Necrons vs. Tyranids

My friend Dan and I had been planning this game for a little over a month. Originally, this was going to be a 1500 pointer but I wanted a larger game (as I can only play smaller games at my local club). So we set this at 3000 points per side. I had more or less had this list already made up, the only decision I had to make was if I wanted to take my Pariahs or not (they had performed badly the only other time I have used them). Dan was still putting some 'gaunts together as we arrived. I knew that Dan would upgrade his bugs as much as he could, so I would have to rely on shooting them up before he engaged my tin cans in combat.
My list consisted of:

HQ
The Deceiver
'Lefty' the Necron Lord - Warscythe and Veil of Darkness

ELITE

6 x Pariahs
7 x Immortals

TROOP

5 x units of 12 Warriors

FAST ATTACK

3 x Wraiths
7 x Scarab swarm bases (split into a unit of 3 and a unit of 4)
2 x units of 4 Destroyers

HEAVY SUPPORT

3 x Heavy Destroyers
1 x Monolith

Dan's Tyranid list was:

HQ
Hive tyrant- Enhanced Senses, Toxic Miasma, Extended Carapace, Toxin Sacs, Scything Talons, Venom Cannon, Warp Blast
Broodlord- Extended Carapace, Feeder Tendrils, Toxin - Retinue of 8 Genestealers - Acid Maw, Extended Carapace, Toxin, Scything Talons

ELITE
Carnifex- Scything Talons, Adrenal Glands, Mace Tail
2x Lictors
Warrior Brood- 5 x Deathspitters 1 x Barbed Strangler, Enhanced Senses, Toxin, Scything Talons

TROOP
12X Genestealers- Feeder Tendrils, Scuttlers, Toxin, Extended Carapace
12x Genestealers (as above)
12x Genestealers (as above)
23x Termagaunts
23x Termagaunts

FAST ATTACK
3x Raveners- Scything Talons and Rending Claws, Deathspitters

HEAVY SUPPORT
Carnifex - Scything Talons x 2, Adrenal x 2, Spinebanks, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Regenerate, Acid Maw
Carnifex - Scything Talons, Enhanced Senses, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Barbed Strangler
Carnifex - Enhanced Senses, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Twin-linked Deathspitters

We played on a 6x4 foot area on Dan's floor. We had a bit of a terrain fail, as I forgot to bring my big bag of scenery. Dan didn't fancy playing over clear terrain (I wonder why?), we had to resort to DVD box sets set up in a hilly valley type landscape. I rolled for scenario (Seize Ground) and Dan rolled for deployment type (Pitched Battle). We rolled again and placed a total of three objectives (one outside Dan’s deployment zone to my left, one on a hill outside my zone to my right and one to my right not to far off the second objective). With that in order we rolled for set-up and first turn which I won. Dan attempted to 'Seize the Initiative' but failed. I opted to set-up first and take the first turn. I had set up with three Warrior units poised to take the closest objectives on my right in the first turn. They were backed up by a unit of Destroyers. The Heavy Destroyers sat just behind a small hill that would give them an elevated position and a greater field of fire. The Pariahs stood behind The Deceiver looking to follow him around the battlefield. Lefty and the Immortals was looking to move toward bolstering my left flank. The Wraiths stood in the centre waiting to see where the action was happening just like the Scarab which wanted to tie up anything big. I left the Monolith and two units of Warriors in reserve.

Dan set up his Hive Tyrant and on my right looking to shake me off the two objectives I was set to take. The Brood Lord with retinue, both Termagaunt units and the Raveners set up on my left to swarm the other objective. Both Lictors and 3 units of 'stealers were held back in reserve.
I used The Deceiver's Grand Illusion ability to rearrange my army. I moved a unit of warriors out to my left to add some firepower to the Immortals. The Pariahs were moved towards the oncoming Carnifexes in order to benefit from their Warscythes.

TURN 1

I moved all of my Destroyers into better positions on elevated ground. This worked as my Heavy Destroyers took 2 wounds off one Carnifex. Not much else happened as I wasn't in range of much else. So I took position on the two objectives closest to me and waited for the bugs.

