Vs. Space Marines, Implacable Advance

Space Marines vs. Tyranids

Telion setup his spot in an abandoned ruin. He had overwatch across the field. The Auspex scanners lit up the day before, there was a big swarm coming. They had lost contact with the 801st Cadians the night before, it was a sure sign the swarm was moving.

The Marines had managed to setup razor wire to funnel the bugs into a fire lane. The armour rolled up and hunkered down. A predator tank taking refuge beside Telions outpost, and their whirlwind placed behind a hill top. The Northern Wolves Whirlwinds had not been faring well these past months. Lictors had been targeting them exclusively. A few rounds fired from a whirlwind guranteed a lictor crawling out of the wood works. Telions other unit of Snipers took up position next to the whirlwind, hoping to intercept any lictors that may be lurking unseen.

The Commander ordered the first line up, two squads flanked by a dreadnought and an Ironclad. This was a new surprise for the bugs, they hadn't seen anything of this size yet. The arms race had been picking up, what new monsters would be thrown at the Marines? Telion put down his binoculars, and fired off a flare, the Tyranids had arrived. The green clouds that preceeded each attack began to ease forward. Venomthropes for sure, but what was in those forsaken clouds? Telion had hoped for more scouts, but he needed to protect his armour. Once the guns began firing, they needed the protection.

Gargoyles burst from the cloud, leathery wings flapping and being drive forward by the synapse. The marine lines opened up and let loose into the Gargoyles and clouds of poisonous gas. Fleshborer beatles launched into the marines, most plinking off the armour. One beetle found an opening and burrowed into the flesh of the marine, he dropped to the ground screaming before the armour only rustled a few more times. The marines formed rank and opened fire onto the gargoyles. The clouds of gas obscured the vision of the marines, and the gasses ate a lot of the deadly rounds.

"Geez, they're fast!" Whispered Telion, as the gargoyles slammed into the first rank of Wolves. The Garoygles poison spat in the eyes of the Marines, but they held their lines. The gargoyles had been whipped too far from the range of the synapse creatures, and their reluctance to fight waived quickly, as the Marines cut down the leathery creatures. That's when the whirlwind came to life. Incendiary rounds fell into the clouds of poison, igniting everything it touched. It's hard to fire on targets you can't see. The dreadnoughts began to fire on targets in the cloud, lascannons and missiles fired into Hive Tyrants and hormagaunts. The squad protecting the Whirlwind lined up their sights on the Venomthropes giving cover to the swarm. The rifles found home and deflated some of the venom sacks, wounding the creature.

Telion lined up his rifle with the head of the hive tyrant, when his scout called out: "Gaunts, sir! And they're close!" Telion gave a silent cuss, as he knew he had to change targets. His snipers fire true, as gaunts were brought down by the barrage of sniper fire. The hive mind kept driving the gaunts forward, as warriors with Synapse drove them forward. The gaunts were getting too close though. The giant dreadnoughts stepped forward, their armour clanking as they settled in and let their guns belch out destruction again. They would be plugging the hole. And the Terminators would be the ones keeping it together. They teleported in, brought in by the beacon, they landed with pinpoint accuracy. Their flamers wreathed the hormagaunts in fire, and a new target appeared on the auspex scanners; Genestealers! The chaplain radioed to the whirlwind again, as more fired rained down from the sky.

The marines poured every inch of fire into the lane. Tyranids and gaunts fell, leaving corpses as they went. The first wave was done, and the Marines held their own, but the second wave was coming. Gunbeasts lurked in the forest, and Hive guard impaler cannons shot out, the living spears ripped into the front of the Dreadnought, igniting its ammo supply, exploding it, leaving a charred crater on the ground. The hive tyrant came forward, and unleashed Paroxysm on the terminators and chaplain, wracking their nervous system with pain. Tyranid warriors fired their venom cannons at the Ironclad and Predator, their thick arm deflecting the crystalized venom shards into the ground. As the scouts poured their attention to the mass of gaunts and genestealers scuttling forward, a tall lanky six eyed creature appeared from thin air. The Deathleaper stood just a few feet away from the Whirlwind, it had snuck past the scouts and found its prey. Flesh hooks fired and ripped through the side armour, causing a fire on the side of the weapons platform. The inside belched smoke and fire as the vehicle was wrecked, by another lictor. Priorities began to change, as the command squad now focused their attention on the feared Deathleaper. The commander was trying to track the beast. His squad was ready to lay down suppressive fire for the scouts, but he couldn't be sure where it was at, that's when the brush began to rock and sway, as screams chilled those around it. The deathleaper struck and butchered the scouts where they hid.

Telion knew this wasn't it. His previous dealings with lictors taught him that there was now an invisible scent trail leading more tyranids to where it was. Reality soon met thought, as the ground rumbled and a Trygon burst from the soil, shooting high charged static electricity at the unsuspecting marines. Fired rained down on the deathleaper, no one could be sure about where it was, the forces realigned and converged on its last known point. The Marine commander spied some movement in the brush and ordered the predator and Krak missiles into it. The murderous fire cut away the cover and the deathleaper was slightly exposed. A single krak missile curved and arched towards the Leaper, landing square in its torso, ichor and acid sprayed everywhere, as the legs twitched and sputtered dead.

