With the outpost firmly secured, Lord Ankhotep has begun moving in his heavy guns, directing them to take strategic points in the dense jungle. Meanwhile, Scout Commander Lzick has begun leading the Imperial heavy support to intercept and take up their own firing positions.
In part 3 of our narrative campaign, we are playing out the first major clash of heavy weapons between the Black Legion and the Children of Tarr. This mission was very simple. Big Guns Never Tire, only all Heavy Support Choices gain the Objective Secured special rule, and we were allowed to take 4 Heavy Support choices, but only 2 Fast Attack choices. There were 4 objectives and we used the Hammer and Anvil deployment type. There will also be night fighting for the first 4 turns of the game, as the two forces clash in the middle of the night.
The Armies
Black Legion
HQ:
- Lord Ankhotep - Sorcerer with 3 Mastery Levels, Spell Familiar, Mark of Tzeentch, Terminator Armour, Sigil of Corruption, Gift of Mutation (+1 Weapon Skill), Veterans of the Long War, Combi-Melta, and Force Staff - 212
Elites:
- 4 Terminators with Mark of Tzeentch, 4x Combi-Melta, 2x Power Maul, 2x Chainfist, Veterans of
the Long War, and Gift of Mutation (Melee Weapons have Fleshbane) in Land Raider with Dozer
Blade and Combi-Melta - 426
Troops:
- 26 Cultists with Autoguns, Mark of Tzeentch, 2x Heavy Stubbers, Shotgun on Champion - 179
- 9 Thousand Sons with Meltabombs, Gift of Mutation (Crusader) in Rhino with Dozer Blade, Havoc
Launcher, and Warpflame Gargoyles - 314
Heavy Support:
- Predator with Lascannon Turret, Lascannon Sponsons, and Warpflame Gargoyles - 145
- Predator with Lascannon Turret, Lascannon Sponsons, and Warpflame Gargoyles - 145
- Vindicator with Siege Shield, Combi-bolter, Warpflame Gargoyles - 140
- 2 Obliterators with Veterans of the Long War, and Mark of Tzeentch - 162
Total: 1752
With Asarune the Perverse out of the picture (he was slain in the last battle), Lord Ankhotep has taken sole command of the rear elements of the army. As his nature dictates, he has spent considerable time scouting the area, and studying reports on the nature of his enemy. Using his gathered recon, he has formulated a battle plan centered around a hard core of himself and his Terminator Retinue, as well as a unit of Thousand Sons. Knowing that the enemy artillery will likely be stronger than his own, Ankhotep has decided upon a night attack, hoping to use the cover of darkness to allow his troops to move up, and carve the enemy apart up close.
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| The Black Legion |
Children of Tarr
HQ:
- Field Commander Lzick - Company Command Squad with 4 Veterans with Camo Cloaks, Carapace Armour, 2x Plasma Guns, Vox Caster, and Medi-Pack with Lzick with Power Sword, Carapace Armour, Bolt Pistol, Meltabombs, and Camo Cloak - 162
- Primaris Psyker with 2 Mastery Levels - 75
- Primaris Psyker with 2 Mastery Levels - 75
Elites:
- Militarum Tempestus Platoon
- Militarum Tempestus Command Squad with Vox-caster and Volley Gun - 100
- 5 Militarum Tempestus Scions with Vox-caster and Volley Gun - 85 - 270
- 5 Militarum Tempestus Scions with Vox-caster and Volley Gun - 85
Troops:
- 10 Veterans with Forward Sentries, Grenadiers, 3x Meltagun, Vox-caster - 120
- 10 Veterans with Forward Sentries, Grenadiers, 3x Meltagun, Vox-caster - 120
Fast Attack:
- Hellhound with Camo-netting, Multi-melta, and Dozer Blade - 155
- Vendetta - 170
Heavy Support:
- Basilisk with Camo-netting - 140
- Leman Russ Vanquisher with Camo-netting, Dozer Blade, and Hull-mounted Lascannon - 165
- Leman Russ Executioner with Camo-netting, and Plasma Cannon Sponsons - 200
Fortification:
- Aegis Defense Line - 50
Total: 1702
Having recuperated from the grievous injuries he suffered in his first encounter with the Black Legion, Lzick is back, ably guiding his armoured support through the dense jungles of Badru. With him he brings some of his veteran scouts, and a small platoon of Tempestus Scions, to lend their aid against the growing threat of Chaos. Unfortunately, some miscommunication has caused the Imperial forces to be deployed a little under-equipped for this mission, but Commander Lzick remains confident that they can get the job done.
