Welcome to game 13, the last in our Tyranid vs. Imperial campaign. The earlier games in the series (and other campaigns) can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Gordy2000%27s_Battle_Reports
Thanks as always to Thor 665 for putting the article together.
In the last battle, a huge Tyranid force was repelled in a desperate defence by the Imperial forces. Now, the Xenos prepare their mightiest units for the final assault, whilst the defenders must crush the Tyranid threat once and for all if they are to save this world.
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The armies face off on the field of battle
Imperial Guard man the final line of defences on the left flank
The right is anchored with heavy armour
They face the might of the swarm
Gargantuan creatures stalk the jungles
Including titan-sized ones (this hierodule was used as a hierophant counts-as)
More fell xenos scuttle out of the jungle
The Imperial centre is held by Super-Heavy units
Imperial Left
Centre
And Right Flank
The Reaver of Princeps Julius stands proud
Even Titans need a little protection down there…
Prepare to fire!
At some silent signal, the swarm rushes forward
Xenos great and small surge towards the Imperial lines
In the name of the Emperor, Stand fast!
The massive Tyranid bio-constructs move with surprising speed
The ground in front of the horrified guardsmen erupts as burrowing monsters emerge
Contact front!!!
Iniquitous is dismayed at how quickly the Xenos are upon them
But they are closer than even he realises, as vanguard organisms attack from the shadows
Suddenly the sun is blotted out by something huge above the battlefield…
The Xenos are upon us!
The Emperor protects….maybe…
Before the Imperials get a shot off, some of the quicker Tyranids are amongst the lines
Forward positions are overrun, their defenders slaughtered
AA fire barely scratches the Harridan
Imperial fire finally lances out, wounding some gargantuan creatures and a number of smaller Xenos – but the tide is barely touched
The Infernus ignores the scrabbling of claws on its hull, contemptuously gunning down the Genestealers with its sponson weapons, before showering chemical death on a huge swath of Tyranids to its front
An Adeptus Astartes Storm Wing screams in from reserve
++Attacking bio-titans with all weapons++
A Salamander Storm Talon flies across the bubbling remains of the Tyranid Right Flank, strafing the wounded Broodlord
The Storm Wing attacks the Hierodule, but to little effect against its tough hide
Imperial flyers join the fight, attempting the relieve the pressure on the hard-pressed guard units
Many Xenos units advance untouched, as their forward forces engage the Imperial line
Sons of Gord Terminators deepstrike near a key objective in no-mans-land. Their storm bolters cut down the wounded Broodlord
They are reinforced by flanking Sentinels
The mighty Reaver adds its firepower, but many of the Tyranids are danger-close to Imperial units, limiting targets
The Guard positions on the Imperial right struggle against multiple monstrous creatures
An attempted counter-attack on the Imperial right stalls in the face of fierce Xenos resistance
The Reaver gets 3 destroyer hits on the hierodule/hierophant – and promptly rolls three 1’s……
Before Hierodule bio-acid spray…
…and after. Most of the Guard
HQ is lost
The hierodule/hierophant reaches the Imperial lines. Rangers manage to wound it with Krak grenades, which it promptly regenerates. The Rangers in turn are torn apart.
Sentinels and Terminators consolidate their hold on a key objective
The Tyranid gargantuan creatures continue to run amok, but their shooting (24
Str 10 shots per turn) are all aimed at the Reaver
A Dreadnought doesn’t even slow the rampaging hierodule
The Harridan assaults the Baneblade with predictable results
The Reaver lines up the hierodule/hierophant…
...this time 3 solid hits destroy the Xenos monstrosity
Having eliminated most of the Tyranid right flank with massed firepower, the Imperial armoured units begin to wheel towards the threatened centre
Having failed to hurt the hierodule, the Strom Wing finds easier hunting in the Tyranid rear.
Hive Guard, Tervigons and Warriors fall to their strafing runs
With most of his “escort” dead or distracted, Iniquitous sees a chance to flee. He begins to edge towards the rear…
Suddenly, something vast looms over the Inquisitor…..he barely has time to scream
Determined to stop the hierodule assaulting the Reaver, a Sons of Gord
Tac squad leads an almost certain suicide charge….
