White Scars Plasma Outrider Squad

I added two more Outriders with plasma guns to bring the squad up to a more respectable five members. I think it makes the squad look better and more appropriate. I can't imagine I will add any more to this unit because the cost is already astronomical. Equipped as shown, the squad comes in at over 300 points! Yowza. It seems unlikely they will make back their points in enemy kills in any normal circumstances. But they look so cool that I can't see leaving them out of too many games.

Horus Heresy Campaign Update: Resolution of Phase 2

Phase 2 Overview

The second phase (set of five battles representing the Battle of the Vaalbara Plateau) of the campaign is well under way and approaching the climax. I'd like the last two battles to tie in directly to each other, with Game 4 impacting what type of battle will be played in the finale. I would like the last game to feel like the resolution of a distinct story arc and feel significant.This phase saw the development of the personalities and styles of warfare of the two Praetors as well as escalated the scale with the addition of the Imperial Fists, the Fellblade, and fortifications.

Horus Heresy Battle Report 10: Assault on Bunker Tauruk

"The bigger they are... the harder they hit."

 - Sergeant Albrecht,
Death Guard Legion

Campaign To Date:

As the Horus Heresy rages across the galaxy, the Xhorik System is engulfed in civil war. On the planet of Xhorik Prime, the traitors have been on the offensive, gaining ground and mostly pushing the loyalist forces back to the northern badlands. Despite a few successful raids and ambushes, the White Scars and their allies have mostly been taking the worst of the conflict and have been forced back to their stronghold on the snowy Vaalbara Plateau, pursued by the relentless Death Guard.

With control of the only major space port in the vicinity, the half-ruined city of Bielyr, the Death Guard are able to bring in a super heavy battle tank to further increase the pressure on the loyalist forces.The White Scars sent a kill team to attempt to disable the tank while it was still making final preparations to leave the port, but they ran into a rival Death Guard kill team protecting the crucial reassembly and armament facility. The White Scars were only able to cause modest damage to the facility, which would slightly delay the tank's arrival to the war zone.

Meanwhile, Praetor Wolfgang of the Death Guard was preparing to launch his assault on the loyalist fortification known as Bunker Tauruk, knowing he had to strike before enemy reinforcements could arrive. As it stood, he would be starting the assault outnumbered, but he had to trust that his men had done their job and that his super heavy war machine would arrive in time to carry the day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Praetor Zhalitai Zherdan watched the Death Guard forces approaching through the dry swirling dust and ice. Raw hatred burned inside him at the sight of the former heroes who had broken their vows, murdered their own brothers, and tore asunder the great accomplishment of humanity, the Empire of Man. He closed his eyes, channeling his anger to a cold focus on the death of his enemies. He gripped his power glaive and felt as one with with the ornate and flawless weapon. 

No help would be arriving until tomorrow, at the earliest. His small force was on their own. Wolfgang surely knew it as well, which was why he was attacking now.

Zherdan scanned the horizon for any sign of a large dust plume indicating the approach of the Death Guard Fellblade. If Sergeant Khaljyk and his kill team had succeeded and the Fellblade was unable to join the assault, he was confident he could turn back the traitor tide here today. But if Kill Team Sürel had failed... he knew he had little chance of stopping the monstrous machine with the firepower he had available. He knew his best chance was to find and slay Praetor Wolfgang, cutting the head from the snake and giving his reinforcements time to arrive and launch a counter attack.

As the Death Guard advanced nearly into range, he finalized the positions of his men, gave his last orders, and positioned himself in the center of the fortification, ready to strike out at any enemy that dared approach too close.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

We played a modified version of Blood Feud, the first of the original six Horus Heresy missions. This mission awards victory points for destroying enemy units, as well as Slay the Warlord and a bonus VP for the side with the most units left at the end of the game. Additionally, each side picks a specific type of unit to kill for bonus victory points. To stay with the story of the campaign at this point, we decided that Pete (Traitors) would be trying to destroy the loyalist fortification and we counted each individual bunker of the Castellum Stronghold as being worth an extra VP.  For the Loyalists, we thought it would make the most sense to target the enemy vehicles as the biggest threat so we made each vehicle (rhino, dreadnought and Fellblade) worth an extra victory point. Both of these were slight variations from the actual rules, but seemed fair since each side could earn up to three extra VPs. We also decided that a destroyed unit would be worth a number of VPs relative to its point cost rather than all units being worth one victory point: 0 - 100 pts = 1 VP, 101 - 200 pts = 2 VP, etc.

Finally, with the previous Kill Team game being a draw, we decided that the Fellblade would be available for the battle, but would be in "Delayed Reserve" which meant a 6+ roll to arrive in Turn 2, 4+ to arrive in Turn 3, and would automatically arrive in Turn 4.

Pete setup the terrain and we mutually decided on the deployment zones to accommodate the large fortification. Phil won the roll to go first and elected to do so.

