
No explosions this
turn, and the game ends!
Game
Results
The CSM holds one
objective (with the Khorne CSM) and got one point for killing the Trygon. TOTAL
= 4 VP.
The Tyranids holds one
objective (with the Termagants behind the forest) and got one point for killing
one obliterator squad, one point for First Blood, One point for Kill the
Warlord and one Point for Line Breaker (with the Tyrant). TOTAL = 7 VP.
Tyranid wins!
I’ll write my first
impressions of the units that I used from this new codex based in this
experience in my next post.