The division of fire served its purpose though. Genestealers, the Hive Tyrant and Trygon plowed into the lines of the Marines, the Commander ordered everyone forward. Claws, talons and powerfists tore into each other. The hive tyrants bonesword cut into marines, as the commanders lightning claws ripped chunks out of the Tyrant and it's guard. The heavy hitting Ironclad dreadnought stormed into action, trading blows with the hive tyrant. Acid blood sloshed across the commanders and chaplains and terminators. It had cost the marines, but of the chaplain, the terminators, the tactical squads and the commander, only the commander remained. The tyrant guard, the stealers were gone, and the Trygon and Hive Tyrant were critically wounded. Telion knew about the big bugs though. Opening began to close, broken shells of armour began to reknit, and snapped broken talons grew back into lethal form. The Trygon ripped into the front of the Ironclad, ripping out key stabilization machinery. The Ironclad was rendered useless and pushed onto its back. The Hive Tyrant roared. it's lash whip wrapped around the Commander and the bonesword cleaved down, chopping the commander apart.

The last tactical squad of Marines had to plug the hole, the small bugs were gone, but the big bugs were still a threat. The Marines put their backs into it, as they began to push the hull of the Ironclad into the gap. Telion ordered immediate cover fire. The snipers began to pick apart the Trygon Accurate shots, ripping through the exposures in it's armour. The giant three story creature could not keep pace, and fell forward like a red wood being felled by lumberjacks. Telion poured his will and fire into the hive Tyrant, it too was being picked apart. Telion lined up the shot he had to abandon earlier. Acid blood and ichor was pouring out of the wounds on the Tyrant, as it looked right at Telion. "Smile for me you son of a *BANG!*" The front of the Tyrants skull exploded and it collapsed to the ground.

Tyranid warriors and the Hive guard began to fire salvos at Predator. Impaler spears and Venom Cannon crystals slammed into the side of it, crumpling the side of it. The weight of the autocannon turret collapsing the side of the tank. It was wrecked, but it could be saved. The Marines pushed the Ironclad into the hole, as Tyranid warriors began to claw and try and rip away the tough armour. The hole was plugged, and the advance stopped. Telion looked over the field, as the Tyranids realized they couldn't puncture the armour of the Ironclad, and they skulked back into the venomous clouds. How many more battles could they fight like this?

Final Score Space Marines-1 Tyranids -1 Tyranids win on Victory points.
It was a very close fight!

Cut & Waaaaagh!

The game scenario was the Ork Cut & Run mission. Here's some recap of the Bat Rep:

Turn 1: Tyranids get first turn.

The bugs zipped forward, with Raveners and Gargoyles leading the way! The Warriors let loose with Venom cannons, exploding a trukk, and shaking the Ork Deff Dread. The Ravers stunned the loota wagon, as the gargoyles jumped into close combat with a group of boyz. The Other boys in Trukks jumped out and let the Warboss climb into their open vehicle, as they sped forward and flamed a brood of Hormagaunts! The Spore Cloud from the Venomthropes offered no safetly, as fire immolated everything in its wake! The Gargoyles and boys stayed locked in combat, as Deft Koptas Swooped in and tackled the Hive Tyrant and Guard head on. Their Power Kalws clanking at the bit to feel some Niddy meat between their metal claws.

Turn 2: Saw the Lictors, Trygon and Genestealers come in from reserves. The Lictors appeared behind some Deff gunners in an ruined building and quickly began silencing the guns. The Trygon errupted from the ground causing some Boyz to flee, and others to turn and fight. Its Bio-Electric pulse mowing down a group of boyz. The Mekk boy turned to face the monstrosity. The warriors and genestealers assaulted and shot at a Trukk housing hoping to tear it to shreds, but the Orks held on. Keeping the rending claws of both genestealers and warriors from ribboning the metal sides of the trukk. The Deft Koptas gave no regard to personal safety and tore deep into the Hive Tyrant, not only tearing down the Tyrant guard, but the Hive tyrant itself. A great void in the synapse appeared, as the warriors took to cover, anticipating the massive bombardment they would recieve. It would be one Looted wagon short, as the Ravenvers hacked off more pieces of the wagon, tearing the big shoota from it, and then inflicting enough damage to render the vehicle wrecked, once and for all! The group of Boyz fleeing the Trygon jumped into battle with the Gargoyles, as the Goyles brought down the last boy, the surge of more greenskins overwhelmed the Tyranids, forcing the Gargoyles to ground, once and for all!

The Warboss in the Trukk bellowed for his Knobs to unleash their heavy flamers against the Genestealers. The stealers shrieked in agony, as they were burnt to a krisp! Unfortunately, they had left the confines of hte Trukk to get an optimal shooting lane, and had left themselves exposed to the Warriors. The Deffdred shot more missiles into the the venomthropes, annihilating one of the venom dripping creatures, the walker then lauchned into an assault against, ignoring the toxic gasses that surounded it. Powering through the poisonous concoctions, the Deffdread grasped the last Venomthrope and popped it between its bent claws, like a zit on an orkish back.



