#61: Battle Report - Titans of War Game 3 Grey Knights vs Tyranids "Once More Into the Meatshields!"

After what was (let's be real for a moment) a pretty deflating loss to Sisters, I was keen to claw back some dignity in my third game against a good mate of mine, and his horde of Tyranids. 

I managed to seize the initiative, and wasted no time in peeling back the layers of the onion. The angry, carnivorous onion of death. 

The first thing that jumped out at me was bodies. There were a LOT of bodies on the table. With only three monstrous creatures (a Mawloc and two flying combat tyrants, so save those sweet Comp points), it was not a Tyranid list I was familiar with tackling. There were plenty of cover saves to be had thanks to a pair of Malanthropes lurking in the ruins. Luckily, I had a few Flamers handy, and was pretty keen to see what I could achieve. 

My first big play was to slingshot a Dreadknight up the flank, and pop force on my Psilencer in the hopes of catching the Mawloc off guard and sucking his soul out of his face before he burrowed underground and caused major dramas. The pieces were in place, the powers were cast but Lady Luck denied me a hilarious kill, allowing the serpentine miner to carve up the earth beneath him, disappearing from the battlefield. 

Despite the aggressive move, I wasn't overly concerned about my Dreadknight. There were no AP2 guns lurking about, and I was honestly confident that I could win combat against any big unit of little bugs. It might take me four turns to do it, but I'll get there...

Elsewhere on the battlefield, I was carful to spread out to avoid a cheeky Alpha Strike from the Mawloc! I tagged a few wounds here and there with storm bolters, but couldn't wait to unleash my Flamers upon the tightly packed bodies clogging up the board!

The Tyrants launched into the air, providing crucial Synapse for the horde...

...but my opponent wasn't counting on the dice betraying him too. The mass of Hormagaunts launched an assault against my Dreadknight, but didn't count on rolling an 11" charge. This left him in the unfortunate position of being in a combat he was highly unlikely to win, while also being out of Synapse because of his larger-than-average charge move. The result was pretty predictable. I won combat easily, splatting three of the critters, and ran the rest down because of their trashy, unsupported leadership. Combining that with an ill-fated charge by his Gargoyles, suddenly that flank looked considerably weaker. 

Elsewhere, my Interceptors began dropping flamer templates left right and centre, causing some damage, but not enough. 

And then things stopped going my way. Lictors burst from the shadows. A Mycetic Spore decended from the heavens in a fog of toxic fumes. My Dreadknight fell to the countercharge from my opponent. 

In a stroke of luck, the Mawloc reappeared, but scattered wildly, missing my Interceptors parked on a crucial objective. Having played their part, they cast Force and charged out to slay the beast in a last act of defiance. The guy carrying the Daemon hammer died to Dangerous Terrain. The remaining three marines got mashed. And with that final insult, the game ended. 

This was probably my most frustrating game of the day. My opponent made some unfortunate mistakes early on that I simply failed to capitalise on. Again, my Terminator unit failed to have any significant impact in the game, and for no good reason. I could have made a significant impact if I'd been more aggressive. But I didn't. Fortunately, it was against a friend, and both of us were able to acknowledge the giving and taking of Lady Luck on both sides, for she is a cruel mistress. 

So, I ended Day 1 with a slim loss and two significant ones. 

Games 4 & 5 as well as my tournament overview are incoming! Keep your eyes out.

Thanks for reading, as always.

Gabe