Battle Report: Clash of the Titans

Well this is my second 2000 battle in the last 2 days, lots of fighting and its great to finally be able to clash at that points level. This game was against an experienced Space Wolves player and there were a total of 13 armored vehicles on the field, 10 of them were tanks. Lots and lots of armor and lots and lots of guns. The lists were as follows:

Space Wolves
-Wolf Priest, herbs, frost axe, plasma pistol (attatched to blood claws one)
-Rune Priest, storm caller, frost axe, plasma pistol (attatched to blood claws two)
-Venerable Dreadnaught, assault cannon, DCCW
-Grey Hunters one (10), melta gun, plasma gun, power weapon
-Grey Hunters two (6), melta gun, plasma gun, power fist
Razorback, twin linked lascannon
-Blood Claws one (10), melta gun, x2 plasma pistols, power fist, power weapon
-Blood Claws two (10), melta gun, x2 plasma pistols, power fist, power weapon
-Assault Marines (5), power weapon
-Long Fangs (5), lascannons x4
-Land Raider
-Whirlwind

Or'es Shi
-Shas'O Ximoro'An, Fusion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Shield Generator, HW MT
-Shas'el Ren'va, Plasma Rifle, Cyclic Ion Blaster, HW MT
-Crisis One (3)
Team leader, Plasma Rifle, Missil Pod, Targeting Array, HW MT
Shas'ui x2, Twin Linked Missil Pod, Targeting Array
-Crisis Two (2)
Team leader, Plasma Rifle, Missil Pod, Targeting Array, HW MT
Shas'ui x1, Twin Linked Missil Pod, Targeting Array
-Stealth Team (6)
-Firewarrior Team One (10), shas'ui, bonding knife
Devilfish APC, Multi Tracker, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers, SMS
-Firewarrior Team Two (10), shas'ui, bonding knife
Devilfish APC, Multi Tracker, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers
-Firewarrior Team Three (10), shas'ui, bonding knife
Devilfish APC, Multi Tracker, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers
-Pathfinder Team (6), shas'ui, bonding knife, Rail Rifle x2, x2 Gun Drones
Devilfish APC, Multi Tracker, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers
-Piranha, Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers
-Piranha, Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers
-Hammerhead One, Railgun, Burst Cannons, Multi Tracker, Decoy Launchers, Target Lock
-Hammerhead Two, Railgun, Burst Cannons, Multi Tracker, Decoy Launchers, Target Lock
-Hammerhead Three, Ion Cannon, Burst Cannon, Multi Tracker, Decoy Launchers, Target Lock

The Terrain was a rather complex city setup. There was a large ruined bridge in the center. A tall building in the lower right and upper left corners with this maze of ruined walls in the upper right and lower left corners. Two smaller ruined buildings were in the middle of my deployment with some small bits of barricades in the upper middle of the board and a some various other little barricades and barbed wire spread around.

Deployment saw the long fangs in the left building with Grey Hunger One below them. In the right maze from right to left was the Land Raider, Dreadnaught, Razorback with Grey Hunter Two and Whirlwind. Blood Claw one with the Wolf Priest went right of the Land Raider and Blood Claw two went right of the Long Fangs. Assault squad went left of Whirlwind.

Hammerhead one went behind the building on the right, Pathfinders used scout move to get onto it and their fish went up the right. Hammerhead two went behind one of the middle buildings. Hammerhead three went inside one of the buildings. Firewarrior Team one went to the left of Rail One with the Shas'O to the right. Firewarrior Team two went behind Hammerhead three with Crisis Two right of Rail Three. Crisis one went inside one of the middle buildings slightly to the left infront of Hammerhead two. Shas'el went behind crisis one and Stealths infiltrated forward of Crisis one behind a small cathedral piece that was infront of the Long Fangs building. Firewarrior Team three went into the maze on the left.