Turn 3:

The Tyranids took a turn for the worse, they had lost the bite of their attack. Their swarms had been whittled down in seconds, the orks were now striking the largest remaining bugs. The Trygon slithered forward with alacrity. It wrapped around the Mekkboy and his Shokk gun, and quickly silenced it once and for all. The warriors in cover shot out at a Trukk trying to draw itsoccupants into combat in a small patch of forest. As the Lictors assaulted into the backs of the Deff guns. Their best efforts to silence the predators fell short, as their camoflauged skin hid their movements. The warriors focused on the warboss trying to bring him down, but the aid of his Pain Boy and his Force field kept the warriors at bay, leaving him clinching to life. The focused attack on the warboss left room for his Knobs to work, and their power claws cut through the warriors carapace, smearing all the orks in a greenish ooze. As they cheered, they soon realized that the majority of the boyz were gone, most of the vehicles lay in smoking wrecks on the field, and their bog guns were no longer shooting. The Warboss called for a retreat, but not just any retreat, a fighting retreat, as the Warboss and his Nobz began to skirmmish towards the Trygon, coordinating their attack with the remaining deftkoptas. He called for the deffdread to enter the forest and fight the warriors enaged with a group of boyz and finish them off.

Turn 4:

With numbers on both sides running low, speed and cunning became crucial. The warriors in the forest had been all but wiped out by the Deff Dread, the snynaptic control called for back up from the raveners. They slithered into the brush and quickly chopped down the last orkish threat. The Deff dread and Trukk quickly high tailed and began to make for safer grounds. The Warboss and three defkoptas plowed into the trygon. The Trygon split its attacks between the leader calling the shots, and the powerclaws hanging from the Koptas. They knew some Orks would go down, but the number of Klaws remaining would still be enough to bring down the beast. The Warboss was wounded many times, but his force field kept his green skin on his hide, as the Claws from the Koptas chopped down the Trygon, as one last grasp wrecked another Kopta into the dirt. With hooting and hollering the Orks and Looted wagons began to head for safety. The Lictors saw that the main target was looking to leave the field, they began to move through the rubble, hunting and stalking their prey, hoping to head them off, before they were out of reach. The Raveners unleashed their speed, and ran down the Trukk that was gunning for home. The raveners dented and crunched much of the Trukk, but only managed to shake it and destroy a Shoota, as it sped off, returning a few colourful Ork hand gestures in return. The Deffdread was lagging behind, but saw a chance of opportunity, and struck at the raveners. The creatures hissed with rage, their strikes were quick and accurate, but they could not pierce the hide of the tin walker. The walker was too slow and bulky, and it could not land a hit on the wirey snakes. The battle would keep the Deff Dread from catching up with the main war party.

Turn 5:

The Lictors continued to stalk forward. Trying to catch a slow Warboss who was leaking from fresh wounds sustained from the day. The lictors moved coldly and quietly over some small ruins and across a bridge, waiting to pounce. The Deffdread continued to shamble towards the warboss, when it made out the two predators, blending into the background, waiting to spring their trap. The Deffdread kicked into gear, belching black smoke from its exhausts. Trying to intercept before they pounced. It fired off rockets into the area it remembered seeing them, the explosions sailed away from the targets, but the smoke and shrapnel from the fire, caused some movement the Deffdread could see, and move towards them.


Turn 6:
The Lictors saw that a bigger threat was coming at them, without the guidance of synaptic control, they reassesd the threat, and pounced with ferocity. They both leapt onto the deffdread with lethal precision, their rending claws tearing huge holes in the armour, ripping weapons and vital machinery form it, resulting in an explosion. The Warboss turned to see the two Lictors jump from the wreckage, mid explosion, and back into the safety of cover. He ordered his Boyz to charge the lictors, as he began to head for camp, and make sure any rumours of his death were quickly dealt with, by ripping apart any ork trying to take his army from him!

The Warparty had tough times making out where the Lictors were, combined with the famous Orkish accuracy, bullets, rokkits and the kitchen sink was thrown at the Lictors, but they kept low, and let the Orks waste their ammo.






Turn 7:
With the warboss safely away, the Nobz and Pain Boy began to focus in on the last remaining threat in the area. As they approached the cover they knew the lictors to be hiding, they leapt out and ambushed them. Nobz and Boyz were brought down by the flurry of attacks, rending claws tearing hunks of meat out of the giant orks. The Pain boy kept his trade going, jamming unknown liquids and plants into his wounded orks, giving them enough zest to fight "just a little longer" until it was safe! It was this that turned the tide, as the Powerklaws did their work again, crushing the torso of one lictor, while ripping the back out of another.


It was a high price to pay, but the Orks had survived...just how many of them were left to keep fightong on?

