Bat Rep: Tyranids vs. Space Wolves - Road to the NOVA Open Game 4*

This week I got my second league game in with Chandler. We would be playing Mission 4, Points and Regions, as part of our Week 4 matchup. This is a table quarters mission.

Again, I'm still running my Dimachaeron List I brought out for Game 1. Chandler's list changed a bit and was using a Wolves Unleashed Detachment:

• Wolves Unleashed:
• Rune Priest: Level 2, Armour of Russ, Rune Sword
• Rune Priest: Level 2, Terminator Armour, Rune Axe
• Rune Priest: Level 1, Rune Stave, Runic Armour
• Iron Priest
• Iron Priest
• 4 Wolf Guard Terminators: Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield
• 6 Blood Claws
• Stormwolf
• 6 Blood Claws
• Stormwolf
• 5 Blood Claws
• Razorback: TL Lascannons
• Land Raider: Multi-Melta
• Whirlwind: Stormbolter
• Officio Assassinorum Detachment
• Vindicare Assassin

For my missions, I opted for End Game scoring for the Primary, and Linebreaker, Destroy a Detachment, and Marked for Death on the Whirlwind. Chandler also opted for End Game Primary, and took Last Laugh, Linebreaker, and Slay the Warlord as his primaries.

For a third game in a row I got my re-roll reserves warlord trait (this is setting a bad precedent as far as playtests go). I also got Scream on all three flyrants, along with Catalyst on two, and Paroxysm on the third. Chandler took a smattering of Divination, Biomancy, and even one roll on Tempestas. 

Chandler won the roll for deployment and chose to deploy first. Rolling for his Outflank trait, he managed to get Outflank on the Razorback with Warlord, one Stormwolf, and the Whirlwind. He deployed his Land Raider with Wolf Guard and Iron Priest in the middle of his zone (Vanguard) and was done.

I countered with deploying my Bastion out of line of sight of the Land Raider, and then deployed the three flyrants behind the LOS blocking ruin and one in the top of the bastion. We then rolled off for infiltrators and Chandler won again, allowing him to place his assassin in the ruin on my right. I deployed my sporefield mines around, with the Mucolids and two Lictors being concentrated in the middle. 

I attempted to seize but failed. Chandler moved the Land Raider up and took a few pot shots at some mines and a Lictor. He did 2 wounds to a Mucolid with his Heavy Bolter and the Lictor managed to dodge a lascannon beam. The Vindicare shot at the Warlord flyrant but failed to wound. In the bottom of the turn, two flyrants flew up in front of the Land Raider while the third flew at the Vindicare. In shooting, the two flyrants managed to Immobilize the Land Raider, while the third flyrant killed the Vindicare. 

In turn 2, all of Chandler's reserves arrived. The two Stormwolves converged on the solo flyrant. The terminators disembarked from the immobilized land raider. The whirlwind arrived and hid in Chandler's back corner while the Razorback ran itself into the ruins the Assassin had been hiding in. Shooting saw the lone flyrant jink and take 2 wounds from the combined fire of the Razorback and both Stormwolves. 

In the bottom of turn 2, all but 1 Mawloc and 1 ripper brood arrived. The mawloc scattered off the Terminators into the ruin. Alongside landed the Tyrannocyte and Dimachaeron. Two Lictors popped up behind the Razorback while one popped up in ruins in front of the Whirlwind. The flyrant that had jinked flew over and vector struck one Stormwolf. Another flew to be 18" directly ahead of both. The warlord hopped 12" over the Land Raider, staying in the air but staying close enough to have a shot at Screaming the Terminators, but was thoroughly denied. The vector strike managed a hull point on the Storm wolf, but all other shooting was saved by Jinks. The third flyrant shot at the other Stormwolf, again doing no damage, but got him to Jink as well. The two lictors did two hull points to the Razorback and destroyed the lascannon. Finally the other Lictor in the opposite corner, along with a heavy bolter from the bastion did two hull points and stunned it. 

In the top of three, the storm wolves circled around to get shots and the terminators popped through the wall to charge something. The Blood Claws and warlord in the Razorback jumped out. Chandler failed Endurance and Iron Arm on the Terminators, but got Precognition off on the warlord Rune Priest. In shooting, the Land Raider sniped the Lictor threatening the Whirlwind. The Warlord's unit dealt two wounds to a Lictor, who went to ground. In assault the, hammernators promptly killed the Tyrannocyte with little difficulty, but only consolidated an inch. 

