It is known at this point that an Eldar artifact was stolen from the unit of Imperial Guardsmen who had recovered it. The commanding officer, the redoubtable Harry Paget, no doubt seething with rage at the vile xenos treachery, but lacking the manpower to do anything about it. At almost the same time a large expeditionary force of Tau arrived in system, they identified themselves as the I'orek Expeditionary Force and indicated that they had made a long ancient pact with the Eldar to arrive at the coordinates and time indicated and attempt to 'dismantle the advance'

Further investigation was expected when suddenly the Chaos forces began marshaling towards the space ports, doubtless in pursuit of the artifact and sensing that the Farseer had taken it off planet. This was worrisome, because the Librarians of The Immortal Host, the artifact was somehow connected to the energies of the system in an unknown way, meaning the only place the Eldar could have moved it to was a different planet in the system, which meant it was on one of the other Imperial Worlds and Chaos was about to launch an attack on that planet!

As a massive fleet of plague ridden and decaying warships emerged from the Warp the combined battlefleets of the Black Templar, Immortal Host, and 1st Allied Mechanicus engaged them in a fearsome battle that lit the night skies of Saios like a false dawn.

Planetside there was confusion from the many mixed transmissions, but a few matters became clear; that Chaos was attempting to withdraw a large protion of their forces into space, and would be attacking a new Imperial world.

Though the Imperial armies were weakened and dispersed it became certain that they had to mount an attack on the Terramount space port to attempt to delay or prevent the Chaos exodus in order to help give the rest of the Imperial forces time to prepare their defenses on the other planets in the Petod system. This was especially needful because, with the Killswitch for the Iunden defense network in Chaos' hands, if they attempted to lay siege to the Forge World they could perhaps easily destroy the valuable Imperial asset.

The Raven Guard had already withdrawn to Iunden, and were embroiled with preparing the defenses there, trying to use what parts of the defnse network they could to aid the space battle.
The Black Templar forces were embroiled to the north, managing a fighting withdrawl against the Ork WAAAGH storming down from the mountains.
Thus it fell to the mena nd women of the 1st Allied Mechanicus to spearhead the assault on Terramount, aided by the sudden arrival of the I'orek Tau forces.
The Immortal Host also pledged their support, the space-borne chapter having avoided forming any solid battle lines they were able to scramble together an elite strike force and dispatch it to aid the Imperial forces.

Reports indicated that Chaos had formed up many massive warmachines for embarkation to their fleet, and that the heavily defended spaceport was awash in their cults of decay and plague. Vidcaps even indicated that the captured God Machine, Velox Venator was present, having been claimed by fallen tech Priests and reconstituted to the purposes of Chaos. The Imperial Army and the Tau agreed that their primary goal was to secure the landing pad and prevent the Chaos forces from reaching their fleet, and also to dismantle and/or capture as many of the heavy war machines of Chaos as they could to prevent them being added to the siege that would doubtless follow.

Ona whim the Imperial Guard High Command noted that Captain Paget's units, still returning from their battle for the artifact, were in close enough proximity to bring some needed extra air support to the battle. Also, it would doubtless do good for morale to have one of the greatest heroes of the Imperium in the sector fighting alongside the men invading Terramount. Thus it was ordered that he be sent to the front lines, a request that Captain Paget, no doubt, was pleased by, as it would give him a chance to vent his anger and vengeance on the Nurgle scum!

--------------------------------------


The engine of the Vendetta gunship hummed reassuringly through its armored hull. Commander Harry 'Flash' Paget sighed happily at the sound as he leaned back into the protective webbing of his seat. Things at last seemed to be looking up for him. He had survived that idiotic suicide mission to recover the Eldar xenotech, at great personal risk, no less, as those Chaos Marines had seemed more than willing to murder for it, much less the strange xenos guardian machines. Then he had also survived Xenos treachery and lived through it, and now with his reports in and him and his squads being pulled back to the rear lines again, he would probably get lost in a few hearings and debriefings about the mission. No doubt the paperwork alone would tie him up for the better part of a month, hopefully by the time it was all said and done the main war effort would be over with.

