IG/Tau vs. Guard-Crons in "Survival of the Fittest" (1500, 9/20)

[BigToof]

IG/Tau vs. Guard-Crons in "Survival of the Fittest" (1500, 9/20)

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Hi All,
So I got up some decent IG fluff and decided to start Vasily's Bat-rep first.
Or rather, I started writing and a small deluge came out, as per usual.
I'll have pics and the full rep up in a while, but please enjoy the start of it all.
DE coming up next.

Best,
-BT

P.S.  As always, C&C is greatly appreciated.

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Imperial Guard/Tau Alliance 1500pts: 72 Infantry, 1 Vehicle, 1 Fort; 12-14KPs
1st Auric Battalion
-Commander Vasily Romanov w/ Master of Ordinance
-Lord Commissar Katarina Vaskov
-Baron von Oberheim and Stormtroopers (Stormtroopersx5 w/Meltagunsx2)
-The Mordheim Cuckoos (Psykersx8 w/Overseer)
-Lt. Temperance Windsor-Smith w/Flamersx4
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon
-Veteransx10 w/Plasmagunsx3 w/Carapace, Sgt. Bremen
-Lemun Russ Exterminator w/HB Sponsons
Ageis Defense Line w/Quadcannon
Tau'n Sept Observers
-Shas'El'Sha'shera (Shas'El w/Plasma Rifle, Fusion Blaster, Irridium Armor, MT, TL)
-Crisis Suits w/Shas'Ui'Deu'nan (Crisis Suitsx2 w/Plasma Rifles, Fusion Blasters, MT)
-Fire Warriorsx6
-Broadsidesx2 w/Shas'Ui Bri'ar'eos w/Blacksun Filter, Target Lock

IG/Crons 1500pts: 41 Infantry, 8 Vehicles; 15 VPs
IG Detachment
-CCS w/Meltagunsx4 in Chimera
-Stormtroopersx5 w/Meltagunsx2
-Vets w/Plasmagunsx3, Lascannon in Chimera
-Vets w/Plasmagunsx3, Lascannon in Chimera
-Vendetta
-Vendetta
Necron Detachment
-Overlord w/Scythe, Weave
-Warriorsx5 in Night Scythe
-Warriorsx5 in Night Scythe
-Doom Scythe


------------------------------
Chapter Four: Duty and Destiny
------------------------------

Commander Vasily Romanov of the 1st Auric Battalion sighed, walking back to his quarters.  It had been a trying past couple of weeks.  With the skeletal aliens again beaten back, it was now down to the somewhat arduous task of rebuilding and securing settlements. 

Thankfully, most of the actual paperwork and orders were being seen to by his second-in-command, Lieutenant Temperance Windsor-Smith, who seemed to have a boundless source of energy.  But things were looking up.  The minefield around the moon was slowly being undone, making the talks with the sequestered Governor and his PDF forces more forthcoming. 

Lord Commisar Katarina Vaskov was making the rounds, and although it was obvious that she didn't want to admit it, Vasily could tell that Katya was growing in popularity with the mutant population.  Her powerful speeches and austere, spartan attitude synched well with their expectations.  With a bit of luck, he might be entirely forgotten and could slink back in the shadows where the chances of being killed was significantly less.  All he had to do was just stay back and let things run their course. 

He opened the door of his quarters and paused when he saw a sight that made him feel more than a little faint:

Sitting on his bed was the octet of Sanctioned Psykers, The Mordheim Cuckoos.  The young girls were smiling, with their long platinum hair and purple eyes glinting in the light.  They were also holding the Company Standard draped over their chests and it was obvious that they were wearing nothing underneath.

"GOOD EVENING EVENING, COMMANDER ROMANOV ROMANOV," they all intoned in their slightly echoing solo-voice.

Vasily paused in shock as paranoia and long-unquenched libido slammed against each other in a fury of activity, causing his brain to slightly shut down.  And that was when a sudden shout from his side made him jump.

"Commander Vasily Romanov, ~sir!"

He looked down and saw Temperance smiling at him with a Cheshire grin.

"Tems?  I... what?"

Temperance wagged a finger at him, "Don't worry sir, I'm doing just what you said.  Now we have to get your clothes off."

She started to tug at his outfit (which brought out a number of very enthusiastic, simultaneous squeals of approval from the Cuckoos), when Vasily's mind finally kicked into something resembling activity.

"Wait.  Wait.  Tems, what?  What's going...  Tems, I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on."

Temperance frowned and looked a bit hurt.

"Sir?  I'm just doing what you said and trying to improve morale."

"With the uh... Cuckoos?"

"Indeed, sir.  I just need you in the mix."

Vasily's brain started to short out again, but he managed to stammer out, "But... won't that... take a long time and... what?"

"For pictures sir.  A lot of the Regiments have these sort of piccies going out with uplifting photos and what-not.  I just borrowed the Cuckoos as they're cute and multiple and you know, also mutants.  That'll raise up morale with the locals and our own men."

Vasily thought for a moment, "That's... actually sort of brilliant Tems, but... why me?"

Temperance smiled, "Sir!  You're the leader.  We of course need you in it.  Don't worry, we'll be fine just as soon as our last member gets here, we can start getting photos done.  Just need you to change into some of this nobby finery I found."

"Oh, that's... not so bad then.  Dare I ask how you managed to get the Cuckoos away from their mother?"

The Cuckoos giggled simultaneously.  "MOTHER LIKES DRINKS DRINKS.   THE LIEUTENANT GAVE HER A NICE BOTTLE BOTTLE.  SHE'LL BE ASLEEP FOR HOURS HOURS."

Tems smiled and Vasily sighed.  He made a mental note of how to rectify the situation later.  Now all he had to do was endure this latest escapade and maybe actually get some...

"What is this?!" growled an all-too-familiar voice that made Vasily freeze.

He slowly turned around and saw the stern, glowering face of Lord Commissar Katya Vaskov. 
Every molecule in his body gave off a silent scream and tried to hide in the dirt.  Unfortunately, his brain was unable to do much at this point and all he could do was give off an all-too-familiar whimper.

"Did you ask for this?!" the Commissar screamed at him.

The scream did little to pierce the veil of his mental discombobulation.  All he managed to get out was an, "Ah... Wha?..."

In one smooth motion, Katya whipped out her Bolt Pistol and jammed it up against his cheek.  She again screamed, "DID. YOU. ASK. FOR. THIS?!!"

Trying not to wet himself, Vasily did his best to scream back, "No!  No!  I... No!"

Nodding to herself, the Commissar re-holstered her pistol, "...  Then I am not shooting."

Temperance sighed and said, "So does that mean no piccies for anyone then?"

"Great Lord!  Great Lord!"

