The Lahkers and the Tau couldn't agree on many things, but the need to teach those uppity, Dreadnought-spamming Red Marauders a lesson was one of those things two xenos races could concur on.
This was another Not-Apoc game, 4,000 points, from late summer, with me and Nathaniel teamed up against Ike. We knew what each other were bringing, Ike with a special Iron Hands Dreadnought/Ork team-up, Nathaniel with his anti-tank Tau, and me with with an early iteration of the Lahkers' Destroyer Cult, along with my first try at fielding a Deathbringer Flight consisting of my Doom Scythe and my B-2 stealth bomber model.
Deployment was Dawn of War, mission was good old kill points.
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| My list. Destroyer Lord is the Warlord. |
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| Nathaniel's Galactic Empire-themed Tau. |
Ike's list (4000pts total)
Red Marauders Space Marines (Iron Hands Chapter Tactics)
Librarian w/Auspex, Digital Weapons, Mastery Level 2, Force Sword, Jump Pack
2x Techmarines (one with bolt pistol, boltgun, servo arm, other with auspex, boltgun, servo arm, storm bolter)
2x Servitors
Master of the Forge w/Conversion Beamer
2x Venerable Dreadnoughts w/extra armor, multi-melta, power fist/storm bolter, both in Drop Pods with Deathwind misisle launcher
2x Venerable Dreadnoughts w/assault cannon, power fist, one with storm bolter, one with heavy flamer
Ironclad Dreadnought w/hurricane bolter, Ironclad assault launchers, Seismic Hammer/heavy flamer
5x Scouts w/camo cloaks, heavy bolter w/hellfire shells, 3x sniper rifles
5x Tactical Marines w/vet sarge (armed with boltgun) and flamer in Razorback w/dozer blade, storm bolter, TL heavy bolter
5x Assault Marines w/2x flamers, vet sarge with combat shield and power axe
5x Devastators, 2x heavy bolters, sarge w/bolt pistol and chainsword, in Rhino
Orks
Painboy w/Gitfinda
Warboss w/attack squig, Bosspole, Cybork Body, 'eavy Armor, Kombi-Skorcha, Power klaw
Weirdboy Mastery level 2
4x Nobz in Battlewagon w/'ard case, extra armor, Grot Riggers, Kannon, Reinforced Ram
17x Shoota Boyz w/'eavy armor and Nob w/bosspole
10x Slugga Boyz in Trukk w/rokkit launcha
Burna-Bommer w/6x Skorcha missiles
2x Big Trakks w/2x Big Shootas, Grot Riggers, Supa-Kannon
Deff Dread w/extra armor, Grot Rigger, Power Klaw, Rokkit Launcha
Deff Dread w/extra armor, Grot Riggers, 2x Skorchas
4x Lootas w/Mek armed with Rokkit Launcha
Skitarii
5x Skitarii Rangers w/Transuranic arquebus, Ranger Alpha has galvanic rifle and refractor field
5x Skitarii Vanguard w/arc rifle, enhanced data-tether, plasma caliver, Vanguard Alpha has arc maul, conversion field, digital weapons, phosphor blast pistol
Inquisition
Ordo Xenos Inquisitor w/Conversion Beamer, Power Armor, Psychotroke Grenades, Mastery level 1, Rad Grenades, 3x Servo Skulls, Warlord
Henchmen Warband, 3x Acolytes w/boltguns, carapace armor, laspistol, 3x Jokaero Weaponsmiths, 1x Servitor w/heavy bolter
Deployment
Our deployment. Me and Nathaniel roughly split the battlefield halfway for our armies. The anti-tank guns were spread as evenly as possible across the board. His Pathfinders were placed up on terrain for better markerlighting, my Triarch Stalker stood in a big crowd of Necrons to make its buff as effective as possible, and I put my Master of the Forge and his Scouts on the tall ruins at the top of the picture for maximum coverage with the Conversion Beamer.
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| Fire Prism and Raider are Hammerheads, walkers and Wraithlord are Broadside suits. |
Ike's deployment. He put a blob of boyz behind his Aegis line on his left flank, with the interceptor Quad-gun, put the Iron Hands armor in the center, and on the right flank put the Warboss and Weirdboy in their Trukks. His Scouts infiltrated on the square ruins near our lines.
Full deployment, examples A and B.
And that was that for deployment. On to the battle.
GAME TURN 1
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| Turn 1, ex. A |
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| Turn 1, ex. B |
Turn 1 - Us
The combined Necron-Tau force walked forward a bit. Not much happened. We were able to kill a Scout and a Loota, and mentally prepared ourselves for what was to come.
Turn 1 - Ike
Ike's turn began with a Deathwind-armed Drop Pod landing in our left corner, deploying his Vendread with the multi-melta. His forces moved into and behind any available cover, and the Warboss and Weirdboy drove their Trukks forward according to standard ere-we-go tactics. In the shooting phase, he killed two Destroyers, and the Drop Pod VenDread immobilized a Hammerhead gunship (the Raider).
GAME TURN 2
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| Turn 2, ex. A |
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| Turn 2, ex. B |
Turn 2 - Us
The action started to pick up this turn. Both Praetorian squads came in, along with the Doom Scythes. I sent the Scythes towards the Razorback, AT-ST Deff Dread, and the footslogging Ironclad Dread, and dropped the Praetorians in on Ike's right flank. On our right flank, the Lahker troops and Destroyers made it to the square-based ruins, backed up by the Stalker and Crisis suits. In shooting, we killed a few more scouts, my Heavy Destroyer knocked 1 HP off the Big Trakk on Ike's left flank, and my Destroyer squad in the middle (under the Scythes) killed the Weirdboy's Trukk for First Blood. The Praetorians killed off Ik's right-flank Big Trakk, Nathaniel's Fire Warriors charged and grenaded the Drop Pod Dread to death, and the Hammerhead repaired its Immobilized result.
