Laurentix is an M-class planet in the Ultima Segmentum, located some fifty thousand light years from Ultramar. It is a fairly average industrial world which generates regular tithes to the Imperium, and in all respects is fairly unremarkable but for the ruins which dot its surface. Numerous alien buildings and artefacts are strewn across Laurentix’s surface, and more than a few are even located in the planet’s primary hive, Endarius. Though these sites have been on the planet since before the first human colonists arrived, little is known about them or their makers. It is for this reason that the Ordo Xenos maintains several research stations and personnel on the planet, and all of the alien sites are guarded and studied closely. If there are indeed any insights on who left these relics on Laurentix, or what the purpose of these artefacts was, the Inquisition has been silent on the matter.
While it is fairly close to the outermost edges of the Tau Empire—a fact of concern for both the locals and the Inquisition—Laurentix is fairly protected. Not only does the planet possess a sizeable PDF and an impressive network of fortifications, but its moon, Nemesis, is home to an Adeptus Mechanicus forge, which holds both a large number of orbital weapons batteries, but also several ancient Reaver Titans and other super-heavy vehicles. It is for this reason that the Inquisition was, up until the end of the Milennium, confident in the planet’s security.
This all changed in late M41, when the planet came under attack by the ever-expanding Tau Empire. In the conflict that followed, both the defenders and the Tau fought each other to a stalemate, and for a while it even seemed that the aliens would be forced to withdraw. At the height of the fighting, however, the warp tore open above Laurentix, and a vast fleet of ramshackle ships and asteroids emerged above the planet. This fleet was not alone, however, as vast, spacefaring beasts, some the size of cities, accompanied the ramshackle fleet, approaching Laurentix like vultures to a carcass. Before either the Imperium could react, a combined horde of Orks and Tyranids swept down upon the planet and drowned the defenders in a tide of bodies. While Nemesis was kept safe by its impressive defences, Laurentix was swiftly overrun, its defenders slaughtered and its cities shattered.
The loss of Laurentix was keenly felt, for not only was Laurentix a major industrial world, but the Inquisition considered the loss of the alien ruins to be a potential danger in and of itself. The fact that the Orks and Tyranids were seemingly working together alarmed xenobiologists, who quickly speculated that the Orks were controlling the Tyranids somehow through either technological or psychic means. Indeed, reports indicated that more than a few of the Tyranid leader-beasts had strange pieces of Ork machinery affixed to them. While the Orks’ seeming ability to control the Tyranids was alarming, Imperial intelligence quickly confirmed even worse news: the Orks were being led by none other than Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka himself.
Initial reports indicated that the Orks were converting Laurentix’s factories for their own uses, creating war machines and arms for their continuing Waaagh, though substantial numbers of Greenskins seemed to be milling around the alien sites. The Tyranids, alarmingly, seemed drawn to the sites as well instead of devouring the planet, as was their typical behaviour. While an entire Imperial Battlegroup, under the command of Commissar Yarrick himself, had been dedicated to pursuing Ghazghkull, that battlegroup, whether due to the fickle nature of the warp or the Ork Warlord’s cunning, was half a segmentum away. A force needed to be mobilized to retake Laurentix, and quickly.
Battlefleet Ultima gathered what ships it could for a fleet, while Astartes from the Space Wolves, Blood Angels and Dark Angels pledged themselves to the campaign—the Space Wolves, in particular, sent two Great Companies under the overall command of Logan Grimnar himself. The entirety of the Cadian 112th Regiment was also diverted to the campaign, as was a large portion of the Order of the Blessed Damsel. Numerous undisclosed Inquisitorial forces were also attached to the campaign, with Inquisitor Bernadette Caledon o acting as both Inquisitorial liason and central authority of the campaign. Because the Inquisition had invested so much in Laurentix, they took a very active administrative role in the campaign—something that the notoriously independent Space Wolves only tolerated because of an honour-debt that they had to Inquisitor Caledon.
As the reclamnation fleet neared Laurentix,Ghazghkull’s armada was quickly brought to battle. As warships exchanged fire in orbit, Caledon sought to contact the Mechanicus on Nemesis, hoping that the Techpriests would pledge their Titans to the campaign. To her surprise, however, the Mechanicus responded by firing on the orbiting fleet, destroying three light cruisers in an instant. As the wreckage of the ships floated outwards, several more ships became inoperable as unorthodox machine codes corrupted their systems, disabling life support and leaving them drifting, motionless hulks. All attempts to contact the Mechanicus and demand an explanation from them were met only with voiceless static.
