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EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF ISOBEL DESCHAIN
CANONESS, TERTIUS PRECEPTORY
ORDER OF THE BLESSED DAMSEL
RECORDED 24.999.M41

Thought for the day: The path to damnation is paved in good intentions.

The following journal is a recording, for posterity, of the quelling of the rebellion on Torghal in M41, and the events that occurred on that planet. As the Emperor is my judge, this recording is the truth of what happened there, and of what we Adepta Sororitas had to do to see that justice was done. Let none judge us for this but the Emperor, our Master and Protector.

My Preceptory was still replenishing its losses from the disastrous campaigns on Marsala and Laurentix when our Order recieved fragmented news of a rebellion on the distant world of Torghal. There were few details about the nature of the rebellion, save for the involvement of a blasphemous cult, and the message itself was laced with interference and was hard to discern. Regardless, the Prioress tasked elements of my Preceptory, as well as that of Secondus Preceptory under my fellow Canoness Arcadion, to quell the rebellion and eliminate every last vestige of heresy on Torghal. This, my Sisters and I pledged to do with faith and with flame.

We arrived at Torghal after a month of space travel, and were met with neither fire from orbit nor planetary communications. Our sensors and the ship’s astropaths detected no communications on the surface either-- the entire planet was soundless and dead, and there were no lights visible from Torghal’s cities and towns. The seeming deadness of Torghal was ominous, but nonetheless, my Sisters and I were pledged to carry out our mission. Embarking on landing craft, we set off to land near the area of the planet which, according to the message, the main base of the rebellion had been located.

None of us were prepared for what was waiting for us down there.



Just as a little disclaimer, I did NOT go to Europe. Rather, “Conquest of Europe” was the name of the mini-tournament held at my local GW as a sendoff to one of the managers, who was heading to Europe on vacation with his fiancee. While we were allowed to bring unpainted models, and while I really wanted to get my Dark Eldar on the field, it felt weird bringing grey models to the tournament. So instead, I brought my Sisters of Battle (who may or may not be getting better rules in a few months. Huzzah!)


I brought the following list:

ORDER OF THE BLESSED DAMSEL

Canoness Isobel Deschain- jump pack, inferno pistol, blessed weapon, Cloak of St. Aspira, frag grenades, Book of St. Lucius- 136
Canoness Ophelia Arcadion- jump pack, inferno pistol, eviscerator, Cloak of St. Aspira- 125
10 Battle Sisters- meltagun, heavy flamer, VSS Solemnas w. Brazier of Holy Flame & Book of St. Lucius- 161
-Rhino- extra armour, smoke launchers- 58
10 Battle Sisters- meltagun, heavy flamer, VSS Arias w. Brazier of Holy Flame & Book of St. Lucius- 161
-Rhino- extra armour, smoke launchers- 58
10 Battle Sisters- meltagun, heavy flamer, VSS Nariko w. Brazier of Holy Flame & Book of St. Lucius- 161
-Rhino- extra armour, smoke launchers- 58
10 Battle Sisters- meltagun, heavy flamer, VSS Konstanze w. Brazier of Holy Flame & Book of St. Lucius- 161
-Rhino- extra armour, smoke launchers- 58
7 Seraphim- 2 hand flamers, eviscerator, Book of St. Lucius
Exorcist “Wrath of the Faithful”- 135
Exorcist “Holy Rites”- 135
Exorcist “Vengeful Choir”- 135

Total: 1750
Faith: 9

(No pre-tournament pic, sorry)

This is more or less my “standard” list, with lots of scoring Sisters, with maxed out Exorcists, some Seraphim and a pair of Solo Canonesses. In my opinion, this is about as competetive as you can get with Sisters without going for an Immo-spam build (though like Immolator-heavy lists, I constantly have to worry about kill points)

Before I move on to any of the games, I should point out that I was only able to take sporadic pictures throughout the event-- concentration on the battle and tiredness (especially in the latter rounds) meant I kept forgetting to take photos, so if the pictures I took fail to give you a complete idea of each battle, then I apologize.

You’ll also note that in one of the pics, one of my Exorcists is...well...green. This is because one of my actual Exorcists kind of imploded in my carrying case when I arrived. One of the store managers (the one who was leaving) was courteous enough to lend me a Whirlwind to count as an Exorcist for the day. He has my deepest gratitude, and I wish him and his fiancee a great time on their vacation.

The tournament was pretty power-armour heavy, with plenty of Space Wolf, Chaos and Blood Angel lists (one of the Blood Angel players was the girlfriend of a friend of mine, who was present to coach her during this tournament). Surprisingly, no Dark Eldar or Grey Knights were in attendance, contrary to my expectations.




Game 1-Imperial Guard


There was a town near the landing zone-- a hub of trade, commerce and transportation on the roads that crisscross Torghal’s perilous jungles. There was a time when it had been a populous town, a lively one. At least, that was that the records had stated. What we found instead was an abattoir.

The entire population of the town had been massacred in the streets and in their homes, every man, woman and child. They had been killed in some of the worst ways imaginable-- shredded by chainswords, blasted apart by mass-reactive rounds, scorched, even torn limb from limb. The buildings were shattered and still smoking from old fires, and rivers of blood ran through the streets. Even the churches were sites of atrocity, the Emperor’s faithful slaughtered even as they prayed. I have seen many horrible sights in my service to the Emperor, but the slaughter on Torghal was one of the worst, and I will undoubtedly see the sight again and again in my nightmares.

Ophelia and a small contingent were investigating the other end of the town, and saw the exact same thing as we did. Over the comms, Ophelia argued that we should attack at once and purge the traitors for this monstrosity. I admire and respect my fellow Canoness, but I feel she often lets her temper get the better of her. I argued on the side of caution, citing that we did not know the strength or numbers of these blasphemers. A few seconds later, the traitors settled the matter for us.

Shells came screaming through the air, exploding in our midst and killing several of my Sisters. As we raced for cover, Ophelia spoke over the comms, citing that she and her contingent were under heavy attack-- that waves of men were pouring out of the jungle, screaming incomprehensible blasphemies and bearing tattoos of the the eight-pointed star. There was no longer any doubt that the taint of Chaos was present on Torghal.

Knowing that Ophelia and her contingent needed help, I ordered my Sisters to mount up and move in on her position, to bring the fight to the enemy before Ophelia was overwhelmed...



My first opponent was Mathiaus with Imperial Guard. I went to the tournament dreading the prospect of facing heavily-mechanized Guard lists, but Mathiaus brought something completely different:


CATACHAN JUNGLE FIGHTERS



Not pictured: the Basilisk and the Deathstrike.

Company Command Squad- heavy flamer, regimental standard, vox caster, med-pack, Bodyguard, camo-cloaks, Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken
Platoon Command Squad- flamer, vox-caster, platoon standard, Platoon Commander w. power fist
-Infantry Squad- flamer, vox-caster, Sgt. w. power weapon
-Infantry Squad- flamer, vox-caster, Sgt. w. power weapon
-Infantry Squad- flamer, vox-caster, Sgt. w. power weapon
-Heavy Weapon Team- 3 lascannons
10 Veterans- 3 meltaguns, Gunnery Sgt. Harker
10 Veterans- plasma gun, sniper rifle, autocannon, vox caster, Sgt w. power weapon, Forward Sentries
Guardsman Marbo
6 Ratlings
2 Scout Sentinels- lascannons
Hellhound- hull heavy flamer
Basilisk
Deathstrike Missile


This list was not what I was expecting at all. Mathiaus had kept strictly to a Catachan theme, even eschewing Commissars on the grounds that Catachans distrust them. It was an interesting list, and, more importantly, a well painted one.

The first scenario was Dawn of War Capture and Control, with a twist-- as a special secondary objective, our HQs had to fight it out after the game, and the winner would win the secondary objective. I did not anticipate pitting either Canoness against Straken and his full command squad, but hopefully Faith would see me through.


DEPLOYMENT



We each got two objectives-- I chose a tower on the right of my side of the board, while the Catachans picked a building in the upper left corner. As per the scenario rules, we each put down an HQ and up to two troops. The Catachan player put Straken’s squad in the centre, with an Infantry Squad on either side, while the autocannon Veterans, a Platoon Command, an Infantry Squad and the Heavy Weapons Team all huddled around the Catachan objective building. In turn, I deployed Ophelia behind a building exactly 18” away from the Catachan objective, while Squad Solemnas’ Rhino was placed directly behind the tower so that it would afford cover.

Early on, my plan was for Ophelia to cause damage to the Catachans near their objective, while my army dealt with his Infantry Squads. If I could get rid of his lascannons early, my Battle Sisters would have a decent chance of reaching the objectives without being blown to ribbons.

(Note: It should be added that we both goofed on deployment. We were both under the impression that we deploy units at least 18" away from each other, not more than 18". This was a horrible mistake on my part, and one that I didn't notice at the time. As will be seen, this also had a substantial effect on the battle.)


TURN 1



The Catachans won the roll to go first, got the ball rolling by bringing in their reserves-- the Deathstrike arrived on the far left flank, while Straken and his Command Squad boldly strutted up the centre and the Basilisk arrived on the far right, and the Hellhound took cover behind the objective building. Straken ordered both of the Infantry squads nearby to Move, Move, Move, but one of the squads misinterpreted the order as “pretend to be turtles,” which they did.

In the shooting phase, the Basilisk took a pot-shot at Squad Solemnas’ Rhino, but scattered and destroyed a few trees instead. The Deathstrike Missile, meanwhile, didn’t fire, and the heavy weapons teams were unable to draw a bead on the enemy tanks thanks to the gloom.



In my turn, my whole army arrived. Both Squads Nariko and Konstanze came on, with the former’s Rhino ahead of the latter to grant it cover. Further to the left, Squad Arias’s Rhino drove up behind Squad Solemnas’s Rhino, which stayed put near the objective. The three Exorcists took up firing positions at the rear of my lines, while Isobel and the Seraphim flew up behind them to claim cover. Meanwhile, Ophelia flew towards the Guard’s objective building to have some stern words with the Catachans huddling there.

In the shooting phase, only Wrath of the Faithful could see anything, killing one of the lascannon teams with a well-placed rocket. The squad proceeded to blow their leadership and leg it towards the board edge. Huzzah!



Following up, Ophelia prayed for Spirit of the Martyr and charged the Veterans. Although one plucky Catachan knifed a wound off the Canoness, she killed two Veterans back, and with a nice roll of 9, the Veterans decided to join the Heavy Weapon Squad in running. Unable to catch the Catachans (say that five times fast), Ophelia consolidated into yelling distance (re: six inches) of the cowards.



All in all, I had succeeded in clearing the Catachans from their objective on the first turn. Hopefully, things would only go up from there.



TURN 2



The second turn began with the Veterans and Heavy weapons running off the board, unable to bear much more of Ophelia’s scolding. The Catachan reserve rolls more than made up for it, though, as a pair of lascannon-armed Sentinels stomped in on my right flank, and a certain sneaky Guardsman popped up behind Isobel and the unwitting Seraphim, trying to look innocuous as he held onto a big demolition charge.



