Battle Report 1 - Tyranids vs. Eldar Alaitoc Rangers
Composed by Michael J. Casavant (Hive Fleet Phage).
1750 Point <No Mission>(19MAY2001?)
Tyranid Army List
Eldar Alaitoc Rangers List
Narrative
The wrecked ball of rock that you were called to was once an
industrial production planet for the Emperor's valiant legions.
That was before the Eldar scum came to the planet. However, they
had a nasty surprise waiting for them. Genestealer units had infested
the populace and a cult had formed and called a hive of Tyranids
to the planet. You have killed the few surviving marines you have
interviewed so far. It was the only way to wipe away the stain
of their cowardice. The last one, however, might even be a hero
beneath the layers of filth. He floats on a gravchair, his lower
limbs were severed by a Starcannon volley that also claimed one
of his arms. His remaining limb is wounded badly, barely containing
the strength he used to activate his beacon when the troopship
entered orbit.
Your staff officer already told the tale of his survival. After
losing combat effectiveness, he dragged himself to a latrine and
camouflaged himself from sight and smell. Then he recorded the
subsequent events with his helmet's optics. The few clear images
were a handful of stills that lacked vital information. Now you
were hear to ask the man himself to fill in the details. There
is no time to wait for others to take reports. They would only
muck up the details and with the bugs and the keeblers, details
can kill you.
The smell of Sergeant Bralicus is overwhelming. You barely contain
yourself as the thick stench of excrement and weeks-old filth
threatens to suffocate your senses. You press a small filter unit
into your nose and mouth and feel the relief of clean air wash
into your lungs.
The broken frame of Bralicus twitches to a position of sitting
attention. He brings up his arm to salute, a clumsy and obviously
painful motion.
You adopt a soothing but commanding tone. "At ease, Sergeant.
Report."
He lowers his crippled limb and sits tall. His eyes stare off
into the distance as the fog of his memory clears. "We only
had a few squads on garrison duty at the complex when a rain of
fire from a Falcon grav tank cut them down. Only a few of us survived
the volley and we advanced under cover with our Krak grenades
at the ready. We heard the herald of our doom as the blasts of
a Shadow Weaver battery rained death on us. The blast took my
legs and one of my left arm and knocked me out and into some rubble.
When I woke up, I was covered in shit and weaponless. Kinda like
this mudball is now."
"Anyway, I couldn't drag myself free, so I rolled down into
a break in the rocks and watched the main square of the complex.
Then I heard the reports of the Hive ship and I just had to laugh.
The only food left on this rock was those bastard keeblers and
I was gonna get to watch lunch."
The Sergeant laughs, producing a rough gravely noise that culminates
in a large wad of bloody phlegm. "So, I hunkered down, cranked
up the air filter, and coated my armor in shit. I figured the
keeblers would be scared to investigate the smell and the bugs
wouldn't find it appetizing."
"There were more keeblers than I had thought. They lined
up in cover, ready for the onslaught. They were Alaitoc Rangers
by their markings and there were plenty of snipers. They had two
units of their regular snipers on a building and behind a low
wall. Some of their elite snipers were up on the roof of another
building right smack in the middle of the force. Below the elites
was one of those damn psykers."
You interject, "a Farseer?"
"Yeah, that's right and he had some of those foul Warlocks
with him. There were two units of Guardian Defenders, both with
their own Warlocks and Starcannons on grav platforms. One was
backed up by a Wraithlord and the other an Avatar, an Avatar of
Khaine. There was also a squad of firedrakes led by an exarch
and a support squad with two Shadow Weavers. Then the bugs came."
"One second there was nothing, then there was a swarm of
the little monsters. There were over fifty Genestealers that seemed
to be organized into five units. There was a unit of Ripper Swarms,
about 7 clusters of them. Leading the group was one of those Hive
Tyrants. By the Emperor that thing was enormous! He had a trio
of Tyrant Guards protecting him and two Carnifexes following close
behind to avoid being singled out. These things were not the mindless
eating machines I expected. They used cover and combined assaults.
And they did not falter. Not a single one fell back."
[Picture: Initial table layout]
[Picture: "Consume!" A closeup
of the Hive Tyrant, his three invisible Tyrant Guard (unassembled
by the battle) and 2 Carnifexes]
"So they moved forward through the buildings. They used
cover as best they could but only the Tyrant, his guards, and
the 'fexes used it to great effect. It worked though. Those keeblers
rained almost every last round down on their heads, but they only
managed to nick them. The Tyrant and the 'fexes had greatly bloody
big cannons growing out of their arms but they had little effect.
