BATTLE SCENARIO: Siege of AR-558

Dominion Objective: Retake a communications array captured by Federation troops.  The troops must be moved off the array before reinforcements arrive.

Enemy Assets:

• A Federation ground team, originally numbering 150 personnel and commanded by a captain.

Friendly Assets:

• Cloaked anti-personnel mines that were set at the array before it was captured.
• A ground base, and dozens of personnel (between 50 and 100 Jem'Hadar).

History:

• When Sisko and crew arrived from the Defiant, to deliver supplies, they find that Lieutenant Larkin is commanding the remaining 43 personnel after five months of repeated assaults.
• After a random casualty, we find out about the 'Houdinis' (cloaked mines) that hide in subspace and reappear at random times.
• Nog identified a group of Jem'Hadar while on a reconnaissance mission.  His unit was attacked; Larkin was killed, and he barely escaped with his life.
• Ezra and the field engineer was able to detect and take control of the Houdinis.  At Sisko's order, they mined the valley that ran between the Jem'Hadar base and the array.
• Surprisingly, the Jem'Hadar did what was expected of them, and walked through the valley.  Dozens of them were killed by the mines before they started their war cry and berserk charge.
• The defenders set up behind a series of barricades facing the opening to their position.  This opening served as a chokepoint that attackers were expected to come through.  They tried to catch the Jem'Hadar in the chokepoint with withering cross-fire, but were unable to lay down sufficient fire to keep them there.
• The battle devolved into a brutal melee combat where most of the defenders (and all of the attackers) were slain.  Reinforcements arrived not too long afterwards.

 Could the Imperial Guard succeed where the Jem'Hadar failed?

• First, we must define their assets.  Since both sides had access to nothing but infantry weapons, the IG will be restricted to small-arms weapons.
• The phase-cloaked mines are replaced with much better conventional mines.  This new minefield would slow down the Federation troops, and might actually prevent the capture of the array.
• Heavy weapons teams will not be allowed to field mortars since the objective to capture the array, and not to damage it.
• If we disregard that the minefield could prevent the situation altogether, we can assume the Federation eliminated the rest of the mines in the area after capturing the array.
• The most straightforward answer would be to have the heavy bolters pin down the defenders in their barricades before blanketing the area with frag grenades shoot out of grenade launchers.  Anyone who survives the barrage is taken by the guardsman who rush the clearing when the barrage ends.

How would the Imperial Guard fare in place of the Federation?

• First, we must define their assets.  The heavy weapons teams have access to their full arsenal.
• Because they firing out of the area, they don't fear causing damage to the array.  Therefore, the IG can make liberal use of mortars.  With forward scouts, the mortar can continuously fire on Jem'Hadar positions.
• Any attempt by the Jem'Hadar to rush the chokepoint will run into the waiting guns of the heavy bolter teams.  Another one or two heavy bolters posted outside of the clearing would fire as soon as those inside the clearing sound off; trapping the attackers in a perfect kill-zone.

Conclusions: The greater variety of infantry weapons and availability of small fragmentation weapons ensues the IG would have the advantage in either role.  In place of the Jem'Hadar, they have more options than a frontal assault.  In place of the Federation, their ability to fire indirectly and access to sustained fire weapons means they can hit the attackers without reprisal.

I give the Imperial Guard 2 for 2 points for this scenario.

Update 9/26/14

Hey guys, James here. It's been ages since I posted, I know. it will change soon. My old laptop has a fried motherboard, and a very hefty repair fee going on for it, so for now i'm using my 'acer Aspire 5515' and it is not the greatest. On top of that I moved and have a new job, it's been very stressful and time consuming. I work the night shift by the way. My plan for this weekend is to double down and get some more work done on my WH. Maybe do a squad or so. Truthfully when i look at my armies now, I cringe at just how much work I still have to do it. But with patience and a bit of hard work, I should be up and posting again in no time.

Cheers

BATTLE SCENARIO: First Battle of Geonosis

Recently, I had re-watched Attack of the Clones.  During the battle at the end I kept wondering how the Tau could handle the situation in place of the Separatists.  Which is what inspired me to do this segment.

CIS Objective: Escape with as many ships and personnel as you can.

Enemy Assets:

• Flotilla of Acclamators and warships.
• Ground troops and armoured vehicles.
• Couple hundred Jedi.

Friendly Assets:

• Small flotilla of ships in orbit.
• At least a million battle droids of various types.
• Support of the native population.

 History:

• Upon hearing news of Kenobi's pending execution, Mace Windu took a group of Jedi to Geonosis while Yoda headed to Kamino.
• The Jedi attacked the stadium without word of their arrival reached anyone.  They proceeded to trap themselves in the arena surrounded by hordes of battledroids, and made no attempt to escape.
• A fleet of Acclamators broke through the screen of ships in orbit so quickly that by the time anyone received news of the arrival, troops were already moving into formation on the planet's surface and LAAT-gunships were attacking several airfields and hangar bays in the area.
• A tiny group of gunships (led by Yoda) saved the remaining Jedi at the arena.
• The battledroids responded by rushing en masse from the underground factories to try and stall the clones on the plains while the rest of the Separatist escape the planet.
• LAAT-gunships proceed to destroy much of the above ground infrastructure, enemy air units that do launch, armoured vehicles on the plains, and prevent more vehicles from reaching the battle.
• SPHA-T artillery guns destroy one of the Trade Federation core ships and a few of the Techno Union commerce vessels.
• Skywalker and Kenobi attempt to head off Dooku's escape.
• Despite both of them and Yoda fighting against him, Dooku still managed to get off the planet.
• The Grand Army of the Republic captures the planet of Geonosis and destroys the droid factories.