Even as he smiled at that reassuring thought he felt an odd tremor pass through the Vendetta. Glancing out the window he frowned, judging by the location of the sun and the position of the still visible in daylight moon, they were no longer heading south towards the Imperial rear, but were instead angling west...west towards the capital space port in Terramount Hive, at the dead center of the Chaos battle lines.

"Um..." He keyed open his comm bead. "Sargent Locke, Sargent Czernichev, report in."

"Sargent Locke here, in Blue Wing, reporting in to Gold." The crisp business-like tone of Sargent Locke spoke volumes about the stern and psychotically heroic Cadian.

"Yeah, Czernichev is here, Red Wing, A-okays."

"Yes, this is Paget in Gold wing...do either of you know why we've had a course change heading due west?"

"I don't question my orders sir," announced Locke, no doubt saluting and shedding a single manful tear in service to the Emperor. The man was certifiable.

"I am for noticing change, figured hero Paget was for looking to get, as they say, back to action thick, yeah? In frozen Vostrya when man does not do as commanding officer wants, man is shot, along with wife, sons, daughters, and most first cousins. Not second cousins though, that would be unfair."

*Zzzzzzzt* "...Paget? Paget....*skch*...-eving me?"

"Who is this?"

"....missar Steele, Good to-...*ssss*...voice, friend!"

Oh by The Emperor's Gilded Chair, Paget felt his blood run cold. Commissar Steele was a tried and true hero of the Imperium, a man totally devoted to the ideals and purpose of the Imperial Guard. The Commissar was a very jovial and friendly sort as well, but Paget had personally witnessed him executing 'cowards' while politely apologizing to them and their comrades, and expressing sincere desire that he wouldn't need to do it again. Paget had never trusted the man, mostly because he was deathly afraid of being caught out as shirking his duty.

"What is it, Nolan?" He used Steele's first name in the hopes to sound cavalier, "what can we do for you?"

"Need to...*skkkkksh* redirecting you to Terramount."

"Um...why?"

"You'll see when you get there, make sure your weapons are prepped!"

"Feth me," Paget sighed.

For the final mission we wanted to do a fun and wild ride, we also had all the brand new Apocalypse release to consider, we ended up doing a bit of a mish-mash, but here's the overall flow of the plan

Rules –
Apocalypse (new rules)
3 players on the Imperial side - 2,500 points each
2 Players on the Chaos side - 3,000 points each
Formations are allowed.
Super Heavies are allowed.
3 Stratagems per side.
No Warlord traits, no Warmaster traits or effects, no Strategic Resource Stratagems.
Break is scheduled after Game Turn 2 is Completed.
Chaos gets to decide who takes first turn.

Special Rules –
This was functionally an objectives game, with the following rules for the objectives;

Fly you fools! – 8 points

The forces of chaos must hold the launching pad to prevent the imperial forces from capturing it and trapping them on planet.

Chaos wins if - any infantry models are on or within 3” of the launching pad.
Imperium wins if - no chaos infantry models are on or within 3” of the launching pad.


The ring is mine – 3 points each

Two plague towers have been disarmed (in preparation for transport) and are being slowly moved toward the launching pad for evacuation. The inquisition has tasked the imperial forces with destroying these foul creations and preserving the inner workings for study. Gentukama needs these siege engines for siege of Iunden or at least the daemon essences bound to the engine…

Chaos wins if – The plague towers are intact or if they hold the crater of a destroyed plague tower.
Imperium wins if – They hold the crater of a destroyed crater.

Note: The plague towers start in the middle of the board and move 6” towards the launching pad every turn. While the weapons have been disabled, the explosion of filth rule still applies when they are destroyed (long range fire is advisable).


Do not come between the Nazgul and his prey – 1 point for each

Gentukama wants the leadership of the imperial forces removed. The forces of chaos are happy to oblige…

Chaos wins if – They kill a warlord.
Imperium wins if – They cannot receive points for this


That still only counts as one – 3 points

The mighty god machine Meischa has been captured and bent to dark purpose by the forces of chaos. The priests of the mechanicum will not stand for this and have placed a bounty on the god machine to be repaid with the favor of Mars. Recovery of the titan is paramount.

