Kill Team Game 2 - Tyranids and Smurfs

This was my second game of kill team I changed my kill team to the Ultramarines and my friend stayed with the Tyranid list form the last report.  The Marines were nothing special (with the current rules they can’t be special). For tech I took an Auspex, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher with Krack grenades and the reroll charm for the Sgt, who also had a Thunder Hammer.  All the Marines took the rapid fire bolters with the ceaseless special rule except one who had the Stalker Bolt Rifle. the mission was Duel of Wits.

Turning Point 1, Gun Line.  In the first turning point of this game the Marines decided to form a gun line on the high ground around objective 1, sadly it was too far away to control objective 1.  Meanwhile the Tyranids lurked, sneaked and scurried out of their corner securing objectives 2, 4 and 5. The fire from the marines was effective and two Geenstealers died and the Tyranid heavy gunner was injured but at the end of this turn it was 3 points to nothing for the bugs. Bolter discipline seemed to be an effective strategic ploy to double the effectiveness of the marines.  The grenade launcher supported by an Auspex combination was also strong (injuring the Tyranid warrior).

Turning Point 2, leap of faith, or being too high up.  With the Tyranid forces in the lead by victory points they attempt to pin the Marines in their current position by charging the Geenstealers at the center of the Marines.  One thing you learn about Marines in kill team is that the Intercessors are really not that good at fighting (close combat).  On the Marine Sgt’s activation he decides to leap into the melee to save his injured brothers form the Geenstealers.   Unfortunately even with a reroll he failed the leap from his vantage point onto the pipe and then the catwalk below and lands with the thump ending his turn.  There is more fighting and the Geenstealers do get pushed back but it is 6 to 0 at the end of the turning point, with the bugs controlling the same objectives and again being able to play a gambit on objective 2.

Turning Point 3, Mopping up the Bugs.  This turn brought a desperate struggle between the Tyranid Kill team leader and the marines contesting objective 3 and 4. The charge of the Tyranid was a bid of a rookie mistake since the Tyranid had only 2 wounds left and the marine had 8 wounds left.  This meant as long as the marine rolled 2 hits (one could get parried) the Tyranid had to die.  As well the Marine Sgt crack the skull of the other Tyranid Warrior with his hammer but being too far away to contest objective 2. The Turning Point ended with a score of 6 to 2 for the bugs, with the marines finally in control of more objectives.

Turning Point 4, too little too late.  Even with almost all the Tyranids incapacitated the marines were four points down and only a maximum of three to be gained this turn.  The Tyranids delay had worked, no doubt to provide some devastating effect on some other corner of the war ravaged city.

Close Combat (Fighting, as it is called).  Close Combat in Kill Team is a war or attrition.  Even the winner will take some damage, no matter the quality of their armor.  The only exception to this is the “one shot” charge.  If you can charge an opponent who has fewer wounds than your basic damage it is almost guaranteed you will kill them without taking any damage.  For instance, 3 dice at 4+ means close to a 7/8^th chance of getting one or more regular hits. 

Objectives and Victory Points.  This game was also a good example of killing without thinking.  The marines had only one warrior incapacitated while the Tyranids were virtually wiped out, yet it was a resounding Tyranid victory.  This was mostly due to the blood thirsty marine commander but also due to a poor plan to capture the objectives and certainly a poorly thought out deployment.  Deployment and Victory Points go hand in hand.

Deployment. In this game the deployment area was triangles in opposite corners.  Each corner had an objective just outside it and three more objectives were spread out diagonally between the other two corners. At first glance I was happy with my corner, since it had a very strong wall around my deployment area and objective.  What I learned was that from my objective I could not support other objective markers and from the wall I could not claim my objective.  This meant that claiming the objective took one marine out of the fight.  I also deployed to move into a gun line on the elevated wall, and while this did provide a vantage point from which to kill everything it was not close enough to other objectives to score points.  It is also a pain to climb down from, even if you fall.  After turning point 2, where I still had yet to score (2 points for most objectives controlled and 1 for a successful gambit) the best I could do was tie….