Battle Report - The Red Wastes of Agora
The results are now in, and the campaign for Agora has come to a conclusion. Saturday, I went to the mega-battle as planned, accompanied by Brian, our resident Necron player. 3,000 points per player was the order of the day, and we were eager to finalize the capstone on this campaign that we’ve invested so much time and energy in playing.
I made some last-minute tweaks Saturday morning to my list when I realized I was breaking a requirement in the Rapid Insertion Force. The following is my modified build which stood in the final battle for this scarred planet.
APOCALYPSE FORMATIONS
Rapid Insertion Force
XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blaster; Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV25 Stealth Team: 3 strong
FORTIFICATION
Aegis Defense Line: Quad Gun
HQ
Commander: XV8-02 Crisis “Iridium” Battlesuit, Onager Gauntlet, 2x Fusion Blaster, Vectored Retro-Thruster, Shield Generator
Commander: Command & Control Node, Multi-Spectrum Sensor Suite, Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored Retro-Thruster, Shield Generator
Ethereal
ELITES
XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blaster; Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker
TROOPS
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
FAST ATTACK
Sunshark Bomber: Decoy Launchers
HEAVY SUPPORT
XV88 Broadside Team: 3 strong; