"We're in the pipe, five by five."
-Cpl. Zerro, Valkyrie pilot, Xhorik D-99 4th Company
Background:
The war for Xhorik Prime had been raging for a year. Several Imperial settlements had been overrun by either Orks or the strange new Xenos menace. Kozar drop troop scouts and sniper teams had observed something unexpected: the Tyranids were seeking out and consuming liquid vehicle fuel. As a hydrocarbon, the fuel consisted of the same elements as all life (only extremely energy-dense) and could thus be used to rapidly grow the hive fleet more efficiently than the consumption of any lifeform. Raids were undertaken by veteran D-companies of drop troopers to destroy any fuel supplies that had fallen into Xenos control before it could be utilized by the hive.
Campaign Summary M32: The War of the Beast - The Third Xhorik War
Scenario:
We played the Raven Guard First Strike scenario from IA8: Raid on Kastorel-Novem. The drop troopers would be arriving via Deep Strike and had to destroy at least four of the six fuel tanks. The fuel tanks count as immobile vehicles with AV12 and any Vehicle Destroyed or Explodes! result would destroy it. Alternatively, all attacker units are assumed to be equipped with demo charges which can be attached by assaulting the fuel tank, causing them to automatically explode at the end of the assaulting player's next turn. Night Fighting would be in effect for the entire battle.
Pre-Game:
We played this scenario earlier in the campaign with the Blood Angels attacking an ork fuel depot. The ork defenders easily won. We had increased the size of both forces to make it a bigger battle, so we wondered if the larger forces favored the defender too much. We also realized that landing at a distance and trying to shoot both the defenders and the fuel tanks was futile; the reliable way to destroy them would be with the demo charges.
We decided to play it again with the points limit exactly as per the scenario.
Battle:
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| View from the north: six large fuel tanks are providing energy-dense feedstock for the hive. |
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| View from the south: broods of Tyranids patrol the captured Imperial compound. |
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| The Warriors maintain control of the nearby gaunts while the independent genestealers roam. |
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| View from the west: several tanks serve to re-fuel Valkyries at the landing pad. |
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| View from the east: the pumping station keeps the massive underground network of pipelines moving. |
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| The hum of Valkyries can be heard getting louder as they approach through the dark night sky. Silently, drop troops of the veteran 4th company jump from the rear hatch,, activating their grav chutes. |
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| Three veteran squads land in the clearing between two tanks on the south side of the compound. |
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| One Valkyrie dives down for an attack run. |
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| First melta stick lands amongst the pipes of the pumping station. |
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| Training their melta guns on the fuel tank, the superheated beams easily slice through the tanks and ignite the volatile contents within. The tank erupts in an enormous mushroom cloud! A shower of flaming liquid and debris covers the squad, taking four brave drop troopers out of action. |
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| A few genestealers are also caught in the blast. |
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| Plumes of black smoke billow from the burning fuel tank. |
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| The Valkyrie directs its considerable firepower into one of the fuel tanks near the landing pad. |
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| The tank explodes as the Valkyrie soars over it. |
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| View from the east: two fuel tanks burn before the Tyranids even knew they were under attack. |
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| View from the south: the Tyanids prepare to neutralize and consume the attacking lifeforms. |
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| View from the west: the Warriors order a counterattack.. |
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| The Warriors approach the drop troopers who are preparing to set demo charges. |
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| A squad of veterans works frantically to attach demo charges to the tank while the massive Warriors approach. |
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| The Valkyrie crew cheer the destruction of the fuel tank and search for their next target. |
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| The Warriors land a direct hit with the barbed strangler, killing most of the squad. |
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| The drop troopers attach demo charges to two more fuel silos, guaranteeing their destruction. |
Post-Game:
Well, that certainly turned out differently than the first time we played! A lightning strike raid by the drop troopers to destroy the four fuel silos in two turns. The game was over in half an hour.
The drop troops were able to field a large number of units for the small game size. They were lucky enough to get four squads and a flier arriving on turn one, enough to overwhelm the relatively sparse defenders on the east side of the table.
This was a great opportunity for the drop troopers to shine. They lack the staying power for the typical 40k slugfest where both sides beat each other's brains out for five or six turns. A scenario like this enables them to use their strengths: rapid, selective deployment and short-range firepower to take out their targets.
The scenario seems to be very all-or-nothing, given that both games produced lopsided results, but with opposite outcomes. Still, it was a fun change of pace from the standard "line up and smash each other" battles.
And that wraps up the most intense weekend of 40k we have ever played: six games in three days. It was really fun to get back to the simplicity and fast pace of 4th edition for a change of pace from Horus Heresy.
