Part 2 is
HERE
Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in! Well,
CoachNitro convinced me that the best way to spend my weekend was by playing a two-part Apocalypse marathon. I could think of worse ways to spend my time so off we went and we even decided to make a little background story for the battles!
Lo, and the time of reckoning had befallen the planet as the cursed hordes of the fallen descended on the wings of destruction. Yet still, the brave defenders of humanity did stand resolute against the transgression…
…Allright, enough of that.
Abaddon totally got the keys to his old man’s charger and went to pick up some of his dudes like Mytkheva the Tzeentch demon and the bloodthirster – Ted. Abaddon totally knew where this awesome party was but Ted was all like “Dude, I gotta stop and get some Slim Jims and brews in me before we head out.” Abaddon steered the charger onto the off ramp toward the imperial planet of Grolsch 7 and said, “I know just where to go man.”
Apocalypse
Armies: Imperial Guard, Which Hunters, and Armored Company vs Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Demons
IG
I actually brought out some of the actual Glaive Company for this one. I use the rules for Shaeffer’s Last Chancers since they’re behavior in game fits the closest even though their fluff is different.
Doctrines:
Light Infantry
Close Order Drill
Rough Riders
Company Command Squad – Captain Mckinnon (Col Shaeffer) with his command squad (4 Last Chancers)
Sniper Command Squad – Lt. Mayhill (Kage) with his command squad (4 Last Chancers)
Sniper Squad 1 – 2 Specialists with Sniper Rifles, 1 Specialist with a Slugger (Lascannon) and one last Chancer
Sniper Squad 2 – 2 Specialists with Sniper Rifles, 1 Specialist with a Slugger (Lascannon) and one last Chancer
Sniper Squad 3 – 2 Specialists with Sniper Rifles, 1 Specialist with a Slugger (Lascannon) and one last Chancer
1st Platoon - CO Junior Officer with Storm Bolter and 4 guardsmen with 2 Plasmaguns, Red, Green, and Black squads each have 9 guardsmen with a Plasma Gun, a Veteran Sergeant with a Bolter, and Light Infantry
2nd Platoon - CO Junior Officer with Laspistol &
CCW and 4 guardsmen with a Lascannon, Red, Green, and Black squads each have 10 guardsmen with a Missile Launcher
3rd Platoon - CO Junior Officer with Laspistol &
CCW and 4 guardsmen with a Heavy Bolter, Red and Green squads each have 10 guardsmen with a Heavy Bolter
5 Rough Riders and a Veteran sgt with Bolter and Hunting Lances (I actually only used 4 of the 5 rough riders from lack of paying attention)
Sentinel with Multilaser (He never made it onto the table either)
WH
Inquisitor Lord with Force Weapon, Inferno Pistol, and Rosarius & 2 Familiars, 1 Veteran Guardsmen with Hellpistol &
CCW, and 1 Veteran Guardsman with a Flamer
Cannoness with Blessed Weapon, Jump Pack, Cloak of
St. Aspira, and Rosarius
Inquisitor with Bolt Bistol and Power Weapon & 2 Sages and 3 Heavy Bolter Servitors
6 Arco-Flagellants
4 Celestians, 1 Sister Superior, and a Priest with a Laspistol
13 Battle Sisters with 2 Meltaguns & a Sister Superior
14 Battle Sisters with 2 Meltaguns & a Sister Superior
Calidus Assassin
Exorcist
Exorcist
AC
Company Command Tank – Vanquisher with hull mounted Lascannon and Improved Comms
Tank Ace – Destroyer Tank Hunter
‘Emperor’s Wrath’ Artillery Battery (3 Basilisks with Indirect Fire)
6 Griffon
4 Griffon
CSM
Abbadon
Winged Slaneesh Demon Prince with Lash of Submission
Winged Slaneesh Demon Prince with Lash of Submission
5 Nurgle Terminators with Lightning Claws and Flamers and other craziness & a Terminator Champion with a
TL Bolter and Power Weapon
9 Plague Marines with a Plasmagun and a Personal Icon and a Champion with Meltabombs mounted in a Rhino with Smoke Launchers and Extra Armor
9 Plague Marines with a Plasmagun and a Personal Icon and a Champion with Meltabombs mounted in a Rhino with Smoke Launchers and Extra Armor
9 Plague Marines with a Plasmagun and a Personal Icon and a Champion with Meltabombs
Obliterator
Obliterator
Obliterator
Predator with
TL Lascannons, Lascannon Sponsons, Demonic Possession, Extra Armor, and Smoke Launchers
Vindicator with Demonic Possession, Extra Armor, and Smoke Launchers
Landraider
CD
Bloodthirster of Khorne
Fateweaver of Tzeentch
Karnak with 5 Hounds
10 Bloodletters
10 Bloodletters
Soulgrinder
Deployment
Out of lazyness we just cut the table in half at the center but we still bid for time and Nitro won. He hides his Vindicator to cover the objective on the far right and sets up his Landraider and Deamon Prince at the head of a conga line of Rhinos in the center. On the left he’s got a Predator and Deamon Prince covering the objective there while 3 Obliterators guard the one in his backfield. Since I know that’s not all that’s going to be on the left side I load up with my Cannoness, Celestians, and Inquisitor Lord to anticipate the
CC mess that is inevitable there. The units in the cathedral are all static units that can hopefully fight off anything that tries to take the two objectives in the middle while the right is made up of units that can hopefully swing the gate closed on the enemies that try to come up the middle.