ARMY SELECTION: 1700 Points

Death Guard - Pete

• Praetor Wolfgang: Terminator armor, Paragon Blade, volkite charger, digilasers
• Apothecary Wilhelm
• Apothecary
• Tactical Squad Stärke: 14 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor
• Tactical Squad Ritter: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor, rhino with heavy flamer
• Tactical Support Squad März: 7 marines with volkite calivers
• Heavy Support Squad Tragen: 3 marines with missile launchers
• Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich:  multi-melta, meltagun, dreadnought close combat weapon
• Fellblade Super Heavy Tank

White Scars - Phil

White Scars, Brotherhood of the Wind

• Praetor Zalitai Zherdan: Master-crafted power glaive, bolter, iron halo, cyber hawk, digilasers
• Tactical Squad Kheeg: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power glaive and artificer armor
• Tactical Support Squad Khoer: 8 marines with plasma guns
• Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer Kharvaak: Omega Plasma Array, heavy bolter and lascannon sponsons
• Castellum Stronghold with two twin-linked lascannons and a twin-linked heavy bolter

Imperial Fists, Boarding Party

• Terminator Squad: Plasma blaster, volkite charger, two power fists, chainfist, lighting claws

Kozar Army Auxillia

• Infantry squad: 20 infantry with lascarbines
• Grenadier squad: 12 grenadiers with melta gun and grenade launcher
• Sentinels: 2 sentinels with multi-meltas
• Tauros: counts-as Legion Attack Bike with autocannon

BATTLE:

The White Scars and their Imperial Fist and Kozar Army allies defend their base as the implacable Death Guard slowly approach. Luckily for the defenders, Kill Team Sürel partially succeeded in their mission and at least delayed the Traitors' massive new weapon of war. But for how long?

Horus Heresy Campaign Update

Here are some quick thoughts on the campaign so far.

I like the idea of breaking the campaign up into phases of roughly five games and roughly 500 points of escalation each. This gives a chance to have some resolution to certain parts of the story other than the entire campaign and makes the games more significant toward a bigger result. It also gives us a chance to play through some full campaigns from the rule books as a particular phase of the conflict (such as the Death of Isstvan III from HH Book One or the campaign from the 5th Edition Rulebook). I'm leaning more toward Kill Team games just impacting the main battles rather than counting equally in terms of results. They should have a significant impact on the main game and/or potentially carry over victory points. Another option would be to have the impact on the main battle but also count as a half victory for scoring the campaign phase.

Phase 1 was the Battle for Bielyr. This was an escalation of games from about 500 to about 1000 points per side. It consisted of five battles and was won by the Death Guard 4 - 1. This resulted in the Death Guard capturing the now-ruined border city of Bielyr and pushing the war north into Kozar territory.

Phase 2 is the battle for the Vaalbara Plateau. The escalation is continuing from about 1000 to about 1500 points per side, with some Kill Team games thrown in that have effects on the main battles. So far, we have played two main battles and two Kill Team games, with each side claiming a victory in a main battle. The Death Guard advance was stopped by a Loyalist ambush, but after rescuing their commander, the traitors were able to repel a White Scars advance. The next battle will be the Death Guard assaulting the White Scars fortifications as they push deeper into enemy territory. For this task, they have brought in new heavy artillery, but the White Scars were able to slightly delay its arrival by forcing a draw in the last Kill Team game.

For the Game 10 scenario, I am picturing the Death Guard in the role of the Attacker. The Loyalists will be using some fortifications. We only have access to rules for two fortification choices: the Imperial Primus Redoubt and the Imperial Castellum Stronghold. I think I can use my existing bunker and the two new ones I am making to create a poor-boy Castellum Stronghold proxy. The Castellum is supposed to be a main bunker with three annexes and a force field between them all. I can create a three-bunker complex without the force field gates instead for roughly 75% of the cost, if that sounds fair.

Pete and are I looking for a suitable mission, but if we cannot find one, we can either just play for Kill Points or make up a scenario that sounds fun and fair.


Other Campaign Stuff:

Terrain:
We have finally documented our campaign terrain rules to make them more consistent from game to game.

Warlords:
Our Praetors can choose a Warlord Trait instead of rolling for one as long as it is suitable based on the way they have played so far. That trait should not change from game to game unless both players agree there was a significant change in the way the Warlord or his army played and then the new trait should be representative of that. Obviously Praetor Wolfgang has played a much bigger role in the campaign so far, with Praetor Zherdan only featuring in one or two battles. But that should change as the games get larger and I have the points to spend on a Praetor rather than a Centurion.


Blast Marker Weapon House Rule:
For direct fire: Roll to hit as normal. If hit, place the template on the closest visible model in the target unit, as per normal rules for casualty removal. If miss, roll for scatter with artillery dice and scatter dice.
OR: Can use the standard rules (place the blast anywhere in the unit and automatically roll for scatter subtracting BS.
Indirect fire (barrage) stays the same as current if there is no line of sight. If there is line of sight, you can choose to fire directly, as above.

