CSM Black Legion Vs. Tau

Battle Report

Chaos Vs. Tau 2250 Pnt. Ea.

Mission: Seize Ground:

4 objectives: 1 located “Helstine Forest 1B”; 2 located “Ceramite & Plasteel Manufacturium 1D”; 3 located “Promethium Manufactorium 1F”; 4 located “Icarus Forest 1H”.

Deployment: Dawn of War

First Turn: Chaos Space Marines (CSM) Steal initiative not successful.


Turn 1:

(Night Fighting) CSM: Demon Prince “Ashazzii the Horrid” Slannesh deployed to the center of board behind the destroyed “Hab block 1C”. 2 units of CSM with Rhinos deployed behind the destroyed “Ceramite & Plasteel Manufacturium” and idled till turn 2. 2 units of daemons, a Greater Daemon, & 5 Terminators with a CSM lord were left in reserve. All others units deployed on first turn and took a wide spread although most of the army deployment focused on areas 1D and 1C. Due to night fighting, no significant shots were fired by CSM. “Ashazzii the Horrid” did manage to lash a unit of Fire Warriors (FW) from their cover in the “Icarus Forest 1H”. Before the unit knew what was occurring they were already 600m from their designated front lines following the hauntingly beautiful song of a ghostly Ethereal. Little could they they know the horrors that would soon befall them.

(Night Fighting) Tau 1 HQ “Commander !@#$%” Deployed in “Hab Block 1G”. 2 Units of Fire Warriors (FW) Deployed on objective within the “Icarus Forest 1H”. The guns of the Tau took an extremely wide spread and covered their entire side of the battle ground. 1 Tau transport immobilized itself in the protruding I-beams and wreckage of the “Ogany Overlook Tor 1J”. With no priority targets available, a Tau Hammerhead unleashed its Rail gun on the CSM Chosen unit “The 8 Horrors of the Blessed” taking cover within the “Ceramite & Plasteel Manufacturium”. A single CSM was atomized by its high velocity projectile. The unit of FW lashed by “Ashazzii the Horrid” attempt to make a run from enemy lines but the haunting beauty of the siren song still beckons them and their progress is too slow.

Turn 2:

CSM Reserves included 1 unit of “Plague Zombies (PZ)” off an icon carried by the “Howlers of Hate” CSM. The PZ along with the “The 8 Horrors of the blessed”, Chosen CSM, quickly ran into the remains of the “Ceramite & Plasteel Manufacturium 1D” searching for Tau that were reported to be hiding amongst the ruins like vermin. The PZ secure the objective and hide in amongst the rubble and blasted rock-crete. With a death curdling scream and the gurgle of all of his bodily fluids being released at once inside their transport, The Greater Daemon “Qazzech the Slime Lord” comes into being and immediately senses the warmth of untainted spirits close. “The Black Crosses” CSM fell into debased prayer and prepare for battle, envious of their battle brother who is now one with “Qazzech the Slime Lord”. “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” and his elite unit of Terminators strategically deepstrike within combi-melta distance of a Tau Hammerhead gunship.
“Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” waste no time destroying the Tau Hammerhead gunship with melti-weapons. It’s suspected the pilots thankfully died of fear prior to their tank exploding in a fire ball that could be seen for 2 kilometers. With the focus of mass Las fire from a Chaos Obliterator the second Tau Hammerhead gunship was temporarily disabled. “Ashazzii the Horrid” begins his insidious song again and Lashes the same unit of FW closer. This time there is no escape and they realize they’ve been following a phantom just as the superheated blast of plasma cannon, fired by a 3rd Obliterator, incinerates 6 of their squad.

