This term has been unduly mental, a combination of a heavy workload and finishing a book. Add in a four day trip to Essen mid-term (picked up lots of games, including 'Chaos in the Old World' and 'Horus Heresy') and there's been little chance for 40k fighting.
Tomorrow this changes. James F. of the LWA challenged me to fight his Thousand Sons army. My Hive Fleet accepted, set course for the Eye of Terror and, as we speak, are diving through a gaping hole, many light years broad, in a warp storm on the galactic west of the Eye. When the fleet emerges, the Biospawn Vessel will be over a planet on the edge of a chaos warped, Torrential Class solar system. I have a feeling that the Thousand Sons have foreseen their arrival and will be ready to face me. I wonder what Chaos Space Marine tastes like? Tomorrow, my gaunts will get a chance to find out!
Heimdallr's strike force is a minor variant on the army list I came up with a few months back. Let's see how it fares:
HQ
Tyranid Prime w/regeneration, bonesword and lash whip
ELITE
2 units of 3 Hive Guard
Venomthrope
TROOPS
10 Termagants
Tervigon
6 Tunnelling Rippers w/spinefists
6 Warriors, one w/ venom cannon
20 Hormogaunts
8 Genestealers
FAST ATTACK
6 Shrike w/ bonesword and whip
Coming in at 1500 pts (or 1499, or something.)
TACTICS
Thousand Sons look like the best bet a Tyranid Hive Fleet could get. They're slow - so I can catch them (unlike those cowardly Eldar, who constantly flee when I get close.) They've got an invulnerable save, which is mainly useless as I've got very little (except against my Shrike and Tervigon) which ignores the three up save of the power armour. Their special armour penetrating bullets are also pointless, given my armour is so crap anyhow, although it means my Tervigon might be slightly less likely to live. Effectively, Thousand Sons are just points being burned away to get powers that are wasted against my hive fleet. Also, I'm hoping that James hasn't invested in any tanks - or, if he has, only a few. Although, even then, a Land Raider would be of less use than you'd think (las cannons versus my little guys are useless, although it'd be a bugger towards my Shrike and Warriors. I'm going to gamble that he's not got one.) Rhinos would be a bugger, but he has to get out of the Rhino at some point, and I've got some Hive Guard and Stealers to take them out. I feel less... vehiclephobic this time around, which has often been a problem when facing Eldar.
So I'm thinking a mindless charge towards the enemy is in order. That relentless rapid firing is going to cause me a problem - it can probably mow through units in no time, and at 24" range I'm going to have to be careful with my advance if I'm to stand a chance in getting close with enough close combat troops to cause a headache, otherwise I'm facing two rounds of sheering bolters fire. Stealers will be on outflanking, and swarms in deep striking, but everything else will just clump together and run like hell. It's boring, in the sense that Tyranids don't have inventive tactics to rely upon, but that's a helluva lot of figures to face down - so even if the actual game strategy is going to be humdrum, it'll look pretty. Just got to hope that his army list doesn't hold too many surprises... So, basically, I'm hoping to just chow down on him within the first few turns - he can't sit too far back as those rapid firing bolters only shoot two feet, and when I get close he won't be able to run away. Thousand Sons are like hobbled dwarves with athlete's foot, after all. I imagine I stand a good chance and, by the end of tomorrow evening, a whole world in the Eye will belong to the Hive Mind. It might be touched by the Ruinous Powers, but Tyranids will eat anything. Even pot noodles. So a bit of chaos taint won't put them off.
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