Battle Report – ATC Battle #1

While my group is not planning to play in the American Team Championship this year, I will be judging in the event and we decided to give the mission a few test runs to work out any bugs. If you’re interested in trying out the mission, visit the ATC website at www.whatc.org for full details of the mission and how it is played.

Josh brought his Space Marines and I pared my Tau Empire down to the 1850 point total. We rolled randomly to determine which iteration of the mission we would be using, and rolled up Game #4.

A well-executed Kauyon attack had everything to do with timing and patience.

O’Mal’caor studied the approaching forces carefully. He marked each target with a priority in the targeting network as they closed the distance, giving greatest value to a Gue’ron’sha transport marked with their command sigils.

To his left stood an imposing edifice of concrete and ceramite. A stylized creature adorned the flanks of the central tower, great wings rearing from its hideous form. He supposed it was meant to intimidate any attackers. Now its form was cratered and ruined by Tau ordnance, its defenders slain in their positions.

O’Mal’caor watched the distances to the enemy APCs ticking down, confident that the warriors of his Cadre were ready. With a quick neural command he activated the ENGAGE sigil in his HUD, and the Pathfinders started marking targets.

ATC Battle #1

The Mission

In the ATC Mission, there are three primary objectives, each worth eight points. There are also three secondary objectives, each worth two points. The total possible score for each mission is 30.

The first primary objective is Crusade, with an automatic four objectives. Each player must place one objective in No Man’s Land, and the other objective can be placed anywhere it could normally be placed. The second primary objective is The Emperor’s Will. These may be placed anywhere they normally could be placed, with the additional restriction that they may not be within 12” of a Crusade objective. The final primary objective is Purge the Alien, and the three secondary objectives are Slay the Warlord, First Blood, and Linebreaker.

In addition, each of the missions modifies these base rules slightly. For our mission, Fast Attack choices can Score, as they normally would in The Scouring. In addition, when Fast Attack selections are destroyed they count as one extra point when determining Purge the Alien.

The Armies

Relictors 4^th Company

Space Marines – 1,850

Chapter Tactics: White Scars

HQ

Captain Surat (Kor’sarro Khan): WARLORD

ELITES

Sternguard Veteran Squad: four additional Veterans, Heavy Flamer, Rhino transport with Dozer Blade

TROOPS

Tactical Squad: five additional Space Marines, Plasma Gun, Sergeant has Combi-Plasma, Rhino transport with Dozer Blade

Tactical Squad: five additional Space Marines, Plasma Gun, Sergeant has Combi-Plasma, Rhino transport with Dozer Blade

Tactical Squad: Flamer, Razorback transport with Lascannon and Twin Plasma Guns

Tactical Squad: Flamer, Razorback transport with Lascannon and Twin Plasma Guns

FAST ATTACK

Stormtalon Gunship: Twin Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missile Launcher

Stormtalon Gunship: Twin Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missile Launcher

Land Speeder Squadron: one additional Land Speeder, each has Heavy Bolter and Typhoon Missile Launcher

HEAVY SUPPORT

Centurion Devastator Squad: Twin Lascannons, Missile Launchers, Sergeant has Omniscope

Stalker

Vior’la Tok’rhenna Shi

Tau Empire – 1,850

FORTIFICATION

Aegis Defense Line: Quad Gun

HQ

Shas’O Mal’caor Mont’yr (Commander): WARLORD; Multi-Spectrum Sensor Suite, Command & Control Node, XV8-02 Crisis “Iridium” Battlesuit, Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored Retro-Thrusters, Onager Gauntlet, Neuroweb System Jammer

Aun’ui Tai’go (Ethereal)

ELITES

Shas’vre O’res (XV104 Riptide): Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blasters, Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker

TROOPS

Fire Warrior Team: four additional Shas’las, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile Systems, Disruption Pods, and Sensor Spines

Fire Warrior Team: four additional Shas’las, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile Systems, Disruption Pods, and Sensor Spines

Fire Warrior Team: four additional Shas’las, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile Systems, Disruption Pods, and Sensor Spines

FAST ATTACK

Piranhas: two additional Piranhas, each has a Fusion Blaster

Pathfinder Team: three additional Pathfinder Shas’las

Pathfinder Team: three additional Pathfinder Shas’las

HEAVY SUPPORT

XV88 Broadside Team: two additional Broadside Shas’uis, each XV88 has Twin High-Yield Missile Pods, Twin Smart Missile Systems, and Target Locks, Team accompanied by six Missile Drones

Sky Ray Missile Defense Gunship: Disruption Pods, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter

Pre-game

With the ATC Mission, each mission declares if there is Night Fighting or not. This mission did not use Night Fight. My opponent’s Warlord Trait was automatically generated by Kor’sarro Khan, whereas my own was Through Unity, Devastation.

