Assault Armies are NOT Dead (and how I sort of got a lucky draw)

This battle report is about two things.  Fun scenarios, and assault units that kick your a$$...repeatedly...in a scenario that is just plain optimal for that. In fact, it is a scenario that would be a good way to train yourself on target priority, shooting, and assault.

First off to my opponent, I chalked this game up as a draw, because I was thinking back on how we were calculating points, and it may be that the 1 bonus point we gave you may have been miscalculated.  Regardless, you just pounded on me, and frankly, showed me what a great idea you had.  I saw you using that list again tonight vs. a Deathwatch army and it looked like you were heading for a win.... 

Scenario
Vengeance 1b (go pick it up at Creative Twilight),  There is a newer version, but the notebook at the store did not seem to have the newer version. 

The scenario I pretty complex.  4 mission points with which to get points. 

1.  Primary - every unit is a kill point at the beginning. For every point that unit provides the killing blow to (shooting or assault), its kill point value increases by 1.  An escalating point value cost for successful units?  Dang crazy.  Side with most kill points wins the mission. 15 pts.

2.  An objective in each deployment zone, old school.  Whomever controls the most, wins.  10 pts.

3.  Table quarters controlled by side with most number of scoring unit in a quarter. 5 point.

4.  Having units worth 3 or more KPs alive at the end of the game. 

Deployment
Pitched battle.

OPFOR
Tau with Necron Allies, 1750 Points.  With a Aegis Defense Line, Comm Array. His destroyer lord and Farsight both had 2+ saves. 

3rd Company
Same List as Prior Week - here is a good shot of the table and my army. 

Game Progress
OK, so lets do this rock-paper-scissors style! Unit KP values are provided in parens (  ) in best recalled order...only calling out units that put the killing, eliminating blow on another.  Anything else is just a lot of shooting and stuff.

Turn 1
Sternguard combat squad-A (1) Explodes Annihilation Barge (1) for plus 1
Necron Wraiths (1) with help from Destroyer Lord (1) eliminates Sternguard-B (1)
Tau fire warriors (1) eliminates Sternguard combat squad-A (2)

Score: 3rd Co = 1, Tau/Necrons = 3

Turn 2
Drop Pod (1) eliminates Tau Fire Warriors (2)
Attack Bikes (1) eliminates Ark (1)
Necron Wraiths (2) with help from Destroyer Lord (1) eliminate attack bikes (2)

Score: 3rd Co = 4, Tau/Necrons = 5

Turn 3
Necron Wraiths (3) with help from Destroyer Lord (1) eliminate Rhino (1)
Tau Suit (1) eliminates Tactical Combat Squad-A (1)

Score: 3rd Co = 4, Tau/Necrons = 7

Turn 4
Kroot squad (1) eliminates landspeeder typhoons (1)

Score: 3rd Co = 4, Tau/Necrons = 8

Turn 5
Tigurius (1) eliminates Wraiths (4) (Tac sergeant ties up the Destroyer in a challenge)
Stormtalon (1) eliminates necron warriors (1)
Tau commander eliminates Stormtalon (2) (by making it fire all weapons as gets hot)
Tau Tank (1) eliminates razorback (1)

Score: 3rd Co = 9, Tau/Necrons = 11

Game ends on turn 5
Here is a good shot of where all the units ended...

Vengeance (modified KPs): Tau/Necrons win Vengeance, 15 points.

Objectives: I have one objective to the opponent having none.  I'm holding it with one Tactical marine with a lascannon hiding in rubble. 1-0. 10 Points.

Table quarters:  I have 2 tactical squad remnants in one quarter and 1 single marine locked in combat with a Tau suit in another quarter.  The Kroot are in y table quarter, so I score that 2-0. 5 points.

Bonus points: As described above,  there were no units remaining with 3 or more KPs in value.  During the game we were treating the destroyer lord as having reached a value of 4, but from what I can recall, he rolled his attacks before the wraiths, so the wraiths ended up typically as landing the killing blow, and they were worth 4 points and he was less.  Regardless, the destroyer lord survived the game and actually assaulted a fleeing tactical unit + Tigurius, in part because if we'd gone to turn 6 there was a possibility I might have destroyed the destroyer instead.  Or died horribly.

At the end, all I had was (KP values indicated) Tigurius (2), Rhino (1), Rhino (1), one remaining devastator marine (1)hiding in one of the Rhinos, a single tactical marine (1) on an objective and one tactical marine (1)stuck in assault, and 4 tactical marines (1) with Tigurius,  and a drop pod (2). 

My opponent still had all of his suits and their drones, all of his Kroot, the destroyer lord, and the Tau tank as well. 

It was awesome!  15 - 15 draw!!! (or 16 to 15 if I got the points wrong concerning the destroyer, or if one of his Tau ICs somehow had 3 KPs).  Again, it points out how difficult the mission can be without counters, or some clear way to keep control of the KPs.  In a tournament situation this would cause a lot of undue stress, or even players getting the count wrong to their advantage. 

Overall, the thing that was amazing, was how many dice a unit of wraiths and a single destroyer lord could eat all game long!  Other than a timely force weapon in assault to eliminate those wraiths by Tigurius, things would have been horribly worse!  I should have ignored them and just put the dice onto the suits or the other vehicles (or kroot if they'd arrived earlier), but being a Wednesday game I wanted to see if I could put that deathstar down.  The answer was...nope.  Had my opponent gotten his outflanking kroot earlier, or had just run them up behind the other deathstar, I probably could have been tabled.  In assault...in a game where assault is reportedly useless...

Crazy.