The Stand at Forward Base V

Sgt. Telion picked up some of the ferrocrete in his hands. The acid had wore it down into black dust. He looked outward from the remaining parts of the post. Marines were digging in, tanks were moving into firing lanes, and the wounded were being tended to. The dread

Forward base V was a scientific post for the Imperium. It had been used for developing better food strains, and making more efficent produce. Since the Tyranids landed, it was being used to map Tyranid DNA. The Imperial Guard division that was assigned to protect the post had done just that, in relative peace; compared to the rest of the planetary assault going on around them. Then it showed up. A lone lictor, stalking the Guardsmen and their charges. The guardsmen had managed to bring it down and relatively intact. Perserving the pheremone glands that were potent enough to be followed across the universe. So potent, they were still being followed after the death of the Lictor.

The Tyranids of Hive Fleet Apophis had zeroed in on the base. Smashing into the sides, crumbling fortifactions and ripping apart tanks and guardsmen alike. All that remained of the base was the original laboratory floor, the walls and roof, gone. The compound was torn asunder. There were so many holes, a squiggoth could ride in. Telion spit, and looked around, for any gaps that would be exploited. The remaining Imperials sat clustered around a flag standard. They had fought bravely, but were out gunned and out manned. They did have a secret that could tip the battle for the planet in their favour, though. The recorded DNA code of the lictor was stored and being kept with the Company Commander. In the previous onslaught, he had sacrificed his right arm to a warrior, to keep the vital information in Imerpial hands. They needed a Thunderhawk to evac them out, but that would take time. The bigger guns were pointed elsewhere.

Weapons and gear checks filled the air. Clicking metal bolts, the humming of turrets as they rotated, and Marines digging in for what they knew was coming. It was only a matter of... "Seargent!" Telion looked at the ruins below him. Captain Traveres was signalling him.

"Sir?"
"Auspex scanners detect massive terrain vibrations. Above and below, they're coming Telion. Make sure you're ready." Telion nodded. The plan he, the Captain and the Chaplain came up with was simple enough. Two rings of defence, that could collapase into the other, the rings would bend, but they would not break.

Silence draped over the ruins of the base. Telion kept looking to his com pad on his wrist. A red light blinked. Once it went solid green, the Thunderhawk would be within range. Telion made a quick prayer, guiding anything that would make that thing fly faster. He looked down at Captain Traveres. His face was washed in green light from the Auspex scanners, he nodded.

"All right," shouted Telion, "Here they come!" Telions snipers raised their rifles, scanning the ruins for targets. The uniforming clicking of Bolters rang across the post. The Whirlwind and Predator began rotating their turrents, and awaiting the horde that was coming.

It was quiet. They had the advantage of higher ground and the ruins, but where would they come from? Calls came out from over the comm links. Green coulds began to form and surround the Marines position. Telion looked over at the Guardsmen, their skin covered in sores and black bruises from this spore clouds. "Rebreathers on," he heard the captain say. In chorus, the scouts and Telion snapped up rebreathers onto their faces.

"Movement in the east!" Heads turned and guns were raised in a heartbeat. Amongst the clouds they could see shadows darting throughout the poison clouds. It was the one moment of hesitation the Tyranids needed. Fromt he west, Hormagaunts burst from the clouds and lept over piles of ruins and slammed into the Marines caught looking to the east, simultaneously, as the Hormagaunts sprang forward, the genestealers errupted from cover and darted to the first line, guarded by the chaplain. One figure stood taller than the rest, as the brood sprinted forward, leading the charge of its genestealers. The breach of the damn burst, and Tyranids flooded into view.

Bolters roared to life, as the quick succession of fire ecohed off the ruined walls. The heavy bolters spat shells and lascannon fire at the genestealers, showering them with ammunition. The Chaplain ordered his men to hold the line. "Keep firing! They'll come to us, soon enough!" The Horamgaunts to the west were slashing into the Marines. They almost broke, but their Seargeant kept the line. His chainsword slicing into a Hormagaunt, as two more jumped in to take its place. Warriors emerged on both sides, with venmothropes in tow. The clouds of gas were getting closer, and thicker.

Captain Traveres was keeping command of the field. he ordered the Whirlwind to fire on a sawrm of termagaunts flanking the genestealers, as graceful arcs of rockets sailed through the air, and impacted on the numberless swarm. Flames and bolter fire ripped into the genestealers, leaving a trail of dead, only a handful of the Xenos remained when the fire died down to reload. The broodlord locked eyes with the Chaplain, and he was caught. The delay in orders was enough time for the stealers to scuttle in quick! As two marines were brought down by rending claws.

Tyranid warriors fired salvo after salvo into the tanks, poison crystals impacted and shattered against the armour, denting the armour. The guns kept firing. Then, the ground began to shake.

The New Deathleaper

I just got the Collectors Deathleaper, and tried my hand at it. I did a base white, followed by a red wash on the body, followed by a purple and black wash. The a light layer of Codex grey and Chaos black. You can still see some of the colours through the black in the right light, which I like.

A poisonous Tide!

It had been a while since their last contact with the Tyranid infestation. Dem' marines had been fighting em' recently, and having all the fun. The orks were on this planet too! Now it was time to let everyone know they were still here. Dem' buggies were proper fighters.

