The last 8 years. (God that makes me feel old)

Since I last posted all those years ago I have continued hobbying and running campaigns. These campaigns were all interconected telling an unfolding story across a region of space I created called the Aeriana Sub-Sector in the years following 776 M41. I had a regular player group of 20 odd people. Over the course of events 2 eldar maiden worlds and a necron tomb world were destroyed amongst many memorable events. Rather than bore you with the details I thought it better to post up a few shots of the campaign maps.

We are what I would call 'Hardcore Casual Gamers' We play large campaigns and Apocalyse games. INdeed massive games are about the only times we really drill down and get serious. How serious? As warmaster for team chaos in one apocalyse game I created the below map. On it is mapped how quickly both sides can reinforce their front lines and overlayed on that a detailed fire control map. I don't have a problem...

Which leads me to my latest outlandish creation and the reason I restarted this blog. Mass combat for warhammer. For a long time I have dreamed of fighting a full scale game of warhammer akin to historical wargamers who refight major battles like Waterloo. Which is why I created this hot mess.

Thats not a campaign map that is the battlefield meassured out in 2'x2' board tiles. Its equivelant to the area of Kosovo or Kuwait. And over it will be fought a desperate battle from the Horus Heresy. (or at least our version of it. We drew sides out of a hat so now Perturabo is the Sentinel of Terra and Sanguinius is the Warmaster) Be ready for more info about this game in future!

Attack on Supply Depot Delta

After delaying the Tyranid hoard for weeks with disposable infantry, Hive Fleet Colossus has finally reached the main center of control in the Eastern Grasslands. Supply Depot Delta. Waves of Rippers are repelled by the Necromundan 124th 2nd company as they provide cover as the facilities equipment and personnel are ferried across the Acaris river to the safety of Imperial lines. But as the last of the ferries prepares to leave Colossus' relentless attack ceases as the skies darken with mysetic spores. The 2nd digs in as the true battle starts...

This is a standard annihilation battle, with us deploying along the short edges of our 3'x5' table (be nice to get a proper 4'x6' soon) Nids got the first turn.

Forces:
Necromundan 124th, 2nd company
C 1 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Veteran Squad (10), armed with 3 plasma guns, a heavy weapons team (autocannon) and lasguns.
C 2 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Ogryn squad (5) with Bone 'Ead and Ripper Guns.
C 3 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Veteran Squad and Primaris Psyker (10) armed with 3 plasma guns, a heavy weapons team (autocannon) and lasguns.

M1/M2 - Medusa Siege Tank, extra armour, enclosed crew compartment

Hive Fleet Colossus, Vitor sector splinter
H.T - Hive Tyrant with things I can't remember.
C1 - Carnifex with twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms, scything talons, mysetic spore 1
T-Trygon
W 2 - Tyranid Warriors (4) with Venom Cannon and Devourers, mysetic spore 2
R-Ripper Swarm (5)





Nids Turn 1

Both the Hive Guard and the Tyrant moved and ran towards the central building, while the Rippers advanced into the rear building and went to ground (where they stayed the whole game)

IG turn 1
Chimeras 1,2 and 3 all moved up 6" and inflicted a wound on the Hive Guard.
Medusa 2 moved 12" behind the forward building to get a better shot next turn.
Medusa 1 fired on the Hive guard and inflicted 2 wounds, but they made their cover saves.

Nid turn 2
The Tyrant ran forward next to the central building and the Hive Guard emerged from the other side of the building and fired on chimera 1, immobilizing and stunning it.
In a rain of mysetic spores, Carnifex 1 appeared behind chimera 2 and wreaked it, and the Warriors emerged from their own spore next to Medusa 1 and fire on its side armour to no effect.
The Trygon rose up from the ground next to the central building in front of the Tyrant.

IG turn 2
The Ogryns bailed from the wreck of Chimera 2 and were pinned.
Medusa 2 moved back 12"
Chimera 3 fired on the Trygon, 2 plasma gunners died as their weapons cooked off, and the auto cannon inflicted 2 wounds
To round off the turn Medusa 1 fired point blank into the Warriors and made a direct hit and killed 3, leaving 1 warrior left.

