BA vs BA 1250 + Narrative!

[Something Wycked]

Getting the mechanics out of the way:

 

My list:

 

Marchosias (Mephiston)

 

Assault Squad: DLC, bombs, 2xMelta

Tactical Squad: PlasCan

 

Furioso: Talons, HF

Blood Guard (Sanguinary Guard): IP

 

Baal: FS

 

Devastators (5): 4xML

 

Opponent:

 

Captain: TDA, TH/SS

 

Tacticals: Flame, ML

Tacticals: Melta, ML

 

Terms: 2xAC

 

Dread: TLLC, ML

Dread: AC

 

Setup & Scenario:

 

The field is divided by a more-or-less straight rocky ridge in the center which elevates slightly but not enough to interfere with LoS; its about 6 inches wide and runs the length of the board. Near two opposite corners are small patches of forest. Right in the center of the board is a disabled Land Raider (I imagined that as it crested the slight rise, an anti-tank weapon damaged its tracks and immobilized it, making it an easy target for the rest of the AT weapons to completely disable it), and inside it is... a VIP. We used the DA Ezekiel model.

 

Mission: Open up the Land Raider and rescue/capture the VIP.

 

My Blood Wolves (using the BA dex, but not a BA successor) want to capture this psyker and find out what he knows- particularly Marchosias, who wants to grow in power. The Blood Angels on the other side of the board are responding to a distress call- and sighting another force moving in on Ezekiel, move in to prevent that from happening.

 

I won the deployment roll, but opted to let my opponent deploy and take the first turn. He setup in basically a firing line, from my left to right: AC Dread, Tacs with melta, combat squad'ed Termies with nothing special and the Captain attached, TLLC Dread, Termies with Sergeant and 2xAC, Tacs with flamer. The Tacs with the Flamer were sitting behind the forest in that corner, but not in it.

 

I deployed also essentially in a firing line, from my left to right: Blood Guard, ML Devs (behind the forest), Tacs, Furioso, Assault Squad, Baal, Marchosias.

 

Onto the Narrative!

 

_______________________

 

Marchosias spoke with the Baal's commander as the forces approached the target zone; he needed eyes on the opposing force. The tank commander acknowledged, buttoned up the tank hatch, and the vehicle sped forward while the rest of the force waited on Marchosias' word.

 

It wasn't long, however, before the tank commander came over the vox: "We underestimated the roughness of the ridge; we've slipped a tread and are immobilised. Orders?" There were a few moments of silence, then the tank commander voxed again: "Sir, the opposition has begun advancing." Marchosias' reply came immediately this time: "And so shall we. Forward!" The howl of jump packs powering up screeched across the field while the roar of assault cannons heralded the sound of rending armor like lightning before thunder.

 

Both the tank commander and devastator sergeant voxed almost simultaneously, "Taking fire," while neither of them suffered any permanent damage, saved by their blessed armor and the Emperor's grace. Marchosias' eyes blazed with eldritch fire and crackling blue wings of energy sprouted from his back, sending him aloft and speeding towards the crippled Baal. The bright display made him an easy target, however, as a Dreadnought on the other side of the field sent twin spears of lascannon fire and a small salvo of missiles after the psyker. All the fire found its mark, but while the missiles exploded with little harm against the ornate armor, the beams of energy bored a hole through the Marine and forced him to take cover behind the Baal.

 

Both the Blood Guard and the Assault Squad rocketed forward with a series of jump pack assisted small flights, taking cover amongst the large rocks of the ridge- the Blood Guard on the far left flank and the Assault Marines within striking distance of the stricken Land Raider. The taloned ancient strode forward purposefully, straining to keep pace with the Assault Squad, who easily reached the objective before the Dreadnought. However, it was the ancient's massive melta weapon that bored such a hole in the Land Raider that something incredibly vital was struck- the detonation rocked the entire battlefield and in the blink of an eye, two huge pieces of the tank had seriously injured the two closest Assault Marines, flinging them away from the exploding hulk and pinning them beneath the weight of the scrap. The squad's sergeant cursed privately, then voxed a command to the squad's private channel to take cover in the ridge in case of a secondary detonation.

