Topic: 1500 Imperial Fists Vs Nurgle Marines

[Wyddr]

1500 Imperial Fists Vs Nurgle Marines

The most recent founding of Myrvaal V can be traced to the actions of the Imperial Fists Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes in late 683.M39. The territorial ambitions of a sorcerer known only as "The Vorax"--architect of the Rust Plague which had decimated the forge worlds of Xantos and Organna Prime--were crushed by Fist's 4th Battle Company. The Rust Fleet had been destroyed by the Imperial Navy and the Fists, and the Vorax was forced to retreat to his home-base: a dead world known as Myrvaal V, long since abandoned by human settlements. Here, among the ruins of an ancient spaceport, the Vorax and his fanatical followers made a final stand against the stalwart Imperial Fists, who, with Librarian Arval Gideon in command, sought to cleanse the galaxy of the Vorax's plague, once and for all. It was perhaps the pivotal battle of the age in that sector and, indeed, all modern Vostroyan and Myrvaali school children learn of it in great detail. What was most surprising about the outcome was...

-Excerpted from The Scholar's Historical Compendium of Segmentum Obscurus, Volume 34

Imperial Fists Battle Company
Imperial Fists Combined Arms Detachment

Warlord: Arval Gideon, Lv2 Librarian w/Terminator Armor, Force Axe, Storm Shield (Smite, Iron Arm, Endurance; Trait: Strategic Genius)

The Helots (5 Terminators w/ Cyclone Missile Launcher)
--in The Bastion of Terra (Land Raider Crusader w/Multimelta)
Tactical Squad Attica (10 Marines) w/Plasma Gun, Heavy Bolter, Vet Sarge (Meltabombs, Combiflamer)
Tactical Squad Delphos (10 Marines) w/Plasma Gun, Heavy Bolter, Vet Sarge (Meltabombs, Combiflamer)
5 Scouts w/Pistol, CCW, Vet Sarge w/Meltabombs
--in "Hermes" (Land Speeder Storm)
"Apollo" (Storm Talon w/Skyhammer Missiles)
Devastator Squad Scylla (7 Marines w/ 4x Lascannons)
"Hephaestus" (Thunderfire Cannon)

Speakers of the Vorax
Chaos Space Marines Combined Arms Detachment

Warlord: The Vorax, Lv3 Chaos Sorcerer w/Force Sword, Spell Familiar, Mark of Nurgle, Gift of Mutation (Nurgle's Rot, Weapon Virus, Gift of Contagion, Plague Wind; Trait: Flames of Spite)

Daemon Prince w/Mark of Nurgle, Wings, Armor
9 Plague Marines w/ 2x Meltaguns
5 Chaos Space Marines w/Mark of Nurgle, Autocannon
--in Rhino w/Havoc Launcher
5 Chaos Space Marines w/Mark of Nurgle, Autocannon
--in Rhino w/Havoc Launcher
"Jargoth the Many Fingers" (Forgefiend w/ Hades Autocannons)
"Hapsoth the Profane" (Defiler w/Reaper Autocannon, Hvy Flamer)
"The Doom of Sarnath" (Chaos Land Raider)

Mission, Terrain, and Deployment
This is my friend Drew's second (or maybe third) time playing 40K, so we played a pretty open game--I gave him advice when he asked for it, gave him suggestions, etc.. His army is basically a bunch of my Thousand Sons stuff proxied as Nurgle stuff (yeah, I know--unpopular with the Tzeentch folks, sure).

We rolled for The Big Guns Never Tire and Hammer and Anvil Deployment. Three objectives. Terrain was old ruins-themed. A pair of big walls and an old power station in the NW quadrant, a big forest and a small silo in the NE, a rubble pile, some large ruins, and another silo in the SW, and a dilapidated bunker and a pair of trenches in the SE. Objectives were atop the silo in the SW, in the forest in the NE, and atop the bunker in the SE. I won the roll-off and elected to deploy first. I picked the east side of the board, as two objectives is better than one.

Because of the height of the large field of ruins in the SW/center, I had poor LOS to much of the board, which would prove awkward for my firebase units (Devastators and Thunderfire). It stuck the devastators in the trench just north of the bunker, giving them LOS to either side of the ruins and they would be able to see anything tall on the other side of it. The Thunderfire, which doesn't worry as much about LOS, was parked behind that same trench, which the Techmarine then bolstered. To the south, behind the southern bunker, I stuck Tactical Squad Delphos. To the north, I put Tactical Squad Attica in the forest and the Land Raider Crusader (with the Librarian and Terminators inside) to the north of that. Finally, the Land Speeder Storm infiltrated as close as possible to the enemy lines, using the power station in the NW for cover. The Storm Talon, of course, remained in reserve.

