So, I'm still trying to grasp how to use Space Wolves, and I think that my most recent game has helped me with this. So far, my record with my Wolves is 1 win and 1 loss, not ideal for going into a national tournament with but when starting a new army regular losses are to be expected, especially when it's quite different to what you're used to.
Apologies for the lack of pictures in this one but seeing as most of the Tyranid army is proxied it is probably for the best to avoid confusion.
In further preparation for the event I have engaged in a third game over the weekend, with the next one being a store smackdown at veterans night on Thursday. I was playing ZacharPaladin again, as he is also looking to get a few practice games before his Youngbloods Throne of Skulls. Unlike me, he was sensible, and picked an army that he knows well, bringing out his Tyranids. His newly updated list can be found below.
HQ:
Swarmlord
-Tyrant Guard
Elites:
Deathleaper
3 Zoanthropes
2 Hive Guard
Troops:
10 Genestealers
-Plus a Broodlord
10 Termagants
-Devourers
10 Termagants
Tervigon
-Adrenal Glands
-Catalyst
-Toxin Sacs
Tervigon
-Adrenal Glands
-Catalyst
-Toxin Sacs
My list has been through a few modifications as well. After the close-combat schooling that I get on Thursday, I realised that I only had 2 special close combat weapons in the entire list. So, I dropped the Dreadnought and his Drop Pod, and replaced them with some Wolf Guard. My new list can again be seen below.
HQ:
Rune Priest
-Chooser of the Slain
-Wolf Tail Talisman
-Murderous Hurricane
-Living Lightning
Rune Priest
-Wolf Tail Talisman
-Jaws of the World Wolf
-Murderous Hurricane
Elites:
4 Wolf Guard
-2 Power Fists
-2 Wolf Claws
5 Wolf Scouts
-Meltagun
-Melta Bombs
5 Wolf Scouts
-Meltagun
-Melta Bombs
Troops:
10 Grey Hunters
-2 Meltaguns
-Rhino
7 Grey Hunters
-Meltagun
-Rhino
7 Grey Hunters
-Meltagun
-Rhino
Heavy Support:
5 Long Fangs
-2 Lascannons
-2 Missile Launchers
5 Long Fangs
-2 Lascannons
-2 Missile Launchers
5 Long Fangs
-2 Lascannons
-2 Missile Launchers
So, on with the game. We ended up getting Capture and Control and Spearhead, a complete mirror match of our first preparation game. I won the roll off and chose to go second, putting the Tyranids in the corner with the least terrain. Everything was deployed apart from Deathleaper and the Genestealers for the Tyranids, while I left the Wolf Scouts and the larger Grey Hunter squad in reserve. Deathleaper caused a -2 to my main Rune Priests leadership.
I definitely think that I made my biggest mistake in deployment. I tried to be really clever and place my objective central in my deployment zone to elude both the Genestealers and the main Tyranid army, I also left a Long Fang squad further back so that it would be eaten by the outflanking Genestealers who would then get blown away in my turn by the remaining Long Fangs.
I started my defence as I always do, with one of my Rhinos being blown up in the first shot of the game, the Hive Guard accounting for it thise time. The Tervigons spawned a combined total of 21 Termagants here, but when I brought one of them down with Jaws we forgot to make the resultant death hurt the surrounding Termagants, which is my fault as I know the Tyranid Codex well enough and I should have remembered that.
The Swarmlord and a crapload of Termagants and 3 Zoanthropes then piled into my defence in the next few turns, with the last man standing (a Wolf Guard and his Power Fist) punching the Swarmlord in the face and bringing him down, although his victory was short lived as he was swiftly blasted away by the Zoanthropes. The Scouts accidentally came on on this side of the board and managed to stomp their way through Deathleaper a Termagants squad and the Tyrant Guard to clear my objective, with a little help from the Long Fangs in wiping out some more of the critters. Although I had not claimed this objective, my opponent hadn't either.
What it came down to was whether or not I would be able to take/contest the opposing objective, all I had to do this was a single squad of scouts (due to the others turning up on the wrong side of the board) and 10 Grey Hunters in a Rhino being chased by the Genestealers. If the Rhino had lasted 1 more turn I reckon that I could have driven closer to the objective and possibly reached it with my Grey Hunters, but it didn't. On either turn 3 or 4 (can't remember which) the Genestealers took it down despite the fact that it had moved at cruising speed, and the Grey Hunters were left with the task of holding up the Genestealers and the Tervigon.
This left the game in the hands of my Wolf Scouts, as I could only get a draw now. They smashed their way through more than a few Termagants to reach the objective on turn 5, with only the Wolf Guard and a single scout remaining. So, if the game ended here, it would be a draw. Typical then, that after 9 years in the hobby this game was the first one that went all of the way to turn 7.
The Genestealers ran straight into my scouts after finishing off the Grey Hunters and swiftly ate them, meaning that my only hope to try and scramble a draw was an unlikely shenaniganising manouvre with the Long Fangs moving them into range and line of sight (thank you Sanctum) in turn 6, hoping that the game goes to turn 7, and then somehow blasting away the Termagants, Genestealers and the Tervigon. I would probably go so far to say an immposible thing to happen.
So, the game ended at the end of turn 7 with a 1-0 defeat. I want to congratulate ZacharPaladin on the victory as he played well. What I have learnt though, is that I need to change my mentality. I have been thinking that now I am no longer playing Orks I should learn to be a bit more defensive, so at the start of that game, instead of thinking, 'what should I leave back to defend?' I was thinking, 'what should I send forward to attack?'. So, next game, I'm going to try using the Space Wolves in a more Orky style. Pity it's against Grey Knights, a game which has now been moved to Saturday (hopefully) on account of me being busy yesterday, getting a 6th ed rulebook on advance order at the same time.
Until then.
No comments:
Post a Comment