The Orks were going to call them out, challenge them on their own turf. The new Warboss had thunk it out all the way. A few new nasties for da bugs, and some good ol' clobberin'. The plan was simple. Setup an Orky outpost in da bugs own territory, and then call them out for a real fight. None of this hiding bunk, run at em, and chop em' down!

The orks moved into the same quadrant that the Tyranids had claimed months ago. Buildings were shelled out from previous fights with Space Marines and Orks, even a few wrecked Dark Eldar skiffs could been seen amongst the wreckage. The flora had been growing out of control. Barbed vines broke through buildings, and everything was cover in a sticky green substance. As the Orks moved into outskirts of the ruined city, the temperature and humidity increased. The moisture was thick and potent, you could see the breath of the Orks as they exhaled, all with a greenish/yellowish tinge to it. The bugs had been doing something different. The warboss had picked an alley to make their first push. His Mech Boy and his Looted Wagon would plug the hole between two ruins, and his boys would run in from the sides, cleaning up the scraps.

The boys marched out, Buggies reved their engines, Boyz loaded shootas, and the Wagon ground its treds into the dirt. Tiny grots cranked the turret around to face the building, where so many armies had come before and fought, this time. The Orks would be making things different. The Orks roared and waited, then waited some more. Finally, something awoke.

A Sickly green and yellow cloud began to pour out of the ruined building. The fog was thick and dense, the Orks could only make out shadows. Some were tall, others were tiny and skittered about. The orks held their ground, unsure what to make of this. It was new, and it smelled terrible. Some orks began to cough, green and yellow phlem being spit out by some. While they were gazing out the giant cloud, that now stretched and fill the ruins of the town, they landed. Giant explosions of toxic gas smothered the back ranks of the orks, landing on the Warboss directly. Boys began dropping all around him, some dove to the dirt to try and escape the poisonous gas, others stood their ground and toughed it out. A whole squad of Boys which had once been standing in front of the Boss, were now dead on the ground.

The Warboss roared, he had big guns too, and the Shokk gun and Looted Wagon let loose with their own volley. "Aim at da biggest shadow, and bring it down!" There was one shadow towering over all the others, and the Shokk gun whirred to life, as the Mekboy took aimed and unleashed a powerful unknown energy into the cloud. The shot had such force he pushed a visible path through the poison, and a Hive Tyrant looked in the direction of the Mek. his shot landed true surrounding the Tyrant in a giant explosion, killing gaunts all around it. The Loota Wagon took bearing on the same area and let loose, clearing out a small section of poisonous fog. A tyrant Guard lept and took the full force of the attack before the cloud covered over the Tyranids again.

The warboss signaled for his Trukks and buggies to go around the giant vapour cloud. Try and sneak in the back, and take the Tyranids by surprise. His boys, however, they'd charge right through and fight dem bugs head on. His boys ran forward and unleashed a hail of bullets. They don't know if anything connected, all the bullets disappeared into the toxic gas. The Tyranids had a reply. Streams of acid were shot back into the boys, dissolving flesh off their bones, and into oozing piles on the ground. Barbed Strangler shots arced out over the boys and into the Big Mekboy and his unit. Barbed vines sliced and constricted the orks surrounding him, but they failed to pierce the armour of the wag, or the armour of the Mek. more spore mines came raining from the sky. This sent the boys running for cover, as more toxic explosions filled the wrecked streets with more lethal vapour clouds, and choked the life out of more green skin.

The Warboss pointed his Claw at the wagon, and then at the Venomous clouds and the Cannon belched more fire. It streamed through the gas, and impacted on a squad of warriors, the sheer size and force of the explosion incinerated all but one of the warriors. This warrior looked different as well, it was much larger than the others. The Warboss spit on the ground: "Deese ain't da same bugs we fought before!"

The Nobz in the Trukk snuck, as best an Ork could, around the back of the building. So far, they had gone unnoticed. They jumped out of the Trukk and through a giant hole in a wall. As they clambored into the first floor, the stink hit them. Even for Orks, the stench of the Hive Nest was putrid. They could see the clouds were being emmitted by two large creatures, with multiple tentacles, each sheen with it's own lethal concoction of toxins. On the floors above, they could see Bivores spitting out more Spore Mines into the sky. The Nobz smiled and looked at each other as they ignited their heavy flamers. Gouts of fire lit up the second floor the abandoned building, the biovores were helpless against the flames, and incinerated in the conflagaration. Spores would no longer drop from the sky. The Nobz cheered, and began slapping each other on the chest, as the boyz in the Trukk reved and blared its horn. The sound echoed through the building, and shook dust from the rafters.

Then they struck.

Genestealers poured out of holes in the floor and the wall. Claws and teeth torn into the Nobz, tearing them limb from limb. Those Nobz that weren't ripped to shred by rending claws, had meat and tendons sloshed from their bones with the vile poisons that lined the claws of the genestealers. The headlights from the Trukk illuminated the slaughter floor. The Boyz in the driver seat left their jaws hanging open, as the toughest of the toughest orks were ripped into pieces.