Everyone stopped to look at a mutant who was doing his best to half-shamble towards Vasily's abode.  There was something in voice that just boded ill.

The mutant howled, "Great Lord!  You must come, there is news!"

Vasily raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Temperance.  His second was speaking into her commbead and nodded after a few moments with an uncharacteristically worried look. 
"Sir?  I think we should go take a look.  There might be a bit of a problem."

-----------------

"ALL PRISONERS ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO TAKE UP ARMS AND ARREST ANY AND ALL IMPERIAL GUARD.  REPEAT.  THIS IS CARETAKER DUFRENSE.  ALL PRISONERS ARE HEREBY..."

"Shut that off, he's heard enough."

Vasily nodded to Katya who was sitting down next to Temperence and Sergeant Bremen.  The tall mutant looked torn, rocking silently in his seat.  His laspistol rested on his lap, and Vasily could tell that he was inches away from trying to use it.

Vasily swallowed.  This was a volatile situation.  It needed to be handled in a gentle and delicate way.  He glanced around the room, eyes resting briefly on his over-energetic Lieutenant and his coldly dour Lord Commissar.  Sadly enough, it looked like he would have to try and remedy the situation.

"Err... Hi Sergeant.  Uh..."

"We are given orders by the Caretaker," intoned Sergeant Bremen.  He twitched silently, his hands gripping a bit tighter on his weapon.  "It is a sin to not act immediately.  Without thinking."

"Oh, err... yes, and..."

"It is... impossible that I do not act, that I do not call to all of my fellow Sergeants and set upon you."

Vasily paled a bit.  That would be bad.  "Ah, yes.  That would be... bad."  He winced at that last word.  Why couldn't negotations ever go smoothly?

Bremen kept his eyes on the floor.  "So, you understand that I have no choice.  That I must act even though it may mean the death of you and your people?"

"Cor!  Why do you have to do what he says anyway?  It's not like you're really just a prisoner anyway!"

Vasily shot a look over at Temperence.

She nodded, "It's true enough, sir.  We gave them all patches two days ago.  They took them, sewed them on.  Which makes them 1st Battalioners.  It'd be like Bremen'd have to arrest himself!"

Bremen raised an eyebrow, "It... I..."

Seeing an opening, Vasily threw himself into the verbal cascade, "Err.. Right, so Bremen, you're part of the Battalion.  You're not part of the Prison anymore, so you don't have to worry."

The Mutant's eyes opened wide and he shot a look into the eyes of Vasily.  The Commander took a step back.  That was the first time Bremen had ever looked him in the face and his eyes were wide and almost manic.  Bremen stood and said in a calm, but certain tone, "You... mean to say that we are..."  He took a moment to search for the words, "Pardoned?"

Vasily raised an eyebrow, "Uh... yeah, sure.  You all are pardoned.  So, not prisoners anymore."

Bremen fell to the ground as if shot, panting, eyes downcast and arms trembling.

Vasily looked at Tems and Katya, the former of which who simply shrugged.  The Commander took a step forward when the Sergeant rose and roared at the heavens, "PARDONED!"

The Sergeant ran outside, slamming the door almost off his hinges, he said to the closest mutant, "Spread the word, we are all given the Emperor's Pardon!  We are no longer Prisoners!"

The smaller mutant gasped, falling to his knees, before letting off a tearful howl. 
"Yes, yes Sergeant!  The Pardon!  The Pardon!"

Vasily looked sideways at Tems and Katya.

Tems smirked, "That's brilliant sir!  You pardoned them all so they are no longer prisoners.  Err... so... what does that make them?"

Sergeant Bremen walked forwards and gave a salute, "Sergeant Bremen of the 1st Auric Battalion reporting for duty, Commander.  We are... free.  We cannot thank you enough for this... this wondrous...  You have fulfilled the dream of every mutant borne on this planet.  You are the messiah of legend."

Vasily bit his lip and looked at Katya whose frown was deepening.  No doubt certain Commissarial warning signs were popping up and Vasily wanted to stay off her soon-to-be-headshot list as much as possible.

"Uh, no Bremen, I'm... just a man.  Like you.  So uh...  Any ideas as to how to deal with the PDF forces?  I'd imagine that they're not going to take this change likely."


Bremen, for the first time in what seemed like ages, smiled a full and unrepentant grin, "Oh, sir.  We were all hoping that they do exactly that."

----------------------

Shas'Ui Deu'nan frowned, reading the report again.  The Shas'El had to be told as soon as possible.  If the report was correct, it would mean that the situation on the planet was going to be dire.  Turning the corner, she stood in front of the Shas'El's door.  Frowning, she noticed that it didn't open. 

Piece of junk, she thought. 

The doors had been malifunctioning ever since they started scrounging for parts.  Although the Earth Caste aboard their ship had said that the inconveniences would be minor, it still made daily irritations that were vexing at best. 

Deu'nan tapped a few buttons on the console next to the door and activated the manual override switch.  The door hummed a moment and opened.  Deu'nan raised an eyebrow when she saw the Shas'El's large viewing monitor, with a number of very obvious candid photos of the Gue'seva Commander.  In various states of undress. 

The Tau sitting in front of the pictures was looking at them at stroking gently at the holopictures.

Deu'nan smirked, carefully walked over and then said at point-blank range,
"So, I see that you're really getting a good look at our new allies then?"

Shas'El Sha'Shera quickly tapped a button on her console, changing the screen back to rather boring looking reports.  She then turned with a blushing face to her second.

"Er... Deu'nan, I... Uh..."

Deu'nan sighed, rubbed her temples and said, "This is the Kroot thing all over again, isn't it?"

Sha'shera frowned, losing all traces of embarrassment, "No, it is not Skraat.  That was... entirely different."

Deu'nan sighed, "You know, the Etherials have said that Xenophilia is..."

The Shas'El sputtered, "It's not... that, I..."

Frowning, Deu'nan retored, "Sha'Shera, they aren't even close to the same species as us and...  You know what?  Forget it.  I'm not here for that.  We've got a major issue on our hands."

"What's that?"

Deu'nan continued, "Bri'ar'eos has been monitoring a hidden communication bandwith between the planet and the moon.  Clearly different than what the Imperials usually use."

Sha'shera drummed her fingers against her console, "Wait... you think it's some kind of..."

"Backstabbery.  Yes, and now there's a ship from the moon going down to meet the Gue'seva planet-side.  Bri says that it's loaded with weapons and armor.  If they're caught off-guard..."

Nodding, Sha'shera stood up, "We need to intervene.  Tell Bri to get everyone together.  For the Greater Good it must be done."

"You at least going to take a shower first?"

"..."