Drew clustered most of his forces to the south, trying to use the ruins to cover his units from the firepower of the Devastators. The Daemon Prince, Forgefiend, and Land Raider all took cover behind the ruins, followed up by the Defiler and a Rhino with the small squad of marines. In the north, the other rhino hid behind the power station. The Vorax and his retinue of Plague Marines camped out in the Land Raider.

Deployment


The Imperial Fist Line
The Forces of Darkness
The Land Speeder Storm sneaks up

Turn 1
The Vorax does not steal the initiative, so Epistolary Gideon proceeds with the attack. I move Attica further into the forest to claim the objective while I move Delphos *back* behind the bunker, since the prospect of facing down the whole Chaos force by themselves seems dicey. I also see that my Land Raider is out of place, so I have it move flat-out towards the south to intercept the major Chaos offensive. The Land Speeder Storm (Hermes) sneaks up, but as I can't assault on the first turn (lousy rules!), they basically just sit on their hands and try to look inconspicuous. In shooting, the Devastators try to take out the Defiler, but are thwarted by the cover the ruins afford. The Thunderfire Cannon rains hell on the Nurgle Prince and takes off a wound (I think), but not much else.

Top of Turn 1


The Bastion of Terra thunders to the rescue!

In the bottom of 1, the forces of Chaos attack with enthusiasm. First off, the Nurgle Prince dives into the ruins to gain a super save with his shrouding ability and give him many assault options on the following round. The North Rhino can just *barely* see the Hermes and the squad inside opens up with their autocannon, but the shells fail to do any damage. Their rhino then targets the Devastators, killing one guy.  The Defiler scoots forward and dumps a battlecannon shot on Attica, killing four marines. The other Rhino unloads it marines on the western objective and has their autocannon guy climb the silo for some decent LOS to other spots on the board. That same Rhino then scoots forward and, along with the Forgefiend, unloads a bunch of hades shells and havoc rockets on Delphos, but don't do any damage. Finally, the Land Raider drives south to get a bead on the encroaching Bastion of Terra and takes a lascannon shot which takes off a hull point.

Bottom of Turn 1


Chaos Strikes South
Attica takes casualties

Turn 2
In my turn, the Storm Talon, Apollo, jets onto the board, flying southwest and unloading on the Defiler and stripping a hull point. The Devastators take another crack at killing the Defiler, too, but that 4+ cover save from the ruins keeps thwarting their efforts. While Attica hangs tough in the north, Delphos jockeys it's position a bit to get a plasma gun in range of the Forgefiend and take off a hull point. The Thunderfire Cannon rains down on the CSMs on the western objective, killing 4 of 5, but the autocannon guy stands his ground. In the north, the Apollo disembarks its team of scouts who charge and destroy the northern rhino, forcing the CSMs there to disembark.

Finally, the Bastion of Terra disembarks the Helots and their leader, Epistolary Gideon. Gideon powers up with Iron Arm and activates his force weapon. The terminators and the land raider both rain hell on the Nurgle Prince (a waste of firepower, ultimately, but the Land Raider Crusader had no other targets and the Terminators needed to charge, so whatever) and then the Termies and Librarian charged. In a challenge, Gideon soaked the attacks of the foul Daemon and then countered with his own S8 power axe attack. It cut through the beast's pestilent aura and felled it in one mighty blow.

Top of Turn 2


The Prince Issues His Challenge
Battle is Joined (in a blurry photograph)
Resplendent in Victory
Oh, and these guys wrecked a transport. Whatever.

In the bottom of the turn, Drew is sufficiently impressed with the Librarian and his squad's destructive potential that he focuses much of his firepower on them this turn. The Plague Marines and the Vorax disembark, putting them in range to hit the Termies *and* potentially assault Delphos very soon. The Vorax calls a Plague Wind down on the Termies, killing three of them (oof!) and then the Rhino, Forgefiend, and Chaos Land Raider shoot them and do no additional damage. The Plague Marines themselves open up on Delphos, killing only the lead guy (who is the plasma guy--whoops! Bad planning on my part there). The Autocannon CSM on the objective blazed away at the Storm Talon, but missed. The Defiler dropped a pie plate on the Devastators, killing the sergeant and the other meat-shield marine, leaving only the lascannons. Finally, the CSMs in the north gunned down a single scout.

The Defiler heals a hull point thanks to It Will Not Die.

