During the Easter break we managed to get two games played for our ongoing campaign. Turn four had ended like this:
1: Starport Angelus - Main Imperial Base and reinforcement entry point
2: Forge Precinct Alpha
3: Forge Precinct Omega
4: Emperor’s Shield Orbital Defence Bastion
5: Equatorial Hub
6: Oceanic Hub - Ork Planet strike location and reinforcement entry point
7: Berephous Prime Hive
The Imperials followed up with attacks on the Emperor's Shield (Location 4) and a large attack on the Forge precinct at Location 3
The first battle was the Imperial attack on the Ork held Emperor's Shield defence silo. This location had real strategic value for the Imperials as holding it would allow drop pods assaults and orbital strikes (which is why the Orks were so intent on keeping it out of their hands...)
Both sides had reinforced, so 1375 points worth of Orks faced off against a 1580 point marine army. The terrain was jungle with a few scattered surface buildings of the defence silo. The armies squared off on opposite table quarters, with both sides holding one objective each (Take & Hold)
The marines had a powerful assault force on the left with a landraider and terminators holding the centre and right.
The Orks readied two battle wagons and trukks behind cover, whilst a mob of Boyz backed up by Nobz held the silo communications array
The Orks had the first move and jockeyed for position whilst trying to remain in cover to avoid the initial marine volley. Their shooting was either out of range or ineffectual.
The marine line moved forward immediately, eager to get within heavy weapon and assault range. The landraider deployed a Sons of Gord terminator squad along with Inquisitor Julius to hold the centre-right of the field.
Shooting saw the Warboss' Trukk stunned and a Demolisher round vaporising a few of the Orks holding the comms array.
At this point the relative narrowness of the battlefield (we hadn't played table quarters before and the layout of the objectives really elongated the field) came into play, with the marine advance starting to form a solid line of heavy weapon death...
With typical Ork bravado and indifference to causalities (and the odds) the Trukk Boyz mob raced out from cover and assaulted the demolisher. Shooting saw an Ork rokkit from the defending Boyz knock out one of the advancing Dreds (you gotta love 3 6's in a row..)
The Battle wagons moved up with the Warboss Trukk on the centre right, hoping to skirt the flank of the marine advance and make their own attack on their objective. Meanwhile the Trukk Boyz assaulted the Demolisher and managed a explode result (hoorah for the Power Klaw). The resulting explosion killed most of the mob, but also took a terminator with it.
The battlewagon mob of 20 Orks piled into the Sons of Gord terminators (now accompanied by Inquisitor Julz). Lots of attack and wound rolls later, Julz only had to make 6 2+ saves....and failed four of them...
Suddenly things where looking great for the Orks as the marine team muttered darkly about my tremendous rolls (and their equally awful ones)
With their attack stalled and the middle looking dicey, the marines threw caution to the wind and committed all reserves. Two attack bikes joined the fray in the centre, as did the 2nd dred from the now defunct left flank attack. The combined momentum of these units ground the battlewagon mob into the dirt. The 2nd dred rampaged on, wiping out the battlewagon transport too.
The Ork Kunning Plan still looked good - the marine advance was checked and their diversion to the centre left the 2nd battlewagon and Warboss Trukk free to race around the right flank to attack the marine objective. And then a single missile from the
Tac squad on the objective immobilised the battlewagon....the narrow field meant that the Warboss Trukk was now stuck behind the battlewagon with no room to go around (due to terrain, knocked out tanks or nearby enemy forces). With one shot the marines had stymied the Ork flank attack (and left me cursing my stupid positioning). To make matters worse, the rampaging dred now fired its multi-melta into the exposed BW's side armour, destroying it and tipping out the Boyz inside.
The Ork team tried one last gambit- the lone trukk (whose earlier passengers had killed the demolisher) raced forward in an attempt to contest the marine objective. After somehow managing to avoid a fullisade of fire, it was finally intercepted by the second
Tac squad, who made short work of it with Krak grenades.
And just like that, both sides had no chance for victory - the objectives where now too far way and too heavily defended for the remaining forces to attack. The Warboss, having sat in traffic all day, leapt out with his Meganob entourage to assault the killer dred. It laughed off their puny 14 power klaw attacks and crushed a few more Boyz for sport.
And so the game ended with both objectives still held by their original owners.
Draw!
Sadly for the Orks they no longer fully control the defence silo, so the marines can now make orbital attacks....
Coming shortly, the 5000 point bloodbath at the heavily fought-over Forge Precinct Omega. A much tougher battle, with a much more definitive result....
1500pts: Mechanised Guard
2500pts: Artillery Line
Scheming
