1850 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster - Adepticon List 2010
HQ: Abaddon the Despoiler @ 275 pts
5 Plague Marines @ 135 pts
2 meltaguns
Chaos Land Raider with Daemonic Possession @ 240 pts
HQ: Chaos Sorcerer with MoS and Lash of Submission @ 125 pts
7 Plague Marines @ 269 pts
1 Meltagun
1 Plague Champion with Power Fist
1 Rhino
7 Plague Marines @ 269 pts
1 Meltagun
1 Plague Champion with Power Fist
1 Rhino
5 Plague Marines @ 160 pts
1 Meltagun
1 Rhino
2 Obliterators @ 150 pts
3 Obliterators @ 225 pts
Total Roster Cost: 1848 pts
First,I am going to have to eat a bit of crow. I tried to make a list without the Lash but my latest draft includes one. Here are a few things I learned so far:
1. Berzerkers as Abaddon's escort really didn't add that much to his effectiveness and they died pretty easily. Plague Marines did not die as easily and with 2 meltaguns were able to pop armor or force a couple of Invulnerable saves on tough units prior to assault.
2. Daemon Princes need terrain. At Adepticon terrain is, let's face it, sparse. During play-testing my DP fell time and again to mass/rapid fire shots. So I switched to a Sorcerer and hid him in a unit of Plague Marines. Success! The trick here was to keep him cheap and effective, hence Lash. It is truly game changing as it dictates movement directly and indirectly.
3. Thousands Sons. Expensive and die just as easily as a 15 pt Chaos Marine to rapid fire. Cover saves are abundant which really reduce their effectiveness. They are good at tying up CC heavy hitters, but they can't kill them. If there was a way to get a hidden powerfist in there....
4. Vindicators. I scatter way too much! My vindicator would usually scatter twice then be taken out.
5. Defilers. I play-tested these to death and just could not get reliable results out of them. Whether I tried to "run" them or shoot with them (scatter problem again); field one or a couple; reserve them, it didn't matter, they just died. Armor 12 just doesn't cut it with a model that big.
6. Chosen (5 man meltagun squad w/ rhino). Actually, this is a decent unit and performs well as long as you don't out flank unless you really have too. The only reason they were cut is that they are not scoring.
7. Scoring units win games. No duh, right. I found in my early lists that I couldn't handle missions with multiple objectives. I could contest, but not win. Plague marines are one of the best objective squatters out there.
This list evolved with Adepticon terrain in mind and sadly, some of my favorite models/units didn't make the cut. I know that there are those who would say this is power gaming or what have you, but this is a highly competitive tournament and I don't want to get my teeth kicked in every game. If I was a true power gamer I would play IG and the 14 lascannons of death list (It's brutal and I still have nightmares about that game) !)
The main thing I learned through out play-testing is that the game is so much more challenging with good, thought out terrain pieces/placement. It also gives those less optimal units a chance to shine which opens up a codex and adds variety making lists less cookie cutter. That is the way I prefer to play.
To borrow a word from Will Ferrel, Strategery, that's what this game is about; not a turkey shoot. Ok people, get some more terrain on those tables!
Ash
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Apocalypse Battle Report----Battle for Tarkonda Secondus
Well, it's been a bit since our last battle report (Mostly blame Adepticon and our new foray into Warmachine for that)...so I thought I would transition our Apocalypse Report from Dakka over to the blog. This was an Apoc game we did awhile back, hope to do another similar soon (Maybe post Con?). Anyways, hope you enjoy;
The Battle for Tarkonda Secondus
Players:
AshAxe: Castellan Marines
AgeOfEgos: Celestial Lion Marines
Zulix24: Eldar
Pipboy: Tau/Traitor IG
During this battle, we have the Tau/Eldar contigent facing off against a Loyalist Marine defense. The Marine Chapters involved in the defense of Tarkonia Secondus are the Celestial Lions (White/Silver) and the Imperial Castellans (Blue/Tan). The battle revolves around an ancient STC relic the Marines have discovered and are awaiting Mechanicus arrival for transport. The device is rumoured to be one of the oldest of its types and involves high yield energy transformation. In essence, the Marines understand it makes not simple machines...but incredibly powerful (and dangerous) explosives. Planet ending explosives.
Shortly after the discovery of this item the planet came under attack from an allied Xenos threat; Eldar and Tau. It seems the Xenos are familiar with the device and wish to recover it for themselves. The Marines have staunchly defended the planet but have been driven back to one last Hive City...Tarkonia Secondus. This is their Alamo..and they must hold until the Mechanicus arrives...
"The slow squeak and grind of tracks from the armored column of Chimera Transports passing the Sister Hospitaler medical facility for civilian refugees echoed up and down the streets as the reinforcements headed to the trench line on the edge of Tarkonia Secondus. Wounded civilians fleeing the oncoming Tau had headed to the medical facility in the illusion of safety from the encroaching enemy. As the center of the column reached the front entrance of the facility a blinding light flashed, stunning all not completely enclosed. Fractions of a second passed and the light became coherent as the Tau Cruiser in orbit started to unleash its full might in support of the Hunter Cadres initial push against the defenders. Even with all of the Tau’s advanced technology, pin point fire support from miles in orbit was not possible but that mattered little since the Tau announced to the inhabitants of the city of their assault. Any civilian still left which died from the bombardment had only themselves to blame. The first bolts of energy struck home in a hitting buildings, civilians and soldiers randomly. As the bolts slowly moved from the area of the medical facility due to the cruiser’s orbit shifting away a round struck home dead center of the roof of the facility. In an instant the floors, patients and doctors were vaporized. The burrowing beam blasted not only the building but deep into the under world of Tarkonia Secondus. Losing most of its power by the time it reached the power generator and its fuel supply it was still powerful enough to detonate the fuel pod. A fire ball grew quickly blowing out the walls of the wrecked place of healing. The force of the explosion sent a shockwave out which dug deeper into the ground and threw the Chimeras of the Armored Column high into the air. Their steel hulls clanging loudly against pavement and collapsed walls when they landed. As quickly as the bombardment started it ended, and quiet reigned. Looking behind at the destruction of their city, members of the Tarkonian PDF watched in horror and waited for the bombardment to end before heading into to render assistance to their people. Every other team breaking away from the front line defenses rushing to assist. As the first Imperial Guard Soldiers crest the crater that was what was left of the medical facility. Stopping in their tracks when the sight of an obvious alien object glowing brightly. Sgt Kevch turned to his vox operator and stated, “Get the Captain on the horn and tell him that we found something. *** Ethereal Shan’o, lost deep in his own thoughts only glancing at the holographic display in the command bridge. Bickering between Tio’ves Shas’o on the best way to crack the human defensive lines ringing Tarkonia Secondus was becoming tiresome. What has troubling to Shan’o is the movement of two large contingents of elite human warriors to a relativity unimportant section of the city. Were the humans planning a spearhead assault, but every time they have tried the fire warriors stuck true to their training by falling back just enough to allow the line to over extend, be cut off and destroyed. These elite warriors of the humans don’t make the same mistake twice. So deep in thought along with the ever increasing volume of the commanders, Shan’o did not hear the Air Caste officer approach. The officer waited to see if his presence would be noticed before interrupting the Ethereal in his thoughts. But the approaching vessel that the scanners picked up could not wait. “Pardon my interruption. Non-allied warship closing onto our position and will be in firing range within 1 dec. “Human warship?” Shan’o asked without opening his eyes or turning to face the officer. “No sir. Warship is an Eldar Cruiser.” “Open communications with the Cruiser and warn it off.” The officer turned to face the communication’s station and turned back quickly, “The Eldar is asking to come along side for a conference.” “Signal back that we await their emissary.” *** The door to the command bridge opened and the Eldar Autarch and a Farseer in tow entered. This was the first time that Shan’o had met an Eldar and the reports he had read was correct. Their movements were graceful and with no wasted movements. “Greetings. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our vessel.” Shan’o said bowing slowing to the Eldar emissaries. “Yes, the niceties are appreciated but time is critical.” The Autarch pulled out a device and projected an image in between the two groups. “The humans have discovered an ancient weapon in the area that your forces are attempting to secure. This weapon was created eons ago by the original inhabitants of this globe. The human do not understand the power that could be unleashed by this weapon.” Shan’o recognized the area shown on the image as the one that the Human elite warriors have pooled up together. The image zoomed into building, passing armored humans and centered onto the device. “I am guessing that you need our assistance to retrieve this device since we already have forces in the area?” Shan’o asked. “Yes, our warriors are ready to assault the humans but their numbers are too strong to assure success.” “Why should we risk our warriors to assist you into obtaining this weapon?” The Farseer step around the Eldar Leader and raised his hand toward Shan’o. Shan’o’s vision switched from the command bridge to a battlefield with metallic warriors marching into withering fire from an unknown race. He recognized the metal warriors as Necrons and he also recognized the device behind the aliens defending against the assault. A metallic form slowly raised open and laughed as the incoming fire bounced off its flowing metal robes. Shan’o could sense that the battle was futile against such an entity. The image swung to the device and its operator. An alien quickly toggling switched and it powered up. A loud hum vibrated through everyone on the battlefield. The Necron warriors and aliens forces stopped as all the light from the stars dimmed slightly. As quickly as the stars dimmed they came back and the device activated. A pulse shot out and every building warrior was disappeared from the field. The image pulled back to distant orbit just as the pulse struck the third moon in orbit shattering it. The menacing entity being pushed along with the pulse, its metal skin flaking off quickly till it detonated in a ball of flame as bright as a supernova. The Farseer dropped his hand and Shan’o opened his eyes, “I understand about the power of the device. We will do what ever to assist in denying the Humans access to the weapon.” ....."