Nids turn 3

The first Mysetic Spore fired on the Ogryns and inflicted 2 wounds, while the 2nd Spore fired on Chimera 1 blowing it up and killing 6 of the Guardsmen inside.
The Hive Guard fired on Medusa 1 which blew up.
The carnifex fired on the Ogryns, causing another 2 wounds and killing 1 before charging them, killing one more(2wounds) and receiving a wound in return and the Ogryns fled.
The Trygon assaulted Chimera 3 which was wrecked
The remaining Warrior charged the 4 guardsmen from the wreck of chimera 1 and in a spectacular display of epic fail inflicted 0 wounds! and received one in return

IG turn 3
the Ogryns fell back towards the left board edge (their path to my edge was impeded
Medusa 2 fired on the Carnifex, wounding it and the nearby Mysetic Spore.
The squad with the Primaris ran from their wrecked chimera into the nearby building.
The combat between the Warrior and the other vet Squad continued, taking 3 wounds from the Warrior and the Sergeant putting one on the Warrior, before fleeing and being wiped out.

Nids turn 4
the Carnifex and Warrior advance on the remaining Medusa and fire on it, the Warrior shook it and the Carnifex blew it up, but was too close and received a wound.
The Hive Guard advanced and fired on the Ogryns, killing another.
the Tyrant fired on the Prymaris squad killing 1, and used its Peroxym psychic power on the squad, nerfing them down to WS1.
The Trygon then charged the squad and killed them all.

IG turn 5
The fleeing Ogryns; my last unit on the field, fled 5" and fired on the mysetic spore inflicting 2 wounds.

Nid turn 5
the Nids all moved towards the Ogryns and fired on them but did nothing.



Now in control of the Eastern Grasslands the Nids are in a position to hit the main line across the river. However, in their mad rush for the rich biomass of the northern mining collective to the west their flanks are exposed. Will Colossus smash through the heavily defended imperial lines or will the imperium hold them off and strike the beasts soft underbelly? Only time will tell...

Nids-8, IG-0. Well that was yet another craptacular performance by yours truly. Feel free to comment, particularly on how to make a list that can kill all his stuff in the turn before my things die. Im guessing 80 guardsmen(6 las cannons) and an executioner ought to do it, but help is very, very appreciated.

And Where Back!

Sorry, peoples, critical internet failure (stupid modem) has prevented me from updating the blog in a while.

Right well I think it time to provide some links.

Corbania Prime obviously needs to be here, its a brilliant blog and has some great ideas.
http://corbaniaprime.blogspot.com/

And Follower dzer0's blog. Always good to see another Dark Elder player out there and a lot of the articles are rather good.
a href="http://www.dzer0.com/

And Asmo's blog.
http://boisterous-exuberance.blogspot.com/

Oh also something great I found via BoLS, a guy made his own space hulk board from CoD and bastion pieces. Utterly incredible.
http://nedius.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=6771816

Right well now that that's done we can get back to more of me loosing to the unstoppable Nid hoard of broken-ness...

Battle Report: Imperial Guard vs Tyranids

The Imperial forces stationed on Vitorina are desperate to re-take the spaceport that was invaded by Hive Fleet Colossus. They have subsequently sent a force to utterly destroy the Tyranids now occupying the port, and to take back the main comms beacons that were lost. This battle report represents their arrival and the events afterward.

This is a standard "Hold at All Costs" mission, from the 4th edition rulebook once again. The main square ruin (see above) represents the combined remaining equipment and other detritus left behind by both comms beacons.
Basically, all Imperial units start off the board, arriving on the table on the owning player's first turn. The defending player can set up his troops and heavy support 12" or less from the main objective (the main square ruin), with the rest of his units being held in reserve.

Forces:
183rd Savlar, Penal Platoon 86
C 1 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Veteran Squad (10), armed with 2 plasma guns, a heavy weapons team (autocannon) and lasguns.
C 2 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Ogryn squad (3) with Bone 'Ead and Ripper Guns.

C 3 - Chimera (heavy flamer and multi-laser) with Veteran Squad and Primaris Psyker (10) armed with 2 plasma guns, a heavy weapons team (autocannon) and lasguns.

