Skirmish on Senaia Prime
Archon D’ari smiled as she watched slaves being gathered for transit back to Commorragh. It had been a bountiful raid. They had found a human colony to plunder and several potent samples of natural wildlife that would serve in the gladiatorial arenas well.
“Lady D’ari! We have trouble!”
The Archon turned to face the source of the voice. It was her mostly-faithful Sybarite, K’eil.
“What form of trouble?”
“A Tyranid spore just touched down on the surface and is spreading rapidly. The broods are moving in our direction.”
D’ari smiled as she drew her Agoniser. “Secure the slaves and prepare the Warriors. We’re about to exceed our quota…”
K’eil nodded as he charged to rally the men. The portal to the webway closed, as a war cry rose from the pirates’ ranks.
The Forces
We played an a 4’ by 4’ area with 625 point rosters. I don’t have either roster here, so this is from memory.
Kabal of the Crimson Dawn
HQ
1 Archon (D’ari) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol, Shadowfield, Combat Drugs, Hellmask
Elite
5 Mandrakes
Troops
13 Warriors w/ 2 Splinter Cannons, 2 Shredders, 9 Splinter Rifles
1 Sybarite (K’eil) w/ Agoniser, Splinter Pistol, Plasma Grenades
10 Warriors w/ 1 Dark Lance, 9 Splinter Rifles
Heavy Support
1 Ravager w/ 3 Disintegrators
Tyranid Horde
HQ
1 Hive Tyrant w/ Rending Claws, Venom Cannon, Synapse Creature
Elite
1 Lictor w/ Rending Claws, Scything Talons, Flesh Hooks, Hidden Deployment
3 Warriors w/ 6* Scything Talons, Synapse Creatures, Independent
Troops
6 Genestealers w/ Rending Claws, Flesh Hooks, 2 with Acid Blood
8 Hormagaunts w/ Scything Talons, 1 with Acid Blood
8 Termagaunts w/ Fleshborers
Heavy Support
1 Biovore w/ Frag Spore Mines
The Board
Deployment
Turn 1 – Dark Eldar
“Take the fight to them!” K’eil ordered his men, as they charged out from the debris field toward the Tyranid brood lurking not far away. The Ravager moved to the west to seize an uncontrolled section of the old village, while the second division took aim at the Tyranid brood. Even the Dark Lance in the second group went wide, failing to kill a single Termagaunt.
“Fire!” K’eil ordered. The volley of fire that rained down on the Tyranids was mostly ineffective, though the Splinter Cannon troopers did manage to fell four of the foul creatures. The brood held its ground due to the overwhelming will of the Hive Mind.
Turn 1 – Tyranid
The Termagaunts moved out into the open to obtain a clear shot on those that had killed their kin, while the Hormagaunts and Genestealers moved up from the rear. The Warriors fanned out to maintain the Hive’s will over its underlings. The Termagaunts opened fire on the first squad, killing a single Warrior. The Hive Tyrant leveled its Venom Cannon and lobbed a shot over its troops into the midst of K’eil’s group, killing three with the deadly toxins. The Biovore unleashed a deadly spore mine toward the Ravager, and though it struck the vehicle, the damage wasn’t significant enough to do any damage. The Hormagaunts bounded over the debris and slammed into K’eil and his men. The Warriors were unprepared and three were cut down, as well as K’eil himself, without a single kill against the creatures. With morale broken, the first group fell back as the Hormagaunts regrouped toward their lines. As the first unit fell back, they quickly realized a Lictor had emerged from hiding in the old ruined warehouse in the northeast and moved to block them. The enormous creature assaulted into the unit and killed yet another Warrior.
Turn 2 – Dark Eldar
D’ari shook her head in disapproval. K’eil had shown such promise before this day. Oh well…
The Archon moved into the debris field where she could see the Lictor that had emerged from hiding. The remains of the first unit fell back again, shooting as they ran, but failed to hit anything. D’ari fired on the Lictor with her pistol and failed to hit as well. The second unit leveled their weapons at the Hormagaunt brood that had wiped out their other unit and killed three of the creatures. The Ravager flew over the forest and opened fire on the Warrior in the open. The disintegrator struck the creature and atomized it instantly.
Hitting a button on her auto-injector, D’ari fired two doses of combat drug into her system as she charged in. Half way toward the Lictor she staggered and coughed up blood, as the overdose did damage to her immune system. She raised her Agoniser high and plunged it into the Lictor, the creature let out a piercing shriek as the weapon cut through its plated carapace.
Turn 2 – Tyranid
The Termagaunts were given orders to secure the northeast and moved up, along with a Warrior to keep them in check. The Hormagaunts moved up, as did the Genestealers and an accompanying Warrior. The Hive Tyrant stepped out behind some light debris and glared at the strange flying contraption that had killed one of its nodes. The Hive Tyrant leveled its Venom Cannon and fired. The acidic compound struck the pilot and engine of the craft, sending it spiraling to the ground where it collapsed in a fiery heap. The Biovore changed its focus and fired a mine toward the second company. The mine sailed over its target and hovered east of its intended location.
The Hormagaunts piled in against D’ari, but despite their numbers they were unable to penetrate the bizarre protective cloak the Archon wore. D’ari was unable to deal any wounds in return. The Lictor attacked the Archon, but again the Shadowfield remained intact, while D’ari did no damage.