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| Children of Tarr |
The Game
Brennan won the roll for first turn and decided to go first. He set up his Aegis about halfway up his deployment zone, and put the 2 units of Scions on my left flank, with the Executioner, Tempestus Command Squad, and Company Command Squad holding the center. The Basilisk and Vanquisher went on the right flank, behind a hill with an objective on it. Both units of Veterans deployed up right near the edge of his deployment zone, more or less in the middle, with the Hellhound taking up the left flank, close to his deployment edge.
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| Deployment, just after Hellhound moved |
Responding to his deployment, I put the Vindicator and one Predator on the left, whilst the other Predator went on the right flank. I then infiltrated my Thousand Sons on the left, along with the Terminators towards the middle, and the Cultist up front on the right to screen the Predator from incoming fire. The Obliterators went into Deep Strike reserve, hopefully to come on and blow up a vehicle or gun down some guardsmen.
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| Black Legion Deployment |
Turn 1
The Children of Tarr begin their attack by advancing the Veterans and Hellhound to try and stall the Chaos advance before it can gain too much momentum. In the Psychic phase, one of the Primaris Psykers casts Fire Shield on the Hellhound, to help give it some cover from the many Lascannons right next to it.
Shooting is rather uneventful, the dense jungle and night concealing the Black Legion remarkably well. The Basilisk fires it's cannon at the left Predator, but scatters badly. The Hellhound's Multi-melta shoots through the trees at the Vindicator, but it is unharmed. The Vanquisher fires on the Land Raider, but misses with both its cannon and its Lascannon. Likewise, The Executioner shoots all its shots into the Rhino, but mostly misses, though it manages to get a single glancing hit through. Finally, the Vets fire at the cultists but only 1 is killed. The Veterans who ventured into a forest discovers it to be a Brainleaf jungle the hard way, turning on one of his squad mates and killing him.
As is typical of a Chaos force, the Black legion advances, with the Vindicator, Land Raider and Rhino all moving at cruising speed through the dense jungle, suffering no ill fate. The Cultists begin to rush forward towards the nearest Veteran unit, ready to bring their guns to bear.
The psychic and shooting phases are once again uneventful, with a Doombolt failing to damage the Hellhound, and a Tzeentch's Firestorm being denied by the Primaris Psyker in the Veteran squad. The Predator on the right flank fires on the Basilisk, but is unable to get through its cover, and the other predator has similar results when firing at the Hellhound. The Land Raider moves flat out, and the Cultist shooting only kills a single Veteran.
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| End of Turn 1 |
Turn 2
Once again, the Veterans move around, with one squad heading towards the Cultists, and the other moving back a bit from the Land Raider, fully expecting their trio of Meltaguns to explode the ancient vehicle. The Hellhound moves into the jungle to try and get a better shot at the Vindicator.
In the Psychic phase, the Primaris Psykers cast Telekinetic Dome on the Command Squad, and Fire Shield on the Veterans approaching the Cultists. Shooting is poor again this turn, with the Company Commander failing to give any orders to the Veterans, who end up doing no damage to the Land Raider, two of their weapons missing, and the third shot being blocked by the dense jungle. Thankfully, the Vanquisher locks on and shakes the behemoth, and the Terminators and Ankhotep inside. The Basislisk locks on and shakes the Predator as well. The Hellhound fires at the Vindicator again, but the night stops the shot. Finally, the Veterans, aided by the Hotshot Volleygun of the nearest Scions unit manages to kill a few more Cultists.