*Possibly this turn, possibly next turn, my Dev-proxy MoTF and Ike's Inquisitor began a conversion beamer duel, and I made this to commemorate it.*
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| Wait...conversion "beamber?" Dammit... |
Turn 2 - Ike
Ike's Burna-Bomma, not about to be left out of the battle, flew onto the field. The barely-assembled Skitarii Rangers and Vanguard made it onto the field, outflanked on Ike's left flank. One of the Tau units Intercepted the Vanguard and killed 4 of the 5 men in the squad. Ike poured on the shooting, however he only inflicted minimal casualties, mostly warriors and a Praetorian. He did get some boyz into combat with the Tau on our left flank, not sure how. Darn meddlin' orks. The lone Skitarii Vanguard valiantly assaulted my warriors and was slain.
GAME TURN 3
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| Turn 3, ex. A |
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| Turn 3, ex. B |
Turn 3 - Us
Our Necron-Tau infantry line didn't move much further this turn, they stood and fired. The Riptide moved towards our left flank to provide fire support against the Orks and Dreadnought. The Doom Scythes homed in on the Aegis defense line and killed the remaining Big Trakk hiding in the woods. The Deff Dread (real model) approaching the Lahker-held ruins was destroyed, and the other Dreadnoughts were damaged. My MoTF had a Conversion Beamer duel with Ike's Inquisitor, and killed a few of his acolytes. The Praetorian squads then assaulted the Inquisitor's squad and the remaining Dreadnought on Ike's right flank. (Bad move against the Dread, Praetorians with Rods of Covenant can't glance AV12)
Turn 3 - Ike
Ike's second Drop Pod finally arrived, putting his repainted Dreadnought down almost in our center field...it got Intercepted and exploded. He began to inch his Orks and Lootas on his left flank up at this point. The Burna-Bomma decimated the midfield squad of Fire Warriors, killing all but one model. The Librarian and Assault Squad deep-struck into our right flank. Ike caused light casualties across the board otherwise, and assaulted Lord Nahz's squad on the square ruins with the VenDread. His Inquisitor's squad suffered losses at the hands of the Praetorians.
GAME TURN 4
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| Turn 4, ex. A |
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| Turn 4, ex. B |
Turn 4 - Us
The Doom Scythes moved into ongoing reserves. My warriors and Stalker, finding themselves in range of Lootas, a Rhino of Marines, and the Assault Marines, decided to back up and re-form the line. The Immortals gaussed the AT-ST Dread down. The Rhino that had been hovering in the midfield near the square ruins was finally wrecked as well. One Hammerhead and the Riptide put the Warboss and Nobz down. In an unlikely intervention, Nahz had his Necron ass saved when the Crisis suits joined his combat and killed Ike's Dreadnought with an Onager gauntlet.
Turn 4 - Ike
Ike's forces had pretty much been removed from the lower half of the board at this point. He focused his efforts on killing Nahz's squad and the Crisis suits. The Crisis suits died to the joint effort of a Big Shoota and the Ironclad Dread, and Nahz was tackled lethally by the Librarian and his Assault buddies. The Razorback charged onto our side of the table, I'm pretty sure it took a shot at the Stalker, but thankfully failed to kill it.
GAME TURN 5
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| Turn 5, ex. A |
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| Turn 5, ex. B |
Turn 5 - Us
The Doom Scythes swooped back onto the field, went after the Burna-Bomma, spammed the tesla destructors, and knocked it out of the sky. The rest of the Necron-Tau force consolidated towards our side of the board in general, finishing off the mauled enemy units within range. The Praetorians overcame the hardy Inquisitor and got Slay the Warlord at long last (the others got squished in their ill-considered Dreadnought combat), and a Techmarine and his servitors wandering around in the midfield were slain.
Turn 5 - Ike
Ike's Shoota Boyz made it far enough they could hose the Destroyers on their end of the board, taking a few of them out. The Librarian charged my Destroyer Lord, whiffed his attacks, and then dodged the return attacks and...survived? Maybe? The record is incomplete here. The Praetorian squad is listed as "kill", who or what is not specified. They may have been killed, they don't show up in any pics at that point. Ike's Scouts, battered but alive, still hunched in the square ruins, somehow hanging on through the slaughter going on around them.
The game ended the bottom of Turn 5. Final score: Lahkers and Tau 17 kill points (counting Slay the Warlord and First Blood), and Ike got 11 kill points. Victory for the Greater Good and the Dynasty! (But more importantly the Dynasty. Necrons rule.)
Final thoughts:
- Deathbringer Flight was a lot of fun, honestly more cool than effective for their points...still, they shot down the Bommer, destroyed a Big Trakk, and took a few HP off the Ironclad Dreadnought. Not too bad.
- Destroyers do NOT belong on the front lines or in assault, not at all.
- Stalkers do a lot for your army when they're alive...hint hint, Gabe, put that Stalker in cover. Maybe even in reserve.
- Funnily enough, Praetorians are better tank-busters with the voidblade (Rending, Entropic Strike) and the S6 particle caster pistol, rather than the nasty but low-strength Rod of Covenant.
- Be very, very thankful you were on the friendly end of the Tau guns this game.