------------------

Pre-Game Thoughts: Necrons?  Again?  I thought they were supposed to be rare?  Fluff issues aside, I've got yet again, another Flier wing to deal with.  Oh, and Vendettas.  That'll be trouble.  As for ground forces, well, there's some vets and a CCS in Chimeras.  Nothing I can't deal with, but I'm not sure if I can take them all down in a single turn or two.  This game is going to be a challenge to my AA capability, I'll tell you that much.  Thankfully I've added an Ageis Line to my list and upgraded Bremen's Penal squad to Plasma Vets.  Which... probably won't help that much this game, but it's the thought that counts I suppose.  At least it'll be hard for him to shift my blob off of objectives.

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Setup: Dawn of War (4 objectives, Night Fight OFF)
Mission: Purge the Alien (VPs?  Oh, JOY...)
Terrain: Hills/Ruins

Warlord: Katya: Can re-roll reserves; CCS: Night Fight ON (Double JOY /end sarcasm)

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Setup: Well, again, I decide to be a bit of a pain and put down my AGL about 6" from the center more towards the middle.  My opponent takes a bit of time to consider where he should put his terrain and starts by putting a big ruin right in front of my Quadgun.  Charming, that.  As for the rest of the terrain, it's a bit lukewarm on my side (again), but with some rubbly bits in the far corners for tanks and what-not to hide behind.  I also get a few small patches for my backfield so at least I have something resembling cover for Vasily and Tems (who will probably be going back there).

My opponent gives the first turn to me, so I put down the Cuckoos with Katya first, followed by the Blob with Tems and Vasily in the rubble in the back.  To the left, I put the Broadsides on the second floor of a ruin with plenty of LoS with the Vets in front of them.  Fearing another Russ exploded into nothingness, I put the Exterminator in reserve with the Baron, Fire warriors and the Shas'El with her Crisis Suits.

The IG player goes pretty fast, putting down three Chimeras, Vets in the sides and the center Chimera having the CCS.  They all go down in the right corner.  Everything else flies, so they go in reserve.

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Vasily felt his teeth chatter a bit.  Bremen had mentioned that it was starting to get colder, but he wasn't told that it would be bone-numbingly frigid.  He glanced behind him at his second, but Tems was busily singing some kind of barely intelligable Praetorian song that apparently required shouting nearly at the tops of your lungs at certain intervals.  He glanced through his field glasses down at the trio of Chimeras.  The Caretaker had sent "emissaries" to talk about the changes that he had made, and Vasily was not all that surprised when armored tanks had rolled up to visit him.  The fact that they had not even attempted to communicate yet was also rather telling.  He rubbed his hands together and was totally unprepared when he heard the Commissar's voice,
"So, when are we talking about it?"

He glanced to his left and saw that she was inches from his face.  With her bolt pistol.  And an enormous anti-aircraft gun.  Vasily swallowed and tried not to whimper, tried mind you.

Katya sighed, "I do not understand you.  I let you...  We... do things together and yet you betray me by running around with girls."

Vasily looked around trying to try to say something as confusion overwhelmed him, "Uh... What?"

The Commissar sighed, shaking her head, "Why are you ignoring it now?  Pretending it did not happen?  I wind up naked in your bed with... signs of things having happened and you tell me that nothing happened?  Was I not enough for you?  Is that it?!"

Vasily looked around and noticed that the entire Battalion was now staring at him.  Half in shock, half in horror and half in that "oh now you're sodding dead mate" kind of way.

He tried to summon up what little courage was still not in puddles on the ground around him, swallowed, and tried to speak when again he was interrupted.

"Uh, begging your pardon, Commissar, but that's not the total truth."

Vasily turned around to see Temperance frowning and biting her lip.

"What?!" yelled Katya.

Tems rolled her head from side to side as if trying to make all the pieces of her answer fit together.

"Well, it's sort of... like this:  When the Commander had sort of vomited all over himself and we took him back to his room and you were sloshed halfway to the Throne, we sort of... had a thing."

Vasily paled.  Katya growled, "You... You what?!"

"It... was kind of a misunderstanding really.  I propped you against the wall, got the Commander's uniform off him, put the hat on my head as I had not enough hands and then uh... you started sort of kissing me."

Vasily grabbed the ends of his cap and tried to kneel down slightly in case a Bolt Pistol round might luckily fly just past his head.

He glanced over at Katya who trembled and shook her head, "No, no, it is not true... I...  I..."

Tems frowned, "That's sort of why I didn't say anything.  You were all talking in your Vostroyan and well... you were ready to go.  And stop was not something that was getting through.  And...  You're my best friend.  I could see that you were hurting.  And confused.  And lonely.  So I just... you know... popped you off one."

Vasily felt his jaw drop.  Guardsmen gasped, Guardsmen whistled, and more then a few filed away certain mental images for alone time.

Katya threw a defiant look at everyone and the Battlefield suddenly grew quiet.
"How could you call yourself friend if you do this to me?  To lie by keeping silent?  To not tell anything?!"

Temperance frowned, "Well... I told the Commander and I figured he told you..."

Katya threw a death glare at Vasily and his mind, now furiously aware of how close death was, peeled back the annals of time and he remembered Tems saying that she had "taken care" of the drunken Commissar that he had found in his bed.  She just... hadn't said any details and he didn't want to know then.

Sweat beaded out on his forehead as he watched Katya redden with shame and anger.  Her hand went to her bolt pistol...

And that was when a Multi-Laser cracked off their defense line.

"They're firing!" yelled a Guardsmen and everyone took cover as more shots showered over the Battalion.

Katya finally turned her eyes away from him and Vasily allowed the air that he had been holding the whole time to finally release.  He looked up at the sky.  Why?  he asked silently, Why does it always have to be me?

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To Be Continued!

[Rej]

How many games in a Row is this vs Crons as allies? Why does everyone love them so much? Just for the fliers?

Anyway. The fluff is great, really loving it. Poor Poor Vasily. I'm sure things will get better for him when the Xenophilliac Tau turns up! Haha.

I'm looking forward to the rest!

[Cammerz]

This must be the most hilarious and ridiculous fluff that Vasily has ever had to sit through. I am astounded that he and Tems have survived as long as they have. Although the number of times Katya has pointed that bolt pistol at him, you'd think he'd come to the conclusion that she won't pull the trigger. Maybe she needs to pick off one of the main characters at some point just to show that she's still got it.

As for the armies, if you could take out those three vehilces and the small units inside immediately then the game would be yours, so I'm not sure why the other player didn't drop another unit in there somewhere, in heavy cover so they could weather the incoming las-storm.

I really can't wait for other codicies to be released just so we can see a more varied group of opponents and not just these necron air forces, although from a fluff perspective it sort of makes sense for Vasily to keep seeing them given that he's always on this one planet and they don't actually die, just sort of vanish.

