Spiros14's Crusade Blog

[Majkhel]

Really interested to see how this baby will fare! Lovely to see you got those FW doors.
Shield of Sanguinius might be considered for some invulnerable save?

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Following rumours of another ork raid, captain Karlean took a strike force to the large settlement, Winterton. Curiously however, when the Blood Angels arrived to the scene, they found the xenos to already be dead. Apothecary Raniel observed that the corpses had been slain by bolter weaponry, and tracks in the snow showed the footprints of astartes power armour. 

Moving further into the city cautiously, Strike Force Karlean reached Winterton Plaza, discovering supply crates scattered across the streets. It was then gunfire streaked across the battlefield. The Thousand Sons had caught the Blood Angels in an Ambush!

Crusade Mission: Supply Cache (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Incursion (50 Power)

Agendas: Know No Fear; Witch Hunter

 

++Mission Report++

The Blood Angels arrayed themselves in a line along the plaza against their treacherous kin. Intercessor squads were on the flanks, while the Blood Angels proficiant in close quarter fighting deployed in the middle, so they could strike at any target.

 

As a rubric squad with markings matching reports of Amon’s Fate Twisters hunkered down in the ruins surrounding a supply cache, a second squad, identified as Khavros’ Timeless Ones, moved forward toward cover. Letting fly with psychic and shooting attacks the heretic astartes took down two of squad Vorlois’ men, and seven of squad Maschio. 

The Blood Angels moved forwards while returning fire gainst the traitors. Maschio and force command advanced up the centre as squad Vorlois moved a bit more cautiously up the left flank. Squads Mordaeus and Vorlois returned fire at the rubrics, dealing as much damage as was taken, downing three of the timeless ones, and six of the fate twisters.

 

Perhaps believing that a straight firefight would lose too many rubrics, the Thousand Sons had their spawn shamble towards the Blood Angels, goaded by the Infernal Master, Sanakh Silvertongue, who used the beasts as cover to advance to Khavros’ position. 

 

With no losses sustained, and in position on top of a supply cache behind cover, squad Mordaeus believed themselves to be safe against the foe. However, the tell tale readings of a teleportation strike was picked up on the squad auspex, and the intercessors turned in horror to witness a squad of scarab occult terminators, lead by the fearsome sorceror lord, Usmep the Limitless. The warband elite opened up against Mordaeus, slaying half the squad with a mix of psychic powers and hellfire bolt weapons. Further ahead, the rubric squads took down three marines of squad Vorlois and another brother of squad Maschio.

 

With a blood-curdling roar, the spawn charged into Chaplain Arophan, Apothecary Raneil, and the last two members of squad Mordaeus, a beast for each unit. While Raniel fought his monster to a standstill, the other beasts dealt a blow to Arophan, and finished off the assault intercessors. This only enraged the chaplain however, who smashed his spawn’s head open before avenging Mordaeus, slamming his crozius into the killer’s heart and mushing the organ into a pulp.

 

Freed from combat, Chaplain Arophan gave his blessings to the Swords of Cryptus before sending them forward against the fate twisters, while he joined the assault against the timeless ones with squad Vorlois. The Angels charged in with savage fury, cutting down five of the heretics, and wounding the Dark Magister that guided them.

 

Apothecary Raniel disengaged from the last spawn, allowing Captain Karlean to deal with the beast. The healer mended some of the damage done to Arophan in his fight against the creatures, while the Shield of Baal blew apart the spawn’s torso with but one sweep from the hammer of Baal.

 

Squad Mordaeus lept over the barrier they had been using as cover to put some distance between themselves and the Terminators. Opening fire against their armoured foe they were able to fell one, despite their weapons being previously jinxed with the cacodaemonic curse.

The scarab occult terminators pursued Mordaeus over the barricade, covering Umsep, who had begun to weave a spell around the area. Such warp energies must have disrupted his comrade’s concentration, as the scarab occult sorceror collapsed to the ground in convulsions, as his charges opened fire on Mordaeus. Three more marines were blasted apart by the fire before being assaulted by the terminators, and cut down with their blades.

 

As the intercessors directly in front of him were brought low from his psychic might, Silvertongue was freed from the brawl between them and the timeless ones, which at this point consisted of just Khavros and two intercessors. Drawn to his loyalist counterpart, the Magister charged Arophan, and wounded him with his stave, though Arophan stood firm against the attack, and cracked the chaos space marine’s breastplate open, cracking ribs, and causing the magister to crumple to the ground.

 

The slowly advancing Swords of Cryptus were beginnng to unnerve the fate twisters, who opened fire against the bladeguard veterans. Despite the lack of cover, the swords stood firm against the onslaught with their shields raised, losing none of their number from the traitor’s guns.

Arophan blessed Vorlois with the exhortation of rage, and left the squad remnants to deal with Khavros while he and Raniel moved up alongside the Swords of Cryptus to deal with the fate twisters. Though Vorlois was unable to deal with the sorceror (and even lost a space marine in return), the assault against the fate twisters was successful, killing all rubrics, Vorlois was unable to finish off Khavros

 

Karlean, enraged by the death of squad Mordaeus, charged the scarab occult terminators. Though the hammer of Baal struck hard against the traitors, their terminator armour held firm against Karlean’s attacks.

 

Sergeant Vorlois swung his chainsword against the rubric leader, but the sorceror ducked behind the baricade. Vorlois jumped the wall in pursuit, but this opened him up to the full power of Khavros’ psychic might, leaving the sergeant’s breastplate a smoking ruin.

 

Fending off the scarab occult terminators with his hammer, Karlean did not see the large figure looming behind him. It was only when the power sword was thrust into the back of his torso did the captain notice the presence of Umsep at the other end of the blade. Lung filling with blood, Karlean could only gurgle a curse against the heretic before collapsing to the floor.

 

Apothecary Raniel moved himself on top of the nearest supply cache, and took a potshot at Khavros, but failed to pierce the heretic’s armour.

 

Arophan invoked the litany of hatred on the Swords of Cryptus, as he and the Bladeguard made their way toward the Terminators to save their captain. Umsep and his minions suffered the full wrath of Blood Angels, leaving the Chaos Lord a ragged out ruin and his bodyguard a litter of cracked shells on the pavement.

 

Angered at the loss of his enforcers, and fully fallen into bloodlust, Khavros charged against his attacker, swinging his force stave, and catching the apothecary in the leg, driving his target to his knees. A second blow aimed for Raniels’ head, but it was caught mid flight, and wrested away from the psyker. Raniel tossed the stick aside, before slamming a fist into the sorceror, putting him on his back. Khavros rolled just as the apothecary’s boot slammed down where the wizard’s head was mere seconds before. Realizing his folly, Khavros worked an escape spell, and fell into a portal, alongside the pile of broken suits that were the timeless ones.  

The Swords of Cryptus continued to press the attack into the heretic chaos lord in front of them, though it was two against a wounded one, yet the traitor parried every cut the veteran swung at them. Despite this, the legionairres felt a golden glow behind them that could only be the primarch. A final thrust into the traitor’s heart had the chaos worshipper wheezing, before the praetor teleported his way back to the warmaster’s fleet with his tail between his legs. The Swords of Baal turned to their Primarch and saw only the cragged face of Chaplain Arophan.

Confused, the bladeguard turned to the empty battlefield. Winterton was liberated by the Blood Angels, and that was all that mattered.

 

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Success: Heretic Astartes banished from the Battlefield

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes the Sword of Cryptus Blooded, giving them Bladesman’s Honours

-The Swords of Cryptus gain a flaw point

-The two Requisition points gained during this game are as of yet unspent.

 

 

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Congratulations on your victory!

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

While performing reconnaissance in the abandoned city of Winterton, the Blood Angels encountered the Wolfspear. However, the Space Wolves successor tried to claim the city as theirs through an old Fenrisian custom. When the Blood Angels refused to comply, petty insults turned to full blown fighting, with the first strike belonging to the Wolfspear’s invictor warsuit, who had crushed the life out of the battle brother he had been arguing with. Weapons were unslung and oaths were spoken, as the conflict escalated.

Crusade Mission: Recon Patrol (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Incursion (50 Power)

Agendas: Know No Fear; Recover Geneseed

 

++Mission Report++

Though both chapters had squad scattered all over the city, the conflict began in a small shopping plaza, where the first shots would be fired. Apothecary Raniel was overseeing squad Mordaeus, who had split themselves into two combat squads, and squad Maschio, who were revving their chainswords in anticipation. While the Blood Angels began in front of what appeared to be a firearms store, their Wolfspear foes, consisting of Runepriest Rurik Thunderhowl, intercessor squad Bjorn, and assault intercessor squad Sven had stationed themselves inside a community centre. Nearby a pharmacy, standing over the body of a battle brother he had slain in anger was a Invictor Warsuit dubbed “the Ghostwolf.”

 

Though honour demanded that the Wolfspear pay for their short-sightedness, the Blood Angels knew that their mission came first. As Sergeant Mordaeus called for assistance on the comm-link, Raniel ordered squad Maschio to sprint to a vital scouting point before engaging the Wolfspear, which the assault intercessors did begrudgingly.

