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The Forge-moon of Phaeton Nox was burning. Many worlds burned across the sector since the Eye had opened and the Cicatrix Maledictum had spewed forth across the sky, but this half-forgotten corner of the galaxy had seen little of the true horrors of conflict since the Blood Angels and Luna Wolves had brought it into the Imperium's fold ten thousand years earlier. But now, with the forces of the Astartes stretched too thin to respond and the Astra Militarum trapped fighting a feint on the galactic south of the system, the Black Legion had returned with new allies to shatter the heart of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the system and fulfil a dark and malign purpose.
Days of fighting had seen the knights of the Ohm-Bolt Enclave dispatched by Legio Command to bolster the Skitarii of Stygies VII who garrisoned the Forge-moon. The knights had reaped a hefty toll on the traitors, and showed their dark masters that the Emperor, manifested as the divine machines of the Ohmnissiah, truly did protect. The exploitation of archeotech and pre-heresy war material would continue, not withstanding the encroachment of Abaddon's twisted followers.
And yet Phaeton Nox was still burning. Alarms sounded in the manifolds of Legio HQ. An engine killed – a Warhound sent to secure a downed shuttle, which had been carrying precious cargo up to the orbital ship-yards above where construction continued amongst the battles and death. The knight maniple was first on the scene, reporting skitarii ambushed by cultists from amongst the thrall-workers and traitor Astartes in horrific strength, with Daemon Engines and a foul traitor Engine of Legio Suturvora in support. This site is critical to the operations of Stygies VIII on this world – Legio HQ was doubly angered, by the loss of a divine engine and by the attack upon a site so functional for the Machine-God's devout servants. The knights made their solemn prayers and prepared to sacrifice themselves to
delay the Archenemy until the Legio could respond.
The Reaver Glory Rekindled, with Warhounds Corona Muralis and Gladius Nocturnis, a skirmish maniple were dispatched to race to the site, to ensure that it was the traitor legions who fed the pyre.
Narrative Play Game – Stygies VII skitarii and Legio Audax Redemptor versus Black Legion, Word Bearers, World Eaters and Legio Suturvora
Narrative Objectives:
Engine Kill – Knight or Lord of Skulls 1 point
Engine Kill – Warhound 3 points
Engine Kill – Reaver 5 points
Black Legion – Capture the Relic with any Chaos Forces 5 points
Black Legion – Capture the Relic with Black Legion units – additional 6 points
Word Bearers – Complete the Ritual 15 points
The Ritual – Hold the Gates
The Ritual – Hold the Plasma Obliterator
The Ritual – Retrieve the Warp Drive Components crate from the crashed shuttle
The Ritual – Take the Warp Drive Components crate to the landing pad. The Aquilla Lander will fly it into the gate
The Ritual – Complete the ritual by firing the Plasma Obliterator at the shuttle, hyper-charging the Warp Drive Components and tearing a hole in reality by rolling a 5+ using 1(+X) D6.
World Eaters – Kill, Maim, Burn!
The Ritual – The value X is the number of infantry units killed by World Eaters units.
Stygies VIII – Recapture the Gates 2 points
Stygies VIII – Hold the Super-Refinery 2 points
Stygies VIII – Recapture the Landing Pad 2 points
Legio Audax Redemptor – Destroy Legio Suturvora Engines 3 points per kill
Narrative Stratagem – Chaos Only – for 5 CP, return a destroyed Titanic Model to your board edge.
Narrative Stratagem – Legio Audax Redemptor – At the end of your movement phase, deploy up to two warhound titans at your board edge for 0 CP. At the end of your second movement phase, deploy your reaver titan on your board edge for 0 CP.
Turn 1
Chaos takes first turn, the traitor warhound damaging a knight and blasting a skitarii unit out of existence. The Khornate models bellow, charging into combat with the knights all across the board. They are joined by the Word Bearers tactical squads and Black Legion helbrutes, while the Predator Kill Squadron advances on the gates. The knights make a valiant showing, Errants dealing out some damage before being cut down while one Warglave and the Crusader valiantly stand their ground. The Word Bearers hold the gates, cultists move off the landing pad towards the warp drive crate, and the Black Legion Hellbrutes close in on the relic. The World Eaters push into the knights, rearing for a fight.
On the Imperial turn one, the Warhounds arrive and deal some damage to a lord of skulls, delete a maulerfiend and put some backbone into the rear line – but the void shields of the traitor engine hold firm, and it escapes from any serious damage. The Skitarii keep up the contest for the Super-Refinery, leaving one squad in combat with cultists and another shooting down at the Chaos Space Marines and Lord of Skulls as they close in. Gladius Nocturnis unleashes the inferno cannon, clearing the cultists from the landing pad and the Warp Drive Components in a gout of flame bigger than a land raider.
Turn 2
On Chaos turn 2, the forces of destruction push deeper, clearing up the left flank and pushing back the onagers, moving to secure the relic. The Warhound and the Lords of Skulls unleash fire into Gladius Nocturnis, dropping the void shield and doing some superficial damage without impeding performance. The Chaos Havocs holding the gate unleash with their heavy bolters and sow casualties through the skitarii squad on the Super-Refinery who have not become caught in combat with cultists.