Tau reserves come on in strength and immediately sure up the battle lines. Command center and all Vox channels are clicking with communications, coordinates and target acquisitions. The Tau OPEN up! With the skill and fortitude of their pathfinders (PF) picking essential targets, the Tau are able to destroy the CSM Rhino “For the Love of Hatred”. The ensuing explosions kill 3 of “The Black Crosses” who immediately disembark and make for the cover of “Helsite Forest” and the objective marked on their intelligence maps. “The Black Crosses” lose another CSM to concentrated fire and realize they’re in the gun line of a massive Tau mobilization. “Commander !@#$%” and his team XV-9’s (Forge World Proxy we agreed to play) and 2 support unit of XV-8’s unleash the fusion and plasma power of their battle suits and waste 3 terminators. Each was reduced to ash by the ferocious fire power. The desperately exposed lashed Tau, with no place to go, make an uncharacteristically brave charge into the “Helsite Forest” were the remnant of “The Black Crosses” have taken up defensive positions around the objective. Due to their hastily constructed defensive perimeter, not a single Tau shot drops any more CSM.

Turn 3:

The Massed fire power of the Tau is so intense that hardly a unit of the CSM dared make a move. In outrage “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” put four rounds into the heads of a group of Chaos worshippers that were skulking in the vicinity of the destroyed “Promethium Manufactorium 1F”, as he had no other place to vent his rage. He then proceeded to run, with what’s left of his terminator group, to get into contact with the elusive Battle suits to no avail. The mass fired power of the Tau is withering and he and his command are forced to find cover in “Promethium Manufactorium 1F” or risk being atomized. His decision comes almost too late as he takes a Fusion shot that destroys the left part of his face and he suffers a single wound. The Obliterators unleash a torrent of Las fire into the remaining Tau Hammerhead and manage to stun the vehicle (Bloody Curses on their 4+ obscurement save). In a serious fire fight, “The Black Crosses” summon Daemon Dogs from the warp to act as a meat shield. They sacrifice one of their dying brothers to complete the ritual of debasement. Not to be left out of the head hunting “The Blooded of Khorne” and their leader “Horgar the Brutal” charge their Rhino forward into the concentrated mass of Tau fire chanting the praises of the Brass Throne. “Blood for the blood God! Glory for our Liege”. “Qazzech the Slime Lord” charges the pitiful Tau that made it into the “Helsite Forest”. Their deaths are quick as two immediately die to plague and the purification of their soft tissues and the third is crushed by a mighty blow from his blood encrusted, diseased ridden great sword. Amazingly one single Tau survives the initial encounter and stands firm against the terrifying entity that is “Qazzech the Slime Lord”, but not for long. “Ashazzii the Horrid” becomes distracted by all the pretty lights firing from the Tau weapons, cavorts and dances a round and fails his psychic check.

With targets acquired the Tau proceed to unleash another fusillade of massed fire power led by the Tau Pathfinders (PF) and their expert marking of prime targets. The concentrated fire of the Tau destroys all but one single Daemon Dog. To the Tau’s dismay they come to realize how resilient these cursed warp entities truly are and find that they have to over concentrate their fire power. Command immediately requests a shift in tactics. With Authority given the remaining Tau, who could still here the dying screams of their brethren in the “Helsite Forest” over the closed channel communication links bring to bear a tremendous amount of fire power on the “The Black Crosses” destroying 3 more CSM and leaving only 2 left, an unholy standard bearer and a Las cannon gunner. With their advanced optics and targeting arrays, “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” quickly learns that there is no hiding from the Tau guns and 1 more terminator is vaporized. “Commander !@#$%” mistakenly believes that he has destroyed the “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” when he sees the left side of his face and terminator armor explode in a gout of gore and vaporized ceramite. Although he quickly and efficiently calls out new commands, after a few minutes his internal targeting arrays detect movement in the ruins and he realizes that the terminators with their commander are back on the move. Like a fox on the trail of a rabbit, the battle suit teams begin to hunt the ruins of “Promethium Manufactorium 1F”. Although “Commander !@#$%”, commands are a bit premature, the Tau expertly execute those that directly affect them and they concentrate fire on the now vulnerable “Heathens Gore” Rhino which carry the “The Blooded of Khorne” CSM squad. “Heathens Gore” goes up in a massive mushroom fireball. To all of the Tau who see the explosion, congratulations quickly turn to horror, as they see the “The Blooded of Khorne” charging out of the wreckage chanting their mantra “Blood for the blood God! Glory for our Liege”. Not one Khorne CSM was lost. As part of “Commander !@#$%” early strategy, he deep deployed a large unit of Kroot (20) in an effort to outflank any trailing units of CSM. The main task, secure any objectives not securely held and sow chaos and disruption behind enemy lines. Their outflank move was extremely successful as they come upon the idling Rhino “Angers Tread” and the “Howlers of Hate” CSM unit still embarked. They make 60 automatic hits but fail to destroy “Angers Tread”, although they successfully shake the Rhino. “Dragoon the Baleful” of the “Howlers of Hate” calls in for fire support to clear the critters from “Angers Tread”.