 

While their grenade launcher armed combat squad stayed on point, squad Mordaeus joined apothecary Raniel in assaulting the warsuit, to avenge their fallen brother and collect the geneseed on his body. Bolter fire raked the chasis, and the cutting edges of their knives cut into fuel lines and sensor cables, but still the walker stood. Ghostwolf swung back with it’s armoured fist, taking down four members of the squad, though Sergeant Mordaeus still stood.

 

Reacting to the threat squad Maschio posed, assault intercessor pack Sven rounded the building while Bjorn and Thunderhowl set up firing lines from the centre’s doors. Psychic attacks and bolt rounds accounted of three members of the squad knocking them to the floor.

 

The warsuit unholstered the heavy bolter from his hip and blasted at sergeant Mordaeus, catching the marine in the chest at point blank range, and ripping apart armour and flesh alike. Not satisfied with the destruction he was carrying out, the pilot barreled into apothecary Raniel and knocked him down with contempeous ease.

 

With all other opposition broken by the invictor warsuit, combat squad Mordaeus could only back away slightly while keeping their guns trained on the suit. Though the only reinforcements available in the area was Arophan, the chaplain willingly made himself a target by running behind the vehicle and taunting the pilot. The warsuit turned on the chaplain, and while it’s back was turned, the intercessors opened fire, catching exposed joints with bolter fire and a well aimed krak grenade, and wrecking the walker.

 

Meanwhile squad Maschio moved further toward the Wolfspear holding out in the community building. The assault intercessors were reinforced by captain Karlean, who had teleported down to answer the call for aid personally. Inspired by the first captain, Maschio charged into their opposite numbers, and honoured the chapter by breaking pack Sven in a single stroke.

 

The Wolfspear had their own squads nearby, who came from all sides to reinforce their battle brothers. With no hesitation, intercessor pack Gunnar moved in from a dried up canal and took aim at combat squad Mordaeus, their assault bolt-rifles taking down a marine. From the other side of the battlefield, chaplain Arophan garnared the attention of the Hounds of Morkai, though their pistols could not touch the hero. Captain Karlean also found himself assailed by the Wolfspear’s own priest, who was racing toward him atop a raider class bike.

 

In the community centre, Bjorn and Thunderhowl put all effort into removing squad Maschio from besieging them. Lightning shot from the runepriest’s fingertips, turning three of the assault intercessors into smoking corpses. Bjorn’s assault bolters firing at point blank range took care of the rest.

 

As battle continued the full weight of the Blood Angels reinforcements made themselves known from around the shopping plaza. The appearance of intercessor squad Vorlois, split into two combat squads, and arriving at opposite ends of the battlefield, allowed combat squad Mordaus and Chaplain Arophan to reach a vital point and survey the area while the reinforcements dealt with the outside threats. While sergeant Vorlois lead his men into a charge against Gunnar, taking down three of Wolfspear warriors, his fellow combat squad gunned down two members of the Hounds of Morkai.

 

In the community centre, the Wolfspear were holding the building unopposed. However, they were soon to be assaulted by the newly arrived Swords of Cryptus. With brutal efficiency, the bladeguard veterans broke down the walls of the centre, and took on both Thunderhowl and squad Bjorn. Believing the psyker to be the bigger threat, two members of the unit engaged the runepriest and took him down, while the third combatted the intercessors. Though outnumbered five to one, the Blood Angel handily cut down four of the Wolfspear, leaving only Bjorn standing.

 

Meanwhile, Karlean squared up against the wolf priest who dared shoot at him. The shield of Baal raised his hammer, but could not match the speed of his mounted foe, who rode rings around the captain. Though Karlean was able to land a blow against the enemy warlord, Frostbane landed much more, bringing the terminator to his knees.

As with the Blood Angels, the last of the Wolfspear’s warriors arrived to join the battle. An assault intercessor pack came onto the battlefield to relieve the Hounds of Morkai, who chose to hunt Chaplain Arophan. The reivers broke into the building and caught the spiritual leader with their knives, wounding him deeply. A spark still burned however, and Arophan retaliated in kind, breaking two of the stealth operatives, and leaving only their pack leader.

 

The same could not be said of captain Karlean, who found himself hopelessly outclassed against his foe, and while he tried to stand his ground, the unrelenting flurry of attacks wore the captain down until finally, Frostbane’s crozius drove itself into the terminator’s chest, and laid the captain low with a cracked black carapace and several broken ribs.

 

In the community centre, the wolf priest’s personal bodyguard, a pack of outriders known as “Frostbane’s Shield” rode up behind the Swords of Cryptus from the outskirts of the battlefield. The bikers sped into combat, running over one of the veterans foolish enough to still be outside the building. While a bladeguard finished off pack leader Bjorn with a clever feint, the squad’s veteran sergeant turned onto the outriders, killing two with ease.

 

Finally, the melee between squad Vorlois and pack Gunnar was becoming a battle of attrition. Each side was unrelenting in their attacks, and a battle brother each perished at the other sides savage blades. Neither side was going to give up, though the Wolfspear were facing a one on three disadvantage.

 

Thinking only of their mission, combat squad Mordaeus broke from the weapons building they had been guarding for so long to reach the vital point on the other side of the dried up canal. Though the intercessors saw Frostbane ahead of them, they resisted the urge to open fire on the black rider who had taken down Karlean, instead focussing on surveying the area for later use.

 

Across all sectors of the battlefield, the Blood Angels began to mop up all forms of Wolfspear resistance. Of particular note was the ungoing fight between Gunnar and Vorlois. Like a cornered beast, the pack leader lashed out against the Blood Angels, and took down two of Vorlois’ men before the sergeant could subdue his opposite number. By contrast, Vorlois’ combat squad on the far side of the plaza brutally smashed the assault intercessor pack in front of them, the chainswords in their hands useless next to the Blood Angels savage fury. 

 

Now finding himself the lone wolf of his pack, Frostbane resolved to do as much damage to the Blood Angels in a death or glory charge. Gunning his engines, the wolf priest rode his raider bike toward sergeant Vorlois, stitching him with bolter fire, before performing a hair pin turn and charging into the unprepared combat squad Vorlois. His crozius swung low, clotheslining two of the space marines. 

 

Seeing his comrades in danger, sergeant Vorlois raced toward the melee between Frostbane and combat squad Mordaeus. The intercessor thrust his chainsword toward the wolf priest, but was parried by the priest’s crozius. Not skipping a beat, Frostbane counterattacked, downing the sergeant, before gunning his bike over another member of combat squad Mordaeus, crushing the intercessor underneath the tires.

 

Despite their namesake’s misfortune, combat squad Vorlois successfully moved into the final battlefield quarter and surveyed it, completing the incursion force’s reconnisiance orders for the chapter.

 

Frostbane turned his bike for another charge, preparing to finish off the lone intercessor standing in his path. The wolf priest outstretched his crozius, but the space marine caught Frostbane’s arm, and dragged him off of his bike. Caught in a fierce grapple, the two marines traded blows like common brawlers, before the intercessor kicked out at the chaplain, leaving Frostmane sprawled into the dust. 

 

“The fight is lost, old man, yield now, and we will let you quit this city with what is left of your brothers.”

Though it bit at his warrior pride, the duty to his charges won out, and Kjarl Frostbane, priest of the Wolfspear, yielded Winterton to the Blood Angels.

 

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Success: Asserted dominance to Wolfspear chapter; Reconnaissance of Winterton shopping district completed.

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes the Captain Karlean Blooded, giving him the Shield of Baal Honourific; Chaplain Arophan Battle Hardened, giving him the Resilient trait; Squad Mordaeus Heroic, giving the squad Marksman’s Honours; and Squad Vorlois Heroic, giving the squad Bladesman’s Honours.

-Captain Karlean suffers a chest wound battle scar.

-The one Requisition point gained during this game is spent on removing Captain Karlean’s battle scar.

-One requisition point is spent giving Chaplain Arophan the Custodian of the Lost rule.

 

 

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Though their presence in the warzone was a closely guarded secret, the First Brotherhood of Grey Knights had been fighting a shadow war against small Chaos bands on the Death of Bianzeer. A daring raid by Chaos Forces aboard their strike cruiser was recently repelled, but one of the perpetrators had managed to escape to the planet’s surface with one of the Daemonslayer’s relics. Though wounded, the thief had gotten himself to the ruins of Ikeron, and was hidden there until help arrived.

The Grey Knights sent a strike force to pursue, and by complete coincidence, encountered a Blood Angels supply patrol. The Sons of Titan’s presence on this world must be kept secret, so the Grey Knights turned on their fellow astartes, resolving to mind-wipe the company by force.

Crusade Mission: Retreival (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: Ice Fields of Death of Bianzeer (White Dwarf #467)

Mission Size: Strike Force (65 Power)

Agendas: Purity through Bloodshed (Swords of Cryptus); Witch Hunter; Secure the Area

 

++Mission Report++

The Blood Angels arrayed themselves in a simple line against the space marines before them. Company command alongside the Swords of Cryptus and the strike force’s fire support units kept to the middle, surrounded by squads Mordaeus and Maschio. To the army’s flanks, infiltrator squad Angelon had split into two combat squads, utilizing their omni-scramblers to frustrate any reinforcements that may attempt to outflank them.

