MATCHUP:

Faction: Chaos Space Marines

Detachment: Veterans of the Long War

VS

Faction: Tyranids

Detachment: Vanguard Onslaught

MISSION:

Primary: Hidden Supplies

Terrain: GW Terrain Layout 1

Twist: None

RESULT:

98 – 55 Win for Tyranids

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS:

• Overall game
  • CAVEAT – I played this game against my youngest son and his newly painted Tyranids Genestealers and Broodlord.  The terrain, mission, deployment zones, and who got to go first were all designed to make this a great experience for him and his beloved bugs.
  • Bug jail is a thing to behold!  A 20 model unit of Gargoyles that moves 12, advances and shoots, and then can move-shoot-move another 6 inches is one thing.  Combine it with 2 additional units of 10 model Genestealers with Broodlord that scout 8, move 8, and then Advance and Charge and you get a full board turn 1 bug jail that is suffocating.
  • The turn 1 jail didn’t kill anything but took a lot of the CSM vehicles below half strength and, more importantly, completely bottlenecked the entire CSM Deployment Zone.  This required the CSM to spend the bottom of Round 1 to trying to dig out of the jail, which they only slightly accomplished by killing the Gargoyles and half of one of the Genestealer units, but doing nothing to the other.
  • Round 2 featured the Nids following up their Round 1 Bug Jail with 3 Deep Striking Mawloc’s that surfaced right in front the freshly dug out CSM units, dealing Mortal Wounds as they emerged. 
  • Round 3 thru 5 was then about the Nids trying to hang on to a massive primary and board control lead while making it impossible for CSM to interact with them thanks to the plethora of Lone Ops sitting alone on objectives or in buildings.  The killing blow was Abaddon finally going down at the end of a thrust to break out of jail thanks to the Warriors and Winged prime in Round 3. 
• CSM
  • I played the CSM list as a Flex with the idea being that I want to scare the opponent into staying away from me thanks to my mobility and melee threats so that I can move up and shoot them with Vindicators that are getting Oath of Moment (Focus of Hatred) rerolls.
  • The above strategy obviously does not work against a Nid list that REALLY wants to get right up in your personal space.  I tried to counter it by using my vehicles to blunt the initial wave of bugs while keeping my highly mobile infantry free for counter charges.  This was partially successful and almost worked.  Unfortunately, I was too aggressive with my Warp Talons as I brought them out to charge the Gargoyles, but ended up not needing to thanks to Cypher popping off and killing the unit in shooting, and leaving them exposed.  That plus the Mawlocs’ Terror from the Deep ability doing just enough mortal wound damage to the Chosen units to keep them from completely breaking out of jail in Round 3 were the deciding factor in this game.  This left Abaddon exposed and ultimately led to a blow out.  
  • Key Combos:
    • Abaddon’s Reroll Hits aura + Vindicators and/or Cypher is spicy
    • Combining the Chaos Lord’s Lord of Chaos ability with Endless Ire to get a 2nd Focus of Hatred target or Bringers of Despair to give his unit Fights First. 
  • Key Stratagems
    • See above for Chaos Lord combos.
    • Contemptuous Disregard – Nids have a serious lack of AP problem and spamming this stratagem really helped to keep Abaddon up and functioning longer than should have been possible.
• Tyranids
  • BUG JAIL!!!!!
  • My son and I played this list as a turbo-Aggressive Hitter and boy did it pay off.  The strategy is to jail your opponent Round 1 behind the Genestealers and Gargoyles and then to setup the Lictors, Neurolictor, and Deathleaper on midfield objectives or in key terrain where their Lone Operative abilities allow you to score points without the opponent being able to stop you.
    • The Mawloc’s then serve as a pseudo-second wave of jail that deals out mortal wounds and, ideally, can utilize the Invisible Hunters stratagem to perform this maneuver multiple times.   
    • The Exocrine is there to dominate a shooting lane and pick off anything that breaks out of jail (like Chosen).
    • The Warriors + Winged Prime are held back as a counter charge for anything that breaks out of jail (which they did perfectly to take down Abaddon).
    • The Raveners are there for late game uppy-downy to score secondaries.
  • The plan worked almost to perfection, as it is very much predicated on going first, and my son had a blast.
  • Key Combos:
    • Using the Genestealers + Broodlord to multi-charge multiple vehicles, which shut down the Vindicators Blast Shield ability and kept them alive ands the jail intact. 
  • Key Stratagems
    • Hypersensory Scilla – Used in Round 1 on the Gargoyles to reactive move back from the Warp Talons and make their charge just long enough (9 inches) that CSM had to shoot them to confirm the kill.  This left the Warp Talons overextended and opened up that flank for Mawloc Deep Strikes.
    • Unseen Lurkers – Its a bit of a Gotcha, as nothing is more frustrating than finally breaking out of Bug Jail and lining up shots on a Lictor, only to have it pop this stratagem to become Lone Op 6 inches and become unshootable.  This was used twice and netted the Nids 20 primary points.

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:

• CSM
  • Deploy my Bikes and Warp Talons less aggressively as both were caught up in jail when they didn’t need to be.
• Tyranids
  • Not much.  This game went almost perfect for them.

EARNED HIMSELF A NAME:Abaddon.  The Despoiler solo’d 2 of the 3 Mawloc’s and half a unit of Genestealers plus a Broodlord.  He also tanked an Exocrine shooting plus 3rd Mawloc melee, Neurolictor melee, and barely died to the last attack from the Warriors and Winged Prime.  He was pretty much the reason CSM had any chance in this game.