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Turn 1
Marines of course
Hunter Killer managed to catch Hammerhead Two and blasted it to shreds after three lascannons failed to damage it. Ionhead was shaken. One of the shas'ui from crisis one was wounded. Land Raider immobolized itself from moving through dangerous terrain. Assault squad and Blood Claws squads one and two moved forward. As did the razorback.

Tau
Hammerhead one moved out and left. Pathfinders fished continued up right and shot at Blood Claw one as did Firewarrior Team ones fish. Got a markerlight hit on the Land Raider and Rail Rifles killed one Assault Marine. Railhead fired on Land Raider with markerlight hit but... rolled a one. Ones were being rolled like crazy by both players. Out of 20 dice rolled in shooting by me alone there were 12 ones. Yes 12. Go figure. Stealths gunned down one long fang. Crisis one killed one from blood claw two and shas'el snuck forward behind cover. Piranhas and Shas'O moved up the right. Firewarrior Team two moved next to the wreck of Hammerhead two.

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Turn 2
Marines
Venerable moved forward and gunned down Hammerhead one. Hammerhead three was shaken again and one crisis suit from team one was killed as were two stealth suits. Razorback moved more forward and dropped out its marines who fired on Team one's Devilfish but failed to damage it.

Tau
Crisis two managed to down the razorback and two jumped out of their fish and gunned down two of the six marines in Grey Hunger two. Pathfinders fired their markerlights on the Land Raider but Piranha one failed to damage and 2 was out of range. Shas'O and both Piranhas had moved left, Pathfinder fish moved forward and fired on Blood Claw one some more killing another one with help from Team ones Devilfish. Crisis one shot at Blood Claw two killing one.

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Well by this point the game was going rather poorly for both of us. Rolling was terrible Ive never seen so many 1s before it was horrid. There had been plenty of shooting all around as both armies just let rip but all around the Tau werent doing so well and the Space Wolves were pressing forward, If I cant down the Land Raider and Dread soon Ill be in real trouble. I need to clear the right of anti tank and quickly. If I can establish superiority in the right I have a chance of winning even if I cant hold onto the left.

Turn 3
Marines
Dreadnaught moved forward and fired on the crisis suits but failed to damage. The Land Raider blew off Piranha One's Fusion Blaster. The Whirlwind fired on the Pathfinders killing both drones, they failed their leadership and fell back. Blood Claws one continued forward into the building and blew off the Burst Cannon on the Pathfinders Devilfish. Assault squad cought crisis one in assault but no damage on either side.

Tau
Firewarrior Squad three unloaded its cargo infront of the Long Fangs firebase joined by the Shas'el and Stealths they gunned down two more of the Long Fangs and the remaining two fell back. They also killed a fair number of the grey hunters from grey hunter one. Firewarrior team two fired on blood claw one along with the Shas'O killing a few of them. Firewarrior team one unloaded from their fish and fired on Grey Hunter two leaving one. Crisis two downed the venerable dread and Ionhead fired on the whirlwind stunning it. Piranha two destroyed the Land Raider woohoo thats twice now a Piranha has killed one and each now has one to its name. These things rock. Pathfinders Piranha hid in the upper right corner now gunless and tank shocking useless against so many melta and plasma it was hiding.

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Turn 4
Marines
Grey Hunter one moved forward and so did Blood Claw one and two. Blood Claw one shot down Firewarrior Team three's Devilfish but the drones survived though entangled now. Blood Claw one fired on Ionhead but did no damage. Long Fangs marched forward. Last marine of Grey Hunter two charged Firewarrior Team one killing one. Assault squad killed crisis one and colsolidated right.

Tau
Firewarrior Team one and two fired on Blood Claw one killing all but the wolf priest and 3 marines. Firewarrior team three shot down two marines from Grey Hunter one and Shas'el and stealths fired on Blood Claw two. Without anywhere to run to stealths assaulted Blood Claw two but failed to do any damage and were killed. Piranha two moved forward and downed the Whirwind. A Land Raider and Whirlwind for the little Piranha... man thats sweet. Drones from both Piranhas detatched and charged last marine of Grey Hunter two but failed to kill him. Firewarrior one lost combat losing another two but managed to break free thanks to the drones.

