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Monday, January 27, 2014

Tyranids (new Codex) x Chaos Space Marine Battle Report


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
My opponent’s Chaos Space Marines list (note sure of the load out and the unit size):
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.