Chaos wins if – The titan is not destroyed or if they control the destroyed titan,
Imperium wins if – They destroy the titan and control the wreck.

In addition every player has a secret mission that is worth two points for the Imperial side and three for the Chaos side.

Space Marines - 'Remember The Fallen' Chaos will secretly choose one of their HQs as a member of The Fallen. The Immortal Host must capture/kill this model.

Imperial Guard - 'Hero of the Imperium' It is important to survive the battle, but Paget also knows it is important to look good doing it - Thor nominates a model (Platoon Commander) as 'Captain Paget' if the model is alive at the end of the game *and* within 12 inches of the landing pad then the Imperial Guard earns their VPs. (also, probably a ticker-tape parade later)

Tau - 'For the Greater Good' - the Tau are paying back a debt, that doesn't mean they're fully committed to this mission. The Tau want to make sure they survive unscathed - they will earn their VPs if, at the end of the game, they have more points of surviving units than either of their IG of SM allies (not combined, separately).

John's Chaos - 'The Lieutenant' Gentukama has many powerful servants, it's a shame they all can't be trusted. It is his intention to remove the threat of one of them during the chaos of the final battle. Still, he can't just kill him, he has to make this look good... John must elect an HQ that is *not* his most expensive HQ - if, at the end of the game, the HQ has slain at least one enemy unit *and* also died during the battle, Chaos earns the VPs.

Jake's Chaos - 'The Showoff' - One of Gentukama's lieutenants intends to showcase his value to the greater daemon and earn a higher rank in the army, after all, there is always room for advancement once Gentukama kills off one of his less trustworthy underlings. Jake nominates an HQ unit in his army, if, at the end of the battle, it has slain more enemy units than any other Chaos HQ then Chaos earns the VPs - the unti does not need to survive the battle, it can always be resurrected

As usual, I took some pictures of the other armies, but didn't request lists and the like, so...y'know, they had stuff

Forces of the Imperium - The Spearhead




The 1st Allied Mechanicus - Dispensations in Service to Mars, Defenders of Forge World Iunden.

Commissar Nolan Steele (counts as Yarrick)
5 Ogryns
Chimera
5 man Platoon Command Squad (Captain Harry Paget)
2 - 10 man Infantry Sqauds, Flamers, Sarges (Power Mauls)
2 - 10 man Infantry Squads, Commissar (Power Sword), Sarges (Power Mauls).
5 Ratlings
3 Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team
2 AutoCannon 1 Missile Launcher Heavy Weapon Team
3 Vendetta Gunships
5 Man Stormtrooper Squad (2 Melta Guns)
Leman Russ Executioner
Leman Russ Eradicator
3 Leman Russ Battle Tanks
Basilisk
Manticore





The Immortal Host - Dark Angels Successor Chapter.
Azrael
2 Librarians
10 man Sterngaurd squad in DropPod
5 Man Sternguard Squad in Drop Pod
Ironclad Deadnaught in Lucius Pattern Drop Pod
5 Terminator Squads





I'orek Expeditionary Force - Tau Repaying an Ancient Pact.

Etheral
2 squads of Broadsides (w. Shield Drone)
2 Crisis Suit Squads
2 Hamerheads (1 rail Cannon and 1 Ion Cannon)
2 Piranha
Kroot Squad w. Kroot Hounds
2 Pathfinder Squads
2 Fire Warrior Squads (w. Devilfish)
Drone Squad


Forces of Papa Nurgle - The Joyful Embrace




Gentukama's Finest

Typhus
Chaos Sorcerer
2x Havoc Squad
3x Helldrake
4x Plague Marine Squad (plasma Guns) in Rhinos
10x Obliterators (all single squads)
90x Cultists (3 squads of 30?...whatever, a *lot* of Cultists)





The Rotting God Machine

Tricked out Slaanesh Chaos Lord
1x Warhound
2x 10 man Noise Marine squads in Rhinos
5x Mutilators (all single squads)
5x Oblits (all single squads)

An Allied Detachment - I sort of thought it was Imperial Guard, but Marcus was saying it was a Dark Angel thing I think. Whatever, it was some Techpriests and a few mooks.

