Lady Jenna vs. Chaos/Tau in "With Friends Like These..." (1500, 11/26)

[BigToof]

Lady Jenna vs. Chaos/Tau in "With Friends Like These..." (1500)

Hi All,
I've got another Lady Jenna rep, this one with Tau and ... Chaos?

Well, mostly Chaos really with a splash of Tau.  Still, pretty scary with a good mix of units that I've seen before.

Sigh.  Yes, there's a Helldrake.

Still, certainly not the worst I've ever faced.

And, of course, there's new fluff

Enjoy!

Best,
-BT

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

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The Lists
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The Imperial Alliance 1500 pts: 79 Infantry, 1 Vehicle, 1 Fort; 12-15 VPs
Space Wolves
-Rune Priest Harald "Mad Harry" Runesmith w/ Runic Armor
-Lone Wolf "Heartless" w/Chainfist, Stormshield
-Wolf Guardx4 in Terminator Armor, Power Axes, Combi-Plasmasx2, Combi-Flamer
-Grey Huntersx10 w/Plasmagunsx2, Wolf Standard
-Grey Huntersx10 w/Plasmagunsx2, Wolf Standard
-Grey Huntersx7 w/Flamer, Wolf Standard
-Long Fangsx5 w/Missile Launchersx4
Lady Jenna's Marauders
-Lady Jenna Mordheim (Primaris Psyker w/Force Staff)
-Captain Alyssa Jax, Stormtroopersx5 w/Meltagunsx2
-Lt. Jack Hawkins, Platoon Command Squad w/Flamersx4
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon, Sgt. w/Power Axe
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon, Sgt. w/Power Axe
-Infantry Platoon w/Lascannon, Sgt. w/Power Axe
-"The Boxbreaker" Leman Russ Exterminator w/HB Sposons
Ageis Defense Line w/Quadgun

Chaos and... Friends (1500pts): 42 Infantry, 3 Vehicles; 13 VPs
Black Legion
-Chaos Sorcerer w/Black Mace, Force Sword, Bike, Sigil, Mastery 3 (!), VoLW
-CSMx10 w/Plasmax2 in Rhino
-CSMx10 w/Plasmax2 in Rhino
-Helldrake w/Baleflamer
-Bikesx5 w/MoN, Meltasx2, Vets of Long War, Champ w/PF
-Spawnx5 w/MoN
-Obliterator w/MoN
-Obliterator w/MoN
Tau "Diplomats"
-Shas'el w/TL-Missile Pod, Irridium Armor
-Fire Warriorsx6
-Broadsidesx2 w/BSF

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Chapter 3: The Awakening
------------------------
Captain Alyssa Jax took a sharp intake of breath as her consciousness popped back into working order.  Things were strange.  Nothing hurt.  Either she was far beyond pain or she was having some kind of near-death experience.  She bit down hard on the side of her tongue and felt the sharp tang of pain and tinny taste of blood.  Not dead yet.  Which meant she had a chance.

Listening carefully to her surroundings, she heard someone breathing, close to her.  Close enough to grab.  Almost imperceptibly, she tensed her arms and legs.  No restraints .  That meant either her captors were foolish or incredibly overconfident.  Either way, it gave her a chance to turn the tables.

In a quick motion borne completely of training-buiilt reflexes, she whirled up, grabbed the head of the sleeping person next to her and pulled it into a headlock at a sharp angle.  From here, a normal man could be neck-snapped with a minimum of effort.  But, something stopped her from taking the next and very lethal automatic step, which was especially lucky for Lieutenant Jack Hawkins, who was the head-lockee in question.

"Jack?" questioned Jax.

Jack tried to nod, but head motions in any direction were probably incredibly painful and at least mildly life-threatening.

Before Jax could continue any line of thought, doors burst open across the small room she was in, and two armed guards pointed lasguns at them.

Jax switched her headlock from "neck-snapping" to "meatshield," and put whoever it was that looked like her ex-husband in front of her.  Either it really was Jack and this was some kind of strange coincidence, or it was some kind of Warp-borne trick.  In either case, the person in question deserved a few shots to the face on her behalf.