Meanwhile, Straken and his boys continued to hoof it down the centre, while further to the left, the Platoon Command Squad and Infantry Squad moved up to confront Ophelia, with the Hellhound swivelling its turret towards her as well.

In the shooting phase, Straken’s bellow of “Move! Move! Move!” worked on one squad, but once again failed on the other, despite Straken’s attempts to give the order in French, German, Arabic, Japanese and Klingon. Despite this, all three squads wound up at the centre of the board. The Platoon Commander had better luck, ordering the distant infantry squad “to Front Rank, Fire!” at Ophelia. Isobel and the Seraphim all prayed for Spirit of the Martyr as the Guard opened fire: Ophelia’s armour held firm against lasguns and flamer fuel, but, ironically enough, she took a wound from the Platoon Commander’s laspistol. Marbo, meanwhile, chucked his Demolition charge in a toss that would have made John Madden ecstatic, blowing up two Seraphim despite their invulnerable saves. The Basilisk crew then fired a precision shot, immobilizing Squad Solemnas’ Rhino at the base of the objective building. The Sentinels followed up by firing at Vengeful Choir’s side armour, but missed, and the Deathstrike Missile once again refused to fire-- whether out of indignation, malice or spite, we’ll never know.



In the assault phase, the Platoon Command charged Ophelia, who went invulnerable and chopped down two of the offending Guardsmen, before sending the rest of them running with threats of telling their mothers on them.





In my turn, I flew Ophelia towards the Deathstrike Missile-- while it was tempting to get rid of every scoring unit in the area, I wanted to make sure the big bad doomsday rocket didn’t get to fire. Squads Nariko, Konstanze and Arias continued their advance, with Squad Arias zooming up and disembarking in front of the leftmost Catachan Squad, eager to see how flammable t-shirts, bandanas and steroids are.

.

Squad Solemnas, seeing that the Catachans had busted their ride, disembarked and climbed up to the mid level of the tower, taking the objective. The Seraphim followed behind the Rhinos, though Isobel stayed where she was, turning to have stern words with Mr. Marbo. Finally, my Exorcists angled to fire on new targets, with Vengeful Choir turning to face the Sentinels, and Wrath of the Faithful and Holy Rites angling to fire on the Basilisk.

In the shooting phase, Ophelia fired her inferno pistol at the Deathstrike’s side armour and...immobilized it. Whoopee. Squad Arias unloaded two flamer templates, a meltagun and 14 bolter shots into the Catachan Squad, and after a ridiculous number of 1s and 2s....killed all but three of the Jungle Fighters. Wrath of the Faithful fired on them as well, but their t-shirts and carefully applied mud were quite missile-proof, and only two Catachans died, leaving their Sergeant standing alone. He passed his leadership test with a typically Catachan grunt of “That all you got?”



Vengeful Choir had more success, blowing up one Sentinel and blasting the lascannon off the other, reducing it to a weaponless kicking machine. Holy Rites fired one missile at the Basilisk, which pinged unimpressively off its front armour. Finally, Isobel pointed her inferno pistol at Marbo, who could only give one last, incoherent shout of “ADRIAAAAN!” before he was vaporized.

In the assault phase, Ophelia charged the Deathstrike, but only managed to get a stunned and two Weapon Destroyed results. It was then that I discovered that the Deathstrike’s weapon can’t actually be destroyed, just delayed, which meant that I’d just sent Ophelia after the big bad doomsday missile for nothing.





TURN 3

With Ophelia now outside of shouting distance, the relieved Platoon Command rallied, and the nearby Infantry Squad moved to confront the irate, chainsaw-wielding nun once again. In the centre, Straken’s Command Squad, the other infantry Squad and the lone Sergeant converged on Squad Arias to blast/charge the Faith points out of them, while on the far right, the last Sentinel moved resolutely towards the tower. On the left flank, both Harker’s Veterans and the Ratlings arrived via outflank, and the Hellhound trundled forwards to confront my advancing Rhino column.

In the shooting phase, the Guard suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be good at shooting, and went into overdrive. Straken ordered the Infantry Squad to First Rank Fire, and in the ensuing fusillade, Squad Arias was devastated by lasgun, plasma and flamer fire. Only three Sisters survived, who then broke and ran for it, thankfully denying Straken the charge.



The hurting continued, however, as the Hellhound fired its inferno cannon, covering both Squad Nariko and Konstanze’s Rhinos. The strength 6 was enough to penetrate and wreck Squad Nariko’s Rhino and send them tumbling out, aghast at the irony of having flamers used against them so effectively.



As an encore, the Catachan Squad on the far left riddled Ophelia with lasgun shots, finally taking her down, and the Basilisk landed another perfect shot on Vengeful Choir, wrecking it. The only saving grace was that Harker’s heavy bolter failed to damage squad Konstanze’s Rhino, and the crew of the Deathstrike had forgotten what number they were at and restarted the countdown.

In my turn, I decided some payback was in order, and moved Squad Solemnas out of the building to attack the full Catachan Squad in the centre. The Seraphim flew up to join the attack, with Isobel flying close behind, while Squad Nariko moved as fast as they could towards the Catachan objective. Squad Konstanze, meanwhile, zoomed sideways, disembarking in front of a very surprised Harker and his Catachan Devils. Finally, I had the retreating Squad Arias pray for the Light of the Emperor, automatically rallying them.

In the shooting phase, much roasting of Catachans commenced. The rightmost Infantry Squad was annihilated as Squad Solemnas turned its flamers on, and Harker’s Devils, similarly, disappeared under Squad Konstanze’s flame templates, leaving the nearby Ratlings looking understandably worried. The Seraphim fired on Straken’s Command Squad, killing all but the Medic and Straken himself, though Straken passed his leadership test, grumbling that he got burned worse than this back on Catachan. Wrath of the Faithful, meanwhile, avenged Squad Nariko’s stricken transport by blowing the Hellhound to smithereens, and, just because it could, Holy Rites overkilled the remaining Catachan Sergeant with a missile to the face. Finally, Squad Nariko ran, making it into the building just below the Catachan objective.



With the flamey burney out of the way, the Sisters moved on to the stabby choppy. Praying for Spirit of the Martyr, the Seraphim charged Straken’s squad, clubbing down the Medic but failing to hurt Straken. Striking back with his steel fists, Straken failed to get through the Seraphim’s glowy aura, but passed his No Retreat saves, grumbling that he’d fought worse jetpack nuns than these back on Catachan.



TURN 4



Realizing that he was running out of camouflaged action heroes, my opponent did what he could, sending both his Platoon Command and remaining Infantry Squad to hold his objective, while his remaining Sentinel stomped towards Squad Solemnas. Everything else in his army stood back and prepared to fire at will.

In a last act of defiance, the Ratlings killed one of Squad Konstanze, though they passed their pinning test. The Basilisk lobbed a shot at Squad Solemnas, but this time their shot scattered off target, breaking the Catachans’ accurate streak of hits. The Deathstrike, as usual, failed to fire, as the onboard computer crashed. Fed up with Windows, the Deathstrike’s crew made a 30,000 light year call to Apple, hoping that Steve Jobs could give them an app for firing weapons of mass destruction.

In the ongoing fight, the Seraphim prayed for Spirit of the Martyr again, but Straken, scoffing at the Seraphim’s “girly sparkly magic powers,” karate-chopped one of the Sisters down despite this protection. In reply, the Seraphim Superior hacked a sizeable chunk out of Straken with her eviscerator, only to discover that on Catachan, hacking into someone with a chainsaw is considered a sign of affection. Horrified, the Seraphim hit and ran out of combat before Straken could ask any of them out to dinner and booze. Elsewhere, the Sentinel charged Squad Solemnas, but failed to stomp any of them into the dirt.



Seeing their Sisters in trouble, the Seraphim flew towards the Sentinel, while Isobel flew up to confront Straken. Squad (Nariko exited the building to head towards the Catachan objective, while Squad Konstanze turned to face the Ratlings, and the last three Sisters of Squad Arias moved towards the tower.

In the shooting phase, Holy Rites fired on the Basilisk, and once again failed to do more than scratch its paint. Isobel fired at Straken, only for the shot to bounce off his sheer manliness (and cover save). Wrath of the Faithful fired as well, but its missiles exploded harmlessly against Straken’s abs of steel (and cover save). Squad Konstanze fired its heavy flamer and meltagun at the Ratlings, but, thanks to some ludicrously bad rolls, only killed three. The remaining Ratlings nonetheless broke and ran, yelling something about wights and a ring. Finally, Squad Nariko, rapid fired their bolters at the remaining Catachan Infantry Squad, killing five of them and sending the rest running off the board.



There used to be an infantry squad here. Note the Ratlings fleeing-- they ran a very long distance from the other end of the board).



In close combat, Isobel decided to face Straken mano-a-womano, and suitably epic music began to play as she charged him. Praying for Spirit of the Martyr, Isobel struck first, inflicting two wounds on Straken which his cheap forcefield failed to save, and the Man of Adamantium went down with a suitably dramatic cry of “Nooooo!” Following their Canoness’ example, the Seraphim charged the Sentinel, their Superior hacking into it with such force that it exploded from the sheer awesomeness of the blow. One of Squad Solemnas died in the explosion, but they brushed it off and consolidated back into the building, while the Seraphim consolidated towards the Basilisk.





TURN 5

With the Sisters on their doorstep, the last three members of the Platoon Command huddled under their objective. The Ratlings blew their leadership test and kept fleeing, which was the most movement that the Catachans could do at this point.

It was then and there that my opponent’s luck with artillery returned to him, as the Basilisk fired a long-distrance shot that killed four of Squad Nariko, including their Sister Superior, and, crucially, pinned them. With Squad Nariko pinned, my chances of taking the Catachan objective this turn had gone out the window, and if the game ended this turn, it would be a draw.

Oh yes, and the Deathstrike didn’t fire again. Moving on.

Seeing the danger, Isobel flew towards the Catachan objective, barely making it into assault range of the Platoon Command. Squad Konstanze re-embarked their Rhino and zoomed after the fleeing Ratlings, barely avoiding immobilizing themselves on the rough terrain, and the Seraphim flew and ran towards the distant Basilisk, determined to end the darned thing.



Holy Rites, as usual, failed to hurt the Basilisk, and Wrath of the Faithful found its shot at the Deathstrike blocked by Squad Konstanze’s Rhino. Moving on to assault, I charged Isobel into the Platoon Command, and sliced up all three of them in one go, eliminating the last Catachan scoring unit. We rolled to see if the game would go on, and it did.


TURN 6

The Catachans’ 6th turn saw the Basilisk firing at my distant cluster of units around the tower, and scattering off target. The Ratlings ran off the board, and the Deathstrike....yes, you guessed it, failed to fire again. My turn saw the Seraphim fly up and saw the Basilisk into a wreck, while Squad Konstanze drove up, disembarked, and melta’d the poor Deathstrike to oblivion. And with that, I’d gotten the primary objective and neatly tabled my opponent..


