While I'm excited to play Hammer Troop and Finnegan's pretty excited to play his Ebony Vipers Genestealer Cult Team... we decided that might get real old, real fast if it were just the two teams fighting against each other all the time.... So we're each going to play a few different teams - mostly to provide Opposing Forces for our PRIMARY kill teams!
So, for the second game in our campaign, I played one of my new Opposing Forces (Maesenir's Rangers) against Finnegan's Genestealer Cultists.
Maesenir's Rangers, tasked with safeguarding a number of Ancient Aeldari Ruins spotted the approaching Ebony Vipers and set up an ambush to dissuade them from continuing on their current trajectory.
SCENARIO
We used the Ambush scenario out of the Octarius book. It is very much like other Ambush scenarios in many editions of 40K and Kill Team. One side (in this case the Ebony Vipers) have to get their troops off the opponents table edge. One difference here is that they have a VERY SHORT amount of time to do so - the game is only ever played over four Turning Points. Also, the concealment rules, and the fact that they Rangers are all armed with Ranger Long Rifles that have the "silent" special rule meant it would be really hard for the Ebony Vipers to even engage their enemy - as they'd rarely have LOS to them.
I expected the Rangers were very much suited to this sort of scenario - they will likely do much less well in ones where they need to hold objective markers. I somehow hadn't quite anticipated how VERY one-sided this action would end up being!
It was only the third game I'd played... Live and lear, I guess...
FORCES
- Maesenir (Ranger - Leader - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Ylessar (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Aurelyc (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Klorandos (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Lechanna (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Kaedoreth (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Tallariel (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
- Jairyllian (Ranger - Warrior - Ranger Long Rifle and Fists)
The Ebony Vipers - Brood Coven Kill Team
- Morris "the Strixx" (Neophyte Hybrid Leader with Power Pick and Auto Pistol)
- Escalosa (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Autogun)
- Maria (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Autogun)
- Edna (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Autogun)
- Dawn (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Autogun)
- "Madder" Gerald (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Autogun)
- "Diminutive" Jack (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Shotgun)
- "Bellowing" Fred (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Shotgun)
- Sean (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Shotgun)
- Gaston "the Guy" (Neophyte Hybrid Trooper with Shotgun)
- "Mad" Agness (Neophyte Hybrid Gunner with Grenade launcher)
- Wilfred (Neophyte Hybrid Gunner with Webber)
- Three-Armed Pete (Neophyte Hybrid Heavy Gunner with Mining Laser)
- "Smelly" Percivalt (Neophyte Hybrid Heavy Gunner with Seismic Cannon)
THE GAME
The Ebony Viper tromping through the Jungle, without a clue that they were heading towards the ancient arcane ruins of a lost Aeldari culture...
...and directly into an ambush laid by the wardens of the ruin and the webway gate contained within!
FIRST TURNING POINT
We both chose "Recon" for our pre-game scouting, so a roll-off determined that the aeldari would have the initiative.
Finnegan made use the the Cult Ambush Strategic Play (allowing him to change the orders of his cultists on the first turn), and I Used Forewarned(which would allow me to re-roll one of my defence dice when shot at) and Hidden Paths (allowing all Rangers within 1" of Light or Heavy Terrain and more than 6" from enemy to immediately make a free Dash action).
During the Target Reveal step, I revealed two Tac Ops cards; Overrun (bonus VP for having operatives in all four quarters of the table) and Triangulate (Bonus VP if different operatives do a special mission action within 3" of a table edge). Finnegan revealed Central Control (bonus VP for controlling the center of the Kill Zone)
Tallariel started things off by doing a quick Dash within cover to get a good line of sight on the enemy leader.
Shooting at the leader I revealed my third Tac Ops card - Mark Target (bonus VP for Marking Target - a successful shoot action against the leader that does no damage) scoring the first VP.
Maria and Escalosa did a move and dash - just to get moving as quickly as possible towards the far edge of the table and freedom!
Lechanna also did a DAsh action to get a better LoS on the Cultists... but did a Triangulate action for her second action.
Morris, the leader of the Ebony Vipers, did a Move and Dash
Kaedoreth moved into a good firing position and did the Triangulate action.
Two more Ebony Vipers went crashing through the jungle.
Ylessar did the third Traingulate action and then took a shot at Three-Armed Pete - taking him out of action with a shot through his neck. Up until this point, the Ebony Vipers had no idea the Aeldari were even there.... until Pete just dropped dead, blood spurting out of a gaping hole in his neck (checking after the game, Poor Pete failed his casualty roll and actually DIED!)
Panic ensued! (but just narratively... there really isn't any sort of Morale rules in this new edition! Which, for the record, I am totally okay with!)
Mad Angus made a dash forward, just before Klorandus dropped him with a finely placed shot through the upper thigh.
Gerald and Dawn went crashing headlong through the undergrowth and Jairyllian took out Madder Gerald.
Smelly Richard shuffled forward...
Aurelyc dropped... someone... with a shot through the shoulder. I mean, how could they tell, the Mon-Keigh all look alike... especially these ones tainted with the genes of the Tyranid.
Tallariel and Lechanna feeling a little exposed with so many cultists passing right by them!