 

With no explanation, the Slayers of Titan charged up the battlefield to meet the Blood Angels face to face. As one strike squad unsuccessfully searched a ruin in their deployment zone, another raced forward to meet infiltrator squad Angelon. A unit of Interceptors activated their personal teleporters and transported themselves right on top of squad Mordaeus’ position in the ruins. On the opposite flank, a dreadknight moved himself forward, facing down the double threats of squad Maschio and combat squad Angelon.

 

Up the centre of the battlefield came a second dreadknight, a grand master, also in a dreadknight harness, and a librarian. The battle-psyker raised his hands toward eradicator squad Theus, and wreathed the marines in warp-lightning, frying the astartes and forcing them to collapse to the floor.

 

This spur of violence heralded the other Grey Knights to follow suit. Levelling their weapons against the Blood Angels the silvered warriors opened fire to brutal effect. The half of squad Mordaeus that were on the first floor of the ruins were cut down by the interceptors, and the combined firepower of the dreadknights eliminated four members of squad Maschio, and all but the veteran sergeant from the Swords of Cryptus.

 

And then the Dreadknights charged. The Grand Master in Dreadknight smashed the last bladeguard, while the veteran pilot next to him took down the rest of squad Mordaeus. The third pilot barelled into assault squad Maschio, cutting down all but the sergeant himself, who managed to wound the walker in turn.

 

On the other side of the battlefield, the strike squad engaged Angelon in melee, and though they lost a battle brother, they brought down twice the number of Blood Angels, locking them in combat in the process.

 

The Grey Knight interlopers had made a powerful first strike against the Blood Angels, yet the sons of Sanguinius had not given up hope just yet. Sergeant Maschio pulled out of combat to allow combat squad Angelon a clear firing line against the walker. The battle-tested infiltrators were fully capable of searching the vital spot their auspex had indicated, and open their bolt-carbines against the dreadknight. It was all for nought, however, as the munitions glanced off of the walker to no effect. Worse, the spot the primaris marines searched was found to be empty.

 

To the centre of the battlefield, squad Karos moved up to avenge squad Mordaeus’ fall at the hands of the dreadknight. Overcharging their plasma incinerators, the squad sacrificed a man to unleash a massive amount of damage against the enemy, burning out much of the walker’s structure, but not downing the machine entirely. Blades unsheathed, the squad charged into the dreadknight, joined by Apothecary Raniel in a bid to finish the walker off, but the dreadknight was not as subdued as the squad thought, wounding Raniel and two hellblasters while suffering no further damage.

 

The other Grey Knight units in combat fared better, with the strike team facing squad Angelon finishing off the squad, and the strike force’s Grand Master not only taking down chaplain Arophan, but also taking the effort to finish off apothecary Raniel on his subordinates behalf!

 

With resistance on the wane, the Grey Knights focussed their efforts on the hunt for the fugitive. All bar one of the power armoured squads, including one that had teleported onto the battlefield, dedicated their time looking into potential hiding spots. The terminator librarian also moved himself onto a spot to search.

 

This left the dreadknights to finish off the astartes. Each took custody of a squad each, dispatching combat squad Angelon, Sergeant Maschio, and Hellblaster Squad Karos through a mix of their vehicles’ guns and their pilots’ impressive psychic powers. Only Sergeant Karos stood against this onslaught, zealously protecting lieutenant Tolmeron behind him from being charged.

 

With all hiding spots covered, the Grey Knights found their quarry hiding in the ruins nearby the fallen bodies of squad Angelon. Already wounded, the heretic could not resist as the strike squad struck him in the hearts with their force weapons, consigning his soul to oblivion, and retrieving their lost relic.

 

With his entire company subdued or heavily injured at the hands of the silent interlopers, Lieutenant Tolmeron fell into a vicious rage. Completely throwing all caution to the wind, the astartes leader launched himself at his closest adversary, the heavily injured walker. Tolmeron stared his foe in the eyes… Those blue lensed eyes that stared into his very soul… His very being… Tolmeron felt drowsy, began to lose consciousness…

 

The astartes awoke in the strike cruiser’s infirmary. Imperial forces had located the space marines lying in the snow and alerted a Blood Angels response team. It would appear that the strike force had been ambushed by an unknown foe. Though Captain Borgio had run a sweep of the area, no trace of Tolmeron’s attackers could be found.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Failure: All units downed by <REDACTED> forces; Wounded <REDACTED> not retrieved. 

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes Apothecary Raniel Battle Hardened, giving him the Custodian of the Future Trait; the Swords of Cryptus Battle Hardened, giving them Centurious Service Studs; and Squad Karos Battle Hardened, giving the squad Marksman’s Honours.

-Chaplain Arophan suffers a deep wounds battle scar.

-One Requisition point gained during this game is spent on removing Chaplain Arophan’s battle scar.

 

++Player Thoughts++

That was a hard game. I really did not expect the Grey Knights to hit quite that hard and fast, but that’s a lesson learned. I would think however that, if I had gotten the first turn, things would have gone a lot differently.

At present I have two spare requisition points. One thing I was looking at, and I’d like your opinion on this, is spending one point to bring my Supply limit up to 135 power (giving me 6 power spare); adding a unit of outriders to my roster, and then using a second RP point on Special Reinforcements to use the Angels Ascendant Strategem and give that outrider unit sergeant Quake Bolts. 

I can then use the outriders in my games to support either the Terminator squad already in my list, or later down the line, a unit of hammer wielding vanguard veterans. I simply move the bikes into shooting view of the enemy unit I want the first company veterans to attack, fire the sergeant’s quake bolts, and so long as I hit, my veterans are now hitting with their full weapon skill with their hammers and power fists.

 

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Investigating a chain of settlements nearby the Glacialix that had lost all signs of life, the Blood Angels were shocked to discover that the culprits were neither the orks or tyranids native to the Octarius system, but a raiding party of necrons. Having seen the power of the Necrons fighting alongside them on Cryptus, the Blood Angels resolved to purge the xenos and alert Imperial command of their presence.

Crusade Mission: Raze and Ruin (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: Ice Fields of Death of Bianzeer (White Dwarf #467)

Mission Size: Strike Force (65 Power)

Agendas: Purity through Bloodshed (Swords of Cryptus); Know No Fear; Deploy Vox Relays

 

++Mission Report++

The Blood Angels deployed on the western sector of the plaza, facing up against the bulk of the Necron forces. While Chaplain Arophan set himself up alongside assault intercessor squad Maschio and the Blades of Cryptus, Lieutenant Tolmeron commanded the rearguard with squads Theus and Karos, their sole mission being to set up the vox equipment and inform the fleet of the Necron’s presence. Squad Angelon infiltrated the battlefield atop a tank trap, atop which was a damaged necron warrior.

 

At a speed atypical of their race, the Necrons marched forward towards the centre of the battlefield, planting themselves atop an objective marker, leaving a unit of Destroyers to cover the rear of their lines. The Blood Angels believed their adversary to have blundered, standing within charging distance, but it was then that the Necrons unveiled their master plan. A cryptek raised its staff toward the Swords of Cryptus, and released a swarm of nanoscarabs in front of them, lacing the ground with explosive mines. More troubling was a Necron Vehicle that barrelled into squads Maschio and Vorlois, locking them in combat. It took all of Maschio’s strength, but they honoured the chapter and destroyed the skimmer, though the vehicle did blow up, injuring several units of space marines.

 

A second unit of warriors converged onto squad Angelon. The xenos charged into the infiltrators while firing at the hip, attempting to overwhelm the smaller unit. Though Angelon stood firm against the aliens, their weight of numbers and dynastic code had lost them control of the objective.

 

Freed from the Ghost Ark, the Blood Angels raced toward the xenos, with squad Maschio leading the charge against the warriors in front of them. With the assistance of Vorlois unloading their bolt rifles, the intercessors cut down all but one of the raider constructs.

Though the Swords of Cryptus did attempt to also charge the lychguard protecting the Necron Lord in front of them, the mined floor in front of them kept them from doing so. Squads Karos and Theus were on hand however to give their support, taking down a portion of the bodyguards while Lieutenant Tolmeron set up a vox device on the objective marker being held by squad Theus.

 

Behind the ongoing combat between Angelon and the necron warriors, the rumblings of an avalanche could be heard coming towards them. Such was the dedication of both combatants however, that they elected to fight through the snow rather than show quarter to the enemy.

 

The charge by Maschio resulted in the destruction of all but one of the necron warriors. However, the nearby Necron Lord raised a glowing green orb, and the pile of wrecked alien bodies knitted themselves together, bringing back twelve of the constructs. As the warriors reassembled themselves, the Lord and the Lychguard charged into squad Maschio, cutting through the Assault Intercessors.

 

In the back lines, Lieutenant Tolmeron sprinted toward squad Karos, who targeted the lychguard while squad Theus aimed their melta rifles toward the now exposed Necron Lord. Despite the potency of their weapons, the beams were unable to get past the generals shields. The Lychguard were not as fortunate, and the combined fire from squads Karos, Vorlois, and some well placed krak grenades from the Swords of Cryptus overwhelmed them.