Dan used a manoeuver I don't think is in the Tyranid playbook. He hid his Carnifexes behind cover! He pretty much hid all of his units in this turn. His Termagaunts and Broodlord crept up on my left flank while trying to hide at the same time.

TURN 2

First up I rolled for reserves which never came. Most of my units stayed in roughly the same position. The Pariahs and Deceiver moved slowly towards the cowardly Carnifexes. My shooting left a lot to be desired. While having a high proportion of shots on target, they didn't do much in the way of wounding. So I couldn't do much. Although the Warriors on my left shot down a few Termagaunts.

Dan rolled for his reserves and got all of them. The three units of 'stealers all used flank march (The dice led two units to come on from my left flank and one from my right (which subsequently eyed up some of my Warriors)). The Lictors appeared out of the foliage on the hill where my Heavy Destroyers sat. Dan’s Carnifexes and Hive Tyrant felt adventurous and came out of hiding. They started to shoot and targeted some Destroyers and Warriors taking out a few of each. The Lictors kicked off the first close combat and killed two.

TURN 3

No reserves again, must be something wrong with our superior technology. Again I was pretty lucky with my WBB rolls as all my Heavies got back up again. In the movement phase, the Pariahs and Deceiver moved towards the oncoming Carnifexes again. My Wraiths centered on one of the Lictors. Not much else moved after that. My shooting phase was not that great again. Despite cracking off a large amount of shots, the Warriors, Destoyers and Pariahs on my right just couldn't wound the big beasties heading toward them. The Warriors and Immortals fared a bit better and took out some Termaguants. The Wraiths proceeded to slice and dice one of the Lictors that was harassing my Heavies. On that high note, my turn ended.

The Tyranids then did what they do best! They swarmed forward en masse towards my brave little toasters. Shots from the Carnifexes Deathsptitters Took out one of the Destroyer units and the Pariahs. The Raveners fired upon the Wraiths with their Deathspitters and hoping to target the Heavy Destroyers as well. The Heavy Destroyers all fell but the Wraiths stood thanks to their invulnerable save. The Raveners then followed up their shooting and attack the Wraiths. This time they weren't so lucky with two of them falling. The Genestealers and Brood Lord on my left converged on my Warriors and engaged them in combat. Combat was fierce, but a lot of the wounds were saved. The 'stealers on my right also engaged some Warriors as well. Both units giving as good as they got with casualties on both sides.

TURN 4

Reserves at last!!! The Monolith finally makes an appearance, and as it does so, it dispenses a rather welcome unit of Warriors who look to make a break for the left flank objective. But they faced by the fast approaching Termaguants. With the situation on my left flank looking dire, Lefty decided to gather his Immortals and use the Veil of darkness to try and help out with defending the two objectives on my right. Unfortunately, they scattered in front of the Hive Tyrant and a Carnifex. The Deceiver moved in the same direction but was not in range to charge. Nothing else could move because they were either engaged in combat or just wanted to defend objectives. The Immortals opened fire at the Hive Tyrant and but were pretty ineffective. The remaining Destroyers managed to finish off the Carnifex next to the Tyrant. Time for close combat came and Lefty led a plucky charge against the Hive Tyrant hoping to make use of his Warsythe. Lefty managed to cause only one wound while his Immortals struggled as to do anything. A few of the also Immortals failed their armour saves for good measure. The final Wraith managed to cause a couple of wounds on the Raveners but was destroyed. The Warriors on both sides managed to stem the flow of the Genestealer threat. Both units causing a few wounds while taking a few themselves.