StormBoyz landed on the out skirts of the battle. Their rockets scorching the concrete structure. As they landed and made ready for their next jump. All the Orks began to go into seizures. Their bodies wracked with pain, limbs and sensory organs trembling out of control, confusing signals to their brains. As they tried to figure out what was happening to them, more Tyranid warriors burst out of the giant poison cloud, hissing and screeching. The Stormboyz wasted no time, they fired up their rockets and blasted into the sky, showering the warriors with bullets. The Paroxysm had taken its effect though. All their shots missed and connected with the soil around the warriors. The Stormboyz didn't give up, they charged headlong into the warriors, roaring in defiance. Their bodies writhed again, as more seizures wracked their bodies, and they too were torn apart.

Things weren't going as planned for the new Warboss. These weren't the same bugs, he had to rethink. He had to make sure no one would usurp his power after this fight was done. Who would be Orky enough to try that though. The Warboss scratched the bottom of his chin with his power klaw, the giant metal blades leaving small bleeding knicks on his neck. The Mek boy and his Shokk gun! He'd try something dumb like that! He needed a distraction!

"Plug dat' hole! Plug it now!!" The Mekboy looked over at the Warboss and nodded, he began to signal the Looted wagon to move forward. "No! You plug it! Plug it now!" The Mekboy looked back and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Huh?" He didn't have a chance ot reply. Termagaunts came bursting out of the venom cloud towards him, he turned his Shokk gun to them and uncorked more Orky technology at them. They giant ball of destructive energy vapourize all but two or three of the gaunts. He tossed some flares to the buggies. "You take deese, and you drive into them clouds! When you find dat head bug, you set dem off!" The Orks smiled and powered their buggies forward. Their Dakka guns firing blindly into the clouds and the orgy of targets to shoot at. The three buggies plowed into the clouds, the sickly sweet scent filled their lungs. Some orks began coughing up a green ooze, others began hacking up blood, as toxins began to run their course. The fog was so thick, they didn't see the trees and rocks in front of them, and they crashed, hard; wrecking one of the buggies.

The Orks tried to collect themselves, something inside their brain was screaming, and shadows were darting all around them. A towering hulk stepped forward, the screams got worse. The hive tyrant and its blind guards surged forward at the boys, followed by warriors armed with nothing but rending claws. The boys pulled the pins on the flares and held them up, the light blinded the tyranids momentarily. The MekBoy and Looted Wagon saw the signal and unleashed everything they had. Any boom safe enough to deliver, and any boom unsafe to deliver flew through the air. Fire and lightning bolts of energy formed a giant column around the buggies. Parts of the Hive Tyrant were blown off, and grat wounds could be seen ripping through it, the Tyrant Guards carapce cracked and exploded showering the Orks in an acidic blood, and the remaining tyranid warriors were incinerated in the explosion! Unfortunately, for the Orks, one of the buggies was also destroyed in the explosion. The ork that pulled the pin on the flares looked up, he coughed out more ooze from his lungs, one buggy was still there, wrecked, but drivable. The ground burned with acid, and with left over embers from the explosion.

He looked up, and saw the Hive Tyrant peering down at him, acidic blood pouring from many wounds, and the Alpha warrior beside it. He reached for his pistol as they struck down and eviscerated the reaming ork, and ripping the last bugging into ribbons of metal.

The Warboss saw and wounded Tyrant emerge from the clouds, and then a full brood of Hormagaunts erupt with blinding speed from behind it. This time he was acting in self preservation. He clutched his WalkyTalkee and bellowed for all vehicles to plug the hole, before the bug broke through! He could only hear the screams of Orks being torn apart and metal sheared, followed by an explosion from the Trukk. The Looted wagon began to rev forward, grinding against the sides of the ruins, pushing the MekkBoy forward into the onslaught. The Mek boy tried to grasp and climb over the Looted Wagon to safety, but hte Hormagaunts bounded forward and leaped onto his back, slashing and tearing away at his Shokk gun and armour. Eventually the scratching and grasping halted, as he was brought down under the wave.

The yellowish poison clouds began to move forward, enveloping all the Tyranids the Warboss could see. Soon, the clouds disapated. The Bugs were gone. The Warboss had stood his ground.

The orks would set up here now, and plan to finally burn the bugs from this place, maybe. Depending who would give the better fight, them; or them Marines that are lurking about.

Tyranid Tactica: The Lictor

The Lictor

The Lictors of most hive fleets have been taking a lot of flak. There is a new codex on the way, but this should not be a reason to keep those amazing looking lictor models on the shelf. They have such style and panache, how can you say no to those tendrils? Lets take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the lictor, and how you can use their abilities to quietly take down your foe.

The Pros:
Lictors have four major things going for them: Stealth, High Strength, Pheromone Trails, and Feeder Tendrils.

Stealth: Lictors deploy with "Hidden Setup" meaning that they use the deep strike rules to enter play into terrain. Currently, the 5th ed rules state Lictors have to a dangerous terrain test when coming into play. This should change with the new codex due out in January. Fortunately, most opponents I've played against, and various stories from other Nid players; most allow us to deploy normally, without the roll.