So, great fluff to start us off with, I'm greatly looking forward to the report. I'm sure it'll be fantastic, but with 5 flyers it might be tricky.

[BigToof]

Thank you all for the kind comments!

How many games in a Row is this vs Crons as allies? Why does everyone love them so much? Just for the fliers?

Anyway. The fluff is great, really loving it. Poor Poor Vasily. I'm sure things will get better for him when the Xenophilliac Tau turns up! Haha.

I'm looking forward to the rest!

Hi Rej,
There are WAY too many Crons in my local meta.  It doesn't help that we have like one serious Crons player and he just lets people borrow his Scythes when they want to try a build.
He's just too dastardly for spreading the Tin'ead love around that way
Although from what people are talking about, finally Chaos should bring an end to it all.  I hope anyway.
Vasily is always in a pickle   Glad you liked the fluff!

This must be the most hilarious and ridiculous fluff that Vasily has ever had to sit through. I am astounded that he and Tems have survived as long as they have. Although the number of times Katya has pointed that bolt pistol at him, you'd think he'd come to the conclusion that she won't pull the trigger. Maybe she needs to pick off one of the main characters at some point just to show that she's still got it.

As for the armies, if you could take out those three vehilces and the small units inside immediately then the game would be yours, so I'm not sure why the other player didn't drop another unit in there somewhere, in heavy cover so they could weather the incoming las-storm.

I really can't wait for other codicies to be released just so we can see a more varied group of opponents and not just these necron air forces, although from a fluff perspective it sort of makes sense for Vasily to keep seeing them given that he's always on this one planet and they don't actually die, just sort of vanish.

So, great fluff to start us off with, I'm greatly looking forward to the report. I'm sure it'll be fantastic, but with 5 flyers it might be tricky.

Hi Cammerz,
THanks for the reply!   I think there also might be a lot of Crons as only the more competitive players like to play me, so lots of Crons naturally.
Tems is really taking it up a few notches this time around.  Let me know if it's too much though!
I'm not sure why he only put down the three Chimeras.  Perhaps night fighting or what-not?
The flyers were just...  bad.  In more than one way.
Let me know what you think of the rest of the rep!

Rest of rep landing now!

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Oops, realized that I didn't put in a setup pic.




Right, so the game plan seems pretty straightforward: Can I take out three chimeras with occupants in two rounds?  Answer: Oh, yes.  Then I won't have to deal with the air force at all.

And then my opponent steals the initiative!

Turn 1: IG/Crons
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Captain Petit of the Lunar PDF chortled to himself.  Nestled in his Chimera, he had a more than satisfactory view of the pitiful creatures set before him.  These were the vaunted Imperial Guard?  He smirked, watching the infighting amongst them.  They were disorganized, confused, and would fall easily to his armor.  The Vendettas would scatter any attempts of resistance and they would not even need the... Xenos.

He mopped his head as flopsweat broke out at the thought of them.  The Caretaker had said that they would be their allies, but the skeletal creatures seemed to be more than that.  Their soulless looks chilled him to the bone, and he somehow knew that these allies would end up costing them more than they thought.  But it would be worth it if they could reestablish their proper place amongst the mutants. 

Freedom? he shook his head.  What a pathetic thought.  The only freedom a mutant deserved is death.
----------------
No movement from the Chimeras.  Lights go up on the Quadgun and Lascannon fire and Multilasers try to take it out.  However, most of the guns are out of range, and they only end up taking one wound off the big gun.


Picture Caption: That was... not that much.


Turn 1: IG/Tau
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Shas'El Sha'Shera swore as she watched the tanks fire into the Guardsmen who did their best to take cover.  Firing without warning under the pretense of negotiation. 
Despicable.  Best to even the score.

"Bri'ar'eos!" she barked into her comm, "Target their lead tank.  Let them see what a Railgun round feels like."
--------------
Well, the good thing is that now I can see them.  Shooting is pretty massive, as the Lascannons, Master of Ordinance and the Broadsides just go to work.  Two Chimeras go up in smoke, the last one stunned, and then I give a little cou de gras by hitting the CCS with the Cuckoos.  They run off the board.  The Vets that spilled out of their tank seem to think that's a good ideas as they run off as well!


Picture Caption: First Blood and Slay the Warlord (or at least make them run off like a little girl!)

VPs:
IG/Crons: 0
IG/Tau: 5 (!)


Turn 2: IG/Crons
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Captain Petit was about half a kilometer off the battlefield before he stopped running.  Some kind of strange weapon had shattered his tank, forcing him out and then sheer terror unlike anything he had ever imagined gripped him.  He shook his head.  It was not the way for things to happen!  They were the Pure Ones!  They were the Masters!

He shook his head again.  There was a glow in front of him as a cluster of Skeletal figures came into being.  The creatures dwarfed the once fleeing Guardsmen and Petit felt his knees wobble.

"YOU HAVE FAILED," intoned their Leader who gestured at the humans with his enormous Scythe.

"No, no," Petit begged, "We... we are not..."

There was a shimmer of green light and a few echoing screams before the Necrons moved away.  Overlord Ras'vyn nodded.  The humans were weak, incompetent fools.  They were better exterminated now.  They were not worthy to live under his rule.

With a gesture, the Necron Overlord beamed back into his Night Scythe.  The living would once again fall and the planet would again be theirs.
---------------

All of the Necrons come in and one Vendetta.

That is so much more than what I was hoping for.

The Crons all go right after my front line and the Vendetta is aiming right at the Broadsides.  Before the Crons can decide what to shoot at, the Quadgun (BS5!) goes off and chatters down the Doom Scythe.  The Crons then decide what must die and fire all their Tesla at the Quadgun.  It eventually succumbs.  One Broadside takes a Lascannon to the face, but the other Broadside stays!

Picture Caption: And there goes my Anti-Air...


Turn 2: IG/Tau
--------------
Well, I get the Baron and the Russ and the... Fire Warriors.  Joy.

The Fire Warriors go out to the left to hang in cover.  I don't want them anywhere near the Tesla madness.  The Russ goes out to the right corner to hang out and try for shots.  And the Baron deep-strikes just where I need him looking at the last Chimera.

Shooting is a bit of a no-go as I just can't roll 6's to save my life.  Broadsides, Lascannons do nada.  The Russ manages to shave a weapon and stun one of the Scythes, but just can't bring it down.  Oh, and the Baron manages to tear apart the last Chimera, and the Cuckoos make the inside Vets run off the board!

Picture Caption: Well... we're ahead.  For how long that remains to be seen.

VPs:
IG/Crons: 0
IG/Tau: 8 (!)