Imperial turn 2 starts feeling dire, with the Armiger and Knight Crusader limping but in the fight, the left flank being pushed back and casualties mounting. The forces are bolstered by the power of the Reaver as it arrives though, and it immediately unleashes a hail of destruction, damaging a predator, blasting at the Traitor Warhound (now identified as Kar, Destroyer of Calth) whose void shields hold, buckle and start to let through damage, and heavily damaging a Lord of Skulls. The Daemonic saves of the Lords of Skulls keep them alive and angry, and the Armiger Warglaive valiantly destroys the long fallen Contemptor Dreadnought of the Word Bearers.
Turn 3
Chaos turn 3 – The Black Legion order the super heavies to hug the Super-Refinery, noting that the Imperium is unwilling to to fire heavy and macro weaponry that may risk its destruction. The Armiger is faced and destroyed by a Lord of Skulls, detonating and nearly killing the Dark Apostle and damaging still more the super-heavy monster. The other two Lords of Skulls advance up the table, hurling daemonic weaponry at the secutarii and the Loyalist Titans. Traitor Warhound Kar fires all into the Reaver Glory Rekindled, but achieves limited penetration of the void shields. The advance up the left flank continues, fire from the Onagers diverting the Black Legion Hellbrutes away from the relic and over to assault the Skitarii stalker-tanks.
Imperium turn 3 – The Reaver's triple turbo laser speaks again, this time slipping past the traitor warhound's void shields and causing catastrophic damage – the tortured machine spirit of Kar is at death's door. Deprived of targets, the Warhound Corona Muralis turns its plasma blast-gun and double turbo laser on the lesser foes before it, destroying another maulerfiend and a defiler, as the secutarii surge forward to create a wall between advancing maulerfiends, hellbrutes and the leader of the World Eaters and Corona Muralis. Gladius Nocturnis is forced to move around the Super-Refinery, closer to the Lords of Skulls in order to target them.
Turn 4
Chaos turn 4 – The damage dealt to Kar makes the gad machine much less effective now, but it still manages to clear out the squad of secutarii protecting Gladius Nocturnis. The Lords of Skulls close in to take advantage... Word Bearers infantry seize the relic, and move to support the cultists in the super-Refinery, closing any chance of of Skitarii securing this objective.
Imperium turn 4 – the Secutarii protecting Corona Muralis charge into the wounded World Eaters Chaos Lord, but an interruption sees them all killed but the Alpha – the Alpha in turn strikes, triumphantly caving in the Chaos Lord's head with a strike of his Arc Lance. However with 9 men of his squad killed, he succumbs to his wounds and bleeds out at the foot of the Warhound. Only in death does duty end, and what a glorious death!
Turn 5
Chaos turn 5 – The Lords of Skulls seize their chance to hurt the Imperium, plowing into Gladius Nocturnis. The Warhound, already damaged from the predator squadron and the Daemonic weaponry of the Chaos forces, is unable to withstand the punishment, and falls beneath the blows of the great cleavers of the blood god. In a final act of sacrifice, Gladius Nocturnis' damaged reactor containment fails, and a thermo-nuclear detonation tears out, destroying much of the surrounding Chaos forces, including both of the already heavily damaged Lords of Skulls. Further explosions are unleashed in a chain reaction, decimating the lead elements of the Chaos forces on the Imperial Right Flank. On the left flank, the desultory survivors of the Chaos advance are reinforced by terminators, who all charge into Corona Muralis hoping for a second coup. However, the Titan's size and power denies them their prize.
Imperium turn 5 – In the Imperial final turn, Glory Rekindled destroys the traitor warhound Kar and the final Lord of Skulls and unleashes a devastating bombardment of Apocalypse Missiles on the Word Bearers, which still fails to shift them from their hold on the relic. Corona Muralis leaves the combat with one mighty stride backwards, and then decimates the Chaos Terminators, unleashing titan-killing weaponry into them. Both Imperial flanks are cleared of worthy foes for the titans, but there are precious few surviving support troops left.
At the conclusion of turn 5, Chaos has no super-heavy models left on the table. Chaos hold the relic, and have destroyed three knights, two Armigers and a Warhound. However, they have been unable to complete their ritual thanks to the stalwart defence of the Legio Audax Redemptor!
The Imperial forces have lost the gates and the Super-Refinery, but hold the landing pad. They destroyed three Lord of Skulls and the Traitor Warhound using our God-Engines, and support troops still hold the Warp Drive components. The game is tied for points, but the Imperial forces have clearly blunted the Chaos offensive and prevented completion of their Heretical ritual – A glorious walk in 8th edition for the Legio Audax Redemptor!
Some photos from the battle:
One of the Warhounds certainly had a rough day.
Some stiff competition for the Legio Audax Redemptor
And their supporting Knights.
Time to kill some Traitors!
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