As a warmup to Saturday's big game, we decided to have a 2 on 2 game, with 1,000 points each. A local friend, John, jumped at the chance to play. John used to play, but didn't know anyone else who did when he moved, so when he's free to play, he borrows my Orks as his preferred army. We made the decision to have the bugs take on allied Orks and Space Marines.
vs. 
Without further ado, the lists:
Evan's Tyranids:
Flyrant: TL Devourers, Iron Arm and Smite, Re-roll reserves Warlord Trait
Zoanthrope: Smite and Enfeeble
Tervigon: Crushing Claws, Toxin Sacs, Enfeeble and Warp Speed
10 Termagants: Devourers, Mycetic Spore w/TL Deathspitter
12 Hormagaunts: Toxin Sacs
10 Gargoyles
Trygon: Toxin Sacs
Ron's Tyranids:
Flyrant: TL Devourer, Iron Arm and Enfeeble, Intimidating Presence Warlord Trait
2 Hive Guard
2 Hive Guard
Tervigon: Toxin Sacs and Adrenal Glands, Life Leach and Smite
11 Termagants
10 Termagants
Trygon Prime
+Chandler D's Space Marines:
Librarian in Terminator Armor
5 Terminators: Whirlwind Missile Launcher
10 Tactical Marines: Missile Launcher, Flamer, Rhino
5 Scouts: Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher
Storm Talon: TL Lascannon, Autocannon
Devastators: 4 Missile Launchers
John's Orks:
Warboss: Power Klaw, TL Shoota, bosspole, 'eavy armor
5 Burna Boyz
5 Lootas
5 Nobz: Power Klaw, 2 TL Shootas, 'eavy armor, Waaagh! Banner
10 'Ard Boyz: Big Shoota, Nob w/ Power Klaw
22 Boyz: 2 Big Shootas, Nob
23 Boyz: 2 Big Shootas, Nob
Dakkajet: Extra TL Supa Shoota, Flyboss
Deployment:
The Tyranid side won the roll-off and chose to deploy first. Having a nearly identical list, Evan and Ron deployed the monstrous creatures in pairs, with the Trygons on one flank and the Flyrants on the opposite.
Chandler and John then set up. The Orks used the two Boyz squads to bubble wrap the Warboss and Nobs on one flank, and the Burnas on the other. The Space Marines took up the middle ruin with the Terminators, Devastators, and Sniper Scouts (left off the map by accident) taking cover there. The Tactical Squad was split into combat squads with the Sergeant and Flamer in the Rhino on the left and the Missile Launcher on the right side between the Lootas and 'Ard Boyz.
Turn 1 - Top:
The roll to steal the initiative failed, and the Tyranids took full advantage of having first turn. The two Flyrants, after casting Iron Arm making them T8 and 9, swooped forward onto the third floor of the ruins, ensuring that they would get cover saves and would be nearly impossible to assault if shot down. The rest of the army scrambled forward to get to grips and take a few potshots. The Flyrants took advantage of their high ground and wiped out the Lootas and 4 of the 5 members of the Combat Squad in the swamp.
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| End of the top of Turn 1 (the Flyrants are not where they appear here; Ron and Evan chose not to put the models on the precarious third floor of the building, which was knocked over at least twice while their stand in bases were there) |
The boyz squads moved forward cautiously. The mob on the right tried to climb the ruin, hoping to ground and assault one of the flyrants to tie him down there. The 'Ard Boyz also moved forward. Just about the entire army then opened up on the Flyrants, managing a couple wounds but failing to ground either of them.
Turn 2 - Top:
Ron chose to swoop his flyrant across into the middle of the board to target the devastators. The trygons moved up on the right flank and prepared to charge the big mob of boyz. Evan had his flyrant Vector Strike the remains of the combat squad on the left before swooping off the board. In the shooting phase, Ron's flyrant managed to kill (with some termagant help) four of the five devastators. The survivor ran but stopped just short of the board edge. Meanwhile the hive guard blew up the Rhino, killing one of the occupants as they scrambled from the wreckage. The trygons chose to forgo shooting so as to make sure the Boyz squad would keep them in combat and free of shooting. The gambit paid off, with the Trygons causing heavy casualties in combat with a couple wounds in return, but both sides were fearless and the combat continued. On the Left flank, the gargoyles charged the boyz squad and managed to kill a few with their hammer of wrath attacks before being wiped out by the weight of numbers.