The Last Stand Special Scenario
The Last Stand Scenario incorporates many special rules found over the following pages.
Sewers
The battle for the city has been raging in the air, on the ground and now even below the ground. There are various sewer entrances scattered on the board (marked by specialized terrain). You may ‘embark’ in a sewer entrance during your turn by moving/running within 2 inches of it. That unit is now removed from the board and may be placed within 2 inches of any other sewer entrance on the board the following turn following the rules for disembarking (Counts as moving, may not be placed within 1 inch of an enemy). However, if the enemy has the entrance you wish to disembark from surrounded (within 1 inch) you may not use that exit.
Spread too thin...
The defense of the city with such a small force has left very few units defending entire blocks. To represent this, the defenders MUST place at least 1/3 of their units in strategic reserve.
Teleport Housing/Device
One of the buildings of the city houses a teleport device which is a smaller, less powerful version present on Imperial ships. If your side controls this building, any friendly infantry unit not engaged in close combat and within 12 inches of the building may be removed from the board. This unit will immediately deep strike to any area of the players choosing that is within 48 inches of the building. This happens at the start of the movement phase and only one unit is allowed to use it per turn. The teleportation follows all of the rules for Deep Strike with one exception; if double 1’s are rolled for scatter, the unit is lost!
Radar Array
A small communication building with a powerful radar array is located within the city. The army that controls this tower is able to send a powerful signal through the various jamming present in the sector with coordinates for an orbital bombardment. The bombardment is a Str. 8 AP 3, 5 inch blast that follows all rules for ordinance. If the bombardment scatters, the ballistic skill is considered 2 when reducing scatter.
Sustained Assault
The two Chapters have been battered back deeper and deeper into the bowels of the city desperately attempting to buy time. However, there is no room left to retreat, it’s now defend or die! The Eldar/Tau alliances know this as well and are therefore committing every last reserve to the fight. At the start of their turn, the Eldar/Tau players may remove any Troop choice that is 25% or below from the table. On their next turn, this unit will come on from any of their board edges at full strength. Any dedicated transport vehicles not immobilized are also removed from the table but retain any damage they had previously when redeploying the next turn. If the transport is immobilized, the infantry unit removed must hoof it the following turn!
In addition, each player on the Tau/Eldar team may nominate one unit that is not normally considered a troop and make it such. This unit also benefits from the Sustained Assault special rule!
Scenarios Steps:
1. Setup Terrain
2. Attackers Deploy in the area marked 'Attackers Deployment'
3. Defenders deploy in the area marked 'Defenders Deployment'
4. Attackers get first turn
Deployment Zones:
Objectives:
There are 3 objectives present on the board. Two of the objectives have special rules for those whom control it, the third does not. The three objectives are:
Control of these objectives follow all 5th Edition rules for capturing objectives, except that control must be determined turn by turn for the Radar Array and Teleport Housing (To see who benefits from its rules). If the objective is contested, its special rules may not be used this turn.
Game Length
Random. On the 5th turn, start rolling a dice. On a 1 or 2, the game ends this turn. On the 6th turn, the game ends on a 1, 2 or 3. The game automatically ends on the 7th turn.
Flanking/Reserves
Each army may place up to half of their forces in reserve. Due to the swiftness and concealment of the attack, the defenders MUST place at least 1/3 of their force in reserve.
Each army automatically receives the Flanking Strategic Asset for free with the following exceptions:
Attackers may ONLY flank-march on the denoted map area above
Defenders may flank-march wherever they choose
Victory!
Each Objective is worth one point, whichever army that controls the most objectives at the end of the game wins. However, if the Marine army loses the STC device than the best they can do is tie, regardless of how many other objectives they hold. It’s that damn important!
Battlefield Overview
Armies
==Celestial Lions==
===Army List===
*Chapter Master
*Masters of the Chapter
*Command Squad w/ Apothecary
*Ancients Assault Force
**Techmarine
**Venerable Dread with Plasma Cannon
**Dread with Assault Cannon/Flamer
**Dread with Assault Cannon/Flamer
*Terminator Assault Squad
*Terminator Squad with Assault Cannon
*Tactical Squad; 10 man strong with Plasma/Missile Launcher and 3 Rhinos
*Tactical Squad; 5 man strong with one Plasma Gun
*Attack Bike Squadron; 2 Bike strong with Multi-Meltas
*Land Speeder with Assault Cannon/Heavy Bolter
*Dev Squad; 7 Strong with 4 Plasma Cannons
*Dev Squad; 7 Strong with 4 Lascannons
*Land Raider Crusader
*Land Raider
*Warhound Titan armed with Vulcan MegaBolter and Inferno Cannon (I refuse to use Turbo Laser Destructors and I regret nothing!)
==Imperial Castellans==
===Army List===
*Epistolary
**Terminator Command Squad
*Master of Sanctity
*Reclusiarch
*Captain
*Terminus Ultra Land Raider
*Formation: Supression Force
**Land Speeder
**Whirlwind
**Whirlwind
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Meltagun and 2 Drop Pods
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Flamer, Rhino
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Meltagun, Rhino
*Tactical Squad (5 man strong); Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon
*Tactical Squad (5 man strong); Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon
*Bike Squadron (5 man strong); Meltagun; Attack Bike with 2 Multi-Meltas
*Predator Annihilator
*Devastator Squad (6 man strong); ML X 3
*Devastator Squad (6 man strong); 3 Lascannons
*Terminator Squad (6 man strong); 2 Assault Cannons
*Terminator Squad (6 man strong); 2 Assault Cannons
*Terminator Assault Squad (6 man strong); 2 Thunderhammers, 4 Lightning Claws
*Assault Squad (10 man strong); 2 Plasma Pistols
*Land Speeder; 2 Assault Cannons
==Tau==
===Army List===
*Ethereal
*Commander Crisis Suit with Crisis Suit Bodyguards X 2
*Command and control drone with operator (Specially made for game)
*Master Shaper with 2 Kroot Hounds each X 2
*Steath Suits 6 strong
*Firewarrior Squad 12 strong with Devilfish X 3
*Kroot Squad 14 strong with 6 Kroot Hounds
*Gun Drone Squads 8 strong X 2
*Pathfinders 6 strong with Pirahana
*Forward Observation Vehicle (Special made for game)
*Broadside X 2
*Heavy Gun Drones 4 strong
*Hammerhead Gunship
*Sniper Drone Team
*Leman Russ X 2 (Human Aux)
*Baneblade (Human Aux)
*Indirect Rocket Battery (Human Aux Special made for game)
==Eldar==
===Army List===
*Farseer
*Dire Avengers
*Fire Dragons
**Waveserpent
*Dark Reapers (2 squads of 5 each)
*Avatar with Phoenix Lords
*Swooping Hawks
*Pathfinders (5 strong)
*WraithLord
*Guardians on jetbikes (6 strong)
*Banshees (5 strong)
**Wave Serpent
*Striking Scorpions
Deployment
Turn 1
==Xenos Turn==
Out of the early morning mist near the border of town the first wave began. Three Tau Devilfish carriers rapidly redeployed their cargo, setting down and disgorging 36 Fire Warriors with drilled expertise. The Fire Warriors quickly opened fire and unloaded a fuselage of rapid fire into the 2nd Lions Tactical Squad behind the wall, killing four of the marines.
A squad of Dire Avengers and Eldar Guardians burst from the forest on the left flank, killing three more marines of 1st Squad. Reapers that had previously snuck into position under cover of night unloaded into the defending marines, the marines quickly sought cover and lost only 2 of their brothers despite the overwhelming amount of shots poured into their position.
The ground trembled and Sgt. Caspus of the Castellans saw a flicker of movement beyond the mist. It almost seemed as if there was an earthquake with the very hills shaking...then truth dawned on him. An immense barrell and tank chasis slithered out of the smoke; "Baneblade! Traitor scum!" shouted Sgt. Caspus, "Take cover!". The Baneblade slowed to combat speed and prepared to fire...