BONUS ROUND

Due to the unique nature of the scenario, we then had to have our HQ’s battle it out. Isobel and Straken’s command squad started roughly 24” away from each other, and, at the ruling of one of the store managers, the Canoness went into the battle with her starting 2 faith points. She was quickly forced to use one of those Faith points to go invulnerable when Straken shot his plasma pistol at her, leaving her with one point when she charged in. She spent two turns hewing through ablative Guardsmen, and managed to kill four or five before Straken finally one-punched her, awarding the IG player the secondary objective. And so, I won the primary and lost the secondary for a...

Sisters Minor Victory!

Mathiaus was a great guy, and his army was both nicely painted and wonderfully thematic, though losing much of his anti-tank in the first round didn’t help him. Once I defeated his push in the centre, the best he could do was go for a draw (which he almost did). Props to him, though, he was a great opponent, and recieved some well-deserved scores for theme and appearance. Currently, though, I wonder how the game would have gone differently if I hadn't messed up pre-game deployment, as I suspect that Ophelia may not have done as much damage if she hadn't gotten that first-turn charge. Again, that was a stupid mistake on my part, and one that is still bugging me. To my opponent if he's reading this: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make such a hefty rules error, and please understand that that mistake was neither intentional, nor something that I was conscious of.



The battle was fierce and bloody. The traitors were armed with vehicles and ordnance looted from Imperial armouries, and even had a Deathstrike missile in their posessionition. They fought with guile and cunning, outflanking us from the depths of the jungles and even sending bomb-armed infiltrators behind our lines. They were led by a beast of a man, a heretic so enhanced with bionics that he was more machine than human, and whose chants and blasphemous recitations made his men fight as though possessed. At one point in the battle, I was afraid they were.

As ferocious as the enemy was, our faith was stronger, and we purged the traitors with bolter and flame. Only a fraction of the enemy survived to retreat, screaming and gibbering into the jungles. I personally slew their leader, his enhanced bionics no match for the Blade of Tyr as I clove him in twain. Canoness Ophelia fought well in turn, driving all the heretics before her until she was laid low by a volley of lasfire. Though she fell, the Hospitallers quickly tended to her wounds, saving her life and ensuring that she will be active for the rest of the mission. The enemy shall feel more of her fury yet.

With the battle won, I dispatched Sister Fatima and her Seraphim to chase down the remaining traitors as they fled, while the rest of us tended to our dead and wounded. The remains of the heretics were purged with fire, and at the time, I was certain that the perpetrators of this town’s massacre had revealed themselves. The servants of the Great Enemy must have wrought incredible devastation on Torghal, I had thought, to cause the cities to go dim and all communications to cease. As I led my Sisters in burying the townspeople and giving them their proper rites, I was eager to repay the heretics tenfold for their crimes.

It was only a few days later that our forces discovered the heretics’ base....or what was left of it. What once must have been an immense ritual site was now a burned ruin, littered with toppled, shattered idols and smouldering buildings. Bodies, all dressed in the same livery as the heretics that attacked us, lay mangled and torn in all directions. The sheer scale of the slaughter, as well as the method, were both reminiscent of what we had found in the town.

It was then that we realized that whatever had killed all the people on the town hadn’t been the Chaos-worshippers-- blasphemous as they were, the heretics had been victims of the same slaughter. Something else had done this, something that was massacring people indiscriminate of their alignment. And whatever had committed these massacres might still be on Torghal...

(More games to come...)

Nice report, thanks!

In the days since our initial battle on the planet, we travelled across the perfidious jungles of Torghal, sticking to established paths and moving between recorded fuel depots. Each settlement we came to was as barren to the last, and each was the site of a similar mass murder. People slaughtered like animals, buildings shattered and ruins, bodies left to rot. In the two weeks we had been on the planet, the only living people we had found were the heretics who had attacked us.

Each destroyed settlement, however, gave us another clue as to the nature of the attackers. In one settlement, the ground was nought but barren soil, and massive boot-prints were had been left there. At another settement, we found the markings left by several tracked vehicles, and at another site still, we found empty shell-casings for boltgun ammunition. With each new discovery, we slowly discerned that the perpetrators of these massacres had numerous vehicles, wore heavy equipment and armour, and used weaponry which matched ours. Both Ophelia and I agreed that this looked like the handiwork of Chaos Space Marines.

When we finally found one trail that was still relatively fresh and hadn't been grown over by the jungle, we thought we were on the right track. We set off to follow the trail, eager to find the arch-traitors and avenge the people of this planet with cleansing flame. As we approached yet another ruined settlement, however, we found something else altogether...

*****

The vehicles in the distance didn't look like those used by the Great Enemy. Isobel had seen plenty such vehicles in he lifetime, and they were all easily identifiable by the spikes jutting out of their sides, or the grisly trophies affixed to them on hooks and racks, or the crude symbols daubed onto them with paint or blood. The vehicles in the town, clustered in a defensive formation, bore none of those degradations or blasphemies. They were all Rhino-chassis vehicles, were all painted a clean, unbroken yellow, and each one proudly bore the Imperial aquila on their hulls.

"Space Marines," she heard Ophelia say as the Sororitas armoured column rumbled past them. "If they're here, then the situation must be bad."

"What are they doing here?" Isobel wondered aloud. "We didn't detect any Astartes ships in orbit, and if they'd already been here, the would have contacted us before we made planetfall--"

She was interrupted when the vox suddenly crackled to life. "Unidentified vehicles," a rich male voice said on the other end, "identify yourselves immediately."

Isobel tapped her vox. "This is Canoness-Preceptor Deschain, of the Order of the Blessed Damsel, Adepta Sororitas," she replied. "We are here to investigate news of a rebellion and several civilian massacres on this planet. To whom am I speaking?"

"We are the Lamenters of the Adeptus Astartes," the voice replied. "Withdraw your forces immediately, Adepta Sororitas. This area is off limits."

Isobel frowned. Next to her, Ophelia grimaced. "What do you mean off-limits?" she asked. "On whose authority?"

"Our own," the voice on the other end replied. "Withdraw now, or we will open fire."

The Canoness' face went red. It was a well-known fact that the Adeptus Astartes sometimes didn't cooperate well with other Imperial organizations, but it was rare to hear of them threatening other Imperial servants in this matter. She suddenly remembered that she had heard of the Lamenters before-- that they had been one of the Chapters to rebel against the Imperium during the Badab War almost a century ago. The last she had heard, the Lamenters were still on a penitent crusade for their role in the rebellion. Could it be that they were still as untrustworthy as before?

Before she could say anything further, Ophelia angrily tapped her comm bead. "And who are you to threaten us, Astartes?" she snapped. "If you fire on us, you will be committing heresy and treason--"

Ophelia was cut short as one of the distant tanks swivelled its turrets at the Sororitas column and fired, its autocannon roaring to life with a coughing boom. The earth in front of the closest Rhino burst as the autocannon shells stitched a path in front of the vehicle in an obvious warning shot. Alarmed, the two Canonesses pulled their weapons free.

"I don't think they were listening," Isobel growled, thumbing the activation rune on her power sword.

"Then that's their mistake!" Ophelia spat, tapping her vox. "Sisters, move in to engage the Astartes! Suffer not the heretic to live!"



Game 2- Lamenters (Blood Angels)


For the next round, I faced Matt (at least I think that was his name...if you’re reading this, I apologize if I got your name wrong), with a beautifully painted Lamenters army. I’d never played Blood Angels with my Sisters before, but I already knew that they had a lot of scary advantages over my girls-- fast Baal Predators, massed Furious Charge/Feel No Pain, Mephiston, etc. Matt’s list, though, was fairly balanced while still being pretty competetive.


LAMENTERS





Librarian- jump pack, Sanguine Sword, Shield of Sanguinius
10 Assault Marines- 2 meltaguns, Sgt w. power fist
10 Assault Marines- 2 meltaguns, Sgt w. power fist
10 Tactical Marines- meltagun, missile launcher, Sgt w. combi-melta & power fist
-Rhino
Sanguinary Priest- jump pack
Sanguinary Priest- jump pack
5 Assault Terminators- thunder hammers & storm shields
-Land Raider
Predator- autocannon, sponson lascannons
Predator- autocannon, sponson lascannons


I was actually more than a little frightened of this list, as it was more mobile, was nastier in close combat, and had slightly better long ranged firepower. I had a sinking feeling that I might lose this round, but I resolved to try for a win regardless. Either way, I would try to make up for my lack of tactical acumen by relentlessly bombarding Matt with bad (but otherwise good-natured) puns about his army (ie "Lame-enters," "the Emperor's Crybabies," etc)


SCENARIO

For game two, we were playing Spearhead Annihilation, with a twist. Instead of a special secondary objective like all the other scenarios, all HQ and Elite units would be worth double their usual kill points.


DEPLOYMENT



The Lamenters castled in their deployment zone, with the Assault Marines hiding behind a comfortable wall of Predators and Rhinos. In my deployment zone, due to the limited number of buildings I could hide my precious Rhinos behind, I space my forces out across my zone, all the while ignoring the voice in my head that was screaming that this was a bad idea.

TURN 1



The Sisters failed to seize the initiative, and the Lamenters advanced. The Lamenters left saw the Land Raider advancing with the Rhino hugging it for cover, and the Assault Marines clustering around it as well. The Lamenters did not advance too aggessivley, as my opponent was just as hesitant to send his vital HQ/Elites into the fighting as I was to engage them. His Predators zoomed behind cover and into firing positions, and that was that.

In the shooting phase, the Librarian cast Shield of Sanguinius, but got Perils in the process, wounding himself and sparing me part of the effort of killing him. Thank you, Lamenters Librarian, you’re so considerate! Elsewhere, the Predators found almost all of their considerable dakka bounce off armour and cover-- save, that is, for one shot which immobilized Squad Solemnas’ Rhino.

In my turn, the Sisters surged forward valiantly, eschewing all thoughts of personal safety as they charged towards the oncoming Space Mari....



….yeah, I actually didn’t move much. Holy Rites, at the back of my lines, angled to shoot at the Predators from behind the big building (it would be getting cover, but meh), and Squad Solemnas climbed atop the aforementioned building, more than a little annoyed that the Lamenters had ruined their ride. Oh, and Squad Konstanze’s Rhino gunned forwards, popping smoke as it moved towards the north of the board in a clever flanking manouver. Well, at least I thought it was clever at the time. Otherwise, everything hung back and waited to counter charge the Lamenters. Which, I realized soon afterwards, was a bad idea for a mobile army that was presently outgunned.

Shooting was pretty dismal, with most of my Exorcists rolling low for their number of missiles and not doing anything. The only exception was Vengeful Choir, which managed to immobilize the northernmost Predator (though ideally, I would have liked for it to not be able to shoot next turn). Otherwise, it was a complete wash (as the Brits like to say).

KILL POINTS:
Sisters: 0
Lamenters: 0


TURN 2



The Lamenters responded by....not doing much. Every yellow vehicle and Marine vehicle on the board only edged forward tentatively, or, in the case of the Predators, shuffled to get better firing positions/cover. It was almost as though they had forgotten all of those uber-charged engines that Mr. Ward had been kind enough to give them. I think I tried taunting the Lamenters a little over this (“What’s wrong, crying break?”), but my opponent was unfazed.