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| Once again, Evan's tyrant is not where it appears in this picture, with it actually being in Ongoing Reserves. |
The allied flyers arrived, streaking on from the board corners for the disruptive flyrant. On the Left flank, the burnas and combat squad moved up into the woods to bring their flame weapons to bear on the wall of gaunts advancing for them. At the beginning of the shooting phase, one of the burnas was taken by the Brainleaf fronds, killing his friend. The remainder of the squad, with the help of the Marine combat squad then caused some heavy casualties on two gaunt squads. The Storm Talon caused a wound on the Flyrant and managed to ground him, with the impact killing the beast. The Orks decided to declare a Waaagh! and the DakkaJet poured shots into one of the Tervigons, but only managed a couple wounds. Meanwhile, the boyz who had been in the ruins ran forward and charged into a gant squad. The little aliens, invigorated by their nearby broodmother dealt the Greenskins massive casualties and ran them down. On the opposite side, the Trygons won combat and wiped out the other mob of Boyz.
Turn 3 - Top:
The Devilgants dropped in next to the terminators and decided to put their pod between them and the heavily armored humans. Evan's flyrant swooped back onto the table, vector striking the DakkaJet and causing it to explode, raining debris on the field below. The rest of the army moved up, tightening the noose from the right flank. In the shooting phase the Flyrant failed to destroy the Storm Talon, but did manage to Stun it, rendering it mostly harmless for the next turn as it would buzz forward, putting most everything out of its firing arcs. The devilgants followed up with a flurry of shots at the Nobz squad, killing two of the hulking Greenskins. On the Tyranid left flank, one Trygon charged the Burnas, absorbing their overwatch and wiping them out easily. Meanwhile the hormagaunts charged forward into the combat squad of marines, who stood tall under the flurry of scything talons, killing several of the chittering beasts.
Turn 3 - Bottom:
The movement phase was pretty direct and short; the 'Ard Boyz and surviving Nobz made for the termagants and Tervigon. The Storm Talon cruised forward and took some ineffective snap shots at the only target it could see, a Tervigon. The terminators fired on the devilgants and nearly wiped them out. Meanwhile the lone surviving devastator hit the Mycetic Spore with a Krak missile and killed it in a plume of ichor. In the assault phase, the hormagaunts continued to struggle, dragging down a single Marine and losing three of their number in return. On the opposite flank, the Warboss and Nobz found the termagants a surprisingly difficult target, and wound up getting run down by the dastardly bugs. The 'Ard Boyz fared slightly better, causing a few wounds on the Tervigon for only a few dead Orks in return.
Turn 4:
The top of the Turn 4 was simply carrying out the inevitable. The Trygon helped out the struggling hormagaunts and wiped out the stubborn tactical marines. The Flyrant wiped out the scout squad while the Trygon Prime took down the remaining terminators, smashing the Librarian down in a single, mighty blow. The hive guard glanced the storm talon for the final hull point and the termagants, flush from killing off two Ork squads helped their broodmother wipe out the final group of Orks. With that, the game ended (around 4am) in an overwhelming Tyranid victory.
After Action Report:
Ron and I (Evan) realized early on that we hadn't made the match-up exactly fair. Of the four of us, Ron and I have been playing the longest and are very familiar with our armies. Chandler has much less time under his belt and was running a list he designed on the spot just to bring his Storm Talon. Meanwhile, John has only played a few games after a long hiatus, and isn't even using his own army. I also didn't help him by telling him for two turns that Shootas were Rapid Fire - I was stuck in 3rd Edition.
In our talk after the game, Ron and I advised that Chandler and John might have been better suited by doing a refused flank set-up and sticking their entire army on their right half of the deployment zone. This would have prevented the Trygons having an effect until Turn 3 at the earliest, and given them more room to shoot at the oncoming horde. Additionally, it would have made it harder for the Flyrants to swoop forward and essentially wipe out two squads by making it harder to find a safe spot that wouldn't put them in range of every single gun on the opposing side. Target priority might have been a bit of an issue too; six monstrous creatures will certainly cause that, but they might have gotten more "bang" by trying to gun down the Tervigons. Their spawning wasn't overwhelming in this game, but their boosting the termagants around them, along with some effective enfeebles made them problematic for the Orks to take on.