This selective deployment is great for many reasons. It makes your opponent think twice about what he or she is putting in and around cover. This can help funnel some juicy targets into the open. The other benefit to stealth is: Independent Character killing! With the new changes to 5th edition, Lictors have fallen into the role of taking out Independent characters. This is not 100% though.



With new assault rules regarding IC's, Lictors have a great opportunity to earn back their point values. With IC's in assault, when the IC is assaulted, they move before the rest of the unit they are with. Which means, the IC must move into base to base contact with the lictor. There are some variables to consider. 1)Retuine with the IC cancel out the character rules. 2)You do take a risk if the IC has a toughness greater than four, or multiple wounds. Pick your targets carefully. A good example is Sgt. Telion. You can assault into the scout squad and have a very good chance of taking Telion out. You also have the same odds of low toughness IC's, via the insta kill rule.

High Strength and Pheromones:
They are two key parts of how Lictors work. Pheromones are great for helping those outflanking genestealers and Broodlord scuttle onto the table. They also help bring in units for clutch occasions. Remember, they can't be used on the Lictors themselves. What would be clutch? Taking out heavy weapon teams/squads or vehicles. With the newer fifth edition rules, vehicles get cover saves! This means a lot more vehicles in and around cover, it also means you'll see some fire teams setting up around there as well. This is prime Lictor hunting ground. A whirlwind or a Basilisk that stays in cover is asking to be torn up. The high strength of six, coupled with automatic hits on vehicles that haven't moved, and you're always hitting rear armour, means that you'll be able to take out pesky heavy support fast!Now lets look at the wonderful feeder tendrils that Lictors have built into them. There are so many different uses for them. It, however, isn't like the big hammer of a carnifex, it requires a smoother and delicate touch of a surgeon to make the most out of them. Some forward thinking is required for these babies to be used effectively. A Lictor within range of a full brood of hormagaunts, all of a sudden, crank out the damage that brood can do, rerolling any misses out of ninety six hits. Or, helping out some raveners who have swept around a flank or deepstruck into behind the enemy lines. Helping out the smaller units with a large number of attacks really make the Lictors usefulness stand out. You can help out the MC's of the group as well. Parking a Lictor next to a Hive Tyrant and a Carnifex can change the tide of a fight, though feeder tendril genestealers can as well. Personally, I love rushing my hormagaunts into a line near to where I've popped my Lictor. They just taking some pre planning and cooperation from other units.

Cons:

Lets look at the weaknesses of the Lictors now.

Cost: Eighty points is quite hefty for one unit, it is frail, doesn't have many attacks, and can find itself in trouble quite quickly. A full brood of Lictors can easily be replaced by a full brood of Genestealers. You have to make sure if you're going to commit to using Lictors, you use them against things the Lictors were meant to take down. Of all the units in a Tyranid army, Lictors are the ones you can't throw away. Again, if you use them to hunt squishy IC's or go after heavy weapon teams, you can easily earn back their points.

Frail: Toughness four means a lot of insta death for your Lictors. Because they are usually behind the enemy line, it means that they will be out of range of synapse, and will get squished for sure! Watch out for hidden power fists and power claws! This also means you can't run headlong into a tactical squad or an IG squad and expect to walk out the winner. Just by sheer amount of numbers, and a weak armour save in combat. If you're trying to hold up the shooting of a large squad, you will not only have wasted points by throwing a Lictor at them, but they will still also be able to shoot at your other units.

In conclusion, Lictors are stealthy predators of the Tyranid army. As opposed to swarming an opponent with numbers, or bludgeoning them with monstrosities, Lictors demand a little more finesse. The James Bond of the Hive Mind. No one aspect of a Lictor is powerful, if you rely an individual ability, you will likely lose your Lictors. You need to use all their abilities at the same time, in unison, with the rest of your army. They can make that swarm buzz a little more, they can make your MC's hit that little bit extra, and silence guns and IC's who are foolish enough to stay in cover when there is a Lictor lurking about.

Take all of this with a grain of salt. The news of the new fifth edition Codex has been released, and hopefully our Lictors will get those tweaks they need. They are not an essential branch of a hive fleet, but if you know how to use one, they will be the most lethal of your hive.

Orks vs. 'Nids

Recap of the Fight:

The Orks had heard rumours of a bug infestation on their planet. The Boyz tried to piece together the clues, it always came up the same. Dem' bugz are makin' a home in Orky cities.

The Warboss gave the orders and climbed into his mech suit, it was time to wipe dem bugz off dis' Ork world. Find anyting' buggy, and burn it to da ground!

The infestation center had been identified, a three story building that had been shelled out, all the mess of bugs were streaming out from there. When the Warboss arrived on the scene, they could see spore chimneys and hive nests starting to spread from the epicenter.

The Warbosses DeftKopters streaked out towards the hive building, intent on fire bombing it from a safe advantage. They skimmed along the edges of ruined buildings and ramparts, ready to let loose a volley. That's when the building errupted. Hormagaunts and warriors streamed out of every window and crack in the wall. The Kopterboyz thought they were high enough to be well out of reach, but they misjudged the leaping distance, and were soon swarmed by gaunts.