Tank Commander Yelt barked firing orders into the belly of the Baneblade. "Target marked, large cluster of enemy whirlwinds dead ahead, fire on my order." Commander Yelt understood the gravity of what he was doing and realized there was no turning back from this point--he would forever be a traitor to the Imperium once the order was given. Flashbacks of the images the Tau displayed came back to him...the horrible destruction...the countless deaths of innocents due to the use of the 'Device'. There was no question, for the good of all the device must be destroyed. "Fire!"
The concussion of the shot blew over trees near the tank and the shot hurled into the city. Large sections of the already ruined building sheltering the whirlwind detachment flew off into parts of the city, yet the tanks weathered the attack. "Reload, we'll blow the whole damn city apart if we must!"
==Loyalist Turn==
The Castellan Predator rumbled out of the rubble and ruined building to line up a shot at the incoming baneblade. Sgt. Amatius of the Castellan Devestator squad shouted "Fire! and Lascannon streaks ran out of the building into the Baneblade. The Lions Predator joined them by providing its own shots into the armoured hulk....still after the smoke cleared the Baneblade showed no signs of damage.
The Whirlwinds received target information from the scouting Land Speeder and unleased a combined barrage on the Kroot. Impact after impact, seemingly unendless, hit the forest containing the merecenaries and slew the entire lot!
On the left flank, the Celestial Lions Chapter Master asked for the comm, 'From base point, up 400, right 200, close support'. He spun around and shouted "Down and cover!". Suddenly, the heavens seemed to collapse on the Tau with a large orbital bombardment raining down on their position.
The Lions and Castellans on the front line cheered and poured fire into what remained of the Firewarriors, leaving a handful left on the field. The Castellan Sgt. in the area grudginly stated with admiration, "I can't believe they haven't run after that!".
Turn 2
==Xenos Turn==
"Fall back to join reinforcements for a southern approach". The command came over the comm to the frontline Firewarriors, who had dealt (and recieved) terrible casualties, and they quickly retired to the rear. The marines had no time to celebrate, as Brother Giruus yelled "To the south brothers!". With a gutteral hiss, yet another swarm of Kroot came pouring from the southern approach of the city clambering for loyalist blood.
"Target identified sir!", the junior guardsman of the volley gun battery cried out. The holographic targeting array displayed a group of Castellan marines guarding the southern approach. With a series of thuds the battery opened fire on the marines, blasting limbs and ceramite from the podium and wiped out the entire squad. The surrounding marines had little chance to recover from witnessing such devestation however, for the strange chanting again came across the battlefield. A swirling vortex rent reality apart above the command array and surrounded the building. While the building remained intact, the marines inside came tumbling from its doors with stupified looks on their face and blood streaming from their eyes and ears.
The Dire Avengers continued running towards the defensive line in long graceful strides, shooting at the marines from the hip. As they ran towards the line, bright traces fired overhead keeping the marines behind cover and dropping some of the loyalist. "Our Reaper bretheren are lining our advance!" shouted the Avenger Exarch. He ducked as a Tau Piranha streaked by his unit and unloaded its deadly weaponry into the waiting Celestial Lions. Even as he felt the joy of seeing the Tau slay the marines, he could not help a momentary wave of disgust as he witnessed the Kroot stop to consume the fallen loyalist.
The Land Raidar radar started alarming loudly and slowly the lumbering machine spun to face a new quarry; The Eldar Wave Serpent had dropped from the sky and was homing in on the Raider at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, in the main building on the other side of the battlefield Brother Xiran thought he spotted movement in the dense, low lying clouds. He had just started to communicate over the comm "I think there is something....." when explosions engulfed his squad. Swooping Hawks deftly landed in the middle of the ruined building after dropping their deadly cargo and began firing into the Castellan squad, dropping three of the battle brothers.
Outside, the Baneblade continued its advance, once again firing into the city and the group of whirlwind vehicles. Yet again, large sections of the ruined building came raining down on the whirlwind detachment saving them from the main shot.
==Loyalist Turn==
A robotic voice filled with antiquity rumbled "We've come to destroy you" and as the Kroot looked back to where they had came a gout of flame erupted from the ancient Venerable Dreadnoughts arm. Most of the squad cried out and writhed in pain while burning with a few attempting to crawl away. They didn't get very far as Venerable Brother Ariymus finished them with a pulse of his plasma cannon. Behind him, another of his dread brothers engaged the guardians while the last of his formation charged towards the Dire Avengers. Behind them, the Master of the Forge walked slowly firing his plasma harness weaponry.
Tank Commander Yelt had the hatch popped open and was surveying the field when he felt a crawling sensation pass over his skin. Too late he realized what the sensation meant and there was a distinct *crack* behind the tank as he spun around to see a large terminator group teleport in behind the tank. Utter terror froze him as he saw a figure of imposing stature, even for a terminator, in the middle of this group. The figure was in all black with a leering skull and it pointed its stormbolter at the tank and screamed a primitive war cry. One of the dreaded Chaplains of the Astartes! Even as he slammed the hatch down on his tank, yet more las cannon fire scorched across the battlefield blackening the Baneblade armor.
Not a moment later drop pods began raining out of the sky next to the tank with explosive hatches hitting the ground. No sooner had the hatches disengaged than marines began pouring fire into the rear of the Baneblade. "Meltas and assault cannons, move the tank!" cried Commander Yelt. As he checked the damage he marveled at how tough this old tank really was. Despite all of the focused firepower, the warning lights displayed only slight structural damage while two of the weapons were temporarily offline.
The Land Raider in the middle of the city picked up an incoming enemy and spun around putting two las cannons into the approaching Falcon, which nimbly avoided both shots. The terminators on the overhead walk heard the incoming skimmer as well and Brother Herin unloaded his assault cannon into the tank. Again, the Falcon seemed supernatural in its agility and avoided all fire.
Turn 3
==Xenos Turn==
The Xenos unleashed another wave of reinforcements into the southern part of the city, with another squad of Firewarriors running into the city. They quickly took shooting stances and downed the last Land Speeder flying down the street. The wave serpent holding the Fire Dragons flew towards the Land Raider, at the last moment spinning and unloading its deadly cargo. The Fire Dragons let fly with their melta weaponry and thick pieces of ceramite flew apart as the Land Raider exploded, a few pieces of the Land Raider caught two of the Fire Dragons and made them share its demise.
By the main building that housed the STC, the ground splintered as the elite Tau Crisis Suits crashed to the earth and opened fire on the nearby Castellan Predator. Like its Land Raider cousin, the Predator exploded in a large fireball from the advanced tau weaponry. In the main building ruin itself, the Eldar pushed their advance with a Banshee Squad unloading into the building along with their Jetbike Guardian allies.
"The Teleport building!" came over the comm. The terminators on the walkway spun to see one of the most terrible sights in the galaxy; The Avatar of the Eldar. Even worse, striding next to the Avatar was the deadly Phoenix Lords, with the entire group seemingly burning in the glow of the Avatar.
Another vortex opened above the Radar Array as yet another combined Eldar psychic attack rained down on the Castellans, this time slaying them to a man. Next to the Radar Array, one of the countless waves of Fire Warriors yanked their EMP grenades out of their suits, "To the machine box!" they yelled as they charged the Venerable Dread. It met them head on, crushing 2 of it's number and surviving the multiple short-outs sparkling across its hull. The Tau attempted to fall back out of its deadly range and it cut them down as they ran.
Outside the city, the Baneblade commander was desperately calling for reinforcements. True to their word, the Tau considered this plea as one of their own and the Terminators found their squad surrounded by masses of Kroot and Tau Fire Warriors. A literal hail of Tau weaponry unloaded into the Terminators as they slowly turned to engage the Xenos, yet out of all their shots only two fell! Like an orchestra, as soon as the Fire Warriors finished unloading into the Terminators the Kroot screeched and threw themselves into the squad. Despite being outnumbered nearly 3-1, the Terminators held their ground as both sides suffered casualties.
The Eldar Reapers, overhearing the Baneblade Commanders cry for help, spun and aimed their strange weaponry at the Castellans below. "Take cover!" shouted the Castellan Sgt. as Reaper ammunition, Tau bombardment and Baneblade bolters tore into the squads. Power Armour prevailed and the Castellans rose back to their feet shouting in defiance!
==Loyalist Turn==
The road shook as out of the smoke emerged one of the Adeptus Mechanicus Gods of War---The Warhound Titan Cerberus. A gout of flame the size of a building covered the Tau Crisis Suits and shells the size of attack bikes fell the ground as the Mega Bolter opened up. Incredibly, even though the ground surrounding the Crisis suits was completely destroyed, they lived! Under the Titans feet roared one of the Castellan bike squads lining up its assault on the Crisis Suits ahead.
