The Imperial Outpost on Wiebelich III has been under siege for nearly a year. Situated a few scant light years from the howling warpstorm of the Eye, reinforcements have been slow to arrive after receiving garbled distress signals from the terrified inhabitants of the world. Those that have made it past the confusing vortex of the immaterium soon fall to the bizarre weaponry deployed by a mighty Chaos Warp Fortress that patrols the system. Only a few members of the Salamanders, Grey Knights and Space Wolves have made it to the surface of the planet, where they fight desperately against the creeping tide of Chaos.
Occasionally allying but more often fighting amongst themselves, members of the Black Legion and the Slaanesh-devoted Neon Shadow Traitor Legions are ravaging the planet with no clear plan of conquest. To them, Wiebelich III seems to be a blood-soaked playground, echoing with the screams of the suffering.
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750 Points, Chaos vs Chaos
Mission: Purge the Alien
Deployment: Dawn of War
The Neon Shadow -
Solomon, Chaos Lord with Ichor Blood in Terminator Armour marked by Slaanesh
6 Chaos Marines with
CCW and Bolt Pistols, one with a Flamer, Champion with a Powersword
5 Noisemarines with Sonicblasters, one with a Blastmaster
4 Chaos Terminators, one with a Reaper Autocannon
3 Chaos Bikers, one with a Plasmagun
6 Havocs, two with Lascannons, one with a Missile Launcher
The Black Legion –
Chaos Lord with Power Mace
20 Cultists with autopistols and
CCW, two with Flamers
10 Chaos Marines, two with Plasmaguns
5 Berserkers with the Icon of Wrath, Champion with a Lightning Claw, mounted in a Rhino with a Dirgecaster
1 Helbrute with Heavy Flamer on its Powerfist
3 Chaos Bikers, two with Plasmaguns
Both Warlords rolled Flames of Spite.
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Champion Dermon giggled as he searched the ruined fortress for more toys. The last ones the Noisemarines had found had fallen apart much too easily, their flesh tearing like damp paper, and he wanted to find stronger ones that would sing for weeks before they died.
He was distantly aware of the escort his lord had provided him, twitchy drug-fuelled marines carrying massive weapons, and a trio of bikers skidding around the dusty courtyard in figure eights, hooting at the clouds they were kicking into the sky. Something buzzed on the edge of his hearing again. He turned to find one of the Havocs was waving a hand inches from Dermon’s face and appeared to be speaking.
‘What?’
‘The Black Legion are heading across the plains. They look like they want to fight.’
Dermon’s vision shivered and slid into focus. The edges of the world twanged like strings and he found he could hear engines roaring in the distance.
‘Then let us oblige them.’ He smiled so wide that his cheeks ached. ‘Send word to the Lords. Let them know what has begun here.’
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Turn One –
The Neon Shadow took the first turn and stayed in their positions behind the fortress wall. I was hoping that the Black Legion would come to me, splitting around the wall and heading up through the firing lanes I had set up. I expected to outgun my opponent as I’m used to his preferred melee style of play. I managed to fire my Blastmaster at the Rhino, but did no damage.
However, he subverted my expectations, turbo boosting his Bikes to the west as well as moving his Rhino flat out to reach the same side of the board, focusing his troops on one side. The massive mob of Cultists led by his Chaos Lord headed in the same direction, running to try and keep up. Suddenly my Noisemarines were looking at empty forest.
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The air shimmered before the Havocs as they lumbered around the side of the bastion, splitting to reveal a tall, imperious man with a sharp face, who frowned as he stepped through the tear in the air. He was followed by four other massive figures in Terminator Armour. Without speaking, Lord Solomon motioned his gigantic double-headed poweraxe in the direction of the Black Legion and the group began to move forward.
In the distance before them, light flared and explosions rang out as the bikers drove forward and encountered some form of victim. Solomon smiled as the heat and light of so much plasma weaponry illuminated the field beyond the broken fortress walls into a small star. His smile quickly turned to a snarl as the light faded and a single biker of the Neon Shadow came hurtling back past him.
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Turn Two –
My Chaos Lord and his Terminators appeared this turn, which actually left me rather unsure what to do with them. I had expected to use them to backup whoever looked most threatened by the Black Legion, but that put them dangerous close to scattering off the table completely. Eventually I decided to deepstrike them on the West side of the field anyway, on my side of the fortress. My bikes moved up, as did my Havocs, while my Noisemarines and the Combat Marines began to move up to the hill and forest in the East. My bikes managed to blast away one of his bikers with their plasma.
The Rhino continued towards the West, while the Cultists switched their directions towards the hill, clambering onto the lowest slopes. The Chaos Marines to the South behind the barricades were now safe to advance, given that the Terminators were no longer likely to appear behind them. His bikers fired both their Plasmaguns at my bikes, managing to kill one of mine and also to blow up one of his own! Although I was laughing at first, when my Bikers broke and fell back to behind the Havocs, I was less pleased.
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Dermon yelled as he led his small squad of marines over the steep rocky slope and barrelled into the mob of robed fanatics that were clambering up the other side. At least four of them screamed as the squad’s chemspray gun washed its potent liquids over them, melting flesh and armour into one molten mess. Autofire rattled off the Neon Shadow’s power armour as they came and Dermon knew they would slaughter these pathetic mortals.