"H... Holster your weapons!"

Alyssa blinked a bit.  That sounded like Jack.  The same blubbering that inadvertently always came to the surface when guns were pointed in his face.  She calculated the possibilities.  She still needed something solid.

"What did you get me for last anniversary, Jack?"

"Wh... what?"

"Last anniversary, you big slobbering idiot.  What did you get me?"

Jack blinked.  "I... I forgot, Jax.  You were so mad you broke three toes and nearly missed your jump."

Alyssa nodded to herself and then punched Jack in the right kidney.

Jack went down with a wince on his face.  The guards waved their lasguns in her face, but she snorted at them.

"Boys, if you wanted to shoot those things you had ample opportunity.  Now holster them and get me some clothes.  Unless you want to ogle me some more?"

"Clothes," Jack whimpered from the floor, "Just... get her clothes before she actually gets mad."
----------------------

"You've gotten soft, Jack," muttered Jax as they walked down the corridor of the Anne Bonney.  "When you were with the Elysian 76th you would at least have put up a fight."

Jack rubbed his still mostly bruised kidney and ego, "Yes, Al, but we just spent a lot of time and money putting you back together."

Jax took a moment to look at herself in a more reflective piece of a bulkhead, "Yeah, I look like myself, mostly.  Was half expecting to look like scrambled together Servitor-leftovers.  Which, I notice, you still haven't explained."

Blushing a bit, Jack paused and said in a fairly business-like tone, "Uh, I'd better let the Captain talk to you about that."

Jax frowned, "Still not taking responsibility for anything, Jack?  I can see that much hasn't changed."

Jack felt a bit of a growl enter his voice, "Al, can we not talk about this right now?"

"Why?  When do you want to talk about it?  Oh, right, talking things out isn't your cup of tea either isn't it?  The leaving-a-note saying, 'Sorry, you're a mistake' and then erasing our entire married life without my consent is more your M.O. now-a-days."

Biting his lip, Jack turned, pointing a finger at Jax, "Listen, I know you're upset.  Yes, it was stupid and brash and...  I don't know what, but that doesn't give you the right to..."

"Should we come back later?"

Jack whirled around to see Lady Jenna Mordheim, Captain of the Rogue Trader Anne Bonney standing patiently next to the chuckling Space Wolf Runepriest "Mad Harry" Runesmith.

Forcing his Seneschal mask on the best he could, Jack coughed and said, "Pardon, Lady Jenna.  This is..."

"Last year's model," interrupted Jax, stepping forward.  She glanced at Lady Jenna and then frowned.  "Let me guess, you're the Captain?"

Lady Jenna bowed politely, "Lady Jenna Mordheim, at your service."

Jax snorted, "I HIGHLY doubt that.  So, questions then?"

Jack was about to interrupt, when Lady Jenna simply held up a hand to Jack and then nodded to Jax.

Alyssa snorted a half-laugh and said, "Shut down with a gesture.  That's good control you've got on him."

Jack felt a stab of rage pop to the surface, but then Lady Jenna said in a calm voice, "He is my Seneschal.  We respect each other's opinions in certain matters."

Jax tapped a finger against her teeth, "And let me guess, your expertise is in calming down newly-sewn-together psychopaths?"

Jenna smiled and said in a more relaxed tone, "Only if we're trading with Catachans.  But, please, ask your questions."

Jax nodded, "Right, so... What in the world is going on?  How am I not in pieces?  Why did you save me?"

Jack sighed, it was just like Al to throw a verbal barrage at someone she just met.  He was about to reword the questions and give the standard guarded responses, when Lady Jenna spoke.

"We are on a voyage to return our Space Wolf guests to their home.  As we now are aware of the situation with the Elysian 76th, we are diverting resources to aid them as well.  You are not severely damaged, as I have used Biomancy to keep your injuries to a minimum.  And... we saved you because Jack asked me to."

Jax threw Jack a look, half filled with anger and the other with confusion.
"You... you let a Bolt-Magnet throw the Warp on me?  Are you insane?  How am I not..."