Blast weapons/units should probably cost 15-20% more because of the improved deadliness of the guns.


Feedback is welcome.

Horus Heresy Battle Report 9: Disable the Fellblade (Kill Team)

"If you can see us, we are dangerous indeed. But that is nothing to the peril you face if you cannot see us, and all you can hear is our laughter."

 - Brother Elder Gansukh of Kill Team Sürel,

White Scars Legion

Campaign To Date:


Xhorik Prime is engulfed in civil war as the traitors attempt to subdue the system prior to the arrival of Horus and his host on their long march to Terra. The loyalists know that if they can gain control of the system, they can deny Horus a place to safely resupply. So far, the war has mostly gone the traitors' way as they have claimed five victories to the loyalists' two. With a recent defeat, the White Scars and their allies, a small band of Imperial Fists and Kozar military auxiliaries, have been forced to fall back to fortified positions in the northern mountains. The Death Guard are making an immediate advance to strike before the loyalists can regroup and gather reinforcements.

Additionally, with their control of the main space port in the region, the traitors are able to bring in additional reinforcements. The latest to arrive is a super heavy battle tank and an icon of the Death Guard, a fearsome Fellblade. Partially broken down for transport on the small craft available, the war machine must be reassembled and loaded out with weapons systems, ammo and fuel prior to battle.  Loyalists scouts were able to spot the tank's arrival, allowing Praetor Zherdan to send a White Scars kill team behind enemy lines to attempt to disable the tank before it is battle-ready. Knowing how critical the heavy weaponry would be to his assault, Praetor Wolfgang of the Death Guard assigned an elite unit of his own, Kill Team Ritter, to guard the tank and see it safely to the front lines. Wolfgang is already moving on the White Scars positions, not wanting to give them a chance to recover, and planning that his big guns will arrive in time to neutralize the enemy defenses and allow his army to overrun the loyalist position. He knows the White Scars have nothing that can match his Fellblade and its arrival should mean a quick end to the war.

PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

This was our first game using the Kill Team boxed game rules. We played the mission Disrupt Supply Lines from the book, with the twist that the attacking White Scars are attempting to disable or at least delay the Death Guard's super heavy Fellblade tank by damaging the tank and the control systems of the equipment conducting the final on-planet re-assembly and loadout after the partial disassembly for planetary landing. Pete placed three objective markers (the rear left vent of the Fellblade and two control consoles) in his deployment zone. Controlling an objective marker is worth 3 victory points. Additionally, the attacker scores 1 victory point for each objective destroyed (using a special mission Tactic card for 1 command point) and a player scores 1 victory point if the enemy's kill team is broken at the end of the game. Game length is 4 turns with a chance for a potential 5th and 6th turn.

The result of this mission would determine whether or not the Fellblade would be available for the upcoming Traitor assault on the Loyalist stronghold.


FORCES:

Death Guard Kill Team Ritter

Their  mission is to protect the crucial Fellblade until it is kitted out for the assault on the White Scars fortified position.

Kill Team Ritter is back for another mission, this time to protect the mighty Fellblade as it receives it's final loadout prior to battle. The team is led by the feared Sergeant Albrecht and features Apothecary Wilhelm and a heavy weapons expert.

White Scars Kill Team Sürel

Their mission is to disable and delay the mighty superheavy tank to give their brothers a chance in the ensuing battle.

For this mission, the White Scars Legion Brotherhood of the Wind has assembled their first kill team. Kill Team Sürel (to stalk) is ostensibly led by the dynamic and charismatic Sergeant Khaljyk (running with glaive), but the centerpiece holding the team together with his wisdom and calm demeanor is the elderly Brother Gansukh, a Terran veteran and expert plasma gun marksman (bare headed).


BATTLE:

The main objective: the mighty Fellblade, still in the process of being re-assembled and loaded out for battle.

The arrows point out the three objective markers: the left rear vent of the Fellblade and two control systems for the factory. The White Scars infiltrated the plant from the near side.

Kill Team Sürel has taken out the outer sentries and infiltrated the plant before Kill Team Ritter raises the alarm.

Two of the Death Guard cover the long open approach to the crane control system console. 

Sergeant Khaljyk sprints across the open ground just inside the plant's southern entrance, with an eye on the assembly control console on the eastern platform deck.

The White Scars stalk through the heavy equipment, their target in their sights. 

Sergeant Albrecht, Apothecary Wilhelm and a melta gunner guard the key weak point on the Fellblade. 

The Death Guard know the importance of getting their war machine into the upcoming battle and prepare to lay down their lives to protect her, if needed.

Both kill teams advance and fire at close range.

The White Scars move up to the bridge while the Death Guard hold their ground on the objective.

The Death Guard defenders inflict a flesh wound on one of the White Scars plasma gunners. 

 Sergeant Khaljyk sprints on his bionic leg across the open factory floor while two Death Guard marines try unsuccessfully to bring him down. One of the Death Guard is injured from the deadly White Scars sniper, Brother Gansukh.