Well, almost certain. Big whiff by the big bug. The Sons hold it in combat
The Harridan continues its reign of destruction
The Reaver, having being subjected to no less than 72
Str 10 shots from the gargantuan creatures (most with preferred enemy) is down to its last hull point
Its weapons still take a fearsome toll on the enemy
The Harridan however, will not be denied. Its Bio-Cannons take the last of the Reaver’s Hull points, wrecking the mighty walker.
..and then eats the Command Russ for dessert.
Meanwhile, the Sons of Gord consolidate their hold on the Right Flank key objective
A desperate counter attack by Shrikes is defeated by the Sentinels and Terminators
The objective is now firmly in Imperial hands
The Strom Talons peel off and finish the Tyranid Prime and Tyrannofex
Eat this!
The Stormraven deploys the still wounded Gordus Maximus and his Terminators. They make short work of the Xenos holding the Tyranid Key Objective
Mayhem everywhere!
The remaining Tyranid on the Imperial left, a Hive Tyrant, manages to immobilise a Land raider. It is blasted apart by massed tank fire shortly afterward
Gordus and his veterans seize the Tyranid objective – they now hold 3 (Imperial Objective, No-mans-land objective and Tyranid Objective) of 4
Wounded and stripped of supporting units, the previously undefeated Swarm Lord screeches its defiance one last time before it is blotted out by tank fire from the recently arrive Cadian Armoured Group.
With the loss of their leader, the swarm fragments. Without direction they are easy prey for the surviving Imperial units….
Imperial Victory!
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Wow, that was pretty close. The Tyranids were amongst the Imperial lines in the first turn, negating much of the firepower. The loss of the Reaver nearly spelled the end for the Imperial side as the left flank was pretty savaged by the various monstrous creatures rampaging through the poor old guard infantry. Staying focussed on the objectives was a life saver, as was the Reaver finally getting a kill-shot on the hierodule/hierophant.
The armoured left flank also did sterling work, wrecking a determined assault by about 50 ‘stealers and lord knows how many gaunts. In template weapons we trust….
The Harridan was just a killing machine. I thought the
AA defences would be too strong for it, but Big Harry just shrugged off all hits and kept on trucking. The Imperial Flyers would have probably got him in the end, but he certainly paid for himself (no first game-blues with that bad boy)
All in all, another fun campaign. Thanks to Sandy for organising, Julz and Derek for their generalship and everyone for a lot of fun.
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From atop a small rise, Gordus Maximus looked towards the dimly lit horizon through the ever present clouds of sulphur. He could see bright dots of tracer snaking across the sky as the Storm Wing hunted down the Harridan.
He turned his eyes back to the battlefield. The remaining squads of guard were piling the Xenos corpses into mounds for incineration by Hellhounds. Every once in a while a shout would go up when one of the Tyranids turned out to be not quite dead, followed by a fullisade of las-gun fire.
The Captain turned as one of his squad sergeants approached.
“Centurion” The Sons still used the Old Ways when they were away from other Imperial units
“Report Sergeant”
“We have found the Inquisitor” The sergeant paused “Well, half of him anyway”
Gordus turned back to the pyres of Xenos dead “Fitting. Undone by his own hubris. A full report will be rendered to the sector conclave. Who knows what other facilities such as this might exist yet?”
Shaking off such melancholy thoughts, he keyed his comms link. “All Sons of Gord – the Legion’s work here is done. Prepare for extraction to orbit”
Gordus and the Sergeant walked towards the waiting Stormraven. The Guard would spend many months cleansing the last of the Tyranid taint form Remuera Majoris IV, but the war was won. The Sons had other battles to fight.
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Next Campaign:
We’ve already played the first two games of our most ambitious campaign yet – a sprawling epic across multiple worlds and hives. City fighting, siege warfare, civilian mobs, Mechanicum, Arbites, Sisters of Battle, Death Korps of Krieg, Drop Troops assaults, trench warfare, right on up to titan clashes.
More to follow…..
May I ask what colours/tecniques you used on the Reaver, particularly the blue armour? I'm currently stripping/redoing mine and that looks an excellent way to do it.
I mean, seriously, that guy was a dick.
blog!
1,500 Points II 
125
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