Lady Jenna put up a hand, "It was not Jack's doing.  I insisted, in order to keep your grievous injuries from seriously and permanently incapacitating you.  You are not afflicted by the Warp in any way.  You have my word on that."

Jax snorted, "Your word?  How cute."

Jack threw his ex-wife a furious look and said, "Jax, that's enough.  Now we're going to be meeting up with traders soon and it won't require any of your... special skills.  If you want to stay confined to quarters that's fine with me."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Jax turned on her heel and stomped off.

Jack sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Women," chuckled Harry, "That's why we don't let 'em in the Astartes."

Lady Jenna walked over, and put a soft hand on Jack's shoulder, "Don't worry, Jack.  She's just angry over her loss of control over the situation.  She will adapt."

Jack nodded, "I know, I know.  I just wish this wasn't another headache to deal with."

Lady Jenna smiled, "I don't know why you're upset.  Dealing with Shas'El Por'el has always gone well.  In fact, he seemed rather delighted to hear from us."

Jack scowled, "But he's... Tau.  You can't read their minds."

"I have never considered that to be a reason to distrust someone.  The Tau may be more nebulous than our usual trading partners, but certainly not the worst.  In fact, he did mention that he had Space Marine visitors at the moment as well."

"Hmmph," said Harry, "If you can call 'em that."

Jack frowned, "You know who they are?"

Harry shrugged, "Sneaky, robe-wearing Astartes?  Only the Loopy Lions could fit into that category.  Damned Dark Angels."

Jack nodded, pacing a bit, "I've heard that there's no lost love between you two, will this be an issue?"

Harry snorted, "Lad, I'm not going to start anything.  But the Throne help them if they start getting in our faces."

Jenna interjected, "Yes, of course we will respect your opinion, Master Runesmith, but we must make haste.  If we are to have any hope of finding survivors from the Elysian 76th, it is of utmost importance that we have resupply."

Jack nodded in agreement.  Why did it have to be Tau?  he asked himself.  But Jenna was right, it could be worse.  He only hoped that this decision wouldn't come back to bite him.

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

Sorcerer Basrael silently watched the currents in the Warp.  It had taken some effort, but he had managed to keep his minions out of sight and out of the wary, but amateurish, attempts at detection by the Imperial psykers.  Likewise, fooling the Tau traders was perhaps even more simple.  His forces were on the verge of annihilating the Xenos when an amazing find walked into his web.

Space Wolves and a full contingent of Guard, ripe for the plucking.  The Dark Gods were certainly favoring him this day...
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Setup: Hammer and Anvil (Night Fight OFF)
Mission: Crusade (3 objectives)
Psychic:
Sorcerer: Endurance, Enfeeblement (Doh!), Invisibility (Double-Doh!)
Harry: Prescience, Misfortune; Jenna: Iron Arm (Hulkin' Out again!), Haemorrhage (eh.)

Warlord:
Sorcerer: Preferred Enemy (Space Marine)
Harry: Legendary Fighter (VPs!)
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Pre-Gamte Thoughts: Ok... this is an unusual Chaos List.  Nurgle Bikers, Nurgle Spawn, Nurgle Oblits, but a small horde of standard CSM and... my "favorite," the Helldrake.
Not a lot of anti-tank, which if I HAD tank, would be comforting.  But not, so... not.

The invisibility power coupled with bikes scares the dickens out of me.  Also, it's Hammer and Anvil, so I'm going to have slog ALL the way across the board to get to him.

That is... if I have to (hopefully I won't, but you never know).

This could really go either way, as the blob is kind of neutered as I don't have the mobility to really zoom around the board, but hopefully I can somehow do SOME damage before the Helldrake comes and totally murders me.

.

..

... 

Oh yeah, and there's Tau too...
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To be Continued!

[Cammerz]

I'm really liking the fluff in this one, Jack is a very good character and I particularly like how he's got a developed back-story as well, makes him a more 3-dimensional character.
I also think that this sort of fluff is preferable to the old 1st Auric, this is complicated relationships and not just sex (I suppose I just like how each of your armies has a different style of fluff, even if they're the same race). Not sure how the new 1st Auric will turn out but it should be fun no matter what.

