Discovered! - Vigilus

With the Ork menace now firmly entrenched on the surface, elements of the Planetary Defence Forces began to patrol the weaker edges of the hives. One such patrol stumbled upon a Cult outpost and recognizing Xenos taint, began a purging of the area. 

With the PDF closing in, the Cult swiftly dug in and prepared to repel the attacking force. To start with they did well but once the enemy closed the distance things took a turn for the worse.

Second game with the Genestealer Cult and my second in the club narrative. This time I faced Elliot and his Astra Militarum - although I had expected to face his Adeptus Custodes so this was an interesting development.

We had already agreed on playing the Patrol mission and rolled for who took what role. Elliot was the attacker which did make more narrative sense. I picked my corner and set up the bastion and both neophyte squads. Everything else sat in reserve or in the shadows. Elliots deployment was a chimera with bullgryns and a squad of tempestus guardsmen.

I had the first turn and there was little to do. Everything was out of range of my weapons so the heavy bolter squad advanced into the cover of a nearby ruin giving them a line of fire down one street where I knew the enemy would have to advance. On his turn Elliot moved the chimera into a position where we both agreed it would have cover. Turn one was over without a single shot being fired!

As the game progressed things swiftly went in Elliot's favour. I failed to get any reinforcements turn two and my shooting knocked a single wound from the chimera. On his turn almost all of his reinforcements arrived, including a vulture gunship! A small unit of tempestus scions dropped down in a ruin across from my heavy bolter team and a culexis assassin appeared in a ruin across from my bastion. I lost quite a few models from his shooting and the resulting battle shock. It was not looking good.

Turn three and at last help arrived for the besieged cult. The genestealers, patriarch and primus popped up from the shadows. The first roll would have let Elliot choose the two table edges where I might appear and I didn't trust him not to put me across the table or at the far end from my forces so I had the primus re-roll. This time I got to choose the table edges and it was a hard decision. So much of what he had had come in was bunched together so that I was forced to basically appear almost in my own lines. Perhaps I would have been better off taking the first roll. My shooting was terrible and I think I took a wound off the Vulture and killed a scion. My dice were not in my favour this game.

Elliot got the rest of his forces on the table and my genestealers found themselves staring down a leman russ executioner! Said executioner and wyvern then decimated over half the genestealers. At this point I knew the game was lost. I had little to know way of doing much to him now. This turn also saw the bullgryns climb out of the chimera and take out the last of the heavy bolter team.

Turn four and I got some revenge. My hybrid squad popped up from the shadows close to the culexis and my magos arrived just a little too late to help out. Smites flew and I did manage a couple wounds but the genestealers managed to dispatch the bullgryns while the patriarch, who now sat atop a ruined tower, attempted to leap at the Vulture. I had a cool narrative in my mind of it leaping onto the cockpick and ripping the pilot out. Instead he took seven wounds from the punisher cannons in overwatch. The hybrids managed to, mainly through the heavy rock saw take two wounds from the assassin but then died to it's counter attack.

It was at this point that I accepted defeated and gave an epic handshake to my opponent. Elliot's list was well played and just not what I am currently capable of dealing with. It was frustrating at times but a good evening's gaming.

I think the mission wasn't great for me either. I need to decide when my units pop out of the shadows and Patrol forces you to roll to see if they turn up. That hurt but would it have helped me if those units had come in earlier? Probably not. I think Elliot's guardsmen would have just killed me all the sooner.

+++ GSC (Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition) +++

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Tyranids - Genestealer Cults) ++

+ HQ +

Magus: Familiar, Power: Mind Control
. . Categories: HQ, Character, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Faction: Tyranids, Infantry, Psyker, Genestealer

Patriarch: Familiar, Power: Might From Beyond, Warlord
. . Categories: Faction: Tyranids, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Character, HQ, Psyker, Infantry, Genestealer, Warlord

Primus: Bonesword
. . Categories: HQ, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Faction: Tyranids, Infantry, Character

+ Troops +

Acolyte Hybrids: Cult Icon
. . Categories: Troops, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Faction: Tyranids, Infantry
. . 3x Acolyte Hybrid
. . Acolyte Hybrid (Hand Flamer): Hand Flamer
. . Acolyte Hybrid (Heavy Weapon): Autopistol, Heavy Rock Saw
. . Acolyte Leader: Lash Whip and Bonesword

Neophyte Hybrids: Cult Icon
. . Categories: Troops, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Faction: Tyranids, Infantry
. . 8x Neophyte Hybrid (Lasgun)
. . Neophyte Hybrid (Special Weapon): Grenade Launcher
. . Neophyte Leader: Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
. . Neophyte Weapons Team: Lascannon

Neophyte Hybrids: Cult Icon
. . Categories: Troops, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Faction: Tyranids, Infantry
. . 8x Neophyte Hybrid (Lasgun)
. . Neophyte Hybrid (Special Weapon): Flamer
. . Neophyte Leader: Bolt Pistol, Chainsword
. . Neophyte Weapons Team: Heavy Bolter

+ Elites +

Purestrain Genestealers: 16x Purestrain Genestealer, 16x Purestrain Talons
. . Categories: Elites, Faction: Tyranids, Faction: Genestealer Cults, Genestealer, Infantry

++ Fortification Network (Tyranids - Genestealer Cults) ++

+ Fortification +

Imperial Bastion: 4x Heavy bolter, Quad-gun
. . Categories: Fortification, Faction: Unaligned, Building, Vehicle, Transport

++ Total: [73 PL, 1099pts] ++

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