Lastly, considering the Orks are actually my army and I made the list, I see some pretty glaring flaws. For one, while I have lots of power klaws modeled, I don't think they're very good on an Ork, particularly a Warboss, who actually has a chance to go at the same time and is already very strong. Using the correct rules for Shootas would have helped, but regardless, I'm not convinced foot-slogging is the way to go. Not to mention that 'Ard Boyz don't seem worthwhile and the points would be better spent on more boyz or a Trukk.
So what do you think? What would make the Marine and Ork lists more competitive? Do you have a tactic for facing an overwhelming horde like these Tyranids turned out to be?
Turn 3 - Top:
The Devilgants dropped in next to the terminators and decided to put their pod between them and the heavily armored humans. Evan's flyrant swooped back onto the table, vector striking the DakkaJet and causing it to explode, raining debris on the field below. The rest of the army moved up, tightening the noose from the right flank. In the shooting phase the Flyrant failed to destroy the Storm Talon, but did manage to Stun it, rendering it mostly harmless for the next turn as it would buzz forward, putting most everything out of its firing arcs. The devilgants followed up with a flurry of shots at the Nobz squad, killing two of the hulking Greenskins. On the Tyranid left flank, one Trygon charged the Burnas, absorbing their overwatch and wiping them out easily. Meanwhile the hormagaunts charged forward into the combat squad of marines, who stood tall under the flurry of scything talons, killing several of the chittering beasts.
Turn 3 - Bottom:
The movement phase was pretty direct and short; the 'Ard Boyz and surviving Nobz made for the termagants and Tervigon. The Storm Talon cruised forward and took some ineffective snap shots at the only target it could see, a Tervigon. The terminators fired on the devilgants and nearly wiped them out. Meanwhile the lone surviving devastator hit the Mycetic Spore with a Krak missile and killed it in a plume of ichor. In the assault phase, the hormagaunts continued to struggle, dragging down a single Marine and losing three of their number in return. On the opposite flank, the Warboss and Nobz found the termagants a surprisingly difficult target, and wound up getting run down by the dastardly bugs. The 'Ard Boyz fared slightly better, causing a few wounds on the Tervigon for only a few dead Orks in return.
Turn 4:
The top of the Turn 4 was simply carrying out the inevitable. The Trygon helped out the struggling hormagaunts and wiped out the stubborn tactical marines. The Flyrant wiped out the scout squad while the Trygon Prime took down the remaining terminators, smashing the Librarian down in a single, mighty blow. The hive guard glanced the storm talon for the final hull point and the termagants, flush from killing off two Ork squads helped their broodmother wipe out the final group of Orks. With that, the game ended (around 4am) in an overwhelming Tyranid victory.
After Action Report:
Ron and I (Evan) realized early on that we hadn't made the match-up exactly fair. Of the four of us, Ron and I have been playing the longest and are very familiar with our armies. Chandler has much less time under his belt and was running a list he designed on the spot just to bring his Storm Talon. Meanwhile, John has only played a few games after a long hiatus, and isn't even using his own army. I also didn't help him by telling him for two turns that Shootas were Rapid Fire - I was stuck in 3rd Edition.
In our talk after the game, Ron and I advised that Chandler and John might have been better suited by doing a refused flank set-up and sticking their entire army on their right half of the deployment zone. This would have prevented the Trygons having an effect until Turn 3 at the earliest, and given them more room to shoot at the oncoming horde. Additionally, it would have made it harder for the Flyrants to swoop forward and essentially wipe out two squads by making it harder to find a safe spot that wouldn't put them in range of every single gun on the opposing side. Target priority might have been a bit of an issue too; six monstrous creatures will certainly cause that, but they might have gotten more "bang" by trying to gun down the Tervigons. Their spawning wasn't overwhelming in this game, but their boosting the termagants around them, along with some effective enfeebles made them problematic for the Orks to take on.
Lastly, considering the Orks are actually my army and I made the list, I see some pretty glaring flaws. For one, while I have lots of power klaws modeled, I don't think they're very good on an Ork, particularly a Warboss, who actually has a chance to go at the same time and is already very strong. Using the correct rules for Shootas would have helped, but regardless, I'm not convinced foot-slogging is the way to go. Not to mention that 'Ard Boyz don't seem worthwhile and the points would be better spent on more boyz or a Trukk.
So what do you think? What would make the Marine and Ork lists more competitive? Do you have a tactic for facing an overwhelming horde like these Tyranids turned out to be?
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