One of our regulars has been running a campaign and this is the endgame of Stage 1. This was a very interesting match with some interesting rules which I will explain in the next paragraph. Each player was entitled to 1000 points worth of Tau or Imperial Guard or up to 500 points of any other Warhammer 40k army. Lechetern sensed so many "play mates". So much opportunity to turn life into decay. So with the Four Blowfly-men of the Apocalypse, he decided to help the Tau, seeing much more opportunity to feed upon the guardsmen.
The rules of this scenario were:
- Every unit that has been 100% depleted returns to reserve, making it an interesting Capture The Flag game.
- The Imperial Team must take the relic off their side of the board to win. Otherwise, the Tau and their allies win.
- No Warlord Traits.
Left: The Four Blowfly-men of the Apocalypse hatch into realspace. Right: A Manticore and a pair of Artillery Crawlers prepare to bombard the fields with ordnance from the safety of the first Fortress of Redemption.
Left: Lots of Cultists prepare to shoot anything nearby. These are a third-party and just want to break stuff. Right: The Guardsmen in the second Fortress of Redemption (yes, this is a rock-solid line) are supported by a small group of Eldar Corsairs. Well, only in the sense that they didn't shoot them or tear them to pieces. Their leader admitted they had been working with the Tau all along.
Left: There was only one Tau player in the game but her Battlesuits, Drones and Hammerhead provided enough firepower to vaporise a tank here and some troops there. Right: Lechetern peers from the reserves. I didn't say he had a good eyesight! He can smell his way left and right, sniffing out his prey's scent here and there, even above his own.
Left: The Blowfly-Men buzzed across the Aquilla but severely injured their fragile little fly-ankles on the holy concrete (I failed two Dangerous Terrain Tests). Right: The Tau had Orks on their side in addition to Nurgle Daemons. Could things get any more awkward?
Left: Three Chimeras roll along the field supported by a Lemon - I mean Leman Russ. Right: That Ork Warboss Biker looks so tiny next to Lechetern and his Plague Drones! But he was still awesome. The Plague Drones visit entropy upon one of the Chimeras.
Left: A wave of Imperial Guard Valkyrie and Vendetta flyers reinforce the Tau lines Wait, what!? There must have been some kind of communication error. Or maybe these guys have been swayed by the Tau Empire. I hear you get great accommodation, excellent roast chicken and luxurious spa baths in the Tau Empire. Lechetern himself would be envious, aside from the spa bath part. Right: The entire Plague Drone unit was flattened by a Manticore missile barrage and now they have returned.
Left: Things look a tad scary from the Imperial side's point of view, but they are still holding strong as their offensive moves to seize the relic... Will their Quad-Gun Bastion blast them from the sky? Right: Necrons? Have the Imperium and Tau been fighting over a Tomb World all along? It's a small Necron force for an army so vengeful and adamant about retaking their world. But when they had cast off their illusions and revealed that they were not of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they had not much problem dragging their so-called comrades to the grave.
Left: The flyers zoom above the city. Right: Lechetern has a impromptu contest with the Ork Warboss of who has the worst breath. A Halitosis-off, if you will.
Some more views of the flyers. They look pretty damn good zooming above that god-forsaken city.
Left: The stench-off still continues between these two foul contestants as the relic is moved closer to enemy lines. Poor Lechetern is too damn slow to catch them anyway - that's what the Plague Drones are for! Right: Some good looking Ork Nobs.
Left: The Plague Drones died again. This time it took three or four squads of lasgunners to bring them down. I'm proud of them. Right: "Yesss, my children... you go for the tank while I choke this Ork to death with my Hellitosis." I think the Tau stole their thunder by vaporising that tank.
Left: Reinforkments have arrived. Sorry I spoke. Right: More Guardsmen are ferried to the grinder in mobile meat lockers - I mean Chimeras. The Imperial Guard's tenacity has earned them the relic, for now.
Left: The Plague Drones launch themselves after the Guardsmen. I believe that dark green Chimera was blown open by the Tau. Right: Orks yelling, threatening to break stuff.
Left: Orks riding and yelling slurred insults coated with saliva almost as thick as their hides. Right: Frenzied Plague Drones zoom past the Statue of the Emperor, supported by Battlesuits. That's weird, right?
Left: I think this was the moment before Lechetern caught the sweaty scent of the crew crammed in the Leman Russ tank and lunged for it. The vehicle was crushed by his disgusting necrotic bulk. Right: Yep, Lechetern seems to have gotten the boost he needed to better traverse the field. The Ork bikers still jeer at him (they will regret that).
Left: The Plague Drones must have perished again at this point. But again, they took it well! At this point I should mention I've been using the Grimoire of True Names and so far Lechetern has almost always increased their Invulnerable Saves and only betrayed them once. There was only one left to the Corsairs to finish, much to the Eldar's disappointment. Right: The Flyers are ever closer, dealing more destruction, hoping to earn some more chicken drumsticks (Greater finger-licking Good!).
Left: The Plague Drones are back and the Ork Warbikers are closing in. There are lot of Guardsmen to contend with though, so things will be interesting. Especially with that Icarus Lascannon. Right: The Imperial Guard let loose volleys of lasgun fire upon the Plague Drones and Battlesuits. Meanwhile, Lechetern is in combat with the Eldar Corsairs. Their Overwatch fire proved a tad nasty even for the Great Unclean One.
Left: In this fight, both sides proved hard to kill. The Great Unclean One's high toughness combined with his Greater Reward allowing him to re-roll failed Invulnerable Saves versus the Eldars' high Invulnerable Saves and their superior Initiative and Weapon Skill. The Great Unclean One ate them all save for the Princess, but Lechetern had never worked so hard for a bite to eat. Right: I told you there were lots of Guardsmen to contend with! I should also mention that both Fortresses of Redemption had boasted a lot of firepower, especially with a Fragstorm here and an Icarus Lascannon there.
The Imperial Guard had been valiant in their mission to seize the relic and move it to safety. They had come so close but victory eluded them. I have to admit things did seem a bit one-sided against the Imperial Guard but they held amazingly well.
I think everyone can agree that this was a very fun game. Many thanks go to Daniel and Kevin for organising this.
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