As for the Chaos/Tau army, its a bit of a shame that we aren't seeing more Tau but that's unlikely until they get a new 'dex anyway. The T6 Nurgle bikers should be fun, hopefully the Boxbreaker will deal out some pain. They've only got the one fler so you probably shouldn't be too worried given that you have a Quad gun on standby. I'm personally interested in seeing how well the Black Mace works because my own Chaos Lord is equipped with one and I haven't had a chance to test him out yet. His Broadsides might be a problem, especially if he's looking at shooting up your Quad gun early on, but that'll be behind the defence line and you do have quite a few viable targets for his railguns so he'll need to ignore some important things.

So, looking forward to this, keep up the great fluff.

[BigToof]

I'm really liking the fluff in this one, Jack is a very good character and I particularly like how he's got a developed back-story as well, makes him a more 3-dimensional character.
I also think that this sort of fluff is preferable to the old 1st Auric, this is complicated relationships and not just sex (I suppose I just like how each of your armies has a different style of fluff, even if they're the same race). Not sure how the new 1st Auric will turn out but it should be fun no matter what.

As for the Chaos/Tau army, its a bit of a shame that we aren't seeing more Tau but that's unlikely until they get a new 'dex anyway. The T6 Nurgle bikers should be fun, hopefully the Boxbreaker will deal out some pain. They've only got the one fler so you probably shouldn't be too worried given that you have a Quad gun on standby. I'm personally interested in seeing how well the Black Mace works because my own Chaos Lord is equipped with one and I haven't had a chance to test him out yet. His Broadsides might be a problem, especially if he's looking at shooting up your Quad gun early on, but that'll be behind the defence line and you do have quite a few viable targets for his railguns so he'll need to ignore some important things.

So, looking forward to this, keep up the great fluff.

Hi Cammerz,
Thanks for the reply! I'm glad the fluff worked out for you.  How did Jax come off? 
I wasn't sure if I had made Jax off as too violent, but she's really been uh... scorned by Jack.  Jack's becoming a very interesting character, as he's done things that are very human, but has the backbone to stand up for them.  So he's not the chew toy for the fluff yet (like Vasily was), but he may start to be over his head as it is.
That CSM list was very... nasty.  I didn't think of it until they started coming at me, but Invisibility, Enfeeblement with Black Mace on Bikers is just a hard, HARD nut to crack.
If I didn't have Harry, I'm sure I'd be a lot more worried.
And those Spawn!  How do you get rid of them?
Not to give anything away, but they go just below the Helldrake on my annoyance factor.
Tau need an update, so badly.  They did uh... well... some things this time around, but I think they were there just for Railguns.

Best,
-BT

[Cammerz]

Hi Cammerz,
Thanks for the reply! I'm glad the fluff worked out for you.  How did Jax come off? 
I wasn't sure if I had made Jax off as too violent, but she's really been uh... scorned by Jack.  Jack's becoming a very interesting character, as he's done things that are very human, but has the backbone to stand up for them.  So he's not the chew toy for the fluff yet (like Vasily was), but he may start to be over his head as it is.
That CSM list was very... nasty.  I didn't think of it until they started coming at me, but Invisibility, Enfeeblement with Black Mace on Bikers is just a hard, HARD nut to crack.
If I didn't have Harry, I'm sure I'd be a lot more worried.
And those Spawn!  How do you get rid of them?
Not to give anything away, but they go just below the Helldrake on my annoyance factor.
Tau need an update, so badly.  They did uh... well... some things this time around, but I think they were there just for Railguns.

Best,
-BT

Jax is looking like a good character for the fluff at the moment, and I'm glad that Lt. Jack isn't just being pushed around by everyone.
Railguns are a very useful toy but they can be difficult to use. I find that you have two choices; try to keep them as cheap as possible, they'll take out the odd vehicle and maybe deal some damage to a tough infantry unit before being annihilated, often in close combat nowadays given drop pods and other fast things. The other option is to spend loads on protecting and enhancing them, shield generators, targetting arrays, target locks, blacksun filters, they become considerably more survivable but they cost a huge amount.
If you can throw a Space Wolf squad into them early then you need not worry about them much longer, especially if you're packing a power axe/fist.