Imperial deployment zone was the left side of the picture, Chaos had the right side. The landing pad is the large flat complex on the right side, and that would soon become a killing zone of the battle.
The two Plague towers can be seen dead center and center top of the picture.


A view from the Chaos deployment zone.
They had two bastions as well, easily visible here.


Artisan street shook as the tanks of the Imperial Guard took the field.


On the right Imperial flank, Tau forces occupied the park, and a Basilisk took commanding field of fire on the city streets from atop the hill.


Imperial Guard infantry and heavy armor stood alongside their Tau allies.
Cleanse the Xenos? Who buys into that? Not the Allies Matrix, that's who!


A large infantry squad stands vigil around the Chimera carrying the Ogryns, their goal is to punch forward quickly and hopefully secure a toehold near the landing pad.


A view from the Chaos battle lines.


Chaos deploys, the captured God Machine Velox Venator holding their rear lines.


The Black Rhino holds Noise Marines, the decaying ones have Plague Marines in them.


Ample hordes of zombies are deployed in rings to protect the Warhound from assault or melta fire.


The sea of zombies chants dark invocations as they shuffle around.


Corrupt Techpriests stand by to repair any damage.


Any resemblance of Zombies to real persons, living or dead, is highly coincidental.


Chaos Havocs take up position in the Bastions, arming the emplaced weaponry and preparing their own weaponry for combat.


All the Imperials have to do to win 8 victory points is clear away all Chaos infantry units from anywhere near the landing pad...oh...wait.
Crud.


Every once in a while I am reminded about how much all of John's terrain really helps set the mood for these battles.


"We's in location, Mr. Paget, ready to commence to the drinking and the sniping!"


Benny and his Ratlings infiltrate the tallest building in the Hab Block and begin lining up their shots.

Chaos reveals their first stratagem, as a wave of blind grenades is set off, obscuring their battle lines from the Imperium's weapons.


Leman Russ tanks rumble down the street, firing at the Plague Towers and the Bastion.


"For the Emperor!" Commissar Steele in his Chimera, and Commissar Vladek urge their men forward towards the landing platform, intent to halt Chaos' pursuit plans.


The Tau forces are not to be outdone, a wave of Kroot appear as if from nowhere, sneaking in from behind the Chaos defense lines and heading in to do some damage.


Damage like, sawing apart that army of Zombies.


Despite some highly accurate fire, the Havocs in the Bastion here take almost no damage from the Russ barrage.

One of the Plague towers is damaged by the Tau, but with 21 Hull points it is a long battle yet.


The Plague Towers continue their inexorable movement towards the landing pad.


The I'orek Expeditionary Force takes command of the right flank, creating a deadly field of fire.


Artisan Street is well secured by the tanks of the Imperial Guard.


But, wait, with a screeching sound, the planes between reality are torn open and Obliterators step forth into the material plane!


Lots of Obliterators.


I mean, *lots* of Obliterators.


Some of them are stopped by intercepting fire from the Tau.


The Hammerhead gets to say hello to Meisha, as the Warhound sneaks a few rounds around the blind screen.
It ends poorly for the Hammerhead.


Helldrakes sweep into the sky, unleashing torrents of flame into the ruins held by the Allied 1st.


The main IG advance gets to eat a few...


That's after one...


The Heldrakes roar in glee as they watch the humans burn.


"Turn about, turn about!" Tank commanders cry out desperate last orders as the Obliterators...(wait for it)...obliterate the IG armored core.


Massive explosions also rock the hillside as the IG artillary is silenced as well. In a single stroke Chaos has destroyed every IG vehicle on the battlefield, and blunted the firepower of the Imperial advance.


The Tau far a bit better, still losing a Devilfish, and some other units, but the 2nd Hammerhead endures.


The Noise Marines start the song, but the Obliterator intends to finish it.