Turn 3: IG/Crons
---------------
Vasily shook his head.  Where were all of these air forces coming from?  He yelled for his men to fire, but the it was like catching feathers in a whirlwind.

He swallowed as more men died to Lascannon and the eerie green Xenos weaponry.  How had it come to this?  Why had the men on the moon decided to side with Xenos?  It was unthinkable.  It was...  There was a humm from his comm and a familiar voice spoke through them.

"This is Shas'El Sha'shera, Commander Vasily.  Sorry to tap into your communications grid.  We are here to assist.  Do not worry, the Greater Good is here!"

Before he could reply, the communication ended, and he felt Katya's eyes burning into him.  Just when he thought things couldn't get more complicated...
-------------

Badness comes.

The stunned Scythe moves forward and... onto my troops.  I'm not quite sure what to do in the situation.  We check the BRB, and it looks like I just have to move aside like I'm tank shocked.  Just no morale check is all...  I can live with that.  He then disembarks that squad with everyone looking straight down the Ageis at Katya's squad!  As I got pseudo-shocked, my infantry squad is no longer covering the Cuckoo's flank!  The other Warrior squad with Overlord get out and look at my very soon to be doomed Russ.

The Vendetta moves closer to take down the last Broadside.

Shooting shows half the Psykers going down, but thank fully Katya only gets away with a wound. The Russ is haywired to pieces. 


Picture Caption: Hey is that on the up and up?


Turn 3: IG/Tau
-------------
Baron von Oberheim snorted, watching his Commander frantically give out orders.  He wasn't having any luck hitting the high-altitude fliers.  Useless as always, he thought. 
He glanced over and saw a strange beam and a quintet of skeletal Xenos descended behind the front line, firing strange weapons.  High-pitched cries went out over the comms, and the Baron realized that the Cuckoos were being torn up. 

He frowned.  The girls had a crush on him and occasionally he had acquiesced for their little mental escapades, but it was not as if he cared about them.  He was Baron von Oberheim, man of steel and adamantium of both mind and body.  He needed nor cared for anyone.  But, they were a useful resource, and if he saved them, it would make Romanov look even more incompetent. 

The Baron gestured for his men to move quietly forward, and then there was a roar of jets overhead, and three Tau Battlesuits descended like angels of death. 

"For the Greater Good!" 

The Tau fired rapidly into the Xenos, and the Baron had to shake his head at their inaccuracy.  Still, they had enough high-powered firepower for three squads, and managed to tear the Xenos into pieces.  The trio roared in victory and the Baron snarled, stalking towards them.

"You!  Tau!  That was my kill!"

The Tau leader turned towards him, "Oh, yes, Sergeant Oberheim, wasn't it?  Don't worry, we..."

"Barely managed to destroy a small squad using unnecessary firepower with woeful accuracy.  You're lucky we don't have time to see who's faster on the draw."

The Tau looked at each other, conversing a bit and then the leader spoke, "Are you... threatening us?"

"I am speaking the facts Xenos.  Stay out of my way."

The Baron stalked off, and Shas'El Sha'shera watched him go.  Was he really as dangerous as he seemed?  Something about the Gue'seva was certainly interesting.  Perhaps more so than Commander Romanov.  She caught a glance of her second looking at her disdainfully.  Perhaps not this battle then...

-----------------
Well, I can either bemoan my bad luck or still realize that I'm in the lead and now do more damage.  I get the Shas'El and her Crisis Suits who deep strike in to deal with the Warriors who shot up the Psykers.  I detach Katya and move her to the Blob.

FR/SRF and the Crisis Suits wipe the closer Warrior squad.  The Cryptek does not get back up.  I think I shot some random shots at the fliers, but did nothing.  Fire into the Overlord's squad is all tanked by the 2+ save on the Lord.


Picture Caption: Hmph, not much this round...

VPs:
IG/Crons: 1
IG/Tau: 9


Turn 4: IG/Crons
------------
The last Vendetta comes in.  The other fliers leave the table.  The Overlord gets perilously close to my front line.  The Vendetta shoots apart the Crisis Suit, but the
Shas'El lives!  She also makes her morale check.

And the Stormtroopers come in.  They try to get close shots on the Shas'El, but actually land right on her!  They roll a 1 on mishap and are removed.  (I feel his pain)

The Overlord declares a charge, shrugs off my pathetic Overwatch and gets into combat!  Katya's thankfully not close to the front and the Overlord challenges.  I accept with a Sarge who gets destroyed by the Lord.  I lose some more Guardsmen and we hold.


Picture Caption: Oh stars, they're in my backfield!


Turn 4: IG/Tau
----------------
I shoot pathetically at the Vendetta and do nothing.  Everyone runs for cover as the fliers are coming back on.

Katya's squad continues to get ground down.


VPs:
IG/Crons: 2
IG/Tau: 10


Turn 5: IG/Crons
---------------
All the fliers come back in looking for easy VPs.

The Baron is unfortunately out in the open and is almost torn down by the Night Scythe, but the wiley Stormtrooper Sergeant stays strong.  He also passes his morale check.
Shots go into the Fire Warriors, but they go to ground and refuse to break!

Katya gets wedged into a Warrior on the far side from the Overlord.  More Guardsmen fall.  I'm starting to get a bit worried, as I'm almost at half squad size.


Picture Caption: I... didn't lose any squads that turn?


Turn 5: IG/Tau
-------------
Baron von Oberheim swore as the Xenos jet flew by, laying deadly fire into his squad. 

Electricity rolled over him and his legs buckled, but he refused to fall.  He took aim with a few pistol shots, but it was nowhere near his range.  Just his luck.  Could things possibly get worse?

"Sargeant Oberheim!"

The Baron glanced over and saw the annoying Tau still unfortunately alive and blabbering to him.

"This ruin's pretty good cover, there's room for two!"

He snorted and barked, "I would rather be flayed alive, Xenos.  Stay in your pathetic hole if you must.  I will find my own."

As he turned and ran off, Shas'shera couldn't help but admire his strength.  He had taken a massive amount of electricity and not only survived, he was still up and running.  No enhancements, not much tougher than a Fire Caste warrior, but certainly stubborn and... not necessarily unattractive.

---------------

Still unable to do anything to the fliers, I move the Baron and the Shas'El into better cover out of the zooming arcs of the Fliers.  Shooting again is bad and does nothing.
In assault, I actually down a Warrior!  More Guardsmen go down... this isn't looking good.


Picture Caption: Hemorrhaging Guardsmen rapidly!

VPs:
IG/Crons: 2
IG/Tau: 10


And the game keeps going!


Turn 6: IG/Crons
---------------
More shots unfortunately break the Fire Warriors and they run off.  But that's about it!
I actually take down another Warrior, but he gets back up!  I'm rapidly losing Guardsmen.  I'm down under a dozen!