The first Crusade objective was directly behind the Fortress of Redemption’s tower and on the ground; the second was in the ruins on the far side of the table, on the second floor. A third was in the right corner of the nearest ruins, on the side closest to the Fortress. The fourth and final Crusade objective went in the ruins on the left.

Next up we set out our Emperor’s Will objectives. Mine went behind the furthest bunker of the Fortress of Redemption, while the Space Marines deployed theirs in the bottom left corner of the ruins on the left side.

Space Marines deployment (after Scout moves).

I won the roll for table sides, and my opponent won the roll for first turn. The Relictors deployed along their deployment edge with all of their transports, with the Stalker deploying on their Emperor’s Will objective. The Land Speeder went into a protected position behind the central ruin, with the Centurions deploying inside with the final Razorback.

I almost left my Aegis Line unmanned, since the Scout moves from Khan were going to leave the Rhino squads right on top of me Turn One. Instead I decided to deploy for a Patient Hunter attack, using the Commander and his Broadsides to lure the Space Marines in. I then deployed the Devilfish and the Sky Ray behind the Fortress, where they could quickly move in to cause casualties on the Marines as they advanced. The Riptide and the Piranhas also deployed in the rear, where they couldn’t receive damage early on.

Next came Scout moves. While my Pathfinders eased forward into their designated firing positions, the Space Marines leapt off the line aggressively, closing the open kill zone at a dangerous pace. I would have one Shooting Phase to fight back, and that was after all those Space Marines took their shots at my Commander!

While I was stressing out, my Commander kept his cool. I Seized the Initiative, and the Tau leapt into action.

Turn One

The Commander gave his squad Tank Hunters, and the Ethereal used Sense of Stone, since most of my Pulse weaponry would be out of range. The Devilfish APCs moved to gain better position for the coming turns, and then the fire elements engaged the Space Marines.

The Sky Ray hit with one Markerlight against the left Rhino, but failed to damage with its Smart Missiles. The Pathfinder Teams then put two Markerlights on the Sternguard Rhino, and four on the right Rhino. The Broadsides and their Drones put fire on each of the four advance transports in turn.

The Razorback exploded, failing to cause any casualties but Stunning the squad inside. The left Rhino became a burning wreck, Shaking the squad in the process and Pinning them as they emerged. The Sternguard Rhino burned as well, Shaking Surat and his Veterans. Finally the right Rhino exploded, killing two of the Sternguard and one of the Marines inside. The Riptide fired a shot at the Centurions, but it drifted far off target.

The mobile Tau elements leapt into positions of relative safety to await the Space Marines’ response.

The Space Marines are left immobile and stranded in the middle of No Man’s Land, but they haven’t given up the war that easily.

The squad on the Space Marines’ left flank attempted to move into the nearby building but rolled two 1’s as they exited the crater. The rest of the Space Marines maneuvered toward the Fortress of Redemption, using it as cover against the bulk of the Tau forces. The Centurions took up better firing positions and opened up on the visible Devilfish, tearing it apart in a storm of fire. Three of the Shas’las inside were incinerated, and five of the nearby Pathfinders died in the scything shrapnel!

The Fire Warriors are gone, and the Pathfinders have taken terrible damage.

The surviving Razorback fired a round at the Broadsides, but failed to wound. The Pathfinders passed their Morale Check, but the Fire Warriors promptly fled the table! As Turn One came to an end, both sides had taken significant damage to their mobility, and one of my three scoring units was gone. With the objectives split between our deployment zones, this had turned into a standoff that would surely become bloody.

Crusade: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 1

The Emperor’s Will: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 0

Purge the Alien: Space Marines 2, Tau Empire 4

First Blood: Tau Empire

Slay the Warlord: Unclaimed

Linebreaker: Unclaimed

Turn One Score: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 18

Turn Two

With the enemy’s mobility neutralized, the Tau Empire started working forward to claim objectives. The Devilfish continued to move around on the left of the Fortress, while the Riptide leapt up again to take his shots. The Gun Drones from the Piranhas flew up onto the battlements of the Fortress, and the Piranhas lined up their front armor in preparation for the Space Marine Flyers.

Using Storm of Fire from the Ethereal, the Gun Drones cut down four Marines from the Razorback squad. The Smart Missiles on the Devilfish finished the last man a moment later. The Broadsides split their fire again in an attempt to clear the last of the Space Marines’ armor. The Razorback exploded, killing two of its charges in the process, and the Land Speeders went down in a hail of missiles. The Gun Drones failed to destroy the Stalker, however, only managing to Shake it and inflict a Glancing Hit.