In the shooting phase, the Librarian, wary of another Perils, decided not to cast Shield. The Predators fired a little more accurately this turn, blowing up Squad Arias’ Rhino and killing one Battle Sister and one Seraphim in the explosion, though no one was pinned. The rest of the Lamenter fire managed to stun Vengeful Choir, though given how tepid my shooting had been, the inability of one Exorcist to fire in my turn probably wouldn’t be noticed. The Tactical Marines joined in, popping their hatch and firing a missile at Wrath of the Faithful, but didn’t do diddly.

In my turn, I suddenly remembered that my army is meant for close-up engagements, and zoomed forward with everything! Squad Nariko rushed forward from out of the cover of their building, as did Wrath of the Faithful, while Squad Konstanze continued their clever, clever flanking manouever. Finally, Squad Arias began to trudge resolutely to the wall of yellow vehicles ahead of them. It was only after I had done movement that I had realized that, given how many Rhinos I’d lost and how far apart and uncoordinated my mobile squads were, rushing forward like this was a BAD idea.



In the shooting phase....I fired a minumum number of missiles, and everything either missed or bounced off cover. Moving on.

All in all, I’d done little this turn. I was hoping, however, that my aggressive movements would compel my opponent to attack. Hopefully, this way I’d be able to counter attack with my Seraphim and Canonesses and nab some points by killing his Librarian and Sanguinary Priests.

KILL POINTS:
Sisters: 0
Lamenters: 1


TURN 3

Now, the aforementioned plan would have worked if my opponent wasn’t that perceptive. Unfortunately for me, Matt was VERY perceptive, and he didn’t fall for my little trap. All of his forces more or less stayed put, with only a few angling by Predators to keep in cover. Thankfully for me, he didn’t accomplish much in the shooting phase, as while the Lamenters unleashed considerable dakka, they only succeeded in stunning Vengeful Choir with massed autocannon and lascannon fire, and blowing off the storm bolter of Squad Nariko’s Rhino. This left my vehicles relatively intact for me to...um...do...something with them.



In my turn, I decided that, with only two functional Rhinos, I couldn’t really press an attack that effectively, and so I retreated Squad Nariko’s Rhino backwards, moving Wrath of the Faithful up to give it cover. Squad Konstanze’s Rhino continued to trundle down along the flank, and Squad Arias edged forward tentatively, trying to keep out of assault range of the enemy jump troops. At this point, I was really hoping the Lamenters would press the attack, because the only option I had left now was to counter-attack him with everything I had. If Matt continued to play conservatively, then I would definitely lose the shooting war, but if I attacked as I was now, I would be mobbed and overwhelmed.

In the shooting phase...I shook the lowermost Predator. That’s it. Moving on.


KILL POINTS:
Sisters- 0
Lamenters- 1



TURN 4

The Dice Gods, Tzeentch, or Saint Gygax must have been listening, as this turn, Matt launched his attack! Well...sort of. Unfortunately, he didn’t commit all of his forces to it as I had hoped: the Librarian, still nursing his headache, flew into the rearmost Assault Squad along with both Sanguinary Priests, while the other Assault Squad flew forward into meltagun range of Wrath of the Faithful. His other Assault Marines, Land Raider and Rhino all moved back slightly, while the Predators continued to angle for better firing positions. So far, both of our close-ranged armies had been somewhat afraid to get into a close-ranged fight.



In the shooting phase, the Lamenters once again unleashed their considerable dakka, but once again had limited success, only stunning Vengeful Choir for the second time in a row. The Assault Squad fired their meltaguns at Wrath of the Faithful, but only managed to shake it. Annoyed, they fell back on the time-honoured tradition of smashing the thing to death and charged it, but their krak grenades failed to penetrate any armour, and the power fist missed with all three attacks! Somehow, Wrath of the Faithful was still alive and mobile!


(Blurry picture, sorry)

With an Assault Squad now grouped in front of my forces, it would have been rude not to say hello. Squad Nariko disembarked from their Rhino and moved into burninating range, while Squad Arias moved into rapid fire range as well. Squad Konstanze, meanwhile, finally zoomed forward and disembarked in front of the immobilized Predator. My Seraphim and Canonesses, however, only edged forward a little, as they were still a little too far away to charge. Plus, I knew that Matt still had another assault squad and the Terminators waiting in the wings, and I didn’t want to commit my valuable HQs to the fight only to get them countercharged. Hopefully, Squads Nariko and Arias would be good enough bait for Matt to commit his own heavy-hitters to the fight.



In the shooting phase, Squads Nariko and Arias prayed for Divine Guidance, and in the ensuing torrent of rending bolters, flamers and meltaguns, seven Assault Marines died. Unfortunately, this was not the result I had been hoping for, as I really wanted those Lamenters dead. Even worse, the yellow Marines passed their leadership test, which meant they would still be a danger next turn. The rest of my shooting was a little more pleasing, as Holy Rites actually managed to wreck the functional Predator! Squad Konstanze was a little less encouraging, only managing to melt one of the lascannons off the immobilized Predator. Though we were now tied on kill points, I had a feeling that a lot of yellow-armoured hurt was coming my Sisters’ way.



KILL POINTS:
Sisters- 1
Lamenters- 1


TURN 5

With time now running out, the Lamenters launched their big attack. The Assault Squad with both the Librarian and the two Sanguinary Priests flew over to attack Squad Arias, while the Land Raider surged forward, disembarking the Terminators in front of Squad Nariko and Wrath of the Faithful. The Rhino scooted around next to the Land Raider so that the squad inside could fire its missile launcher. Finally, the last three Marines from the first Assault Squad flew over the building to attack Vengeful Choir. Oh dear.



The shooting phase was substantially better for the Lamenters this time around, as the Land Raider’s lascannons wrecked Squad Nariko’s Rhino quite nicely. The Tactical Squad fired at Wrath of the Faithful, but missed, but the immobilized Predator managed to istun Holy Rites.





In the assault phase, the Lamenters did what Blood Angel successors do best and opened a can of Furiously-Charging hurt. The big Assault Squad made short work of Squad Arias, wiping them out before they even had a chance to strike back. To my relief, however, they only consolidated back one inch, meaning that my Canonesses and Seraphim could still go after them in my turn. The Terminators, meanwhile, introduced Squad Nariko to the concept of “Hammer time,” clobbering down six of them for no loss. Thanks to the Book of St. Lucius, however, the girls held. Finally, the last three Assault Marines one-punched Vengeful Choir, wrecking it quite nicely before consolidating away from the Seraphim.

In one quick turn, the Lamenters had taken the lead in a big way, gaining four kill points to my one. I really had to work hard to take back the lead. With this in mind, I flew both Canonesses and the Seraphim towards the Assault Marines. That was pretty much my only movement, as everything else was either in combat, immobilized, or simply didn’t need to move.



In the shooting phase, the Seraphim prayed for Divine Guidance and doused the Assault Marines with rending flames, burning three of them to death despite their Feel No Pain. The Canonesses fired their inferno pistols as well, but, ludicrously enough, both rolled ones to wound. The rest of the army, however, picked up the slack, as Wrath of the Faithful managed to wreck the Tactical Squad’s Rhino, and Squad Konstanze managed to wreck the immobile Predator. Woot! Finally, Squad Solemnas, looking for easy kill points, fired at long range from atop their building at the last three Assault Marines, but only managed to plink off one. Boo.

In the assault phase, I spent almost all of my Faith points in one big gambit. I was hoping to claw back some vital points this turn, though I knew that if the game went on another turn, I’d not only be vulnerable, but would have little faith left to protect my units with. Both Canonesses and the Seraphim prayed for Spirit of the Martyr, as did Squad Nariko, while the Seraphim also boosted their strength with Hand of the Emperor. The Canonesses both charged the Assault Marines, with Ophelia moving into contact with the Librarian, while the Seraphim dual charged both the Assault Marines and the Land Raider, hoping to do some damage with their eviscerator.



In the combat between Squad Nariko and the Terminators, the Sisters struck first, scoring two wounds...and amazingly, two ones were rolled for saves! Striking back, the Terminators found themselves beaten at their own 3+ invulnerable game, and only one Sister went down. Against my expectations, Squad Nariko had actually beaten the Terminators in combat, but the Termies spared Matt further embarrassment by passing their leadership test.

Finally, in the big combat, the Librarian cast Sanguine Sword and directed all of his attacks at Ophelia, hoping to insta-kill her before she could do the same to him. Thankfully, Ophelia’s 2+ invulnerable was up to the task, and all the hits bounced off. The rest of the Assault Marines killed two Seraphim, while in exchange, Isobel cut down two Assault Marines. The Seraphim, sadly, failed to get past Feel No Pain, even with their strength of 5, and the eviscerator girl failed to hit the fast-moving Land Raider. Ophelia, however, managed to saw down the Librarian, and the enemy power fist bounced off Isobel’s invulnerable save. The Lamenters had lost combat by one, but stuck around.



At this point, I was really afraid that the game would continue...until Matt reminded me that the managers had declared that the second round should wrap up soon, and that we would not have time for another round. Somehow, by the narrowest of margins, I had won!

KILL POINTS:
Sisters- 5
Lamenters- 4

Result: Sisters of Battle Victory!


This was probably my toughest battle of the tournament, with my victory literally being a last-minute thing. Up until the end of the game, we both were fighting a war of manouver and attrition that I was slowly losing, and it was only my last-turn gambit that won the game for me. Kudos to Matt for being such a fun opponent: he could have won the game by sitting back and engaging me at range, but in the end, he stuck to the theme and spirit of his army and charged in for the kill like a true Blood Angel, and it almost paid off for him. The overall game felt less like a battle and more like a chess match, and it was probably one of the more tactically engaging battles I’ve played in a long time.



The din of battle swirled around Ophelia, almost drowning her in a cacophany of battle-cries, gunfire and whirring chainswords. Around her, an airborne melee swirled as yellow-armoured Marines, borne aloft on tongues of flame, darted, swooped and spun in an aerial ballet with the Seraphim. Blows were traded and riposted, shots snapped back and forth, and if one stared at the combat long enough, it would have been easy to get lost amid the darting yellow jet-flames of both groups.

Ophelia briefly saw Isobel in the centre of the aerial battle, disintegrating the upper body of one Lamenter with her inferno pistol before spinning on her axis, driving her sword in the chest of a second who had been lunging at her from below. Ophelia snapped her attention back to the matter at hand-- far opposite her, she could see the enemy leader-, a blue-armoured figure whose cream robes flowed like a live thing as he hurtled through the air towards her, his heavy sword wreathed in fires of red witch-flame. Grimacing in distaste of the blatant witchcraft, Ophelia, gripped her eviscerator tightly as she met the Librarian's charge head-on.

The two of them collided in midair, the Marine's superior strength and reflexes allowing him to get the first strike. His force sword sang through the air as it batted Ophelia's eviscerator aside-- before the Canoness could dodge, his backswing came, in, swinging low past her guard to bisect her at the waist...

...and stopped, with an audible clang, as it impacted against her armour. Crackling red witchfire swirled around Ophelia, and the Canoness felt incredible heat burn at her side, but her armour held, and the witchfire barely even scorched her. A look of visible surprise crossed the Librarian's cowled, rebreather-clad face at this impossibility.