 

This freed up Arophan and the Bladeguard Veterans to charge the Necron Lord. The chaplain swung his crozius at the foe’s sword arm, breaking it at the elbow, and rendering him helpless to the Swords of Cryptus’ own blows. Not satisfied with the death of the enemy warlord, the Bladeguard overkilled into the nearby crypt thralls, ripping apart the Cryptek’s personal helpers.

 

The Avalanche crashed into the combatants, turning Angelon’s vision momentarily white. When his vision cleared, the space marine saw that several of his battle brothers had been slain, along with an equal number of the iron warriors in front of him. Still he would not cede the objective marker, fighting all the harder against the foe.

 

To the west, the Necron warriors strafed the bladeguard to cover their surviving cryptek leader, before shooting and charging into the veterans and the nearby apothecary. Though their rifle blades had little effect on the elite marines, the veterans were unable to finish off the unit quickly, and were locked in combat.

 

Despite the destruction of many Necron constructs, the xenos’ control over the majority of battlefield objectives were giving them the tactical edge. As Lieutenant Tolmeron set up a second vox unit next to squad Karos, Chaplain Arophan raised his Crozius high, beseeching the Blood Angels to push themselves in the Emperor’s name. Putting actions to his words, the Custodian of the Lost charged alone against a unit of Destroyers guarding the rear objectives. Moved by his actions, squad Theus advanced forward and unleashed hell against the constructs, wrecking two of them. This left just one of the xenos, which was charged by Arophan, who crushed the Destroyer’s skull with his crozius.

Behind Arophan, Squad Vorlois charged into the warrior unit holding up the Swords of Cryptus, and the cryptek the necrons were trying to protect. The sheer weight of astartes numbers pushed to combat in the Blood Angels favour, killing them all in glorious melee.

 

More snow covered the last remaining Necrons and squad Angelon, but the Infiltrators were not giving up the fight, continuing to rip into the iron warriors, finally tearing the last traitor apart after an age of gruelling combat.

 

With all necrons destroyed or phased out, the field of battle belonged to the Blood Angels.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Success: Necron force eliminated; area secured

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes Lieutenant Tolmeron Battle Hardened, gaining a conversion field crusade relic; and Squad Maschio Heroic, giving sergeant Maschio a chainsword with the heirloom and fleshbane qualities.

-Squad Angelon gains a Flaw Point

-Swords of Cryptus lose a Flaw point from a successful purity through bloodshed agenda.

 

++Player Thoughts++

A lot went well in this game. My opponent had an early lead, and I was sure I was going to have a hard time catching up, but squad Maschio destroying the Ghost Ark in turn 1 and Chaplain Arophan making the charge at the last moment really help win the game for me.

With the rewards for winning this game, I have a wealth of resources, so will be implementing my earlier plan. My next post should have more unit profiles to show off. These include the previously mentioned Outriders with quake bolts; Vanguard Veterans with thunder hammers and storm shields, and as a little extra variety, Mephiston. This still leaves me with 5 power spare, which I may sit on top of for some more expensive units.

I am very glad to hear that the first Octarius campaign book, rising tide, is out this Saturday, and am greatly looking forward to reading and playing its campaign.

 

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Congratulations on your victory over the soulless xenos!

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Looking to counter the Ork raiding parties that were preying on the settlements of Death of Bianzeer, the Blood Angels sent an infiltration force to sneak into an ork camp and track their numbers. Unknown to the astartes however, the orks were planning a similar tactic, preparing to break through the Blood Angels lines into fresher settlements for more loot!

Crusade Mission: Behind Enemy Lines (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: Ice Fields of Death of Bianzeer (White Dwarf #467)

Mission Size: Incursion (35 Power)

Agendas: Assassinate; Valour of the Angels

 

++Mission Report++

As the orks rode into the battlefield, they deployed themselves in front of what they believed to be the tougher opponents: Captain Borgio, the infiltrators of squad Angelon, and Apothecary Raneil. It was only when the war horns blared that the orks noticed the stillness of their opponents and the snow falling through, rather than on, their bodies.

 

Captain Borgio, Lord of Deceit, had tricked the orks into deploying in the wrong position. With the exception of Raneil, who stood alone against the orks, every member of the incurstion force had concealed themselves around a ruined building far away from the greenskin warriors.

 

Knowing that they were at risk of being bogged down in combat by the orks, the Blood Angels sprinted toward the exfiltration point. Though repeat encounters in the snow had climatised the marines to moving through the ice flows, this did not stop Lieutenant Metrean stepping on some bad ice and hitting the floor.

 

Apothecary Raneil, having successfully fooled the orks into believing he was a much larger force, switched off the holographic projector, and sprinted toward a nearby building, taking cover behind the structure’s walls. The healer made a silent prayer to the Emperor, hoping he would survive both the ork shooting and incoming avalanche that were going to shortly converge on his position.

Though the order was to advance forward, the Eliminators of squad Rephas could not help themselves but to make a pot shot at the orks. Moving along the ruined floor, they raised their rifles, and through the night time snowfall, picked out the form of an ork nob on smasha squig. Despite the obscuring conditions, all three shots found their mark, and felled the ork leader.

 

With deep bellows, the ork warboss called a Waaagh and lead the charge toward the phobos armoured marine alongside a mob of squighog riders and a fearsome kill rig. In their excitement for combat, the orks were unable to deal lasting damage to the astartes, though on the other side of the battlefield, the gretchin manning the mek gun aimed their cannon at Raneil’s position. The healer found himself helpless to the traktor cannon’s pull, and Raneil was thrown through the wall and out of the ruin by the gun, the fall knocking the apothecary out cold.

 

The Goff’s each picked out a different target to personally stomp under their steed’s claws. The squighog boyz attempted to flank around task squad Nike and into squad Angelon, but the overwatch from the infiltrator’s bolter carbines cut down one of the riders, causing the mob to hesitate. Unsatisfied with his underlings’ lack of courage, warboss Gorzig threw himself at the reiver squad in front of him, easily crushing the four marines standing their ground. The beast then consolidated into Angelon, but soon realized the folly of his action, as the squad hit back with the fury of Baal, heavily wounding the warlord, and almost throwing him from the saddle! Finally, the kill rig charged the company leadership. Captain Borgio managed to neatly dodge out of the way of the chariot, and was even capable of counter attacking with his knife, but lieutenant Metrean, already injured from the ice flows, was trampled by the rig, breaking through the icy crust and into the freezing waters below.

 

While they were celebrating their great marksmanship, the gretchin manning the mek gun turned their heads to see a building sized wave of snow rush towards them. Ears flattened in terror, they were fully caught in the avalanche, buried under tonnes of snow.

 

Caught in place by the orks, the Blood Angels prepared to fight their way through the enemy. Captain Borgio disengaged from combat against the kill rig, and ordered squad Rephas to finish off the squighog riders ahead, which the eliminators did with relish, gunning down the two riders. Nor were they the only cavalry members unhorsed, as squad Angelon unholstered their pistols and opened fire into Gorzig, one of the shots catching the ork leader in the face, detonating and ripping half of his face to shreds, blinding him in one eye. Yowling in pain, the warlord retreated back to friendly lines, vowing his revenge!

The infiltrators attempted to cut down the kill rig next to them, but were unable to cause lasting harm to it. Worse, the chariot’s counter attack handily took down eight of the astartes through a mix of combat and psychic might of the weirdboy atop it.

 

The ork vehicle had proved to be too powerful for the Blood Angels to kill quickly, so captain Borgio instead marshalled his marines to instead focus on the objective. Ordering his infiltrators to withdraw and run toward the enemy lines, Borgio ran in front of the kill rig, and valiantly charged it, knife in hand. Though the captain had hoped that he could hold the vehicle off for a short while and allow his warriors to escape, he was sorely mistaken. The squig pulling the chariot caught Borgio in it’s jaws, and shook him like a rag doll, flinging the captain across the battlefield to land in a heap some metres away.

 

With two targets now moving steadily away from each other, the weirdboy atop the kill rig ordered his beastsnagga cargo to disembark and take care of squad Rephas while he finished off the last two members of squad Angelon. The beast scattered the infiltrators with ease, and while the eliminators of Rephas were unparalleled in ranged warfare, they could not withstand the attacks of the mob of orks assaulting the building.

 

As sergeant Rephas was flung from the ruins, he could make out the lamps of incoming gunships. Though the Blood Angels had failed to reach the enemy lines, they had succeeded in halting the orks long enough for relief to arrive. The greenskins scattered back to camp while the Blood Angels rescue mission extracted the fallen warriors of incursion force Borgio.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Undetermined: Unable to infiltrate battlefield enemy lines; Protected friendly lines from ork infiltration; Greatly wounded upcoming Warboss Gorzig.

-One Requisition Point from this game is spent removing Terminator Squad Taranael’s Battle Scar.

 

++Player Thoughts++
You can’t really go wrong with a draw, especially as I found that the mission rules would severely crimp my army’s concealed position and deep striking abilities, forcing me in the deployment area. Thankfully some lucky shots on my end and some unlucky rolls for my opponent’s end (the kill rig should have killed a lot more with his psychic powers) let me hold up the enemy long enough to deny him victory, something I was not expecting.