The warboss and his entourage of buggies hit the gas to speed and help the Kopter boyz, so focues on the sight of kopters being dragged back down to earth, they didn't not see the Tyranid Warriors levelling their weapons at his convoy. Goblets of acid sprayed around the buggies, but they were moving too fast, the large blast of carniverous vegetation shook the Bosses buggy, but it kept on moving.

Three lines of boys moved up towards a hive node, as spore mines drifted down from the air. The back rank of Ork Boyz ignored the threat, and moved past them. The violent stampede of an Ork mob set off the toxin mines, choking the life out multiple boys. They came down hard on the hive node, and were intent on destroying it, when they heard the continuous chitter of gaunts running across the field. Soon, they felt a high pitched scream enter their Orkish brains as a hive tyrant and guard walked out from the building to face the multiple waves of boyz threatening the hives resources. The boyz held their ground, even when from behind a giant wall, a carnifex erupted and began careening forward. The kopterz managed to escape the hormagaunt swarm, and beelined for biovores that had been spotted. Of the five, there were only two left from the squad. They stopped to drop some fire bombs on three warriors they had uncovered in the ruins. The explosions caught the attention of a lictor, camouflaged against the broken walls of the rampart. It leapt out and brought one of the kopters down, as the Hormagaunts and warriors lept at the lone remaining Dekt Kopter, crashing it into the side of he building, cratering it.

Far away from the rest of the fighting, in a wooded area outside the ruined town, Stormboyz dropped from the sky, the rockets on their back, scorching the forest floor where they landed. They could see the sickening hive node, pulsing, and absorbing the trees and soil around t, small insect like creatures being spit out from it. The boyz were scouting ahead for a bigger wave of boyz to come in, as they were locking down the area around the node, they did not notice the genestealers silently, climb down from the trees. Not even a warning shot was fired off, as the Stormboyz were left in a pile of scorched earth where they stood.

The gaunts and carnixfex slammed into the waves of Boyz and Nobz at the fenced off area of town. Gaunts and boyz were being tossed aside in the giant melee. The nobz tried to wound the carnifex, but it's chitnenous armour bounced off any shots, and the boyz could only try to hold down the rampaging carnifex as it tore through boy after boy.

The Warboss surveyed the scene from his buggy, things were not looking good. He ordered a hard right turn, as the four buggies changed course to stare directly down the Hive tyrant and warriors. He gave the order to plow forward, his Nobz jumped out of the buggy with him, as the back row of buggies lined up their shootaz. Three toxin spore mines floated down from above, and ina three explosions of poisonous gas, all the buggies were destroyed or wrecked, leaving only the boss and his nobz to fight the hive tyrant.

In the woods, the late wave of boyz to backup the stormboyz grew in anger, when they saw lurking genestealers with parts of the Sotrmboyz rockets hanging off their claws. Their cries of rage drew the attention of the genestealers who rushed forward into the fray as Claw met choppa and Green Orkish fury!

The grand melee in the middle turned into a quagmire. The nobz and boys couldn't kill the carnifex, and the carnifex was being slowed down by the piles of dead orks around it. The boyz had enough, when the saw a pistol blow a hole through the side of its head, and then seeing armour and brain matter regenerate, the boyz knew it was time to run! The knob grabbed the last remaining boy, and made back for home. The warboss roared in rage, as he saw his boyz and knobs either retreating, or being torn to pieces. It was then the chameleon like lictor jumped from a pile of rubble, leading the way for the hive tyrant and warriors to follow. The warbosses knobs were ripped to shreds by the onslaught of talons and claws. The warboss knew this day was lost and began to break back towards his remaining boys.

The warboss struggled to run in his mech gear, the toxin spore already poisoning his body. It was harder to breath, he called out to a squad of surviving boys, to round them up, when they looked over in his dircetion, a lone seed bounced into their ranks, exploding. Carniverous plant tendrils erupted from the ground, rending the boyz into mush. The warboss tried to roar in anger, but his mech suit lurched forward, the lictor had not given up pursuit, it was leading the rest of them, to him. It's claws ripped deep, its feeder tendrils already absorbing and processing his dna. He tried to pull the lictor off, but a wall crumbled and the tyrant guard rushed forward, clawing and biting away at the feet, bringing the warboss to the ground. He tried to get up, but the blind bulldog like guards were pinning him down, the scream in his brain grew louder. They were waiting for the Hive Tyrant. The Warboss looked up, defiant, as the emotionless Hive tyrant drove down his talons into the warboss, and tore him in two.


Far away from the fighting, the bloody fight with the genestealers was over. The boys pumped extra rounds into the corpses, just to make sure, and stomped in a few skulls, to make extra sure. They looked into the forest, where the hive node was, it had already absorbed much of the area. The pine forest grew out of control into a mutated jungle, the temperature began to raise, and microbiotic spores in the air began to make the boyz cough. What was concerning, was the node was now spitting out gaunts, freshly covered in ooze, and guarding the node. The boyz knew they'd have to pull back and tell the warboss. They had to burn this place from the sky, and soon!


Sieze and Hold mission: Tyranids -2 Orks -0