With aliens below them and traitors occupying a strategically important position, the Imperial forces were forced to divide in half. The Blood Angels and Dark Angels, under the overall command of Deathwing Master Belial, descended on Nemesis to bring retribution to the traitors. They were quickly joined by Astartes from an as-yet unidentified Chapter, who arrived late to the campaign pledging their aid. While the bulk of the Astartes forces assailed Nemesis, the remaining Imperial forces, under the overall command of Lord Grimnar, utilized quick-moving transports to make planetfall through the ship-to-ship crossfires and land near Endarius, where the majority of Ghazghkull’s horde was massed. Grimnar hoped to reclaim the alien artefacts from Ghazghkull and defeat his forces in a single decisive blow. Upon arrival, the remaining Tau forces—who had been fighting a guerrilla war against the Orks since Laurentix’s fall—approached the Imperial forces under a flag of truce and offered their aid. Reluctantly, Lord Grimnar agreed, knowing that, with his forces now under-strength, he would need all the support he could get.
If there was any lesson that the Imperium had learned from the costly Armageddon Wars, it was the folly in underestimating a Greenskin as brilliant or as dangerous as Ghazghkull. Thus, it came as no surprise that when the armies of the Imperium converged on Laurentix’s capital, Ghazghkull was waiting for them...
Last week, my
LGS held an Apocalypse game, and for once, I found the time to attend. Seeing as they were my largest and most fully-painted
40k army, I brought along my full Sisters of Battle army. Several other players showed up as well, and at first, it looked like it was going to be a straight up Imperium vs Xenos bash in a ruined cityscape. Because the xenos were at a points disadvantage, however, the organizer instead split the game into two tables. Most of the Space Marine armies (and all of our super-heavies!) wound up on an adjacent table battling against the organizer’s Adeptus Mechanicus army, leaving my Sisters on the main table allied with Imperial Guard, Tau, and Space Wolves (who looked like Crimson Fists, though I was assured that they were using Space Wolf rules). Opposing us was a combined horde of Orks and Tyranids, with two Stompas, two Hierophants, a Squiggoth, and a lot of killy hordes between them. While I would have liked to keep some of our super-heavies, given what our opponents had, I was nonetheless confident that my Sisters could burninate anything the enemy threw at them.
After setting up and discussing strategy, the game began.
Table 2
As the Astartes made planetfall near Nemesis’ primary manufactorum, they discovered tthe Mechanicus mobilized and waiting for them, with a full company of tanks standing ready under the shadow of a mighty Reaver Titan. More shocking, however, were the ranks of silver constructs which marched alongside the tanks, and the pyramid-shaped Monolith which hovered at the head of the armoured column. A Necron presence had manifested itself on Nemesis, and the Mechanicus had apparently joined forces with them.
Atop the main manufactorum, two ethereal figures hovered, their very presence striking unspeakable dread into the Astartes forces. The truth immediately became apparent: the Mechanicus of Nemesis had unearthed two of the dreaded C’tan, and had fallen under their thrall. Belial ordered that not a single one of the Traitors must live, lest the dominion of the Star Gods spread further.
The Astartes forces wasted no time in launching their attack. On the right flank, an ancient Stormlord tank, retrieved from the primary landing site, bore Belial and his Terminators into battle. Behind it, one of the revered Dreadnoughts of the Dark Angels took cover from the enemy’s heavy weapons.
In support of the Deathwing’s attack, the unidentified Astartes Chapter laid down supporting fire from the ruins, hammering the Mechanicus with vehicle-mounted weapons and Thunderfire cannons.
While the Deathwing launched their frontal assault, one of the Astartes Thunderhawks swooped down on the rear of the battlefield, raking enemy tank formations and the Reaver with heavy fire.
With one of the Necron Lords in their sights, Belial and his retinue charged out of the Stormlord to eliminate the alien and its accompanying swarms of Scarabs. Countless metallic insects were crushed by crackling power fists.
Though the Deathwing’s assault smashed aside all resistance, the Necron Lord used its Veil of Darkness to escape Belial’s claws, teleporting onto the manufactorum next to its deathly master.
