[BigToof]

WAARGH Grumgutz vs. Shooty Nidzilla (1850pts, 11/5/09) in "The Return of the NOMNOM!"

Hi All,
I bring another Grumgutz! This one vs a Shadowy, Shooty Nidzilla list of epic porportions!
The player is an old mate of mine (an Ork player, gasp!), who decided to go to the NOMNOM side... (No! That's impossible!)

Enjoy!
-BT

P.S. Apologies as I didn't get pics of the latter half of the game (had to pack up too fast). C&C is welcome though! (Even for the Nid side, I'll pass along any tidbits)

WAARGH Grumgutz Alternate 58 "More Dakka!!!"(1850pts): 81 Infantry, 3 Walkers, 3 Artillery, 2 Vehicles; 13 KPs
Big Mek Wingnut (Big Mek w/KFF)
Ex-Farseer Lorilune, AKA Big Louie (Weirdboy w/Warphead upgrade)
Tankbustasx10 w/Nob, Bosspole, Tankhammer, 2 Bombsquigs
Nobzx7 w/Dokta Chop, PKsx3, BCsx3, Kombi-Skorchasx2, WAARGH Banner, Bosspole (BW Ded. Transport)
Lootasx10
Shootazx25 w/PK Nob, Rokkitsx2
Shootazx25 w/PK Nob, Rokkitsx2
The Flyboyz (Deffkoptasx2 w/TL Rokkits, Buzzsaw)
BigToof (DeffDread w/Skorchasx2, counts as Troop)
Killa Kansx2 w/Grotzookas
Da Big Red Cheez (BW w/Ram, RPJ, Killkannon)
Da Beast (BW w/Deffrolla, RPJ, Big Shoota; Ded Transport)
Runtherd Bogwog w/Kannonsx3

Tyranid Shooty Shadow Force (1850pts): 45 Infantry, 11 KPs
Flying Tyrant w/Shadow of the Warp, Crushing Claws, other Nid Bitz
Warriorsx5 w/Deathspitters, BS upgrade, other Nid bitz
DakkaFex w/ TL Devourers, T/BS upgrades
DakkaFex w/ TL Devourers, T/BS upgrades
Spinegauntsx8, WON
Spinegauntsx8, WON
Genestealersx8, Feeder Tendrils, Flesh Hooks
Genestealersx8, Feeder Tendrils, Flesh Hooks
Zoanthropesx3 with Warp Blast, Psychic Scream
SuperDakkaFex w/Barbed Strangler, Venom Cannon, Tusks, Spiked tail, Regeneration, T/BS/W upgrades
SuperDakkaFex w/Barbed Strangler, Venom Cannon, Tusks, Spiked tail, Regeneration, T/BS/W upgrades


"Are we there yet?"
"No!"
Self-Appointed BigWigs of WAARGH Grumgutz, Big Mek Wingnut and Ex-Farseer Lorilune were on their way home. Again. The "big score" that Wingnut had headed towards was nothing but a Spikey Boy trap, and lead to nothing but a whole lot of well... nothing. Still, Wingnut thought, they did get a decent fight, and now they had to trudge home. Again. With the Warphead who wouldn't shut up if Wingnut welded a plate to her face (not recommended, as she would probably blow a whole the size of a Squiggoth's foot through him). Wingnut sighed. How could the day possibly be getting worse?

Deep in the underground ruins of an Imperial Administratum building a small hiss was heard as a group of magnetic locks finally fell open. A Tyranid Brood lead by a monstrous Hive Tyrant walked free from the earth. And they. were. HUNGRY. (You know, like always)

Mission: Annihilation
Setup: Dawn of War
Terrain: Ruins

Pre-Game Thoughts: I... Again? I must say, this is a surprise. The Nids are back (with a different player). Hmm, lots of shooty with one nasty Flying Tyrant and (oh dear) two units of genestealers on Dawn of War... This is going to be interesting... (and nasty). Oh, and the player is an old-time Ork player (who actually got ME into 5th ed), so I'm not get ANYTHING past this guy (When I left you, I was the learner. Now I am the master.)
Oh, and for fun? Shadow of the Warp and no Tanks for my anti-Tank list (Gah!) And err.. that's a LOT of STR 10 shooty...