The Kroot advance is demolished.


"Stand firm lads, stand firm! I shall be most disappointed with the first man who withdraws."
Commissar Steele leads his Ogryns out of his demolished Chimera and reassures the infantry nearby. The fight, after all, has only begun.


Though battered, the Imperial Heavy Weapon Team holds steady.
"We're down to our last rounds and are outnumbered, what hope is there?"
"The Emperor provides," promised Steele, "and he provided us air superiority."


"Ooooooh, this was a bad idea!"
"What was that sir?" One of his men glanced over at Captain Paget.
"Um...what a bad idea to be up here, in the sky, when the enemy is...too far away to smite." Captain Paget tried to smile casually.
"Don't worry sir, that's what the Grav-Chutes are for," promised the Trooper, proving he had no common sense at all.
Up ahead he could see all manner of potent Chaos war machines, though he also could now see that the Space Marine Drop Pods were descending, right on schedule. He had hoped that timing his arrival with theirs would manage to draw off a lot of Chaos firepower, now he could only hope the Immortal Host could do their job.


Vendetta Gunships sweep through the sky, bringing up fresh men and needed heavy fire support.


"That's the way, Paget, c'mon lads, I'll be most put out if ol' Harry beats me to the landing site." Commissar Steele and the Ogryns trundle forth.


The Sternguard deploy on the high ground, readying their weapons even as Chaos reveals their stratagem of a sheild generator protecting the Warhound.


Teleport signatures erupt across the battlefield as the Immortal Host veterans arrive wearing ancient Terminator armor and carrying the finest weapon relics of their chapter.


How can even an Ironclad wade through all of this chaff?


"Prepare orbital bombardment!" Steele calls in a highly focused (and I couldn't help but feel maniacal as I compressed the barrage template into what I used but...hey, whatever)
Need to clear off some of these zombies so we can lock the Warhound in assault after all.


That's better.


The Terminators go to work, blasting apart some Rhinos and inflicting serious casualties on the occupants.


Ogryn smash!
Unable to likely reach any servants of Chaos, Steele and the Ogryn decide to go smash up the Plague Tower a bit. They manage 6 Hull Points of damage (only, y'know 15 to go)


The Irnoclad does some...impressive damage assaults as it rushes up and begins ripping apart the leg of the Warhound.


"We shall free you from the taint of Chaos, cleanse you in fire!"
The Ironclad shreds the leg apart with its seismic hammer.
And gets an Apocalyptic Explosion! Huzzah! (sadly, in the new Apoc rules, it's not quite as ridiculous as the old one methinks...still, this counts!)


All the nearby units grab onto their manhoods (disclaimer - presuming Space Marines have them, fluff is unclear) and pray.


Don't worry lads, it's only *one* blast template!


And a bit of scatter...


When all is said and done, a horde of zombies, the Ironclad, the Lucius Drop Pod, a Slaanesh Lord, and a few other assorted unlucky fools are consumed in the explosion.
The Dark Adepts curse the Imperium as they secure the ruins of the Warhound.


The Plague Tower slowly rolls onward, leaving the Ogryn in the open...this will end up not mattering because apparently 25 Termies is a bigger concern for Chaos.
Go figure


The Sternguard prepare to defend the landing pad. Their firepower having already cut down a dozen zombies, Typhus, and the Chaos Sorcerer.


*SKREEEE!* A Heldrake sweeps through the air, ripping apart a Vendetta as it passes by and sending its occupants crashing to the ground (where 3 actually survive!).


This Oblit turns its back on the Imperial Guard and turns to march towards the Space Marines.
The Sarge calls it names, but to no avail.


*SKREEEE!*
"What was that?" Captain Paget strained to look out the viewsheild and then wish he hadn't.
"Just a minor bit of Chaotic interference," announced the pilot as he fired his lascannons and twisted the vehicle about in a wild aerial maneuver, "nothing to be alarmed about sir, we'll get you inserted into the heart of the battle in no time!"
"Oh...good...I was worried there for a moment." Harry wondered what he'd done to deserve all this. He was always very polite with the ladies, and only sucker punched people when he thought he could get away with it.