As the battle raged, a Stormraven of the Blood Angels chapter swooped in, unleashing the fury of the Death Company and one of their berserk Dreadnoughts upon the enemy tank line.
In the wake of the Death Company’s assault, more Blood Angels arrived on the right flank and struck hard against the Mechanicus’ armoured columns, leaving wrecked and burning vehicles in their wake.
At the back of the Mechanicus lines, a Thunderhawk landed, and yet more Blood Angels poured out to attack the Reaver itself.
Terminators from the unidentified Chapter quickly joined the Blood Angel assault on the Reaver, teleporting into action behind enemy lines.
In response to the Astartes onslaught, an enemy Lightning fire swooped down to strafe the Blood Angels attacking the Reaver, desperate to save the god-machine from destruction.
Even as the Blood Angels wrought destruction upon Mechanicus and Necrons alike, they were momentarily thrown back as the Nightbringer descended upon them, slaying the Sons of Sanguinius with each swing of its ebon scythe. Fearlessly, the Death Company charged the Star God, and in the ensuing clash, managed to shatter its necrodermis. The Nightbringer would have its revenge, however, as it disappeared in a powerful explosion of energy which killed every single one of the Death Company.
Having cut their way through the Scarabs, Belial’s Terminators charged on to confront the golden form of the Deciever. The C’tan was a much more formidable foe, however, and the Sons of the Lion fell one by one as the Deciever’s blows passed through Terminator armour like a knife through paper.
As the battle raged, much enemy fire was directed against the Stormlord, inflicting many crippling blows upon the ancient tank. Finally, the Necron Lord who had escaped Belial flew in and carved the tank open with its crackling warscythe, reducing it to a smoking wreck in seconds.
Yet more Mechanicus aircraft arrived on the scene, hoping to halt the Astartes onslaught once and for all.
In the ongoing melee, Belial found himself standing alone against the Deciever. Unable to harm the Star God, he was felled by a single mocking blow from the monster. Laughing, the golden-skinned alien floated away, seemingly satisfied with knocking Belial out instead of killing him.
The battle around the Titan continued to rage as Dreadnoughts and Terminators charged the metal leviathan, tearing through its reinforced armour and inflicting grievous damage.
At the height of the battle, most of the enemy tanks had been destroyed or crippled. The commander of one damaged Leman Russ, bereft of his weapons, instead resorted to ramming as many Astartes tanks as he could.
Even as Belial fell, more and more Terminators of the Deathwing arrived, laying into the Necrons with storm bolters and crackling power fists.
The sole survivor of the ill-fated Death Company, the Reclusiarch leading the Blood Angels continued to lead the onslaught against the tanks of the Mechanicus.
At the height of the battle, as the Deathwing began to deploy in full force, the remaining Necrons abruptly vanished, the laughter of the Deciever echoing on the wind. Deprived of their allies, the Mechanicus forces, now outnumbered and outgunned, fought desperately to survive, but their fate was inevitable. Before long, every one of the Traitor techpriests was cut down by the Astartes onslaught, and even the mighty Reaver Titan was felled. With the traitor Mechanicus dealt with, Belial ordered the manufactorum complex to be cleansed and all production and storage facilities secured. Nemesis was back in Imperial hands.
Table 1
As the battle for Nemesis raged in orbit, Imperial forces moved in to attack Ghazghkull’s hordes from opposite flanks in a classic pincer movement. The Orks and their Tyranid auxiliaries were waiting for them, however, with a large number of monstrous beasts and massive war machines bolstering their forces.
On the left flank, the bulk of the Tyranid horde gathered, with broods of lesser creatures swarming around the legs of a massive Hierophant.
The Tyranids were not alone on that flank, however, as a clanking host of Killa Kans and Deffdreads swarmed around a Big Mek’s Stompa, eager to give the ‘umies a good stompin’.
Opposing the aliens, only a few Space Wolf and Sororita tanks stood ready on a thinly-guarded flank.
Atop a shrine at the rear of the Tyranid lines, a strike team of four Vindicare Assassins remained hidden as they took aim at the Hierophant.
On the right flank, the Orks massed in a green tide, with a Stompa and a roaring Squiggoth towering above the Greenskins. A few Tyranid beasts stalked amongst the Greenskins as well.
A huge mob over a hundred Orks massed on the right flank, led by none other than Ghazghkull himself.