Setup: Terrain is nicely (if methodically, but entirely randomly) scattered about. The Orks win the roll to go first, and decide to choose the half with the bigger, bulkier buildings (makes the eventual assault a bit easier, I suppose...)
BigToof gets to go first and goes as far forward as possible while hiding (Ninja Dread!) behind a building. The Orks declare everything (save the Outflanking DK's) will roll on Turn 1.
The Tyranids do the same, except of course the outflanking Genestealers (surprise there... really...)
The Tyrant gets put fairly far into the middle of the board, behind some cover while having two units of Spineguants in front of him.



Picture Caption: Let me see... bait? Check!

The Nids fail to seize the Initiative and the game is on!

Lorilune peered around the dark recesses of the human city they had somehow (luckily found) in the middle of the night. Nothing was visible in the gloom of the ruined city, only ghosts and wreckage littering the streets.
She shivered a bit. Something seemed very familiar about the area, but she couldn't get a good enough look to verify any of her nagging suspicions. Still, she thought, it was better than sleeping out in the wastes and hoping that something won't come along and eat you. It was the 41st millennium after all.
She then paused as a strange sensation rolled over her. Something she had once felt before awake and sometimes in her deepest nightmares. The Ex-Farseer bolted up and screamed at Wingut, "Shadows! Shadows in the Warp!"
The Big Mek was adjusting his Kustom Force Field and looked up a bit confused. "Whatzat Panzee?"
The Warphead waved her hands around, "There's a Shadow... It's... argh... we're in terrible danger here!"
Wingnut scratched his head. Panzees sure are excitable. "Don't worry about it. I gots BigToof out there keepin an eye on things. Watch."
He pulled out his Talkin' Box and said, "Hey, BigToof! Ya see anyfin' 'scary' out dere?"
The Nobz in the Big Mek's Battlewagon snorted a bit, but shrunk back when Lorilune threw them a violatile look.
The Big Mek's Box crackled a few times and said, "Scary? Whazzat mean? Anyhows, dere's just a Big Birdy out here."
Wingnut paused. "Birdy?"
"Yup, it's all black and... hey, I fink it just saw me. It brought friends too! Hi Birdie! I'z over here!"
Lorilune swore to herself. Tyranids. Just what she needed. Another horrible way to die...

Turn 1: Orks
The Orks roll up in the center going right at the Hive Tyrant (Trap? Oh what the heck, let's spring it!) The Lootas and Kannons get into position behind some cover (Lootas to the Left, Kannons to the right). Da Beast (with Wingnut and his Nobz) rolls up front and center, Da Big Red Cheez (with Lorilune and her Tankbusters) to its right. The rest of the flanks are taken care of by the two big masses of Shootas. Being night fight, everyone just runs up a bit.
Lorilune is flabbergasted by the Shadows and fails her Psychic Test (wow!).




Picture Caption: Everyone, Roll out! (Oh, and watch out for Genestealers!)

Turn 1: Tyranids
The Tyranids act a bit cautiously. The Spineguants scamper back a bit (No!! Stay easy KPs, stay!). The Hive Tyrant moves forward a bit to make sure he's in cover. Both of the SuperDakkaFexes come on to the left, with the regular Dakkafexes to the right.
The Warriors roll on following the DakkaFexes, and the Zoanthropes go right up the middle.
The Shooty Fexes hope to see across the board, but with mediocre rolls they don't get lucky (yay!).



Picture Caption: Run little KPs, run!

KPs:
Orks: 0
Tyranids: 0

Turn 2: Orks
Kankrusha, Nob of Da Tankbustas, squinted through the dawning sunlight and looked around as the massive Tyranid Horde. He looked, and looked, and jumped around just to make sure.
"'Ey Boss! Dere ain't no Tanks 'round here!"
The other Tankbusters all jumped up and started leaping all over their Battlewagon. Shouts of surprise, dismay and confusion soon filled the air.
"SILENCE!"
The Orks quickly quieted down as they looked down at the severely jostled about Lorilune. She snarled with a determination that would have made an Imperial Commissar clap politely.
"Does everyone see those enormous monstrosities of... Those gargantuan improbabilities of... Those REALLY BIG BUGS?"
All of the Tankbusters nodded.
"Well, they're JUST like tanks, just with organic weaponry... And stop complaining! We are going to do what we do best and that is..."
Lorilune winced as she felt the Shadows whip around her, confusing her connection to the Warp.
"SHOOT THE BIG ONES!"
The Tankbusters all roared in agreement and fired!

