Battlefleet Gothic – Marines vs. Tyranids – A Long Time Coming
I’ve been on a Gothic kick, and just coincidentally my good friend John who got me into Gothic came into town. We weren’t going to play anything due to a delayed start from inclement death weather, but John sort of pulled a huge guilt trip and I set up my old dusty table I bought from the closing Games Workshop Novi.
John decided to play his new Tyranid fleet, but they were packed in the same case as his home made Ork Roks, so I snapped this pic:
John’s Tyranid fleet is only half complete, so he used some paper cutout proxies. As much as I like models, I have to admit they look good.
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Scenario – The Raiders
Battlezone – Deep Space
Tyranid defenders are at -1Ld for the first 4 turns
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John – Tyranid Hive Fleet 2501 – 1500 points (Defender)
-Two Hive Mind Re-rolls
-Hive Ship, upgrade to Ld 9, Prow Feeder Tentacles, Thorax Bio Plasma, 3x Port/Starboard Bio Plasma
-Hive Ship, upgrade to Ld 9, Prow Feeder Tentacles, Thorax Launch Bays, 3x Port/Starboard Launch Bays
-Cruiser, Prow Massive Claws, Thorax Massive Claws, 2x Port/Starboard Bio Plasma
-Cruiser, Prow Massive Claws, Thorax Massive Claws, 2x Port/Starboard Bio Plasma
-Cruiser, Prow Massive Claws, Thorax Massive Claws, 2x Port/Starboard Bio Plasma
-Kraken x6, Massive Claws
-Escort Drone x7, 6x Bio Plasma, 1x Fire Ship
-Escort Drone x7, 7x Bio Plasma
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Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines – 750 points (Attacker)
-Zeraf Antonius, Master of the Fleet (Ld 10), 2 Re-Rolls, Honour Guard (aboard the Honor)
-Strike Cruiser Honor, Extra Shield
-Strike Cruiser Duty, Extra Shield
-Strike Cruiser Courage, Extra Shield
-Strike Cruiser Vigilance, Extra Shield
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Setup:
Turn 1 – Azure Flames
Two squadrons, the Honor with the Duty and the Courage with the Vigilance come in from the right side, both squadrons going on Lock On. Fantastic battery fire and poor Kraken brace saves destroy the entire Kraken squadron. Bombardment cannons and twenty four torpedoes destroy the paper Cruiser.
The Hive Fleet, massing to attack this system, is surprised by Space Marines!
Four Strike Cruisers do some serious damage.
Turn 1 – Hive Fleet 2501
Dead cruiser drifts forward, other cruisers and escorts go on Come to a New Heading to respond to the Space Marine threat. Carrier Hive Ship launches 8 fighters, and they perform various CAPs. Thunderhawk Gunships move out.
The Tyranids, caught napping, begin the lengthy process of turning around.
Thunderhawk flights away.
Turn 2 – Azure Flames
Both squadrons Reload Ordnance. One Escort Drone is destroyed by Thunderhawks, causing a Brace.
Turn 2 – Hive Fleet 2501
Escort Drones with the Fire Ship go on All Ahead Full. Thunderhawks hit the Hive Ship, causing a Brace and disabling the Feeder Tentacles. Woo. Carrier launches 8 more fighters.
Thunderhawks sow confusion in the Tyranid fleet.
Turn 3 – Azure Flames
Fleet moves up. Poor bombardment cannon rolls do nothing to the Escort Drones, but scare them into a Brace. Torpedoes cause three damage to the Hive Ship and one damage to the Cruiser. Thunderhawks cause three more effects to disable the Feeder Tentacles on the Hive Ship. During the Ordnance Phase, some Tyranid Fighters arrive a bit late.
It’s time for… MORE TORPEDOES!
Turn 3 – Hive Fleet 2501
Cruiser pulls up and fires, doing one damage to the Honor. Rest of fleet continues to wheel. Several fighters are voluntarily removed so that the Carrier Hive Ship can launch 8 Assault Boats.
Turn 4 – Azure Flames
Both squadrons go on Lock on. Fire removes four Escort Drones from one squadron (including the Fire Ship) and one from the other.
Turn 4 – Hive Fleet 2501
Close enough to fire, the fleet pulls off major manuevers to fire every gun they can. The Honor is crippled.
Turn 5 – Azure Flames
Fleet disenages. The squadron with the Honor almost fails, but a re-roll gets them safely away. Game over.
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Final Score
Azure Flames: 366
Hive Fleet 2501: 149
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Post Game: I could have won on turn 2 by disengaging. However, that would have been boring. This result had a smaller margin of victory, but was much more in-keeping with the fluff. After all, the Space Marines would try to hurt the Tyranids as much as possible before they got too far in-system. John had all of his ships facing towards the left of the setup picture above, so I came in from the right. My nimble Strike Cruisers outmaneuvered his Tyranid space cows. Escort Drones and Cruisers have a 45 degree turn. Ugh. The Raiders is a tough one for the Defender. You need to be facing every direction, and you need fast maneuverable things to respond to any threat.
Coming up next, more Gothic and perhaps some 40K from Highland! I also hope to go back to AFK this coming Friday, unless something happens. Stay tuned!
At least I should have had the hive ships and the cruisers headed in opposite directions. Tyranid maneuverability was a serious handicap for me this mission. Having the only squadron capable of 90° turns (kracken) kept me from mounting a reasonable response until turn 4. My tactical errors in order of importance were: 1) I did not setup my fleet to respond to attacks from any board edge, 2) I should have bought more kracken and taken them in smaller squadrons limiting the number able to be killed each turn, 3) I put too many points into clap ships (a few more escorts would have helped my cruisers get into range, 3) I should have bought 4 launch bays for each hive ship and batteries. I feel I played the best tactical game I could have given the situation after the turn one disaster. I guess this is how everyone feels about playing against my worst fleet. :p