Turn 4:

Fire support comes in the form of blistering fire from “The 8 Horrors of the Blessed” Chosen Unit. Bolters on full auto they proceed to rapid fire into the Kroot followed up by a melta-gun shot and 3 plasma gun shots. One plasma carrier in the “The 8 Horrors of the Blessed” unit was not so blessed and got the fast ticket to meeting his gods when his plasma gun overheated in an explosion of superheated plasma fusion. 8 Kroot were slaughtered in the volley. They then took a twin linked flamer blast from the obliterator, killing 6 more. They then took a charge by the Obliterator and this sent them scurrying for the sewers that they must have crawled out of. Reports are still unclear how they were able to get so close.
“Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed” making his way through the “Promethium Manufactorium 1F”, through blistering fire, was able to get near to the second Hammer head. The only other terminator with “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice cursed”, with a chain fist, proceeded to carve a new icon of Chaos out of the tank. Although successful in destroying the tank in a huge mushroom fireball, the chaos gods decided to be fickle with their blessings and he got decapitated in the ensuing explosion. “Ashazzii the Horrid” regains his senses and lashes a Tau FW unit out of “hab-block 1G”. “The Blooded of Khorne” make a ferocious charge destroying the entire unit without suffering a single strike back. The Blood God was pleased! The Blooded of Khorne” make a 6” consolidate towards the “Icarus Forest 1H”. The lone chaos dog hides. “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice Cursed” then gives his final command of this battle and orders the “Hell’s Doom Spirits” Bike squad to break cover and finish the fight in the name of chaos and glory. Breaking cover from behind the “Krill Forest 1A” where they were idling, they turbo boost for the “Icarus Forest 1H” objective. In rage of not being able to pass on his beautiful contagions to fitting carriers, “Qazzech the Slime Lord” makes a full move into the open in an effort to get the Tau hiding in the “Icarus Forest 1H”.

With targets acquired the brave pathfinders still on the ridge of the “Ogany Overlook 1J” paint “Qazzech the Slime Lord”. “Qazzech the Slime Lord” takes punishing fire and reports are that the steady beams of energy were so intense, the las fire and tracer rounds looked like they were forming the 8 pointed star of chaos right before he exploded in a mass of gore, slime and body parts. Everything, not of chaos, died within 60 meters of his death explosion. “Commander !@#$%” and his entourage of XV-8 battle suits began to systematically hunt “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice Cursed” finally bringing him down in a torrent of plasma, melta, and fusion burst just under the objective of “Promethium Manufactorium 1F” location. “Commander !@#$%” other XV-8 suits engaged “The Blooded of Khorne” at a distance of 200 meters, stitching fire into the unit like a surgical blade even as they sought cover. There was no hiding, there was no running; there was only death by fire! Seven Khornites were killed!