His momentary surprise was all the advantage Ophelia needed. Grabbing his sword-arm in one hand, Ophelia surged forward, driving her snarling eviscerator into the Lamenter's belly, the hungry blades shearing through the power armour in seconds. The Librarian gagged, the impact of the blow pitching him backwards. The two of them fell groundwards, Ophelia tilting her body so that her own jetback would propel them. Her eviscerator dug deeper into the Space Marine like a hungry animal as the two of them plummetted granted further force by the speed of the descent...

The Librarian hit the ground first, his impact cushioning Ophelia's as he slammed into the ground with enough force to crack the earth. The impact pitched Ophelia off of her opponent, her eviscerator wrenched from her grasp as its spinning blades stopped. Dizzily, Ophelia quickly spun to her feet. The Librarian was on his back, the eviscerator firmly embedded into his midsection. He barely managed to push himself almost into a seated position, his breathing laboured.

"I yield," the psyker said, his voice deep and clear despite the pain he was obviously in. "Your faith is truly formidable, Canoness." Although it had been spoken in a low tone, Ophelia could hear it clearly over the noise of the battle. "Lamenters, stand down."

And with those simple words, the Lamenters stopped. The aerial battle slowed as yellow-armoured Space Marines uprighted themselves into hovering positions, their pistols and snarling chainswords lowered even as the Seraphim continued to dart around them. Despite this, Ophelia pulled her inferno pistol free and pointed it down at the prone witch.

"Sisters, hold your fire!" Isobel's voice crackled over the intercom, even as Isobel herself hovered down next to Ophelia, grabbing at her pistol-arm in a gauntleted grasp. "He yielded!"

"He's a witch, Sister!" Ophelia spat. "This is some trick of his, and he and his band have already proven their skill at treachery!"

The Librarian propped himself up further, still visibly in pain. "If this were a trick, Ophelia Arcadion, then I would--"

Ophelia froze at the words. A second later, Isobel's blade was at the Lamenter's throat. "Don't," she said coldly. She knew, from training and experience, the power that names could grant a psyker. "The next thing coming out of your mouth had better be an explanation, and the next name you say had better be your own."

The Librarian's gaze shifted to Isobel, his piercing blue eyes staring unflinchingly at her. "Tiresion," he said, "Codicier of the Lamenters Chapter, Adeptus Astartes."

Isobel nodded. Around her, her Sisters and the Lamenters had settled into an uneasy silence, staring warily at one another. "You've given me your name, Tiresion of the Lamenters," she said. "Now tell me why you attacked us."

Tiresion coughed slightly-- a ragged, painful sound. "That was my order," he said. "I take full responsibility for today's bloodshed. It was a regrettable decision, Canoness, but you had forced my hand."

Isobel's blade pressed tighter to the Librarian's throat. "What do you mean, 'forced'?" she said, recalling what they had found at the last massacre sight. "What didn't you want us to discover, Space Marine?"

The Librarian seemed unperturbed by the pressure of the blade. "We did what we did for the sake of brotherhood, Canoness," he replied. "We came to this planet to save our brothers from themselves, to make them see reason. We cannot and will not forsake them, regardless of what they have done."

A frown formed across Isobel's face. "Your brothers...." she muttered. "So the perpetrators of the atrocities on this planet--"

"--are not blood-cultists, or mindless heretics, or even the legions from the Eye," Tiresion finished. "They are Space Marines."

Really interesting report. I always hate having to fire at Predators or other AV 13 with my Exorcists, those are really more melta bait. I am surprised your opponent actually closed in so late, I probably would have stayed back and pilinked off Rhinos.

Nicely done. I hope to see the rest.

Nice Report!!

SOB for the win!

BANANA MARINES!
Beautifully painted armies, well played, and the massive failure that is the Deathstrike...brilliant!

I love reading these. Lots of pics, nice armies and great explanations.

Well played in both games!

Surprised you take hand flamers on the seraphim though: With their mobility, they are usually better suited to tank hunting, than crowd control.

Some of the best fluff I've read for a tournament!

ARMY LIST EDIT: Forgot to mention the Rhinos in my army list. I've added them now.

calypso2ts wrote:Really interesting report. I always hate having to fire at Predators or other AV 13 with my Exorcists, those are really more melta bait. I am surprised your opponent actually closed in so late, I probably would have stayed back and pilinked off Rhinos.

I was pretty surprised as well, but as my opponent explained, he really didn't want to risk his HQ and Elites due to them counting for double kill points. I sort of agree with him, given that I may not have had difficulty killing his Librarian and Sanguinary Priests if they charged early.

TrollPie wrote:BANANA MARINES!
Beautifully painted armies, well played, and the massive failure that is the Deathstrike...brilliant!

Heh, I'm pretty sure Mathiaus took the Deathstrike purely for fun factor. I don't know if it ever fired during the tournament though.

J.Black wrote:Well played in both games!

Surprised you take hand flamers on the seraphim though: With their mobility, they are usually better suited to tank hunting, than crowd control.

I take hand flamers for three reasons. Firstly, I am very used to using them, and more often than not they have come in quite handy (especially with Divine Guidance). Secondly, My meltaguns and eviscerators usually pick up the slack in the anti-tank department. And thirdly, I actually do have another Seraphim squad with inferno pistols. Unfortunately, the pistols themselves are hard conversions, and refuse to stay on the models. Plus, I think I've actually lost half of the inferno pistols by now.

kestral wrote:Some of the best fluff I've read for a tournament!

Thanks! I enjoy writing batreps with a strong fluff element, even for tournament games.

lunarghost wrote:I love reading these. Lots of pics, nice armies and great explanations.

inquisitor_bob wrote:Nice Report!!

SOB for the win!

pretre wrote:Nicely done. I hope to see the rest.

konst80hummel wrote:Nice report, thanks!

Thanks! Game Three should be posted soonish!

Excellent battle reports!

The first game was predictable. Foot slogger IG tends to perform poorly in the face of Heavy Flamer toting Sisters. It appears the Deathstrike Missile was all bark and no bite.

The second game was truly spectacular. Against an army that outgunned you, you narrowly won. It seems Khorne had a hand in that game. No petty shooting, the blood god demands clash of steel and good old melee!

As always, awesome fluff!

I look forward to reading the rest. Keep up the good work!

Wow, that's great !

I love how you write your BR. That's how I want mine to look like. But I always forgot to take picture...
Anyway, congratulations on your victories, so far. That's pretty cool to see SoB fighting against well-painted/rather fluffy adversaries !

I can't wait to read your other reports

Awesome reports! Fun battles, nicely spiced up with fluff, and your writing style during the actual report parts really keeps things going.

Plus, it's great to see a sisters player kicking ass.

In the aftermath of our battle against the Lamenters, the Astartes ceased their hostilities and offered a truce after Canoness Arcadion nearly killed their leader. Though we were wary of trusting a Chapter with a reputation as tarnished as theirs we nonetheless accepted this truce, giving both our sides a respite with which to tend to our wounded. As one of the Lamenters Apothecaries (or "Calix" as they were apparently called) tended to him, the Lamenters' leader, Codicier Tiresion, spoke to Ophelia and myself, and told us why the Lamenters had attacked us, and more importantly, what they were doing on Torghal.

According to Tiresion, our own forces had not been the first to respond to the rebellion on Torghal-- when the rebellion had first broken out months ago, it had been answered by the fiery contrails of Drop Pods descending from the heavens. A company of Space Marines had descended upon Torghal with righteous fury, and within the first days of their arrival, the heretics had been utterly routed, their offensive shattered and their chain of command broken. In one fell swoop, these Space Marines had, for a time, cut the heart out of the rebellion and saved Torghal from being lost. According to Tiresion, these Space Marines were from the Knights of Blood Chapter.

I had heard of the Knights of Blood before-- our Order has had information, records, and dossiers on them supplied to us by the Ordo Hereticus in case we should run into them. They are crazed berserkers, with a long history of slaughtering the Emperor's foes, only to then massacre any civilians caught in their path.It was for this reason that the Knights of Blood had been declared Excommunicate Traitoris almost a century ago, and for this reason that they are considered to be Renegades most foul, neither to be trusted nor spared. The news that they were responsible for the massacres on Torghal was shocking, but given their nature, not at all surprising.

The Knights of Blood, Tiresion told us, had a severe flaw on their geneseed, one which caused them to be utterly consumed by something called "the Black Rage." This Rage had caused the Knights, in their frenzy, to turn upon the civilians of Torghal once they were done butchering the heretics, as they were no longer able to distinguish between friend and foe. In the months since, the Knights had been massacring their way across the planet, thinking the entire population to be their enemies.

When asked by Ophelia what this had to do with the Lamenters' presence on Torghal, Tiresion confessed that he and his company had been tracking the Knights of Blood for a year across the Segmentum. The Lamenters and the Knights of Blood shared a common ancestry through the Blood Angels, Tiresion told us, and had similar genetic flaws. He and his brothers had been trying to find the Knights of Blood and stop them, to hopefully find a way to cure them of their madness before it consumed them irrevocably. That was why the Lamenters had opened fire on us, Tiresion said. They had known that we would try to destroy the Knights of Blood, and wanted to prevent us from doing so in order to save their blood-brothers.

While the actions of Tiresion and his company were understandable, they were not excusable-- I told Tiresion that he and his brothers shared the guilt of the Knights by trying to defend them from retribution. Tiresion protested that the Lamenters had had no part in the massacres, and, like us, only wanted to stop the Knights before more innocents died. To my surprise, the wounded Librarian then knelt before us, and pleaded for us to show mercy-- the Knights of Blood knew not what they were doing, he said, and could redeem themselves if only their sanity could be restored. The Lamenters, he said, knew all too well the value of redemption, given their own checkered past, and they felt it right for the Knights of Blood to be given the same second chance. I will not deny that Tiresion's pleas were moving, but my duty to the Emperor came first and foremost. I told Tiresion that, whether they were aware of it for not, the Knights of Blood had killed innocent people and ravaged one of the Emperor's worlds. We would see justice done, and if the Lamenters hindered us, then they would be treated as our enemies.

For a moment, we expected our battle to resume. To our surprise, however, Tiresion and his men yielded and let us pass. The Knights of Blood were a few miles to the west of us, the Librarian told us, and he gave his oath that the Lamenters would interfere in our business no further. While most of my Sisters were still suspicious of the Astartes, I accepted Tiresion's word-- the look of sorrow and defeat on the faces of Tiresion and his men were expressions that no heretic's lies could imitate. With a heavy silence, the Lamenters withdrew into the jungle.

****

Once we had rested and tended to our wounded, we set off in the direction Tiresion had given us. After almost a day's travel, we saw smoke on the horizon, indicating yet another destroyed settlement in the distance. This time, however, we heard the rumble of engines in the direction of the town, and the road before us had fresh tread-marks on it. Our Seraphim scouts quickly reported numorous Astartes vehicles in the settlement, as well as Space Marine squads firing bolter rounds into the burning buildings. At last, we had caught up with the Knights of Blood. and a reckoning was now at hand.