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Well now my luck is turning up and the damage is starting to add up on the Space Wolves. Things have finally swung in my direction and the marines are suddenly starting to feel the hurt of Tau guns. Victory is not assured but Im starting to make up the losses. Now those Blood Claws and the Long Fangs need some killing.

Turn 5
Marines
Ionhead lost its turret to Long Fangs. Grey Hunter One assaulted Firewarrior three, lost one marine and two Firewarriors. Moral passed they pile in. Assault squad killed one of crisis one, team leader passed moral. Blood Claw two marched forward but couldnt target the Shas'el and couldnt assault the Firewarriors so stayed in the cathedral. Grey Hunter two killed a drone but leadership was passed and they all piled in more. Long Fangs shot down Firewarrior Team one's Devilfish. Blood Claw one shot off the Ionhead's turret after marching forward. Assault squad charged into crisis two killing it and consolidated into Firewarrior Team two.

Tau
Ionhead and remaining combat worthy Devilfish gunned down three remaining marines from Blood Claw one leaving the Wolf Priest who the Shas'O promptly smote. Hah yet another commander kill for my Shas'O. Grey Hunter one finished off Firewarrior Team three after losing a couple more marines leaving just two the survivors marched towards the cathedral. Firewarrior One had regrouped. Firewarrior Team two killed the last three marines in the assault squad taking only one cassualty.

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Turn 6
Marines
Blood Claw two kept marching after the Shas'el but couldnt catch him. Nothing left on the right, Long Fangs failed to hit anything. Fight still progresses with Grey Hunter two, no damage all around.

Tau
Shas'el killed a marine from Blood Claw two but there were still 5 or 6 marines and the Rune Priest. One more drone lost to remaining member of Grey Hunter two but he survived more.

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Gah the last few turns were bad for everyone. Both of us were getting very tired of this. The game had been going on for hours with 4000pts of troops on the field and so much armor the combat was insane. 8 Vehicles were downed total and the combat was bloody and brutal all around. These last few turns however had degenerated into a lot of close combat which was bad for me. Tau are rotten in close combat as you all know so the wolves managed to make up quite a few points killing both Firewarrior Team three, the Stealth team and Crisis one and two. That hurt but lets see if it managed to pull a tie...

End of Game

Results
Space Wolf Cassualties
-Wolf Priest
-10 Marines from Blood Claw one
-5 Marines from Blood Claw two
-3 Marines from Long Fangs
-Razorback
-5 Marines from Grey Hunter two
-8 Marines from Grey Hunter one
-Land Raider
-Whirlwind
-Venerable Dread

Tau Cassualties
-3 Crisis Suits from team one
-2 Crisis Suits from team two
-6 Stealth Suits
-6 or so Gun Drones from various tanks
-Hammerhead One
-Hammerhead Two
-10 Firewarriors from Team three
-Devilfish from Firewarrior team 3
-Devilfish from Firewarrior Team 1
-6 Pathfinders
-1 Firewarrior from Team 2
-3 Firewarriors from Team 1

Estimated Minor Victory for the Tau

We never actually counted the points but given the cost of the units I did destroy and having half points for pretty much every squad left from the wolves with I think the exception of Blood Claw two thats quite a bit. The Space Wolves did some nasty damage but I still had quite a few vehicles left which he did not get points for and no half damage on those units left. The loss of the suits hurt but werent enough to sway things. It was close but a minor victory was called for the Tau. So no despite the close combat the wolves didnt managed to pull the tie and the Tau were victorious. I was surprised I lost so many suits I normally take most of my losses in the Firewarriors but more than half of those survived actually almost 2/3 of them were left by the end. Team two took little damage and the cassualties to team one were not heavy either. All told a brutal and massive battle but despite horrendous luck all around I managed to do just a little more damage to my enemy than he did to me.