The Green Tide was faced by innumerable guns as the tanks of the Cadian armour, backed by their Tau allies, prepared to blast the Orks to oblivion.
From atop ru
ined buildings, the Cadians set up heavy weapon emplacements to rain fire on the Orks below.
Further to the right, infantrymen manned the fortress walls,
Inside one of the wrecked buildings, the Cadian General and his staff oversaw the battle. Throughout the conflict, the General displayed erratic and paranoid behaviour, insisting that some foul creature was out to kill him.
At the rear of the battlefield, Tau Broadsides and Hammerheads prepared to blast the larger Ork vehicles and monsters with precise railgun fire.
The battle began noisily as, with an almighty WAAAAAGH!, Ghazghkull’s horde seized the initiative and surged forward. Behind them, another of the gargantuan Hierophants stalked towards the human lines, hissing menacingly.
On the left flank, the clanking mob of Ork walkers stomped forwards, not waiting for their Tyranid allies as they unleashed dakka on the Imperial lines. In their wake, the Tyranids surged forward in a chitinous, fanged mass.
The Stompa unloaded its full arsenal on the Imperial tanks, immobilizing the Terminus Ultra, wrecking one Exorcist and shaking another.
In response to the Greenskin onslaught, a drop pod slammed into the earth behind the clanking Stompa. Logan Grimnar stepped out, along with his champion Arjac and a grizzled squad of Long Fangs.
Manouvering into firing positions, the Space Wolves hammered the oncoming Orks, annihilating the Battlewagon in a fiery blaze. Logan and his Long Fangs fired into the unprotected rear of the Stompa, causing critical damage and dropping two structure points from the metal beast.
From the cover of a ruined hab-block, a squad of Long Fangs and Inquisitor Caledon’s retinue rained heavy weapons fire down on the advancing xenos. Multiple times throughout the battle, Inquisitor Caledon used her formidablec powers to unleash the Hammer of Witches upon the psyker-beasts of the Tyranids, grievously wounding the Hierophant twice.
On the right flank, the forces of the Imperium and the Tau fired at will on the oncoming Orks.
The rain of ordnance fire cut a swathe through the Orks, sending green bodies flying in all directions. By the time the barrage subsided, less than half of the Green Tide remained.
The Cadians were so preoccupied with the Orks, however, that they were caught utterly by surprise as a brood of Genestealers bounded in on their unprotected flank.
The Tau, similarly, failed to notice a mob of Kommandos sneaking up behind their lines, the infamous Boss Snikrot at their head.
Further to the right, foul wings blotted out the sky as Gargoyles, Shrikes, and a winged Hive Tyrant swooped down on the unguarded Tau flank.
The remnants of the Green Tide, meanwhile, surged towards the fortress, intent on getting some payback on the Umies.
In the wake of the Green Tide, the Stompa and Hierophant strode onwards, raining shells and bio-ammunition on the Imperial Guard. Several tanks were devastated as the full firepower of the behemoths was brought to bear on them.
From behind a ruined pipeline, a Primaris Psyker attempted in vain to blind the enemy with his powers, the intensity of the battle and the insidious presence of the Hive Mind thwarting his attempts.
As the battle raged, the Cadian commander’s pet cyber-dog personally attempted to defend one of the alien artefacts in a brave, albeit futile, gesture.
Shrieking, the Tyranids swooped down upon the Tau, the Hive Tyrant personally tearing the nearby Broadsides apart in a welter of gore.
A squad of Cadian infantry quickly shared the same fate as the Genestealers tore them to pieces, before running onwards towards the vulnerable line of tanks.
With Ghazghkull at their head, the Green Tide tore their way onto the walls of the fortress and began to smash and kill their way across its ramparts.
With a great WAAAAGH, Snikrot and his Kommandos pounced on the unsuspecting Broadsides, brutally hacking them down with choppas or cutting their suits open with burnas.
On the left flank, the Dread Mob continued to surge forwards, mechanical pincers clacking excitedly.
Incensed by the damage done to the Stompa, a mob of Killa Kans turned to face the Long Fangs. The hulking beast known as Old One Eye thundered up to join them. A few of the Long Fangs fell as the distant Hive Guard began to fire upon them, though under the Great Wolf’s watchful gaze, they held firm.