On Ophelia's command, our Sisters moved into attack formation, driving towards the town in a solid armoured wedge. The moment the enemy's vehicles became visible on the horizon, they formed up to meet us, bringing their guns to bear and powering forwards to meet our armoured charge head on. Our two forces were like the knights of old on Nantus, charging towards one another to meet in a clash of armour and steel. The Emperor would only favour one of our sides on this day, and I prayed that our Faith would be strong enough to match the Knights' rage.
.


My next opponent was John, fielding a Knights of Blood army (strangely, the tournament featured more Blood Angel successors than actual Blood Angels). His army featured a lot of Chaos models, which he justified as the Knights scavenging equipment from their enemies due to their renegade status. This did not stop me, however, from constantly joking that his army was tainted by Chaos, and clearly deserving of the purging the Sisters were about to deliver upon them.

John took the following list:


KNIGHTS OF BLOOD



Librarian- Sanguine Sword, Shield of Sanguinius
7 Assault Marines- meltagun, Sgt w. power fist
-Land Raider
7 Assault Marines- meltagun, Sgt w. power fist
-Land Raider Redeemer
5 Assault Marines- meltagun
-Razorback- twin-linked lascannon
Librarian Dreadnought- Wings of Sanguinius, Might of Heroes
Furioso Dreadnought- frag cannon, blood fist, heavy flamer
Furioso Dreadnought- blood talons, heavy flamer
Vindicator- siege shield
Vindicator- siege shield

All in all, a pretty scary list, one which emphasized steel over flesh with lots of fast vehicles and Dreadnoughts. Just like in the last game, I would be out-gunned, out-manoueverd and out-fought, but I was particularly worried about John's Land Raiders, as, in my last tournament, my Sisters always struggled to destroy AV14 vehicles. I was hoping that my Exorcists and meltaguns might be enough to deal with this army, but I knew I would be in for a tough fight regardless.


MISSION AND DEPLOYMENT

For the scenario, we were playing Pitched Battle Secure and Control, though the secondary objective had one objective in the middle being worth double if an HQ unit was on it at the end. Interestingly (or annoyingly) enough, we both wound up on the same table that I had played on in round 2.

For objective markers, we used some of my spare models:



On the lower right of the board, a lost Sister of Battle on her way back from Comic Con-- er, I mean, a pilgrimage-- held up her banner, wondering if someone would give her a ride home before curfew.



In the upper left of the board, a Sister Repentia wondered where most of her clothes had gone.



And in the centre, an Inquisitor did what she did best and looked particularly cross.


Deployment looked like this:



Note that John's Razorback is not seen in this picture, as it was behind the white building on the left. For some reason, John also chose to hold his Blood Talon Furioso in reserve. For my deployment, I more or less bunched all my Rhinos in the centre (with both Canonesses hiding behind them for countercharge/cover purposes), my Exorcists spread out (Holy Rites on the left, Vengeful Choir in the centre, Wrath of the Faithful on the left), and my Seraphim hung on the flank. My overall plan, at the time, was "try not to die too badly."



TURN 1



I failed to seize the initiative, and so the Knights of Blood surged forward in a great spiky, bloodthirsty, but-we’re-not-Chaos-y mass. Everything moved forwards, with the fast Vindicators and Redeemer moving towards my centre while the regular Land Raider hung back to claim a cover save and take potshots at Holy Rites. The Librarian Dreadnought, for some odd reason, didn’t cast Wings of Sanguinius and instead trudged down the left of the vehicle mosh, while at the rear of the Knight of Blood lines on the far left, the Razorback angled to take some potshots of its own.

In the shooting phase, fearing scattering Demolisher templates, I had the Seraphim and both Cannies pray for Spirit of the Martyr, while the enemy Librarian, in turn, cast Shield of Sanguinius from inside the cozy confines of the Redeemer. The Libby Dread, meanwhile, ran behind the tower on the left and hid, content that the Sororitas couldn't see it. Then the actual shooting started, with the regular Land Raider opening the festivities by blasting the missile launcher clear off Holy Rites. Greeeeeat. The rightmost Vindicator followed suit by shaking Vengeful Choir. The Redeemer fired at Vengeful Choir as well with its assault cannon, but thankfully, failed to damage it, but the leftmost Vindicator made up for it by blowing up two Seraphim despite their invulnerabel save. Thankfully, my girls passed their panic test. Finally, the Razorback fired on the unprotected side of Squad Konstanze’s Rhino, shaking it.

Now down to only one functional Exorcist, I responded by advancing forward tentatively, trying to keep some open distance between our two forces in the hopes of drawing the Knights in further (hey, that tactic worked last game). Squad Solemnas leapfrogged behind Squad Nariko to claim cover, but for some reason I didn’t think to fire smoke launchers at all this turn. My Canonesses hid behind the Rhinos as well, and I had Wrath of the Faithful move up to target the Razorback. Finally, the Seraphim flew up to deal with the Librarian Dread before he got any heetical ideas about growing Wings.



In the shooting phase, Wrath of the Faithful either bounced off cover or found it couldn’t draw line of sight, I can’t remember which. In the assault phase, the Seraphim prayed for Spirit of the Martyr and charged the Libby Dread, which responded by casting Might of Heroes for a full five attacks. One Seraphim tried to block a Blood Fist with her face and got squished for her troubles, but in exchange, the Veteran Sister’s eviscerator sawed off the Dreadnought's force weapon and immobilized the big guy, winning the combat, though both sides remained locked.


TURN 2



At the start of John's second turn, the Blood Talon Dreadnought arrived from reserve and took up a position near the Repentia objective, daring the Sisters onwards with a taunt of "Come at me, bro!" (The aforementioned Dread was very confused about gender roles). The rest of his army moved closer to mine, forming a wall of steel between my Sisters and the Inquisitor objective. Nothing disembarked, as John once seemed content to pie plate my army to death rather than charge it.

In the shooting phase, I once again had the two Cannies pray for Spirit of the Martyr, while the Librarian once again cast Shield of Sanguinius over all his vehicles. The Razorback managed to stun Wrath of the Faithful despite its cover, but while the rest of his army unleashed a massive storm of lascannon, assault cannon and pie plates, I got off lightly thanks to some scatters and low armou penetrating rolls, and only ended up with Vengeful Choir and Squad Konstanze's Rhino being stunned. Whew!

In close combat, the Seraphim once again prayed for Spirit of the Martyr, and the Librarian Dread once again cast Might of Heroes as the battle between brain power and blind faith continued. This time, however, blind faith won, as the Dread couldn't get past the Seraphim's invulnerable saves and got eviscerated into a wreck in return. The Seraphim did a victory dance over the dead Dread and consolidated closer to the Knights' armoured column, in range to threaten the rest of John's vehicles.



In my turn, I flew my Seraphim after the frag cannon Furioso, while the rest of my army went on the offensive, with Isobel flying in front of the Land Raider Redeemer, Ophelia flying in front of the leftmost Vindicator, and my non-stunned Rhinos moving 6 inches into meltagun range. I figured that if the whole "pop the hatches and melta them" tactic was good enough for Guard, then it was more than good enough for my Sisters. My stunned/weaponless Exorcists hid as best they could, though given how fast Blood Angel vehicles can move to get into side arcs, I doubted that cover would protect them for very long.

And with that, one of the most awesome shooting phases I've ever had commenced. Isobel fired her inferno pistol at the Land Raider Redeemer and penetrated and wrecked it in one go, sending the surprised Librarian and and his posse tumbling out the side, where Squad Solemnas quickly greeted them by popping the hatches and meltagunning one of them down. Elsewhere, Ophelia stunned the leftmost Vindicator, while Squad Nariko managed to melt off the Demolisher cannon of the rightmost Vindie. In one shooting phase, I'd busted one of the Land Raiders and prevented both Vindicators from shooting, even with Shield of Sanguinius granting them cover. My shocked opponent said that he didn't realize that Sisters were so "melta-heavy," despite the fact that I had shown him my army list at the start of the game.



In the assault phase, Isobel and the Seraphim both prayed for Spirit of the Martyr as they charged the Assault Squad and the frag cannon Dread, respectively. Isobel quickly chopped down two of the Chaos Space Ma...Knights of Blood with her blessed sword, while force weapons, chainswords and power fists all bounced off her 2++ save in return. Despite this, the Knights passed their leadership test and stuck around.



The Furioso, meanwhile, managed to squish one of the Seraphim despite her save, but then Sister Fatima revved up her eviscerator and turned the Dreadnought into so much scrap metal. Once again, the Seraphim did their victory dance and consolidated upwards towards John's deployment zone. At this stage, John was getting really annoyed at the Seraphim, and in response I declared my mission for the Seraphim to wreck every last one of his Dreadnoughts and survive to the end of the battle.





TURN 3

Having taken some severe damage last turn, the Chaos Space Ma...Knights of Blood player retreated his forces, zooming his stunned Vindicator back near his Blood Talon Dread, and zooming his weaponless Vindie through difficult terrain next to the Land Raider. Speaking of which, the Land Raider zoomed down the right behind one of the buildings, wanting to put as much space between itself and my meltaguns as possible. The Blood Talon Dread, meanwhile, turned to move aggressively towards my Seraphim, and the Razorback angled to get a better shot at Wrath of the Faithful.

In the shooting phase, the Land Raider fired on Vengeful Choir and stunned it again (sigh), while the Razorback stunned Wrath of the Faithful again (double sigh). In close combat, I realized that I was beginning to run out of Faith points, and so chose not to have Isobel pray for invulnerability-- if she died this turn, then I would get some Faith points back, and I would be able to shoot the crap out of the Assault Marines next turn. The Knights of Blood Librarian cast Sanguine Sword with an audible "vweeem," and in the ensuing duel, hit Isobel with a strength 10 attack and insta-killed her. Before she fell, however, Isobel swung out her her blessed weapon, hacking into the Librarian twice and relieving him of his head. Woot, you go girl! As the two HQs slumped to the ground, the Assault Marines consolidated, but with his Librarian dead, John could no longer claim the secondary objective, which was good news for me.



In my turn, the Sisters of Battle closed in for the kill. Squad Solemnas disembarked in front of the remaining Assault Marines to give them a warm greeting (heh heh, warm greeting...because they have flamers, get it?), while the Seraphim flew after the stunned Vindicator. Ophelia soared over the massed vehicles to land near the platforms to the right, in the hopes of chasing down the weaponless Vindicator or Land Raider in future turns. The Rhinos of Squads Konstanze and Arias moved on top of the Inquisitor objective to claim it, while Squad Nariko's Rhino moved to take cover behind Squad Solemnas'. Oh yes, and Wrath of the Faithful tried to hide some more, and the weaponless Holy Rites did...something.

In the shooting phase, Squad Solemnas prayed for Divine Guidance and roasted the Assault Marines with flamery overkill. Mmm, roasted Assault Marines. With nothing else in range or able to shoot, I moved on to the assault phase, with the last three Seraphim charging the Vindicator. Despite needing 6's to hit, Sister Fatime landed once and managed to saw off the Demolisher cannon, turning the Vindicator into a fast-moving metal box. Once again, my opponent voiced his annoyance at the Seraphim, and I gleefully informed him that his Furioso was next.






