Pinturama Campaign Part 1: Showdown on Sena'goso

In the dark future of the 41st millennium, a tiny war rages in my garage. Read the campaign background here.

After receiving a briefing from Luna Seta's Imperial Comptroller, the newly arrived Raven Guard Space Marines investigate the Tau threat on Sena'goso. Within a few hours of landfall, a detachment led by the recently-promoted Captain Edgar arrive at the rainforested mesas of Sena'goso and locate a Tau patrol awaiting a resupply droneship. Captain Edgar orders his soldiers forward to destroy the Marshy Dogs.

Raven Guard Scout Detachment

Total Roster Cost: 496

Captain Edgar (1#, 125 pts)

1 Space Marine Captain, 0 pts

1 ...in Power Armour, 125 pts = (base cost 100 + Power Fist x1 25)

Heavy Sniper Scouts (6#, 121 pts)

5 Scout Squad, 103 pts = 5 * 16 (base cost 13 + Camo Cloaks 3) + Missile Launcher 10 + Sergeant 31

1 Sergeant, 18 pts = (base cost 10 + Camo Cloaks 3 + Melta Bombs 5)

Close Combat Scouts (5#, 100 pts)

4 Scout Squad, 65 pts = 4 * 13 (base cost 13) + Sergeant 48

1 Sergeant, 35 pts = (base cost 10) + Power 
Fist x1 25

Tactical Squad Lenore (6#, 150 pts)

4 Tactical Squad, 67 pts = 4 * 16 (base cost 16) + Sergeant 41

1 Sergeant, 38 pts = (base cost 23 + Melta Bombs 5) + Combi-Meltagun x1 10

1 Rhino, 45 pts = (base cost 35 + Pintle-mounted Storm Bolter 10)

With the impending arrival of much-needed equipment and reinforcements, Commander Leapfrog personally oversees the landing of the Puffer-class transport pods. When several sentry drones cease transmitting near their position, the Shas'o repositions his teams for possible enemy contact. "Stay alert, noble Fire Warriors. I believe we have incoming enemy contact."

Tau Marshy-Dog Patrol

Total Roster Cost: 500

Shas'o Leapfrog (1#, 117 pts)
   1 Commander Shas'o, 117 pts ((C:TE, pg. 32); Independent Character; Unit Type: Jump Infantry (Jet Packs); Bonding Knife; Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker; Acute Senses; Deep Strike; Relentless)

Long Gunner Team (6#, 60 pts)
   6 Fire Warrior, 60 pts ((C:TE, pg. 36); Unit Type: Infantry; Pulse Rifle x6)

Short-Gun Team (6#, 60 pts)
   6 Fire Warrior, 60 pts ((C:TE, pg. 36); Unit Type: Infantry; Pulse Carbine x6)

Kroot Mercenary Team (11#, 77 pts)
   11 Kroot Carnivore Squad, 77 pts ((C:TE, pg. 37); Unit Type: Infantry; Kroot Rifle x11; Fieldcraft; Infiltrate)

The Tau long-gunner team moves quickly into position.

Battlesuit Team Skittertoad (3#, 186 pts) 3 Crisis Battlesuit, 186 pts ((C:TE, pg. 34); Unit Type: Jump Infantry (Jet Packs); Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker; Acute Senses; Deep Strike; Relentless)


Order of Battle

• Mission: Annihilation

• Deployment: Spearhead

• Points: 500

• Initiative: Space Marines win initiative and deploy first. The Tau do not steal initiative.

• Spoils of Victory: 1. The victorious army will determine the mission and deployment for the next battle. 2. 1-3% reserve points will be awarded to the winning army. These points may be used in the army list above the army point limit specified in the Order of Battle. (For example, the winning player rolls a 2 and may use up 30 extra points in a 1500 point game for an army total up to 1530 points.) These points may be banked or spent in any amount in a future battle. 

The Raven Guard Heavy Sniper Squad is unable to pin down their enemy.

Round 1: Raven Guard Close Combat Scouts charge forward towards the Kroot hidden in the treeline as the Heavy Sniper Squad provides covering fire. Lenore Squad's Rhino moves quickly up to the side of the assault scouts, providing their teammates with cover from the enemy Fire Warrior teams to the east. The snipers prove ineffective at dislodging or pinning the Kroot mercenaries due to their superior xeno-fieldcraft. 