[BigToof]

Thanks for the reply Cammerz,
I am getting close to finally putting up the rep, just having a very uh... difficult time nailing down dedicated writing time (for some strange reason).

In any case, thanks for the advice on Tau.
I do want to try and use them as their fluff and well... RAILGUNS.

But like you said, they get pricey fast, although I'm using them with IG more than anything nowadays.
Although the concept of Eldar/Tau keeps rattling around in my head...

But that is another story.

I'd love to see other people using Tau, although I seem to see people just loading up for a Broadside, getting frustrated and then stop using them.  I've been using them more, but well... it's been a long, long development.  Hmm...  I think what really needs to go out is some kind of "Tau as allies" tactica.

Best,
-BT

[The Man They Call Jayne]

For my money, if I were taking Tau as Allies for the fire support, I would take an Aurora'El with an Advanced Stabilisation System and 2 Shield Drone, attatch it to 3 Broadsides so they can move around and provide some Ablative wounds. It also provides some decent anti troop level firepower. For the troops, thats up to you. If you are willing to spend the points, 24 Fire Warriors to sit on objectives in good cover (preferably) and simply put out lots of shots. Take a couple of Marker Drones if you like to reduce cover, or boost BS.

Or if you prefer you can run them around to get the RF shots, with a Marker Drone most of them will hit and those S5 shots soon rack up damage.

The weakness people experience seems to come from saying "I want Railguns and that all I want from the Tau portion so the rest can being mostly ignored." 5-600 Points of Tau can be an effective force in its own right aslong as the list is made to compliment itself.

Itis essential to understand HOW the Tau work, rather than wedging the tasty bits into your list and then wondering why they arent doing aswell as you remember them doing in the hands of a veteran Tau player.

[Chicop76]

Cool. I thought about doing a Chaos Daemon Tau Army. Tzeentch and Tau alliance FTW. It called for some horrors, flamers, and a Tzeencth Chariot with a few suits and fire warriors here and there. I figured some rail action to pop transports with marker lights denying cover saves followed with some flamers of Tzeentch to roast what survives. I haven't build the list as of yet cause it is hard enough to get people to face my Daemons nowadays. It was hard before, but now it is really hard.

That is a lot of Marked Nurgle units with very little Tau support. 3 squads of oblits with a squad of broadsides look like it would be really nice. It looks like he took the Tau for the broadsides. His HQ with the =2 save I

[BigToof]

For my money, if I were taking Tau as Allies for the fire support, I would take an Aurora'El with an Advanced Stabilisation System and 2 Shield Drone, attatch it to 3 Broadsides so they can move around and provide some Ablative wounds. It also provides some decent anti troop level firepower. For the troops, thats up to you. If you are willing to spend the points, 24 Fire Warriors to sit on objectives in good cover (preferably) and simply put out lots of shots. Take a couple of Marker Drones if you like to reduce cover, or boost BS.

Or if you prefer you can run them around to get the RF shots, with a Marker Drone most of them will hit and those S5 shots soon rack up damage.

The weakness people experience seems to come from saying "I want Railguns and that all I want from the Tau portion so the rest can being mostly ignored." 5-600 Points of Tau can be an effective force in its own right aslong as the list is made to compliment itself.

Itis essential to understand HOW the Tau work, rather than wedging the tasty bits into your list and then wondering why they arent doing aswell as you remember them doing in the hands of a veteran Tau player.

Thanks for the reply Jayne.
I really do want to make the Tau work as a fighting force.  I just... don't have as many models yet, so they're settling for being allies.
The Aurora'El sounds like a good idea, but I'm always a bit worried that it'll make the Broadsides into TOO big a target.  Granted it'll finally keep them from running off the board though.
One experiment that I do want to try is Tau/Eldar, as I've been hearing good things about it too.

Cool. I thought about doing a Chaos Daemon Tau Army. Tzeentch and Tau alliance FTW. It called for some horrors, flamers, and a Tzeencth Chariot with a few suits and fire warriors here and there. I figured some rail action to pop transports with marker lights denying cover saves followed with some flamers of Tzeentch to roast what survives. I haven't build the list as of yet cause it is hard enough to get people to face my Daemons nowadays. It was hard before, but now it is really hard.

