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.

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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.

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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?