B - Basilisk with Earthshaker Cannon and hull-mounted heavy bolter

Hive Fleet Colossus, Vitor sector splinter

H - Hormagaunts (15) with Scything Talons.
T - Termagants (15) with Fleshborers.
W 1 - Tyranid Warriors (3) with 2 sets of Scything Talons.
W 2 - Tyranid Warriors (3) with Venom Cannon and Devourers.
C - Carnifex with twin-linked devourers with brainleech worms, scything talons.

H.T - Hive Tyrant with Lash Whip, Bonesword and Stranglethorn Cannon.

It should be noted that this depicts the battle just as Klemanius started his first turn. Since all of his units started off the board, we thought this diagram would give you a better idea of the battle than simply a diagram of where my forces were.

Imperial Guard Turn 1
The Chimeras and Basilisk rumble onto the table, belching fumes. The Chimera gunners observed the vast horde of Hormagaunts in front of them and immediately fired upon them with 3 multi-lasers and the heavy bolter from the Basilisk joined in too. 4 Hormagaunts were sliced down by the fire, but the rest seemed eager to get into the fray.

Tyranids Turn 1
The Hormagaunts ran towards the Chimeras, smelling the humans hiding inside. The Termagants ran towards the ruin in the upper right-hand corner, trying to lurk behind cover. Tyranid Warriors 1 moved out of the ruin, and lacking anything to shoot with, ran towards the back of the Hormagaunt unit, trying to keep them in Synapse range. The Tyranid Warriors 2 fired their venom cannon out of the ruin, but failed to penetrate the vehicle's armour. The Carnifex fired it's devourers at Chimera 3, Shaking it.

Imperial Guard Turn 2
The Chimeras realized the Hormagaunts were now in flamer range, and didn't move forward. Neither did the Basilisk. Chimera 1 and 2 fired their Heavy flamers at the Hormagaunts, dousing 9 in burning promethium. The Veterans in Chimera 1 also fired their heavy flamer, killing another 3 of the beasts. The Ogryns popped their heads out of the firing hatch of Chimera 2 and fired their Ripper guns at the Hormagaunts, killing another 3, wiping the Hormagaunts off the board. The Basilisk attempted to fire at the Tyranid Warriors 2, holed up in the ruin, but realized the minimum range of the Earthshaker cannon was 36"! Sadly this meant it could not fire.

Tyranids Turn 2
The Carnifex decided it would emerge from the ruin, moving towards the line of Chimeras. The Hive Tyrant came on from the rear table edge, after rolling a 5 for his Reserves check. The Tyranid Warriors 1 moved along with the Carnifex. Tyranid Warriors 2 fired their Venom Cannon at Chimera 2 once more, this time immobilizing it. The Termagants fired their Fleshborers at the Basilisk, failing to damage it as well. The Hive Tyrant ran, trying to catch up to the rest of the army, but only ran an inch. Tyranid Warriors 1 ran towards Chimera 1, trying to get around the side of it for a better attack line and cover from the other 2 tanks. The carnifex charged into Chimera 1, wrecking it. Unfortunately, Klemanius rolled low and passed his pinning check.

Imperial Guard Turn 3

The Basilisk fired it's Earthshaker indirectly at the Hive Tyrant moving up the field, but unsurprisingly missed completely. The 2 remaining Chimeras and their occupants loaded a total of 2 autocannon shots, 3 Ripper Guns, 2 plasma guns (rapid firing) and 2 heavy flamers at the Carnifex, wounding it a total of 7 times, 3 of which were from plasma guns and therefore it would get no armour save. It needed to make all 4 armour saves to survive, and somehow it did! The carnifex roared in defiance, somehow shrugging off the horrendous amount of fire leveled against it.

Tyranids Turn 3
The carnifex lumbered towards Chimera 3, while the Tyranid Warriors 1 moves toward Chimera 2. The Hive Tyrant moved up yet again, still out of range of anything. The Termagants fired their fleshborers once again, this time Stunning the Basilisk. The Carnifex fired its Devourers at Chimera 3, managing to Shake it once again. The Carnifex charged into Chimera 3, tearing it to shreds and throwing Veterans into the air, the Veterans then failing their pinning check. Tyranid Warriors 1 charged into combat with the Veterans who were removed from their Chimera last turn, killing 7. The Veterans put a single wound onto one of the Warriors in return. In order to stay in combat, the Veterans would need to roll double 1s. Against all the odds, the brave Veterans steel themselves and stay in combat, desperate to avenge their fallen comrades.