Khaljyk quickly ascends the ladder as the Death Guard fall back and continue to fire.

The Death Guard heavy weapons expert fires a krak missile at the oncoming White Scars, but the shot sails wide.

The firefight around the crane control module heats up as the combatants close distance. 

The heavy weapons trooper is gunned down at point blank range while his Death Guard brother charges the plasma gunner.

Sergeant Khaljyk charges both Death Guard troopers protecting the assembly console. They try to fall back, but he is quick enough to catch them and inflict a flesh wound on one with his power glaive.

The battle for the elevated control panel objectives rages on, both sides fighting intensely to help their brothers in the upcoming assault. 

Brother Khoro clambers up on top of the Fellblade and starts firing down at Apothecary Wilhelm, trying to clear a path to the tank's weak point where his explosives would be damaging. Meanwhile, Sergeant Albrecht climbs the ladder and charges into the melee on the catwalk. 

The game of cat and mouse on the factory floor continues as the combatants weave and scramble among the pillars for a good line of sight or some cover.

The White Scars gain control of the assembly console while the Death Guard still protect the weak spot on the Fellblade. 

The White Scars missed their chance to detonate the crane console when they had control of it and now Albrecht has them fighting for their lives with his deadly power fist.

The Death Guard hold their ground around the tank as the White Scars advance.

Albrecht strikes down his Loyalist foe with his power fist, as the surviving White Scar marine charges into the fray.

The White Scars also launch an assault on the ground level to try to wrest control of the tank's weak point so they can plant their explosives. 

Melees rage near all of the objectives. 

Sergeant Khaljyk continues to dodge attacks and inflict flesh wounds on his opponents but cannot bring them down, while Albrecht's power fist crushes another of the White Scars near the crane controls. 

The battle for the tank continues with neither side able to strike the decisive blow. 

Brother Gansukh tries to kill Albrecht in revenge for his brothers' lives, but the Death Guard sergeant shrugs off the plasma fire. The battle draws to a close as Death Guard reinforcements close in, forcing Kill Team Sürel to fall back, hoping the damage they inflicted would be enough to delay the deadly war machine in the oncoming assault. 

Result: 

With the Loyalists and Traitors each holding one objective, the tank being contested and neither Kill Team breaking the other, the result was a draw with 3 victory points per side.

Since neither side won outright, I think the most fair result of this mission is that the Fellblade is available in the next game, but is delayed due to the damage the Loyalists caused to the factory. I think the tank should have 4+ chance of arriving turn 3 and if that fails, automatically arrive turn 4. It would be available for roughly half of a standard 5 - 6 turn mission.

Alternatively, the tank could be rushed to the front without finishing assembly or weapons loadout. In this case, it would be available to deploy as normal, but would be at roughly half strength (vs having the tank at full strength for half of the game). This might mean that it starts with half of its hull points and only a 4+ chance for each weapon to be functional for the battle.

Of course, the traitors could elect not to use the tank at all under these circumstances and build an army without it.

These are just my ideas. If anyone has any others, let us know.



POST-GAME:

Loyalist Post-Game Analysis:

Phil: I really enjoyed the fast-pace of the game and the interesting tactical decision making. The alternating deployment, never knowing who will go first on a turn, and alternating shooting/assault attacks all make for a more interesting act-and-react dynamic than the core Horus Heresy/40k games where you take turns landing massive haymakers on each other with your entire army. As our first game of Kill Team, it was a bit of struggle with all of the specialists and command points and both of us missed multiple opportunities to use points and skills because we were caught up in the action.

Overall, it was a good, well-matched game with neither side ever really gaining a distinct advantage. I feel I played well enough to win the mission, but made a big rookie mistake. As part of learning the general rules, the mission rules, and all the Tactics, I forgot to use the Attacker Tactic from the mission that would have allowed me to destroy the crane console objective at the end of the turn that I controlled it; I thought it would be during a model's action phase such as move or shooting. On the next turn, Pete's sergeant charged in and I never controlled the objective again. Had I destroyed it, I would have earned one VP and prevented  Pete from holding it at the end, which may have tipped the game.

The other item of note is just how hard it is for space marines to kill each other in Kill Team. After six turns, only three of our 14 models were out of action (two from the power fist) and neither side was ever at risk of failing morale. Although that may have just been a result of our poor dice rolling: I inflicted 7 flesh wounds on Pete's traitors and never got an "out of action" result, my only kill coming from stacking 3 flesh wounds on the same guy.

In the end, it was a good game (with a few good beers) on nice terrain with some fun, cinematic moments. You can't ask for much more than that.


Traitor Post-Game Analysis:

Pete: Well that was an interesting game. I agree with Phil that having space marines play space marines might have led to a bit of a dud in terms of casualties and action. I’d be excited to play again with some weaker models on the board. But I liked the gameplay and the pace of play with the alternating phases in each turn.

I’m not sure the game really needs the action cards and command points to be a fun experience. I liked the specialists, and I think it’d be entertaining to level them up and see them progress over a series of skirmish battles.