TURN 4



With a hefty chunk of his forces destroyed, the Chao...Knights of Blood player went for broke, zooming his Land Raider down the right flank to face the side armour of my vehicles, and, more importantly, claim the Banner objective. The rightmost Vindicator followed suit, taking cover behind its big brother the Land Raider and complaining bitterly about the mean girls who had wrecked its gun. The Vindicator that the Seraphim had just maimed retreated further back, eager to get out of eviscerator range, while the remaining Furioso Dreadnought stomped forward to engage them. The Blood Talons, my opponent hoped, would solve his little flying nun problem.

In the shooting phase, the Furioso unleashed its heavy flamer, burninating one Seraphim, though the other two passed their leadership test. The Land Raider stunned Vengeful Choir with its lascannons (again), but this time, the Razorback's shots at Wrath of the Faithful bounced off cover. Hah!



In close combat, the Furioso, with an exaltant cry of "Ooooh yeah!", charged into the Seraphim (who prayed and went invulnerable), and after many furioso swings of his blood talons, killed...nothing. In exchange, though, the Sister Superior failed to cause any damage on the Furioso, and the combat was drawn. The Seraphim hit and ran out of combat, leaving the Furioso feeling incredibly lonely.



In my turn, I had a choice of either sending the last two Seraphim after the Razorback (though the Assault Squad inside would undoubtedly kill them), or going after the Furioso again. Deciding that I wanted the bragging rights of killing all three Dreadnoughts, I flew the Seraphim in behind the Furioso's rear armour. Meanwhile, the Rhinos of Squads Nariko and Solemnas moved into meltagun range of the Land Raider, and Ophelia flew in behind the Vindicator that the Seraphim had damaged. Everything else either couldn't move or stayed where it was.

In the shooting phase, Squads Nariko and Solemnas popped the hatches and fired meltaguns at the Land Raider, exploding it and killing two of the Assault Marines hiding inside. Huzzah! No more Land Raiders! Ophelia fired her inferno pistol in the rear of the Vindicator, immobilizing it. The last two Seraphim fired their hand flamer and bolt pistol at the Furioso's rear armour, but did nothing more than give it a warm, toasty feeling on its seat. Finally, Wrath of the Faithful got a bit of revenge, firing a cluster of missiles and blowing the lascannon off the Razorback. Try stunning my Exorcists now!

In the assault phase, Ophelia charged the immobilized Vindicator and made it go kaboom, though the aforementioned kaboom inflicted an unsaved wound as bits of Vindicator thwacked her in the face. In the background, "The Final Countdown" began to play as the the Seraphim prayed for Spirit of the Martyr and charged the Furioso. Once again, the Furioso unleashed a flurry of blows on the Seraphim, and once again, did nothing moe than tickle them slightly. The Seraphim struck back, hoping to add a third Dreadnought to their tally...but only succeeded in removing one of the Furioso's Blood Talons. They were probably exhausted from all the Dreadnought-sawing they'd done this game, the poor girls.






TURN 5

In the Kni...hmm, I got it right that time...Knights of Blood turn, things were looking bleak. The Knights had lost most of their vehicles, and their hold on their objectives was becoming increasingly precarious. Preparing for the worst, my opponent moved his remaining Vindicator near the Banner objective, ready to contest it in case the Assault Marines got flamered to death. The weaponless Razorback retreated behind a nearby house, barely keeping in range of the Repentia objective. And the Assault Marines...either sat on the Banner objective, or were pinned, I really can't remember.

The shooting phase was non-existent (either because the Assault Marines' meltagun missed, or again, because they were pinned), so we moved on to the assault phase. Because I was running low on Faith again, I decided not to have the Seraphim pray for Spirit of the Martyr. The end result was fairly predictable, as the Seraphim met a messy, splattery, Blood Talon-related end, giving me a Faith point back. John consolidated the Furioso closer to the Repentia objective, rejoicing that he had finally killed the Seraphim. I wasn't complaining, as my Seraphim had already earned more than their points value back, though I suspect that they might have been able to kill the Furioso if I had decided to go invulnerable with them.

In my turn, I suddenly remembered my secondary objective, and flew Ophelia down towards the Inquisitor. To my distress, the Canoness was just a few inches short of claiming it. On the right flank, Squads Solemnas and Nariko zoomed up and disembarked on either side of the Assault Marines, ready to demonstrate the joys of rending flamers, while my Exorcists, now able to fire again for the first time in ages, swivelled around to face the remaining Vindicator. Squad Arias moved their Rhino up to shield Ophelia from enemy fire (forgetting that I had already relieved the Razorback of its lascannon), and Squad Konstanze zoomed up towards the Repentia objective, popping their smoke launchers as they did so.



(Before)

In the shooting phase, Squad Nariko prayed for Divine Guidance, and proceeded to annihilate the last five Assault Marines in a demonstration of flamery overkill. Squad Solemnas, deprived of anything to shoot at, ran forwards and claimed the banner objective, though they lost one of their Sisters from moving through dangerous terrain. Ophelia, meanwhile, ran as well, making it to the Inquisitor to exhange cordial words and gossip with her. Finally, Vengeful Choir fired only a single missile at the Vindicator, and failed to harm it. Booh.



After)





We had an observer roll to see if the game would go on. Thankfully for me, it did.



TURN 6



In the final turn, the last Assault Squad disembarked from their Razorback and moved out to claim the Repentia objective, trying not to stare at the Repentia too much as they did so. The Razorback, deprived of its lascannon, zoomed forward to ram Squad Konstanze's rhino, but neither vehicle damaged the other in a fairly tepid collision (though the Sisters would be sure to demand the Knights' contact information for insurance purposes). The one-armed Furioso moved towards Squad Konstanze's Rhino as well, not quite making it into charge range. And the Vindicator...sat there.



With no shooting or assaulting, we moved onto my turn. With the Razorback blocking them from the Repentia objective, Squad Konstanze settled for driving around towards the Razorback's rear. Squad Arias, seeing that their presence near the Inquisitor wasn't needed, drove forward slowly into meltagun range of the Furioso. Finally, both Exorcists, as well as Squads Nariko and Solemnas, angled to bring their weapons to bear on the Vindicator. If the darned tank survived the following shooting phase, it would be a miracle.

Sadly, John recieved no miracles, as Squad Nariko's meltagun blew the Vindie sky high on the first shot. The ensuing explosion killed one Sister from each squad, but nonetheless ensured that I held the Sororitas banner. The rest of my shooting, however, was fairly tepid: Squad Konstanze popped their hatches and melta'd the Razorback, but only managed to stun it, and Squad Arias missed the Furioso altogether.

Once again, we had an observer roll to see if the game continued. This time, it ended, leaving me in control of two objectives (including the vital one with my HQ), and the Knights of Blood in control of one. This left me with both the primary and secondary objectives for a major victory.



Repentia objective, held by the Knights of Blood



(Banner objective, held by the Sisters of Battle)



(Inquisitor vital objective, held by the Sisters of Battle)


Result: Sisters of Battle Victory!

This was a game where almost everything went right for me: after I managed to destroy/cripple so many of his tanks on turn 2 and saw apart most of his Dreadnoughts, I was able to take control of the game and force John on the defensive. A bit of this battle came down to luck-- usually, my meltaguns whiff horribly, so I almost couldn't believe that my meltaguns were able to wreck/cripple his tanks so consistently (especially his Land Raiders). Part of it also came down to some errors on John's part- ie, leaving his tanks in drive-and melta range of mine. If he'd been a little more aggressive earlier with his tank rush, he may have been able to force me on the defensive. As it was, I was able to seize the momentum and maintain it for the rest of the game. Props go to John, though, who was great to play against even when the dice seemingly turned on him. He won a moral victory, at least, by finally taking down my Seraphim, but that was only after they'd already had their fill of Dreadnought.


Tourney results:

After the game, the manager tallied everyone's results. Against all my expectations, I came in second out of (I think) ten players, with a Tyranid player taking first place. I don't know who came in third, but I heard that one (or both) of the Chaos players at the tournament did really well.

All in all, I had a blast. I got to play against three fully painted and thematic armies played by three great opponents, and somehow managed to win all three games. My list functioned exceptionally well, and my flying Canonesses, in particular, were on fire, bagging a Land Raider, Straken, two Librarians and a crapload of Guardsmen between them. With the new "codex" approaching in a few months, I was glad to get one great tournament performance out of the current book before I have to start revising and re-thinking my army.

I should add, at this, stage, that the manager who was going to Europe has married his fiancee since the writing of this battle report. I wish them a great vacation and a wonderful future together.

P.S. Some pics of the other armies at the tournament:

Blood Angels, complete with Dante and Mephiston



Space Wolves (picture taken when they were being re-packed)



The winning Tyranid army (also caught in mid-pack)






The battle against the Knights of Blood was fierce and bloody. The renegades fought like cornered animals, counter-attacking immediately instead of retreating. While the renegade Astartes fought with unbridled fury, they had lost none of their discipline as they engaged from a distance first, laying into our Rhinos and Exorcists with a withering hail of shells and vehicle-mounted weapons. Up close, they fought savagely,howling like animals as they laid into us with pistol and chainsword, fists and boots, and even teeth. Their armour was pathwork and matted with blood, and more them one of them was wearing what appeared to be scavenged armour. At their head fought a terrible figure wielding a sword wreathed in witch-fire, and three hulking Dreadnoughts accompanied the traitors, the voxes built into their armoured sarcophogi amplifying their wordless, bloodthirsty roars as they charged at us with snapping, bloodied talons.

I was in the thick of the melee the moment my inferno pistol, with the Emperor's blessing, blasted open one of their Land Raiders.With the Blade of Tyr, I set upon the nearest group of traitors, seeking nothing more than to deliver the Emperor's justice to them and the psyker leading them. I fought through just enough of them to reach the Knights' Librarian, and I called out to him, denouncing him for his crimes against humankind and challenging him to single combat. In reply, the traitorlet out a string of fitful blasphemies-- I shall not repeat the things he said, for they are steeped in the greatest of evil, but he named me as the Arch-Heretic at whose infernal hands the God-Emperor suffered His transfixing wounds. In his madness, the Librarian thought himself to be Blessed Sanguinius, most loyal of the Primarchs, who sits eternally at the right hand of the Emperor! Such blasphemy could not be forgiven!

Our blades met again and again, the energy field of my blade crackling against the swirling warp-energies of the Librarian's accursed sword. The Space Marine was a skilled opponent, a match for me in speed and in skill, but his strength was immense, each swing knocking me backwards as though I were a leaf. I managed a return blow that stabbed deep into his abdomen, but the crazed Marine didn't even feel it as he flung me aside as though I were a rag. As we continued to duel, I realized that I was being overwhelmed-- my faith was strong, but even with the Emperor's will guiding my hand, I found myself struggling against the monstrous strength and stamina of my opponent.

