A particularly large game vs Tau

Lechetern rallied a large host and some Word Bearer allies, bitterly embracing the opportunity for revenge against the Tau Empire. I’ll say it now – he did not succeed; the Tau Empire was victorious by a reasonable length. I'll also admit I made some mistakes with my list but my opponent and friend Alyssa has forgiven this. We both had a good time.

Lechetern's host assembled, eager to bring carnage. It has become mandatory for Lechetern to start as close to the middle as possible because of his durability and my reluctance to deep strike him. The Plaguebearers huddled up in the corner were elected to deep strike. The fact they were all bunched up served to remind me.

Commander Farsight and his unit opted to Deep Strike.

The resolute Tau were ready to hold the line against us. It was especially nice to see the new Broadside models in action.

The pathfinders took up position in a good spot of ruins. They were very hard to assault - owing to the Gravity Inhibitor Drone I was unable to land a charge. I first learned this when 3 out of 4 of my Plague Drones got burned by the Tau's awesome overwatch.

The Hammerhead takes aim. However, the Skullcannon stunned it and the Screamers destroyed it in Turn 2 (or 3?).

Possessed spotted!

But only 2 Possessed and their leading Sorceror made it to assault the Piranhas with the Beasts of Nurgle. They damaged the vehicles but failed to destroy them. Now in the open, they were blasted to oblivion. Farsight and his unit certainly had a lot to do with that after Deep Striking nearby.

Unfortunately Lechetern was nearby too and Iron Arm combined with the effects of the Grimoire of True Names made him ridiculously hard to wound. He charged Commander Farsight's unit and although the Commander put up a fight in the challenge, the Great Unclean One eventually prevailed. He then killed all but two of the Battlesuits who fled, ensuring the beast's subsequent peril. Despite regaining some Wounds thanks to Soul Feeder and having his Toughness boosted to 8, he was still blasted back to the Warp in Turn 5 or 6 by the Devilfish, Pathfinders and Broadside Team. I was impressed that it took all of that to take off his remaining 4 wounds. His dismal howl seemed endless, despite having something to eat this time.

The Kroot performed extremely well. They won the firefight with the Cultists and defeated my Herald-led Plaguebearers in close combat. The latter must have taken 5 or 6 combat rounds before we saw one side wipe out the other but the Kroot got there.

I was a bit concerned about the Piranhas parking behind the Skullcannon but then I remembered they had Turboboosted, disallowing them from shooting. The Skullcannon turned around and rammed them, but this had exposed its rear to the Broadsides. Very, very stupid of me – I should have wheeled the cannon around to the right side of the Piranhas before charging them.

This was a very daring move that paid off to my chagrin. When it deposited its passengers behind the Skullcannon which then proceeded to kill the remaining Obliterators (which took heavy losses from the Broadside Team) to earn Alyssa a hard fought victory.

Lechetern was incensed with his Herald sapping his essence with Grimoire of True Names, but in his infinite non-forgiveness he decreed that his treacherous servant was lucky he had not tried to usurp him at the wrong times. In fact he had done this at some of the right times, such as when Lechetern had been taking a lot of fire and during one of these times the Warp Storm had strengthened, increasing his Invulnerable Save to 2+.

However, Lechetern punished his Herald, tasking him with the odious chore of counting every organism (flies, maggots and other things) in the Garden of Nurgle. This would take eternity and even worse is how time flows in the Realm of Chaos. Lechetern’s Herald is now even more anxious for any opportunity to join him in battle. He is lucky he is still needed.

Chaos Daemons vs Tau Empire (1000 points)

At last I got a chance to verse the renewed Tau. The mission was Relic and we opted to just spread the buildings out as Haydn didn't have a lot of time to play. By the way I strongly recommend you click on the images if you want a bit of a bigger view.

And so my Daemons appeared, choosing not to deep strike but come on as a fully fledged wave. Maybe not the most effective or tactical way to come onto the field but I prefer to do little to no deep striking. A note about the icons on the models - I have purchased none for this army, especially hence the multiple icons in one of the Plaguebearer units (they just look so good!).

The Tau Empire stood resolute, preparing to repel the Daemonic invasion. This photo was cropped because a dude's hairy legs were in the background somewhere. I don't think he would have liked them featured in this blog.

Deep striking the Skull Cannon might be an idea to try in the future, as it got destroyed before I had a chance to use it owing to a lot of reasonable to high-strength firepower poured into it.

Lechetern (my Great Unclean One) got Warp Speed, Life Leech and Hemorrhage. His Warlord Trait was Lord of Unreality and his gifts afforded him +1 Wound, It Will Not Die, Armourbane and Fleshbane. Not bad but he was slain a bit earlier than I wanted (ie. not at all. *chuckle*)

I may need to go back to deep striking the big fella (with an icon of chaos for Plague Drones) and try getting him closer because as much of a beating he can take, he's very slow.

 

The Herald of Nurgle (Disemboweled Hal) stuck to the role of providing his Plaguebearer unit with Feel No Pain. The shot could have been better and a bit less blurry in the distance, the 'bearers can't be that blind and ocularly corrupted.

Commander Haydn moves a drone with his Ethereal hand and his brave Firewarriors (some even braver considering their arms disappeared owing to the Warp Storm) prepare to seize the relic and to blast my Plaguebearers.