As for my strategy in the game, I tried to spread my small force between the three objectives and wait
for the White Scars to come to me - nothing too fancy. I focused my strongest group with the sergeant, melta gun marine and apothecary down around the tank, thinking they might mix it up with the enemy up close and personal. And it was hard not to think of the objective down on the tank as the primary objective, even if all three counted equally.

I was really disappointed in my missile launcher marine as he fizzled out and got knocked out. I figured he would be one of the strongest participants in the battle and he didn’t live up to his potential. Or live.

We will definitely have to mix-in some more Kill Team into our ongoing campaign for Xhorik Prime, as well as with other armies and games outside of the Horus Heresy. I see a lot of potential.

Objective Markers

In the last battle, we had to use some tokens to represent the objectives because we did not have many suitable models or terrain pieces, so I decided to make up a few quick objective markers.

These are generic enough to be scanners, force field generators, teleportation devices (or jammers), security controls, you name it.

Campaign Terrain Rules

All cover saves are for infantry. Vehicles use the Hull Down rules and must be at least 25% covered from the view of the firer.

Moving up and down counts as inches of movement. Moving up and down ladders, steps or open slopes counts as normal movement. Climbing up or down without a ladder counts as difficult terrain.

Ruins:
Visibility into/out of/through the ruins is limited to 6".
Entire base provides 4+ cover save.
Entire base is difficult terrain for infantry, dangerous for vehicles.

Horus Heresy Battle Report 8: Clash of the Lines

"The object of war is not to die a glorious and heroic death, but to give one to your enemy."

 - Sergeant Albrecht,
Death Guard Legion

Campaign To Date:

It is the middle of the Age of Darkness, as the Warmaster Horus makes his long march toward Terra, leaving shattered star systems in his wake. Lying in the path of the traitors' advance, the planet of Xhorik Prime is torn apart in civil war after only recently being united in the Great Crusade. The largest nation, The Federation of Unimund declare for the Warmaster and Mortarian as their living gods and liberators, while their ancient rivals to the north, the stratocracy of Kozar and her allies, side with their kindred spirits and sworn blood brothers, the White Scars. An advance force of Death Guard has been tasked with bringing the Xhorik System into compliance so that the main war host can safely resupply and move on quickly.

The early stages of the conflict centered around the Battle for Bielyr, a major city on the border between the two sides. After a long, hard-fought struggle through the ruined streets, the Death Guard  were able to drive the loyalists north out of the now-destroyed city. Once they had lost the city, the White Scars fell back before the Death Guard advance and lured their forward forces into a trap. Thanks to some unexpected assistance from a small band of Imperial Fists, the loyalists cut off the traitor vanguard and captured their commander, Praetor Wolfgang. But a daring rescue mission performed by a small band of Death Guard freed Wolfgang and returned him to his army in time to lead his men against the imminent attack by the White Scars.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Sir, you have returned! By Mortarion himself, it is damn good to see you." Consul Heynrich saluted.

"The enemy are already upon us. What is the status of our positions?" barked Praetor Wolfgang, stomping into the command tent, clad once again in massive tactical dreadnought armor.

"Sir, the enemy is engaged all along our lines. We are spread thin trying to protect our flanks on this open plateau against their Outriders. But we are well positioned, my lord. Our reports tell us their main attack is coming against our left flank, led by Praetor Zherdan himself. I have already sent all reserves to strengthen our positions there. We will have the numbers to throw them back and we will emerge victorious." 

"Fool," spat Wolfgang. "That is a feint. Those riders will disappear into the dust as soon as you engage them in force. The key to the battle hinges on the abandoned outpost here." Wolfgang's armored finger stabbed the holomap. "It is the only tenable position on this plateau we can hold for long against their mobility without our lines being spread apart and our units picked off. Zherdan knows it, so he makes a show of force to the west to draw away our reserves."

Wolfgang glanced around. "Give me every man you have left in camp. Albrecht, bring Squad Ritter and move out on my command. They shall feel the wrath and vengeance of the Death Guard, and see it is like nothing they have ever known."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

We played the Onslaught mission from both Horus Heresy Book One and Book Six using the Clash of the Line deployment (opposing triangles on the short edges) to really represent the spear tips of two armies crashing together and trying to break through this key location. Onslaught is an aggressive mission that awards VPs for enemy units killed in the first turn and controlling your tactical objective in the enemy's deployment zone at the end of the game. Secondary objectives are Slay the Warlord and Attrition, which awards an extra VP to the army that destroyed the most enemy units. We also added a scenario rule of having a random level of dust storm each turn, with a range of effects such as limiting visibility, causing pinning, impacting reserves and deep striking, and more. With only Troops able to capture the objectives, neither side could afford to sit still and not advance aggressively.

Pete won the roll to select his deployment zone. Phil won the roll to go first and elected to do so.