Mutilators assault into the Tau lines, shrugging off their overwatch fire as they grabbed and tore apart their foes.


Even providing covering support for each other failed to prevent the armored beasts from closing the distance, and once in close the Tau's vaunted rifles proved to be ineffective clubs.


"Are you ready to rock!?!"
The Noise Marines sprang from their Rhino to bring the power of music to the nearby Terminators.


Not to be left out of the fun, Nurgle plasma weaponry hissed to life, sending searing bolts of superheated plasma into the Terminator's ranks.


A Most Excellent Adventure.


The onslaught of Chaos firepower leaves many of the Immortal Host elites staggering.


The Sternguard and some Termies still hold the center though.


Some Chaos Havocs snipe the last Termie off the landing pad, however, weakening the Imperial ability to shove back any units attempting to secure it.


Run away! Run away!
Most of the Tau units fall back from the Mutilators, hoping to do better with their shooting next time.


One of the Obliterators grabs at the Hammerhead and rips it apart with his bare hands, the explosion billowing around him as he bellows out a victory cry.


The Tau are rushing forward to aid the push for the Landing Pad, while being harried by Mutilators in their rear.


Waves of zombies crash into the Terminator lines, but for ever shambling corpse they smash apart with their thunder hammers, another appears.


Another Mutilator crashes into the Tau lines, smashing delicate machinery and rending limbs with eager abandon.


The lumbering Broadsides are likewise besieged, their mighty weapon systems of little use against axes formed from the very stuff of Chaos.


Imperial Guard Stormtroopers drop down near the wreck of the Warhound, looking to prevent the dark Tech Adepts from reclaiming the Holy God Machine.




Tau Crisis suits appear, weapons already humming to life as they seek targets.


The Chaos forces need to be pushed back from the Landing Pad.


This squad of Plague Marines currently holds the objective and will need to be removed.


The Vendettas move up to deposit their payload of Imperial guardsmen.


"Okay, so how do these Grav Chutes work?" Paget looked at the rigging he as being strapped into uncertainly.
"Well, sir, y'see that red light by the door?"
"Yes..."
"When it goes green you jump, and you hope the pilot aimed well, the jumpmaster knew what he was doing, that there are no cross breezes, and that nobody on the ground is looking to light you up with their guns."
"...I'm sorry I asked," Paget sighed as the light suddenly went green, "who jumps out of a perfectly good plane?" He was promptly shoved out the door by the jumpmaster and spiraled down to the ground in an ungraceful jumble.


"In frozen Vostrya, Grav Chutes go ahead of plane!"
Czernichev's squad gets a bit of scatter forward of the vehicle they're jumping out of, must be a hell of a cross wind!


The whole battlefield is starting to focus on the landing pad, at 8 VPs it is all either side really needs for the victory.


The Tau have near full command of the right flank, and consolidate forward to bring their firepower to bear.


"Okay, guys, let's go stomp in some Chaos heads for the Emperor!"


Ogryn, Ogryn, Ogryn!
The Plague Marines claiming the Landing Pad meet about 2,000 lbs of enraged abhuman.


The Terminators are still working their way through the zombie horde, they're winning, but are too bogged down to aid in the rest of the battle.


Tau firepower had torn apart this Chaos flank, but they still ran around, looking to at least contest the Warhound remains and to reclaim the Landing Pad.


Tattered Imperial Guard squads try and fail to do much harm to the Obliterator.


Zombie hordes are held at bay while Plague Marines are crushed.
The Havocs in the Bastion try to help claim the landing pad, leaping from the roof they crash down to the ground, only one of them rising up to wobbly legs, however he feels the cause is lost and turns to flee.


At this point in the battle the whole matter comes down to a simple roll.