MAGNUS OF THE GAME: Chaos Bikes.  Both squads got tagged via a Pile In in the turn 1 jail and then failed Battle Shock which led to the Vindicators being unable to shoot their way out of Genestealer Jail.  Both squads also completely whiffed in melee thanks to the Brood

LISTS:

Chaos Space Marines

Veterans of the Long War

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Abaddon the Despoiler (270 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Drach’nyen

  • 1x Talon of Horus

Chaos Lord (105 Points)

  • 1x Daemon hammer

  • 1x Plasma pistol

  • Enhancements: Warmaster’s Gift

Cypher (90 Points)

  • 1x Cypher’s bolt pistol

  • 1x Cypher’s plasma pistol

Fabius Bile (85 Points)

  • 1x Fabius Bile

     ◦ 1x Chirurgeon

     ◦ 1x Rod of Torment

     ◦ 1x Xyclos Needler

  • 1x Surgeon Acolyte

     ◦ 1x Surgeon Acolyte’s tools

BATTLELINE

Cultist Mob (50 Points)

  • 1x Cultist Champion

     ◦ 1x Autopistol

     ◦ 1x Brutal assault weapon

  • 9x Chaos Cultist

     ◦ 9x Autopistol

     ◦ 9x Brutal assault weapon

Legionaries (90 Points)

  • 1x Aspiring Champion

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Heavy melee weapon

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

  • 4x Legionary

     ◦ 2x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 4x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 4x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Heavy melee weapon

     ◦ 1x Lascannon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Chaos Rhino (75 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

Chaos Rhino (75 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Havoc launcher

OTHER DATASHEETS

Chaos Bikers (70 Points)

  • 1x Biker Champion

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Combi-bolter

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 2x Chaos Biker

     ◦ 2x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 2x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 2x Combi-bolter

     ◦ 2x Flamer

Chaos Bikers (70 Points)

  • 1x Biker Champion

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 1x Combi-bolter

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 2x Chaos Biker

     ◦ 2x Astartes chainsword

     ◦ 2x Close combat weapon

     ◦ 2x Combi-bolter

     ◦ 2x Flamer

Chaos Vindicator (185 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Demolisher cannon

  • 1x Havoc launcher

Chaos Vindicator (185 Points)

  • 1x Armoured tracks

  • 1x Combi-bolter

  • 1x Demolisher cannon

  • 1x Havoc launcher

Chosen (250 Points)

  • 1x Chosen Champion

     ◦ 1x Boltgun

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 9x Chosen

     ◦ 6x Accursed weapon

     ◦ 8x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 3x Boltgun

     ◦ 4x Combi-weapon

     ◦ 2x Paired accursed weapons

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

Chosen (125 Points)

  • 1x Chosen Champion

     ◦ 1x Boltgun

     ◦ 1x Chaos Icon

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

     ◦ 1x Power fist

  • 4x Chosen

     ◦ 3x Accursed weapon

     ◦ 3x Bolt pistol

     ◦ 1x Boltgun

     ◦ 2x Combi-weapon

     ◦ 1x Paired accursed weapons

     ◦ 1x Plasma pistol

Warp Talons (270 Points)

  • 1x Warp Talon Champion

     ◦ 1x Warp claws

  • 9x Warp Talon

     ◦ 9x Warp claws

Tyranids

Vanguard Onslaught

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Broodlord (100 Points)

  • 1x Broodlord claws and talons

  • Enhancements: Neuronode

Broodlord (90 Points)

  • 1x Broodlord claws and talons

  • Enhancements: Stalker

Deathleaper (80 Points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x Lictor claws and talons

Winged Tyranid Prime (80 Points)

  • 1x Prime talons

  • Enhancements: Chameleonic

BATTLELINE

Gargoyles (170 Points)

  • 20x Gargoyle

     ◦ 20x Blinding venom

     ◦ 20x Fleshborer

OTHER DATASHEETS

Exocrine (140 Points)

  • 1x Bio-plasmic cannon

  • 1x Powerful limbs

Genestealers (140 Points)

  • 10x Genestealer

     ◦ 10x Genestealers claws and talons

Genestealers (140 Points)

  • 10x Genestealer

     ◦ 10x Genestealers claws and talons

Lictor (60 Points)

  • 1x Lictor claws and talons

Lictor (60 Points)

  • 1x Lictor claws and talons

Mawloc (135 Points)

  • 1x Distensible jaw

  • 1x Mawloc scything talons

Mawloc (135 Points)

  • 1x Distensible jaw

  • 1x Mawloc scything talons

Mawloc (135 Points)

  • 1x Distensible jaw

  • 1x Mawloc scything talons

Neurolictor (70 Points)

  • 1x Piercing claws and talons

Raveners (125 Points)

  • 5x Ravener

     ◦ 5x Ravener claws and talons

Raveners (125 Points)

  • 5x Ravener

     ◦ 5x Ravener claws and talons

Tyranid Warriors with Melee Bio-weapons (75 Points)

  • 1x Tyranid Prime

     ◦ 1x Tyranid Warrior claws and talons

  • 2x Tyranid Warrior

     ◦ 2x Tyranid Warrior claws and talons

Von Ryan’s Leapers (70 Points)

  • 3x Von Ryan’s Leaper

     ◦ 3x Leaper’s talons

Von Ryan’s Leapers (70 Points)

  • 3x Von Ryan’s Leaper

     ◦ 3x Leaper’s talons