My first game against Clausewitz and I decided to try an odd Tau list. Only issue was the guard list Clausewitz came up with!
There was one small stumbling block in that Clauswitz has been using the 2008 handbook so we used those stats for the guard in this game.
In writing this report I've also discovered I went 175 points over the 3000! I was playing with the list just before the game and must have messed
up my excel sheet and missed one unit of Barracuda's off my autosum column. I apologise to Clausewitz for this oversite.
Rules Used
Core rules with 2008 errata/faq.
Tau 5.1
Steel legion from the 2008 Handbook.
Armies.
Tau
Fire Warriors + Etherreal + Devilfish
Kroot
Fire Warriors
Kroot
Fire Warriors
Kroot
Fire Warriors
Kroot
Crisis Cadre + Shas'O + Skyray + Stealth
Orca
Orca
Orca
Orca
Barra
Barra
Guard
Regimental HQ
Leman Russ company + Hydra
Super Heavy Tank company (2 Shadowsword, 1 Baneblade) + Hydra
Shadowsword
Shadowsword
Hydra Battery
Warhound
Warhound
Thunderbolts
Deployment.
Firewarriors black garrison the left Tau objective mostly in a wood on overwatch. Firewarriors green garrison on overwatch in the open on the right hand side. Firewarriors white garrison the woods in front of the blitz.
Remaining formations setup as shown below.
Turn One.
Initiative - Guard
Fearing four air assaults the Leman Russ are ordered onto overwatch. They discuss it and ask the Supreme Commander for a second opinion. He confirms the order but the tanks still refuse! They stay put and remove the generated blast marker.
Barracuda 1 are put onto cap. Looking back I've no idea why I thought this a good plan! The T'bolts were always going to be on CAP so what was I going to intercept!
T'bolts leave the ground and head for there preplanned loiter co-ordinates on CAP.
Feeling brave the Orca carrying the green kroot come in to air assuaul the warhound 1. As all the hydra's are in range the T'bolts are not called in. The hydra's open up and hit the flyer 3 times but no damage is done. In the resulting meele the warhound loses one shield and one DC to no damage to the kroot. The kroot win the roll off and the titan breaks and runs behind the regimental HQ. The kroot consolidate into the near by buildings.
Warhound 2 advances around the building and unloads all its weapons into kroot green. 4 die and the broken remnants move back to the buildings in the center of the battlefield.
Firewarriors green double forwardto occupy the buildings just in the guard half.
The regimental HQ go on overwatch
Firewarriors black dig in deeper and go back on overwatch
The Hydra battery goes on overwatch
Firewarriors whtie go on overwatch
Shadowsword 1 goes on overwatch
Bored with the inactivity the Crisis suits march forward and occupy the buildings on the tau right flank.
The super heavy company advance and shoot kroot green. 3 hits are enought to wipe out Kroot green.
The orca carrying the white kroot enters the field of battle. It lands behind the woods on the guard left flank and the kroot disembark.
Shadowsword 2 doubles forward and targets the orca that dropped off the white kroot. It misses.
Mech firewarriors march forward and hide behind the buildings containing the green firewarriors.
With so much overwatch and flak the remaining tau air formations stand down
End Phase.
The orca that dropped off the green kroot leaves via the wrong edge and takes 2 BM. The orca that dropped off the white kroot has to run all the flak. 3 hits cause 2 points of damage destroying the flyer.
Barracuda's and T'bolts remain on CAP If putting the Barracuda's on CAP was a mistake keeping them there was sheer lunacy!
Rallying
Tau
Pass -
Fail -
Guard
Pass - Warhound 1
Fail -
Turn Two
Initiative - Tau
The empty orca is ordered to ground attack in an attempt at flak supression. It is shot at by one (yes one) hydra that scores 2 hits. 2 failed saves later brings down another orca
Warhound 1 doubles round the back of the woods to shoot at the white kroot. 3 kroot survive to cower in the corner of the woods. I really should have retained and done something with the kroot I'd placed deep last turn. Even had they died in the ow fire from the Reg HQ it would have used up its activation. Not retaining got them killed before I ever used them
Firewarriors green go on overwatch now they feel save in the buildings
Hydra's reset overwatch
Barracuda 2 are ordered to ground attack. They target Shadowsword 2. One plane is brought down by flak but the other manages to do one damage point to the super heavy.