Imperial Guard Turn 4

The Ogryns fire their Ripper Guns at the Carnifex, along with the Multi-laser, wounding it and finally bringing the monstrous creature down. The Basilisk, being Stunned, did not fire.
(It should be said at this stage that the reason why the Ogryns aren't disembarking is because Klemanius didn't move the Chimera they were in once it entered the battle, hence, the only access hatch to the Chimera was facing the edge of the board, and there wasn't enough room to disembark the Ogryns. He couldn't move the Chimera either, since the Warriors immobilized it in Turn 2!)

Tyranids Turn 4

The Hive Tyrant moves up the board once again, almost within range to do something now. The Termagants fire their Fleshborers at the Basilisk once again, this time Immobilizing it. Tyranid Warriors 1 assault the Veteran squad that was just roughly ejected and Pinned by the recently deceased Carnifex, wiping the entire unit out, including the Primaris Psyker.

Imperial Guard Turn 5:
Chimera 2's multi-laser fires at Tyranid Warriors 2, still lurking in the ruin, managing to wound one of them.

Tyranids Turn 5:

The Hive Tyrant finally was within shooting range, firing its Stranglethorn cannon at Chimera 2, failing to damage it. Tyranid Warriors 2 also fire their Venom Cannon, but also fail to do anything. The Termagants once again fire their Fleshborers at the Basilisk, but no damage is dealt.

Imperial Guard Turn 6:
Chimera 2 fires its Multi-laser at the Hive Tyrant, but fails to wound the monster. The Ogryns sadly are out of range of anything.

Tyranids Turn 6:

The Hive Tyrant fires its Stranglethorn cannon at Chimera 2, but fail to do anything. Tyranid Warriors 2 also fire their Venom Cannon at the Chimera 2, but also fail to do anything. Amazingly, the concentrated fire of the Termagants' fleshborers manage to Wreck the Basilisk.

We roll for Turn 7, but there wouldn't be one. The Tyranid Warriors 2 still maintain their grip on the main ruin, and so the match goes to Hive Fleet Colossus!

This is what the battlefield looked like post-battle:

Thoughts:
I think that game played out really well for me. My hormagaunt gambit paid off (Klemanius thought they could damage the Chimeras, and fired on them because of that, but I knew better!) and the Carnifex truly shone. The turning point I think was when I had to make those 4 armour saves. If I hadn't been so lucky, I would've had no reliable way to destroy the final Chimera (3) and the game may have played out very differently. I was very disappointed that my Tyrant had no part in the battle, starting so far back behind the front line, had he been nearby, the Carnifex wouldn't have had the onus of destruction on his (admittedly strong) shoulders. Overall my units performed well (the Tyranid Warriors 1 obliterating 2 vet squads, the Tyranid Warriors 2 camping the objective point and being generally resolute.) The Termagants admittedly did very little, simply firing on the Basilisk turn after turn, finally Wrecking it on turn 6.
If I were to do anything differently, it'd be to play a different map, perhaps something more open, as this battle was very congested. But, Hive Fleet Colossus has kept the spaceport!

Comments on Orks vs IG "Battle for the Hulk"

Well, I think my army could've been a lot better, let's put it that way. The Gitz did virtually nothing the entire game, killing maybe...2 guardsmen, and they were a decent chunk of points as well. I didn't have anything that could kill the tank at range (playing on the space hulk I assumed we wouldn't have space for such things, but there you go). The shoota boyz did well, though, both units. I was pleased to see that they both did well in close combat, even though they weren't optimized. Bazzak lived up to his ruthless reputation, charging through two ruins to strike down the Imperial commander, and not taking a wound in return! Unfortunately, Orks are impatient creatures, Bazzak no different, so once he saw his opponent bloody and crushed, he left without finishing him off. That might come back to bite him in the rear one of these days...

Far and away though the MVP was the Nob from S.B 1. He took on an entire Imperial Guard platoon, and not only survived, he broke them! Unfortunately, he couldn't catch them, probably being tired out by flailing that power claw of his around the whole time, but well done to him. The Burnas also did quite well, managing to bring Praetus down to 1 wound before dying, having also previously destroyed I.P 1 with their flamers.