In the bottom of turn 3, the second lictor arrived and landed on the terminators, dealing a wound to the Rune Priest and killing one terminator before being placed by Chandler right in front of the Land Raider. The other Mawloc dug back down. The Warlord flyrant and companion made their way around one Storm Wolf, with two mucolids and a Lictor chasing the other. The third flyrant moved over to stand up the Lictors in my right corner and stand up the one that went to ground. One fired at the Razorback and took it out while the other, combined with the flyrant, killed four of the blood claws. Another lictor managed a lucky glance on the already damaged Storm Wolf, though the Mucolids failed both charges unsurprisingly (needed a 12). A lictor and the Dimachaeron managed to wipe out the Terminators and Rune Priest, though they dealt 3 wounds to the Dimachaeron and 2 wounds to the Lictor on their way out. Finally, a lictor charged the Warlord unit and died for its efforts. 

In the top of turn 4, the Storm wolf nearest the two flyrants chose to fly off the board (having Jinked) while the other went over behind my Bastion. The Warlord's unit lined up shots on the Lictor and flyrant. I denied prescience, though he got precog off again. The Land Raider did 3 wounds to the Mawloc in front of it. The turn ended with the Warlord and his unit failing a short charge on the Lictor. 

In the bottom of the turn, a mawloc popped up and killed off the remaining Blood Claws and wounded the Rune Priest. Chandler again got to place him and he went in the back corner. My two flyrants headed toward the Whirlwind, but stayed in flamer range of the Land Raider. One then promptly grounded itself on a Perils casting catalyst, though he saved the wound. The lone flyrant in the corner landed in the ruins and fired ineffectively at the rune priest, who didn't fail a single 2+, not even needing his re-roll. The other two flyrants did a hull point to the Land Raider but didn't finish it off, though a Mucolid charged in an glanced it before the Dima could try his hand. 

Chandler started his turn by flying the Storm Wolf on the board behind the flyrants and then flying the other storm wolf off. The Warlord made for the Hive Tyrant, planning to bring the beast down in hand to hand. I denied Force, but he got Precog again. Shooting brought down the grounded flyrant and wounded my warlord, grounding him for good measure and doing another wound. In assault, the Warlord challenged the flyrant and using his Armour of Russ, struck first, but failed to deal a wound. In return the flyrant dealt three wounds, but all were saved by the Armour of Russ's 4+ invulnerable made rerollable. 

In the bottom of 5, the warlord flyrant made a b-line for the Whirlwind, getting into Electroshock range. The Dima jumped back behind the wall and made sure to be in the same quarter as the Stormwolf. The wounded lictor by the wrecked Razorback moved to support the flyrant in combat against the opposing warlord. Shooting saw the Warlord Flyrant take out the Whirlwind with little trouble. In the back corner, the Lictor charged the Rune Priest and didn't cause a Rending wound, so the Rune Priest swung and again failed to wound the Flyrant, who finally managed to strike him down. 

With the turn over, I rolled to see if the game went on, and rolled a 2. I locked up all four board quarters and all three of my secondaries. I got a kill point on three of the available four turns, and ended the game with a 18-2 victory. 

Even though it was out of position to do anything, I think it was a mistake for Chandler to fly the one Storm wolf off the board; that is a lot of mobile points I can't really deny. I was able to counter one, but not sure I could counter both. That said, I would still most likely have maxed the Primary, it would have just gotten Chandler a few more points. 

The Stormwolves are super tough and I really like his list with both of them. I underestimated them a bit, thinking I would be able to take one down the turn after they arrived. I wasn't able to do much with my Mucolids and Spore mines, and they largely meandered around trying to cut off potential lanes of movement. I think I might have concentrated my forces a bit too much in the middle right, but I felt I had pretty solid control of the middle of the board, which let me be reactive and contest and control board quarters at the end of the game. 

Had it gone to 6 it might have been dicey, with my Warlord quite possibly getting taken down as well as the mawloc I had getting me linebreaker. Chandler also would have had a sizeable chunk of his forces in his two board quarters (350+ points). Again, I probably could have recaptured 1 board quarter, but it would have been close, with my lone flyrant legging it over to lend his weight to the Dima in one board quarter, while holding another with a 1 wound Lictor. My best guess at the score after 6 would be 16-11, with Chandler possibly picking up Slay the Warlord and Last Laugh.

This quite possibly wraps up my league games. My week 2 and 5 opponent, Tom, got a fantastic job offer about a thousand miles away. Between packing and moving and getting everything in order, he's understandably preoccupied and had to drop out of the league. We've been looking around for someone who would be interested in stepping in and playing his four remaining games, but so far no luck. As it stands, I will have an undefeated record and be representing the Grey Bracket at Huzzah Hobbies in Ashburn on July 11th, competing for a NOVA Invitational spot. Wish me luck; I expect to see some fantastic lists and players at that 3 round RTT.