They couldn't hit the broadside of a bunker with those things,
but it was not surprise with all of the ducking and dodging behind
cover they were doing. What they did hit though was melted or
corroded beyond recognition."
[Picture: Turn 1, Tyranids finished.]
"The keeb grunts moved forward, along with the Farseer's
unit and the Avatar. If it were me, I'd cock the bolter and cut
the bugs in half, but I'm no keeb. Who can figure out what goes
on in those pointy little helmets?"
[Picture: Turn 1, Eldar Alaitoc Rangers finished.]
"The bugs kept on coming, the big ones firing their cannons
to little effect. The 'stealers were rushing forward in a slow
wave and the ripper swarms were managing to sneak up to flank
the keebs without drawing any attention."
[Picture: Turn 2, Tyranids finished.]
"That Avatar must have some sort of effect on those keeb
grunts, because they didn't pause for a minute, even with all
of those 'stealers coming at 'em. Must have been some sight from
where the Avatar was standing."
[Picture: Turn 2, The Avatar of Khaine stands
undaunted.]
"Those keebs just kept on marching. I have to give them
credit for courage if nothing else, but it was probably just some
keebler magic that kept them moving forward, gutless keebs that
they are."
[Picture: Turn 2, Eldar Alaitoc Rangers finish
their Move phase.]
"Then it got really interesting. The keeblers opened up
with everything they had and charged the bugs! They killed almost
an entire unit of stealers with weapons fire alone."
[Picture: Turn 2, Eldar Alaitoc Rangers gun
down 9 out of 10 models of a Genestealer brood.]
and crippled another with their volley and managed to kill off
the last of the Tyrant Guards. They even scraped the Tyrant and
one of the Carnifexes, but it's hard to be sure how wounded on
of those beasts are. They roar and flail about whether or not
they are wounded. The 'stealers over by the big guys fared a lot
better and the keebs over there must have known that their number
was up soon."
[Picture: Turn 2, Eldar Alaitoc Rangers assault
Genestealer brood]
Most of the keeb grunts rushed into close combat and took more
damage then they dished out. I saw those 'stealer claws rip through
the Avatar's armor like it was soft cheese. The grunts with him,
the Firedrakes, held their ground though. The rest of the bugs
could smell the blood and the battle turned into a sea of flying
limbs, blood, and pieces of meat sailing overhead. Those keebs
looked like they had fallen into a blender!
[Picture: Turn 3, Ripper Swarms join the
fight against the Firedrakes, which take heavy losses.]
[Picture: Turn 3, Lone Genestealer as well
as trailing brood, assault Guardian Defenders w/ Starcannon.]
"Another unit of Genestealers joined the with the other
Guardian unit and that was even messier. The soldiers were getting
gutted left and right, so they fell back. They must have been
nervous about retreating in front of their Wraithlord and Farseer,
though, 'cause they mucked it up and the 'stealers drove them
to the ground and eviscerated them without even missing a step.
And within seconds, the unit was dead and the 'stealers were on
top of the Wraithlord."
"Speaking of the Farseer, his group didn't fare too well
either. They had closed the distance and that gave the Tyrant
and the two 'fexes a chance to charge them. The warlock bodyguard
was cut to pieces. The Farseer took a hit and tried to fall back,
but the Tyrant had clipped his leg and he fell back too slowly.
The scything talons of the 'fexes ripped him in two and swallowed
the pieces in one smooth motion. They almost made it to the snipers
behind the Farseer."
[Picture: Turn 3, Genestealers assault Guardians,
inflicting heavy losses and then killing them in an Advance; Hive
Tyrant and Carnifexes assault Farseer and retinue, killing the
retinue in the assault and then killing the Farseer in an advance
which brings them face to face with a Rangers unit.]
"After that, the keebs fell apart and the bugs swarmed over
them and then they really fell apart." [Eldar Alaitoc Rangers
conceded the battle]
The Sergeant chuckles grimly, "Now, sir, I formally request
to petition for bionic replacements. My Emperor needs me on the
field of battle, not back here chatting with your staff!"
[Picture: End of Battle]
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