Turn 3 – Dark Eldar
The second company took aim on the rapidly approaching Genestealers and the Dark Lance managed to kill a singular creature. The first company continued their retreat and fired shots over their shoulders, managing to clip a Hormagaunt and bring it down. The first company rounded the ruined tower only to see a spore mine not far away. The Mandrakes finally made their presence known by seizing the uncontrolled southwest corner.
D’ari turned her attention to the numerous Hormagaunts surrounding her and with another dose of combat drug, she plunged in. She laughed as she carved through the creatures, killing three in rapid succession, only to learn the last one’s blood was acidic and the blood burned through her arm, causing her to pull back from her killing frenzy.
Turn 3 – Tyranid
The Warrior at the front of the Tyranid horde moved forward along with the Genestealers. The spore mine lingering near the rear line moved toward the fresh meat that was the first company. The blast destroyed all who remained of the unit as well as clipping a Warrior in the second company. The Biovore launched a new mine toward the Mandrakes, but this time fell short, hovering over a ruined shop, concealing their position. The Tyranids renewed their attack against the Archon. The Hormagaunts were unable to make contact through the field. The Lictor lunged in to try and maul the commander and missed, ending up getting impaled on the Agoniser once more. The Genestealers charged into the fray and after losing one of their own, finally pierced the veil of the Shadowfield. The Genestealer gleefully latched its mouth around the Archon’s neck and grabbed a quick bite as a reward.
Turn 4 – Dark Eldar
Resolution beginning to waver, the Dark Eldar had to hold their ground to allow the transfer of the slaves to complete. The Second unit opened fire on the approaching Genestealers, dropping two of them under a hail of fire. The Mandrakes held their ground, knowing certain death when it was laid before them.
Turn 4 – Tyranid
Realizing that that this supply of food was running out, the Lictor and Genestealers plunged toward the remaining Dark Eldar unit. The Biovore lobbed another spore mine toward the Mandrakes and fell short once more, while the previous mine drifted even further away from the enemy position. The Lictor reached the enemy first and devoured a Warrior, while the Warrior’s futile attacks did nothing in return. The Genestealers attacked and managed to take another body uncontested.
Turn 5 – Dark Eldar
With the Dark Lance laying useless on the ground and Tyranids all around the warriors scrambled to fend off their foes. They assaulted the Genestealers and failed to kill any, while losing one of their own in the process. Yet they still resolved to continue fighting. West of their position, the Mandrakes put some distance between themselves and the nearby mine and the tailing Mandrake fired at the mine, detonating it a safe distance from their ranks.
Turn 5 – Tyranid
The Biovore lined up again for the Mandrakes and the shot over the target and off the field of battle, while the old mine continued to mindlessly wander off. The Lictor, hungry for more, lunged into the Warrior group once more. It came out with a Warrior clenched in its jaws, silencing with a violent snap. The two remaining Genestealers plunged in and grabbed two more Warriors, while the Warriors were helpless to stop them. Resolve finally broken, the remainder of the Second Warrior Squad ran for their lives, but the Genestealers dropped their newest prey and opted for pursuit, catching the last three Warriors and felling them all.
Final
Tyranid – 3, Dark Eldar – 1. Tyranid Victory.
Comments
Jay: Oi, what a mess. My biggest mistake was in Turn 1, by advancing my primary unit in an attempt to fire all of my guns. I should have stayed back and fired and not worried about my Shredders being out of range. From there it was all down hill. My luck with the dice left something to be desired. My kill counts should have been much higher than they were, but I rolled far too many ones and twos for my liking. Had my luck been better, I might have been able to damage Chris’ lines before he made it to melee range with his Hormagaunts. It looks worse than it was. Chris had 12 models left, I had 5. The Lictor was down to its last wound, there was only one Hormagaunt and two Genestealers left…It was down to the last man with those broods. I will plan better next time and hopefully lady luck will be with me.
Jay’s MVP Picks:
Dark Eldar – Squad #2 for most kills with six kills.
Runner up = Archon for being a pain in the ass and tying up the broods for a few turns.
Tyranid – Hormagaunts for punishing my first squad and beginning my collapse.
Runner up = Genestealers for killing six at the very end.
Chris: This was my first time playing with my own army and overall I was impressed with how things turned out. Despite how bad the maps make it look one sided, it actually wasn’t. Both Jay and I suffered significant casualties. I actually had fewer models on the field than Jay did but somehow we both managed to have troops remaining at the end of the battle. For me it wasn’t holding the most corners that made my victory a good one, it was the fact that I was actually able to succeed in a couple of very important moves I made. The first was my being able to take out the Ravager early on, and the second was my Lictor moving in between the Dark Eldar forces 1 & 2 while impressively standing his ground and causing enough distraction for my Gaunts and Stealers to move in where they could be an actual threat and not just target practice for Jay’s Warriors. Whether I win or lose I hope most of my battles are as hard fought as this or better. I’d hate to simply walk all over an opponent or have them walk all over me. Great game Jay!
Chris’ MVP Picks:
Tyranid – For me it was my Lictor. I used the old divide and conquer tactic and thankfully it worked.
Runner up = It is a tie between my Tyrant for neutralizing the Ravager, and my Genestealers for finally taking out that damned Archon.
Dark Eldar – I give this one to the Archon. She was a complete pain in my ass and is definitely worth of top honor for Jay’s army.
Runner up = I’ll give this to the Mandrakes for holding that corner pretty much uncontested.