The Castellans unleashed one of its most deadly machines, the Terminus pattern Land Raider. The Tau Hammerhead tried to move away but was too late as the Terminus unloaded into the Tau machinery, completely destroying the Xenos tank. A Castellan cheer rose from the buildings ahead!
Yet another reserve showed for the Castellan army behind the Avatar, with Librarian Rithen appearing next to his Terminator Command Squad. The Farseer obviously did not see far enough for this and with a roar the Castellan Librarian decapitated the Eldar witch. Ahead of the Avatar group, the mysterious Custodes teleported in with a crack and immediately assaulted two of the Eldar Phoenix Lords. Epic blows were traded and at the end of combat two Phoenix Lords lay dead next to three Custodes....
Outside the city, the remaining Castellan marines rose out of their crater bunkers shouting as they charged the Baneblade. Terminators cracked at the ancient armour with their powerfists and Castellan Sgts. threw their powerful Melta bombs. With a tremendous explosion, the top turret of the Baneblade ripped off the chasis, sending bodies and tank parts flying. The Castellan Terminator Sgt. exclaimed over the vox, "The Baneblade has fallen!" As the Castellans were couragesly were destroying the tank, the Lions sent in reinforcements as Assault Terminators poured out of a Crusader. Kroot fell in great numbers to their fury and at the end of assault the Kroot were wiped out.
Turn 4
==Xenos Turn==
Two new squads of Fire Warriors emerged from the southern flank with their sites centered on the remaining Lions Tactical squad. There was a mad dash of desperation from both armies for the Radar Array.....as the air seemingly shimmered next to the ruins, "Stealth suits!" yelled one of the Lions as the he died with the words in his throat. Three battle brothers fell to their fire and their courage held as they continued clambering over the rhino for the Radar Array.
The drama in the main building was about to play itself out, as a new fresh group of Dire Avengers emerged from the sewer entrance on the street below. Nearby, the crisis suits bravely marched toward the Titan engaging it with its plasma weaponry. Between the crisis suits, the broadsides outside of the city gates and a Tau bombardment...the Warhound lshields shimmered, dropped and it suffered damage to one of its gun and the other was offline. Inside the main building, many Tau gun drones dropped in and prepared to pepper the marines above.
Otherwordly screams issued from the Banshees as they assaulted the Castellan bikes next to the main building and despite losing two of their number, they resolutely stayed in the fight. Meanwhile, next to the Teleport buiding the Avatar and remaining Phoenix Lords ignored the Custodes and charged the Librarian squad. Many fell and the Librarian, despite having all of his squad fall around him, bravely held his ground.
Outside the city, the incredibly powerful Eldar Psychic Choir continued its mindblowing assault and destroyed another 8 marines next to the drop pods and Baneblade wreckage. The Castellan and Lion Terminators met in the middle of the large Kroot and Firewarrior squad, as both squads were dropped on the road going out of the city. Both squads saluted each other and grimly started conslidating back to the city.
==Loyalist Turn==
With its weapon system offlines, the Warhound Titan simply stepped forward and crushed the entire Tau Crisis suit squad under it's gigantic adamantium heel. Next to it's steel foot, the other Crisis Suit squad continued combating the Castellan bikers. In the building next to this assault, the Castellan Devestators turned and let a barrage of missles streak towards the Wave Serpent hovering below. A tremendous explosion followed, with two of the Fire Dragons dying inside its carcass, yet four emerged unharmed. The Castellan devestators let out a scream of triumph that was cut short, as they saw the Avatar next to the newly made wreck cut the Castellan Librarian in half! "Reload and destroy that Daemon!" yelled the Devestator Sgt. To his disbelief, the mighty Custodes teleported out as fast as they had appeared! Apparently, whatever needs the Custodes had was satisified with the Eldar Phoenix Lords they had killed...as their bodies disappeared as well....
Inside the main building, another ear-splitting scream signaled the end of the Castellan bikers and the Banshees lept over their bodies, consolidating towards the second floor and the prize. The Chaplain and his assault squad leveled the Tau machinery inside the building and advanced towards the now unengaged Banshees.
Outside the city, small skirmishes continued with the Celestial Lion Dreads exchanging fire with the Eldar and Tau. "Main building under assault, fall back to the STC!" was heard over the Vox for the marines...while "Main target engaged...lend support to assault" was heard over the Xenos comm. The next moments of the battle would decide the outcome...
Turn 5
==Xenos Turn==
The last of the Tau reserves showed this turn from the southern approach, yet their short dash left many of the squad out of range. Still many were able to fire on the marine running for the Radar Array, yet the marine power armour proved too much. However, the marines had no time to rejoice as two deadly Piranhas appeard in front of the squad and thinned their numbers. There was a perfect trianglulation of fire on the Celestial Lions and only the Chapter Master survived, screaming in defiance and bleeding from multiple wounds.
The Eldar unleashed their ace up of their sleeve and called in their last orbital strike. The building shook and the aim was deadly accurate...the Castellans on the upper floor watched in horror as the chaplain and his assault squad were decimated from the sky. No sooner had the blast stopped than the Dire Avengers and Banshees nimbly jumped over the flooring, shooting and assaulting as soon as they landed. The Castellan Sgt. on the upper floor cired "This is the end, fight or die!" and his squad dropped their bolters and charged the Avengers while a squad from above engaged the Banshees. Despite the element of surprise, the Avengers were shocked and driven back by the furious counter assault from the Castellans. The remaining Banshees fared better and whittled the other squad down to two Castellans, yet they stuck in combat.
In the teleporter room, the fire dragons advanced with Phoenix Lords in tow. The Celestial Lions inside had no chance and were dropped where they stood without so much as firing a shot or issuing a warning over the vox. The Fire Dragon Exarch pressed his communicator, "The teleporter is ours."
On the outskirts of the city, small skirmishes continued with the Tau dropping another Lions Dread and blowing the remaining Celestial Lions Predator up. The Terminators outside the city continued to run for the city but were far away from the main action....as Railgun shots ran overhead smacking into the now reenergized Titan Shields. The shields held and the Titan started to turn towards the main building...
==Loyalist Turn==
The Castellans proved their valour, holding the Avenger assault and even driving them off the objective. As they did, the building shook and an entire wall section exploded as they Warhound Titan Cerberus burst through. Its bolter arm, the size of a Predator, opened up with ear shattering concussions and the Avenger squad exploded into a bloody mist. The Castellan squad consolidated back next to the STC and awaited further instructions from Command/Control.
"Now!" said the Lions Command Squad Sgt. Cassius. The command squad emerged from the bunker where they had been waiting and charged towards the Radar Array in attempts to save the Chapter Master and deny Tau the objective. They dove into the two Tau Piranhas and drones, destroying all in their path and conslidated next to their Chapter Master. The next turn would see the Fire Warriors engaged....
The Game Ends
Game Result: TIE!
Radar Array: Contested, no points
Teleport Building: Held by Eldar Fire Dragons (Was his special 'counts as scoring' unit established pre-game)
STC Machine: Held by the Castellans...BARELY :)
What a battle! Well, with random game length....it's random. Sure enough, at the end of 5 the game ended....which left the Xenos team groaning and the allied team sighing in relief! Here is some player hindsight, which is almost as fun as playing the game...
What went right for the Marines:
The Castellan player (AshAxe is his sig on the forum) saved our bacon. Looking back, I see how little I supported him in the main building and despite assaults from Banshees, Guardians, Swooping Hawks, Wave Serpents and Crisis Suits...Ash held it. The last Dire Avenger/Banshee assault was very harrowing...but Ash had taken the Marine Asset that allows Counter-Assault near a vital objective. I'll be honest, I thought that was rather worthless in Apoc =P....well this crow is quite sour :0! That asset, along with his great play won us the tie. The other two things that come to mind would be the Baneblade being taken out (Again by Ash) and the initial Avenger/Kroot/FireWarrior/Guardian assault near the Radar Array being held by my Dreads! I thought that would be a fun unit but not very useful...hell those dreads tore up!
What went wrong for the Marines:
The Titan proved that expensive resin doesn't translate into battlefield miracles = |. I refuse to take dual Turbo Laser Destructors, as I like the look of the weapons I chose and the fluff, but man..that really limits its power. It did shred the Avengers which would have mattered if the game continued, took a hell of alot of shots and killed the Crisis suits...still it was pretty underwhelming. As were the Custodes! Show up a turn, do great, look great, roll for random, they go poof. Ugh. Ash was pretty down on his Terminus as well, another model that looked great (the pictures did his model no justice!)...so I guess all the big toys let us down. Again, as marine wins often do, it fell to the boring, tough old Tactical Squads to help hold us in the game.
