League Game #5 - vs. Tyranids

Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds!

- Black Templars Oath

Welcome one and all to another Friday on The Art of Caesura!

Today, we're looking at Game 5 of the Warhammer 40k league that I'm involved in at the moment. It was a fun game against my opponent Chris's Tyranids. 

I think I heard subsequently that Chris is currently standing in second place in the league (of around 16 people or so) and his Tyranids are beautifully painted as Hive Fleet Gorgon. I was excited to play against 'nids, I've always had a soft spot for them since my days of "maining" Zerg in Starcraft 1. I professed my love for these bug-like aliens when I painted a Von Ryan's Leaper as Hive Fleet Klendathu (inspired by Starship Troopers). 

Anyway, the Primary Mission was Scorched Earth where you still get points for holding objectives, but you get more points again for "burning" them (then they're gone from the board and no-one else can claim them). The deployment zones were Search and Destroy and the Map was Layout 1. 

In the pictures above and below, you can see the state of the table after deployment. I am decently happy with my ability to deploy strategically now. I kept everything out of line of sight, I kept my tank with the Emperor's Champion squad in Strategic Reserves because there weren't brilliant sight-lines from the deployment zone. I deployed my Callidus Assassin near the central objective but out of line of sight, and the Combi-Lieutenant is behind the ruin near objective 5 in the image below (his natural expansion). 

My overall gameplan was to protect my home objective in Turn 5 (so keep back the units to do so by turn 4). I wanted to clear his natural expansion by Turn 3 and have a unit there by Turn 4 to start burning it. I was not going to bother trying to burn his home objective. 

I went first, which I wasn't totally thrilled with, but with my previous loss still ringing in my ears (by not being aggressive enough and ceding the tempo to my opponent) I decided to have a somewhat more aggressive first turn this time around. And so, with my gameplan in mind, I ran my Assault Intercessors along the bottom of the table towards his natural expansion - my plan being to reinforce them with the second RepEx tank and Emp Champ squad. I moved my RepEx on the board into the only good firing lane from my deployment zone which could cover the centre of the board. Grimaldus' Squad headed north towards my natural expansion. 

As you can see in the image above, things were going kind of okay in turn 2, but unfortunately I miscalculated some of my damage dealing ability and failed to kill the Big Bug with Rupture Cannon (the gun most able to kill my tanks) with my RepEx - even when I moved my tank up so that all guns would be within range and in his return fire he did, indeed, kill my tank. I also failed to kill the bloody Neurolictor (which was hanging out near my natural expansion in the South West of the table above). I had made an awkward charge with Grimaldus' unit around a ruin and only a few of my guys could get in. Being such a spindly model, I assumed that I would still rinse it, but it was not to be and that damned bug actually stayed alive for, I think, the whole game!

These two images (above and below) illustrate some of the madness going on with my dice. I rolled the three of them, and one die landed bang on its corner!!! I called people over from around the shop and everyone was suitably amazed. I checked the table after and there was no divot or anything!!

Anyway, the game started to get away from me...

I still couldn't kill the Neurolictor, which I was keen to do to free up that squad to Burn the objective.

Even focusing my firepower, I wasn't really able to kill anything, which was a big problem when it came to his slap-back. 

I was exerting all my willpower to keep my Impulsor (with Marshal, Castellan and 5 Sword Brethren) in my deployment zone to defend it against the all important Turn 4 push that he would likely make. But my foot-slogging Sword Bros (near the centre of the board in the image below) were taking forever to get to the front due to some well placed Spore Mines (preventing my dudes from advancing). 

It was just as well these Sword Bros were dawdling along because a Norn popped up near my natural (I had mostly screened my deployment zone) so they were able to about face and charge into that bugger, which was now charging into the remnants of Grimaldus' squad (who still hadn't bloody killed that Neurolictor).

The Sword Brethren (without any leader support) were able to take down the Norn in 2 rounds of combat, which was pretty epic!

I guess the Righteous Zeal of the Black Templars overcame me and my better judgement to hold my Impulsor back broke. I zoomed it into his 3 big monsters in the centre of the table, tank shocking his Screamer Killer - but not killing it. Before I had a change to disgorge the squad inside, the Screamer Killer hit back - blowing up the tank and killing two Sword Brethren in the explosion. 

Over at his natural expansion (in the picture above) all my guys got gobbled up...

Same in the centre of the board!

I can't exactly remember the end of the game, but it looks like he did make it to my home objective in the end which gives big points. But actually looking at the score card, we were surprisingly close in Primary Objective points - he just ran away in terms of secondaries. By the end of the game I had about 5 models left and he still had most of his army, but hey I was fine to lose guys as long as they were scoring me something. 

Here is Chris's list - posted with his permission. 

Deathleaper (80pts): Lictor claws and talons

Hive Tyrant (195pts): Warlord, Monstrous bonesword and lash whip, Heavy venom cannon

Neurotyrant (105pts): Neurotyrant claws and lashes, Psychic scream

10x Termagants (60pts)

10x Termagants (60pts)

Biovores (50pts)

Lictor (60pts): Lictor claws and talons

Neurolictor (80pts): Piercing claws and talons

3x Zoanthropes (100pts)

Exocrine (140pts): Bio-plasmic cannon, Powerful limbs

Norn Assimilator (275pts): Monstrous scything talons, Toxinjecter harpoon

Norn Emissary (260pts): Monstrous rending claws, Monstrous scything talons, Psychic tendril

Screamer-killer (135pts): Bio-plasmic scream, Screamer-killer talons

Tyrannofex (200pts): Powerful limbs, Stinger salvoes, Rupture cannon

Tyrannofex (200pts): Powerful limbs, Stinger salvoes, Acid Spray

So there you have it! I now stand at 2 wins 3 losses in the league, which is kind of crap, but also kind of expected for a novice I suppose. It was a great game none-the-less and I got a some really helpful feedback from Chris that I wasn't offering him enough difficult decisions early on. I should possibly have disembarked some of my units to flood the board a little bit more. 

I'll see you next week on The Art of Caesura!

Reading: Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

Watching: Last Breath (2025) 

Next Week:

Happy birthday...