At that same moment, a brood of Ymgarl Genestealers burst from their hiding spot in the manufactoria, right next to the Space Wolf tanks. Before the Space Wolves could react, the Ymgarls charged both the Vindicator and the Predator, though thankfully they caused only superficial damage.
One of the distant Hierophants turned its bio-cannons on the Space Wolves’ Land Raider Crusader, wrecking the ancient tank instantly. The Wolf Guard who had been riding inside were quickly forced to disembark.
The Wolf Guard quickly became the target of much enemy fire as the Stompa, and much of the Tyranid swarm, fired into them. One by one, the Wolf Guard fell to a blistering salvo of rokkits, shells and bio-ammunition, until only one stalwart warrior remained.
Roaring, Old One Eye crashed into the Long Fangs, with the Killa Kans eagerly joining in. Logan Grimnar bellowed for his warriors to hold in the name of the Allfather.
The ensuing fight was fierce and bloody. Though two Long Fangs were crushed by Old One Eye’s claws, the beast in turn had its skull split upon by Arjac’s Foehammer, while Logan swung the Axe Morkai in a wide arc, shattering one Killa Kan like a child’s toy and leaving another immobilized.
At a hidden command, the Inquisition authorized a counterattack. From out of the shadows, four Eversor Assassins bounded towards the surprised Ymgarl Stealers.
At the same time, Inquisitor Caledon’s own psyber-wolf, Loki, burst onto the field, eying the nearby Tervigon hungrily.
Nearby, a pack of Thunderwolf Cavalry rode onto the battlefield, a mighty Wolf Lord at their head. Seeing the threat posed by the nearby Megadread, they resolved to tear the Ork machine to pieces. Further to their left, the Stompa met its end as the Sororitas Exorcists concentrated their fire on it, bringing it toppling to the ground in a flaming wreck.
As Snikrot’s Kommandos chopped and burned away at the Broadsides, a shadow fell over them as Bjorn the Fell-Handed strode onto the battlefield directly behind them.
At the same time, young Skyclaws descended upon the Genestealers, eager to test their mettle against the fearsome aliens.
More reinforcements arrived on the right flank as Grey Hunters, Thunderwolves and Battle Sisters prepared to counter-attack the Tyranids.
Led by their wizened Rune Priest, the Grey Hunters moved to attack the Winged Tyrant leading the Tyranid swarm.
Singing hyms of devotion to the Emperor, Canoness Deschain and her Seraphim descended onto the battlefield near one of the alien artefacts, intent on holding it against the xenos.
The Seraphim were not the only ones who sought the objective, as Tau Devilfish transports arrived at the north of the battlefield, their Pathfinder and Fire Warrior passengers disembarking to take up firing positions.
At the same time, a Tau Stealth Team materialized into view near the Tervigon, blasting a few wounds off of it with their burst cannon.
After sundering two of the Shrikes with flamer and melta fire, the Battle Sisters charged the Tyranids, knowing that they had to hold them up for as long as possible.
Though eight of the Sisters fell to the glowing boneswords of the foe, another Shrike was smashed down as the Sisters were strengthened by the Hand of the Emperor. The last two Sisters fought on, knowing that they were buying the Space Wolves valuable time.
As the Sisters fought desperately against the Shrikes, the Thunderwolves ploughed through the Gargoyles, annihilating the winged beasts utterly, while the Grey Hunters charged the Hive Tyrant. While one chainsword-blow pierced the beast’s carapace, four Space Wolves were torn apart in return, but the Sons of Russ fought on.
Meanwhile, the Skyclaws howled as the charged the Genestealers. Though a few of the young warriors were torn down, the entire brood was brutally hacked apart in exchange by the berserk fury of the Space Wolves.
Along with the last surviving Wolf Guard, the Assassins charged the Ymgarl Stealers, all but wiping the brood out.
The Thunderwolves, meanwhile, charged the Megadread. For all of their skill, however, they could not damage the Ork contraption, and the fight dragged on.
Loki, similarly, charged the Tervigon and tore a deep wound out of the beast. In exchange, however, the Tervigon’s claws stabbed deeply into the psyber wolf, and the two fought on. The fight between the two beasts would drag on, with the Tervigon eventually emerging the winner.
The last Killa Kan proved no match for the Great Wolf, and was cloven in twain by the Axe Morkai. Now free of combat, Logan, Arjac and the last of the Long Fangs set out to find more Ork vehicles to destroy.