What went right for the Xenos:
Avatar group was killer. It would have been interesting to see the smackdown with the Custodes had they stayed around....but they didn't and that little group walked through Librarian and Terminators alike. Zulix24 (Eldar player) made the Fire Dragons earn their keep, blowing up a Land Raider, killing several marines in the Teleport room and holding that objective. The Baneblade might not have killed much but damn it took alot of our resources! Many of our big hitters had to commit to that beast as Pipboy (Tau player) was wisely marching it into the city rather than leaving it stationary. It would have caused major headaches for us once it got close to the STC objective. The Crisis Suits were insane...they dropped in blew up a Predator, Whirlwind...and then made 18 saves from my Titan. After that little miracle, they blew off his damn Inferno Gun the next turn. The other Crisis Suit team held up a Biker Squad the rest of the game. When my Titan crunched them under his foot... I wanted to crunch them under my foot in real life =p.
What went wrong for the Xenos:
That last Avenger/Banshee assault was really close and probably should have went the other way. Rough dice rolling for the Eldar player (Zulix24) and smart assets/play by Ash. Their southern attack near the Radar Array was another rought spot. Hindsight is always 20/20 but as the enemy, I would say the sporadic attacks hurt them. If they had thrown all of their reserves in the south instead of some here, some there, etc....they probably would have taken the Array pretty easy. Again, hindsight is always 20/20..and perhaps if they had done that we would have thrown more down there too. Still, the southern part of the city proved to be a pretty big stumbling block.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, it was a blast to play. I didn't include even 1/10 of the pictures we took or events that happened as if I did, this report would turn into a novel to rival War and Peace! I tried to hit the highpoints and events we all had a chuckle (or groan) at. A report this size is alot of work but well worth it, as looking back over the report not only shows you where you can better yourself as a player (or painter/terrain maker/scenario designer)....but also makes reliving the moment with friends quite enjoyable. Hope you liked it!
The Battle for Tarkonda Secondus
Players:
AshAxe: Castellan Marines
AgeOfEgos: Celestial Lion Marines
Zulix24: Eldar
Pipboy: Tau/Traitor IG
During this battle, we have the Tau/Eldar contigent facing off against a Loyalist Marine defense. The Marine Chapters involved in the defense of Tarkonia Secondus are the Celestial Lions (White/Silver) and the Imperial Castellans (Blue/Tan). The battle revolves around an ancient STC relic the Marines have discovered and are awaiting Mechanicus arrival for transport. The device is rumoured to be one of the oldest of its types and involves high yield energy transformation. In essence, the Marines understand it makes not simple machines...but incredibly powerful (and dangerous) explosives. Planet ending explosives.
Shortly after the discovery of this item the planet came under attack from an allied Xenos threat; Eldar and Tau. It seems the Xenos are familiar with the device and wish to recover it for themselves. The Marines have staunchly defended the planet but have been driven back to one last Hive City...Tarkonia Secondus. This is their Alamo..and they must hold until the Mechanicus arrives...
"The slow squeak and grind of tracks from the armored column of Chimera Transports passing the Sister Hospitaler medical facility for civilian refugees echoed up and down the streets as the reinforcements headed to the trench line on the edge of Tarkonia Secondus. Wounded civilians fleeing the oncoming Tau had headed to the medical facility in the illusion of safety from the encroaching enemy. As the center of the column reached the front entrance of the facility a blinding light flashed, stunning all not completely enclosed. Fractions of a second passed and the light became coherent as the Tau Cruiser in orbit started to unleash its full might in support of the Hunter Cadres initial push against the defenders. Even with all of the Tau’s advanced technology, pin point fire support from miles in orbit was not possible but that mattered little since the Tau announced to the inhabitants of the city of their assault. Any civilian still left which died from the bombardment had only themselves to blame. The first bolts of energy struck home in a hitting buildings, civilians and soldiers randomly. As the bolts slowly moved from the area of the medical facility due to the cruiser’s orbit shifting away a round struck home dead center of the roof of the facility. In an instant the floors, patients and doctors were vaporized. The burrowing beam blasted not only the building but deep into the under world of Tarkonia Secondus. Losing most of its power by the time it reached the power generator and its fuel supply it was still powerful enough to detonate the fuel pod. A fire ball grew quickly blowing out the walls of the wrecked place of healing. The force of the explosion sent a shockwave out which dug deeper into the ground and threw the Chimeras of the Armored Column high into the air. Their steel hulls clanging loudly against pavement and collapsed walls when they landed. As quickly as the bombardment started it ended, and quiet reigned. Looking behind at the destruction of their city, members of the Tarkonian PDF watched in horror and waited for the bombardment to end before heading into to render assistance to their people. Every other team breaking away from the front line defenses rushing to assist. As the first Imperial Guard Soldiers crest the crater that was what was left of the medical facility. Stopping in their tracks when the sight of an obvious alien object glowing brightly. Sgt Kevch turned to his vox operator and stated, “Get the Captain on the horn and tell him that we found something. *** Ethereal Shan’o, lost deep in his own thoughts only glancing at the holographic display in the command bridge. Bickering between Tio’ves Shas’o on the best way to crack the human defensive lines ringing Tarkonia Secondus was becoming tiresome. What has troubling to Shan’o is the movement of two large contingents of elite human warriors to a relativity unimportant section of the city. Were the humans planning a spearhead assault, but every time they have tried the fire warriors stuck true to their training by falling back just enough to allow the line to over extend, be cut off and destroyed. These elite warriors of the humans don’t make the same mistake twice. So deep in thought along with the ever increasing volume of the commanders, Shan’o did not hear the Air Caste officer approach. The officer waited to see if his presence would be noticed before interrupting the Ethereal in his thoughts. But the approaching vessel that the scanners picked up could not wait. “Pardon my interruption. Non-allied warship closing onto our position and will be in firing range within 1 dec. “Human warship?” Shan’o asked without opening his eyes or turning to face the officer. “No sir. Warship is an Eldar Cruiser.” “Open communications with the Cruiser and warn it off.” The officer turned to face the communication’s station and turned back quickly, “The Eldar is asking to come along side for a conference.” “Signal back that we await their emissary.” *** The door to the command bridge opened and the Eldar Autarch and a Farseer in tow entered. This was the first time that Shan’o had met an Eldar and the reports he had read was correct. Their movements were graceful and with no wasted movements. “Greetings. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our vessel.” Shan’o said bowing slowing to the Eldar emissaries. “Yes, the niceties are appreciated but time is critical.” The Autarch pulled out a device and projected an image in between the two groups. “The humans have discovered an ancient weapon in the area that your forces are attempting to secure. This weapon was created eons ago by the original inhabitants of this globe. The human do not understand the power that could be unleashed by this weapon.” Shan’o recognized the area shown on the image as the one that the Human elite warriors have pooled up together. The image zoomed into building, passing armored humans and centered onto the device. “I am guessing that you need our assistance to retrieve this device since we already have forces in the area?” Shan’o asked. “Yes, our warriors are ready to assault the humans but their numbers are too strong to assure success.” “Why should we risk our warriors to assist you into obtaining this weapon?” The Farseer step around the Eldar Leader and raised his hand toward Shan’o. Shan’o’s vision switched from the command bridge to a battlefield with metallic warriors marching into withering fire from an unknown race. He recognized the metal warriors as Necrons and he also recognized the device behind the aliens defending against the assault. A metallic form slowly raised open and laughed as the incoming fire bounced off its flowing metal robes. Shan’o could sense that the battle was futile against such an entity. The image swung to the device and its operator. An alien quickly toggling switched and it powered up. A loud hum vibrated through everyone on the battlefield. The Necron warriors and aliens forces stopped as all the light from the stars dimmed slightly. As quickly as the stars dimmed they came back and the device activated. A pulse shot out and every building warrior was disappeared from the field. The image pulled back to distant orbit just as the pulse struck the third moon in orbit shattering it. The menacing entity being pushed along with the pulse, its metal skin flaking off quickly till it detonated in a ball of flame as bright as a supernova. The Farseer dropped his hand and Shan’o opened his eyes, “I understand about the power of the device. We will do what ever to assist in denying the Humans access to the weapon.” ....."
The Last Stand Special Scenario
The Last Stand Scenario incorporates many special rules found over the following pages.
Sewers
The battle for the city has been raging in the air, on the ground and now even below the ground. There are various sewer entrances scattered on the board (marked by specialized terrain). You may ‘embark’ in a sewer entrance during your turn by moving/running within 2 inches of it. That unit is now removed from the board and may be placed within 2 inches of any other sewer entrance on the board the following turn following the rules for disembarking (Counts as moving, may not be placed within 1 inch of an enemy). However, if the enemy has the entrance you wish to disembark from surrounded (within 1 inch) you may not use that exit.
Spread too thin...
The defense of the city with such a small force has left very few units defending entire blocks. To represent this, the defenders MUST place at least 1/3 of their units in strategic reserve.