Turn 6: IG/Tau
---------------
The remains of the Mordheim Cuckoos looked at each other.  They had never suffered losses so quickly and the few remaining girls were more than a bit confused.  Hiding in cover as the Commissar had suggested, they weren't sure what to do.  The flying planes were far beyond their range, and there was nothing on the ground for them to try and help with. 
Except for the enormous brawl.  The girls weighed the situation carefully. 

The skeletal Xenos were going to win.  The Guardsmen were fighting bravely, but it was just a matter of time before they fell.  They were unsure if they should help the Commissar.  She always yelled at them, and her feelings of suspicion always were prominent in her mind.  The Baron disliked her as well, and they liked the Baron.  Oh, yes. 

But The Vasily liked her.  As did Temperance.  Such a hard decision.  Nodding to each other, they decided to try this once...

---------------

Overlord Ras'vyn was content with how things were going.  The living were falling slowly but surely and soon he would destroy their leader.  Then, they would be routed and the world would once more be under the rule of the dead.  All would be...

Suddenly there was a roaring sound and all of the Necron looked up.  There, coming out a Void was an enormous hooded figure, floating above the Guardsmen.

It spoke in an eerie murmur that they could all hear, and it took a moment for Ras'vyn to realize the sheer terror that it brought forth.  The Overlord rocked back on his heels and yelled to his Warriors,

"The Nightbringer has returned!  The C'tan are free to claim your souls!  Run!  Run!"

---------------

I shoot uselessly at the Fliers again.  I then decide to throw the Cuckoos mind-whammy at the Lord!  It gets through although only at half strength.  But it's enough as the Guard actually win assault by one as the Lord fluffs his attacks.  They then fail morale and are swept.

And the game ends!





VPs:
IG/Crons: 4
IG/Tau: 13 (!)


Result: IG/Tau victory!

--------------------
Post-Game Thoughts: Wow, that was rough.  I thought the grind was going to go against me in the end, but it just goes to show the power of the blob!  Granted it was against Necrons that aren't the choppiest of guys, but we actually outlasted them and even ran them down in the end.  Pretty epic all around.  I think my opponent had problems figuring out what to shoot as he either totally overkilled things (i.e. the Quadgun) or didn't know what to shoot, ending up with a lot of wasted firepower.

Unit of the Match HAS to go to the Cuckoos.  They ran off pretty much all of the Imperial Guard infantry and then cinched the victory at the end.  Honorable mentions go to Katya for her solid Quadgun work and Princess Sara and the Baron for their somewhat suicidal face-melting powers.  I lost a LOT of guys and in the end, I still couldn't take down the fliers (there were still four of the five left!), but without ground support, they just couldn't make up the difference.

Although most of the units did solid, there were a few units that didn't do much.  Tems and her PCS didn't do a whole lot, but then again, nothing got close enough to quad flamer.  I don't consider this to be a bad thing.  The Vets failed utterly to down any fliers, but then again, asking plasmagun toting guys to go up against that level of evasion is kind of silly.  Ditto for the Fire Warriors who just can't seem to do much.  The Russ also didn't do a whole lot and died horribly.  Still, it DID get the Necrons to get out of their ride, so I can't fault it TOO much.  But it's a big sacrificial unit!  I'm really considering taking off the heavy bolter sposons as they're not doing too much.  A Lascannon costs the same and although it's one shot, that's a big shot.

All in all, pretty happy with how the list did.  A bit shocked still at how little I can do against fliers, especially the Vendettas who I just stopped shooting at.  Maybe just bad luck, as 6's weren't in my cards this game.  Orders, twin-liked or whatever, I just couldn't hit anything.  But I guess in the end, I didn't really need it...

One thing I am interested in doing is to get some kind of hitty counter assault squad for my backfield.  Something that will give my blob hope of being saved in the end.  Just not sure what to use...

--------------------

Lord Commissar Katarina Vaskov kicked aside the Overlord's head.  The pieces were still vainly trying to reassemble themselves, but the Guardsmen were quickly keeping that from happening.  She shook her head.  The Xenos had almost killed her.  It would have been a good death.

"Commissar!"

Katya glanced to her side, and she saw Lieutenant Temperance Windsor-Smith running over.  She swore to herself.  What could this annoyance be doing now?

She barked, "What more do you wish to say?"

Tems stopped a short distance from her.
"I... err... wanted to see  if you were still on the up and up."

The Commissar threw her a look, "I am not dead.  Are we done talking now?"

Katya turned to leave, and then heard quick footsteps.  She reflexively went to her bolt pistol and was surprised when the short Lieutenant grabbed onto her with a massive vice-like hug and began blubbering into her chest.

"I'm so sorry Commissar!  I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I didn't because I was too scared, and you're my best friend, and I didn't want to hurt you and I was so stupid and I messed up.  Mother said I could only do one of out ten things right, so I have to do ten times as much as everything and I'm so sorry I did you wrong too!"

Katya frowned, looking down at the girl.  She was not used to close contact outside of sparring and close combat.  The touching was... confusing and uncomfortable.  Still, there was something she had to ask.

"Then why did you do it then?  Why did you do that to me?"

Tems whimpered, "Because you're so amazing.  I would die to be like you."

"Like... me?"

Temperance nodded, "Yeah, everyone knows that you're the best fighter, the best shot, the best at keeping your ground.  You don't fear anything, you're tall, dark and... you know... gorgeous.  Much better than me."

Katya paused.  The emotion in Temperance's voice was... too real.  It couldn't be a lie.  BUt the words made no sense.

"Why would you want to be like me?  I have nothing but sadness and hardship in my life.  You have the admiration of many.  People are comfortable around you.  And you have... the Commander."

Temperance frowned, "Well, technically I have him, but you know... nothing's happened."

Katya raised an eyebrow, "Nothing?"

Temperance released her grip and stood back, thinking for a moment, "No, nothing at all really.  Despite not a little bit of effort.  Practically leaned over a desk three times the other day, but not a hint of ravishing.  I'm just...  I'm too plain.  He deserves better.  He deserves you."

The Commissar put up a hand, "No, I... cannot take something like this.  He... does not care for me either.  I have tried to talk.  To explain how I feel, but he responds also with nothing."

Temperance frowned, "Cor, that is odd.  Wait... You don't think..."

With surprising speed, Temperance grabbed the Commissar's hand and lead her quickly over to Vasily, who was still trying to make sure all of the deadly fliers had actually left the surrounding airspace.