Dan was now in a position to sweep in from my left but had to get rid of the Warriors in their way. In order to do this, he used one of his two units of Genestealer to help out the Brood Lord and retinue by engaging the Warriors. The other units raced on towards the Destroyers. The Termaguants raced towards the Warriors looking to contest the objective on the left. The Raveners also saw this threat and promptly moved toward them. The now unengaged Lictor wandered over to the last unit of Destroyers with metallic murder in its eyes. The two Carnifexes continued their advance towards the right flank objectives and opened fire on the unengaged Warriors causing minimal damage thanks to some good saving throw dice. Going into combat, the Warriors on my left succumbed to the combined 'stealer threat. The Warriors on my right still managed to hold off their own threat with a couple losses on each side. The Hive Tyrant finished off Lefty and his Immortals. The Lictor (now joined by some 'stealers) held its promise and murdered one of the Destroyers, but it died surprisingly easy as well. The Termaguants also got in on the combat action, losing more wounds than they caused.

TURN 5

The Monolith sent out its final reserve unit who also looked to the left flank objective. The Deceiver moved towards the Hive Tyrant looking to take it out. In the shooting phase, the unit of Warriors who were currently holding one of the right flank objectives, concentrated their Gauss Flayers at the charging Carnifexes but couldn't inflict any wounds. The freshly emerged Warriors combined their gunfire with the Gauss Flux Arcs of the Monolith and took out over a quarter of the unengaged Termagaunt unit. With that done, the Deceiver slaughtered the Hive Tyrant and looked for his next target. The Destroyers were killed before they could strike back at the Genestealers. The Warriors on my right had beaten the odds and dispatched the last of the 'stealers while being whittled down to three themselves.

Dan moved both of his Termagaunts units and Raveners towards the Warriors on the left within shooting distance. The 'stealers who had clawed through the Destroyers looked to move towards the smaller unit of Warriors on the far right thus ignoring the unit just inches away. The Brood Lord and retinue and the final units of 'stealers approached the ignored Warriors. The Carnifexes opted to soften up the full strength unit of Warriors ready for the impending combat. This had caused three of the Warriors to drop. The Raveners had mixed fortune with their shooting killing Tyranid and Necron alike. The Termaguants had some good fortune with the amount of shots they cracked off, but found it difficult to cause much damage. The combat phase saw a major amount of charging by pretty much everything. The 'stealers wiped out the quarter strength unit of Warrior on my far right. The Brood Lord and all other Genestealers around him tore into the other unit of Warriors who managed to hold ground. The Raveners and one unit of Termagaunts were within charging range of the new arrivals. The Necrons lost one Warrior while they dispatched with six Termagaunts. One of the Carnifexes rammed into the Deceiver causing three wounds while suffering only one in return.

TURN 6

The only Necron unit that could move was the Monolith, which crept slowly towards the right flank. But it was not in range to unleash it's Particle Whip. All that was left to do was resolve combats. Both units of Warriors on my left took out a few more Termagaunts each but not enough to be free in order to claim the objective. The unit of Warriors on the far right were swamped with tooth and claw and couldn't repel the attack. The Warriors next to them managed to stand up to their own Genestealer threat losing as much as their opponents. The Deceiver fumbled in his attempt at beating his opponent. As a result he was finished off without much fuss.

There was no moving or shooting in Dan's turn, so we went straight into combat. The Genestealers on my right consumed the rest of my Warriors. Both Termagaunt units managed to keep the two units of Warriors on the left tied up giving victory to the Tyranids.

END OF BATTLE.

The game finished with Dan holding two of the three objectives while the third was only contested. The game was certainly hard fought. I thought my deployment was ok, but maybe I could have moved one or two units into better positions to support each other. Some of my shooting wasn’t that great despite the amount of shots pulled off. I didn’t support my Pariahs so they ended up being smooshed. I think I left the Deceiver out of the action for too long. I should have tried to engage him sooner and maybe try and draw some fire. The biggest nuisance for me was the monolith not coming on until late. I could have used the Particle Whip against Dan’s Carnifexes, while the Warrior units they were holding may have finished off the Termagaunts and captuered their objective. This was the first time I had used my Wraiths. They proved their worth when they hit the Lictor with no less than 9 S6 hits!
Still, I’m annoyed I lost. But then I realized one positive. My Necrons didn’t Phase Out! Marvelous!