Round
9: 2500 pts
Graham
(Grey Knights)
Grey
Knight Brother Captain
Callidus
Assassin
10
x Grey Knight Strike Squad w/Psybolt, 2 x Psycannon
10
x Grey Knight Interceptor Squad w/Psybolt, 2 x Psycannon
5
x Grey Knight Terminators w/Incinerator
You
may have noticed that Graham was fielding slightly less than the full
2500 points. The reason for this is because it was decided that, for
the league's grand finale, my Tau would seek to disrupt the Grey
Knights' hold on the orbiting space station, a tile Graham had held
without interruption, under constant challenge, for three weeks in a
row. The space station is a series of interlocked corridors, like a
game of Space Hulk, rather than an open field, and since the internal
space is so much smaller the games were likewise scaled down. For
the final week, it was only a thousand points, with the further
restriction of no vehicles, and nothing that couldn't physically fit
inside the corridors (so no Riptides or Dreadknights or
Dreadnoughts). On top of this, the peculiarities of the station had
a number of effects, including prohibiting Deep Strike, Infiltrate or
Outflank.
Commander
w/Iridium Armour, Stimulant Injector, Shield Generator, 2 x Plasma
Rifle, Neuroweb System Jammer
3
x XV8 w/6 x Plasma Rifle, 3 x Flamer
3
x XV8 w/6 x Plasma Rifle, 3 x Flamer
5
x XV25
9
x Fire Warriors
9
x Fire Warriors
9
x Fire Warriors
9
x Fire Warriors
I
initially considered bringing XV88s with either the Advanced
Targeting System or Counterfire Defence System, but dropped them when
Matt ruled that they would need to be able to trace a line to their
targets through the corridors, using up their range as they went.
Instead, I went with a large amount of foot forces, to provide cover
to the two XV8 squads, who were my primary anti-Knights weapons
platforms. The XV25s were along as a unit for the Commander, who
would greatly benefit from his +1 BS relic, particularly since there
would be no point in bringing markerlights to a battle in which there
were, essentially, no good sightlines to exploit.
I
fully expected most of my cadre to die in those cramped corridors.
Graham
won the roll-off, and elected to go first. He deployed everything
but the Callidus, with the Brother Captain attached to the
Terminators, while I put my Fire Warriors out first, then the XV8s,
with my Commander and his stealth team in the centre. I was careful
to block as much of the Interceptor's 30” jump range as possible,
not wanting them to simply appear in my lines first turn and start
wreaking havoc in close combat. Failing to seize, the battle
began...
...
but not before Matt made an announcement; for the final battle, all
the relics had been stolen or sabotaged by perfidious Alpha Legion
forces. This was, frankly, a crushing blow to my strategy; the loss
of +1BS, Fearless and Hit and Run from my Commander was no small
thing. Graham, on the other hand, mentioned the loss of a +1 Mastery
level relic, but given that his psychic powers weren't likely to play
a huge role in the battle that didn't sound like much of a loss.
So,
on the back foot from the start, I watched Graham push out in the
corridors, then did the same; given that there was no shooting or
assault, the first turn went quickly. Turns in general went so
quickly, in fact, that I won't bother to mention when something
happened; we did away with the 5-7 turn limit and just played until
one force was wiped out.
With
my forces spread out, Graham rolled his Callidus in from reserves,
and set her tight against my lines. Graham targeted her initial D6
strikes at one of my XV8 squads, and initially claimed he had wiped
them out with three wounds, as her close combat attacks caused
Instant Death. A thorough perusal of the codex and Grey Knight FAQs,
however, gave no indication that her polymorphine attacks were close
combat, meaning that I went from losing an entire squad to a suit and
a half. The Callidus then opened fire on a unit of Fire Warriors,
unmolested by any interceptor fire as I'd been told there would be no
deep striking, and killed half the unit, though thankfully they did
not break. The Strike Squad headed towards the left-flank corridor,
while the Interceptors jumped across empty space (another Grey
Knights-only advantage; jet packs had to go around corridors, but
'teleporter' jump packs got to go between them) and put pressure high
up on the right-flank corridor. In return, a full squad of Fire
Warriors and the survivors of the mauled squad opened fire on the
Callidus, who survived thanks to 4+ FNP, while two squads bracketed
my intact XV8 squad moving up to the left corridor, and my Commander
and his stealth team were, honestly, kind of crowded into the middle.
Honestly, the space station did not reward armies that relied on
mobility, especially if they'd brought along decent-sized meat shield
units.
The
Interceptors jumped across empty space once more, landing in a gap
only just big enough for them, while the Callidus moved in for the
attack once again. The Interceptors managed to finish off the
crippled Fire Warrior squad, earning Graham First Blood, while the
Callidus went down to Overwatch fire as she tried to follow their
example, the Knights consolidating halfway around a corner again.
Pushing
up into the left corridor, I managed to lure the Strike Squad out
with a sacrificial Fire Warrior squad, only to annihilate them in
turn with my XV8s, clearing out that side of the table.
Unfortunately, Graham's Interecptors were running riot, shooting
another squad of Fire Warriors to death (three of four dead), and his
Terminators were pushing up the right corridor, which I couldn't get
to to put fire into it with the Interceptors in the way. I sent my
victorious XV8 squad up along the central transverse corridor, hoping
to flank the Terminators, but this ultimately proved a catastrophic
mistake; bad run and assault jump rolls left them crawling across the
board, with no ability to shoot at anything until it was much too
late. As much as the board hurt me, what with being almost
custom-built to favour Grey Knights, that was the move that
ultimately cost me the game.
Uh...
spoilers, I guess.
Anyway.
The Interceptors finally went down to concentrated fire, but by the
time they were finished off I had lost my weakened XV8 squad, half of
my remaining Fire Warrior squad, and two stealth suits. When
Graham's Brother Champion and Terminators moved in for the attack
they found themselves facing nothing like the kind of firepower they
should've, though it didn't all go Graham's way; attempting to soften
up my Commander's squad before the charge, he found his Incinerator
falling prey to the Neuroweb Jammer's Gets Hot, and his Brother
Captain's psychic attack (I forget what it was, at this point)
blocked by Deny the Witch. Unfortunately, it proved to be a
temporary reprieve, as Graham's charge slaughtered the stealth squad,
and his Brother Captain managed to slip a single wound through my
Commander's 2+ save in a challenge, his force weapon successfully
causing Instant Death, to give Graham Slay the Warlord.
With
just a single XV8 squad left, I approached the area where Graham's
Terminators were hiding, but ultimately the layout of the space
station left me with no chance; in order to get close enough to jump
around the corner and open fire, I had to get well inside the Grey
Knights' charge range, and I wouldn't even be able to Overwatch them
as I couldn't see them from their starting position. I considered
just jumping away, either forcing a stalemate draw or actually
requiring Graham to come out and take some firepower before managing
to finish me off, but ultimately I was so worn down that I just let
him finish me off.
An
ignominious end to what had been a solid mid-league recovery, but
ultimately it was still enough to put me solidly in second place,
eleven points ahead of my closest competitor, but twenty-seven points
behind Graham and his Grey Knights.
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