A roar like that of some demented beast shook Dermon where he stood and he turned to find a darkly decorated champion charging towards him, shoving aside cultists as he came. The Legionnaire swung an elaborate power mace at Dermon, who managed to catch the heavy maul with his spiked, flesh-bound shield. Giggling, he stabbed forward; rejoicing in the resistance as his powerfully glowing sword stabbed into the other man’s leg, bringing forth a gush of dark blood. The tall man howled and began hurling invocations to the gods into Dermon’s face. Before Dermon could pull his sword free, the Legionnaire had ripped his mace loose of the spiked shield and smashed it into Dermon’s face repeatedly. As Dermon sank to the ground and felt numbness overcome his senses, he saw the man raise both arms to the air. Curls of dark energy wrapped themselves around the figure and swallowed him, forming a beast of black lightning that towered over the remaining marines of the Neon Shadow. They turned to run, but bolts of purple and midnight lightning blasted them from their feet. The last sound Dermon heard was the horrified celebrations of the cultists around him.
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Turn Three –
My Bikers quickly regrouped, but the enemy Bike heading down the firing lane had me worried. I unloaded with as much firepower as I could, beginning with my Havocs. One lascannon missed, followed by the second failing to wound! Thankfully a Krak missile took care of it, finishing off the squad and earning me First Blood as well!
My squad of
CCW Marines threw caution to the wind and charged across the hill to assault the Cultists creeping up the other side, my Champion issuing a challenge as they did so. The Black Legion Lord accepted, moving up through the robed figures. The Marines killed four Cultists and the Lord took a wound after failing to harm the Champion.
Now that my guns had cleared the corridor, the Rhino did a 180 degree turn and headed for the hill instead. The Chaos Marines ran towards the hill also. The Helbrute moved in and joined the combat. Despite attempting to hurt it with Krak grenades, the only wounds caused to either side were two Cultists. In the ongoing challenge, the Lord managed to kill the Champion, allowing him to roll a Chaos Boon. To my horror, he got 65: APOTHEOSIS. The remaining
CCW Marines broke and were quickly cut down by the Initiative 8 Daemon Prince.
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The Noisemarines filled the air with thunderous vibrations as they turned their weapons on the creature of smoke and lightning that flowed across the hillside towards them, sending crescendo after crescendo of sonic destruction into its path. The hill shook and rocks tumbled down its side, but the creature did not slow.
The noise drowned out the approaching engines of a rhino until it crashed into view through the trees, smoke billowing from dented engine casings, and disgorged a squad of darkly armoured Berserkers. Massive speaker on its roof bellowed a guttural prayer to Khorne, disrupting and deafening even the crazed devotees of the pleasure god. As they screeched and turned to focus on their ancient foe, the daemon creature met them in a whirlwind of blood and carnage.
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Turn Four –
All my Havocs, Bikers and Terminators began to trudge East, hoping to do some damage to the Black Legion troops moving down my side of the hill. Unfortunately, the small piece of wall on my side of the main fortress wall was blocking my line of fire. The Noisemarines managed to take one wound off the Daemon Prince.
The Black Legion Rhino pulled up close to the Noisemarines, smashing through the forest and immobilising itself before dropped off their Berserkers, as the other troops kept crossing the hill. When the Daemon Prince and Helbrute subsequently charged the Noisemarines, the Dirgecaster meant they were unable to perform overwatch.
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Solomon growled in frustration as he marched his terminators towards the blood soaked fields beyond the far side of the ruined wall. Beside him came the Havocs, fumbling to keep their massive guns aimed towards the distant foe, accompanied by the single biker who had soon learned the meaning of obedience when Solomon had made his presence known.
A great and shadowed presence swirled across the fields towards them, accompanied by a grating metal monstrosity. A missile whistled past his head to implant in the Helbrute’s side and implode, leaving it limping slightly as it came. Behind it the hillside swarmed with robed figures and black-armoured Legionnaires. Solomon shook his head. ‘Worthless beasts’ he thought as he called upon his master and tore a hole in the air behind them.
‘Get back to the Warp Fortress,’ he ordered, leading the retreat. The last of the Neon Shadow managed to pass through the ragged portal moments before the daemon arrived.
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Turn Five –
All my troops continued East, unable to find targets that weren’t engaged with my own units and so moving their heavy weapons at a run. The Bike managed to plasma one Cultist as it backed away from the combat, hoping to shoot down the Prince and Helbrute in the next turn. The Prince slaughtered the remaining Noisemarines. The Prince then consolidated towards the bikes and the Helbrute moved towards my Havocs.
The Helbrute’s Flamer caused no wounds. More of the Black Legion moved across the hill slowly, rolling 1’s and 2’s for their difficult terrain as they had most of the game! As the Helbrute charged the Havocs I managed to Snapfire a Krak missile that removed one hull point before the Helbrute killed half of the squad. Thankfully, they held their nerve.
Random Game Length – The Game Ends
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In the clearing that the Slaaneshi scum had been scavenging through, like rats, the Champion that had once been named Martos stood panting. He had been blessed by the gods, held in their esteem and given power like unto themselves. But unlike so many others, he had been spared the destruction or mutation that so often followed. As he raised his mace and began calling his thanks, devotion and promises to the sky, he was surrounded by the terrified remnants of the cult they had found on this small world. He saw the adoration that shone in their eyes, the nightmare that they feared in their hearts and he exulted. Power and Blood would be his!
Victory Points
Neon Shadow: First Blood, Biker Unit
2
Black Legion:
CCW Marines, Noisemarines, Linebreaker (Daemon Prince)
3
Winner: Black Legion
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After this we made up a small army each and had a game of 2nd Ed, which was brilliant and got us in the mood to use his cultist models and my old Goliaths to make up some Necromunda gangs. This is where I finally got my vengeance and captured one of his gangers. All in all, a good day!
5000