Speaking of, that Kill Rig shouldn’t be treated lightly, and I’ll be sure to bring along something a lot stronger to deal with something that tough (T8 and 16 wounds).

 

 

 

[Majkhel]

Some nice games recently! Loving your write-ups ​ 

... this did not stop Lieutenant Metrean stepping on some bad ice and hitting the floor.

This part made my day :D

 

We've been discussing new Orks and the killrig a bit in another thread here. A pity we often need luck to just draw with them currently. Definitely Eradicators are needed.

Nice move with the Prince of Deceit. It's fair to assume that there is a limited number of instances when the enemy falls for this. Although you could potentially try some really aggressive setups planning all along to completely reposition your Phobos units.

 

Keep going!

[spiros14]

Hello again!

It's been a while since my last post, though I have been far from idle.

I have had three games since my last post. Admittedly because they were in quick succession I have been unable to make a cohesive battle report, so here are the highlights:

 

+Mission 1: Retreival+

Owing to the Blood Angels prior warning of the necron menace, an ambush against the xenos was executed, downing a xenos of great importance in a cunning trap. Chaplain Arophan, joined my Chief Librarian Mephiston, lead the retreival mission, effortlessly finding and capturing their target. Though the Blood Angels were unable to fully destroy the xenos, and indeed suffered casualties against the enemy's C'tan shard, the successful capture of the xenos honoured Arophan with an Adamantium Chestplate.

 

+Mission 2: Behind Enemy Lines+

Pushing against the Necrons, the Blood Angels encountered a different Dynasty of the foul xenos, and a more capable one at that. The adeptus astartes found themselves breaking against a wall of metal bodies. It was only the heroic efforts of Squad Mordaeus that saved the day, with the Intercessor Squad flanking the aliens, and reaching the enemy line at the final moment of the battle. For such a deed, Intercessor Sergeant Mordaeus was awarded Terminator Honours.

 

+Mission 3: The Ritual+

Following their two victories the Blood Angels were emboldened enough to directly assault a Thousand Sons ritual they had caught wind of. However, the sons of Magnus had learned from their previous encounter against the Angels of Death, and a torrent of warpfire flamers and a pair of hellbrutes flawlessly held against the sons of Sanguinius, who were killed to a man.

 

 

To the Kernak System

The Octarius Campaign Book has finally arrived and it's... not quite what I was expecting. A lot of emphasis on tree-based campaigns and while there are plenty of set-pieces, it doesn't feel like it has a lot of weight to it.

Still, I am happy enough to play in a campaign with something at stake, so I am still willing to play it.

 

As I have no Tyranid Players currently interested in playing, and at least two ork players active, I have chosen to stage my campaign in the Kernak System. 

 

The wily ork warlord Nabrot Stubfingers has lead a colossal waaagh to the Industrial system of Kernak, using the tricks he learned on previous assaults to devastating effect.

Kernak IV, once a knight homeworld has been brought under ork control after the greenskins utilized herds of Squiggoths, airbourne megafortresses and stompas to break the Imperial Knight's own fortress home, Xiphon

Kernak V and Kernak II have weathered the storm against the orks, owing to the staunch leadership of Governor Bentaal, and the planet remains under Imperial control, though the threat of ork reinforcements hangs in the air.

The fighting on Kernak III still rages as it has for months. Though Imperial defenders have been reinforced by the recent combatants of Bianzeer's Hollow, so too have the orks. Worse, the Imperium's other enemies look to capitalise on a weakening Imperial defence, and close in for the kill.

 

The idea is to play two-phase campaigns in succession for three of the four worlds in the system, with the winner of a campaign winning one planet, and choosing the next planet to be the attacker against, until all planets are taken by a single side. 

The first game using this system is due later today, where I will be pitting my Blood Angels against the foul orks in a recon patrol. Wish my luck, Brothers!

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Not knowing the terrain of the new world they’ve moved to defend, the Blood Angels’ first action on Kernak III was to launch a reconnaissance patrol to the Forge World. Leading the expedition was Lieutenant Tolmeron, with Lieutenant Metrean and Task Force Nike waiting in reserves.

While the Blood Angels were aware that the orks had hit the system hard, it was still a surprise to encounter an ork patrol, joined by a fearsome gargantuan squiggoth. Rather than pull back and avoid the creature, the headstrong Tolmeron instead lead his incursion force into battle. Such a kill would surely sate the red thirst!

Crusade Mission: Recon Patrol (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Incursion (50 Power)

Agendas: Recover Mission Archives; Titanslayer

 

++Mission Report++

The ruined buildings scattered across the battlefield leant itself well to the infantry-based force of the Blood Angels. Infiltrator squad Angelon deployed themselves in a ruin to the far side of the board, dedicating themselves to the capture of an objective for as long as possible while avoiding the gargantuan squiggoth. Likewise, intercessor squad Mordaeus were also aiming to outmanoeuvre the xenos, splitting into two combat squads to better cover ground.

 

Lieutenant Tolmeron had no such concerns. He, assault intercessor Maschio, and the Swords of Cryptus arrayed themselves as close to the gargantuan squiggoth as possible. The glory of such a kill would ring in the halls of the Arx Angelicum for years to come!

 

The assault intercessors, Swords of Cryptus, and lieutenant Tolmeron made all speed toward the gargantuan squiggoth while the incursion’s battleline elements worked on the objective. Squad Angelon and combat squad Mordaeus began to recover mission archives while sergeant Mordaeus himself stealthily lead his squad around the ruin, with plans to hold the vital point in the middle of the street.

 

Assault intercessor squad Maschio charged into the super-heavy monster with reckless abandon, utilizing their gene-wrought might and honouring the chapter by dealing a colossal 20 wounds to the creature, while only losing three battle brothers in return.

 

Such was the brutality of Maschio’s attacks, the squiggoth reared up, throwing off the weirdboy riding it, and stomped away from the space marines.

 

The other squig riders meanwhile, were still up for a scrap, and goaded their steeds towards the adeptus astartes, though only the ork nob was able to make his charge against the bladeguard veterans. The Swords of Cryptus stood firm, only losing a single battle brother against the ork’s vicious attacks, and returned in kind, wounding the greenskin leader.

 

Squad Maschio meanwhile found themselves mobbed by beastsnaggas and the squiggoth having another go. The squad was unable to withstand against such numbers, and were trampled upon by the greenskins, and left in a crumpled heap in the dust.

 

Seeing the squig riders assaulting his flank, Tolmeron lead sergeant Mordaeus’ squad outwards to counterattack the ork cavalry. The bolt rifles struck down one rider, before the intercessor squad’s charge ripped apart the rest. Lieutenant Tolmeron himself charged the ork nob. Though the greenskin beast counterattacked and almost killed the space marine hero, Tolmeron kept his wits about him and struck the final blow against the nob, impaling him with his power sword.

 

Meanwhile the battle tested squad Angelon reconned the area while opening fire on the ork riders on their flank. Bolter fire accounted for two of the riders, which was enough to spook the third into fleeing the battlefield.

Behind the orks, lieutenant Metrean dropped from the sky alongside his favoured squad of reivers, and opened fire against the beastsnagga mob, slaying four of the xenos.

 

Enraged by the loss of their squig-riding brethren, all but the weirdboy moved towards lieutenant Tolmeron’s forces to avenge the boyz. The squiggoth launched itself at the bladeguard, who found their stormshields useless against the weight of the creature, getting flattened by the super-heavy.

 

The Weirdboy meanwhile turned his attention to Metrean, charging headlong into the Blood Angel. One swing of the psyker’s staff was enough to stagger the lieutenant, but not enough to fell him.

 

While a more impulsive Blood Angel might have continued the fight above all else, Metrean’s faith in the codex was absolute, a trait he needed to share with his charges. Diving out of range of the ork

psyker, the lieutenant ordered task force Nike to open fire on the weirdboy, which the reivers did with gusto. Even at point blank range the bolter fire was unable to kill the beast however, and the space marines were forced to charge the ork and finish the xenos off in close quarters.

 

With no orks in their immediate vicinity to kill, and their positions solidly under Blood Angel control, squad Angelon and combat squad Mordaeus sought to reinforce their commander, who was severely wounded and standing before the monster alone. The infiltrators could not get in range with their guns, so elected to advance forwards, while the intercessors trained their bolters on the beast, but was unable to pierce its hide.

 

a rare bout of clarity through his wounds, Tolmeron staggered his way toward the closest objective marker to search for mission archives as sergeant Mordaeus stood between their commander and the monster ahead of him. Seeing the futile attempt by their combat squad to shoot at the beast, the intercessor squad instead turned their guns on the nearby ork unit holding the enemy objective marker, blasting apart all but the Nob, who fled the battlefield in fear. Now only the squiggoth remained.

 

Sergeant Mordaeus raised his chainsword and lead his intercessors into a furious charge against the squiggoth. Though they only numbered five marines, and were armed with only bolt rifles, the intercessors were able to further damage the beast, bringing the monster to ten wounds.