Vasily felt a slight twitch from some unspoken instinct and glanced over to see both girls running hell-bent for him.  He weighed his options: 

He could run the other way.  He could probably get away from Katya, but Tems would eventually catch him, no doubt about that.  Another possibility was to fake an injury, but they were too close now to make it believable.  The third and most painful option was to just see what they had to say and pray to the Emperor that nothing bad was going to come of it.  He really didn't like the third option, but nothing else was coming to mind at the moment.

He watched both of his officers skid to a stop next to him.  Tems saluted sharply.

"Reporting back in, Commander Vasily Romanov, ~sir!"

Vasily nodded, looking at Katya who seemed just as confused.

"Uh, hi, Tems?  Is something wrong?"

Temperance nodded, "Oh, yes, sir.  I need your hand."

Vasily raised an eyebrow, "Uh, well... I suppose... so... But, Tems, what are you...?"

And before he could get any more out, Temperance grabbed his hand and placed it on the Commissar's right breast.

Katya turned a few shades of red and Vasily felt his entire hand go numb as the very nerves decided to try and play dead and hope for the best.  He tried to keep his face calm, but was failing.  Oh by the Throne, he thought.  What do I say now?

"Huh, nothing."

Vasily looked over at Temperance, whose eyes were glancing down at him.  The Lieutenant took his hand away.  He gripped his hand, trying to squeeze some life into it, while trying to keep as cool as possible.

Katya tried to look the other way as well.  She slowly turned back to speak, but thankfully Tems grabbed her and took her away.  He shook his head.  What was that all about?

------------------

Temperance ran back a ways with Katya before stopping.  She whispered, "It's worse than I thought.  No activity at all!  It must be medical or somewhatsit.  No wonder he's been so shy!  This is going to need intense therapy.  I can't do it alone.  Can I count on you for help?"

Katya raised an eyebrow.  She still didn't know exactly what the little Guardsman was going on about, but she seemed excited and eager to please.  Perhaps it would not hurt to play her little game for a bit longer.  Katya nodded to Temperance who smiled and giggled with glee.  The Commisssar thought for a few more moments.  It was strange.  She had focused countless hours on Vasily, as she thought that the half-remembered night of pleasure was due to him, but clearly it was not.  Something had to be done to rectify the matter.  One way or the other...

[Cammerz]

Well that certainly was some match, I think despite the collossal damage being done to your blob of guardsmen, the battle was in the bag due to that huge number of VPs you collected at the beginning. Really you just needed to keep a unit or two hidden away from the rest of their army and hope for the dice to call it a day.
But I see what you mean about replacing the Russ with something combatty, maybe this calls for a return of the Rough Riders? They aren't bad in combat.

As for the fluff, I dread to think what Tems has planned but I'm positive that it won't all work out well for Vasily (or any of the other characters really).
I'm not really sure what to think about the Tau fluff, I mean the Guard writing is definitley superior but that's just because its very very good. And its a shame that the Fire Warriors never seem to do anything but of course there are only 6 of them you can't really expect too much unless you give them something special like a Devilfish or EMP grenades.

Really you need to come up with something new that can deal with anti-air, I presume that most of your opponents know to take out the Quadgun immediately now. Maybe you could swap a few lascannons for autocannons, still probably good at breaking flying things and with more shots, they're more likely to hit them. And there are always Hydras if you ever get desperate but lets hope it doesn't come to that. Its sort of a shame that you can't select two fortifications so you can have another Quadgun, that might break the meta.

[Lord Sotek]

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

[Cammerz]

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

No they certainly do have Skyfire (I just checked the errata to make sure), they're the perfect anti-air vehicle. The issue is they can be seen as quite cheesey and I believe that BT is above that sort of thing. I mean so far he appears to have done well without needing them (unless he's had a bunch of games that didn't turn out so well which he hasn't told us about). Of course their armour isn't great nowadays, in fact the Quadgun is actually looking more survivable than most tanks.

[Vyper]

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

No they certainly do have Skyfire (I just checked the errata to make sure), they're the perfect anti-air vehicle. The issue is they can be seen as quite cheesey and I believe that BT is above that sort of thing. I mean so far he appears to have done well without needing them (unless he's had a bunch of games that didn't turn out so well which he hasn't told us about). Of course their armour isn't great nowadays, in fact the Quadgun is actually looking more survivable than most tanks.

I used a squad of 3 Hydras against a cron flying list and the scythes were torn to pieces. Hydras are almost too good at what they do...


Anyway another-nother great report BT, keep 'em coming!

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Dont IG Missile Launchers now have Flakk missiles as an option? They have Skyfire. Its in the back of the Big Book under Missile Launchers. It doesnt say IG specifically, or SMs, so I would guess at all Missile Launchers getting Flakk Missiles.

[Cammerz]

Dont IG Missile Launchers now have Flakk missiles as an option? They have Skyfire. Its in the back of the Big Book under Missile Launchers. It doesnt say IG specifically, or SMs, so I would guess at all Missile Launchers getting Flakk Missiles.

The errata doesn't tell us we have it, so currently nobody has it. CSMs are likely to be the first to receive it as they're getting the 1st codex of this edition. At the moment the only things with the Skyfire rule (as far as I know) are; flyers, fortification quadguns and icarus lascannons, and the hydra autocannon.

[BigToof]

Thank you all for the very nice comments1

Well that certainly was some match, I think despite the collossal damage being done to your blob of guardsmen, the battle was in the bag due to that huge number of VPs you collected at the beginning. Really you just needed to keep a unit or two hidden away from the rest of their army and hope for the dice to call it a day.
But I see what you mean about replacing the Russ with something combatty, maybe this calls for a return of the Rough Riders? They aren't bad in combat.

As for the fluff, I dread to think what Tems has planned but I'm positive that it won't all work out well for Vasily (or any of the other characters really).
I'm not really sure what to think about the Tau fluff, I mean the Guard writing is definitley superior but that's just because its very very good. And its a shame that the Fire Warriors never seem to do anything but of course there are only 6 of them you can't really expect too much unless you give them something special like a Devilfish or EMP grenades.

Really you need to come up with something new that can deal with anti-air, I presume that most of your opponents know to take out the Quadgun immediately now. Maybe you could swap a few lascannons for autocannons, still probably good at breaking flying things and with more shots, they're more likely to hit them. And there are always Hydras if you ever get desperate but lets hope it doesn't come to that. Its sort of a shame that you can't select two fortifications so you can have another Quadgun, that might break the meta.

Thanks for the reply Cammerz.  I am a bit worried about the Tau fluff, as it's just not as coming together as IG.  I'm tempted just to use Princess Sara by herself and nix the others as there's just too many characters to work with.  I'm also thinking to stop the whole "Xenophilia" thing, as I don't think it's panning out that well...  Maybe switch up and use a different Tau?