I'm just glad that Leman Russ did virtually nothing the entire match, Klemanius rolling very, very poorly for his scatter dice. Truly the new blast rules are quite...equalizing.


Bazzak roared in defiance at the cowardly humans running from him, carrying their half-dead commander in their arms. Around him, his boyz charged forward, spraying shoota fire at the retreating men. Some fell, most didn't, but the Orks didn't care. Bazzak smiled, he'd repelled the primary invasion into his ship, and now the fighting would get even more fierce. With a mighty WAAAGH! he leapt off the rubble he was standing on, and charged down the corridor with his power klaw raised, his boyz cackling with glee following swiftly behind.

Battle for the Hulk

Having discovered the location of Bazzak's Killkroozer 'Da Ship' the Imperials have sent a fleet to engage and destroy this threat to Imperial shipping. After engaging the ork fleet in battle the Guards elite regiments are conducting a daring attack, delivering forces into the kroozer via boarding torpedo. This battle representing the strike of the 632nd Cadian which hit just below the command tower of the ship, giving Colonel Pratus a key chance to end the the Ork warlord once and for all.

This is a modified Meatgrinder mission (check your 4th edition rule books people) in which only the leaders of each faction can kill their counterpart.

Forces:
632nd Cadian
C-command squad (Pratus (Straken)
I.P1-infantry platoon-2 squads, commissar, flamers
I.P2-infantry platoon-2 squads, grenade launchers
S-3 scout sentinels
LR- Leman Russ

Orks:
Bazzaks Bashin’ Boyz
W-Warboss ‘Fingas’ Bazzak
SB1-20shoota boyz, power klaw nob, big shootas
SB2-20 boyz, power klaw nob, big shootas
B-8 burnas
F-flash gitz, pain boy and things I can’t remember

Pre-Battle Set up

Turn 1
the Burnas sneak forward behind the middle building, while the big shootas in shotta boyz 1 drop 2 of Pratus squad and the flash gitz fire randomly at the guard and hit nothing.
Meanwhile the Imperial Guard charge forward, Preatus’ squad and Platoon 1 towards the middle ruin and platoon 2 towards the boyz sheltering behind the fungal forest killing 3 orks with their grenade launchers. Platoon 1 ran forwards into the supposed cover of the middle ruin. And the Russ fired at the flash Gitz who save all 3 wounds.

Turn 2
The flash gitz moved to the roof and fired on Preatus squad dropping a guardsman. The burnas hosed down the middle ruin wiping out platoon1.
The sentinels outflanked, appearing next to the burnas dropping 3 with sustained fire. Platoon 1 was ‘recycled’, coming on from the guard’s table edge and ran towards Pratus who took shelter behind the middle building. Platoon 2 moved up towards the boyz in the forest again dropping 2 more with their grenade launchers. The Russ opened up again causing 2 wounds on the Gitz who saved both.

Turn 3

The burnas occupied the middle ruin before charging out the other side to assault Pratus killing the remaining guardsman and inflicting 2 wounds on Pratus who tore 3 apart himself. shoota boyz 1 moved forward around the forest to get a good shot at platoon 2, killing 6 with sustained shoota fire before charging in to wipe them out. Shoota boyz 2 assaulted the sentinels destroying them and the cowardly Gitz and warboss moved down a level to get out of the line of fire of the Russ.
Infantry platoon 2 came on from the right board edge behind the orks and in an impressive display of concentrated las fire dropped all but 6 of the greenskins who promptly fled back towards the forest. Pratus wipes out the remaining burnas while platoon 1 advances towards his position. The Russ opens up on the warboss and causing 3 wounds on the warboss all of which are saved.

Turn 4

Shoota boys 2 retreats behind the shelter of the back ruin, and the flash gitz kill 3 guardsmen in platoon 1. The warboss sighting the imperial commander moves down to the ground floor of the ruin.
Infantry platoon 1 makes it to the edge of the middle ruin, while Pratus shelters inside. The leman russ fires on the gitz again wounding 3 which make their saves. While platoon 2 charges the fleeing shoota boyz in the forest killing 3 and loosing 1 themselves.