I was greatly pleased with the Piranhas. I was betting on them getting destroyed and hoping they took down the Land Raider if my railheads failed which they did but the little fish picked up the slack greatly and while one lost its fusion blaster the other downed both the Land Raider and the Whirlwind. My Shas'O also killed the Wolf Priest personally so some vengeance there and another commander kill for his record. Not only that the wolf priest in question had a fearsome reputation at the hobby shop and normally not only withstood a lot of fire but did a lot of damage and he did do some nasty feats in blowing off the Ionheads gun with a random plasma pistol shot but he couldnt hold up to my Shas'O's Fusion Blaster. The Pathfinders on the other hand greatly failed me. They killed a single assault marine and their markerlight hits did absolutely no good. The Stealths did some damage as did the Firewarriors and the Shas'el managed to survive despite being in a bad spot.

As for my tactics my origional placement wasnt bad but after Hammerhead two which was supposed to support the stealths, crisis one and Firewarrior team three on the left. Without it they had problems and I did not have enough of my forces in the area to support after the Railhead went down. The Shas'el greatly helped mowing down more than his fair share of marines but it wasn't enough. I should have pulled them back to the right to minimize losses but oh well hindsights a bit... ahem you know.

All in all a fun and brutal battle even if it did take a long time and luck for both players was dreadful. It was also really impressive to see my full Mechanized Army fielded, I was at a nice 1994pts with room for another 5pt upgrade if I wanted. With 7 tanks and 2 smaller vehicles that was a lot of armor on the field. I hope you enjoyed the report and questions and comments are welcome as always.

Now because I can a little fluff:

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Shas'O Ximoro'An kicked a fallen helmet over the field watching it as it bounced off the wrecked hull of one of his fallen vehicles. Losses had not been light many of the cadres veterans had been lost and even those who survived would not be combat worthy for some time. Ren'va had managed to escape the collapsed western flank somehow. Still the battle had been one if only just. The Space Marines had taken heavy losses aswell and their right and center had completely fallen. He had personally gunned down one of the Marine commanders. There was some satisfaction in that act.

"Shas'O!" Called Ren'va his shining armor glinting in the sunset as he trudged over to his commander.

"Ah Shas'el, how is the cadre?" O'An asked turning to his second.

"Well its alright I guess, we won and the line was held despite our losses. The Marines were driven back and we are clear for lift off when your ready Shas'O we can make repairs en route." Ren'va said as usual reporting with his own oppinion instead of simple facts as most others did. It was a useful trait most of the time.

O'An sighed and looked back across the field. Ruined buildings were all around and so were the wrecked and battered hulls of more than half a dozen downed vehicles smoke still curling into the sky in thick sheets. In the distance the surviving Marines had hastily withdrawn though they were still nearby. Ready to come back and recover their fallen when the Tau had withdrawn. O'An walked over to the corpse of the hero he had slain. He turned his Fusion Blaster on the body destroying it in a rather grisly way.

"What are you doing?" Ren'va said approaching.

"Do not allow them to recover their fallen, these enemies are relentless. The Fio have speculated that they recover something from their fallen to help replace their numbers. This cannot be allowed. Destroy the bodies and remove our dead. Tell the fourth cadre to evac when we are finished. The contingent will depart at sunrise. The road to Medusa continues." O'An replied stomping off towards the waiting transports where the survivors of the battle were busy loading the fallen and wounded.

"Hmm..." Ren'va turned to look at the spread of bodies around him. He walked towards the nearest Space Marine bodies and turned his guns on them. In his oppinion it was a waste of ammunition but it was a small vengeance for the days losses and was somehow... satisfying. He quickly quashed those thoughts they would do him no good. He motioned over some suits from the fourth cadre to assist him and set about completing his assigned task.

If they kept getting delayed like this it would be weeks before they reached their assignment on Medusa V. Ximoro'An's patience was running out.