NOTE: I'm not telling the story in perfect sequence in the sense that sometimes I combine the movement and shooting phases in the narrative. It's easier for me to remember it that way. Obviously, the game was played in proper phase order.
Deployment/First Turn
The Guard/Marines got to deploy first, and went first. The center part of the map was pretty much all ruins, with the artifact in the center of it. There was only space for vehicles on the sides, so my opponent set up an armored column of sorts with his Leman Russ, Sentinel and one Rhino driving up his right flank. On the left, he sent his scouts, devastators and command squad into one of the ruined buildings to overlook one objective and take potshots at my men. He also sent a Rhino up that way to grab the minor objective on that side. The rest of his forces moved straight up the middle.
I set up my Skitarii in the middle to go get the central objective, sent my Land Speeder/mm bikes up my left to go take out his armored column, and sent my own armored column right to avoid the Leman Russ. Two of my drop pods came down, with one melta squad landing directly behind his dreadnoughts (I aimed for behind his Russ
) and the dreadnought landing a little behind them but close to the guard command squads and the captain. The multimeltas popped one dreadnought and immobilized the other in one fell blow (more than earning their points back), while the dreadnought finished off the wounded dreadnought and heavy flamed the command squad, killing a few and damaging their lascannon team. The storm bolters on the drop pods picked off a few guardsmen as well.
Second Turn
He quickly moved his Leman Russ up into the ruins, where my remaining drop pod squad wouldn't have much of an impact (pun intended
). He turned most of his army around and unleashed on my suicide squads and . . . . after terrible rolling managed to kill half the meltas, damage one drop pod, and inflict a glancing hit on the dreadnought. Not the best round of shooting. He did keep advancing his Rhinos, though. He used his armored column Rhino as a meatshield against my bike squad, and advanced his other Rhino up to claim a minor objective. His full scout squad kept moving forward towards the major objective, entering a building.
The second drop pod squad failed to come on. My melta squad regrouped, and without much in the way of viable targets they shot the autocannon team directly in front of them, and killed it. The Dreadnought heavy flamed the company master (hitting) and multimelta's him (missing), and put himself in position to charge the next round. My right hand armored column came into range of his objective camping squad, so my las/plas razorback had fun and popped his rhino (destroying it without blowing it up, sadly). When his guys came out, they got hit with the tl plasma gun, which killed a couple. My company master (who had embarked with the assault squad) disembarked behind the Razorback, while the other Razorback and the Rhino moved up and took a couple of poorly aimed potshots, missing. I popped cover on the Razorback, and moved the skitarii up into cover in the initial portion of the ruins, with one of them deviating to claim the other minor objective. My bikes destroyed his rhino, exploding it. His sergeant and a couple other marines were gibbed in the resultant blast. They emergency deployed, further taking a volley of ineffectual bolt shots from the bikes. I used the +1 WS Doctrina Imperativa to give my Vanguard +1 Ld the next round.
Third Turn
This is where it starts to get fuzzy . . .
He didn't move much, only consolidating position in most parts and His grav devs finished off the melta squad, while the combined fire of his backfield blew up both drop pods and killed the melta squad but left the dreadnought still standing. His full sized scout squad continued forward, exiting the building and taking cover. They were not yet close enough to claim the objective, but they were there waiting. The Leman Russ moved a little farther into the ruins to better spot my onrushing forces. A lucky shot with the battle cannon rook out one of my vanguard plasma squads, while his tactical squad managed to take out my land speeder. The other tactical squad on the other side shot at my Razorbacks but only managed a glancing hit. His guard started running away from the dreadnought, while his company master moved into position to charge it (bad idea, pal. Dreadnought power fists are at initiative. . . ).
My final melta squad came on, and with nothing better to do (no space by the Russ) they plopped down in the deployment zone next to the grav devastators. A few melta shots later, both grav devs were dead (the rest of the squad was still up, though). The storm bolter killed a couple guardsmen from the command squad inside the building. I moved my initial razorback out of the way, allowing a straight line for my assault squad towards the cover camping tactical squad. The other Razorback and the Rhino moved forwards, setting up good firing position against that poor benighted tactical squad. My remaining skitarii advanced, still camping cover. My multi melta bikes retreated, hiding behind a building next to the objective camping Skitarii squad. The dreadnought charged the captain and instagibbed him. The Razorbacks and Rhino opened fire, killing a good six marines between them. My company master's squad flamed the remaining suckers and threw a grenade, then charged in (overwatch having done exactly nil). The Relic Blade and the power sword did wonders, easily wiping the rest of the squad and claiming the objective for me. Then, unfortunately, the game store closed and we were forced to end the game prematurely.
Point totals were (for me): Slay the Warlord, Linebreaker, Firstblood, 3 Kill Points, 2 Minor Objective (8 total)
Point totals for him: 3 Kill Points (3 total)
8-3 victory for the Stormknights, although it was somewhat incomplete. Neither of us claimed the central objective, and the Vangaurd didn't get to do a whole lot (though my opponent knew them well enough to be frightened by them, and took that into account in his tactical decision making).
Re: Warhammer 40K Tabletop XXVII: Tyranids Finally Found A Friend
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