1850 ATC practice Tyranids vs 5 Knights

Alright, here we go! I technically have broken my "BatRep a day" pledge because it's after midnight, but here we go! This is my 7th game of 7th edition, which means it should be fun! And so it is. For the ATC, I am the Captain of one of two teams coming out of Orlando, the Orlando Hereticus. So, I am playing my fellow captain of the second OH team! And, he's bringing an Imperial Knight army... fun for all! 

The Mission:

The ATC missions are pretty simple. 6 missions possible, two each of the various deployment types. Then, 3 Primary objectives, each worth 8 points or 4 for a draw. Kill Points, Emperors Will, and Capture and Control. Each secondary objective is 2 points, for a maximum of 30 available. 

We roll on the chart, and the game will be played as Dawn of War deployment, with no Night Fight. 

My Army List:

Flyrant, Devourers, Electroshock Grubs

Flyrant, Devourers, Electroshock Grubs

30 gants

Tervigon, Electroshock Grubs

3 Rippers 

Venomthrope

Crone, Cluster Spines

Crone, Cluster Spines

3 Biovores

Bastion, Void Shield, 3 Defense Lines

Allied Detachment: Come the Apocalypse: 

Imperial Knight Errant

Imperial Knight Army List:

Knight Errant (Warlord) (3++ Ion shield)

Knight Errant (3++ Ion Shield)

Knight Errant

Knight Errant

Knight Errant (5++ Ion Shield)

Warlord trait: Hive Tyrant: Reroll reserves Knight: +1 to charge and Run rolls

Psychic Powers: 

Flyrant 1: Onslaught, Warp Lance

Flyrant 2: Catalyst, Paroxysm

Tervigon: Warp Lance

Perspective: My Opponents table edge will be top, mine will be bottom. 

Pre-Game: When placing objectives, I made sure to spread them out a lot. Once I kill a Knight or two, he will have to abandon some of them or split up his forces a lot, which will help me to claim objectives. I am much more mobile, and I'll hopefully be able to drop down for some late objectives with my Flyers. I have my Tervigon ready to spawn and have my gants lined up to black charges, I really need to keep my opponent away from my Emperor's Will Objective! 

Deployment Knights: My Opponent deploys first and puts his Knights in a line. His 3++ take the middle and his 5++ is slightly back. 

Deployment Tyranids: I put my Bastion with gants in front to my left. There's a large Ruin that I am using to my advantage. Knight takes the right side to slow down anything he sends around there. I reserve my Biovores and Rippers. Flyers all start on my left side. 

Turn 1 Knights: My Opponent takes first turn, and advances to take some potshots. Thanks to Shrouding, I take a wound on a Crone and lose a few gants. 

Turn 1 Tyranids: See the pic below: I advance 3 flyers in the middle, and fly one Crone up 24" to block his movement a bit. Warp Lance takes a a Hull Point off the Warlord, and Haywire missile take two more off a Knight (5++). 

I also maneuver my home base a bit, my Tervigon is safe and sound behind a gant wall! You can my Emperor's Will at the top of the below picture. 

Turn 2 Knights: My opponent surprises me a bit and falls back with all 5 Knights! I think he is a bit afraid of my Vector Strikes. Shooting wounds a Crone.

Turn 2 Tyranids: I send my Flyrant right into the middle of his Knights. Warp Lance (which is used BEFORE my opponent gets to move his Ion Shield) takes another Hull Point of the Warlord. My second Flyrant takes a side armor arc on his 5++ Knight and receives Onslaught. After Ion Shields are declared, I run him into the rear armor arc and open fire! His 5++ Knight is down to one Hull point left... My Crones play it more conservatively, saving missiles for later.



Turn 3 Knights: My opponent decides to trow out caution and throws all of his Knights forward. Shooting takes a Hull Point off of mine, which has been advancing up my right flank.

Turn 3 Tyranids: I use Electroshock Grubs to finish off his 5++ Knight for First Blood. I get my other three flyers on different Arcs of his Warlord, and take him down to two Hull points.

Kill Point Counter: Tyranids: 1 Knights: 0

Turn 4 Knights: He moves his warlord forwards and makes a long charge on my gants... Crap! His other three move around, one goes after my Knight but fails its charge. The last two hover around his Emperor's Will Objective and try to shoot down a Crone, to no luck.

Turn 4 Tyranids: I make a risky gamble... One Crone due to angles will be way out of position. I decide to land him, moving a full 12" and running him. He's far from the Knights but could theoretically be charged on a long roll. I then put both Flyrants into one Knight, stripping a few Hull Points off.

Turn 5 Knights: On my far right, he charges his Knight into mine. We're both low on Hullpoints due to back and forth shooting, and we both explode horribly. His Warlord is stuck in combat and swings around, killing some. Stomp is huge here! He tries to charge my landed Crone but is an inch short, needing a 9 (I forgot they had Move through Cover... closer than I thought!)

Turn 5 Nids: I light up his Knights again (a little bit) and take Hull Points off. Both Crones drop down in hover in his Deployment Zone, in different areas. One is contesting his Emperor's Will. I hold my own, and I run my Warlord to the middle of the board to grab a crusade objective. I could get 2, but I am the only person with a Crusade so am content for now.

Turn 6 Knights: To my dismay, the game goes on! His Knight charges my Crone, killing it and taking his Emperor's Will back. He grabs a crusade objective as well. His Warlord breaks free from the 30 gants finally.

Kill Point Counter: Tyranids: 2 Knights: 3

Turn 6 Tyranids: My Tervigon seals off his Knights passage, protecting my objective as seen below. I contest his Emperor's Will with my Flyrant, and take that Knight down to one Hull Point. I contest his Crusade with my Crone, and take one with my last Flyrant.


All my contesting moves below! A lot of stuff is landed if the game goes on...

The game ends! I win Emperor's Will 1-0, I win Crusade 1-0, and I lose Purge the Alien 3-2. I claim Linebreaker and First Blood.

Major Tyranid victory 20-8! 

Just for fun, we play a turn 7 to see what happens. He charges my gants and is tied up with Warlord. His Knight charges my Flyrant and is killed by overwatch. His Last Knight kills Crone. My Warlord contests his Emperor's Will and the other Flyrant goes to help shoot him. Surprisingly, I kill his 4th Knight! He does finish off my gaunts however. So, it would have been an identical score, losing Purge the Alien 5-4.

Post-game review: I feel like this match-up favored me a lot more than it did my opponent. Also, it helped me that my opponent chose to go first. We talked later, and I told him that he should always go second with Knights. It helps with Objectives a lot! My opponent also played too conservatively early, as he was afraid of letting me fly over him, even though my Vector Strikes did no damage at all. Still, it was a very interesting Chess match... Knights are REALLY good at Kill points! I tried to limit the damage he could do, and was successful mostly, but couldn't get that third Knight dead turn 6. I felt dice were not a factor, mine were fairly poor. I rolled a lot of ones with Haywire and Warp Lance to pen! But, it likely would have had no effect. A very good game and an interesting match up indeed.