 

The opposing Force Commander strode forward with his retinue of Terminators, firing their storm bolters sparingly due to the extreme range. However, this earned them the attention of the Tactical sergeant who softly voxed a command to the marine wielding the plasma cannon. The marine took careful aim and gently pressed the activation rune on his weapon, and the result earned him a brief word of praise from the sergeant- "Well done, brother." A member of the Terminator retinue was annihilated by the tiny sun that engulfed him. Nearby, the Devastators took aim at the nearest opposing Dreadnought and fired in measured unison at their sergeant's command, scoring a few hits including a telling blow against the leg of the machine, freezing it in place as the torso swiveled in their direction, menacingly aiming its assault cannon through the trees at them.

 

(Phew! That's turn one. XD I've run out of time at the moment, I'll get the rest of this up later.)

[Tanhausen]

Nice reading....but since you do it simultaneously and both are BA, I get confused if (for example) you immo his dread or he immo yours...

 

Is it up to turn 7? :P

[Something Wycked]

lol yeah, that is a problem when doing two Marine forces, especially when they're the same kind. The battle lasted 5 turns.

[Something Wycked]

(Turn 2!)

 

As the smoke cleared around the remains of the destroyed Land Raider, the opposing Terminators unleashed a volley of assault cannon fire that ripped through the knee joint of the blood-taloned ancient. The ancient's fists spun in frustration, knowing he was now extraordinarily vulnerable, sitting in the open just on the other side of the rocky ridge.

 

Seeing the devastation wrought by the Furioso, the opposing Captain and his retinue halted their advance, not willing to bring themselves into the effective range of the large melta weapon. Standing firm, they raised their weapons and fired on the Blood Wolves who moments ago vaporised one of their brethren.

 

The storm of bolter shells felled a pair of Blood Wolves Tactical Marines, but the only effect it had on the squad was strengthening their resolve. The Tactical Sergeant, reading his helmet display on his battle brothers' injuries, grimaced and gritted his teeth. Turning to look at his squad, he yelled as he voxed to them, "Blood calls to blood, brothers! Advance!" As they moved out in unison, the squad echoed back to him: "Blood calls to blood!"

 

The sentiment was echoed throughout the rest of the Blood Wolves force; while the opponents, who now appeared to be Blood Angels, continued to fire at the advancing Wolves, it had little effect. The Blood Guard took great, bounding leaps towards one of the Blood Angels Tactical Squads, while Marchosias mirrored them with his wings from the warp towards the other Tactical Squad. In the center, the Assault Squad followed suit and- to the Blood Angels' amazement- crashed into the heavy weapon equipped Terminator Squad.

 

The sounds of crackling power weapons, roaring chainswords, spitting pistols and the clash of bodies raised a cacophany of battle, mingled with the screams of the wounded and the triumphant yells of the victors. Everywhere, the story was the same: the Blood Wolves were pushing the Blood Angels back. Only the Blood Angels Terminators stood rock steady as they took casualties at the weapons of the Blood Wolves; both Tactical squads attempted to fall back, but the aggressive press of the Blood Wolves prevented any such withdrawal. Even the brief assistance of a daemon of the warp, piercing Marchosias' side with an eldritch spear before vanishing back to the immaterium, could not save the Blood Angels Tactical Marines.

 

(There ends turn 2. Back for more tomorrow night. :huh:)

[Something Wycked]

(Ok, so its not "tomorrow" night, but here comes the rest of the game. Things really start happening fast at Turn 3 and after.)

 

Amidst the chaos of war and the spilled blood, the Blood Wolves' Tactical squad advanced on the destroyed Land Raider and secured the area around it, beginning to sift through the wreckage for the precious cargo they were told was inside. Over their heads flew a volley of missiles from the Blood Wolves' Devastators, seeking the vitals of the anti-tank equipped Dreadnought. One of the krak missiles struck true just below the torso of the Dreadnought, separating the metal coffin from its legs. The behemoth attempted to steady its balance, but ended up toppling over forward to the ground.

 

In front of and to both sides of the Blood Wolves' Tactical squad, melee combat raged.