 

Rather than cow the beast, the gargantuan squiggoth only became more enraged. The monster broke past the intercessors and made straight for lieutenant Tolmeron. The beast’s charge trampled the remaining members of sergeant Mordaeus’ squad and Tolmeron was picked up in the monster’s jaws, and shook like a dog might a rabbit. In a bid to escape, the lieutenant stabbed his power sword into the beast’s tongue, causing it to spit the space marine leader out onto the wasteland sands.

 

The Blood Angels continued to the close in on the squiggoth, opening fire with their bolters in an attempt to rid themselves of the beast. While many bolt shells simply bounced off of the creature, a few found their mark, further damaging, but still not felling the beast.

 

Despite being on its last legs, the squiggoth would not meekly give up the fight. Roaring to the heavens, the monster moved and charged to the closest space marine unit: task force Nike. The aspirants stood no chance against the beast, and were ripped apart by the monster.

 

Blood Angels continue to close in and open fire. The gargantuan squiggoth continued to take damage, but did not fall. Lieutenant Metrean, sensing an opportunity to finish the beast, attempted to charge, but in a cruel twist, was gunned down by the beast’s overwatch.

 

The squiggoth made a final rush toward the infiltrators of squad Angelon, but could not make the charge, surviving the game with one wound remaining.

 

In serious pain, and with no other friendly orks to guide it, the squiggoth left the battlefield of its own accord, crashing through buildings in it’s escape. The Blood Angels had control of the battlefield, but with both of their leaders in need of medical care, they could not chase after the beast to finish the job. The gargantuan squiggoth will die, but not this day.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Success: Successfully reconned the area; Ork Squiggoth marked for later termination

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes Metrean Battle-Hardened, gaining him Swift and Agile; Nike Battle-Hardened, gaining them Battle Tested, and Maschio Legendary; gaining them Centurios Service Studs.

-Squad Maschio suffers a walking wounded battle scar, which was removed by the requisition point earned during this game.

 

 

[Majkhel]

That must have been a fun game! :D

[spiros14]

That must have been a fun game! :D

It was gallows-humour level terrifying, I knew my opponent had the squiggoth (which he affectionately calls Dunkan) in his roster, but I was not expecting him to bring it to this game, so its inclusion caught me out completely.

 

I have a 150 power game against him today, so I will hopefully have enough to finish the beast off properly! For the Emperor!

[Majkhel]

Well you were definitely caught without your Eradicators when you most needed them :D

[spiros14]

Since my last post I have had a couple more games. The battle for Kernak III is hotly contested, though as of today the first phase looks like it is going to the Imperium, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Blood Angels, and behind the scenes, the grey knights.

 

During stage two of the phase I fought those pesky orks and their squiggoth again in a whopping (for us) 150 power battle. As it was a large fight, I have not prepared a detailed battle report for you today, but please enjoy this short account:

 

A huge army of the greenskins assaulted the forge city of E-C11P, lead by Ghazkul Thrakka, and joined by the Gargantuan Squiggoth tracked by Imperial forces and the Great White Squig himself. Seeing a chance to break the ork leadership in one swoop, Captain Karlean of the Archangels leant the Blood Angels strength to the defence of the city.

 

Though the Blood Angels made for a quick assault with some of their units in an attempt to slow the ork advance, it was not enough to halt the ork elites in their entirety. Thrakka himself managed to get the first charge from his smaller kin, and crushed Mephiston with his deadly klaw, despite the wounds the chief librarian had given him beforehand. The beast's victory was short lived however, as the ork warlord left himself open to a deadly counterattack from most of the Blood Angel army, getting impaled in turn on the blades, of the Swords of Cryptus.

 

As is the Blood Angels way, the true strength of the Astartes was in it's reinforcements, flanking the orks where they were weakest. Terminator Squad Taranael escorted Captain Karlean in the ork's back lines, joined by the vanguard squad known as the Titan Slayers, who immediately set to work against the ork battlewagons giving the foul greenskins fire support.

 

The Squiggoth proved to be a difficult adversary to defeat. Hellblasters and Erradicators blasted away at the beast, but only succeeded in wounding it. A squad of assault terminators charged the beast from their land raider transport, but were intercepted by the Great White Squig and killed off before they even had a chance to swing their hammers. It would be their transport, the Land Raider Tribute of Anvillus, that fell the beast.

Despite the damage the vehicle had sustained from the orks heavy guns, the Tribute refused to yield to the xenos, it's machine spirit surviving on one wound for two consecutive turns. Bellying the machine spirit of the titans her homeworld are known to create, the land raider scored a hit against the squiggoth, wounding it further, before exploding in a kamikaze attack to finish the job.

 

With the ork's leader and most valuable asset out of the picture, and the Blood Angels' valiant holding of the battlefield objectives, the orks were forced 

to flee.The incredible defence of the E-C11P site allowed Imperial forces to rally to the city, strengthening their position against the invaders. Mechanicus adepts were once more able to restart the city's forges, and unlock ancient holographic relics that were bequeathed to the adeptus astartes that saved the city from disaster.

 

This was an incredibly close game, with some excellent moments on both sides.

The experience gained during this game won the Swords of Cryptus heroic rank, giving them Terminator Honours, and squad Vorlois legendary status, giving him the legendary chainsword: Orksbane. For his victory, Karlean won the Battle Honour Tactical Experience.

 

Yesterday I had a short game against the Necrons, which I will try and get written up shortly.

[spiros14]

++Mission Brief++

Orbital tracking above Kernak III spotted an enemy strike force deploy in the Forbidden Dome, a settlement sized building which the Adeptus Mechanicus denied access to all imperial forces, even during the xenos invasion. Such objections may have kept other chapters at bay, but not the Blood Angels, who sent a mix of first and second company units to investigate.

When they blew open the doors to the facility the Astartes found ruins of clear xenos origin, and their original owners blocking the way deeper into the dome.

Crusade Mission: Breakthrough (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Strike Force (100 Power)

Agendas: Assassins, Breakthrough, Valour of the Angels

 

++Mission Report++

The space marines lined themselves in wide line against the Necrons. To the left intercessor squad Mordaeus was being escorted by bladeguard veterans, force command, and a land raider filled with terminators. The rest of the second company filled the centre of the line, lead by lieutenant Tolmeron and chaplain Arophan. Finally, to the far right, the vanguard veterans known as the Titan Slayers, and the outriders of squad Daento deployed behind a ruin, ready to outflank the necron army.

 

Taking the fight to their foes, the Blood Angels marched forward to engage the xenos scum. On the necrons right flank the space marines marched forward behind the safety of the nearby ruins, with Terminator Squad Taranael immediately disembarking from their Land Raider transport to join their commander. The Land Raider, Tribute of Anvillus, gave covering fire, blasting apart several skorpekh destroyers hiding behind cover in front of the veteran units.

 

It would be the Necron’s left flank that would feel the might of the Angels of Death first, however. Utilising his quake bolts with pinpoint accuracy, Outrider Sergeant Daento knocked a unit of Skorpekh Destroyers off their talons, allowing the Titan Slayers to follow up with a devastating charge, breaking the constructs with their Thunder Hammers with contemptuous ease.

 

The suddenness of the astartes attack perturbed the aliens, who had to quickly refocus their efforts into blocking the space marines from advancing any further into their lines. This included the dynasty royal warden into using its veil of darkness and transporting itself and a unit of warriors from guarding the right flank to standing directly in the way of the vanguard veterans and outriders.

 

The Necrons opened fire on the Blood Angels, focussing their fire on the Tribute of Anvillus and destroying the land raider with their superior alien weapons, with the monolith striking the finishing blow. The Titan Slayers and squad Daento also got some attention from the xenos, losing five veterans and an outrider to their guns.

 

The Overlord then made a command to charge the bloodthirsty marines, but after witnessing the savagery of the astartes, many of the alien’s self-preservation protocols refused the order, choosing to stand stock still rather than get closer. Only the lychguard, loyal to a fault, charged into squad Maschio, cutting down five of the assault intercessors. This only angered the space marines, who honoured the chapter and slaughtered all ten of the necron elites through gene wrought might.

 

The insubordination of the necron underlings had cost the alien’s position greatly, and the Blood Angels would take full advantage of the situation. Captain Karlean raised his hammer high and lead the terminators and bladeguard veterans toward the depleted skorpekh destroyers in front of them while intercessor squad Mordaeus flanked the aliens and blasted away at the immortals covering the destroyers, destroying all but one with their bolt rifles. Toward the centre of the battlefield, squad Maschio moved to the large necron warrior squad nearby, knowing that to assault the large unit would save them from the aliens deadly fire.

 

The veterans covered the distance to their prey. With their fists crackling, the terminators began to crush the destroyers before them, but not enough to stop them counterattacking the nearby bladeguard, cutting down all but the sergeant. The veteran was a Sword of Cryptus, however, and would not yield to the alien, cutting down the remaining destroyers with his own blade.

 

On the other side of the battlefield, the vanguard veterans and outriders proceeded to ignore the warriors in front of them in favour of the monolith – the necron’s greatest war asset. Once again Daento’s quake bolt caught the monolith’s underside, rocking the vehicle and leaving it open to attack.