ARMY SELECTION: 1100 Points

Death Guard - Pete

• Praetor Wolfgang: Terminator armor, Paragon Blade, volkite charger, digilasers
• Apothecary Wilhelm
• Tactical Squad Stärke: 14 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor
• Tactical Squad Ritter: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor, rhino with heavy flamer
• Tactical Support Squad März: 7 marines with volkite calivers
• Heavy Support Squad Tragen: 3 marines with missile launchers
• Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich:  multi-melta, meltagun, dreadnought close combat weapon

White Scars - Phil

White Scars, Brotherhood of the Wind

• Centurion Kuyuk: Power glaive, bolter, refractor field
• Tactical Squad Kheeg: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power glaive and artificer armor
• Tactical Support Squad Khoer: 5 marines with plasma guns
• Legion Outrider Squad Anchin: 3 bikes with twin-linked plasma guns, sergeant
• Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer: Omega Plasma Array, heavy bolter and lascannon sponsons

Imperial Fists, Boarding Party

• Terminator Squad: Plasma blaster, volkite charger, two power fists, chainfist, lighting claws

BATTLE:

The front lines of the two forces engage each other in the badlands of the Vaalbara Plateau near a deserted outpost that forms the only defensible position in the area. 

The armies clash along a wide front, but the crux of the battle swings around this outpost as an anchor for the rest of the conflict. Whichever side can break through at this key point will sway the entire battle for their side.

Horus Heresy Battle Report 7: The Extraction

"What of honor? What of glory? The only glory is victory; the only dishonor, defeat. Honor without victory is worthless. The methods of war matter not, only that my foes are dead while I yet fight."

 - Sergeant Albrecht, leader of Kill Team Ritter,
Death Guard Legion

Campaign To Date:

The planet of Xhorik Prime is engulfed in civil war as two rival blocs of nations, only united during the Great Crusade, now align themselves with opposing sides in the Horus Heresy. Falling directly in the path of Horus' long march to Terra, an advance force of Death Guard has been tasked with bringing the Xhorik System into compliance so that the main war host can safely resupply and move on quickly. Standing in the way to control of the main planet is a small garrison of White Scars and their Kozar military allies, their sworn brothers.

The early stages of the conflict centered around the Battle for Bielyr, a major city on the border between the two sides. After a long, hard-fought struggle through the ruined streets, the Death Guard were able to drive the loyalists north out of the now-destroyed city. Once they had lost the city, the White Scars fell back before the Death Guard advance and lured their forward forces into a trap. Thanks to some unexpected assistance from a small band of Imperial Fists, they cut off the traitor vanguard and captured their commander, Praetor Wolfgang.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Korab squinted into the setting sun, but with the dust, the glare and the fading light, it was as useless as peering into thick fog. As the sun sank below the horizon, he could feel the temperature dropping, seemingly by the minute. For hours he had endured the blazing heat and now he only had a moment to enjoy the coolness before the wind started to chill him through his sweat-soaked uniform. But that was life on Second Duty: sweat for hours and then freeze until Third Duty relieved him. Korab gave up staring into the setting sun as his comm link blinked, notifying him that he was due to report. 

"Patrol oh-six checking in. Western perimeter clear. Over." 

'As if I had any idea what's more than 50 feet in front of my face...', he thought. 

He knew they had the auto-sensor perimeter nodes lined up around the entire outpost. 'So what is the point of all this endless partolling around out here in the damned wind all damn day like this?' He looked around at his patrol;  Jori and Orik were trying to stand downwind of one of the storage tanks of the processing facility they had re-purposed as a makeshift outpost. Korab gave the hand signal to move on and started toward the pumping station. When the wind picked up at dusk like this, he knew he would either have to shout to be heard or use the comm link, which needed to stay clear for official reports only, so they had gotten used to communicating non-verbally.

"Patrol oh-one checking in. Northern perimeter clear. Weather conditions just beee-autiful," came a voice over the comm link, slightly broken up by static. Korab grinned at Tomor's sarcasm even as he shivered; the temperature was dropping fast now that the sun was all but gone. All that remained was a reddish glow reflected by the clouds of dust. 

Korab turned his head to the left as we walked. He noticed a large shape materializing out of the darkening swirling dust. Panic gripped him as he reached for the comm link button. The shape moved at unexpected speed. As he reached the button, a large blade was driven straight through his throat. Korab tried to scream, but all that came out was a wheeze as his hand fell away from the comm unit and he collapsed in the dust. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

To represent a small team of Death Guard sneaking into the Loyalist outpost, we decided to use the Kill Team rules from Horus Heresy Book Six, but we used the original set from the 40k 4th Edition Rulebook where the defender had Brute squads to make it easier to manage the large number of infantry. For anyone not familiar, the sentries start unaware with only a random chance for the Defender to control them, but as the Attacker makes noise, Klaxon counters are accrued and the sentries are increasingly likely to investigate. We also made a slight change that if the attacker charged from outside the sentries' spotting distance and wiped out the Brute squad in the first round, they were considered to have been killed before they could shout out or raise the alarm, so the Defender would not accrue a Klaxon counter.