The sun comes up, and out with the Dakka!
The Orks all move forward a bit cautiously, not wanting to get too close to the Fexes.
The Lootas fire out and put two wounds on the left-most Super-Dakka Fex.
Then, "Big Louie" (obviously a bit ticked off) makes a Frazzle! that wounds the Tyrant and takes down two Spineguants.
Then with AMAZING Shooting, the Tankbusters (of ALL the guys!) hit with FIVE ROCKETS. The Tyrant can't take that much in the way of wounds and goes down! (And with him, poof goes the Shadows!)
The rest of the Shooting is mediocre, as the Kannons manage to put a few wounds on a Dakkafex, but not much else.
The Killkannon manages to take down a few gaunts, injure the same Dakkafex and injure a Warrior (I love that big plate when it scatters just right), but not much else.

Turn 2: Tyranids
The Nids finally get to shoot, and shoot they do! The Dakkafexes take out 7 Orks from the right-most shoota squad and the Warriors take down a Kannon (Yike! Be careful Grotz!)
The SuperDakkaFexes try to live up to their name, but can't even manage a glance with the KFF working overtime. A few Orks die to random Barbed Strangler fire, but nothing to write home about. The Zoanthropes also try their hand at Tank-Busting, but fail utterly, not managing to even glance the big Wagons as well.
And with a sneaky creep, creep, creep, a unit of genestealers comes in on the right, getting ready to eat some Orks!
Oh, and as an aside, the gaunts fail their Ld Check and run back to synapse (i.e. the Warriors).

KPs:
Orks:1
Tyranids:0

Turn 3: Orks
Ok, now it's time to pull the trigger.
Da Beast rolls forward and the Nobz rushes out, hitting the Zoanthropes and one of the SuperDakkaFexes!
Louie makes a Warpath (uh, thanks Louie) and the Tankbusters shoot the heck out of really injured Dakkafex. Still, it somehow keeps standing!
The Kans whittle down some more guants (there's only a few left).
The Lootas and Shootas spectacularly fail, doing not a single wound! (bah!)
The new Deffkoptas though, prove their worth and blast a few wounds off the SuperDakkaFex (go Koptas!)
Assault is pretty ugly, as the Nobs go in and tear two Zoanthropes apart (blasted Synapse prevents insta-killing!). The SuperDakkaFex takes a horrid number of PK wounds, and manages two wounds back that are saved by Cybork Bodies (WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD!).
The Tyranids are a bit put back at this stage, as the SuperDakkaFex is handily consumed by No Retreat Wounds, and one of the Zoanthrope survives, pulling all of the Nobz to it like a mighty magnet (and keeping them nicely safe from fire!)



Picture Caption: The Battlewagon should be about where that Green Die is (just couldn't fit it right), and that Carnifex will be leaving the table shortly in a pile of No Retreat wounds.

Turn 3: Tyranids
The Tyranids are a bit put out, but they want KP too!
The Warriors and Gaunts pull back a bit, trying to get out of Nob assault range.
The genestealers rush in, eager for killing, and boy, do they ever get it.
The two DakkaFexes tear the living daylights out of the right Shoota squad, but the squad holds! (Yeah!)
However, this show of bravery is a bit short-lived as the Genestealers smash into them with a NOMNOMNOMNOM. And that was the end of the Shootas. (And the genestealers scurried into cover)



Picture Caption: Yeah, just like that. But messier.

The other side of the table is fairly one-sided as the SuperDakkaFex decides to try his luck and slams into the Zoanthrope-Nobz combat. However, PK>Fexes, and the Fex finds this out the hard way, as he slams two Nobz into the ground, but not before the Massive PK takes out the Zoanthrope and the wounded Fex. The Nobz consolidate closer to the two DakkaFexes.

KPs:
Orks: 4
Tyranids: 1

Turn 4: Orks
The Tyranids are looking a bit piqued at this point, but decide to hold out for one more turn.
The Boyz do a decent job, as the Shootas, Lootas and Killa Kans take out the Genestealers (Yes I do NOT like them).
Da Beast rolls forward to block some shots from the Warriors (in case things don't pan out), and Da Big Red Cheez continues it's forward onslaught, inching closer (!) to the Nids.
Lorilune makes a WAARGH (Oh, thanks!) and the Kannons KO the really wounded DakkaFex.
The Tankbusters put quite a few wounds on the last Carnifex, but it's not enough to bring it down...
The Killkannon takes a shot at the Warriors and manages a few wounds and takes down a couple of guants (good enough for now, if necessary, easy KPs in Turn 5...)
The Nobz then go totally all out (the Tyranid player was surprised, who expects TWO WAARGHs in one game?) and sprint over the remains of the downed Carnifex (nice WAARGH movement!) and crash into the last Carnifex. The Carnifex wiffs, but the Nobz do NOT and the mass PK tears down the big creature.

