Battle Report 28 - Psychic Fragments*

Tyranids vs. Biel-Tan Eldar

Composed by Michael J. Casavant (Hive Fleet Phage)

* - Another battle for the City of Fidelitas, which confers some minor Psychic powers to the owner and attackers of the territory. This turn there were psychic nightmares and such that had negative impacts on the Defenders of territories.

Summary

• Date - 13OCT2002
• Points - 1500
• Scenario - Take & Hold
• Hive Fleet Phage, Tyranid Army List [played by Michael J. Casavant]
• Biel-Tan Eldar [played by Andrew Harper]
• Result - Victory for Hive Fleet Phage
  • VPs, Hive Fleet Phage N/A - N/A
  • VPs, Food N/A - N/A
• Battle Honours
  • Hive Fleet Phage - none.
  • Food - ?

Report

Intro

Firmus Mutare Campaign, game seven. In this fight, I was being assaulted during a turn in which Defenders suffered negative effects due to an "Assail of Spectres":

The spectral sounds and sights that have plagued the planet have evolved into a more troublesome form. All of the armies are receiving reports of missing sentries, feverish nightmares, and minor poltergeist-like attacks. Some have even died in their sleep from intense psychic nightmares. The events have left the foot soldiers on edge and often confused as they respond to false alarms, or go days without sleep. These effects are strongly focused in areas of prolonged encampment and rarely happen out on maneuvers or operations.

EFFECT:

The defenders in all Challenge Battles for this Turn are adversely affected by these ghostly attacks. This manifests in the following ways:

• All the defender's reserve rolls are at -1 to the die roll as units are less alert and often responding to false alarms.
• The defender may deploy 1 less sentry in scenarios that use the Sentries special rule.
• Some soldiers have been lost to the ghostly attackers and do not show up for duty. In addition, multi-wound models sometimes feel their energy drained from the intense psychic nightmares they have started having. For each defending unit deployment on the board (do not roll for fortifications), roll a die on a 6:
  • A non-vehicle unit suffers a wound with no armor save allowed (this includes independent characters and monsters).
  • Vehicles suffer the effects of Crew Shaken on the defender's first full turn (doesn't count sentry sneaking turns).

Setup

Naming convention: 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 alike has been dubbed "Lightning." They have also named the Carnifex engine of destruction, "Mjolnir".

The Battle

Turn 0 - My free Preliminary Bombardment did not result in a single hit. We rolled for Psychic Powers. I ended up with Slow Time on a Warrior, and Andrew ended up with Warp Shifting.

Then there was the "Assail of Spectres". I was as lame at rolling 6's for this as I was for my PB, so I only ended up taking a single wound, on a Ripper Swarm at that.

I won board choice. Andrew won the roll to set up the objective and chose an open area centered on the west half of the board. I set up my Fortifications; the Spore Chimney went off in the center of the east half of the board to harass potential deployment there; my reclamation pool went in an open corridor to discourage passage through there; and my Bio-Acid spore mines were set up to threaten the only woods in his deployment zone and two more corridors of passage. The goal was to force him to endanger his troops needlessly or set up very close to my army with little cover. I got my wish, but be careful what you wish for.

Turn 1 - Andrew moved on and shot the heck out of my gaunts, killing quite a few. He assaulted with his Swooping Hawks and advanced his Falcon and Wave Serpent (with Stirking Scorpions and Farseer) up the west edge of the board, hiding behind some woods.

I assaulted and things just got messy and blurry from there.

Turn 3 - Lightning comes on and assaults the Striking Scorpions and Farseer, who are already embroiled with a unit of Hormagaunts that they are slaughtering with little to no effort.

Turn 4 - I have the objective. Thunder begins trudging onto the board. The game does not end. Lightning finishes off the Striking Scorpions and Farseer, then Consolidates toward the objective.

Turn 5 - I have the objective. Thunder trudges more. The game does not end.

Turn 6 - Thunder gets into the mix, along with his Tyrant Guard. At the end of this round, the forces remaining are:

• Eldar: the Avatar (2 wounds left, down to 1 attack per round from the Tyrant Guard Lash whips), three Dark Reapers.
• Tyranid: Thunder & 2 Tyrant Guard

The game ends, but now I have no models standing on the objective and we are both by the objective and pretty much equidistant. More importantly, everyone is in the middle of a fight. So we agreed to play on.

Turn 7 - In one more exchange of blows, the Avatar drops, along with two Dark Reapers, and a lone Dark Reaper decides that he needs to report back to base and falls back.

Wrap-up

This game was incredibly intense and bloody. One more turn delay in getting my reserves on would probably have meant a loss for me.

The most amazing results of the game:

• Tyranid Warriors downing the Wraithlord with the wounds inflicted by a single Rending Claws Warrior.
• Eldar Exarch hitting SIXTEEN times with his Sustained Assault ability and subsequently killing SEVEN Lysogaunts in one assault phase.