“The bitter taste of defeat tortures me. Not again! Not again!“—Captain Martel Vivant, commander, 5th Company, Knights of Altair

* * *

Continued from Part 2 . . .

The tide turns

These xeno weapons proved deadly at close range, with their first volley taking down six Marines and injuring Chaplain Numa, who led the Assault Squad in an immediate charge.

Several more Marines fell during the advance, but, once amidst the xeno firing line, the Marines displayed the ferocity of their genetic heritage. The Tau elite warriors died by the dozens.

Elsewhere, however, the battle was turning against Vivant. To the west, the Vindicator platoon had lost its infantry support, and Stormblade ordered her bodyguards and surviving drones to rise up through the forest canopy and drop on the flank of the Space Marine tanks.

The maneuver was successful, with no casualties incurred, and Stormblade’s troops landed only meters from the Vindicators, opening up with their fusion blasters. Despite a desperate attempt to turn their front armor toward this threat, the entire platoon was destroyed before it could get off a single shot.

In the center, Vivant was preparing to exploit the success of his Assault Squad, which had opened a hole in the xeno lines. But, at that moment, a massive explosion threw him to the ground.

Two of his bodyguard were missing, except for a few bits of power armor smoking on the ground. Pulling himself to his feet and looking for the threat, he saw in the distance the Tau Riptide skulking in the central ruins—too distant to hurt with small-arms fire or to charge with any chance of success.

It didn’t matter. To his fury, the survivors of his bodyguard began to fall back. It was a shameful setback.

Looking around at the rest of the battle, he saw in the distance two Hammerhead Tanks and six Devilfish transports setting up a new defensive position about 1,000 meters away. To the west, he saw Stormblade’s troops moving around behind him.

A quick analysis of the tactical situation forced him to a painful conclusion: His western flank was totally under Tau control, the center was dominated by the Riptide in heavy cover, and new xeno reinforcements would force his troops to cross open ground under heavy fire.

He also did not want Numa to learn that his bodyguard had faltered. If the rest of the company learned of this disgrace, troop morale would become an even-more-pervasive problem.

Sickened by the thought, he tapped his vox-transmitter and gave the order to withdraw.

Victory Points

Space Marines : Linebreaker =1 v.p.

Tau: Two objectives held = 6 v.p. + First Blood (1 v.p.) + Linebreaker (1 v.p.) = 8 v.p.

Decisive Tau Victory

TheGM: Wow! For a number of battles, Captain Vivant’s strategy of holding position until the Tau reserves hit the table had worked well for him.

But it’s time to change strategies. The advantages of discouraging a Tau “deep strike” on the Imperial flank doesn’t compensate for the fact that, if you stay immobile for half the game, it’s hard to seize objectives–or make maximum use of your firepower.

The last-minute devastation wrought by the volleys of the Breacher Teams really weakened Vivant’s attack on the east flank, and it didn’t help that the well-positioned Riptide had the opportunity to take out a unit every turn.

The Tau were very impressive. Despite the scattering of Stormblade, her bodyguard, and a sizable gun drone squadron during their “Deep Strike,” the xenos were able to bring a heavy concentration of fire on the Space Marines on the west flank.

With the Marines gone, the Vindicators had no chance at all.

The Riptide was well placed, and its fire proved devastating. The Fire Warriors that, perhaps crazily, seized the central ruins actually stymied the Marines’ efforts up the center.

And don’t get me started on the joy of Breacher Teams firing at short range. By the Emperor, Space Marines fall very quickly under the fire of Pulse Blasters.

As this was a solo game, I must admit I’m hard-pressed to find the right tactics against the Tau. I think next time, I will embrace the inner Black Templar in me. Just rush forward and get into the thick of the xenos, and if xeno battle suits drop all around my flanks, then I must treat this as an opportunity to charge. Kill! Kill! Kill!

If I don’t, Chaplain Numa, even wounded, could decide to dismiss Captain Vivant and take command. And I don’t want to paint up a new company commander. ( I have bought a replacement figure, however, just in case.)

All in all, the campaign on Namatos is a horror show for the Knights of Altair.

Click here to return to Part 1 of the battle.

Click here to return to Part 2.

—

The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.