Turn 4: Tyranids
With not that much left, the Nids concede.

KPs:
Orks: 7
Tyranids: 1

Ork Victory!

Post-Game Thoughts: Wow, what I thought was going to be a rout turned into a rousing victory! Still can't believe that the Orks survived through all of that, but what do you know? Didn't hurt that my opponent had truly, horribly luck with his AT rolls (any AP1 would have HURT), and my KFF and PK rolls were just spot on. He took the loss well, noting that I had dramatically improved my Ork generalship, and declared he would be back. Nids. What can you do?
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, BigToof spent the whole game totally unmoving next to the Lootas, waiting for the Genestealers to pop up on his side. Sadly enough, it was not to be...
Also, bits I forgot about Tyranids: Venom Cannons can only glance Dreads (oops) and Shadow of the Warp is 3d6, keep highest 2.

Unit of the Match: Big Louie and her Tankbustas. Totally. For the one turn Hive Tyrant annihilation and chopping up all of the Dakkafexes into chum while looking darn spiffy doing it. The only thing I can say? It's about time!

Big Louie brushed her hair a few times, trying her best to get the Tyranid filth off of it. Kankrusha and the Tankbustas had run off somewhere, but it wasn't clear as to where they had run off to. She winced again, the last bit of her headache passing away. She hated the Tyranids and their filthy manipulation of the Warp. But, she sighed, at least that would be the last she would see of them for a while.
She then heard footsteps and yelled in surprise when she saw a shocking sight:
Kankrusha with the Tankbustas were loading the hollowed out skull of the Hive Tyrant onto her Battlewagon!
As fast as her Eldar feet could carry her (which is actually pretty fast), the Ex-Farseer stormed over and demanded, "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"
The Orks looked at her a bit confused.
Kankrusha spoke up, "Uh, we'z got a good skull 'ere Boss. Gonna load it on the Wagon and bring it home. Just like a Tank you said right?"
All of the Tankbusters nodded in agreement.
Lorilune snarled and bits of WAARGH energy bled off of her, singing a few Grots running around at her feet.
"I said that, but you are not bringing that... that... THING onto my Wagon and..."
She then paused as Eldar cunning brought a delectable, naughty possibility to her mind.
"Surely we won't do that as we have a perfectly good Battlewagon over there," she added, casually gesturing over at Wingnut's vehicle.
"After all, it is a bit cramped with all of us in there. I'm sure they won't mind carrying this bit for us. After all," she added with a smile, "We did carry the day."
The Tankbusters nodded. It seemed like another good idea.
"Good. Good. Now gentlemen? (pause) That means YOU. Make sure to put all of those things that Wingnut has been working on in your new trophy. It'll keep them safe. Have to do something nice for the Big Mek. It would be a pity if we don't even out our own debts..."

[Waaghsteve]

Some one likes star wars :P Omg I thought you might of been dead for sure there. I read that whole thing thinking any minute now something bad is going to happen, but it didn't! Great. I thought that was a great tactic leaving BigToof with the Lootas as they would of been an open invitation for the Genestealers. Once again the comedy was great and so was the battle.

[BigToof]

Waaghsteve:
Thanks for the reply!
I thought I was so dead for sure as well!
That's a LOT of anti-tank for a Nidzilla list and really, as soon as he slowed me down, I was done with all of those Barbed Stranglers and TL whatnot beating down on me.
What really surprised me (besides Lorilune completely owning the Hive Tyrant in Turn 2; I mean it's like watching a schoolgirl slap down a MMA champion or something...) was how much he was struggling to wound the Orks. I think it may have been my (admittadly) really above average rolling, but I guess Orks are pretty hard no matter how you use them.

And thanks for the comments on BigToof He had actually completely forgotten about the Dread, and I was HOPING those genestealers would pop up on the other side for some Skorcha loving (Every Space Hulk player knows how MUCH Genestealers like Heavy Flamers )

And, last, but not least, thanks for the nice words on the fluff. I try to keep the humor flowing and it's nice to know when it hits the right buttons.

Best,
-BT

[Sargaule]

Well Done BigToof !! That report was great.

It was interesting to see some different units being talked about, the Big Gunz taking some hits for instance, that's got to be the first time your've mentioned that
And no mention of the Killa Kans and BigToof himself

I guess its the nature of the enemy, different units have different worth.

