Battle Report 5 - Tyranids vs. Space Orks

Composed by Michael J. Casavant (Hive Fleet Phage)

Summary

• Date - 12AUG2001
• Points - 1700
• Scenario - Recon
• Tyranid Army List - Hive Fleet Phage
• Orks [played by Keith Weiser]
• Result - Massacre
  • Tyranid losses (288) - Spinegaunts (total) 170, Ripper Swarms (total) 118.
  • Space Orks (1700) - entire army destroyed.
  • Scenario points - +200 per unit that is in the opponent's deployment zone at the end of the game.
    • Tyranids (1400) - 2 HQ, 1 HS, 4 Troops.
    • Space Orks (0)
  • Total points - 1700-288+1400 = 2,812 points in the Tyranids' favor.
• Grand Tournament Scale (Victory Points Difference)
  • 0-299 Victory Points = Draw - neither side holds the upper hand.
  • 300-599 Victory Points = Minor Victory - You have won the battle, but only just!
  • 600-1,199 Victory Points = Solid Victory - You have decisively defeated your foe!
  • 1,200+ Victory Points = Massacre - You have ruthlessly crushed your foes!

Report

Setup

The food that have faced Hive Fleet Phage have named the Hive Tyrants that continue to plague them. The one that trudges forward implacably with an escort of Tyrant Guard they call "Thunder." The swift winged beast that races across the battlefield and shatters bodies and vehicles with its mind they have dubbed "Lightning." They have also named the Carnifex engine of destruction, "Mjolnir."

For this battle I tried a tactic out that I have been pondering - stretching a unit across the entire board. In this case, a 32 model unit of Spinegaunts.

Turn 1

The Tyranids advance! Thunder and Mjolnir blow the Zzap Gun off of the Battlewagon, removing the greatest ranged threat the Orks had. Thank you Lady Luck! They also manage to shake the Dreadnought's crew. The swarm washes past the Genestealers that had infiltrated already. A lucky Poison spore mine hit takes out the Mekboy and his Kustom Force Field; even the Warboss takes a wound!

The Orks take different tactics along their lines. The Stormboyz race forward to engage the Spinegaunts and Genestealers nearby. The Warbikes and Kommandos also slam into the Spinegaunts. This combined assault destroyed the huge wave of Spinegaunt, finishing the entire wave off. The Trukboyz and the heavily armored Warboss unit advance, eager for violence.

In the center of the Ork line, the huge unit of Boyz pulls back, hoping to create an opportunity to charge their enemy.

Turn 2

Lightning streaks forward and assaults the Ork Trukk, along with a wave of Lysogaunts that wash around the vehicle in a wave. Lightning smashes the Trukk and the Orks leap out to safety as they are well trained to do.

The Rippers, Thunder, and Mjonir close in on the Warbikes and destroy all of them. The Genestealers and some Rippers close in on the Kommandos and kill them off, advancing towards the Boyz in the back.

The Ork Trukkboyz assault the Lysogaunt horde and are decimated before they can land a blow. The wave rushes forward to encircle the Boyz in the rear lines.

Turn 3

The second unit of Lysogaunts races forward and joins the fray against the Boyz. Lightning leaps up and glides down to assault the Dreadnought.

Before - The mighty talons of Lightning smash down and tear weapons and limbs off the Dreadnought and finally destroy it. Limbs fly, blood sprays in great fonts, and gore spatters the bugs as they eviscerate 25 Boyz before they can even strike back.	After - Check it out! Only five boyz are left, they've lost over 80% of their unit in a single attack, but they stick it out anyway. Boy are they brave...

On the other edge of the board, the Genestealers finish off the last of the fleeing Stormboyz (actually we forgot the Stormboyz's 3d6 Fall back, so they probably would have fallen off the edge of the table already). Well, they were tasty.

The Warboss unit advances and devastates the ripper swarms. The Battlewagon lumbers forward and the boyz on board jump off, ready to fight. The Boyz at the center of the board are cut down before they can attack and the wave of Lysogaunts surges towards the Battlewagon.

Turn 4

The Lysogaunts engulf the Boyz, and the other Genestealer unit, Thunder, Lightning, and Mjolnir slam into the Warboss's unit. When the body parts settl, only one Boy is left, the Battlewagon is immobile, and the Warboss and his Nobz are a crunchy snack. One defiant Grot remains to hurl curses at the trio of monsters towering over him, his sharp screwdriver at the ready.

Notice Keith's fists of rage as his Boyz die...	Notice the mighty Grot left standing.

This was the most fun battle I have had so far. Orks are a fun army to fight. They seem even more rules intensive than the Eldar, but in a more amusing way. :)

Keith was a great opponent and an excellent sport. I hope to have a chance to play his Boyz again someday.

Rules Questions & Clarifications

• Correction/clarification #1 - Battlewagons. There was some validation error that popped up about not having enough models for the guns, but we did attach a unit of Boyz to it.
• Correction/clarification #2 - Warbikes. If they are a shooting attack, then are the casualties restricted to units in LOS and range?
• Correction/clarification #3 - We let the Trukkboyz disembark from the trukk even though Lysogaunts surrounded it. However, disembarking troops still have to obey the 1" distance from enemy units. So, in fact, probably only a few could have made it out of the rear of the Trukk safely.