The Pathfinders marked the Centurions for the Riptide, increasing his Ballistic Skill to 5 and giving his Ion Accelerator Ignores Cover. He lined up the shot and fired, rolling three 1’s! He then dropped back into the cover of the Fortress Tower, recalibrating his clearly damaged weapon.

Shas’vre O’res grunted in frustration as his Ion Accelerator’s status symbol flashed yellow. Bolter rounds sparked against his armor as he dropped back into cover behind the tower.

“No charge,” he responded as the Pathfinders queried his move. “The gun is momentarily down.”

The XV104’s Early Warning Override chimed as a Flyer entered close proximity range. O’res tasked the Fusion Blaster and pulled a perfect shot as it tore through the sky. At the last instant, the pilot threw his vehicle into a stunning nose-dive, and the energy beam tore harmlessly through the sky. O’res could feel anger building in his chest, until the Commander’s level voice cut across the network.

“Affect repairs,” Mal’caor’s voice commanded. “I need you in this fight, O’res.”

The Commander’s words hurt more than any wound the grizzled veteran could imagine. “It will be done, Shas’o.”

The Space Marines are still in the quagmire of wrecked armor at table’s center.

One of the Stormtalons raced onto the table, thrusters burning as it bore down on the Tau’s left flank. The Riptide unleashed an Interceptor shot with its Fusion Blaster, but my opponent chose to Evade and successfully threw off the shot.

The Space Marines advanced on their various objectives again, with the squad in the center still bogged down in their crater. The Sternguard were able to reach the edge of the Fortress, and they slowly started working their way around to the far side.

The Centurions scored a Penetrating Hit against the Sky Ray, again bypassing an impressive Cover Save to Shake the vehicle, protecting the lone Stormtalon from retribution. The Flyer made Snap Shots against the Ethereal’s Devilfish, but was unable to cause any damage. The Stalker wounded the Quad Gun, and the Space Marines braced for return fire.

Crusade: Space Marines 1, Tau Empire 1

The Emperor’s Will: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 0

Purge the Alien: Space Marines 2, Tau Empire 8

First Blood: Tau Empire

Slay the Warlord: Unclaimed

Linebreaker: Unclaimed

Turn Two Score: Space Marines 4, Tau Empire 14

Turn Three

The Sky Ray quickly moved toward the corner of the table, getting clear of the impressive firepower from the Centurions. The Riptide stepped out to fire once more, drawing down on the Space Marines again. The Piranhas rushed toward the Space Marines Flyer, and the Devilfish repositioned to be protected from incoming shots.

The Pathfinders again targeted the Centurions and fed targeting data to the Riptide, and this time he scored three hits. However, only one of these managed to be converted to a wound, with two more 1’s! The Broadsides fired on the Space Marine squad stuck in the center of the table, killing five of them. The Snap Shots from the Shaken Sky Ray missed the Stormtalon, but the Piranhas managed two hits anyway! However, Ceramite Plating saved the Flyer, as both hits rolled a two to break through the armor.

The second Stormtalon came onto the table, taking up position in ruins where the Riptide’s Fusion Blaster couldn’t make a shot. The first Flyer moved up to strafe the Sky Ray and put an end to its firepower.

The Centurions fired on the Broadsides since it was the only target they had left, with the Sergeant splitting away to fire at the gun. The Sergeant blew apart the Quad Gun, and the other two warsuits managed to slay a Drone. Bolter fire from the Marines in range put one wound on the Commander. The first Stormtalon strafed the Sky Ray, scoring a Glancing and a Penetrating Hit. The Disruption Pods finally kicked in, deflecting the Penetrating Hit and leaving the Sky Ray with one Hull Point remaining. The second Stormtalon raked the Piranhas, bursting two of them apart and riddling their pilots with high-caliber rounds.

Further poor Movement rolls have left the Space Marines out of position, and their casualties are really showing.

Crusade: Space Marines 1, Tau Empire 1

The Emperor’s Will: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 0

Purge the Alien: Space Marines 2, Tau Empire 4

First Blood: Tau Empire

Slay the Warlord: Unclaimed

Linebreaker: Unclaimed

Turn Three Score: Space Marines 4, Tau Empire 14

O’res allowed a smile to crease his face as the status indicator on his weapon turned bright blue. The annoying yellow bar disappeared, and he fed power through the system again.

“XV104 is back online and available for tasking,” he said triumphantly. Within a moment, the Pathfinders were feeding him images of Gue’ron’sha dashing toward the Fortress Walls.

Their proximity was unforgiveable. It was time to make restitution.

O’res leapt from the fortress wall and feathered his thrusters. The Gue’ron’sha nearby attempted to disperse as his thrusters engaged, but he lowered the weapon and fed the Pathfinders’ targeting data into the processor. With a satisfying hum, the white-hot energy round leapt from the barrel and slammed home amongst the Space Marines, turning them to ash as his thermal visor bloomed to shield his eyes.