As the fighting intensified, numerous Cadian tanks became destroyed or disabled by enemy fire. Knight Commander Pask’s own Vanquisher had its turret damaged and its tracks thrown. A Techpriest and his orderlies were brought in to fix the damage, enduring the storm of Pask’s cursing all the while.
The Cadian General, however, continued to fret and worry over the alleged creature that was after him. The above pict is the last image of the General and his staff before all contact with them was lost.
Even as the Thunderwolves rode to the rescue of the Sisters, the ground underneath them shook. A few seconds later, a mighty Trygon Prime burst out of the earth, a swarm of hissing Raveners slithering up all around it.
Impelled by the Hive Mind, a swarm of shrieking Termagants rushed towards the Seraphim, firing their fleshborers ineffectively as they did so.
Roaring, the Squiggoth thundered towards the entrenched Cadians, the Boyz in the howdah shouting and hollering as they eagerly prepared to get stuck in.
Leading the pitiful remnants of the Green Tide, Ghazkghkull moved up to capture one of the alien ruins. The Ork Warlord did not seem overly concerned over the number of Boyz he had lost.
On the right flank, a Mycetic Spore slammed down near the embattled Assassins, and a foul, sinuous creature hovered out. Worried Inquisitorial ciphers quickly confirmed the beast as the dreaded Doom of Ma’lantai. Thankfully, the will of the Imperium’s warriors was strong enough to resist the soul-draining abilities of the Doom, and the Beast’s psychic discharge against the Long Fangs dissipated against their cover.
At the same time, another Mycetic Spore dropped down at the back of the Sororitas lines, disgorging a trio of Zoanthropes. The ground shook as another Trygon Prime burst up from under the earth, accompanied by a brood of Raveners. Despite the psychic defences of Inquisitor Caledon, the Zoanthropes quickly annihilated the Terminus Ultra with a series of warp blasts, while the Trygon similarly destroyed an Exorcist with a blast of its bioelectrical field.
The Termagants surged forward in a chittering mass, the nearby Tervigon giving them immunity to pain. Despite this, they only killed one Seraphim, and lost ten in exchange to the vengeful blows of the Sororitas.
Eager to stomp some Umies, the nearby Deffdread charged in to help the Megadread against the Thunderwolves. Although the Wolf Lord finally smote the Megadread with a mighty blow of his thunder hammer, two brave Thunderwolves were crushed in return.
Hissing, the Raveners charged the nearby Rhino, surrounding it. With all of their escape routed blocked, the Canoness and her Celestian retinue were eaten alive as the Raveners tore their transport open.
Elsewhere, another Killa Kan charged Logan and his retiue. Although the last of the Long Fangs fell to the Kan’s snipping claws, Logan’s vengeance was swift as he smashed the machine down with a single blow of Morkai.
With the left flank in danger of collapse, a Callidus Assassin suddenly appeared next to the Zoanthropes, firing her neural shredder at the brain-beasts to no visible effect. Undaunted, she charged in, her glowing phase sword making a mockery of the Zoanthropes’ warp fields as she stabbed and sliced at them.
At the same time, two Rhinos full of Battle Sisters arrived to confront the Tyranids, as did Canoness Arcadion. As one, the Sisters prayed for Divine Guidance and riddled the Trygon with bolter and flamer rounds, while the Exorcist blasted chunks out of it with its missiles, but the beast refused to fall.
In the centre, the Tau Commander and his Bodyguard dropped into the fray, weapons at ready. Nearby, the Seraphim finished off the Termagants, leaving the gate objective firmly under Imperial control.
On the right flank, an Iron Priest and his cyber-wolves arrived to find the Imperial Guard lines in danger of being overrun. Valiantly, the Iron Priest charged the Hierophant, vowing to buy time with his life if necessary.
Elsewhere, the fighting on the right flank intensified as yet more Grey Hunters arrived, while the Thunderwolves engaged the Raveners. In the centre, the Hive Tyrant slew another Grey Hunter and wounded the Rune Priest as the Space Wolves continued to struggle against the beast.
Bjorn demonstrated why he was called the “Fell-Handed” as he smashed his way through the beleaguered Kommandos. Although his Boyz had no way of hurting the metal giant, Snikrot refused to run, obviously having some sort of sneaky plan in mind.
