CHAOS SPACE MARINES versus Tau

Game: Warhammer 40,000 4th edition
Opponent: Wayne
Mission: Cleanse
Level: Gamma
1st turn: Tau
Points: 1000
Location: Sarawak
Background: 999.M41 The Third Sphere Colonists of Kauyon Vral make a surprise landing on Sarawak in Sub-Sector 2, The Halasus Marches. Although the planet is a largely insignificant agriworld Imperial observers believe the invasion could be a bridgehead for an attack on Manil, a neighbouring Forgeworld. Before the Imperium can react, the Tau invaders are engaged by mysterious Space Marines in black armour. Could they really be the remnants of the Exigators chapter?

Chaos Space Marines

• Chaos Lieutenant Lamprey - Mark of Chaos Undivided, Bolt Pistol, Daemonic Flight, Dark Blade, Daemonic Strength, Furious Charge
• 2 Obliterators
• Squad Infractis – 6 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt pistols and Close combat weapons, Aspiring Champion with Power fist
• Squad Profuge - 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, Plasma gun, Lascannon
• Squad Abraxar - 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, Plasma gun, Missile Launcher
• Squad Krall - 5 Chaos Marines, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, Autocannon
• 8 Furies
• Squad Imber - 6 Havocs, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Infiltrate, Bolt guns, 4 Heavy Bolters
  

Tau

• Ethereal A un El Porva
• Shasui Myen Thorn, XV8 crisis suit, Plasma, twin missile pod, Team leader, Hard wired multi tracker, Hard wired drone cont + 1 gun drone
• Team Sa'cea, 3 XV8 crisis suits, 2 x twin linked plasmas, 2 x drone controllers + 2 gun drones, Team Leader Shasui Sacea Mesme Strider, Plasma, twin missile pod, Hard wired multi tracker
• Team J'Karra, 3 XV 15 stealth suits
• 10 Fire Warriors, Shasui Tau Montyr
• 8 Fire Warriors
• 11 Kroot Mercenaries, Flak armour/leadership upgrade, Shaper Elexo Khan
• Hammerhead Gunship, Railgun, multi tracker, Decoy launchers, Burst cannons
• Shasui Sacea Montka, XV88 Broadside, Team Leader, Twin Plasmas, Multi Tracker, Hardwired drone cont + 1 gun drone
  

Terrain and Deployment
As this was a practice game for The Gauntlet tournament we tried to set up the tables as we might find them at Warhammer World - with very little terrain. Two table quarters had low, ruined shrines, while the other two had small woods in the corners. The majority of the board was flat and open, like a pool table.

Wayne won the dice off to choose the starting quarter and wisely picked one with ruined buildings, where he could set up a firebase. I had an all infiltrating army so Wayne was free to set up his army as he pleased.

As we both had infiltrators, we had to dice off to see who set up first. Wayne won again and placed his Kroot in the second building. I placed the Havocs in the small wood right in the corner of my starting quarter to oppose the Kroot. Wayne put his Stealth Team in the woods in the last free quarter. I could now just set up the remainder of my army but I had very little space to do so. I put the assault squad and Lieutenant front and forward to try and get to the firebase, with the rest of my army strung out to provide covering fire. The Furies and Obliterators were in reserve.

The game - Chaos Space Marines (by lone pilgrim)
It soon became clear that I had bungled my deployment severely in this game. The assault squad Infractis and Lieutenant Lamprey got hosed down by massed pulse rifle fire as they tried to attack Wayne's firing line. That meant the Furies had to be summoned deep in my own lines. In turn, that meant they couldn't assault on their arrival and they were then shot to pieces.

On the right my Havocs comfortably won the shoot out with the Kroot and wiped them out by turn four. Unfortunately for me it meant they had no targets for the rest of the game.

Things weren't going too well on my left, either. The Stealth Team began to roll up my lines, taking out several Marines. The Hammerhead pushed forward here, too, and soon I had lost the table quarter. I dropped the Obliterators here and they duly blatted the Hammerhead, but they couldn't see the Stealth Team who scooted away quickly.

In the final turns Wayne used the Tau's mobility well to capture two table quarters and win the game comfortably.

The game - Tau (by Wayne)
I won both dice rolls for the deployment and the first turn. I deployed my firebase (two fire warrior teams, broadside, ethereal) central to my table quarter, with the plasma totting crisis team behind them to react to where the inevitable assault was going to come from. I also won the roll to deploy infiltrators (Kroot and Stealth team), so therefore had my army spread over three table quarters whilst lone pilgrim had his pinned into one. This gave lone pilgrim no choice but to attack straight into the jaws of my firebase. Still I would only succeed if my dice rolling managed to kill everything assaulting.

Pilgrim attacked piecemeal, leaving units behind to shoot, deep striking his obliterators next to my speedy Hammerhead (but not a threat to the rest of my army). I only had to deal with a Chaos Lt, some marines and some furies, easy for a strong firebase to contend with. It was then just a case of picking off his remaining army bit by bit and claiming what table quarters I could.

Although it was an easy win, after deployment it became apparent that the game was going to be a lot harder for the Chaos, had lone pilgrim won the deployment, he would have had more cover to launch an attack from. The first turn would have meant getting some of his units into combat, or winning the infiltrators roll would have penned me in, forcing me to fight off an assault from 2 or maybe 3 directions. These three factors might have made the game different.

If I were commanding the Chaos army I would have deployed the Havocs around thirty inches away from Tau firebase (instead of in the far corner where the expendable Kroot could only be targeted) and attacked en masse with everything I possessed, culminating in the obliterators deep striking behind the firebase to destroy the stealth, crisis teams or ethereal.

Pilgrim's army is looking good again (the bastard!) as he is going for the best painted at The Gauntlet. I promised to play him again, but this time give him the choice of both deploying first and the first turn, to try and test my army out when the luck is going against it.

Result: Loss - Victoriously slaughtered.

Commendations

• Obliterators

Turning point
Deployment.

Learning points

• My strategy with this army was to use infiltrate to pick my fights and capture two table quarters right from the start. It didn't work. That was because Wayne had two infiltrating units of his own. He set up his main army up against the outside of his starting quarter, which pushed me back. Then he won the dice off to place infiltrators first, and promptly grabbed another quarter. I put my Havocs in the wrong place, which compounded my mistakes, then Wayne pinched a third quarter with his Stealths. Finally, I could only set my army up in a narrow deployment area, so I couldn't pick my fights at all. Back to the drawing board, I think.