Battle for Arrakis: Phase 1

Orangenemo (Tyranids) and IBM (Dark Angels) fought a battle on Saturday.

Points: 1000
Rulebook: Planetstrike
Mission: Forlorn Hope
Attacker: Tyranids
Defender: Dark Angels

Tyranids:

Hive Tyrant
Lictor
Termagaunt Brood (16)
Spinegaunt Brood (14)
Genestealer Brood (9)
Tyranid Warrior Brood (5)
Zoanthrope
Gargoyle Brood (8)
Spore Mines (5)
Ripper Swarm (5)

Dark Angels:

Librarian
Tactical Squad Alpha (5)
Tactical Squad Beta (5)
Tactical Squad Delta (10)
Razorback
Predator
Whirlwind
Rhino
Devastator Squad (5)
Attack Bike Squadron (2)

Arrakis, imperial desert planet

An advanced Tyranid strike force is attempting to plant a homing beacon. This guide the first wave of Tyranids in to establish a beachhead on the planet. The Imperium has taken no chances with the defense of key areas of such a valuable planet as Arrakis and have called in the lengendary Dark Angel space marines. Their mission is to prevent the Tyranids from planting this beacon... at all costs.

Deployment:


Awaiting the Tyranid attack they know is coming, two space marines atop the Fortress take the opportunity to break the ice with a particularly grizzled veteran.

"Maximus," whispers one, "get his attention."

"No, you get his attention."

The leather-faced marine overhears his comrades-in-arms and decides to be nice. He decides to initiate the conversation. "So, what do you want to hear? You want to hear about how I once saw a man cut in half by a Leaper, you wanna hear about a man slowly melted by gallons of xeno stomach acid or do you want to hear about Captain Jack?"

"Who is Captain Jack?"

The grizzled veteran looks thoughtfully out beyond the parapets into the distant desert. His eyes lock on some imagined scene unfolding somewhere out there on the plains. "He's a smart bastard, that's what he is. You think xenos are all dumb animals? This one is cunning. I ran into him twice before. Both times I was the only survivor. The last time we met, he gave me this." The man turns and reveals a face half-encased in metal. Embedded in the center of this metal plate is the red lens of a bionic eye. "He likes to get in amongst you and believe me, you don't want him getting close enough to touch. And, you think you are safe here in this fortress? Think again, no fortifications I've ever seen can keep him out. He'll tear this hunk of concrete down around us."

The man pauses for a moment. His eyebrows suddenly arch. He looks upward. The two young marines follow his gaze skyward where a dozen specks now pepper the sky. "That'll be them," says the veteran, "pucker up boys!"

Turn 1:

The Tyranids begin their assault with 6 Firestorms and a spore mine bombardment. The barrage leaves both quad guns on the bastions in smoking ruins, both lascannons destroyed, the whirlwind immobilized and its missle launcher destroyed. Critically, the bastion housing Tactical Squad Beta was pummeled to dust leaving several marine brothers dead, but the squad collects itself and readies for the Tyranid advance.

The Tyranids lose both the spinegaunts and genestealers on the drop, dropping the beacon in the middle of the battlefield.















The Rhino rolls in from the Tyranid deployment area and unloads Tac Squad Delta. The termagaunts go down under a hail of fire.

The rippers suffer horrendous casualties from the devastator squad and Tactical Squad Beta. The Razorback shoots at some rustling leaves in the oasis but seems to have missed the elusive Lictor.

The heavy bolters on the remaining bastion gun down a Warrior.







Turn 2:

The gargoyles drop in, take some shots at Tac Squad Delta and kills a couple marines. Captain Jack charges the Predator and explodes it. The Lictor and rippers charge Tac Squad Beta, the Lictor kills some marines.

The Zoathrope summons the power of the hive mind and explodes the remaining bastion with a warp blast. The Tyranid Warriors shoot down some more marines from Tac Squad Alpha. The combined psychic screams from Captain Jack and the Zoanthrope are too much for Tac Squad Alpha and they flee.








The sergeant in Tac Squad Beta crushes the Lictor with one blow from his powerfist. The remaining ripper is killed by his squadmate. The marine attack bikes zoom onto the board and shoot down the Zoanthrope with their meltaguns and bolters. Tac Squad Delta attempts to wipe out the gargoyles with rapid fire and flames but one gargoyle survives. Devastator shots at the Tyrant are ineffectual.

Tac Squad Alpha remembers that they are marines not guardsmen and rally.

The missile silo opens and a salvo is unleashed on the Warriors who, when the dust settles, are left with one model and one wound.







Turn 3:

The Tyrant grabs the beacon and charges the Fortress attempting to knock it down and subsequently plant the beacon on that objective. The tower proves resilient and resists the pummeling.

The Warrior charges the now rallied Tac Squad Alpha killing one marine. The gargoyle, continuing its delaying tactic, charges Tac Squad Delta doing no wounds but suffering no wounds in return.





Tac Squad Delta finally kills the last gargoyle in close combat. The rhino shoots down a drifting spore mine. The Devastators and the Marine Bikes, which have now moved closer to the Tyrant, unload on the Tyrant. Only the two meltagun shots are able to punch through the Tyrant's Warp Field and deal two wounds to him.

After trading blows back a forth with no result the last marine from Tac Squad Alpha bludgeons the Warrior to death with the butt end of his lascannon.







Turn 4:

The Tyrant tries another tactic and moves onto the missile silo, planting the beacon there. He turns to the Fortress and this time manages to topple it. The Devastator squad inside are reduced to two marines.















The Bikes move in and Tac Squad Beta moves in. The entire marine army unloads fire onto the Tyrant hoping to destroy him but no wounds get through.

In a suicidal charge, Tac Squad Beta engages the Tyrant in close combat only to be slaughtered to a man.












Endgame:

Beacon has been planted and was not cast down in the opponent's turn. Tyranids win.

The veteran looks around at the rubble that was once the mighty fortress. A few meters away are the broken corpses of his two young friends. He shakes his head.

The Tyrant screams. The veteran's ears begin to bleed, but that is the least of his concerns. He knows what is coming. The sunlight dims as overhead thousands of xeno pods blacken the sky.