The Riptide’s feet had just hit the ground when O’res reversed his stabilizers and leapt back into cover of the tower.

Turn Four

At this point I was running out of time to make the moves I needed to finish the game. My opponent was closing on his Emperor’s Will objective, and the bulk of his Troops were still intact.

The second Fire Warrior Team debarked from their Devilfish in case they were needed against the Flyer, joined a moment later by the Gun Drones from the Piranhas. The Riptide leapt from the tower and took aim on the Tactical Squad at its base. With this minimal movement completed, I started working to ease the pressure from my position.

The Sky Ray scored one two Markerlight hits against the furthest Stormtalon and used them to Ignore Cover, firing all six Seeker Missiles and turning the Flyer into a fireball. The Fire Warriors and the Drones fired on the second Stormtalon but were unable to cause any damage. Finally, the Missile Drones brought it down with a pair of Penetrating Hits. The Pathfinders marked the Tactical Squad at the base of the tower, and the Riptide killed six of them with his Ion Accelerator. The Broadsides finished off the retreating Tactical Squad that was moving to hold the Emperor’s Will objective, and the last Piranha moved to hold the Crusade objective nearby.

At this point, my opponent felt the damage had finally been done, and he conceded a great game.

Crusade: Space Marines 1, Tau Empire 2

The Emperor’s Will: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 0

Purge the Alien: Space Marines 2, Tau Empire 13

First Blood: Tau Empire

Slay the Warlord: Unclaimed

Linebreaker: Unclaimed

Turn Four Score: Space Marines 0, Tau Empire 18

Space Marines concede; Tau Empire victory.

The Space Marines quit the field as their poor Movement distances finally make the difference.

Post-game Thoughts

Josh:

This was quite the game. I love the ATC mission format. It creates a challenging mission when you have to keep track of all those objectives. That said, I have a few criticisms for this year’s mission. The first is the lack of Mysterious Objectives. This rule is very random and can help or harm all parties at any time, but that is half the fun of using it. Without it or Mysterious Terrain, the board is very one dimensional. There is nothing about the objectives to differentiate between them. It doesn’t make the mission boring in itself, but it definitely doesn’t help bring any flavor to the game.

I started out the pregame rolls by losing the choice of deployment zone, but the Tau chose the corner that would give me some very critical LoS-blocking terrain to divide the board in almost two perfect halves. This tempted me to try an end around maneuver and completely ignore the Broadside “machine gun nest.” In hindsight that could have worked very well, but I digress. I won the roll to go first and the set the bulk of my army up on the very deployment edge to Scout forward and close the gap as fast as possible. Once the Tau had set up, I made my Scout moves as far forward as possible and waited for the Seize roll. It is important for me to note, I called the result of this roll as soon as I made my Scout moves. He rolled the six and stole the first turn from me!

My opponent then used his first turn to de-mech my army. He knocked out three Rhinos and a Razorback, Stunned two squads, shook a third and they failed their Pinning check. That was a bad first turn for me, but the White Scars Chapter Tactic had saved my army. Being 12” farther forward at the beginning kept me from being taken out of the game on Turn One. However, the infantry never got their crap together, my rolls to move and shoot never got on. I moved one squad every turn for four turns and went a grand total of 6”! My Centurions did well for themselves this game, and my opponent’s Broadside Team did as well. Everyone else seemed to be playing a game of slap fighting. I had nine Troops models left in my army after the top of Turn Four, and had only one of my support elements left, so I called it quits before my fourth turn. I still feel the sting of the Tau Shooting Phase, but this White Scars approach brought me closer to stopping the fish people than any other approach I have tried. Until next time, you dirty Communists!

Randall:

The ATC mission is always a nice change of pace, because it forces you to think along multiple avenues of approach. Your battle plan has to remain flexible, because your opponent can change the vector of pressure at any moment.

Those Marines could not catch a break! Every time they moved, it was an inch or two, and those clear of terrain were out of position to take advantage of their Scout move. It was a bold gamble to send them into hell’s teeth so quickly, and I can’t help but feel that the Seize roll cheated him out of a chance to make a serious game of this.

My biggest takeaway from this mission was the importance of terrain that completely blocks Line of Sight, because it drastically changes the way certain armies play. You can’t always count on having a Fortress of Redemption around, but every table should strive to have something that completely breaks up Line of Sight and routes of advance.

This is my first time playing Tau below 2,000. I have a lot of thinking to do before I complete my tournament list, but this game showed me several things I need to change before taking Tau out competitively. Stay tuned for more games featuring the ATC mission in the near future.