Badly shaken up, Ankhotep doesn't call in his Obliterators from reserve, and just orders his Land Raider to pivot, bringing its guns to bear against the Veterans. The Rhino and Vindicators advance at combat speed, with the shaken Predator moving at cruising speed to get into a better firing position. Once again, the Cultists advance.
Psychic powers once again all fail to do any damage, and shooting is little better, the dense cover and camouflage of the Imperial Guard proving proof against all shooting that comes their way. In the assault phase, the Cultists charge the Veterans losing a few to dangerous terrain, but slaying a few Vets in return. The Champion challenges the Veteran Sargent and the combat is a draw. The Cultists lose combat, but hold.
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| End of Turn 2 |
Turn 3
With the Chaos threat closer than ever, Commander Lzick finally begins to issue orders, though his reserves still fail to arrive. Basically no movement is made, with only the Hellhound moving to hunt the Vindicator. Once again Telekinetic Dome is cast, but that's it.
In the shooting phase, Lzick orders the Veterans to fire between the trees at the Land Raider, and orders the nearest squad of Scions to set their Lasguns to full auto. The Veterans all hit the Land Raider with their Melta Weapons, and the tank explodes, showering them in debris. The Terminators are unscathed. Finally presented with the target it has been anxiously awaiting, the Executioner fires its Plasma Cannons at the Ankhotep, but thanks to Tzentch's blessing, only two of the might Chaos Terminators are brought down. The rest of the army unleashes it's firepower into the retinue as well, but to no avail. Finally, the Hellhound shoots into the Vindicator, this time shaking it, and the Basilisk does the same to the other Predator. In assault, the Veteran Sargent kills the Cultist champion, but a couple of Veterans fall, but they hold.
Caught in the open and facing down the guns of the enemy, Lord Ankhotep orders his Obliterators to Teleport into the fight, and they land directly behind Lzick's squad. Ankhotep himself leads his retinue forwards to destroy the Veterans, While the Rhino moves and unloads the Thousand Sons who move to deal with the Tempestus Scions. Lastly, the Vindicator rushes forward, as well as the shaken Predator.
Once again, psychic powers are completely unhelpful, with one being denied, and all the witchfires just missing. The Obliterators unleash their Heavy Flamers into Lzick's squad, and the Scions as well, annihilating everyone save Lzick himself and a single Scion, who's steely resolve keeps him in the fight. Bolter fire from the Thousand Sons kills a few of the Veterans, aided by the Rhino's Havoc Launcher. The unshaken Predator manages to shake the Hellhound. In the assault, Lord Ankhotep leads his bodyguard into the Veterans, who are cut down, with only the Primaris Psyker escaping. The Cultists continue to whittle away at the other Veteran squad, leaving only one Veteran and the Sargent. left alive.
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| End of Turn 3 |
Turn 4
Finally, the Vendetta comes into the fight, flying straight towards the Predator in the open, followed by the Hellhound. Lzick moves towards his last remaining Veteran squad to deal some justice to the traitor scum. The cowardly Psyker runs for it.
The Scions finally have a real target and fire everything into the Thousand Sons, downing 3 of the animated suits. The Hellhound shines its searchlight onto the Predator, and the Vendetta blasts it to wreckage easily. The Basilisk shoots at the other Predator and blows off it's turret, leaving it with just the sponsons. The Executioner attempts to finish what it started and shoots at Ankhotep's unit again, only killing 1 Terminator. The Vanquisher focuses its shots on the new threat, but Tzeentch's protection holds true, and the Obliterators are left unscathed. Lzick makes a long charge into the Cultists, and rallied by their leader, the Veterans manage to kill a handful of Cultists, losing only the last Veteran, leaving Lzick and the Sargent triumphant, but looking down the stubby barrel of the Vindicator.