 

Ahead, the Blood Wolves Assault squad used their advantages of agility and numbers to fell the Terminators they fought, but they would not go down easily nor quickly. Fully half the Blood Wolves' squad lay badly wounded on the field amongst the downed Blood Angels Terminator squad, but the the Wolves were in no frame of mind to tend to their casualties; there was another unit of Terminators and the Blood Angels Captain nearby, and Blood Calls to Blood! The roar of jump packs again echoed over the field as the half strength Blood Wolves Assault squad again charged a more heavily equipped foe.

 

On either side of them, both the Blood Guard and Marchosias finished tearing apart the Blood Angels Tactical squads with little injury to themselves; Marchosias had suffered not a scratch, while the Blood Guard had lost two to the Blood Angels' ten.

 

However, just as the Blood Guard were no longer engaged in combat, the Blood Angels' immobilized Dreadnought just a few paces away spun up the barrels of its assault cannon and a hail of shells tore through the trio, felling two of the three. The last remaining Blood Guard first ducked away from the barrage and then fired his jump pack, streaking towards the Dreadnought that was firing on him while voxing for fire support from his brothers.

 

Taking wing once again, Marchosias surveyed the battlefield from above. His glance quickly found the Blood Angels Captain and his Terminators, as there was nearly nothing else moving wearing Blood Angels colors, just as the Captain crunched his thunder hammer into the side of the Assault Sergeant, leaving no Blood Wolves standing nearby. His expression grim, Marchosias began a steep descent towards the Captain...

 

The Blood Wolves' Devastators had reloaded, and with the fresh vox from the lone Blood Guard ringing in their ears, the sergeant directed them to fire upon the last Blood Angels Dreadnought and bring it down. They each took careful aim and depressed their firing runes in unison on the Sergeant's command. All four missiles squarely struck the machine, and one penetrated into the ammunition storage area for the assault cannon. Hundreds of shells simultaneously exploded, and the resulting detonation ripped the Dreadnought apart, showering the Blood Guard with pieces of the newly-smoking hulk.

 

Not one to rest on his laurels, the Blood Guard turned to look for another target to engage, and spotted the Blood Angels Captain, and his accompanying Terminators. As he activated his jump pack, preparing to assault the Terminators alone, he observed the Tactical squad laying bolter fire down on the Captain...

 

Marchosias watched distance shooting fell the Terminators, leaving the Blood Angels Captain standing alone- and prepared to meet the jump pack assisted charge of the last remaining Blood Guard. The Blood Guard landed and struck like a thunderbolt, unleashing a vicious flurry of attacks with his ancient two handed sword, energy crackling along the length of the blade as it struck against the Captain's armor and shield. Unfortunately for the Blood Wolf, that is exactly what it did- the Captain's speed, skill and agility negated each and every attack in turn as though he was expecting each blow to land exactly where it struck. A heartbeat later, the Captain roared as he landed a furious series of blows on the Blood Guard, leaving him an almost unrecognizable stain on the ground.

 

And then Marchosias struck.

 

The sheer force of his impact against the Captain knocked the Terminator-armored Marine off his feet. As the agile leader began to roll away and attempt to gain his feet, his eyes locked with Marchosias' and he froze in place. There was something dark in those eyes... something daemonic.

 

The Blood Angels' Captain grimaced, and roared at Marchosias- "You tr...!"

 

Marchosias thrust his sword at the Captain, and it slid cleanly through the Terminator armor and the Marine's rib cage, silencing his words. His face twisted into a hideous mask of rage, Marchosias' eyes blazed with eldritch energy, mirrored a moment later by the sword impaling the Captain. The Blood Angel's mouth opened into the "O" of surprise, and he promptly exploded, showering Marchosias with gore and shards of armor that plinked off of his armor harmlessly.

 

Turning his glance over his strike force, Marchosias glanced to his Tactical squad. The Sergeant nodded and voxed his report. "We have the target."

 

Marchosias keyed his vox. "Weight of Faith, this is Marchosias. Dispatch Stormravens two and five to my coordinates with Apothecary and Techmarine support. We have our prize."