BATTLE:

View of the Loyalist outpost from the west. 

As an industrial facility without many options for securing prisoners, Wolfgang was housed in the empty processing chamber on the upper level.  

Horus Heresy Battle Report 6: Ambush!

"Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack."

Zalitai Zherdan, Praetor of the Brotherhood of the Wind, 

when asked about preparations for the Death Guard advance

Campaign To Date:
It is the middle of the Age of Darkness, as the Warmaster Horus makes his long march toward Terra, leaving shattered star systems in his wake. Lying in the path of the traitors' advance, the planet of Xhorik Prime is torn apart in civil war after only recently being united in the Great Crusade. The largest nation, The Federation of Unimund declare for the Warmaster and Mortarian as their living gods and liberators, while their ancient rivals to the north, the stratocracy of Kozar and her allies, side with their kindred spirits and sworn blood brothers, the White Scars.

The first few weeks of the conflict centered around the battle for the border city of Bielyr, which quickly degenerated into small, isolated infantry detachments engaging in desperate close quarters street fighting. In the tight confines of the ruined city, the Death Guard proved their mettle as their Eradication Teams systematically killed and drove back the over-matched loyalist forces of White Scars Astartes and Imperial Army Auxilia street by bloody street, block by ruined block. The only victory for the loyalists came in the form of a daring raid behind enemy lines south of Bielyr to destroy a fuel plant, thus delaying the Death Guard heavy armor from arriving to the battle zone and allowing the remainder of the loyalist forces to fall back from the city before the unrelenting Death Guard advance.

Praetor Wolfgang of the Death Guard left the final mopping up and garrison duty in Bielyr to his reserves as he pushed on northward after the fleeing White Scars, looking to crush his enemies before they could regroup and be reinforced.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The bitter eastern winds brought clouds of grey dust down from the distant mountains, scouring the vast sheet of bare volcanic rock known as the Vaalbara Plateau. Somehow, scattered clusters of tough, stunted plants clung tenaciously to the rock, their  sharply spiked forms testament to the unforgiving environment. The Death Guard detachment pressed on in their northerly march, restlessly pursuing the fleeing White Scars and Kozar Army regiments. 

Through the swirling clouds of dust and sand, Praetor Wolfgang spotted the silhouette of the mining and processing outpost that, according to his scouts, the fleeing loyalist forces were using as a rallying point. Wolfgang had taken Bielyr through the single-minded application of  calculated logical maneuvers, executed by his men without any thought of individual safety or glory. Acting as a single vast machine with a multitude of parts, the Death Guard marines each knew their role and carried it out, no matter the cost; death was no excuse for failure. And now Wolfgang calculated that the logical result of the pursuit was that the loyalists would dig in at the only defensible location in the vicinity, surrounded as it was by a vast, bare plateau. He computed that the resistance would be fierce and there would be many casualties among his forces, but the inevitable result would be victory for the superior forces of the Death Guard, especially if he could hit them quickly and under the cover of the dust storm before they had a chance to fully fortify their position. 

The shrieking black wind abetted somewhat as the column entered the cluster of processing stations and administrative buildings, intending to strike the final blow through the heart of the enemy division.  Wolfgang and many of his men dismounted from their transports, ready for the dangerous door-to-door fighting through the facility that they expected. But as they advanced into the outpost without resistance, Wolfgang realized it wasn't just due to the cover of the dust storm as he initially thought; there was no one here. Instincts honed over hundreds of campaigns immediately told him to fall back. His scouts had been deceived. 

But the moment he began giving the order, an eruption of plasma and missile strikes broke out all around him and the lead elements of the column. Deafening explosions burst nearby with such force that Wolfgang felt them deep in his core rather than heard them. Through the smoke and flames, he saw the hated enemy advancing from all sides. Surrounded and heavily outnumbered, he knew he could not win this fight. He had no fear of death and knew he would take many foes with him if he stood and fought to the end. But his orders were to achieve victory and deliver Xhorik Prime to the advancing traitor army, not to die here. Lifting his ancient blade, he called out to the scattered survivors, "To me! To me! Forward, for the Death Lord! For Barbarus!" Gathering a small band of survivors, he prepared to break through the encirclement and only then, with unrelenting hatred, take his vengeance on his enemies, whether it take a day, a month or a hundred years. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

Since we had more painted loyalists and traitors, we decided to play the mission Between the Hammer and the Anvil from Horus Heresy Book Six. Pete (the traitors) would get victory points for each unit that escaped the table and Phil (loyalists) would earn victory points for each traitor unit destroyed.


BATTLE:

The Death Guard have pursued the fleeing loyalists to this mining and processing outpost on the Vaalbara Plateau. 

The outpost is an industrial and administrative center surrounded by barren rock and stunted, spiked trees. 

