Warpcon 2012 Game 1 - Pat's Nids.

Warpcon has been and gone and it was a laugh (as always) and I ran with my Wolves (as always) and I managed to take a few pics along the way while facing a variety of opponents: Nids twice (oh Jaws, how I love thee), Templars (not Hugh), Grey Knights and finally Daemons.

Game 1 - Pat's Nids
This was my first time meeting Pat and I figured it would be tougher than it looked because it didn't have as much Jaws-bait as I would have liked: only 1 Tervigon and 2 units of Hive Guard were available and they were likely to hang out of range while everything else bombed forward. That everything else was a Hive Commander Flyrant, a Trygon Prime, 2 big Broodlord Stealer units (with Poison), the Doom of Malantai in a Pod, a big unit of Hormagaunts with Poison, Gargoyles, some Gaunts and a unit of Hive Guard hiding at the back.



I won the roll to go first and chose the side with the most terrain because Nids don't like scenic walks. I tried to set up in a bubble with as many units in vehicles as possible to remain immune to the Doom's tendril attacks, with the vehicles in the centre so that the Spore Pod would be pushed right back away from my infantry depending upon the direction it scattered in. I was happy enough and then Pat killed my smile when he said everything would reserve/outtlank. Then it dawned on me that Hive Commander would be really handy for him if he tried to swamp my lines all at once.

Just before the wave of Stealers hits. Hits terrain that is.

After two turns of my units shuffling about trying to cockblock and the Scouts staying off the board (good boys) with my vehicles moving to close off avenues of attack on my left, some of the Nids showed up. By some, I mean all bar a unit of Hive Guard & the Doom. With all of the Stealers and Hormagaunts on my left ready to combi-charge the vehicles and scratch them like someone with crabs scratches. Which is what they did: scratch. One Razorback couldn't shoot and another one lost a weapon to approximately 30 Stealers worth of attacks with the Broodlords fluffing more than their porn film equivalents. The shooting phase brought little as my Priest stopped Paroxysm & the Trygon Prime elected to shoot at a Rhino (Weapon Destroyed) and not my Long Fangs. Phew.

My Scouts showed up on the right near an objective and I disembarked as many GH into cover as possible because I figured that the lack of grenades on the part of the gribblies and Wolf Banners for me would enable me to mash stuff in combat, after I battered them with bolter fire for a turn to thin the numbers. One squad hopped out of the Rhino to either line up a charge on the Gargs or shoot the TPrime dead with Meltas while the Priest elected to sign up with a squad of Long Fangs to take advantage of Split Fire and use Hurricane to force some Stealers through terrain. I forgot about Shadows in the Warp from the Prime so my power failed but I did gain some satisfaction when the TPrime & Flyrant were blown away by the Fangs & Grey Hunters with a Cyclone WG. Class. More satisfaction occurred when I starting decimating one of the Stealer units with Bolter fire to drop them to a handful of models which left one big squad and a big unit of Hormagaunts. The Grey Hunters on my right tore into the Gargs leaving just 3 who started flapping for home.

Then, like an unplanned pregnancy, the Doom arrived and plonked herself down beside my Long Fangs with the Priest in them. I passed their Ld 10 test comfortably but a unit of Grey Hunters were caught completely unprepared (one pleb within 6" and all out of cover...) and 7 out of 8 of them disappeared in a flash leaving a lonely Wolf Guard: the baby daddy obviously. Some more Nid shooting didn't do much while the Priest nullified the Doom's big S10 blast thingy while the Stealers & Hormies charged en masse into Grey Hunters. In cover. With Wolf Banners popped. True to form the Hunters with re-rolled saves lost one or two while they mauled the Nid squads trapping me in combat but looking like I'd eventually win out due to superior armour & numbers.

Which is what happened: the Nids kept fluffing in combat and were all brought down (the Doom taking a Krak to the face eventually and the Spore Pod being Jaws'ed) while I managed to move 2 units into the middle of the board safely ensconced in Rhinos and the Scouts were attacked by a unit of Gaunts and after beating them consolidated toward an objective on my right. My firepower began to take it's toll by reducing squads below half and running off the board when outside Fearless bubbles or forcing units to take cover instead of being offensive with very few of the Nids left alive. Oh, and sniping out the odd Hive Guard with Jaws.

That lone WG managed to hop into a Rhino and take an objective even after his ride was destroyed. Class.

The game ended with a win to me.

Next up: more Nids.