Turn 1 CH
Nitro was betting that I would put my tanks right across from his and I almost did but luckily did NOT since a scheduled bombardment came down right there we recently realized the Apocalyptic Barrage template affects vehicles fully whether the center hole is on them or not so that would have been catastrophic. Unable to completely avoid destruction though an indiscriminate bombardment destroys a Basilisk along with 2 nearby guardsmen while another takes out 4 Sisters along with an entire unit of guardsmen. My answering shot only manages to Shake a Rhino and score a wound on a Deamon Prince. An Obliterator picks off a member of the sniper team in the tower while another Obliterator and the Predator take down the Inquisitor’s familiars and one of the vets.
Turn 1 IM
The surviving members of the command squad on the right take a pot shot at the obscured Vindicator with their Lascannon but fail to damage it while the nearby Basilisks have about the same luck trying to hit the Rhinos. The units in the middle do a bit better by knocking the Lascannons off of the Landraider closing in on them. Neither of the Griffons can hit the Rhino they’re aiming for which is making me re-think my heavy indirect fire choices here. One of the sniper teams does manage to take out an Obliterator scoring my only kill of the turn.
Turn 2 CH
As a constant pessimist I’m not surprised when things go from bad to crappy. The Fateweaver pops up right behind my horsies killing 4 of them. The Vindicator blows away 5 Sisters cowering in the ruins. The nearby Deamon Prince lashes the guardsmen in front of him nearer but not quite within charge range while Abbadon and his Plague Marines spill out of the Landraider to assault and kill 9 Sisters, but not completely killing them. Of course, I PASS my leadership check eliminating all hope of being able to actually kill any of that unit with firing during my turn. Karnak and his buddies arrive on their own side of the table and make a run for it while a Soulgrinder pops up nearby and kills the three Heavy Bolter Servitors. The Deamon Prince on the left leaps over the Inquisitor to assault the Celestians killing two causing the rest to fall back while the Terminators teleport right next to him to polish off the guard squad in the corner. I have to admit that morale was kind of dropping here.
Turn 2 IM
The Celestians use an act of faith to become fearless and rally while the Inquisitor blows a little buggle and charges the Deamon Prince only to find out that the thing has Initiative 6! He died the way he lived – wetting his pants. The Flagellants enter the table nearby though and charge the Terminators along with the Celestians and Cannoness. Three Terminators die without scoring any wounds themselves. The snipers in the tower of the cathedral blow a weapon off of the Soulgrinder while the Griffons continue to do nothing. The other snipers in the cathedral blow the
TL Heavy Bolter off of the Landraider as Abbadon and his cronies kill the last sisters and retreat to the safety of their tank. The newly arrived Exorcist combined fire with the guardsmen next to it to take 2 wounds off of the Deamon Prince while the Calidus pops up right in front of the Fateweaver and kills it while only receiving one wound herself. The Basilisk crew is so surprised that they accidentally fire an Earthshaker on target and kill 4 hounds. The other Basilisk fails to hit the Predator but the Lascannon armed guardsman in front of it blows the cannon off of the Vindicator.
Turn 3 CH
Both units of Bloodletters come in on separate sides of the table along with the Bloodthirster. The Vindicator fires it’s Havoc Launcher at the Sisters but fails to harm any of them while the Plague Marines nearby hop out of their Rhino and sit on the objective. The Deamon Prince in front of them charges the command squad there leaving only the Lt and one other to run for their lives. Abbadon and his marines blow away 9 guardsmen in front of them sending the last one off the table. The Soulgrinder scores a “shaken” on one of the Griffons. On the left one of the Bloodletters walks out of the warp a bit too close to the guardsmen and ends up splattered on the ruins while equal amounts of hilarity ensue as the Demon Prince lashes the guardsmen out of cover to charge them only to manage killing on of them. He can only feel a little stuck out in the open as he looks over his shoulder to see the Flagellants tearing the last of the Terminators apart.
