Battle Report 2 - Tyranids vs. Imperial Marines

Composed by Michael J. Casavant (Hive Fleet Phage).

1500 Point Night Fight (23MAY2001)

Tyranid Army List

Imperial Marines List

Setup

The Marines won the roll off, choosing their quarter, quadrant 1, first. Tyranids placed first in quadrant 3. Infiltrators moved their initial bonus move; there were two units in each army. Marines won the die roll and moved first.

Description

Turn 1, Marines - One speeder fired at the Carnifex to no effect. The other speeder moved up and opened fire on the genestealers, killing 1 or 2. Both sniper units fired on the hive tyrant brood. Tactical Squad 1 moved towards the hive tyrant brood. Tactical Squad 2 moved into another quadrant (your right-hand quadrant).

Turn 1, Tyranids - The clicking slavering Strikergaunt brood 1 surged forth and began the battle dramatically, tearing one skimmer out of the sky and cutting down some members of Scout Squad 1.

Turn 2, Marines - The remaining speeder rushed past the hive tyrant brood to threaten the quarter. Marine tactical squads fired on various units to minimal effect.

Turn 2, Tyranids - Genestealer brood 1 turned about and charged the skimmer, failing to strike it down with their few attacks. Strikergaunt brood 1 kill off Socut Squad 1 and Sweep into Tactical Squad 1. Spinegaunts assault the Socut Squad 2 (snipers).

Turn 3, Marines - The Skimmer moved away and fired on the Genestealers, because the Biovores cannot hold quarters. TS unit 1 whittle down Strikergaunt brood 1.

Turn 3, Tyranids - stuff happened. Scout Squad 2 dead?

Turn 4, Marines - stuff happened. Things were looking bad for the SM, but this round things turned around a little as droves of dead 'nids fell to the ground and the Angelfire Flyer entered combat.

Turn 4, Tyranids - The SM's flyer finally gets on the board, but now there are not many targets of opportunity. So he pounds the crap out of Genestealer brood 1. As I now know, since this game ends with captured quarters determining victory, it is a valid tactic for victory conditions. At this point, the SM is down to two or three units left that can capture a quarter.The fleeing Strikergaunts 2.

Turn 5, Marines - The Assault Squad and Tactical squad mix it up with my Gaunts and Genestealer 2, killing all of the Genestealers and Spineaunts, and routing the remaining Strikergaunts, which revert to instinctual behavior and rush into the nearby difficult terrain to lurk.

Turn 5, Tyranids - Strikergaunts 2 lurk. The HT, TG, and Carnifex deviated 90 degrees to the right of their original path towards the Devastator squad, heading in to a ruins and assaulted the marine Commander and assault squad. The Angelfire Flyer shot at my Genestealers some more. A poison spore takes ou ta few members of the Devastator suqad.

Turn 6, Marines - The Devastator squad movees out of their corner.

Turn 6, Tyranids - The Strikergaunts 2 rally in the warm glow of the Hive Mind and rush forward to help the HT group, slashing and clawing at each other in their eagerness to move forwad, but being protected by their chitinous plates (took a wound from moving through Difficult Terrain, but saved against it). The HT, Cfx, and TG charged the Tactical Squad 2, killling them and advancing into the renants of the Tactical Squad 1 while the remnants of Strikergaunt 2 was split up among TS 1 and tying up the Devastator squad with a few models in assault as well. Flyer shot at my Genestealers some more.

End - The game ended at Turn 6. There were only three intact units on the board that could hold quarters, the Hive Tyrant, the Carnifex, and the Devastator squad. However, at the instant the game ended, the Devastator squad was a mere one unit away from being at 50% and thus not able to capture. As far as surviving units went, I still had a handful of Genestealers, all three Biovores, the HT, 1 TG, 1 Carnifex, and a few Strikergaunts left; the SM had 6 Devastator squad model, 1 or 2 Tactical squad guys, and the Angelfire Flyer. The Flyer actually helped make the game a draw since it brought my Genestealers down to where they could not capture a quarter. Sort of frustrating, but it was an exciting battle and at least in a draw there are no losers. I can console myself with knowing that my Carnifex definitely ate the rest of the marines. Lars is a great opponent that knows his army, so I am proud to get a draw against him.

Conclusions

• Night Fight - The night fight hurt us both really. The Devastator squad, but only because they were way back in the SM's corner. Otherwise I think it had very little effect. My first unit placement was putting a unit as close to the center as possible to constrain the SM player with the rule that requires them to place units no less than 24" away from an enemy unit; that was a very good idea I think.
• Biovores - The Night Fight made these less useful. I knew in advance that the Poison Mines would be less useful against Marines, but I wanted to try them out and I am trying not to let myself fall into making the perfect army to kill a given opponent. I also was not taking full advantage of them. You can target a mine on a model so that if you roll a "HIT" it goes off immediately, which would have been nice.
• The gaunts I used were not completely effective against Marines.