 

The Titan Hunters were joined in their assault by lieutenant Tolmeron and intercessor squad Vorlois, swarming the vehicle and battering away at it with their weapons. The Angels of Death greatly damaged the floating box, bringing it down to three wounds, though in return the monolith took down lieutenant Tolmeron

 

The situation for the necrons was dire, and the Overlords losses now outweighed the gains. With a word, he had his whole force phase from the battlefield to area’s unknown. While this appeased the Blood Angels, later investigation by the Mechanicus found that the necrons had also phased out with several confidential items, the purpose of which was unknown even to those scholars. With more questions than answers, and the fight drawing attention from the Inquisition, the scorn of the Mechanicus would be felt by the Blood Angels during the war for Kernak III.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Indeterminate: Necron mission disrupted, at the cost of strained relationship with Mechanicus Forces.

-Overall experience for this battle was low. However, the Tribute of Anvillus was marked for greatness for tanking a lot of the Necron shooting phase before dying, and is now Blooded, gaining the Resilient Machine Spirit Battle Trait.

 

++Player Thoughts++

We had to cut this game short as we had simply run out of time owing to an appointment my opponent had made which we knew of beforehand, so the game was made a draw.

The Quake Bolts and Thunder Hammer combo has shown itself to be incredibly effective, and I look forward to using it again and again.

 

[spiros14]

Hello Battle brothers!

 

Since my last post I have had three more games with my army. I'm afraid I've let sloth get the better of me and have not made time for two of the three battle reports, but here is a quick synopsis of game 1 and game 2:

 

The Blood Angels of the second company were overjoyed to learn that Captain Aphael had survived the crossing of the Rubicon and was joining his brothers to fight the orks on Kernak III. With him were vital supplies for the war effort being dropped via Thunderhawk on the planet below.

Though the Snakebite tribe attempted to intercept the supply drop, the Blood Angels' talented pilots were able to send nearly all of them in the astartes direction, leaving the Blood Angels with the job of culling the ork hordes, which they did with relish.

 

In a lightning raid, the Thousand Sons warband, the followers of the serpant path assaulted the Blood Angels. Fuelled with a potent psychic fury they very quickly destabilised the army. The only real show of defiance by the Blood Angels was made by Captain Aphael, who managed to wound the opposing army's general, a fearsome daemon prince, after the brute previously shrugged off erradicator fire and the blows of Mephiston with no effect.

 

I will try and get a battle report for my third game, the last for our crusade campaign for the year, ASAP.

[Majkhel]

Having so little time recently to play, I have to say it's a real pleasure to read about your exploits. Especially since you put so much effort into the narrative 

[spiros14]

Having so little time recently to play, I have to say it's a real pleasure to read about your exploits. Especially since you put so much effort into the narrative 

 

Thank you. That my battle reports are being enjoyed means a lot to me.

 

++Mission Brief++

The arrival of the World Eaters on Kernak III spurred the Blood Angels into action, as even more combatants on the planet would prolong the conflict even further.

Captain Aphael brought to bear the might of the Blood Angels against the vile traitors. If their leadership was incapacitated, the warband may split apart in the power struggle and destroy themselves, removing them as a major threat.

Crusade Mission: Cut off the Head (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Strike Force (100 Power)

Agendas: Valour of the Angels; Assassins; Survivor (Captain Aphael)

 

++Mission Report++

Arriving in force, the Blood Angels deployed on mass, with Aphael and Tolmeron leading the Blooded nearest the closest objective marker, and Mephiston leading the more combat orienteered astartes and apothecary Raneil on the other flank. Ahead were a trio of enemy rhinos filled with bezerkers, two helbrutes, a unit of crazed raptors, and in the rear, two forgefiends escorting a master of possession.

 

The horns of machine spirits tortured to a frenzy sounded across the battlefield as the World Eaters took the iniative against the Blood Angels. Most of the heretic astartes moved toward Mephiston’s flank, with the exception of an especially blood splattered rhino later identified as the command vehicle, which stalked the outskirts of the battlefield nearby the blooded, trying to hide behind the ruins.

 

With apoplectic frenzy, the chaos raptors ignited their jump packs and made headway toward the Tribute of Anvillus. Though the mighty land raider was able to fell two of the world eaters in overwatch, then crush a third beneath it’s tracks, the raptors weapons scored the vehicle’s ceramite shell, shaking the tank.

 

Unperturbed by the heretic’s first salvos, the Blood Angels advanced toward the foe. Captain Aphael lead his men towards the objective and behind it, the enemy rhino, which was still partially visable through the windows. This was all eradicator squad Theus required, who wrecked the vehicle with their powerful melta rifles. Two bezerkers lost their lives exiting the vehicle, though the surviving three bezerkers and one greater possessed would not live long afterwards, each taking an overwhelming number of bolter rounds from the two intercessor squads closing in. Only Khârn the Betrayer was left, having managed to remain out of sight from the loyalists.

 

The Tribute of Anvillus opened up the hatches and a squad of assault terminators emerged from the vehicle, thunder hammers aglow with energy. The veterans surrounded the raptors assaulting the transport, ready to punish the traitors, before the pair of them exploded from psychic energy. The squad sergeant glared at Mephiston, who snarled back as he followed the rest of his warriors toward the larger enemy. First ahead was a helbrute armed with two fists, a clear mockery of the more honourable furioso pattern dreadnought. The walker was charged by outrider squad Daento and the Titan Slayers, who fell the crazed machine with their hammers.

 

The World Eaters were quick to respond, with two bezerker squads piling out of a rhino to engage the Blood Angel veterans and bikers. The sheer number of attacks was enough to break all but outrider sergeant Daento, though the chaos marines lost half of their own numbers in return.

 

Behind the Blood Angel lines, a pair of obliterators teleported onto the battlefield and raised their weapons against the eradicators, blasting apart one with their chaotic weapons. To the rear of the battlefield, the forgefiends raked the Blood Angel lines, damaging the Tribute of Anvillus further.

 

Despite being surrounded with no sign of support, Khârn paid little heed to his situation. The champion of Khorne burst through the ruins screaming bloody fury, firing his overcharged plasma pistol at a member of squad Mordaeus, cooking the intercessor instantly. Charging into his marked target, the Betrayer swung Gorechild in a bloody arc, cutting down three of the space marines. The Blood Angels dogpiled the lone heretic, and inflicted wounds that would fell any other man; but like a hive dreg fighting the cops while hopped up on narcotics, Khârn would not succumb to such, and slew the rest of the squad with a second flurry of attacks. The Khornate warrior stood atop the pile of corpses and locked eyes with Captain Aphael in a clear act of challenge.

 

Gesturing his men stand aside, Aphael and lieutenant Tolmeron moved onto Khârn, swords in hand. Aphael swung at Khârn, who blocked the captain’s sword with Gorechild, the chain axe’s ruinous power being more than enough to take on the blade of the blooded, then countered by smashing his armoured fist into Aphael’s unprotected face. The captain spat blood, and saw red, swinging in wide arcs with reckless abandon, eventually succeeding in driving his blade into Khârn’s chest, ending the betrayer bleeding out in the dust. Only Tolmeron was close enough to see the bloodshot eyes of his captain unfocus for a brief moment, before returning to his usual self.

 

On Mephiston’s flank, sergeant Daento pulled out of combat to engage the obilterators in the back lines. Subbing in the outriders were assault intercessor squad Maschio, who barrelled into another helbrute, which despite counter attacking and killing half the squad was still ripped apart with ease, while the Swords of Cryptus and terminator squad Bavetius engaged the bezerkers standing before them, avenging the Titan Slayers.

 

With all other leadership dead, command fell to the warband’s master of possession. Knowing that the great eye of the gods was on him, the Master, Krom, ordered a pincer movement with the remaining two rhinos, before moving up the centre escorted by the daemon engines.

 

Bezerkers, accompanied by their rhino transports, charged into the first company and squad Maschio. Such an assault was blunted by the loyalist forces, slaying all bezerkers at the expense of one of the bladeguard and terminators apiece. However, the chaotic rhinos proved more hardy, refusing to be cut down by the Blood Angels

 

With more breathing room, Aphael began uploading his and Tolmeron’s intelligence to his objective marker and commanded his warriors to accomplish a list of different tasks. Assault squad Maschio was ordered to disengage from the rhino, allowing the nearby intercessor squad Vorlois to open fire on the vehicle. Mephiston would move to support sergeant Daento in tackling the obliterator in the back line, who was in the process of crushing eradicator squad Theus in combat, and the Swords of Cryptus would be joined by apothecary Raneil to block the forgefiends and more importantly, Krom, the Master of Possession. Though such a scheme did result in the targets being wounded, only the rhino engaged with terminator squad Bavetius was destroyed by the squad’s two remaining thunder hammers.

 

Despite their losses, the World Eaters would not be cowed by the Blood Angels battlefield supremacy, and moved to assault the loyalists in a final rush. The heretics opened up with another salvo on the Tribute of Anvillus, which was finally enough to break the mighty land raider in a deadly explosion.

 

As the crazed final rhino chased down assault squad Maschio, which ended in the vehicle’s own destruction, the two forgefiends and Krom charged into the bladeguard’s blockade. The heroes of the chapter stood their ground, taking down one of the accursed monstrosities, and even wounding Krom, though only apothecary Raneil survived the encounter

In the back lines, the lone obliterator succeeded in finishing off the last eradicator, right in front of Mephiston and sergeant Daento.

