Tenacious Tau
Cryptek Zeradho led Taskforce KJ into the Kleck Valley just south of the Forien Expanse. He accompanied eight immortals on the left holding objective two with five destroyers to his right, plus a transcendent C’Tan in the centre accompanied by eight Triarch Praetorians. Another squad of immortals held objective six on the right with nine tomb blades to the far right. His immortals and tomb blades were all equipped with tesla weapons except two tomb blades which had particle beamers.
Tau forces constituted a riptide facing our right with four crisis suits in two teams plus three broadsides in ruins holding objective one. In the centre holding objective five, a unit of pathfinders, against our left with objective four, a squad of fire warriors and Aun’Va, who also had two ethereal bodyguards. Another fire warrior team towards the centre completed the enemy line up.
Objective three lay in no mans land centre right. In reserve the Night Scythe NNV Renowned Nemesor with ten warriors aboard. We advanced generally apart from the immortals which held the ruins on the flanks and the objectives they contained.
The praetorians took objective three and our tomb blades took out the pathfinders for first blood. The enemy advanced their left flank and tried to move their fire warriors towards objective five. Our destroyers advanced together with the praetorians who took heavy losses as the enemy concentrated on them.
The destroyers failed their first assault attempt but a lone praetorian made it into contact with the fire warriors and actually won the first combat. The tomb blades also lost two thirds of their number.
The Tau counter attack killed the last praetorian but the riptide failed its assault attempt. Our destroyers now took the central objective and our fire broke the leading crisis suit unit. The Tau assaulted the destroyers which had been reduced to four by now and the result was deadlock.
The Renowned Nemesor now arrived evading intercept fire and dropped its warriors on the right where they killed another crisis suit. The C’Tan now assaulted the Riptide beginning another long hand to hand struggle.
Our warlord was now advancing his immortals inflicting serious losses on the left hand fire warriors, this proved to be a serious error though and our tomb blades were now reduced to just one. The enemy now took objective three and with our cryptek and his troops no longer holding objective two the enemy scored five victory points this turn bring the score to four – five against us.
The piranha and remaining crisis suits (the fleeing one had rallied by now) were proving annoyingly resistant, as was the Riptide which was whittling away our C’Tan’s wounds whilst only slowly losing some itself. The destroyers were down to three but were generally reducing the superior numbers of the enemy.
The Renowned Nemesor was shot down by a single penetrating shot from the broadsides, exploding. The C’Tan was now destroyed and exploded too, ironically in the one turn where the Riptide had failed its fear test. Our left hand immortals took out the fire warriors on the left, their last survivor fleeing the field.
The destroyers continued to do good work but could not break Aun Va and his unit. The Riptide attacked our warriors inflicting heavy losses but they held. The Piranha and battle suits resisted fire from our troops and sole remaining tomb blade and the action broke off. We had taken our 4th victory point for objectives and had first blood and linebreaker. The enemy had scored eight in total however so victory was theirs.
The enemy had the Riptide remaining, albeit down to two wounds, locked in combat with our warriors; Aun Va remained with one fire warrior and one wounded bodyguard left, locked in combat with our destroyers. The Piranha and three broadsides were undamaged and two wounded crisis suits remained. Enemy losses were estimated at two thirds.
We had our warlord, fifteen of sixteen immortals, half of our warriors and one tomb blade. Our right hand immortals were the unit that was unharmed. Of our three remaining destroyers, two were wounded. The Tau had lost one unit of fire warriors and their pathfinders; we had also lost two units, the Night Scythe and Praetorians. Our total losses were 63%, our rallied strength was 552 from 1500.
14.2.15
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