The armless Firewarriors were panicking, wondering what to do with no rifles or the limbs required to bear them. Their leaders were quick to restore discipline, ordering them to use their backup Pulse Goggles. Thus, their armlessness kept them far from harmless.

The mighty titanic Riptide. He wasn't my number one problem but he did his part - pouring devastating shots and withdrawing to safety with his Baneblade-sized jetpack.

Lechetern's favourite Daemonic subjects - the Plaguedrones. The Plaguebringer got Dark Blessing, enabling him to re-roll failed Invulnerable Saves. This may have made him last a little longer when the Command Squad blasted the unit to pieces later on but alas the bugs were morteinized and banished to De 'Balius, Lechetern's Plague World. They had charged a Firewarrior Squad and their Rot Flies swallowed a handful of the warriors. Not a lot of Firewarriors died but they fled (but not off the table).

The Bloodcrushers and Plaguebearers charged successfully (the Plaguebearers rolled a 9, owing to their sudden necrotic wind of energy), despite weathering a lot of Overwatch fire. I really should have gotten the Bloodcrushers to charge a different unit - maybe the battlesuits nearby? Nonetheless I'm happy that my tactic of "sharing the Overwatch pain" worked and my minions weren't too bruised. I had snuck the Bloodcrushers around a little bit beforehand, minimizing the opposition that could see and shoot them.

I think I played alright but my opponent Haydn wiped out all of my Daemons (killing my remnants from Overwatch as my last Plaguebearer squad attempted to charge the Command Squad).

No one had possession of the relic at the end of the game but of course, wiping out my army meant an automatic victory to the Tau Empire.

It was a very fun game and I enjoyed the challenge. What transpired in this match was very much what I had been expecting (aside from the Through Boldness, Victory Deep Strike) and I knew taking on the Tau would be no easy task. I think I have learned what I should try next time. I can always hope for Lechetern to shine with a bit more necrosity next time.

My Skullcannon of Khorne

I love the Skullcannon, model and rules-wise, so I bought two. They are a reliable source of artillery (Ballistic Skill 5, Strength 8, Large Blast and Ignores Cover being just some of the perks) and I am looking forward to trying them against large units of Imperial Guard Infantry, Tyranids, Orks or anything else that relies on cover. My army will especially need these to hammer away at the renewed Tau armies and any transport-heavy opposition.

But especially against the new Tau because of their awesome new army-wide rules.

If you lose the cannon to a Weapon Destroyed result, just switch to chariot mode and go nuts!

Lechetern - My Great Unclean One

To kickstart this blog, here is a picture of the warlord of my Chaos Daemons army. Meet Lechetern, my very own home made Great Unclean One. I was inspired by a Beast of Nurgle illustration in the previous Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos book - the one that had a High Elf warrior in his grasp.

This guy was shaped by foil and sculpted with green stuff. Numerous Chaos Spawn parts were added. His head was shaped by the Zombie Dragon head and the mid-horn is a part from the Arachnarok Spider kit (which was used for another Great Unclean One).

Needless to say, I love the Great Unclean One. He no longer benefits from Eternal Warrior or Feel No Pain as starting Universal Special Rules (USR) but he is still a tough beast to bring down. At Toughness 7 and 6 wounds and with access to the Biomancy powers he is tough to bring down. Beware of Fleshbane and Poisoned Weapons though (especially Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors on Raiders).

I prefer to give him two Greater Rewards - the best combination I have gotten so far is Feel No Pain (4+) and Dark Blessing (rerolling failed Invulnerable Saves). Not to mention one turn in this game I rolled the Warp Storm result that grants +1 to Invulnerable Saves.

Here's a little background information I have written for Lechetern:

Lechetern is a Great Unclean One who evolved from one of the bitterest Beasts of Nurgle.

His enthusiastic and cheerful demeanour endured for centuries, despite being banished time and again by a long line of ingrates. But his optimism that he would find the perfect playmate that could appreciate the vast scope of diseases he unknowingly secreted slowly waned. After wallowing in grief that could bring any mortal into a coma, Father Nurgle took pity upon this despondent creature.

Lechetern was remade not in the rotund form most Great Unclean Ones took, but as a larger and more menacing form of what he used to be. While he retained his optimism and enthusiasm, they now serve a darker purpose as he has been gifted with a malign intellect.

He now has a keen awareness of the diseases he secretes and an unspeakable desire to bestow them, knowing how much suffering and misery his gifts can cause. With spite he spreads these gifts and this is no less favourable in the eyes of the Plague Lord, as they are visited upon one planet and dimension after another.

Some have mistaken him for a diseased dragon erupting from an oversized potato, but their perceptions did not last long before he swallowed them whole, condemning them to an eternity of purification within his bowels.

While he welcomes the aid of all servants of his Father, he is especially kindred spirits with the Rot Flies and Beasts of Nurgle.

His malice has attracted Daemons of Khorne, who follow him knowing there will be much blood spilled and many skulls harvested. This suits him well as he takes a keen interest in the war machines of the Blood God, especially the Skull Cannons as they hammer upon those who would most likely interfere with his plans.

Blood and skulls, no matter how blighted and corrupted, are still blood and skulls. However, it is not uncommon for Lechetern to have to kill his Khornate servants as they attempt to plunder the half-digested skulls from the bellies of Rot Flies and Beasts of Nurgle. Still, the ways of Chaos have allowed such incidents to be overlooked.