The Kroot, having the Space Marine scouts well within their range, rapid-fire into the enemy and drop one of the enemy Marines. The Tau long-gunners also fire into the charging assault-scouts but fail to stop any from reaching their allied mercenaries in the treeline. Leapfrog and team Skittertoad, minding the tenants of the patient hunter, grab hold of a departing transport dronepod and circle the battlefield, waiting to strike deep behind the Space Marines.

Space Marine scouts battle the Kroot in brutal close-quarters combat.

Round 2: Lenore's Rhino moves forward, blocking the Fire Warriors' line-of sight to the scouts while using its storm-bolter to shoot into the Fire Warriors, killing one. The snipers hold their position and continue to fire at the Kroot, to no avail. The scouts open up with their pistols and charge into the trees for a hand-to-hand assault, using their grenades to give them first strike. In the ensuing struggle, one Space Marine is wounded and the Kroot are wiped out to the man. Bloody, but not beaten, the Raven Guard scouts turn towards the Fire Warriors hidden in the castle ruins.

Tau Fire Warriors, armed with pulse rifles, take shelter in the ancient ruins.

"Focus fire on their tracked-transport," Leapfrog radios from above the battlefield. Both long and short gun Fire Warrior teams attempt to slow down the enemy Rhino, destroying its storm bolter with a salvo of well-placed plasma pulses into its side and rear armor.

Round 3: With a heavy thud, the Rhino's doors open and Captain Edgar and Tactical Squad Lenore disembark. Smoke launchers on their Rhino activate and the Space Marines begin shooting wildly into the Fire Warriors, attempting to move in close for an assault. The Tau are too well covered and no bolter shots hit. From the tower ruin, the snipers switch targets, also to little effect. The human rifles are out of range of the Tau and the frag missile misses, nearly hitting their own men in the rapidly closing tactical squad. The assault scouts fire their pistols into the Tau and another Fire Warrior falls. With only minor losses, the long-gunner team resolutely hold its ground. Hampered by the dense thicket of trees, the scouts are too far away to use their combat blades in an close-quarters assault.

Tactical squad Lenore disembarks from their Rhino transport...

...and fight desperately to dislodge the Fire Warriors from their cover.

With a scream of jetpack retro-rockets, the Tau Crisis Suits drop in behind the tactical squad and the combine fire with the Fire Warrior teams. The humans and their captain are unceremoniously gunned down in a hail of plasma, missiles and lasers. Fearing he has overplayed his hand, the wounded Captain Edgar calls for immediate Thunderhawk extraction. With a single nod from their commander, the Tau crisis suit teams leap towards the tower to engage the snipers.

Round 4: In a last ditch effort to drive the Fire Warriors off, the assault scouts shoot into the Fire Warrior team, but once again, the Tau are too well protected by the castle ruins to notice and the Scouts are too far away to effectively engage them hand-to-hand. With their wounded loaded, the Rhino moves back and withdraws from the battle. The sniper team targets the closing Crisis Suit team. The snipers scores a single kill when one of the Tau suits is penetrated by an armor-piercing krak missile round. The battlesuit collapses in a flaming heap and two more are damaged seriously by the Space Marine scouts. Nevertheless, they are unable to stop the Tau advance. 


In a punishing salvo of missiles and plasma, the Crisis Suit team wounds three Space Marine snipers. Although Sgt. Allan holds his ground, he knows his squad cannot out-shoot their adversaries and makes a tactical withdrawal with their wounded and dead in tow. The Fire Warrior long gunners train their sites on the Space Marine assault scouts, wounding one before the humans make their way back to the extraction point. 

The timely arrival of the Tau battlesuits turns the tide of battle in their favor.

Debriefing: Despite completely wiping out the Kroot in a daring early -game assault, the critical turning point in the battle was the loss of the Space Marine tactical squad. In range of two nearly-full Fire Warrior teams, the fusillade proved overwhelming and they were decimated before they could effectively return fire. They also failed to use the Rhino's firing point in one round, losing them the opportunity to cause the Tau more grief before disembarking. Wiser use of their Rhino transport and more cautious disembarking on the part of Captain Edgar might have turned the battle in their favor. Compounding the Space Marine difficulties was the timely deep-striking arrival of the Crisis Suits.

Spoils of Victory: Standing victorious, the Tau gain 1% Reserve Points and will find one of their number completely painted and complete to stand beside them, possibly in the very next battle.

Newb Rules Question: Does simply disembarking a transport count as movement for determining how a rapid-fire weapon may shoot ?

Next: The Vengeance of Mont'ka !