Space Wolves vs Tyranids. Report 4

Another week, another battle for my Space Wolves. Once again I was up against an army I have not fared well against over the last year, but a steely determination to squash some bugs drove me onwards to one day overcome the unstoppable behemoth hive.

Anyhow, the points were set at 2,000, with the Infestation battle mission. The Tyranids were clear favourites at this point, it was going to be one almighty struggle and one I was going to go down fighting with.


Tyranids

Hive Commander Tyrant with 2 Tyrant Guard

8 Ymgarl Genestealers
2 Zoanthropes x2
2 Hive Guard

8 Genestealers and Broodlord x2
10 Termagants with Devourers x 2

15 Gargoyles x 2

Mawloc x2
Biovore

Space Wolves

Rune Priest - Runic Armour, Chooser of the Slain
Wolf Priest - Runic Armour, Wolf Tail Talisman, Wolf Tail Necklace

Lone Wolf - TDA, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Fenrisian Wolf
Wolf Scouts - Meltagun
Wolf Guard - TDA, Cyclone Missile Launcher
                     PA, Combi-melta, Wolf Claw x2
                     PA, Combi-plasma
                     PA, Combi-melta, powerfist

12 Blood Claws - Flamer, Power Weapon
5 Grey Hunters - Razorback, Plasma Gun, Standard
6 Grey Hunters - Razorback, Flamer, Standard
8 Grey Hunters - Drop Pod, Flamer, Standard

Land Speeder - Heavy Flamer and Mulitmelta x2

Vindicator
Land Raider Crusader
Long Fangs - 3xMissile Launcher, 2xLascannon.

Deployment and the Beginning

All the Tyranids deployed 12" away from my marines deployment quarter, with only the Ymgarls, Mawlocs and one of the other genestealers left in reserve. All the Space Wolves deployed, with the Long Fangs and scouts set up in the only bit of cover in the table quarter, the Blood Claws, Wolf Priest and a wolf claw Wolf Guard were in the Land Raider. The Rune Priest joined the Long Fangs and the Land Speeders lined up among the tanks.

The first Tyranid turn saw 6 of the bugs die to dangerous terrain, which was quite the bonus for the Space Wolves. The Long Fangs in cover took heavy fire from the Tyrant, his Guard and the Hive Guard. The only damage was a wound on the Rune Priest. All other Tyranid units moved forward, closing the distance between themselves and the marines. The Gargoyles on the Tyranid right flank swooped forward and assaulted the Long Fangs, getting wiped out in the process, but they did manage to claim the life of the Rune Priest which was a blow to stopping Tyranid powers such as Paroxysm and Leech Essence. The Vindicator was just in range for a strike from the Zoanthropes Warp Lance and as such lost the chance to fire next turn.

The reply from the Wolves saw the flamers come in to play, with many genestealers, gargoyles and termagants roasting in the promethium flame. The heavy weapons fire took wounds from the Hive Tyrant and his guard while the drop pod came down behind the Tyranid approach and began unleashing all the firepower it could at the Zoanthropes. The Razorbacks stood their ground and unleashed their heavy bolter rounds, claiming a wound on a Zoanthrope and a couple more termagants. The Land Raider took down 5 gargoyles while holding its position.

The start of turn two saw the arrival of the Ymgarl genestealers in a building just on the edge of the Space Wolves deployment zone, with them bursting forward the dangerous terrain claimed another Tyranid life. This however didnt stop the rampaging 'stealers and they reached and destroyed a Land Speeder, the resulting explosion killing two of them. A single Mawloc also arrived from reserve, exploding just into the action from under the Long Fang position, killing one of them. The Hive Tyrant moved forward, paroxysm unleashed on the Long Fangs they were reduced to 2 by the end of the assault. The drop podded marines took a lot of focussed fire from the termagants, reducing their numbers by a few, before being assaulted by them. The Wolves fought back and wiped the squad, but losing a two more members leaving three men left.

The lone wolf tried desperately to get in some monstrous creature bashing, but got caught by the three genestealers and broodlord. With Hypnotic gaze in full flow, the Lone Wolf and his companion were sliced up without landing a blow. At least he didn't give away a kill point! The remaining Long fangs were wiped out in the combat with the Tyrant. The scouts and Land Raider unloaded all their firepower into the Mawloc, causing four wounds, while one lot of Zoanthropes were smashed to pieces in close combat by the powerfist Wolf Guard.

The remainder of the battle saw a close escape from an emergency disembarkation by the Grey Hunters in a Razorback after it was swarmed by genestealers and eventually blown up, the resultant explosion killing enough of them to clear a hatch for the Hunters to get out. The Second Mawloc and remaining genestealers arrived to their right flank, by which point the battle was all but over. The marines cleared out the remaining little bugs and Zoanthropes, leaving only the two Mawlocs, Hive Tyrant and one guard, the Hive Guard, two termagants and the last genestealer brood on the table. The Wolves had their Wolf Priest leading Blood Claws survive intact at the end, along with the scouts, and all three Grey Hunter units. One Razorback was still functioning at the end, albeit without any weaponry.

The game was a tie at 8 kill points a piece, but for the sharp eyed of you, the Tyranids were later found to have fielded one more Elite unit than is allowed in the Force Organisation Chart. Moral victory for the Wolves!

Things to Learn From

Apart from taking a chance and splitting two troops on wiping out the termagants and Zoanthropes I don't think I could've done too much different in terms of directing the troops I had on the table. The list probably could've benefited from a second Rune Priest and this could've come from not using the Lone Wolf who had zero impact on the battle anyway. Hindsight is helpful in this instance, as usually the one Rune Priest and Lone Wolf excel in battles against the Tyranids. As a cheeky aside, I will also have to start checking my Tyranid opponents lists before we start to help eliminate any unfair advantages he may try to gain.

These battle reports always seem so long, so if you have read it all, well done, I hope you've enjoyed it and that you can find some useful information within.