That is a lot of Marked Nurgle units with very little Tau support. 3 squads of oblits with a squad of broadsides look like it would be really nice. It looks like he took the Tau for the broadsides. His HQ with the =2 save I

[Chicop76]

Thanks Bigtoof. I have been busy with life so it's been hard for me to frequent the site or play like I used to.

I never ran Epi, because I can foresee the same issues I have with Fate bringer would apply to him. In 6th though fate weaver is more viable with the double 3+ to come in and the 4th turn automatic. Although Fate weaver not coming in on the first turn is not a big deal. Epi on the other hand really needs to come in on turn one and with the dice Gods luck it will only happen 66.66% of the time and he will have a 66.66% chance of coming in on the next two turns on average games. Epi is awesome with followers of Nurgle than have feel no pain in 6th edition. It is crazy that a normal flame weapon can now wound on 2s with no armor saves. That is why I think 2 flamers in a nurgle marine squad would be nice when they get charged so they can dish out 2-6 auto hits that wound on 2s and deny saves.

With that list you won't get any major help from Epi and wouldn't be worth it unless you ran Plague marines.

The Tzeentch Tau alliance is viable for me since I do have the models to do it. I am still working on how it should be done. I am still working out my Mardi Gras Alliance army and the Tzeentch Tau will be my other project. I am debating on using a Tau army with kroot, vespids, and tzeentch, or do a tzeentch O'Shova list. I thought about doing a chariot, but having a flying monstrous creature would really help out since I lack anti air. I may run with a Lord of Change with flamers and horrors. My base though is going to be Daemons with Tau so I can dish out Flamer love. Two squads of suits and fire warriors with broadsides look nice. Also since the Tau can't score them can just worry about a gun line defense while my Daemons ds on the objectives? With my daemon experience I think I can keep the Daemons and tau away from each other unless I go against warp quake.

Looking at your list I noticed a lot of hard hitting weapons which will give the nurgle player some issues. You can simply ignore the Tau and focus on the Nurgle forces as the real threat.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Tau and Eldar  compliment each other nicely, although Eldar powers don't affect Tau units I believe. No Guided rapid firing Firewarriors unfortunatly.

[Chicop76]

Tau and Eldar  compliment each other nicely, although Eldar powers don't affect Tau units I believe. No Guided rapid firing Firewarriors unfortunatly.

Sadly no. Markerlights with guide would be really good. Him 6 plasma shots at bs 3-5 with re roll to hit.

[Lord Sotek]

I keep seeing all these new replies to the thread and thinking that Bigtoof has started posting the actual report. >.>

*drums fingers impatiently*

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Tau and Eldar  compliment each other nicely, although Eldar powers don't affect Tau units I believe. No Guided rapid firing Firewarriors unfortunatly.

Sadly no. Markerlights with guide would be really good. Him 6 plasma shots at bs 3-5 with re roll to hit.

However there are some rulebook powers that mimick guide and doom. And those CAN be used by a Farseer on a Tau unit.

[Chicop76]

Tau and Eldar  compliment each other nicely, although Eldar powers don't affect Tau units I believe. No Guided rapid firing Firewarriors unfortunatly.

Sadly no. Markerlights with guide would be really good. Him 6 plasma shots at bs 3-5 with re roll to hit.

However there are some rulebook powers that mimick guide and doom. And those CAN be used by a Farseer on a Tau unit.

Yeah, but it is random with like a 16% chance of getting what you want. Forfieting The best psychic powers in the game for random ones is a hard sell for me. I can see randoming other psykers, but Eldar powers you know you are getting is too good to pass up. I guess taking two farseers with one being random might not be that bad, but the only way i see it being viable is to take a seer council of old where you could take 5 farseers.

[The Man They Call Jayne]

I find the Rulebook powers to actually be better, more flexable and usually more powerful. Yes they are random, but Farseers are Class 3 and there arent many bad powers.