Welcome to game 27 of our campaign. In this report, the Eldar and Imperial forces have formed an uneasy truce as the servants of the Ruinous Powers make their own bid for the Xenos artefact.
The now depleted forces of order must face off against a Chaos assault, whilst watching their own ‘allies’ carefully…
Previous games in this campaign can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Gordy2000%27s_Battle_Reports
Note: The Imperial forces used in this battle are the ones still standing from the previous battle with the Eldar, minus the Inquisition who have other matters to attend to.
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Magos Dominus Xanat struck the haft of his Omnissian axe upon the ancient flagstones in an unusually human gesture of frustration.
“+++ Your Logic is flawed Inquisitor +++ The artefact is of the utmost importance and cannot be jeopardised +++ Ergo, your withdrawal at this time, in the face of certain hostile action is illogical +++”
Inquisitor Lord Hex continued his preparations to depart. In the distance, lithe figures could just be made out taking up positions in the trees surrounding the dig site. He turned and regarded the mechanicus priest.
“Nevertheless Magos, that is precisely what is happening. Our forces are required elsewhere for more pressing duties. Your dig site, your requirements and your objections are irrelevant”
“+++Addendum+++” buzzed Xanat angrily. “+++ What purpose could you have that is more important than our work here?+++”
Hex paused and turned to the Magos. “We are the Inquisition Xanat. We ask the questions.”
Without another word, the Inquisitor stomped up the ramp of his Chimera Transport and punched the ramp control. It slammed shut with a bang as the vehicle joined the rest of the
Inquisitorial force and roared away in the opposite direction to the likely enemy axis of advance.
Xanat stayed still for a moment, the air around him abuzz with noospheric calculations. After pause he turned and sent a burst of data to his remaining Skitarii forces.
“+++ The Inquisition departs. Look to the Omnissiah for deliverance and prepare your motive force for battle +++”
The Magos eyed the near-invisible heat signatures of the Eldar in the woods speculatively. Perhaps the Xenos would be able to stop the coming storm…
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The remaining Mechanicus forces guard the dig site
Xanat and his tech-priest tend to the vehicles
A group of Eldar constructs appear
They probe the perimeter, the the Imperial's disquiet
They move too close and a burst of desultory fire form the Skitarii damages a nearby grav-platform
Before either side can retaliate, a sinister figure appears on a nearby bluff….
Beyond the perimeter, horrors emerge
The scions of Nurgle march forth
The elite of the Deathguard arrive
A true ancient from the Age of Darkness emerges from the trees
On the right flank, a mighty landraider, dedicated to the Thousand Sons arrives
It is joined by Tzeentchian creatures, twisted and vile
The forces of order are beset on all sides
Chaos fire damages the mechanicus tanks
Skitarii held in reserve ambush the acolytes
The Terminators close
The Skitarii finish the acolytes
Harlequins leap from the shadows and engage the Deathguard
More of the Laughing Gods followers arrive
The Thousand Sons dreadnaught turns Skitarii to ash with Volkite weaponry
The Deathguard prove to be disgustingly resilient
The battle rages
The terminator assault slams home
Rubric marines deploy from the Landraider
…and blast the Skitarii caught in the open
Glad I’m not down there…
The fell powers surrounding the battlefield call daemons from the warp
The Scarab Occult teleport to the inner defences
Can the centre hold?
More plague marines deploy
Rubric marines assault the Macrocarid Explorator
The Eldar are hard pressed by the Deathguard
Xanat defends his prized transport
The Deathguard begin to break through the Eldar line
Strength 3 vs Toughness 5…
The Harlequins are almost spent
The Scarab Terminators scour the ruins of the Skitarii with a deluge of sorcerous fire
As all seems lost, a nibus of eldritch fire plays across the Xenos artefact. Strange figures appear surrounding the ancient Eldar relic
What Xenos trickery is this?!
Seeing what is playing out, the Thousand Sons lord storms the dig site
But the Eldar will not be denied, and the Terminator champion is struck down with contemptuous ease by the Farseer
With a flash of power the Eldar sorcerers, along with the artefact and Harliquins vanish in a searing flash. Finding himself alone on a battlefield crawling with traitor legionaries,
Xanat and his tech-priest scramble aboard his Explorator and flee.
Victory Eldar!
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The circle of Deathguard surrounding the now empty dig site parted to let through their priest. The cowled figure knelt down and extended a hand to the recently disturbed soil.
His skin was jaundiced and covered in weeping sores. Worms slithered beneath his skin. When his fingers brushed the dirt, maggots spilled from the ground.
A wet rasping laughter filled the air as the priest stood.
“The fools think they have won. But all falls to the grandfather in the end. All they have done this day is delay the inevitable. “
The priest shuffled his way out of the ruins, the hulking Deathguard respectfully stepping out of the way of the diminutive figure.
His hacking laugh echoed from the ancient stones long after the last follower of the Plague God had departed.
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Who says you can’t run a three-way
40K game? That worked pretty well, with the Mechanicus and Eldar players forming a (temporary) alliance to fend off the Chaos attack.
Well, apart from a little skirmish at the beginning, but who’s counting?
The
DM sprang another surprise on us at the end, with the Eldar managing to hold off Chaos long enough to trigger the game event that saw the artefact spirited away by the Seer Council at the death.
A good result for the Eldar, but I’m not sure Xanat will be trusting the Xenos again any time soon.
Next battle, Into the Valley of Death. The Antipodean Rangers and the Salamanders launch a major assault as they push ever closer to the Chaos stronghold.
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~5000 pts
~5000 pts 