Seeing a chance to win glory for themselves, the Skyclaws howled as they charged Ghazghkull and the remnants of his Boyz, determined to take the dreaded Warlord down once and for all.
Unfortunately, the Skyclaws’ recklessness was their undoing, as the Beast of Armageddon and his remaining Nobz crushed the young Space Wolves with contemptuous ease, leaving only one Skyclaw to face Ghazghkull on his own.
With the last Ymgarl dealt with, the Assassins and Wolf Guard charged the Doom, once again resisting its soul drain. Though they rained blow after blow down upon the foul creature, however, not one managed to pierce its crackling warp-field.
Elsewhere, the Thunderwolves continued to battle against the Deffdread. Though their mounts tore away at the walker’s arms and legs, the Ork contraption remained standing.
Determined to bring the Trygon down, Canoness Arcadion revved up her eviscerator and charged, praying for the Spirit of the Martyr and the Hand of the Martyr as she did so. The snakelike monster struck first, inflicting a grievous wound on the Canoness, but the Mantle of Ophelia kept her alive. In exchange, Arcadion invoked the Emperor`s name as she sawed the Trygon in half. Even as the Trygon fell, however, the Canoness found herself too far away to prevent the Raveners from claiming the tower.
Logan heard and smelled the the Ork walker coming at him long before he saw it, the thick toxic smoke belching from its stacks and the rumble of its footfalls doing nothing to mask its presence. The can-like contraption was stomping towards him at full speed, an insane, mechanized cackle emanating from its speakers over the whirling snarl of its drills and the wheeze of its hydraulics. And it was coming up fast: it never ceased to amaze Logan how, in spite of their crude design, the Greenskin walkers could be so bloody damned fast.
As fast as it was, it had the skill of a blind Blood Claw drunk out of his mind. Moving with practiced ease, the Old Wolf threw himself sideways with a speed that belied his heavy Terminator armour, effortlessly avoiding the lunging claw of the Kan. The Axe Morkai swung up in a flashing arc, shearing through hydraulics and wires alike in a single blow and sending the ruined metal arm crashing to the ground and leaving only a fizzing, useless stump in its wake. He heard the pilot shriek in shocked terror, just before he reversed his swing, clutching the handle of this axe with both hands to put all of his strength into it. There was a terrible peal of metal on metal as the gleaming axe-head of Morkai clove through thr Kan as though it were made of snow, bursting out of the other side of the Kan in a shower of sparks, metal debris, and the blood of the unfortunate pilot. Like a felled oak, the upper half of the Kan creaked and toppled backwards, hitting the earth with a crash, while its legs and torso remained standing upright defiantly.
Logan turned just in time to see the other Kan barrel into Jarl, grabbing hold of him in a great, shear-like metal pincer. He saw Arjac leaping to the Long Fang’s defence, swinging his hammer at the offending arm, but he was too late: there was a crumple of armour and a howl of pain, and the shorn halves of Jarl fell to the ground. Howling with rage, Arjac laid into the Kan, swinging his Foehammer into it with all of his might. There was a terrible crunch as the metal hide of the can caved inwards, and the metal contraption toppled onto its back in a crushed wreck. Logan nodded grimly. No Wolf should go to the Allfather unavenged, he thought.
With this reprieve, Logan took stock of the situation. Beyond the smoking ruin of the Stompa, he could see Felgar and his Thunderwolves battling desperately against one of the hulking Ork Dreadnoughts, worrying at the machine like pups at a bear. Beyond them, the Sororitas were fighting desperatey against a Trygon and a brood of snakelike Raveners that had slithered up from beneath the earth—past the flames and strobing bolter rounds of the Sororitas’ disciplined fire, Logan could make out the wrecks of several of their tanks. The vox-traffic he was getting in his ear wasn’t painting a pleasant picture either: the Guardsmen were suffering heavy losses, and all contact had been lost with their command staff. His own Wolves didn’t have it easy either, and from what he heard, the Beast himself was reaping a toll amongst his Blood Claws. All around him, the forces of the Imperium were slowly being overrun.
The Old Wolf gave a low growl. He knew what was happening- he’d been in this situation a hundred times before. He had not lived to become the Great Wolf by being too much of a stubborn fool to recognize a defeat when he saw it.
