I should note that I got my rematch against the ork player last weekend. We played a 4K game. Tau v Orks... (or so I thought)
We both agreed friday night to have a 4K battle rematch on Saturday. It kicked off at 2pm and we played till midnight with breaks.
We used the same rules variances as we used last week. 1) 'whoever's closer benefits' skimmer rule 2) crisis and broadsides as infantry 3) All GMs as 5+ instead of 6+
My list was something like:
Crisis+shaso+stealths+gundrones FW+devilfish+hammerheads FW Pathfinders+Devilfish 3 Rail-head + 2 Ion-head + Swordfish 3 Rail-head + 2 Ion-head + Swordfish Broadsides+Gun Drones Narwhal (Scorpionfish) Human Auxillaries 2 Morays Barracudas Barracudas
His list was something like:
Gargant (7 shields + 8BP MW shot + grot droppings) Custom Gargant (5 shields + 8BP MW shot + grot droppings) Supa-Stompa (1 shield + 6BP MW shot) + 9 Stompas + AA upgrades Supa-Stompa (1 shield + 6BP MW shot) + 9 Stompas + AA upgrades Landa - 2 dreads, 3 killa-kans + 3 deathcoptas Landa - 2 dreads, 3 killa-kans + 3 deathcoptas 9 Fighter-Bombas
*** Yeah, he played OGM without me knowing it! ***
So, this was a major suprise to me to say the least. After last week, I was really expecging the infantry. I thought he might change it up a bit and go for some of the heavier vehicles, and considering I couldn't touch his titan last time, I figured I'd see another one... LOL, I seen more armor than I had ever hoped for - yay...
My Morays played as the worst thing I could have had against him in this game. For example, he was using the "always can see them" against me. Case and point: There was a massive forest that I had a hammerhead contingent and a FW with devilfish contingent hiding behind from his gargant on one flank... I moved the moorays up to fire on some stompas, but I was ~10cm or so behind the closest hammerhead that was hiding behind the forest. He drew a line over the forest to my moorays with his custom gargant and dropped 3 templates - 1 on teh two moorays, then the next were placed to go into the hammerheads and the firewarriors that were out of LOS and hiding behind the treeline. I couldn't find anything that said he couldn't do this as is first template was already placed to touch both of the morays.
Then he retained and the other gargant did the same thing... blah... that was a brutal hit. This happened on the second turn and the moorays already had one blast marker on them to start the turn... after taking a hit against the second gargant, the formation broke (had to place 2 blast markers for coming under fire both times) that really blew. So, in the end, the moorays did nothing for me in this game except kill two stompas - that was it! I can usually count on them to help get me out of a jam like I count on terminators, or a leman russ co - not this game. Not at all.
My significant amount activations by comparison helped me. All of my AP fire (stealths, drones, FW's, pathfinders, human auxillaries...) was all just a waste. Markers helped a bit in this game as we were using GM's as base 5+ instead of base 6+. The scorpionfish actually hit a couple times in this game! It was nice to see that thing actually get targetted as a possible threat for once! I fully believe these have to be fielded in pairs to be effective though. My crisis formation was able to jump into a building spaceport complex and set up a crossfire that ultimately borke a stompa mob - so that was cool to see. (we allowed them as infantry instead of LV's) but their 15cm MW guns never got fired once in this game. As a result, that was a really REALLY expensive formation for 4 AT shots :\ I wish their plasma rifles had some AT effectiveness to them like the storm troopers in IG. The shas'o crisis commander only adding an AP shot doesn't help much either.
The broadsides didn't use their 'infantry' ability this game. They were fired on by the occasional blasts, but he was doubling and firing at units in cover, so he wasn't doing much damage when he fired at them. Broadsides were instrumental in actually killing one stompa mob + supastompa over 3 turns.
The GM 5+ helped my firewarriors and Devilfish unit with hammerhead upgrade actually become a formation I could do something with against his army. The seekers didn't do much, but did make him roll dice more than they typically do and we got some actual AT hits this game. The hammerhead formations also got a couple hits with their seekers, so overall, the 5+ didn't do a whole hell of alot in the end, but did do more than it usually does. In 40K, seekers hit on 2+ and are really good at breaking armor, in Epic, the GM5+ was at least allowing them to have an effect. 6+ doesn't do squat IMHO.
My MVP's might have been my barracudas this game though. they were key in putting the last blast marker or two on a landa on the ground or the landa's contents or adding more blast markers to a broken stompa mob. They were used more for blast markers than damage, but they were handy as both of his landas blew up by the end of turn 2 (one on turn 1 one on turn 2) after they landed, beat me in combat, but would eventually break with enemy within 15cm of them later in the turn.
The landa assaults were brutal. I had no hope against those things and their assaults. Intermingled HH and FW's supported by one mooray - and I still lost to one of those asasults - HH and FW's break before activate - hurts!
The other landa dropped down and completely wrecked the FW without vehicles and the pathfinders that were supporting would get blast marker.
His MVPs were probably his two gargants. I couldn't touch them. The stompas were coming up my left most flank, and the gargants were seperated on the left and right flanks. The gargants were pounding me with the many templates and MW... the stompas were doing the same but with 6BP instead of 8... it was sick. It was all I could do to break one stompa formation and kill it in turn 3 gaining me Break their Spirit.
Turn 3 broke down like this:
He had a gargant with warlord charge my human axiliary and intermingled pathfinders, but only to FF and only in range to kill three of them... (all PF's) I do nothing to him and he kills 3 PF's. In a blinding bit of luck, I roll a 6, he rolls a 3, I have more units, he has 2 blast markers and I have 1 blast marker. I win, the gargant breaks!!! Whoo-hoo, he was holding two objectives and was on my side of the table - not anymore!
He had one formation that escaped from a landa and was wounded and down to 4 models, but was holding the flank objective on his table half on my right side. This formation was straggled out into my table half - but he was in the open bad. Barracudas would move in to kill two LV coptors and cause the formation to break (yay!) - they would be reduced down to a single plane on the way out - but so what!
Although he had two live gargants (one only broke) and one almost unscathed stompa mob, he now had no units of unbroken formations on my side of the table... heh - his own dumb luck as he shouldn't have charged with the gargant... he should have just fired... he was trying to be orky, and it bit him in the a$$ really hard... had he shot, he would have contested both of the left flank objectives on my side of the table - but he broke him for me!! LOL! As both of his stompa mobs were the same size, I had gained break their spirit by killing one of them.
So the tau pulled this one off with a win that should have went to turn 4 for an unknown result as we were beaten up pretty badly, but had a lot more formations to control the board with... to hard to say what would have happened in turn 4. I suspect this one would have went to dice off for turn 5 and then victory points.
This game to follow last weeks orc engagement where we did draw.
Unfortunately in both games - orcs should have won.
On the up side, GM at 5+ and crisis and broadsides as infantry not only just makes sense, but it works without a hitch or complaint thus far. It infantry crisis also allows the stealths to be fielded in their formation intead of taking heavy gun drones for the same purpose. That makes the stealths actually have a purpose. Win/Win so far from my playtest now.
_________________ Rob
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