Is this gonna be another Bug Hunt?
I've been pretty busy and it's kept me away from gaming. I managed to scare up some free time and went down to the local GW to try to get in a game. After talking with some of the regulars for a bit, I asked around about getting in a game, and one of the guys said he'd take me on. Chris plays Imperial Guard (Hi Chris!) and is prepping his army for the Portland GT, I think. (This becomes an important point later.)

I haven't played against Imperial Guard since their new codex, so I figured I was in for a bit of a learning curve and some pretty cool stuff. The manager, Patrick (Hi Patrick!) set up a table for us and we wasted no time getting down to business.

Game: Spearhead with Annihilation as the only objective.

Imperial Guard
I'm not completely up on the new Guard, but Chris had something like: Iron Hand Strakken, Harker and a Vet squad, several Commissars, some Ratling Snipers, 2 Platoons with Autocannon, 1 Platoon with Missile Launchers, 2 Lascannon Heavy Weapons teams and 2 Mortar Heavy Weapons teams (I think) plus a Deathstrike Launcher!

Tyranids
184 Hive Tyrant BS4 S6 Sv2+ Psychic Scream VC/TL-Devs
174 Hive Tyrant BS4 S6 Sv2+ VC/TL-Devs

113 Devilfex 1:Carnifex BS3 2xTL-Devourer
113 Devilfex 2:Carnifex BS3 2xTL-Devourer
113 Devilfex 3:Carnifex BS3 2xTL-Devourer

120 6x Genestealer Brood 1 Feeder Tendrils, Scuttlers
120 6x Genestealer Brood 2 Feeder Tendrils, Scuttlers
64 8x Spinegaunt Brood Without Number

195 3x Zoanthrope (Warp Blast/Psychic Scream)
148 Gunfex 1: Carnifex Bs3 VC/BS
148 Gunfex 2: Carnifex Bs3 VC/BS

1500pts

Deployment

Deployment
Chris set up a solid defense-in-depth in his corner, putting the Lascannon teams in cover and keeping the Deathstrike Launcher and the Mortars out of Line of Sight, with the Platoons arrayed in front of them and Harker's team Outflanking. I setup mostly in the open arrayed in something close to my usual Wall. A few MCs had to go in the second rank so that I could start out as close as possible. I put the Zoanthropes behind them and left the Gaunts Lurking deep in the back of my quarter. (They are easy pickings and pretty much useless in a Killpoint mission.) After a little hemming and hawing, I decided to use the Scuttlers on my Genestealers and Outflank them. Chris had first turn and suggested I try to Seize the Initiative, but as I usually prefer to have the 2nd turn, I passed on it.

Turn 1
IG: Chris uses the "Bring it Down" Order on the Lascannon teams against Gunfex 1, killing it. The remainder of his army puts 3W on Devilfex 1 and does a few other scattered Wounds as well.

T: Most of my creatures are just inches out of range, but the ones that can get range kill 15 Guardsmen across the two lead platoons.

commentary: I really could have targeted better. Even though _all_ of my Devourers would have out of range, I should have targeted the Lascannon teams.

End of Turn 1

Turn 2
IG: Those Lascannons and the "Bring it down" order takes down the Scream Tyrant, while Missiles and Autocannons take down the second Gunfex and Sly Marbo appears and nukes a Zoanthrope.

T: Despite losing so much of my firepower, my Devourer grubs manage to wipe out Platoon 1 and take out about 8 from the second platoon. (Those Devourers do a number on Flak armor when they get in range!)

commentary: The damage I did this turn made me feel much better, but I knew it wasn't enough compared to how much damage I'd already taken.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3
IG: The 2nd Tyrant goes down, as does the second Devilfex. The Deathstrike launcher goes off, killing both remaining Zoanthropes and Sly Marbo, as well as Wounding both remaining Devilfexen!

T: I'm sure my Devilfexen did some damage, but I don't have it written down. I think I took out several of the Lascannon teams (finally!) Meanwhile, the first brood of Genestealers shows up in the backlines and kill 11 Guardsmen for a loss of 2 Genestealers.

commentary: Genestealers in the backlines of a Guard formation still spells trouble, at least if they are clumped up in Platoons!)

End of Turn 3

End of Turn 3, other board edge

Turn 4
IG: Harker's team rolls in on my flank, behind my lurking Gaunts. The Guants barely have time to register their fate before they are baked by the multiple flamers. One Devilfex dies to the remaining Lascannon Teams, while the other goes down to a sniper. The Genestealers only kill 3 Guardsmen this turn and lose three of their own. Ouch.

T: The remaining Genestealer dies (I think he killed 1 or 2, but I'm not sure.) The Gaunts move back on at the board edge and Lurk as far away from Harker's team as possible. The second Genestealer brood comes to their rescue, appearing inches away from Harker's team and wiping them out on the charge!

commentary: This shows how much damage Genestealers can do, but also shows how much they need to be supported to keep up their damage! I need more Genestealers in this army.

End of Turn 4

End of Turn 4, other board edge

Turn 5
I'm pretty sure we played at least another turn, but I don't have any notes on it.

End of Game

Final Score: 12 Kill Points to 5, Tyranid Loss.

Hindsight is 20/20
I made some dumb mistakes early on in the game that really kind of sunk my chances. First off, I should have taken the chance at seizing the initiative. It's only a 1 in 6 chance and all my Devourers would have been completely out of range, but my Venom Cannons and Barbed Stranglers could have fired on the Lascannon teams, which were most likely to damage my Monstrous Creatures. I probably could have taken out one of the 3-platform teams by doing that. Which brings me to another point. Even without getting the first turn, I could have done nearly that same amount of damage to the Lascannon teams. This damage early on would have made a big difference to how much damage my army took. Instead, I focused on how much damage the Devourers would do at short range and shot at the nearest targets instead of the important ones. Similarly, I focused my deployment on getting my front line as close as possible to his lines. If I had placed further back, I could have gotten a single, long line and gotten a bit better focus fire. I could have also placed inside terrain, which would have given me a bit more life against the Lascannons and the Missile Launchers. If I can just make these into lessons learned, I'll do way better in my games. There was one other thing, though...

Whoops!
As I was packing up my Tyranids and Chris was taking his Guard to the car, he asked if my army was 1850 or 2000pts. "1500," I replied. He stopped and looked at me in shock. Apparently he was getting ready for the Portland GT, which is 2000pts, and neither of us had actually asked how many points we were going to play! I had a good laugh over that. It made me feel better about the amount of damage we'd done to each other's armies. Given my mediocre tactics and my army's weakness in Killpoint Missions, I'm sure I would have lost anyway, but it would have been closer! Chris told me that most people in the area are now playing 1850 or 2000pts as their standard games, so I guess I'll have to bulk up my army a bit. That's just as well, since I plan on giving it a bit of an overhaul anyway. I think I've learned a few things about the strengths and weaknesses of this armylist in 5th edition, so it's time to start honing the razor's edge again. Chris was a fun player and I look forward to taking him on again with equal point values. :)

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