And so it was that I allowed my opponent to strike a telling blow. In the end, we all serve the Emperor, whether in life or in death, and I was not afraid to die in His service. The Librarian's blade stabbed through my chest, and unimaginable pain flooded my being as the warp-flames seared into the wound. I am thankful that the Emperor granted me the willpower to keep fighting for a few seconds more, and the strengh to strike out for Him: with his blade transfixed in my chest, the Librarian was vulnerable as I swung the Blade of Tyr at his exposed head, shearing through his neck in a final swung. That is the last thing I remember before everything went dark.

As I write this now, I lie in the infirmary of the ship we arrived on, I only woke up two days ago, and my chest feels numb, but somehow I am still alive. The medicae won't answer my questions on what happened, and keep insisting that I rest. Now that I've finished this journal, I'll consent to their wishes. According to them, our task on Torghal was finished, but what happened down there will forever burden my soul...

****

EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF OPHELIA ARCADION
CANONESS,SECONDUS PRECEPTORY
ORDER OF THE BLESSED DAMSEL
RECORDED 24.999.M41

Thought for the day: A traitor chooses, a faithful servant obeys.

It has been five days since we left the Torghal system. Our engagement against the Knights of Blood was successful-- every last one of the damned traitors was purged with cleasing flame, and their ashes were scattered to the winds to suffer the same, ignoble end as all renegades. Though the Knights of Blood fought savagely, my Sisters were filled with righteous anger over what they had seen done on Torghal, and their resolve and their faith put an end to the bloodthirsty monsters. May all who turn from the Emperor's Light suffer the same fate, and may none who slay His people escape from His justice!

In the aftermath of the battle, we searched the town for survivors, and surprisingly enough, found one-- a woman, clad in leather traveller's clothes, bound by chains and seared with brands. At first, we thought her one of the poor unfortunates tormented by the Knights...until she showed us an Inquisitorial rosette, identifying herself as Bernadette Caledon of the Ordo Malleus. We have heard the name before-- Sister Isobel has had numerous dealings with this Inquisitor in the past, and had expressed an annoyance at the perpetual secrecy and callousness of the woman. Inquisitor Caledon told us that she had been investigating the Chaos cult on Torghal before the Knights of Blood had arrived, and in his madness, the Knights' Librarian had personally captured her as some sort of sacrifice. I wasn't sure if I believed Caledon or not, but I was not going to openly doubt the word of an Inquisitor. Caledon thanked us for rescuing her, and we volunteered to escort her back to the nearest Imperial world. Strangely enough, Caledon simply smiled and told us that our destinations would be coinciding, regardless of where we went.

Before we left, we caught a lingering warp-trail of another ship, presumably the Lamenters' strike cruiser, that had just left the system. Though Sister Isobel took them at their word, I still distrust the Lamenters, and have since reported their actions to the Ordo Hereticus. Scans of Torghal's surface, meanwhile, indicated that there were still pockets of the original population still alive down there. I have relayed this information to sector command, in the hopes that that can send relief to the poor unfortunates still down there.

As I write this, Sister Isobel is in the medicae, recovering from her injuries. It has been about two days since Sister Isobel woke up. The Hospitallers tell me that this is an impossibility, and I do not disagree with them-- I saw the sword of the enemy's leader stab right through the middle of her chest and punch out the other side. The force of the blow alone should have deflated one of her lungs and severed her spine, and yet Sister Isobel lives still. I thank the Emperor that so dedicated a servant as Isobel lives yet, for truly the fact that she lives is His provenances. I am tempted to lead my preceptory today to give a prayer of thanks, but knowing Isobel and how exceedingly humble she can be, I doubt she would be comfortable witht he idea.

Just after Isobel woke, Sister Solemnas, one of the Superiors from Isobel's Preceptory, came to talk to me. According to Solemnas, this isn't the first time that Isobel has survived seemingly fatal wounds-- Solemnas told me that it has happened again and again, first on Chastity 853 after she took a meltagun hit from the treacherous Dark Angels, then again during the quelling of the Suzimiya IV heresy. On Marsala, Sister Isobel was seemingly evaporated by the perfidous weapons of the Necrons, but somehow reappeared alive a week later, after which she survived countless fatal wounds in an engagement against the Tyranids. Canoness Deschain, Sister Solemnas tells, me, would have been a martyr by now, were it not for the fact that she keeps cheating death.

This news disturbs me immensely. Sister Solemnas is convinced that Isobel is touched by the Emperor in some way, or may even be a Saint. I refuse to leap to such conclusions, but these tales do suggest that the Emperor does indeed watch over Isobel. I wonder why Isobel's Sisters have never reported this until now, however, but it seems that they were not the only ones who knew. Today, Inquisitor Caledon told me that we were to alter course back to Nantus, so that she might have access to the proper facilities to "determine Isobel's nature" once and for all. I do not know what she means by this, and I am in no hurry to find out.

The Emperor Protects,
Ophelia Arcadion.

Aha ! Very nice final game !

Congratulations on your third victory and for you 2nd place in tournie

Your background story was breathtaking and I was very pleased to read it, and to see how you managed to include your opponents very thematics army in a great combination !

I will wait for your next BR !

Cheers !

Nice, I like the Stargate looking terrain piece from the first battle.

Great job! Excellent showing for the SOB!

Awesome final report. Are you planning on posting more batreps in the future? They've been great reads so far.

Fantastic reps. Enjoyed the games and the fluff.

Congratulations on the 2nd place too!

i absolutely loved reading this. Thank you, it was wonderful!

"Interestingly (or annoyingly) enough, we both wound up on the same table that I had played on in round 2."

It's probably lucky that you were both on the same table, or it would have made for a difficult game other wise! sorry, I'm a bit of a grammar nazi so find the literal meaning and piss everyone off sarcastically

Imperial Monkey wrote:i absolutely loved reading this. Thank you, it was wonderful!

"Interestingly (or annoyingly) enough, we both wound up on the same table that I had played on in round 2."

It's probably lucky that you were both on the same table, or it would have made for a difficult game other wise! sorry, I'm a bit of a grammar nazi so find the literal meaning and piss everyone off sarcastically

I think you will find that you have just fallen prey to Muphry's law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law

pretre wrote:

Imperial Monkey wrote:i absolutely loved reading this. Thank you, it was wonderful!

"Interestingly (or annoyingly) enough, we both wound up on the same table that I had played on in round 2."

It's probably lucky that you were both on the same table, or it would have made for a difficult game other wise! sorry, I'm a bit of a grammar nazi so find the literal meaning and piss everyone off sarcastically

I think you will find that you have just fallen prey to Muphry's law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law

oh poop.

Your opponent had an alarming number of vehicles, but not enough anti-infantry fire power to prevent your Sisters from winning the day. He made a fatal mistake when he moved his vehicles within melta-range.

Not many players in the community are aware of the potential in solo-Canoness. As evident in your battle reports, they are like a one girl army, wreaking havoc wherever they assault. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your Seraphim's killing spree. It's a shame they didn't survive and kill off the last Dreadnought.

As always, excellent fluff. Great job with first person narratives in both your report and stories.

Congratulations on placing 2nd out of 10 players.

It's a shame we veteran Sisters of Battle players probably won't experience the same exhilarating game play in the future white dwarf codex. 2++ Jump Canoness will be sourly missed.

Grenat wrote:Aha ! Very nice final game !

Congratulations on your third victory and for you 2nd place in tournie

Your background story was breathtaking and I was very pleased to read it, and to see how you managed to include your opponents very thematics army in a great combination !

I will wait for your next BR !

Cheers !

Thanks! I was quite happy to have been able to play three fully-painted and thematic armies, and they made it a bit easy for me to create the background fluff to this tournament.

fox-light713 wrote:Nice, I like the Stargate looking terrain piece from the first battle.

I think the guys at the store made it as magical terrain for Fantasy, though it still works well for 40k.

Zefig wrote:Awesome final report. Are you planning on posting more batreps in the future? They've been great reads so far.

I am definitely posting more batreps in the future (particularly for my Dark Eldar, now that I've been able to get some games in with them). I have already written quite a lot of batreps for my Sisters of Battle. You can find most of them on Warseer (my username there is the same as on Dakka)

SabrX wrote:Your opponent had an alarming number of vehicles, but not enough anti-infantry fire power to prevent your Sisters from winning the day. He made a fatal mistake when he moved his vehicles within melta-range.

Not many players in the community are aware of the potential in solo-Canoness. As evident in your battle reports, they are like a one girl army, wreaking havoc wherever they assault. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your Seraphim's killing spree. It's a shame they didn't survive and kill off the last Dreadnought.

As always, excellent fluff. Great job with first person narratives in both your report and stories.

Congratulations on placing 2nd out of 10 players.

It's a shame we veteran Sisters of Battle players probably won't experience the same exhilarating game play in the future white dwarf codex. 2++ Jump Canoness will be sourly missed.

I hear you on the Solo Canonesses. In one game, two of them made life hell for my IG opponent, especially after they absorbed an incredible amount of firepower. I'm hoping that this combo is still possible in the new codex, but given how GW has a track record of nerfing my favourite HQ combinations (ie, Reaver Archon for Dark Eldar, Jaguar Saurus of Doom for Lizardmen in Fantasy, etc), I'm not holding my breath.

Imperial Monkey wrote:i absolutely loved reading this. Thank you, it was wonderful!

"Interestingly (or annoyingly) enough, we both wound up on the same table that I had played on in round 2."

It's probably lucky that you were both on the same table, or it would have made for a difficult game other wise! sorry, I'm a bit of a grammar nazi so find the literal meaning and piss everyone off sarcastically

pretre wrote:Great job! Excellent showing for the SOB!

Rinkydink wrote:Fantastic reps. Enjoyed the games and the fluff.

Congratulations on the 2nd place too!

Thanks! I'm glad you all enjoyed it!

Another excellent write up

Glad to see someone else running Seraphim: Most people i used to play against in Chester said they we're over-priced and lightweight... until they played against them and realised that they were the last thing they wanted running loose in their backline

I'm sooooo gonna miss the broken H&R in the next codex

J.Black wrote:Another excellent write up

Glad to see someone else running Seraphim: Most people i used to play against in Chester said they we're over-priced and lightweight... until they played against them and realised that they were the last thing they wanted running loose in their backline

I'm sooooo gonna miss the broken H&R in the next codex

I actually use my Seraphim with the standard H&R rules...not so much because I need to, but because it tends to confuse my opponents a lot less. But agree, the broken H&R will be missed.

haha!

I find confusing opponents is the best thing about playing SOB

That, and the look on their faces when they see how much hurt a 140pt HQ can put on them.....

Excellent report, and a very enjoyable read, however in game 1 the deathstrike would have had to have gone off in turn six [at worst if it was wep destroyed in t5] because you add +1 to your roll for every turn that it had been on the table. As 5+1=6 it would have to have gone off.

Killbot3.0 wrote:Excellent report, and a very enjoyable read, however in game 1 the deathstrike would have had to have gone off in turn six [at worst if it was wep destroyed in t5] because you add +1 to your roll for every turn that it had been on the table. As 5+1=6 it would have to have gone off.

Hmm, I had knocked the timetable back with a weapon destroyed result (or two, I can't remember). Would this have prevented it from firing on turn 6 at all?