With the enemy Warlord in the open, Ankhotep splits off from the Terminator Champion and heads off towards Lzick. The Terminator moves to deal with the Executioner, while the last Predator drives back to claim the objective by the large hill. The Obliterators move towards the Basilisk, hoping to destroy it, and the Thousand Sons advance towards the Scions.
Aided by the targeting relay, the Predator manages to strike a penetrating hit against the Vendetta, but it doesn't have much effect. The Rhino shoots everything at the Veteran Sargent, along with the Vindicator and the fleeing Cultists, finally managing to bring him down. The Obliterators fire their twin-linked Meltaguns into the Basilisk, exploding it. Once again, the Thousand sons do very little damage to the scions, killing another one. Ankhotep fails his assault against Lzick, and the Terminator champion's attacks do nothing the the Executioner.
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| End of Turn 4 |
Turn 5
With things teetering on the brink, Lzick takes it upon himself to destroy the Vindicator. The Executioner turns to face the Obliterators, and the Vanquisher moves away from them. The lone Scion panics and rushes over the defense line, intent on killing Ankhotep.
The Vendetta targets the Predator, but is unable to pierce the thick armour plating of the battle tank. The Executioner shoots into the Obliterators, but doesn't manage to hurt them. The Vanquisher tries and manages to down one. The Scions all fire into the Sons killing one, and the Hellhound incinerates the fleeing Cultists. The lone Scion's desperate gambit fails, as Ankhotep remains unscathed. Finally, Commander Lzick charges into the Vindicator, but misses with his Meltabomb.
Ankhotep moves towards the Scion Command Squad, while the Thousand Sons continue their advance. The Vindicator moves back to blast Lzick to dust, and the Obliterator climbs the hill towards the Objective. Lastly, the Terminator moves towards the Executioner, intent on finishing the job. Psychic powers prove slightly more useful, as the last Scion is struck down by Ankhotep. The sons kill another Scion, and the Rhino's Havoc Launcher killed a comple of Scions from the Platoon Command Squad. Lzick's desperate charge ends in disaster, as the Vindicator unleashes the fury of its weapon, which detonates a little prematurely, glancing the tank, but burying the Scout Commander in a pile of shrapneled trees. The Obliterator attempts to destroy the Vanquisher with its Multi-melta, but fails, and the Predator fails to hit the Vendetta. Once again, Ankhotep fails his assault on the Scion command, but the Thousand Sons and Terminator both destroy their targets. With the battlefield lost, the remaining imperial units pull out and head back to base.
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| End of Turn 5 |
Post-game Thoughts
This was a much better battle than in this campaign, though it really started as a slap fight, with First Blood not even being scored until Turn 3. While I made a few errors, as did Brennan, I think there was one definitive turning point in the game. When Brennan forgot his Orders turn 2. Had he remembered to use the ignores cover order and blown up my Land Raider, the Terminators probably would have all died. As it was, things were looking in his favour anyways, but my Terminators made a ton of 4++ saves and armour saves, and just wouldn't die.
On the other hand, I basically couldn't do anything with my shooting, as Brennan had a 2+ cover save on most of his stuff for 4 turns thanks to a defense line plus camo and night fighting. He had a couple of turns of making basically every save that came his way too.
Another thing that hurt me badly was the Psychic Phase. My powers were pretty much all the oes I didn't want (duds like Hallucination, and Mental Fortitude), and all of my powers that I managed to cast I either missed or failed to wound/pen. It was pretty brutal, but that's just the risk you take bringing Psykers I guess.
I'm really having a lot of fun with these narrative games, and really most of them have been closer than they seemed. A streak of bad luck for me, or better luck for Brennan really could have swung this battle in his favour, and he was actually ahead in points until turn 4 or 5.
As always, thanks for reading.