Bottom of Turn 2


The CSMs unload on the Scouts
The Plague Marines take the field
Everybody Shoots at Gideon

Turn 3
On Turn 3, I have the potential to inflict a deathblow on the Chaos backfield if my Terminators can just get out of the ruins without tripping. They then proceed to roll a 3 on their difficult terrain roll, so they basically get stuck sitting on their hands this turn. The Cyclone Missile Launcher does take off another hull point from the Forgefiend. The Librarian enacts both Iron Arm and Endurance, giving the Terminators some sticking power for the upcoming Nurgle shooting phase. Also on that Flank, Apollo and the Bastion of Terra, along with Delphos, pour all available firepower into the Plague Marines, killing four or so (not bad when you're dealing with Plague Marines). The Devastators finally have *some* luck against the Defiler, stripping two hull points and stunning it. The Thunderfire Cannon shot at the Plague Marines, but missed wildly (the initial shot scattered off the board). Lastly, the scouts and the Land Speeder Storm assaulted the marines in the north. The LSS's guns did nothing and the Scouts' combat blades struggled against the T5 of the Nurgle Marines. The Sergeant engaged in a challenge with the champ and fought bravely, but the enemy armor was too much. All in all, I lost one scout to no wounds caused and they remained in combat. A lackluster turn, overall.

Top of Turn 3


Shooting at Plague Marines
The Scouts Wish They Had Bigger Weapons

In the bottom of three, the combat with the Scouts drags on--I lose another scout and can do no damage thanks in large part to the enemy toughness. Another Plague Wind kills another Terminator, causing them to fall back. All other shooting (from the Rhino and Land Raider) does nothing. The Forgefiend and the Autocannon CSM fire at the Storm Talon and do no damage. The Defiler also takes a shot at the flyer, but also fails to connect. Finally, the Plague Marines and the Vorax manage to charge Delphos, killing several marines and losing no one in return. The Vorax himself slew the Veteran Sergeant in combat and was blessed with multiple boons--+1 BS, Instant Death on all attacks, and something else I don't remember.

Bottom of Turn 3


Things Look Grim for the Defenders of Humanity

Turn 4
As of this turn, we check the time and Drew sees he's going to have to get going after the turn is over. Okay, so time to try and wrap this sucker up. The Devastators take their last shot at blowing away the Defiler and only manage to take off a hull point, leaving it at one. If the damned thing hadn't healed itself, it would be dead now (and let that be a lesson to folks who say the Defiler is "too fragile"--four tank-hunting Lascannons over four turns, guys, and it's still there). Much of the rest of my firepower is focused on removing the *very* stubborn autocannon gunner atop the western objective. It takes the Hermes, the Thunderfire, and the Apollo's guns to finally get rid of him (I had to have the Apollo switch to hover mode, just to get a bead on him). My Land Raider melta-blasts the Chaos Land Raider, knocking off a hull point (scoring a *lot* of glancing hits this game). In the combat between the scouts and the CSMs, I lose my last scout--it's just the sergeant now, still dueling away with the enemy sarge.

Finally, the Terminators and Gideon automatically rally. Gideon powers up with Iron Arm, Endurance, and Force, but suffers a Perils--but, lo, he rolleth a 6 and winds up with Smash, Eternal Warrior (for all the good it does) and so on! Awash with the power of the Emperor, they charge into the Plague Marine combat. Epistolary Gideon challenges the foul Vorax to a duel, and the Vorax accepts. They strike simultaneously--Gideon, with a mighty blow, kills the Vorax instantly, splitting him in twain. The Vorax, though, his weapon dripping with foul ichor, stabs Gideon in a weak spot in his armor, killing him as well. A double Slay the Warlord! Very fitting, I'd say.

In the remainder of the combat, I'm down to one marine but the terminator kills one plague marine. The fearless, diseased bastards stick.

Top of Turn 4


Their fates were intertwined

In the last turn of the game, the Forgefiend shoots down my Storm Talon, the Defiler charges and destroys the Land Speeder Storm, the Scout Sergeant finally drops to massed Chaos Marine attacks, my Crusader suffers a second hull point, and the Plague Marines kill the last of Tac Squad Delphos but suffer one loss in return thanks to the Terminator's power fist.  Lastly, the remaining Rhino moves to claim the west objective. Game over.

Bottom of Turn 4


The Terminator Stands Alone

Final Score
Imperial Fists: 8 (2 objectives, Slay the Warlord, and First Blood)
Chaos Marines: 5 (1 objective, Slay the Warlord, Linebreaker)

Post Mortem
That was a great game--fun, fast paced, and interesting. I thought the list I made for Drew would be a reasonable challenge for my own, and I was right. He got a bit lucky with his vehicles (lousy immortal Defiler!), but nobody had a huge streak of good or bad luck here. The best part was, frankly, the theatrical end--the two warlords, blowing each other up in one climactic battle. I'm looking forward to the next game against Drew (get an army, dammit!).

On a side note, the game still confirms the Defiler as a solid choice--it was relevant the whole game, did a fair amount of damage, and drew a lot of firepower. Worth the points, I say. Chaos Land Raiders, while durable, I'm not as sold on. Expensive for a ride, really.

Anyway, tons of fun was had, and thank you, Drew, for a great game!