Turn 3 IM
The rest of the reserves arrive as 1st Platoon Squad one races into position to take out the Predator and hopefully seize the objective on the left along with Mayhill’s squad. The Celestians and snipers kill 4 Bloodletters as the Flagellants and Cannoness make short work of the Demon Prince. The Vanquisher and another Exorcist arrive right in front of the Soulgrinder and immobilize it along with blowing another weapon off leaving it to just sit and hope someone charges it. The nearby Inquisitor just says “Yeah sure. I’ll get right on that!” as he and his sages high tail it into the ruins. The sniper battle between the Obliterator and the boys in the tower continues on as the Griffon adds to the pointlessness. The other snipers in the cathedral manage to immobilize the Landraider though saving the Imperial tanks from a probable ramming. I know I show the Deamon Prince dying here and I know that he does but I think it actually happens on the next turn (I’ll cover that later). The last surviving Rough Rider tries to make himself into a speed bump against Abbadon’s assault on the center of my lines as the Calidus tries to follow behind. The Sisters and Lascannon armed guardsmen actually get the Bloodthirster down to one wound which leaves it up to the Exorcist and Destroyer to finish him off. The one Basilisk that can hit things actually takes an opportunistic shot at the deployed Plague Marines covering the objective across from it killing 4 and shaking the Rhino.
At this point we decide to call it a night and I really can’t see how I’m going to be able to hold onto more than 2 objectives at the end of this game, but as we get settled at the table on the next day I am committed to finishing this game no matter how incompetent it makes me look.
Turn 4 CH
Remember the mysterious death of the Deamon Prince? Yeah, well I think he charged the Calidus right here and they both died. At least, that’s what I’m going to say happened since she died this turn too and I don’t have any notes on it. The Vindicator and Bloodletters on the right make short work of the Sisters but not before the Sisters can take down 4 Bloodletters in return. The marines mount back up and get their Rhino behind some cover to formulate a new plan. Abbadon isn’t fooled at all by the lone Rough Rider as he and his boys charge the guardsmen in the backfield annihilating them. The Obliterator turns his arm into that gun from ‘Runaway’ and fires two guardsman-seeking bullets at the snipers in the tower while the other Obliterator turns his arm into an MP3 player loaded with Journey’s greatest hits. Although they both display equal amounts of awesome this turn only one of them scores any wounds. The Bloodletters charge the Flagellants and even though they only lose 1 to their 3 it looks like this is going to be the end of the line for the poor demons. The Predator manages to get one shot through the window at the dangerously close Plasma armed squad closing in on it killing one.
Turn 4 IM
The Basilisks continue to do poorly so I won’t even bother to illustrate them firing, but the Guardsmen, Exorcist, and Destroyer in the backfield all open up on the Plague Marines leaving only 3 of them standing and one pissed off looking lord of chaos. The last Rough Rider screams as loud as he can while galloping at full pace with his eyes closed at the hounds and manages to kill them both. The last sniper in the tower fails to hit the Obliterator across from him while the Exorcist and Vanquisher destroy (but don’t annihilate) the Soulgrinder. Good for the Flagellants but it still makes a pretty big road block for the tanks. As expected, the flagellants destroy the Bloodletters but not without losing two of their own as the Cannoness swoops in to take all of the glory. The Plasma gunner lines up his shot at the back of the Predator and misses the gigantic tank sitting 10 feet away from him. ‘Imperial corrective lens glasses – 5 points’
Turn 5 CH
With the amount of Scoring units suddenly evaporating Abbadon decides to take matters into his own hands as he disengages from his marines and wipes out a guard squad single-handedly while his pals destroy an Exorcist by pouring gunpowder into one of their suits of armor and throwing a match in. Unfortunately the marine was still inside but all in all it still counts as a success. The Obliterator finally kills the last sniper in the tower by under-throwing a quarter to him. The Predator crew decides it’s luck has just about run it’s course and it proves itself right as it becomes immobilized the moment it tries to move into the ruins.
Turn 5 IM
The Lascannon armed guardsman on the left takes out the Havoc launcher on the Vindicator as the two Basilisks and the other nearby command squad move to hold the objective wile taking down one of the Bloodletters. The snipers in the cathedral make a move to hold the objective in the middle while the units on the far left do the same. Everyone else takes a knee and runs out the clock as there is no way for Chaos to pull this one off.
Results:
IM – 4
CSM – 2
Victory Imperium!
Post Battle Report:
Part of the reason to end the game here was that we had also planned a continuation game. A 3 turn only Apocalypse game where we would try to cram as many crazy data sheets as possible into the game. So, Abaddon was foiled and now the imperial forces are trying to finish him off while he’s stretched thin. Meanwhile he’s on the cell phone calling all of his main dudes to come bail him out. This was a crazy game though! It just goes to show you that no matter how crappy your dice roles are your opponent’s can always be worse! I can’t count the number of times I rolled 6’s to penetrate a vehicle then 1’s on the table. Just when I lost all hope, during the last half of the game Nitro couldn’t make any invulnerable saves nor could he roll a run distance of more than 2”. This one was definitely full of some good old bloody action though! Lots of carnage = good times! Stay tuned for part 2!
Bretonnians 