Teleport Housing/Device
One of the buildings of the city houses a teleport device which is a smaller, less powerful version present on Imperial ships. If your side controls this building, any friendly infantry unit not engaged in close combat and within 12 inches of the building may be removed from the board. This unit will immediately deep strike to any area of the players choosing that is within 48 inches of the building. This happens at the start of the movement phase and only one unit is allowed to use it per turn. The teleportation follows all of the rules for Deep Strike with one exception; if double 1’s are rolled for scatter, the unit is lost!
Radar Array
A small communication building with a powerful radar array is located within the city. The army that controls this tower is able to send a powerful signal through the various jamming present in the sector with coordinates for an orbital bombardment. The bombardment is a Str. 8 AP 3, 5 inch blast that follows all rules for ordinance. If the bombardment scatters, the ballistic skill is considered 2 when reducing scatter.
Sustained Assault
The two Chapters have been battered back deeper and deeper into the bowels of the city desperately attempting to buy time. However, there is no room left to retreat, it’s now defend or die! The Eldar/Tau alliances know this as well and are therefore committing every last reserve to the fight. At the start of their turn, the Eldar/Tau players may remove any Troop choice that is 25% or below from the table. On their next turn, this unit will come on from any of their board edges at full strength. Any dedicated transport vehicles not immobilized are also removed from the table but retain any damage they had previously when redeploying the next turn. If the transport is immobilized, the infantry unit removed must hoof it the following turn!
In addition, each player on the Tau/Eldar team may nominate one unit that is not normally considered a troop and make it such. This unit also benefits from the Sustained Assault special rule!
Scenarios Steps:
1. Setup Terrain
2. Attackers Deploy in the area marked 'Attackers Deployment'
3. Defenders deploy in the area marked 'Defenders Deployment'
4. Attackers get first turn
Deployment Zones:
Objectives:
There are 3 objectives present on the board. Two of the objectives have special rules for those whom control it, the third does not. The three objectives are:
Teleport Room
STC Machine
Radar Array
Control of these objectives follow all 5th Edition rules for capturing objectives, except that control must be determined turn by turn for the Radar Array and Teleport Housing (To see who benefits from its rules). If the objective is contested, its special rules may not be used this turn.
Game Length
Random. On the 5th turn, start rolling a dice. On a 1 or 2, the game ends this turn. On the 6th turn, the game ends on a 1, 2 or 3. The game automatically ends on the 7th turn.
Flanking/Reserves
Each army may place up to half of their forces in reserve. Due to the swiftness and concealment of the attack, the defenders MUST place at least 1/3 of their force in reserve.
Each army automatically receives the Flanking Strategic Asset for free with the following exceptions:
Attackers may ONLY flank-march on the denoted map area above
Defenders may flank-march wherever they choose
Victory!
Each Objective is worth one point, whichever army that controls the most objectives at the end of the game wins. However, if the Marine army loses the STC device than the best they can do is tie, regardless of how many other objectives they hold. It’s that damn important!
Battlefield Overview
Armies
==Celestial Lions==
===Army List===
*Chapter Master
*Masters of the Chapter
*Command Squad w/ Apothecary
*Ancients Assault Force
**Techmarine
**Venerable Dread with Plasma Cannon
**Dread with Assault Cannon/Flamer
**Dread with Assault Cannon/Flamer
*Terminator Assault Squad
*Terminator Squad with Assault Cannon
*Tactical Squad; 10 man strong with Plasma/Missile Launcher and 3 Rhinos
*Tactical Squad; 5 man strong with one Plasma Gun
*Attack Bike Squadron; 2 Bike strong with Multi-Meltas
*Land Speeder with Assault Cannon/Heavy Bolter
*Dev Squad; 7 Strong with 4 Plasma Cannons
*Dev Squad; 7 Strong with 4 Lascannons
*Land Raider Crusader
*Land Raider
*Warhound Titan armed with Vulcan MegaBolter and Inferno Cannon (I refuse to use Turbo Laser Destructors and I regret nothing!)
==Imperial Castellans==
===Army List===
*Epistolary
**Terminator Command Squad
*Master of Sanctity
*Reclusiarch
*Captain
*Terminus Ultra Land Raider
*Formation: Supression Force
**Land Speeder
**Whirlwind
**Whirlwind
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Meltagun and 2 Drop Pods
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Flamer, Rhino
*Tactical Squad (10 man strong); Meltagun, Rhino
*Tactical Squad (5 man strong); Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon
*Tactical Squad (5 man strong); Plasmagun, Plasma Cannon
*Bike Squadron (5 man strong); Meltagun; Attack Bike with 2 Multi-Meltas
*Predator Annihilator
*Devastator Squad (6 man strong); ML X 3
*Devastator Squad (6 man strong); 3 Lascannons
*Terminator Squad (6 man strong); 2 Assault Cannons
*Terminator Squad (6 man strong); 2 Assault Cannons
*Terminator Assault Squad (6 man strong); 2 Thunderhammers, 4 Lightning Claws
*Assault Squad (10 man strong); 2 Plasma Pistols
*Land Speeder; 2 Assault Cannons
==Tau==
===Army List===
*Ethereal
*Commander Crisis Suit with Crisis Suit Bodyguards X 2
*Command and control drone with operator (Specially made for game)
*Master Shaper with 2 Kroot Hounds each X 2
*Steath Suits 6 strong
*Firewarrior Squad 12 strong with Devilfish X 3
*Kroot Squad 14 strong with 6 Kroot Hounds
*Gun Drone Squads 8 strong X 2
*Pathfinders 6 strong with Pirahana
*Forward Observation Vehicle (Special made for game)
*Broadside X 2
*Heavy Gun Drones 4 strong
*Hammerhead Gunship
*Sniper Drone Team
*Leman Russ X 2 (Human Aux)
*Baneblade (Human Aux)
*Indirect Rocket Battery (Human Aux Special made for game)
==Eldar==
===Army List===
*Farseer
*Dire Avengers
*Fire Dragons
**Waveserpent
*Dark Reapers (2 squads of 5 each)
*Avatar with Phoenix Lords
*Swooping Hawks
*Pathfinders (5 strong)
*WraithLord
*Guardians on jetbikes (6 strong)
*Banshees (5 strong)
**Wave Serpent
*Striking Scorpions
Deployment
Turn 1
==Xenos Turn==
Out of the early morning mist near the border of town the first wave began. Three Tau Devilfish carriers rapidly redeployed their cargo, setting down and disgorging 36 Fire Warriors with drilled expertise. The Fire Warriors quickly opened fire and unloaded a fuselage of rapid fire into the 2nd Lions Tactical Squad behind the wall, killing four of the marines.
A squad of Dire Avengers and Eldar Guardians burst from the forest on the left flank, killing three more marines of 1st Squad. Reapers that had previously snuck into position under cover of night unloaded into the defending marines, the marines quickly sought cover and lost only 2 of their brothers despite the overwhelming amount of shots poured into their position.
The ground trembled and Sgt. Caspus of the Castellans saw a flicker of movement beyond the mist. It almost seemed as if there was an earthquake with the very hills shaking...then truth dawned on him. An immense barrell and tank chasis slithered out of the smoke; "Baneblade! Traitor scum!" shouted Sgt. Caspus, "Take cover!". The Baneblade slowed to combat speed and prepared to fire...
Tank Commander Yelt barked firing orders into the belly of the Baneblade. "Target marked, large cluster of enemy whirlwinds dead ahead, fire on my order." Commander Yelt understood the gravity of what he was doing and realized there was no turning back from this point--he would forever be a traitor to the Imperium once the order was given. Flashbacks of the images the Tau displayed came back to him...the horrible destruction...the countless deaths of innocents due to the use of the 'Device'. There was no question, for the good of all the device must be destroyed. "Fire!"
The concussion of the shot blew over trees near the tank and the shot hurled into the city. Large sections of the already ruined building sheltering the whirlwind detachment flew off into parts of the city, yet the tanks weathered the attack. "Reload, we'll blow the whole damn city apart if we must!"
==Loyalist Turn==
The Castellan Predator rumbled out of the rubble and ruined building to line up a shot at the incoming baneblade. Sgt. Amatius of the Castellan Devestator squad shouted "Fire! and Lascannon streaks ran out of the building into the Baneblade. The Lions Predator joined them by providing its own shots into the armoured hulk....still after the smoke cleared the Baneblade showed no signs of damage.
The Whirlwinds received target information from the scouting Land Speeder and unleased a combined barrage on the Kroot. Impact after impact, seemingly unendless, hit the forest containing the merecenaries and slew the entire lot!
On the left flank, the Celestial Lions Chapter Master asked for the comm, 'From base point, up 400, right 200, close support'. He spun around and shouted "Down and cover!". Suddenly, the heavens seemed to collapse on the Tau with a large orbital bombardment raining down on their position.
The Lions and Castellans on the front line cheered and poured fire into what remained of the Firewarriors, leaving a handful left on the field. The Castellan Sgt. in the area grudginly stated with admiration, "I can't believe they haven't run after that!".