Currently the Imperial Forces have control of the Landing Pad, as no Chaos infantry still stands near it - 8 points
The Immortal Host killed their required HQ (indeed, they killed all the Chaos HQs in a rather common Space Marine attitude of efficiency - 2 points
The Imperial Guard have Paget within 12" (really, within 0", because that's how Paget rolls) - 2 points
Total: 12

Chaos has both Plague Towers - 6 points
They accomplished neither of their personal objectives.
The Warhound wreck is contested, so no one has points for it.
Total: 6

However! There is a small squad of Noise Marines lurking near the Landing Pad, with their d6+3" run they have a chance to move close enough to swing 8 points back to the Chaos side.
Dice are rolled...


Right there by the Bastion on the right, just edging in, Slaanesh Noise Marines, FTW.


The Noise Marines sprint forward, flashing devil hand signs in the air and doing air riffs as they 'Hwee cap-toored eet, for Kay-oss!"


The two little guys in red robes are some zombies making sure the crater is belonging to no one.


"The call for withdraw has been called sir, we need to evac!"
"Oh, darn," sighed Paget, "I suppose we are forced to withdraw instead of continuing to charge forward heroically..." He smiled as he made sure he had some good vid caps of how he was standing at the Landing Pad before turning and leading the fall back. Tears of joy staining his cheeks.


Paget does still earn his VPs


The Immortal Host withdraws slowly as well, pleased with how they had doubtless dealt with The Fallen, but angered that Chaos still carried the day.


Chaos forces in the rear continue to spar with the Tau, but the battle is decided now.

Thus it was I was pulled, kicking and screaming away from our final objective. I assure you,d ear reader, I wept tears, tears of rage that we were called back when we were so close to victory. if only Raglan had ordered another fresh wave of men in, or if only the call to withdraw had not been issued! So much pain and suffering might have been averted if only at the cost of my and my men's life,a risk we would all have willingly taken, I assure you!

As it was, this was only to be the begining of the troubles in Petod, troubles of which I was to have a continued role in.

- Lord-General Militant Harry Paget (ret.)
‘Flashes For The Emperor, Vol. IV - Pyres of Purity in Petod’

Imperium MVP

I think it has got to fall to the Immortal Host Sternguard. They dropped in at a vital time, helped clear the way for the Ironclad's charge, cut down Typhus and the Sorceror, and continued to hold the high ground at game's end. If the battle had continued their presence there probably would have helped further secure the day for the Imperium. They secured 2 VPs for the Imperium, and did a lot of the legwork in almost netting us the 8, as they helped gun apart one of the Noise Marine squads and also a lot of the zombies.

Imperium WTF

Someone suggested the Ratlings, but I poo-poo that suggestion, sure, they didn't kill anything in 3 turns of shooting. Oh noes, my 50 point unit didn't rock the universe! I will say I probably should have shoved them more in Chaos' face to try to force them to be attacked, but they performed fine, it's just John's armor saves performed better. There is a decent argument that the Leman Russ tanks did poorly, they basically rolled forward, fired once, and were obliterated. That said, they did get a lot of focused enemy attention, same with the artillery pieces, and if they hadn't been targeted so heavily I think they would have done amazingly for us.

I'm going to hand this one back to The Immortal Host as well, their Librarian Termie squad, that was 400+ points that showed up, and then got into a brawl with 30 Plague Zombies. Now, yeah, sure, it takes a while to work through 30 plague zombies. That said, it was 400 or so points that functionally that was all it did for us. Every other army had cheaper units doing far more, heck, take the Plague Zombies that tied up 400+ points of Termies for instance

Chaos MVP

The Oblits/Maruaders in general. They dropped in and gutted our rear lines, killing around 1,000 points of IG in a single turn. They also stopped the Kroot outflank, and mauled a not small amount of the Tau shooting as well. Absolutely brutal work, and their only failure was at the important time they were on the wrong side of the board...that said *someone* needed to go over there and stop all the Tau and IG shooting potential.

Honorable mention goes to Precision Strike for both armies (currently predicted by some of our players as the new Flank March) but the ability to have non scattering Deep Strike is pretty potent no matter how you cut it.

Chaos WTF

The Slaanesh Lord probably. He was a pretty pricy and all he did was stand around with some zombies, and then get fragged by an Apocalyptic Explosion. Not optimal at all.