Game Two: Communication Breakdown

Cross the apparently empty no man's land and secure the bunker. Sounds easy, right?

Scenario

The second game for the Incident On Malinche IX campaign involved another specially designed special Kill Teams scenario revolving around the second Black Dragon Tactical Squad getting ambushed on the way to trying to remedy the electronic jamming of all their communications.
You can read the scenario particulars as well as the background fiction here
Justin played a Space Marine Tactical Squad that included a missile launcher, a flamer, and a power sword for Sergeant Bors. Once again, it’s another well-rounded squad good at dealing with various kinds of enemies. He gave his Sergeant the Feel No Pain rule, while his flamer got Stealth and his missile launcher got Relentless.
I played a brood of nine Genestealers, including a Broodlord. I could have had more models, but I opted to give the brood adrenal glands instead. That gave all my nasty aliens the Furious Charge rule (which meant I wounded Marines on a 3+ when I charged). My Broodlord was given Feel No Pain, while two others got Stealth and Preferred Enemy.

Round One

Keep your eyes open, brothers!
Broodlord takes first blood
Justin wisely deployed his missile launcher high in a ruined building in his deployment zone. Then the rest of troops made a desperate run across the table. The Genestealers jumped out from their hiding spots. The nature of the scenario dictates the defenders can’t make normal moves when they arrive, but they can run (and assault if they have Fleet). I managed to roll pretty well with my rather random deployment and was able to get one regular Genestealer and the Broodlord into close combat. They managed to kill both Marines..

Round Two

All three possible outcomes in one combat
The Marines had an abysmal round of shooting. Most of the few hits failed to wound (which was fortunate for me, as bolter rounds negate my Genestealer’s chitin). Sergeant Bors and the missile launcher had to combine their fire to take out the Broodlord. Three Genestealers then pounced three Marines; one Marine died, one Genestealer died, the last two fighters were locked in a stalemate.

Round Three

Mariiiines, we are leeeaaaviiing!
The Marines wisely made a tactical withdrawal towards the bunker. One Marine blew the brains out of one Genestealer while the missile launcher took out another one. The rest of the Marines ran while the one that was locked in combat was torn asunder by the Genestealer’s rending claws. Three more Genestealers jumped the Marines and fell two with rending claws. The last Genestealer remained locked in combat. It should be noted at this point that the Marines were reduced to less than 50%. They only way the Marines could win was to kill me to the last model and then roll a straight 6 on a die.

Round Four

By the Emperor's blood, they're all around us!
The Marines had another disastrous round of shooting. Only the missile launcher was able to take out a Genestealer. Sergeant Bors made a desperate charge into close combat but failed to wound the four-armed monster. Meanwhile the locked combat from last round remained unresolved. A Genestealer then pounced and rended another marine while yet another one jumped on Sergeant Bors. The monster hit Bors three times, but his Feel No Pain rule saved the day. In retaliation, Sergeant Bors slew both Genestealers with a furious swing of his power sword. The previous locked combat remained that way, as neither Marine nor Genestealer could manage to wound.

Round Five

No quarter will be asked for and none shall be given
The missile launcher fails to take out a Genestealer with a krak missile but Sergeant Bors was able to drop one with his bolt pistol. The seemingly unending combat between Marine and Genestealer continues with no victor. Then at the end of my turn five, the Marine got lucky and the Genestealer died. My entire force was dead, but victory was not guaranteed for Justin. As he was way under 50%, a single dice roll would determine whether or not his remaining troops could get the generator in the bunker working. Justin did not roll that straight six and I was able to claim a Pyrrhic victory.
Make sure every last Xenos is dead...

Reflections

Well I'll be damned; a victory for me against Justin for a change! It was really close for a while, especially with all those lousy rounds of Marine shooting. And like the last game, it was a total blast to play. Interestingly enough, we got so caught up in the game that we forgot about the Impending Darkness rule. We changed the scenario rules midway through the game (the bit with the die roll) once I had managed to drop so many of Justin's Marines. All I did was just make things more sporting for him and in the end, I won anyway. This was the first time I got to try out my Genestealers and I was not dissapointed. Rending is my new best friend. My reward for this scenaio? I get to have a Stealer brood backing up my Cultists in future games.
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