Turn 5:

With no more command communication from “Chaos Lord Gongler the Twice Cursed” the obliterators begin to shoot and pick targets randomly, destroying a Devil fish troop carrier in the process. It turns into an orgy of fire power. “Ashazzii the Horrid” lashes 1 of the 2 remaining Tau troop units off of the “Icarus Forest 1H” objective who immediately take a charge from the 3 remaining “Blooded” and the lone warped spawned Daemon dog. The attack was ferocious as they fell upon the dazed Tau. Nothing survived. Amazingly, the warp spawned daemon dog was able to consolidate onto the objective at “Icarus Forest 1H”. “Hell’s Doom Spirits” Bike squad crashed through the “Icarus Forest 1H” at break neck speed. One single biker was lost when he impaled himself on a Tau defensive positional electro spike. Unfortunately this would not save the last unit Tau on the Objective and they were quickly slaughtered, their bodies mutilated in the name of chaos and the “The Black Legion”. “Hell’s Doom Spirits” consolidated around the objective to protect the daemon dog.

With the chaos commander dead, “Commander !@#$%” orders all units to close on objectives. Due to chaos jamming devices, he is unaware the total losses. Few hear his commands fewer are in any position to do anything other than save themselves. A unit of broadsides makes a command decision and proceeds to dump a torrential pouring of fire into “The Black Crosses” located in the “Helsite Forest” killing the last 2 members of the unit at a distance of over 1000 meters. They took the cowardly way out and decided to die. Their names are stricken from the rosters of the “The Black Crosses” in shame and disgrace. “Commander !@#$%” XV-8 suits proceed to finish of the last of “The Blooded of Khorne” as well as the Rhino “Angers Tread” and 2 of its passengers. The fire show is spectacular and is mostly done in outrage and horror as the battlesuits start to get reports of Tau causalities. The dreaded sense of defeat began to settle in….

Turn 6:

Rolled a 1 on turn 6. Game came to an immediate end.
Chaos held 2 Objective (WINNER)
Tau contested 1 Objective










Tau





SEE Map sent on private email. not sure how to post?







Chaos










Afterthoughts

This was no walk in the park. As expected, the Tau presented massive fire power. Although chaos won, I think we would both agree that we both took a bloody nose during the fight and it was certainly hard fought. Although it can be conjectured as to why I won or why the Tau lost, I think that best left up to the strategist. Suffice to say that Dawn of War did not play to either of our strengths and it took some on the fly adaptability. In both cases, we lost our infiltrate ability due to the scenario and had to suffer through a round of night fighting and foot slogging troops on the board. I can say this; Chaos never lost focus on the objective portion of the game and hence was able to secure a convincing win with 2 objectives. Secondly chaos focused on the Tau troop choices almost exclusively throughout the game. Heck, I couldn’t get to anything else and who would want to in light of the serious fire power those suits put down. I knew I couldn’t whether the fire so my goal was to rob him of any scoring units. To this affect, my Lash did a good job. It was interesting that at the end of the game chaos had not killed a single battle/crisis suit.

Oddly enough, my terminators lasted just long enough to tie up those units in the 1F area. By time they finished with the termies we were entering the late stage of the game. They, single battle/crisis suit, weren’t able to effectively support the rest of the army although this is my observation and Sam may feel differently about it. Chaos had area 1D locked up and the Tau took a calculated risk outflanking the Kroot into the area. They paid for it all though it would have been an interesting gamble had he actually wrecked the rhino sitting over there the whole game. In fact, that could’ve possibly turned the game. Losing turn 6 didn’t help the Tau either although admittedly he couldn’t have actually taken objectives by that point, only contest them. Chaos initially played pretty defensively. I had some units I just wasn’t willing to stick out there, but this left me with few options for assaults and ultimately I had no choice but to get across the board into his line. At the end, although I had some troop choices and units left and good positioning (I was on objectives in cover) my hold on the “Icarus Forest 1H” objective was tenuous and had it gone the other round I was still looking at the actual heavy hitters of his army fully functional and ready to spit death at range. Not a promising thought. What I learned is that playing the attrition game with the Tau is not a good idea. They’ll out shoot you every time with their strength 5 or better weapons.
I had a great time and this is my first battle report I hope it holds up.
Looking forward to re-match vs the Tau.

All Hail Chaos!