Managed to get a battle in today with a gaming friend, Glenn.
It was Glenn's first use of his new army. I will post pics for this later...
He was using his recently fully painted IG Steel Legion 166th Armoured which you can see in full glorious colour here:
166th Armoured
And I used my recently un-packed Tau army (which is still in progress)
EDIT: annoyingly, now I retype this batrep I find that I took too many damn points!! Bah! the Stealth units were over the points cost. Dammit!
My deepest apologies Glenn... People this is what happens when you are not prepared - if you forget your armylist and write it on the fly you screw people over.
166th:
1st Formation:Mechanised Regimental HQ Company with added Hellhounds and Hydra
1 Supreme Commander Unit
12 Infantry Units
7 Chimeras
3 Hellhound
1 Hydra
2nd Formation:Tank Company
with added Hydra
1 Lemun Russ Vanquisher
9 Lemun Russ
1 Hydra
3rd Formation:Super-Heavy Tank Company
with added Inf Platoon, Fire Support Platoon and Hydra
3 Shadowsword Tanks
4 Support Squad Units
1 Hydra
6 Infantry Units
4th Formation:Storm Trooper Platoon
with Valkyrie transports
8 Storm Trooper Units
4 Valkyries
5th Formation: Artillery Battery
3 Manticore Rocket Launchers
6th Formation: Rough Rider Platoon
6 Rough Rider Units
7th Formation: Sentinel Squadron
4 Sentinels
Tau 1st Expeditionary Force
1st Formation:Crisis Battle Suit Cadre
4 C-Bs
2 C-Bs
1 Shas'O
2nd Formation: Armoured Hunter Cadre
6 RC-Hammerheads
1 Network Drones
3rd Formation: Armoured Hunter Cadre
6 Ion-Hammerheads
1 Network Drones
4th Formation: Fire Warrior Cadre
8 FW
4 Devilfish
1 Ethereal
5th Formation: Stingray Contingent
4 Stingray
2 Stingray
6th Formation: Pathfinder Contingent
4 Pathfinders
2 Devilfish
7th Formation: Pathfinder Tetra Contingent
6 Tetras
8th Formation: Barracuda Fighter Squadron
3 Barracuda fighters
9th Formation: Mako (AX-1-0) Tank Buster
1 Mako Bomber
10th Formation: Hero Cruiser
1 Hero Class Cruiser no upgrades
EDIT:11th formation: free Stealth Contingent??! BAH! Idiot!
Engagement Commences
Turn 1
IG garrison Valks and Stormtroopers & Sentinels
Tau don't garrison
Guard win intiative (Tau roll 1)
1/The Manticore battery opens proceedings with a barrage placed on the Fire Warriors and manages to kill 1xFW and 1xDF
2/C-Bs double forward to take up positions on the Western end of the central city area and lay down light fire on the Mech Inf. Coy. but with no kills (only a few of the suits were in range)
3/Tau retain and the Ion-HH's advance to pour fire onto the garrisoned Valkyries and their Stormtrooper payload managing to kill 3x STs and 3 Valkyries with a withering volley.
4/The Mechanised Coy. doubles forward to give the C-Bs in cover of the buildings a bit of a shock but the battlesuits shrug off a couple of hits.
5/The heavens open with the Hero Class Cruiser's pin-point attacks striking down onto the SHT, smiting two of the Shadowswords into molten slag. 5 & 6 rolled for each of the attacks.
6/The SHT Coy then doubles forward to the Eastern end of the central city block for cover and to gain some ground.
7/Seeing the SHT Coy massing on the city block, the Stingray contingent pop-up sustain and unleash hell upon the PBI sheltering in the buildings and woods behind, Killing 8x Infantry and breaking the SHT Coy which pulls back to the rear of the woods the ypartially occupy.
8/The Tau retain and the RC-HH's advance to put the Mechanised Infantry Coy in their sights, but the wily Guard Commander calls for his men to keep their heads down and not a shot strikes its target.
9/The fleeting Sentinels double across the field and down the city's main street to open up on the Crisis Cadre but their haste forces the accuracy down and the armour of the Crisis suits saves them again.
10/Diving out of the sun to the West, the flight of Barracudas launch a strafing run on the re-loading Manticores, catching their crews with their pants down. Their run is somewhat costly however, as the Leman Russ Coy's Hydra deftly brings down one of the swift aircraft on the way in. The remaining planes proceed to obliterate the Manticores, removing the artillery threat for the Tau.
11/Deployed out on the western-most flank the Russ Coy's commander realises that he is a long way from the Eastern-deployed Tau lines, so orders his Coy to march towards the city.
12/Pulse rifles blasting away to no avail, the Tetras whined across from the Western open-country to take up positions to the South of the central city, their Markerlights lighting up the Mechanised Coy for the next attack.
13/The Rough Rider platoon now thundered its way across the battlefield, marching to a position along-side the Leman Russ Company, bringing the Guard manouvers to an end for a brief pause.
14/Swooping in low on the horizon and running the gauntlet of the Imperial Guard Flak corridor, the Mako bomber delivers its deadly payload on target after taking a hit on approach - its armour deflecting the majoity of the attack. It's RailCannons burning the air with super high-velocity rounds, it finishes off the beleaguered SHT Company, destroying the last Shadowsword and the broken Hydra.
15/The Fire Warrior Cadre, witnessing the destruction reaped by the Mako, give a cheer and regain some wits about them from the artillery barrage mauling, moving into the dead ground on the far side of the hill to their immediate right.
16/Moving in over the southern hill to lend weight of fire to the growing central city engagement, the Pathfinder Contingent advance to contact with the Mechanised Company, laying down what suppressing fire they can at the well-ensconsed enemy infantry but fail to hit their mark.
END Phase
The Guard only manage to remove all suppression from the bloody-nosed Storm Trooper and Valkyrie platoon.
Luckily, the Tau manage the same with the Crisis Cadre as a ?Guard Mechanised Company assault is fast looming.
Rustiness breeds errors eh? So true