Shadow War Armageddon Industrial Terrain Painted

I finally got around to painting my Shadow War Armageddon terrain. There are a couple of homemade pieces in there to extend how far the plastic kits go (Pringles canister off on the right and peanut canister under the large central platform). I also plan to use my pumping station with this since I built the platform to match the height, but it didn't get in the picture because it is still over at Pete's from our last game.

I tried to keep it simple, but it was still a long job just because there is so much surface area. All the paints except the Typhus Corrosion and washes were cheap craft store paints. Recipe was black primer, heavy drybrush dark grey, drybrush medium gray, then a wash with a mix of Agrax/Nuln oil, light drybrush of light grey, then primarily Typhus Corrosion for the grime and weathering. I wanted it to be quick and look decent and to stay in the background without overpowering the models as the center of attention on the battlefield. I think this recipe gets the mix right.

It looks like I need to add a few more of the clip-on wall/fences for cover in a few more places. Eventually, I would like to add more to it until we have enough to play a game using the Zone Mortalis rules on this terrain.

Drop Troops - New Additions and Full Army Recap

After buying the Imperialis Militias and Cults army list, I realized I was going to need a lot more men to make my units legal for Horus Heresy. So I painted up enough riflemen to give me a full squad of 20, plus a few medics to add into my units as needed. Here are the new models and a look at the full army so far. It just needs a commander to be FOC-legal for Horus Heresy or 40k.

First up, some converted Auxilia Medicae. Grav-chute strikes are extremely dangerous so these guys will be in high demand and given no shortage of opportunities to apply their arts.

Imperial Reinforcements

After numerous stinging defeats at the hands of the traitors, a call for Imperial reinforcements has been answered by an elite strike force of Imperial Fists, led by Sergeant Darius Faulk.

Horus Heresy Battle Report 5: The Onslaught Continues

PRE GAME AND MISSION:

We used our custom mission cards and each drew a random, secret mission. For a list of the missions, see the previous battle report.

Pete drew Take and Hold. After putting back his first choice, Phil drew Assassinate and had to play it face up.

Rolling for the shape of the deployment zones yielded opposing corners. Phil won the roll to choose his deployment zone and chose the southwestern corner. Pete won the roll to go first and chose to deploy and go second.

View of the battlefield from the south. 

Drop Sentinels

The Xhorik 87th Drop Troops Regiment is finally getting some heavy support - relatively speaking, of course...

Drop sentinels of the Xhorik 87th. They have been in a field for a good while, picking up some dust and grime.

Drop Troops Provenance of War - Draft Rules

I'd like to be able to use my drop troops in our games of Horus Heresy. It seems the closest army list is the Imperialis Militia and Cults, as the Solar Auxilia is a bit too elite and has a very distinct fighting style built in to their rules. The Militia list allows for quite a bit of customization through the Provenances of War, but none of them really fit a drop troop army so I thought I would take a stab at making my own.


Drop Troopers................................+50 points

Unlike most Imperialis Militias and Cults, a drop troopers army is made up of highly-trained professional soldiers in a permanent state of combat readiness. They are an airborne force that trades heavy armor for mobility. They have no use for any equipment that cannot be transported by a Valkyire.

All units consisting entirely of Infantry gain Deep Strike.
Option - Sentinel units can gain Deep Strike for +50 points per unit.
Option - Grenadiers and Platoon Command Cadres can take a Valkyrie as a dedicated transport as long as they number 12 or less.

Cannot be combined with Cult Horde, Tainted Flesh, or Abhuman Helots.

Legion Fellblade Super Heavy Tank

I've uploaded a few pics of the newest (and biggest) addition to our Horus Heresy campaign - a Legion Fellblade super heavy tank. I've had my eye on this behemoth for the past year and I'm incredibly excited to have it assembled and ready for painting. As with any large resin model from Forgeworld, it was a complicated and frustrating build that took 10+ hours to complete. Each piece of resin must be cut (sometimes sawed) away from the sprue, excess resin scrapped away, washed with soap and water, heated and re-molded, cracks and holes filled in with green stuff, and then assembled.

This Fellblade should give my brother and I a centerpiece for our biggest battles and a powerful Lord of War choice that entire missions and scenarios can be crafted around. A model like this really elevates the games it is a part of beyond some periphery skirmish - this is now the epicenter of the battle or campaign. And by rule it has to be more than a skirmish, as the LoW choice can only make up 25% of your force's total points. So except for special missions Phil and I craft around this Fellblade that are more in the realm of narrative play, this tank will only be allowed in games of 2,400 pts. and more.

I really felt that this model "fit" with my Death Guard army I'm building. Slow and intractable, heavy firepower, intimidating - it makes sense that my legion would make use of a tank like this as it fits the tactics and personality of the army perfectly. Other Super Heavies may have more advanced weaponry and are perhaps better overall, but they don't fit a Death Guard army like the Fellblade with its old school tank look, its massive turret cannon and brutal demolisher for close encounters.

At the end of the pictures you'll find a size comparison between the Fellblade, a rhino and a space marine. This sucker is big!