As for the flyers, I don't know.  I really don't.  One thing that did bother me about the fliers is that my primary means of destroying them late game (after the Quadgun has gone belly up) is the Lascannon blob with Orders,  but that's not too great if they're bogged down for multiple turns.  And I hate to think what they would do if I had something harder than Necrons to deal with!  Perhaps bringing the Riders back as a counter attack squad might not be too bad.  Just not sure what to do if there's all those fliers to deal with...  I'm almost considering lifting my Hydra ban, just like I've considered trying a Vendetta.  The only thing is that I hate to rely on just one vehicle, especially one that might not do that much if there's (gasp) no fliers.  Do the Tau have anything useful?  I have a Fast Attack slot that would love to do something useful for me.

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

Hi Lord Sotek,
Hydras have skyfire but not interceptor, so really, they have to take it in the face for a turn before returning fire, unlike the Quadgun that can actually do something.  Also, they can't do much against AR12 in general, with or without jink saves.  But I have Lascannons and suicide deep-strikers for that sort of business if I really have to.  Just would love to have something more reliable for shooting down those planes.

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

No they certainly do have Skyfire (I just checked the errata to make sure), they're the perfect anti-air vehicle. The issue is they can be seen as quite cheesey and I believe that BT is above that sort of thing. I mean so far he appears to have done well without needing them (unless he's had a bunch of games that didn't turn out so well which he hasn't told us about). Of course their armour isn't great nowadays, in fact the Quadgun is actually looking more survivable than most tanks.

I used a squad of 3 Hydras against a cron flying list and the scythes were torn to pieces. Hydras are almost too good at what they do...


Anyway another-nother great report BT, keep 'em coming!

Thanks for the reply Vyper,
Glad you liked the rep.  I've tried not to let things fall down the path of a harem-romantic comedy but I keep failing
As for the Hydras...  I keep thinking about them, but the fact that I'd have to keep them in reserves to keep from immediately dying to Stormteks or Doom Scythes makes me worried.  Also, they're easy VPs/First blood for my opponent if I do keep them on the board.  So... considering the option, but not sure if it's worthwhile.  A Vendetta (though underpriced and may put me in TFG territory) is certainly a good option, putting a single flyer out against mass S7 fire is sort of... worrisome.

Dont IG Missile Launchers now have Flakk missiles as an option? They have Skyfire. Its in the back of the Big Book under Missile Launchers. It doesnt say IG specifically, or SMs, so I would guess at all Missile Launchers getting Flakk Missiles.

Hi Jayne,
As Cammerz said, I so wish we could get Flakk, but not yet.  CSM is supposed to be getting them first, then the rest of 6th.  I personally think GW is just doing this to sell out of Scythe models, but maybe that's just my cynical side   We'll see if things get FAQ'd differently.  I wish my club would let me get a Remora!  That would solve a lot of my problems.

Thank you all for the comments!

I'm always open to suggestions with builds and fluff.  Your comments mean a lot to me!

Best,
-BT

[Vyper]

Do Hydras not have skyfire? Or is the issue that their armor is too thin/their autocannons don't scratch Quantum Fielded skimmers?

Still might have helped against the Vendettas, though. S7 can pen that av12, and Hydras flat out ignore jink saves.

No they certainly do have Skyfire (I just checked the errata to make sure), they're the perfect anti-air vehicle. The issue is they can be seen as quite cheesey and I believe that BT is above that sort of thing. I mean so far he appears to have done well without needing them (unless he's had a bunch of games that didn't turn out so well which he hasn't told us about). Of course their armour isn't great nowadays, in fact the Quadgun is actually looking more survivable than most tanks.

I used a squad of 3 Hydras against a cron flying list and the scythes were torn to pieces. Hydras are almost too good at what they do...


Anyway another-nother great report BT, keep 'em coming!

Thanks for the reply Vyper,
Glad you liked the rep.  I've tried not to let things fall down the path of a harem-romantic comedy but I keep failing
As for the Hydras...  I keep thinking about them, but the fact that I'd have to keep them in reserves to keep from immediately dying to Stormteks or Doom Scythes makes me worried.  Also, they're easy VPs/First blood for my opponent if I do keep them on the board.  So... considering the option, but not sure if it's worthwhile.  A Vendetta (though underpriced and may put me in TFG territory) is certainly a good option, putting a single flyer out against mass S7 fire is sort of... worrisome.

I boxed my hydras in a board corner, using blobs and aegis lines to stop anything getting up close (plus you get a sweet cover save if you position the hydras right). They managed to survive till end game in both matches that I used them and even though they don't have interceptor, the twin linked means they can still be used semi effectively against infantry and light vehicles.

[Cammerz]

  Do the Tau have anything useful?  I have a Fast Attack slot that would love to do something useful for me.

Tau Fast Attack choices;
Piranhas - Probably not helpful against flyers but with their disruption pods you might find them more survivable than other light vehicles. Shove a fusion blaster on the front and you have a fast anti-tank thing, might give you room to swap your lascannons for something with more shots to take out flyers.
Pathfinders - Markerlights are great fun, but won't help you at all against flyers unless you had a sky ray full of seekers (which you won't as you have broadsides). There is of course the option to get three rail rifles, but you still need to roll the 6 to hit the flyers and they don't even have the sniper USR.
Vespids - More of an anti-marine unit that anti-flyer. Low armour save hurts these guys so cover is quite important. They can move fairly quickly but their guns have the same range as a pistol.
Gun Drones - Finally you have these guys, they're as fast as crisis suits but have the BS of an ork and t-l pulse carbines aren't the best. These are certainly not for flyers.

Your best option really, in my opinion, would be to try and add in a third Broadside battlesuit. Then statistically speaking you're looking to hit a flyer once per turn with the squad.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Unless you are able/willing to get a pair of Remora Drone Fighters. Fast Attack. Flyers in there own right. Interceptor and a 2+ coversave.

[BigToof]

Hi All,
Thank you for the suggestions.
I guess Tau fast attack isn't that anti-flier without forge world (which my mates and I aren't using.  Yet.).
I'm actually heavily considering bringing in Hydras now, as they have been hit by the nerf bat pretty hard (no longer can hit ground units without snap-shotting), and are pretty cheap for what you can get out of them.
And yes, I think I need my calvary back.  Just not sure where to get the points...  Perhaps from the vets?  The carapace-plasma combination sounds so good, but they often get out-maneuvered and then ignored for the rest of the game.  Just not sure which other troop is decent enough in comparison.
Just a quick question to you Tau users out there:
Devilfish knocking your socks off since the new FAQ or just not doing much?  I like the whole shrouded cover save, and I'm putting the fire warriors in reserve most times anyway.  If they could make a break for objectives late game that sounds pretty stellar.

Best,
-BT