Turn 5

Bazzak charges out of the ruin and into Preatus who rolls nothing but 1s and is promptly cut down by the ork warlord. The combat in the forest leaves the boyz down to just the nob who kills another 2 guardsmen.
The Russ opened fire on the gitz again managing to kill 1 and wound another. Platoon1 charges bazzak inflicting a wound for the loss of a guardsman and fall back down to the lower level of the ruin. Platoon 2 fails to wound the remaining nob and lose 2 men in return.

Turn 6
Flash gitz fire on platoon 1’s command squad killing 2, and the remaining nob in boys 1 kills 2 guardsmen receiving no wounds in return.
Both infantry commands fire on Bazzak causing a wound. And the nob in the forest is wounded once before killing another 3 guardsmen and the platoon retreats off the table.

Failing the turn 7 roll the game ends with the orks still having 26 models on the field winning the game.

Post-battle

Well, I played that one really badly.

The command squad should have been put to the left side of the field rather than trying to spread the counterattack/furious charge bubble to both platoons. As was being over eager with platoon 1 early game and getting them all flamed by the burnas. But it was forgetting that in a meatgrinder you could bring forces on from the the side edges as well that cost me the game as having platoon 1 pop up next to the sentinels would have gotten them right into the action and they wouldn't have spent 2 turns running.

Well that and having the 'Lemon' Russ actually do something constructive rather than having its cannon roll double 6s and 5s for scatter every turn! (it hit models only twice in 6 turns!)

Lt Axian ran for his life, his men carrying the shattered body of their leader between them. First platoon had held the raging warboss long enough to get the Colonel out of there and now Axian and the remainder of 2nd platoon were running, lost in the labyrinth of passages in this crude vessel towards the general direction of their boarding craft. If they were lucky they might just make it out of here...

Sector Update:Reports incoming

Tomorrow Klemanius and myself will engage in two battles, one will be Imperial Guard versus Tyranids, the other Imperial Guard versus Orks.

The Imperial Guard were decimated in their last battle against the Tyranid menace, attempting to defend one of their key ports they were caught unprepared as Mycetic Spores and Spore Mines descended from orbit, crashing into the ground around the facility. Although the port's automated guns opened fire and destroyed many of the spores before they could unload their deadly cargo, unfortunately there were simply too many targets and the guns were overwhelmed. One of the port's main structures (One of two Comms beacons) was destroyed during the pre-battle firestorm, waves and waves of Spore Mine clusters pounding the building into rubble, leaving those unlucky few who were guarding the building pinned under detritus and blasted plascrete. They clambered through the wreckage however, setting up heavy weapons units in order to defend what was left of their position, their rigid stubbornness a hallmark of the veterans of the Vitorina Regiment. Tyranid Warriors descended from the sky, ready to command the broods of Carnifex that were falling like rain around the defenders. With excellent tactical acumen, the Warriors commanded the Carnifex Broods to assault the remaining Comms Beacon, while they focussed on taking out the infantry squads still remaining in the facility. Trying to recoup what little they could from the decimated spaceport, the local Guard commander ordered a squadron of Griffons to shell the base, even though he knew he would be condemning the few remaining veterans bravely protecting the Comms Beacons. Shelling the beacons would be the only way to stop them being corrupted and exploited by the enemy. This was not enough, the veteran squads defending the remaining Beacon were crushed and destroyed by the Carnifex assaulting the base. The rubble of the other Beacon was charged and overrun by the Warriors, and so both beacons were captured. The commander reluctantly ordered the Griffons to retreat, one badly damaged, vowing to avenge the courageous men and women who had given their lives protecting the Beacons. And so, they have mounted a counter-offensive, attempting to push the Tyranid occupiers from the ruined spaceport before they can corrupt the machinery.

After Bazzak's ill-conceived and poorly worded attempt at forcing a surrender (or "say-ren-dar, if you will), Imperial forces have pin-pointed the location of his flagship. They will attempt to board and eliminate Bazzak and his "Battlekroozer", in the hopes that in doing so the Ork forces assaulting AV-143 will fragment without a leader to push them forward. A desperate maneuver, maybe, but if proves successful, the Ork threat in this sector will be all but negated.

Stay tuned and we'll have these two battle reports up for your review lickety-split! Do people still say that word anymore? Ah well, enjoy!