[BigToof]

Sarguale:
Thanks for the reply!
The Killa Kans were actually deployed to the right, a bit left of the Kannons (they're in the picture). BigToof went down first in DoW deployment (have to LOVE being a troop, lets you put a Dread out in mid-field ).
Well, being a lot of 3+save at best, the Nidzilla list did NOT like Kannons. The Tankbusters were high (scarily higher than the Nobz) on their list to kill, but you can't pop a Battlewagon with S6 shots to the front... So, in the end, the Kannons were the best they could hope for.
My opponent has never been afraid of Killa Kans in close combat (Carnifexes womp on Kans pretty well), so he pretty much ignored them. Likewise, the Kans couldn't really do much in the way of damage, as he kept too far away from their shots to have much of an effect (I think I maybe took out a handful of models at best).

I was actually wondering if people thought that my list was hard on Tyranids? I wasn't planning it that way, but I actually had him convinced that the Battlewagons were on equal nastiness (which is really hard to do in most cases; Big Louie survives most games by people completely underestimating her).

Another point, was that I talked with my old mentor later, and he said that he had geared the list to take out Space Wolves (thinking he might see a few of them that night), and was planning to use triple Psychic Screams and Barbed Stranglers to make the furry blighters run. I have no idea how this would have panned out, but it was an interesting idea that may not have been the post tactic with Orks though...

Best,
-BT

[cammerz]

Great bat-rep BigToof, yet again I am loving the humour you put into these and the fluff is nigh on unmatchable, (good old Bigtoof at the start there)
I'm also glad to see the fact that the batreps are becoming more frequent, don't worry if you don't hear replies from me sometimes, I'm always reading them.
But well done on the Victory, I'm getting less surprised each time and your opponents seem to be conceding quite a bit nowadays
Maybe you should come up with a third list, try out a few new units and give your opponents a chance eh?

Look forward to reading your next work
-Cammerz

[scoutfox]

Man you've been busy, wish I could get that many games in. Stupid house projects.

I always thought tankbustas would be good against nids, and I'm glad to see they were. Just finished converting my mob last night. Can't wait for the next one.

[BigToof]

Thank you all for the replies!

Cammerz:
I'm glad you are enjoying the fluff, and thank you also for being a repeat reader It's always good to see that people are reading, even if not commenting on each one (goodness knows I do the same).
Re: conceding opponents, I've noticed it as well, and it's sort of distressing, as I intended the "More Dakka" list to be a bit more kind than my previous Nob Biker list... Perhaps I do need a third option...

Scoutfox:
Heh, well, I suppose it's been a fairly quiet few weeks, allows one to get some games in.
Tankbusters were surprisingly good against Carnifexes (at least those that didn't have the extended carapace upgrades). I didn't really calculate it until afterwards, but 9 shots hit roughly 3 times, and pretty much always wound, so you're taking down 3/4 of a Carnifex a round! Then you just hope the rest of the army can finish it off...

Best,
-BT

[striogi]

Congrats on the win!

Honestly, looking at how the battle played out and the overall army list, I'd say that the fault lies with your tyranid opponent - too many tyranid players depend on outflanking and holding units back on the first turn. This allows you the opportunity to focus on relatively few units. At the same time, he risks not being able to bring those units in. Tyranids do very well at close range, and he deprived himself of that from the get-go. On second thought, perhaps he decided that because of the night fight 1st round, it would be best to hold them back, but even that doesn't make sense, really.

Additionally, I would have advised him against the assault upgrades on his heavy fexen: that would encourage the fexen to get into assault when their main goal is to whittle down your forces, and those points might have been well spent on additional troops.

Finally, I'd say the kiss of death was that he wasn't screening his heavy units with more assault-capable units, allowing you to get your PK Nobs to finish off two fexen in a single round.


It looks to me that in this situation, (as with many ork armies) if your opponent can force your army to stall mid-field (usually by assaulting them), they're then giving themselves a chance.

[BigToof]

striogi:
Thank you for the reply!
I'll pass it on.
I was a bit amazed that he did put so many upgrades on his heavy Fexes, but I suppose he may have been dazzled by the many, many modeling possibilities (It's hard not to really...)
I also noticed that he didn't really have any mid-range assaulters, but I think he was relying on almost exclusively shooty and trying some Tyranid AT (anti-tank; which is about as hard for Tyranids as it is for Orks...). Stalling a fast Ork list (which I guess mine is... sort of...), is also pretty critical, but I guess he thought his Fexes would hold up better than they did. (Darn Tankbusters! oh and Power Klaws )

Best,
-BT