Shadowsword 2 marshalls. It shoots at kroot white, wiping the broken formation out. It then clears all blast markers
Firewarriors black reset overwatch
Super heavy tank company doubles forward. They shoot at the mech firewarrios killing 2 units of warriors and 3 devilfish.
The crisis suits double forward to shoot at the super heavy tank company. The lone hit is saved.
The tau retain to air assault the super heavy tank company with kroot black. The orca has to brave 4 hydars to try this. The flak is impressive again hittin the flyer 5 times. This weight of fire is too much for the weak armoured transport and it crashes into the ground with no survivors! Wow, this guard flak is just brutal!
Keen to push their adavantage the lemain russes advance. They open up on the crisis suits, generating 15 hits. When the dust settles only 3 suits and the skyray are left. They break and try to get into the cover of the central buildings but end up just short.
The mech firewarriors marshall. They move back towards the right hand tau objective and clear 3 bm's.
Warhound 2 advances and shoots the broken crisis suits. 2 hits leaves the formation with a single unit of suits.
The last orca stands down
End Phase
Barracuda 2 flies off through the flak. The lone plane manages to jink away from the 2 hits genereated. Barracuda 1 leave CAP Finally I realised my mistake!
T'bolts remain on CAP.
Rallying
Tau
Pass - Crisis
Fail - Mech Firewarrior
Guard
Pass - SuperHeavy Company
Fail -
Turn Three
Initiative - Guard
The super heavy tank company double forward to shoot up firewarrios black. The firewarriors use their overwatch shoot to supress the hydra. No hits are scored!
Warhound 2 retains and engages firewarriors black. The fight goes badly for the tau, not suprising with the super heavies all in support range! They lose by 7 and are wiped out. The lone crisis suit was in supoprt range so is also broken.
Barracuda 1 ground attack the super heavies free to do so as their attached hydra is supressed. They target the hydra (mixed WE and AV formation) and destroy it.
Warhound 1 doubles forward and attmepts to shoot firewarriors green, but misses.
Mech firewarriors are ordered to marshall, fail to understand and sit still and remove all blast markers.
Shadowsword 2 advances and shoots at firewarriors green. One unit is destroyed by the volcano cannon.
The lone plane of barracuda 2 is sent on a suicide mission. He approaches the hydra battery and has to suffer the attacks from all 4 remaining aa tanks. The flak is yet again impressive with 5 hits being scored. The tau pilot jinks for all he is worth and some how survives!
The leman russes adavance and target firewarriors green. Fearing the worst they use their overwatch to supress one russ. 7 hits are scored but the buildings prove to tough as all the saves are made!
In a desperate bid the final orca air assault is unleashed on warhound 1. The T'bolts finally decide its time to attack and approach the flyer. Defensive fire down one T'bolt but the remaining pilot flys on. He score one hit and ground flak from one hydra cause 2 more! This has to be the most effective guard flak i've ever seen!. However only one point of damage is done and the kroot debus to attack the titan. The titan takes another point of damage but kills 3 kroot this time. The titan wins the combat and the 3 surviving kroot break into the woods ahead of them.
The hydras fail to reset overwatch and clear the bm.
Firewarriors white attempt to go on overwatch and fail. They clear the bm.
Shadowsword 1 advances and shoots at firewarrior green. It misses!
The regimental HQ now adavances and also targets firewarrior green. 4 hits this time manage to kill one unit and the formation is finally broken. They retreat.
End Phase
It was now getting late and the current score was 1-0 to the guard. If I rallied either the crisis or kroot the game should go to turn 4. I rolled for the crisis and passed.
At this point I conceeded the game to Clausewitz. There was no way the tau could force a win from this position, even a draw was beyond their grasp. A 4-0 win or better was looking likely.
Well played Clausewitz and I look forward to a rematch.