SECOND TURNING POINT
Finnegan had the initiative, I used the Hidden Paths Strategic Play again.
Starting things off, Edna made use of her Structural Surveyer - a piece of equipment Finnegan added to his stash after the previous battle and equipped Edna with for this game - which allows her to select one terrain feature within 6" and a fellow Brood Coven Operative within 3" and until the end of the Turning point that when that Operative shot, that terain was not obscuring and no defence dice could be retained for cover!
Seeing the Cultist with the fancy equipment, clearly scanning the tree they were concealed behing, Lechanna shot Edna and put an end to that nonsense!
But not before Gaston though he saw something lurking in those trees and rushed Tallariel's position and blasted the Ranger with his shotgun, point blank!
YIKES!
Bellowing Fred also found one of the Rangers hiding spots and blasted a hole in Jairyllian, who fell into the underbrush and crawled off undetected to join Tallariel at the Emergency RV point where they staunched their wounds.
GAH!!!
At this point, it became clear that if Finnegan had made all the Brood Coven simply rush the smbushers positions on one side - rather than try to keep to the middle - he could have taken a bunch of them out AND had a significant amount of cover between him and the ambushers on the other side of the Kill Zone - which would necessitate repositioning with more than dashes - meaning entire turns that Rangers were not shooting and taking out enemy (the Ranger Long Rifles are "Heavy" and can't be fired if the Operative does a Move action - 6" move - but can if they only do a Dash - 3" move. Ihad to hope he would continue to feel the pressure of the time ticking and just keep moving full-tilt towards my table edge!
Klorandos had eyes on the Leader and Marked Target.
Maesenir shot Maria and incapacitated her.
Morris made his move, ducking and diving trying to keep out of the line of fire!
Kaedoreth shot Jack and then quickly dashed out of the way before other Cultists came berreling through her position!
Bellowing Fred spied one of their assailants and blasted at her with his shotgun - scoring a crit and two regular hits... it looked like it might be all over for Lechanna, as the Rangers are very lightly armoured only saving on 5+...
Two saves and a critical save... Lechanna ducked, i guess...!?
Aurellyc made a quick Dash and took out Gaston.
The Rangers scored another VP for the Overrun Tac Op.
THIRD TURNING POINT
Kaedoreth shot Jack, finishing him off. Surrounded by fleeing cultists on all sides, it was clear her position would be compromised and she moved around the ruins
Dawn took a shot at Kaedoreth seriously injuring her! Then moved to try and make it to the cover opposite.
Lechanna shot Dawn in the back as she ran... but the Cultist did not fall! She was seriously injured, but not down yet! So close to escaping the Kill Zone, she was determined to make it!
Vlessar repositioned. Still no targets... he started searching downed cultists for anything that might identify these interlopers or provide any intel on their intentions or reason for their presence here.
Ummmm... I must have stopped takng notes for a moment here... There seems to be two Cultists still out there on this edge of the battle, but I have no notes about them making it off... or who might have taken them out...?
Like this guy... who is that!? Bellowing Fred...? I think so... I really need to do a post for this Kill Team - take pictures of them all and have Finnegan help me label them so I have something to refer to when I'm writing up these game reports a week after the fact... I think Maesenir might have taken him out... but I have nothing in my notes about that... Or maybe it was Kaedoreth at the beginning of the Fourth Turning Point....?
Morris "The Strixx" made a run for the boarder, screaming past Kaedoreth, and made it off my edge of the table - scoring 2VP.
Smelly Percivalt was the last to escape! Scoring the Ebony Vipers their last 2 VP.
FOURTH TURNING POINT
I apparently stopped taking pictures at this point... and the only note I have is that Lechanna finished off Dawn and that was the end of the game...
The Aeldari won the game with a Devastating 25-7VP!
POST GAME
Checking on their two injured warriors Jairyllian was okay - nothing so bad the near magical abilities of Aeldari Medicine couldn't heal up in a jiffy. Tallariel didn't fare so well - they were seriously injured which would leave them permanently Sapped of Strength (Weapon Skill reduced). It's really too bad these Compendium Kill Teams don't have access to medics and the like! I guess I can get a Med Bay for their Base of Operations whenever I get to spending some of the requisition points.
All of the Rangers gained experience points - two (Maesenir and Lechanna) even made it all the way to Veteran in ONE GAME!? Maesenir chose the Marksman specialism and gained the Calculated skill (Ballistic Skill does not worsen when firing Overwatch) and Lechanna chose the Scout specialism and gained the Picket ability (allows her to be set up within 3" of the Drop Zone - i.e. potentially BEYOND what would normally be their Drop Zone!)
The Ebony Vipers did not fare so well... Most were able to crawl away to cover and were later patched up. Maria was a little more seriously injured and will have a Lingering Ailment (Movement reduced), and poor, ole Three-Armed Pete DIED of his injuries.
Only four of them gained any experience at all - and only one or two each. But Morris, "The Strixx", did become a Veteran and went with the Combat Specialism, gaining the Duellist Skill (reduces enemy's Weapon Skill when fighting against him!)
Of our next game, I'll be returning to Hammer Troop and Finnegan is going to put together an Additional Opposing Force - probably an entire Kill Team of Purestrain Genestealers!
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