Turn 2
==Xenos Turn==
"Fall back to join reinforcements for a southern approach". The command came over the comm to the frontline Firewarriors, who had dealt (and recieved) terrible casualties, and they quickly retired to the rear. The marines had no time to celebrate, as Brother Giruus yelled "To the south brothers!". With a gutteral hiss, yet another swarm of Kroot came pouring from the southern approach of the city clambering for loyalist blood.
"Target identified sir!", the junior guardsman of the volley gun battery cried out. The holographic targeting array displayed a group of Castellan marines guarding the southern approach. With a series of thuds the battery opened fire on the marines, blasting limbs and ceramite from the podium and wiped out the entire squad. The surrounding marines had little chance to recover from witnessing such devestation however, for the strange chanting again came across the battlefield. A swirling vortex rent reality apart above the command array and surrounded the building. While the building remained intact, the marines inside came tumbling from its doors with stupified looks on their face and blood streaming from their eyes and ears.
The Dire Avengers continued running towards the defensive line in long graceful strides, shooting at the marines from the hip. As they ran towards the line, bright traces fired overhead keeping the marines behind cover and dropping some of the loyalist. "Our Reaper bretheren are lining our advance!" shouted the Avenger Exarch. He ducked as a Tau Piranha streaked by his unit and unloaded its deadly weaponry into the waiting Celestial Lions. Even as he felt the joy of seeing the Tau slay the marines, he could not help a momentary wave of disgust as he witnessed the Kroot stop to consume the fallen loyalist.
The Land Raidar radar started alarming loudly and slowly the lumbering machine spun to face a new quarry; The Eldar Wave Serpent had dropped from the sky and was homing in on the Raider at breakneck speed.
Meanwhile, in the main building on the other side of the battlefield Brother Xiran thought he spotted movement in the dense, low lying clouds. He had just started to communicate over the comm "I think there is something....." when explosions engulfed his squad. Swooping Hawks deftly landed in the middle of the ruined building after dropping their deadly cargo and began firing into the Castellan squad, dropping three of the battle brothers.
Outside, the Baneblade continued its advance, once again firing into the city and the group of whirlwind vehicles. Yet again, large sections of the ruined building came raining down on the whirlwind detachment saving them from the main shot.
==Loyalist Turn==
A robotic voice filled with antiquity rumbled "We've come to destroy you" and as the Kroot looked back to where they had came a gout of flame erupted from the ancient Venerable Dreadnoughts arm. Most of the squad cried out and writhed in pain while burning with a few attempting to crawl away. They didn't get very far as Venerable Brother Ariymus finished them with a pulse of his plasma cannon. Behind him, another of his dread brothers engaged the guardians while the last of his formation charged towards the Dire Avengers. Behind them, the Master of the Forge walked slowly firing his plasma harness weaponry.
Tank Commander Yelt had the hatch popped open and was surveying the field when he felt a crawling sensation pass over his skin. Too late he realized what the sensation meant and there was a distinct *crack* behind the tank as he spun around to see a large terminator group teleport in behind the tank. Utter terror froze him as he saw a figure of imposing stature, even for a terminator, in the middle of this group. The figure was in all black with a leering skull and it pointed its stormbolter at the tank and screamed a primitive war cry. One of the dreaded Chaplains of the Astartes! Even as he slammed the hatch down on his tank, yet more las cannon fire scorched across the battlefield blackening the Baneblade armor.
Not a moment later drop pods began raining out of the sky next to the tank with explosive hatches hitting the ground. No sooner had the hatches disengaged than marines began pouring fire into the rear of the Baneblade. "Meltas and assault cannons, move the tank!" cried Commander Yelt. As he checked the damage he marveled at how tough this old tank really was. Despite all of the focused firepower, the warning lights displayed only slight structural damage while two of the weapons were temporarily offline.
The Land Raider in the middle of the city picked up an incoming enemy and spun around putting two las cannons into the approaching Falcon, which nimbly avoided both shots. The terminators on the overhead walk heard the incoming skimmer as well and Brother Herin unloaded his assault cannon into the tank. Again, the Falcon seemed supernatural in its agility and avoided all fire.
Turn 3
==Xenos Turn==
The Xenos unleashed another wave of reinforcements into the southern part of the city, with another squad of Firewarriors running into the city. They quickly took shooting stances and downed the last Land Speeder flying down the street. The wave serpent holding the Fire Dragons flew towards the Land Raider, at the last moment spinning and unloading its deadly cargo. The Fire Dragons let fly with their melta weaponry and thick pieces of ceramite flew apart as the Land Raider exploded, a few pieces of the Land Raider caught two of the Fire Dragons and made them share its demise.
By the main building that housed the STC, the ground splintered as the elite Tau Crisis Suits crashed to the earth and opened fire on the nearby Castellan Predator. Like its Land Raider cousin, the Predator exploded in a large fireball from the advanced tau weaponry. In the main building ruin itself, the Eldar pushed their advance with a Banshee Squad unloading into the building along with their Jetbike Guardian allies.
"The Teleport building!" came over the comm. The terminators on the walkway spun to see one of the most terrible sights in the galaxy; The Avatar of the Eldar. Even worse, striding next to the Avatar was the deadly Phoenix Lords, with the entire group seemingly burning in the glow of the Avatar.
Another vortex opened above the Radar Array as yet another combined Eldar psychic attack rained down on the Castellans, this time slaying them to a man. Next to the Radar Array, one of the countless waves of Fire Warriors yanked their EMP grenades out of their suits, "To the machine box!" they yelled as they charged the Venerable Dread. It met them head on, crushing 2 of it's number and surviving the multiple short-outs sparkling across its hull. The Tau attempted to fall back out of its deadly range and it cut them down as they ran.
Outside the city, the Baneblade commander was desperately calling for reinforcements. True to their word, the Tau considered this plea as one of their own and the Terminators found their squad surrounded by masses of Kroot and Tau Fire Warriors. A literal hail of Tau weaponry unloaded into the Terminators as they slowly turned to engage the Xenos, yet out of all their shots only two fell! Like an orchestra, as soon as the Fire Warriors finished unloading into the Terminators the Kroot screeched and threw themselves into the squad. Despite being outnumbered nearly 3-1, the Terminators held their ground as both sides suffered casualties.
The Eldar Reapers, overhearing the Baneblade Commanders cry for help, spun and aimed their strange weaponry at the Castellans below. "Take cover!" shouted the Castellan Sgt. as Reaper ammunition, Tau bombardment and Baneblade bolters tore into the squads. Power Armour prevailed and the Castellans rose back to their feet shouting in defiance!
==Loyalist Turn==
The road shook as out of the smoke emerged one of the Adeptus Mechanicus Gods of War---The Warhound Titan Cerberus. A gout of flame the size of a building covered the Tau Crisis Suits and shells the size of attack bikes fell the ground as the Mega Bolter opened up. Incredibly, even though the ground surrounding the Crisis suits was completely destroyed, they lived! Under the Titans feet roared one of the Castellan bike squads lining up its assault on the Crisis Suits ahead.
The Castellans unleashed one of its most deadly machines, the Terminus pattern Land Raider. The Tau Hammerhead tried to move away but was too late as the Terminus unloaded into the Tau machinery, completely destroying the Xenos tank. A Castellan cheer rose from the buildings ahead!
Yet another reserve showed for the Castellan army behind the Avatar, with Librarian Rithen appearing next to his Terminator Command Squad. The Farseer obviously did not see far enough for this and with a roar the Castellan Librarian decapitated the Eldar witch. Ahead of the Avatar group, the mysterious Custodes teleported in with a crack and immediately assaulted two of the Eldar Phoenix Lords. Epic blows were traded and at the end of combat two Phoenix Lords lay dead next to three Custodes....
Outside the city, the remaining Castellan marines rose out of their crater bunkers shouting as they charged the Baneblade. Terminators cracked at the ancient armour with their powerfists and Castellan Sgts. threw their powerful Melta bombs. With a tremendous explosion, the top turret of the Baneblade ripped off the chasis, sending bodies and tank parts flying. The Castellan Terminator Sgt. exclaimed over the vox, "The Baneblade has fallen!" As the Castellans were couragesly were destroying the tank, the Lions sent in reinforcements as Assault Terminators poured out of a Crusader. Kroot fell in great numbers to their fury and at the end of assault the Kroot were wiped out.
Turn 4
==Xenos Turn==
Two new squads of Fire Warriors emerged from the southern flank with their sites centered on the remaining Lions Tactical squad. There was a mad dash of desperation from both armies for the Radar Array.....as the air seemingly shimmered next to the ruins, "Stealth suits!" yelled one of the Lions as the he died with the words in his throat. Three battle brothers fell to their fire and their courage held as they continued clambering over the rhino for the Radar Array.
