The rematch
A more aggressive opening
This game against Harvey’s T’au finished 87–37 to my Leagues of Votann, playing Sabotage on 16 October. I went first and decided to see how the Kin would do on the front foot. I wanted to push up earlier, get onto objectives and find out how much pressure the army could take. Harvey gave me a fairly direct answer in his first shooting phase.
The opening cost me a Hekaton and my carrier. The surviving Hekaton then produced a memorable reply, and round three was where the Hearthguard really got to work. There were mistakes to learn from, some enormous moments with the dice, and a much sharper game from Harvey.
Battle round I
Round one The price of pushing up
Some good advance rolls let me stage further forward and sit on objectives straight away. My infiltrators helped with the scoring over the first few rounds, and I made sure my home objective and rear were screened from the start. I was taking ground while keeping that protection in place.
Harvey had deployed well. He did not leave me a useful target to shoot, so the early movement earned me position without an opening damage return. On his turn he moved into his own staging positions and found the tiniest line of sight with his Stealth Battlesuits onto a Hekaton.
That opening was enough. The Stormsurge punished the exposed tank and got the kill on the reroll. The Hekaton then exploded, catching my Hearthguard and Thunderkyn. Thankfully, the damage to them was only one. Harvey also picked up my carrier in that first shooting phase.
I had been punished for moving aggressively. The scoring still mattered, though. Between Dead Reckoning and being on three objectives, I was able to reach Fortified quickly. I had lost valuable pieces, but the army was already doing work on the mission.
Battle round II
Round two A Hekaton with a reply
My Thunderkyn found the smallest firing lane to the Stormsurge. I managed to get all of them a shot and tried to bring it down, but a rerolled save helped leave it on eleven wounds. It was still very much a problem.
I moved up to stage the centre, pushed the Steeljacks out to threaten Overwatch, and had my Hearthguard threatening Harvey’s natural expansion. Then I made a poor shooting decision with the Sagitaur. I put its fire into the Stealth Battlesuits, killed four and left one alive. Overall, my second shooting phase had not done what I needed.
Harvey was ready to punish me again. I had left the remaining Hekaton in view, and he moved the surviving Stealth suit into position to spot. My Overwatch killed it. That mattered: the Stormsurge missed a shot, and the Hekaton survived on four wounds.
That survival gave me Reactive Reprisal. One of the two Magna-rail shots hit and wounded, and the damage roll was a six plus four. Ten damage left the Stormsurge hanging on by a wound. The twin bolt cannons then finished it during Harvey’s shooting phase.
His Riptide also tried to pick up the Sagitaur and failed. After the damage I had taken in round one, keeping those units on the table and removing the Stormsurge gave me a much better position to work from.
Battle round III
Round three The Hearthguard hit back
My reserves arrived on the Riptide side of the board. The Thunderkyn adjusted their position, the Hearthguard already on the table moved up for shooting, and the Steeljacks pushed forward to threaten more Overwatch and get a line onto the battlesuit near the Riptide.
This shooting phase was devastating. The Hearthguard picked up the Ghostkeel, while their grenade launchers went into the Pathfinders and removed them. The Steeljacks used Sustained Hits 2 into the supporting battlesuit and left it on four wounds.
The Hearthguard coming in from deep strike killed a Riptide. It exploded, taking that damaged battlesuit with it. I then made a ten-inch charge into the remaining Riptide and picked that up with the Hearthguard as well. After two difficult early turns, the army had taken a huge amount off Harvey’s side of the table.
He still had his own reserves to bring in. His battlesuits arrived on the right side of the board, but the shooting did not produce the return he needed. He picked up some Hearthguard, then charged with the twins and killed a few more. My attacks back only chipped a few wounds off them. He had made his reply, and we still had a fourth round to play.
Battle rounds IV–V
Round four Harvey made it
In round four I fell back with the Hearthguard, then shot and charged with them. The combined shooting let me clear his remaining troops, and we talked through the rest of round four and round five.
Harvey made round four!
He does not play tournaments, and he knows I am using these games to practise for them. He gave me plenty to think about. His staging was better, he used his stratagems properly, remembered his army rules and moved much more carefully with a shooting army. He denied me targets early and punished the openings I gave him.
There were clear improvements across the board. Good game, mate.
The battle journal
Where the points came from
Scores transcribed from provided journal screenshots. The game continued into round four; the remaining round-four/five finish was talked through.
| Round | Primary | Secondary | How it happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 Sabotage | 5 Beacon | The journal records eight primary and Beacon while the early advance established board position. |
| 2 | 0 Sabotage | 5 Secure No Man’s Land · 2 Display of Might | Seven secondary points kept the score moving while the shooting exchange remained difficult. |
| 3 | 5 Sabotage | 5 Burden of Trust · 5 Bring It Down | The third-round counterattack coincided with ten secondary points in the journal. |
| 4 | 12 Sabotage | 5 Assassination · 5 Plunder | We played into round four, then agreed the remaining finish. |
| 5 | 15 Sabotage | 5 Outflank | The talked-through endgame completed the recorded 40 primary and 37 secondary. |
The debrief
What I am taking into the next game
The aggressive opening got me onto objectives and helped the scoring, but it also offered Harvey a valuable tank before I had taken anything worthwhile off him. I need to check the opponent’s next move and spotting angles as carefully as the position I want to reach. A tiny opening can be enough.
The Sagitaur decision is another one to review. Leaving a single Stealth suit alive gave Harvey a tool he was ready to use; the Overwatch removed it when it moved. I would rather get that target decision right in my own shooting phase.
The Hearthguard still gave me a powerful third turn after the early losses. That is the part I want to keep while tightening up the opening: useful pressure on the mission, fewer avoidable exposures, and enough of the army ready to act when the opportunity arrives.