MARGARET RIVER (Western Australia) GAME 1
Vior'la Tau vs Ork GargantsThis was an unusual match; the Tau featured a large amount of air assets (AX-10 formation, Sunshark formation, Orca, Protector Spacecraft) and the Orks had not even a single fighter bomba. This meant that the Tau had total air superiority for the entire game but with the challenge of having almost 1000 pts less on the table to actually claim objectives with.
The battle would also pit one of the very shootiest armies in Epic against one of the best combat armies, and the Ork titans against some of the best Titan Killers available in the 41st century.
The WAAAAAAAAAAAGH vs The Greater Good
Vior'la Tau Firewarriors with an attached Cadre Fireblade (FF4+) garrison in frozen trenches built by a statically-minded, inferior race.
Riptides backed up by shielded missile drones form the Break the Spirit formation, and take a central position under the flak umbrella
On the far left flank, another riptide formation prepares to rush objectives on the other half of the map.
This frozen landscape is one of the new Frontline gaming mats, a 180cm x 120cm mouse pad. On the right hand side, massive Ork Mega-Gargant warmachines are being deployed, supported by formations of tanks and infantry.
The diametrically different approaches to the game each army prefers is demonstrated in the placement of the objectives, so here is a quick look at objective placement:
[] The Blitzkrieg objectives are most valuable (to the enemy) and must be on the player's board edge. The Ork Blitz is placed first and centrally, as its guards want to reach the Tau quickly.
[] The Tau objective is placed on the flank (bottom left) to be as far from the Orks as possible.
[] The Ork secondary objectives must be placed at least 30cm from any other objective, and are placed near to the Tau Blitz. This is common practise for orks and assault armies, who want to grab all 3 at once if they can. The fact the Orks feature Greater Gargants make this positioning even more reasonable - one large unit can hold as many objectives as they can get within 15cm of, and the Orks want to make one point on the board valueable, and hit it with the brunt of their army.
[] The Tau objectives are placed far away down the other side of the map. Tau move faster and have more cheap 'disposable' units like piranha and tetra skimmers that can take far fling objectives easily, and even more importantly want to draw the Orks in that direction to split their forces.
START!The game beings with a sun shark bomber strike on a packed formation.
A mega-gargant rolls forward towards the objectives clustered closely together near the Tau blitz, and opens fire on tau scout skimmers as it goes. This warengine has 12 reinforced armour damage points and rolled 11 shields - even using an army with ranged macro weapons, markerlights, two titan killing aircraft and a double pin-point attack titan killing space craft it would be almost impossible to kill both this and the other on the far flank, so a decision was made to not even try. This one would easily threaten 3 objectives, but the other was the Ork 'Break the Spirit'.
A Tau tetra radios in to base as a massive ork formation surges forward. This was his last message, as the double moving orks still found time to dakka-dakka into the unit.
More Orks tripling forward, ready to launch assaults at the start of turn 2.
This disabled war engine was one of the Ork objectives, and the firewarriors holding it are right to look nervous.
Hammerheads and a Skyray open fire on the approaching ork Gargant, doing no hull damage but at least take out a couple of shields.
Ork retaliation is swift, two hammerheads dying in a hailstorm of poorly aimed but high volume fire.
Now however the orks, who have spent their points on a smaller number of expensive large formations, have finally run out of units to activate, and it is time the patient Tau launch their strike on the massive BTS Mega Gargant.
First into the breach are Crisis suits, delivered by an orca. They go in really close in order to use all over their various weapons at once.
After they strip the shields, a Protector Class spaceship in orbit unleashes 2 titan killing pin-point attacks, both hitting the Gargant.
It takes a critical hit, but weathers the storm. Next two Tiger Shark AX-10s scream in and open fire with titan killing weapons. The gargant is now badly damaged, but survives the assault.
Turn 2
Winning the initiative, the Tau launch another air assault on the Mega Gargant with titan killing aircraft, scoring massive damage with their weapons and finally destroying it.
Riptides retain and sustain fire on an ork formation, killing several units and almost breaking it.
On the other side of the map, the mega gargant was obviously angered to see its brother fall and destroys all but one of the fire warriors.
This is followed by an assault by an almost broken ork formation on some riptides.
Even reduced in number and carrying 8 blast markers into the fight, the orks still win and the Riptides are lucky to have survivors after the hack-down roll. This also put the orks onto 2 objective markers, their leaders showing an almost un-orky sense of tactics.
Crisis Suits attack another Ork formation the way Tau prefer - good old fashioned firepower.
Top - badly damaged orks, an almost intact Mega Gargant, and tau Riptides with a markerlight scout screen.
Centre right - Broken Hammerheads (they never got back into the game)
Bottom right - Broken Riptides, after a tactical withdrawal (ran as fast as their little thrusters would carry them)
Turn 3
Riptides attack the markerlit greater gargant with ranged firepower, in an attempt to break it.
They merely angered it.
Meanwhile however, the orks were repelled from all objectives, broken by air power and crisis suits, and Tau grabbed the centre.
The Break the Spirit Riptide formation fled to the Tau blitz objective with 1 wound remaining, but a lone firewarrior was enough to hold it. Skimmers took the Ork blitz, for a 3-0 (Blitz, Take and Hold, BTS) win to Tau in a game that could easily have gone either way.