 

It was just a matter of mopping up the remaining chaos space marines on the battlefield. Raneil was able to finish off Krom with a well-aimed shot with his absolver bolt pistol just as squad Maschio rushed ahead to cover the healer from the final forgefiend. Though they did charge the beast, they failed to save Raneil from the construct, which knocked him into the dirt.

 

In the back lines, Daento rode his bike straight into the obliterator at Mephiston’s encouragement. The Chief librarian held back his power to allow the outrider to defeat his opponent in close combat, apparently revelling in the slaughter carried out by his subordinate.

 

With its master dead, the forgefiend retreated from the battlefield with a roar of hate. With the head of the warband cut and the battlefield secured, Aphael called the thunderhawks down for extraction, leaving the bodies of their foes to their bloody fate on the city streets.

 

++Mission Debrief++

-Mission Success: All enemy leadership wounded with vital intelligence retrieved.

-The total experience gained from all this battle makes Aphael Battle Hardened; gaining him Deadly Charge; and squad Daento Blooded; gaining them Marksman’s honours.

-For winning the battle, Aphael earns the warlord trait: Selfless Valour

-Apothecary Raneil suffered a battle scar, the requisition point for this game was spent to remove it.

-Squad Maschio and Captain Aphael suffer 1 flaw point each. This caused Maschio to lose members to the Black Rage, and losing 5 experience in the process.

[spiros14]

As the fighting on the forge world got more pronounced, the Imperial defenders began to suffer from attrition brought on by the clever shadow games employed by the followers of the serpent path. Even with the grey knights winning every battle, they could not be everywhere at once, and it had cost the Imperium dearly.

It was a final assault by Necron raiders against the Salamanders that proved to be the straw that broke the defenders back. No longer able to keep the fight going, Kernak III was abandoned to the invaders, and a withdrawal to the bastion world of Kernak V was undertaken.

It is said that as Fabricator General Brynlokh looked down on the planet aboard the evacuation ship, a single oily tear emerged from a still organic eye.

 

Hello again!

 

After a long period of fighting, my hobby group finished the Kernak III campaign, and while it was very close, the eventual winners were the cursed invaders. We then took the holiday period off before continuing the Octarius conflict on the neighbouring planet of Kernak V. 

 

Governor Abrahoma Bentaal had only a short reprieve from repelling her own ork invasion before the refugees of Kernak III arrived to her world.

In the calm before the storm the planet rebuilt her defences, and every civilian refugee, including ex-governor Brynlokh, was given a lasgun and wall position to defend.

When the first of the Xenos and Chaos ships translated above the planet, a wave of grim determination filled the defenders. There would be no step back after this, the Kernak system's resistance would live or die on this world!

 

With the stage set and only four weeks to save the Kernak system from complete invader domination, I give to you what will likely be the final chapter in my Octarius Campaign...

 

++Mission Brief++

After bombarding a city district from orbit a raiding party of World Eaters made planetfall, to take what supplies remained for the siege of Kernak V. They were intercepted by the Blood Angels, who had experience with fighting the legion before.

Crusade Mission: Supply Cache (Core Rulebook)

Theatre of War: None

Mission Size: Incursion (50 Power)

Agendas: Priority Target; Purity through Bloodshed (Captain Aphael)

 

++Mission Report++

Much to the Blood Angel’s surprise, the force brought down to the surface of Kernak V were not fully made up of the screaming madmen typical of the legion, but of heavy weapon wielding warriors and daemonic engines lead not by Khârn the Betrayer, but by a lord discordant.

 

The chaos forces split themselves up into two groups, one of heretic astartes on one flank, and one of a forgefiend, master of possession, and the lord discordant. In comparison, the Blood Angels banded together as one lump, with the exception of eradicator squad Theus, who posted themselves atop an objective in a ruin opposite the daemon engines.

 

With a war cry, the traitors moved forwards toward loyalist lines. Though many weapons either pinged off armour or were out of range entirely, the rattle of guns from the chaincannon wielding havocs and forgefiend raked through assault intercessor Maschio’s line, killing off eight of the honoured warriors. It was only the stern gaze of Aphael that kept the space marines from fleeing.

 

The Blood Angels launched themselves forwards in retaliation, looking to cut the traitors in melee before they could wreck further damage. The Titan Slayers, outrider squad Daento, and the remains of Maschio headed toward the enemy lines while lietenant Tolmeron and tactical squad Meteros split off to capture a supply cache, dangerously close to the Lord Discordant and his pet.

 

The Blood Angel’s charge was not an ordered piece of chapter legend. The two members of Maschio, pumped up on stimm, threw themselves straight into the waiting guns of the havoc squad, who cut down a member in overwatch, and then stabbed the remaining sergeant in the back while Maschio was cutting down a single traitor. Worse, in an ugly twist of fate, the vanguard veterans landed on bad ground in front of the helbrute. What was thought to be mere dirt proved to be a mass grave of Kernak V’s prisoner locations, literally eating the first company veterans when their jump packs disturbed the site, and botching their charge against the heretic vehicle. A grinding laughter was heard from the walker as it raised it’s storm bolter at the immobile veterans.

 

Just then, Daento rammed his bike into the helbrute’s frame. The outriders proved more than capable of toppling the chaos dreadnought, its frame crashing into the charnal pit as the bikers consolidated into the surprised havocs, locking the heavy weapons specialists in combat and stopping them from using their guns.

 

Though the outriders had successfully blocked the advance of the enemy, they were only three men against an army, a fact the traitorous World Eaters were keen to show when a mob of five bezerkers disembarked from their rhino in front of the bikers, their chain weapons making a mockery of the loyalist armour.

 

Toward the centre of the battlefield, tactical squad Meteros found themselves surrounded by daemon engines and the master of possessed. Though the heretic forces poured everything they have at the unit, the firstborn marine’s dedication to the mission outweighed anything else, and the tactical marines stubbornly held on.

 

The sacrifice of squad Daento had blunted the heretic’s blade, but it would take a strong push into their lines to break the traitors and bring victory to the Blood Angels. Captain Aphael raised his sword and ordered his men to destroy the World Eaters ahead of him. The Titan Slayers ignited their packs, freeing themselves from the mass grave, and landing behind the deplorable bezerkers. This left the traitors front free to be charged by tactical squad Goriel and Aphael himself, the captain dispatching the havocs personally with a sweep of his blade. The bezerkers reacted to the charge with fervour, uselessly grinding their axes against the shields of the vanguard veterans, but weathering any attack the Blood Angels through their way.

 

To the centre of the battlefield, the dwindling members of squad Meteros were preparing to sell themselves dearly, as the Lord Discordant began to encircle them. However, the well-trained fire of squad Theus caught the enemy leader in the back, fusing the chaos marine to his now-destroyed steed, rendering him immobile. Even better, Tolmeron reinforced the tactical squad, charging into the master of possession, slaying him, then consolidating into the forgefiend. It was then things went awry, however, as the daemonic engine focussed its energy into downing the Blood Angels hero, and succeeded, driving the space marine into the dust.

 

The World Eaters were down to just their two daemon engines, three bezerkers, and a rhino, and while the Blood Angels had also been bled, their positions made the battle bleak for the heretics. In an act of desperation, the bezerkers cut their way from the melee to move onto the supply cache the Blood Angels had been defending, so that they might win themselves something this day. Covering this retreat was the gatling gun wielding forgefiend, who cut into the vanguard veterans before they were charged by the rhino, locking the Titan Slayers in combat. The plasma armed forgefiend attempted again to claim the supply cache in the centre of the table, but continued to fail to eliminate the last tactical marine defending it.

 

Such an attempt to turn the battle would need to be put into check, and quickly. Aphael guided squad Goriel toward the bezerkers, leaving the Titan Slayers to finish off the stubbornly invulnerable rhino. Plasma pistols dealt with a bezerker, while Aphael’s blade dealt with the rest. In the centre of the table, sergeant Meteros disengaged from combat with the forgefiend to allow eradicator fire into the vehicle, but in a cruel twist of fate, the daemon engine shrugged off the melta shot, and was now able to hone its guns properly on the pesky astartes.

 

Though the Blood Angels actions had won them the supplies, the final stages of the battle were costly. Without their astartes overseers, the pair of forgefiends erupted into a fire frenzy, gunning down the Titan Slayers, Aphael, and both tactical sergeant. Only Erradicator sergeant Theus was exempt from the daemon engines, hidden behind ruin walls. The beasts eventually stomped away from the battlefield looking for other meat to shoot, and the lone space marine called the Thunderhawks for extraction. The Blood Angels had won victory this day, but at a steep cost.

 

++Mission Debrief++

Mission Success: Heretic Astartes landing attempt halted.

-The experience in this battle makes Lieutenant Tolmeron Heroic, gaining him Purity Seals; Titan Slayers Blooded, gaining them Bladesman Honours.
-Aphael loses a flaw point as he completed his agenda.

-Squad Meteros fail an injury roll and do not gain any experience.