Could the Tau Empire succeed where the Separatist failed?

• First, we must define their assets.  The Geonosians would be replaced with Vespid, Kroot replacing the regular battledroids, and everything else being with Tau.  Fleet assets are replaced with Tau Il'Porrui (Emissary) Class Cruisers, Demiurg Bastion Class and Stronghold Class Commerce Vessels.
• Since the fleet assets are better equipped than in the original battle (not surprising considering the Separatist ships were converted freighters), the Acclamators would be delayed in reaching the surface. This gives time for a ship to give a warning to the ground forces.  Thus giving the Tau more time to evacuate their materiel from the planet.
• The Jedi in the arena would probably be all dead by the time reinforcements came, as well as the three prisoners.
• Because of the increased time for the Acclamators to land, the Tau would be able to engage the clonetroopers as they were disembarking.  The LAAT-gunships would also have a more difficult time in the air with planes already in the air.
• Eventually, the clones would take the planet; but while also sustaining more casualties and stopping fewer enemies from escaping.

Flip side: How would the Tau Empire fare in place of the Clone Army?

• First, we must define their assets.  Instead of the flotilla of Acclamators and other ships, the Tau Empire would have Or'es El'lauth (Custodian) Class Battleships and Emissary Class Cruisers.  Jedi are replaced by Ethereals, and the clones are replaced by Tau ground forces.
• Simply put, this battle can not happen.  The sequence or events requires that one party makes a journey from the center of the galaxy to the Outer Rim.  This trip would take a Tau 20 years.  The other trip is to the Halo Stars region of a satellite galaxy.  Something that would take at least a century.  By the time any Tau units show up at Geonosis, it would either be a Forge World or abandoned.

Conclusions: The Tau Empire would certainly succeed in place of the Separatist, thanks to the strength of their fleet.  In place of the Republic, they wouldn't even be able to get to the planet for a battle to occur.

I give the Tau Empire 1 out of 2 points for this scenario.

Bit of Analysis

Needless to say that there has been a lot said about this flier since the Dark Angels got their new codex.  The ruling consensus about the Nephilim Jetfighter is that it is overpriced and ever bad at its stated role.  But, is it really?  That is what I intend to find out.

The fluff says that the Jetfighter only started being used by the Dark Angels in late M40 when they found an STC for an improved engine (which they have since starting calling the 'Lionheart engine').  It does make you wonder how bad the old engines if the "improved" ones still don't give the plane the 'fast' special rule like most other fliers do.

Over the skies of Piscina 4, three of these planes managed to kill over 48 Ork planes.  On the world of Kundra, the Jetfighter provided cover for the Ravenwing by blasting apart various tanks and jet-bikes of the Eldar.  So, the intended role of the Nephilim is that of a multi-role air superiority fighter/ground-attack craft.  Seems like either the Space Marines or the writers never heard of dilution of focus.

For the stated price of 180 pts, you get a AV 11 HP3 flier with the starting wargear: Twin-linked Heavy Bolters (36",S5,AP4,Heavy 3), Twin-linked Lascannon (48",S9,AP2,Heavy 1), and six Blacksword Missiles(36",S6,AP4,Heavy 1).  The only option available for it is to replace the lascannon with an avenger mega bolter (48",S6,AP4,Heavy 5).

Since most fliers in the game have AV10 or 11, these weapons seem good enough to contend with them.  It appears that anything AV 12 or above is something the Jetfighter should not be shooting at.  So, it is a bit baffling that the plane comes loaded with a lascannon (whose sole purpose is to take down heavy armor, something this plane has no business going up against).

Now, if I could make a very un-Space Marine-like suggestion.  Focus on what the plane is actually good against and never take a lascannon.  Sure, you'll miss out on being able to cause an explosion with a single shot; but against AV 10, you only had an 11.2% chance of that happening.  Instead, what you should be focusing with this thing is trying to immobilize enemy vehicles.

Why immobilize?  Because two immobilized results means the vehicle is wrecked.  Also, because the Nephilim has the Unrelenting Hunter special rule: When shooting at enemy vehicles, a Nephilim can choose to treat any Weapon Destroyed results as Immobilised.  Most people would want to ruin a weapon on the vehicle, but it doesn't lead to it dying any faster.

So, which one sounds better for that goal?  A twin-linked heavy 1 shot, or a heavy 5 weapon?  Add in two missiles and the heavy bolters, you have seven S6 and three S5 shots to wreck a light vehicle in a single shooting phase.  That sounds something to believe in, unlike a single die roll.

Plus, the avenger mega bolter has another advantage over the lascannon.  If there aren't any vehicles left for the Nephilim to shoot at, there are always infantry mobs.  With anything that has 4+ armor, you have five potential kills vs. just one with the lascannon.

Back to the question from the top of this article.  Is the Nephilim as bad as most forums make it out to be?  No.  There are a lot of people who compare it to the Stormraven Gunship, but that is where their arguments fall apart.  Stormravens are heavyweights who have a whole slew of options to focus on very different targets.  The Nephilim's main priority should be solely on light armor.  Which it can excel at (if you leave the lascannon in the box).

Is it orverpriced?  Yes.  About 20 or 30 pts too expensive for its limited role.  But, who knows, maybe all the over fliers will cost more in the future.

So, just remember, the Nephilim can wreak havok on light armor; and if you have it leap from target to target, it will prove to be a reliable support for the men on the ground.  And, never, EVER, take lascannons on this plane.