He turned to Arjac. His champion was soaked from head to foot with gore: he’d been busy since they’d made planetfall. “Message all units, and tell them to fall back to secondary positions,” he said. “Have the fleet prepare an extraction.”
He could see the surprised anger in Arjac’s eyes, the defiant warrior spirit that wanted to keep fighting. Stubborn as he was, though, Arjac was also loyal, and he gave his lord a curt nod before tapping his vox-unit and relaying Logan’s commands to the rest of the army.
Turning in the direction of the rampaging Stompas, Hierophants and Squiggoth in the distance, Logan spat a gobbet of phlegm. “You’ve won this round, you green bastards,” he growled, “but don’t think we won’t be back...”
OBJECTIVES:
Imperium- 1
Xenos- 2
Contested- 2
RESULT: Xenos Victory!
Thoughts: If I were to sum of my feelings of that battle in a single sentence, it would be as follows: those were the most intense three turns of gameplay I’ve ever been involved in, Before playing, I’d heard that Apocalypse games were were intense, dynamic and fun in a way that regular
40k games weren’t, and after playing my first Apocalypse game, I can say that this is definitely the case. Each turn saw bucketloads of reserves arriving, lots of models dying/getting blown, and lots of tension as both sides fought tooth and nail over objectives. There were lots of bizarre, incredible or just downright funny moments that you wouldn’t see in regular games, and the opportunity to use my entire collection was tons of fun in its own right.
For me, the highlights of the battle included:
-Logan, Arjac and the Long Fangs crippling the Stompa and then smashing their way through all of the Kans sent to stop them.
-The huge amount of fighting on the right flank, with more and more reserves pouring into the conflict each turn
-My Inquisitor wounding the Hierophant twice with Hammer of the Witches
So how did I do personally? Well, sadly, because most of my forces were in reserves, my Sisters didn’t see too much action until late in the game. My Celestian Retinue of Doom(
TM) was killed in their Rhino before they could even swing, and when all of my Sisters did show up, Lady Luck kicked me in the nethers by having me roll only one 6 to wound from 28 divinely-guided bolter shots (and have my meltaguns miss/fail to wound on top of that). In retrospect, I should have gone after the Raveners instead to prevent them from scoring. It should be a testament to the fun level of the game, however, that those two instances of really crappy luck didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the game. Everyone there had a blast, and we all agreed that, if the store hadn’t been closing at the time, we all would have liked to go another turn. I, for one, can’t wait for my next Apocalypse game. Hopefully I’ll have my Dark Eldar painted by then.
The resistance at Laurentix’s capital proved to be much fiercer than expected, and Imperial forces suffered heavy losses in the initial assault. As fierce hand-to-hand fighting raged across the shattered buildings, it became clear that Imperial forces were fighting a losing battle. With a heavy heart, Logan ordered his forces to withdraw, knowing that the battle could not be won without the additional Astartes forces currently deployed on Nemesis. As the remaining Space Wolves, Sororitas and Guardsmen retreated, the Tau found themselves forced to retreat as well, melting back into the wilderness they had emerged from.
As Imperial forces fell back into defensive positions, a massive Space Hulk was spotted leaving the surface. The hulk smashed its way through the orbiting Imperial fleet, shattering four Imperial cruisers in its path, before jumping into the safety of the warp. Imperial intelligence afterwards confirmed that the hulk was Ghazghkull’s personal vessel, meaning the infamous warlord had once again escaped justice. After the Warlord’s departure, Imperial intelligence confirmed that one of the alien sites was missing, its structures forcibly uprooted by heavy excavation machinery. It has since been surmised that Ghazghkull knew something about the alien structures that the Inquisition didn’t, and left because he had found whatever he was looking for. If this is indeed the case, then the Ork Warlord may well pose more of a danger now than ever before.
To this day, Laurentix still remains in xeno hands. Imperial strategos have speculated that more resources, manpower and blood will need to be spent before it is finally restored to the Imperial fold.
Eldar Corsairs: 4000 pts
Imperial Guard: 4000 pts
Corregidor 700 pts
Acontecimento 400 pts 
Your end has come. The sight of us will be your last. We are Wrath. We are Vengeance. We are the Rainbow Warrioirs."
But yeah, I sympathize, photographing my models always makes me realize how much improvement they could use (especially when compared to other players' well-painted models, which were in ample supply in this game).