The drama in the main building was about to play itself out, as a new fresh group of Dire Avengers emerged from the sewer entrance on the street below. Nearby, the crisis suits bravely marched toward the Titan engaging it with its plasma weaponry. Between the crisis suits, the broadsides outside of the city gates and a Tau bombardment...the Warhound lshields shimmered, dropped and it suffered damage to one of its gun and the other was offline. Inside the main building, many Tau gun drones dropped in and prepared to pepper the marines above.
Otherwordly screams issued from the Banshees as they assaulted the Castellan bikes next to the main building and despite losing two of their number, they resolutely stayed in the fight. Meanwhile, next to the Teleport buiding the Avatar and remaining Phoenix Lords ignored the Custodes and charged the Librarian squad. Many fell and the Librarian, despite having all of his squad fall around him, bravely held his ground.
Outside the city, the incredibly powerful Eldar Psychic Choir continued its mindblowing assault and destroyed another 8 marines next to the drop pods and Baneblade wreckage. The Castellan and Lion Terminators met in the middle of the large Kroot and Firewarrior squad, as both squads were dropped on the road going out of the city. Both squads saluted each other and grimly started conslidating back to the city.
==Loyalist Turn==
With its weapon system offlines, the Warhound Titan simply stepped forward and crushed the entire Tau Crisis suit squad under it's gigantic adamantium heel. Next to it's steel foot, the other Crisis Suit squad continued combating the Castellan bikers. In the building next to this assault, the Castellan Devestators turned and let a barrage of missles streak towards the Wave Serpent hovering below. A tremendous explosion followed, with two of the Fire Dragons dying inside its carcass, yet four emerged unharmed. The Castellan devestators let out a scream of triumph that was cut short, as they saw the Avatar next to the newly made wreck cut the Castellan Librarian in half! "Reload and destroy that Daemon!" yelled the Devestator Sgt. To his disbelief, the mighty Custodes teleported out as fast as they had appeared! Apparently, whatever needs the Custodes had was satisified with the Eldar Phoenix Lords they had killed...as their bodies disappeared as well....
Inside the main building, another ear-splitting scream signaled the end of the Castellan bikers and the Banshees lept over their bodies, consolidating towards the second floor and the prize. The Chaplain and his assault squad leveled the Tau machinery inside the building and advanced towards the now unengaged Banshees.
Outside the city, small skirmishes continued with the Celestial Lion Dreads exchanging fire with the Eldar and Tau. "Main building under assault, fall back to the STC!" was heard over the Vox for the marines...while "Main target engaged...lend support to assault" was heard over the Xenos comm. The next moments of the battle would decide the outcome...
Turn 5
==Xenos Turn==
The last of the Tau reserves showed this turn from the southern approach, yet their short dash left many of the squad out of range. Still many were able to fire on the marine running for the Radar Array, yet the marine power armour proved too much. However, the marines had no time to rejoice as two deadly Piranhas appeard in front of the squad and thinned their numbers. There was a perfect trianglulation of fire on the Celestial Lions and only the Chapter Master survived, screaming in defiance and bleeding from multiple wounds.
The Eldar unleashed their ace up of their sleeve and called in their last orbital strike. The building shook and the aim was deadly accurate...the Castellans on the upper floor watched in horror as the chaplain and his assault squad were decimated from the sky. No sooner had the blast stopped than the Dire Avengers and Banshees nimbly jumped over the flooring, shooting and assaulting as soon as they landed. The Castellan Sgt. on the upper floor cired "This is the end, fight or die!" and his squad dropped their bolters and charged the Avengers while a squad from above engaged the Banshees. Despite the element of surprise, the Avengers were shocked and driven back by the furious counter assault from the Castellans. The remaining Banshees fared better and whittled the other squad down to two Castellans, yet they stuck in combat.
In the teleporter room, the fire dragons advanced with Phoenix Lords in tow. The Celestial Lions inside had no chance and were dropped where they stood without so much as firing a shot or issuing a warning over the vox. The Fire Dragon Exarch pressed his communicator, "The teleporter is ours."
On the outskirts of the city, small skirmishes continued with the Tau dropping another Lions Dread and blowing the remaining Celestial Lions Predator up. The Terminators outside the city continued to run for the city but were far away from the main action....as Railgun shots ran overhead smacking into the now reenergized Titan Shields. The shields held and the Titan started to turn towards the main building...
==Loyalist Turn==
The Castellans proved their valour, holding the Avenger assault and even driving them off the objective. As they did, the building shook and an entire wall section exploded as they Warhound Titan Cerberus burst through. Its bolter arm, the size of a Predator, opened up with ear shattering concussions and the Avenger squad exploded into a bloody mist. The Castellan squad consolidated back next to the STC and awaited further instructions from Command/Control.
"Now!" said the Lions Command Squad Sgt. Cassius. The command squad emerged from the bunker where they had been waiting and charged towards the Radar Array in attempts to save the Chapter Master and deny Tau the objective. They dove into the two Tau Piranhas and drones, destroying all in their path and conslidated next to their Chapter Master. The next turn would see the Fire Warriors engaged....
The Game Ends
Game Result: TIE!
Radar Array: Contested, no points
Teleport Building: Held by Eldar Fire Dragons (Was his special 'counts as scoring' unit established pre-game)
STC Machine: Held by the Castellans...BARELY :)
What a battle! Well, with random game length....it's random. Sure enough, at the end of 5 the game ended....which left the Xenos team groaning and the allied team sighing in relief! Here is some player hindsight, which is almost as fun as playing the game...
What went right for the Marines:
The Castellan player (AshAxe is his sig on the forum) saved our bacon. Looking back, I see how little I supported him in the main building and despite assaults from Banshees, Guardians, Swooping Hawks, Wave Serpents and Crisis Suits...Ash held it. The last Dire Avenger/Banshee assault was very harrowing...but Ash had taken the Marine Asset that allows Counter-Assault near a vital objective. I'll be honest, I thought that was rather worthless in Apoc =P....well this crow is quite sour :0! That asset, along with his great play won us the tie. The other two things that come to mind would be the Baneblade being taken out (Again by Ash) and the initial Avenger/Kroot/FireWarrior/Guardian assault near the Radar Array being held by my Dreads! I thought that would be a fun unit but not very useful...hell those dreads tore up!
What went wrong for the Marines:
The Titan proved that expensive resin doesn't translate into battlefield miracles = |. I refuse to take dual Turbo Laser Destructors, as I like the look of the weapons I chose and the fluff, but man..that really limits its power. It did shred the Avengers which would have mattered if the game continued, took a hell of alot of shots and killed the Crisis suits...still it was pretty underwhelming. As were the Custodes! Show up a turn, do great, look great, roll for random, they go poof. Ugh. Ash was pretty down on his Terminus as well, another model that looked great (the pictures did his model no justice!)...so I guess all the big toys let us down. Again, as marine wins often do, it fell to the boring, tough old Tactical Squads to help hold us in the game.
What went right for the Xenos:
Avatar group was killer. It would have been interesting to see the smackdown with the Custodes had they stayed around....but they didn't and that little group walked through Librarian and Terminators alike. Zulix24 (Eldar player) made the Fire Dragons earn their keep, blowing up a Land Raider, killing several marines in the Teleport room and holding that objective. The Baneblade might not have killed much but damn it took alot of our resources! Many of our big hitters had to commit to that beast as Pipboy (Tau player) was wisely marching it into the city rather than leaving it stationary. It would have caused major headaches for us once it got close to the STC objective. The Crisis Suits were insane...they dropped in blew up a Predator, Whirlwind...and then made 18 saves from my Titan. After that little miracle, they blew off his damn Inferno Gun the next turn. The other Crisis Suit team held up a Biker Squad the rest of the game. When my Titan crunched them under his foot... I wanted to crunch them under my foot in real life =p.
What went wrong for the Xenos:
That last Avenger/Banshee assault was really close and probably should have went the other way. Rough dice rolling for the Eldar player (Zulix24) and smart assets/play by Ash. Their southern attack near the Radar Array was another rought spot. Hindsight is always 20/20 but as the enemy, I would say the sporadic attacks hurt them. If they had thrown all of their reserves in the south instead of some here, some there, etc....they probably would have taken the Array pretty easy. Again, hindsight is always 20/20..and perhaps if they had done that we would have thrown more down there too. Still, the southern part of the city proved to be a pretty big stumbling block.
Final Thoughts:
All in all, it was a blast to play. I didn't include even 1/10 of the pictures we took or events that happened as if I did, this report would turn into a novel to rival War and Peace! I tried to hit the highpoints and events we all had a chuckle (or groan) at. A report this size is alot of work but well worth it, as looking back over the report not only shows you where you can better yourself as a player (or painter/terrain maker/scenario designer)....but also makes reliving the moment with friends quite enjoyable. Hope you liked it!
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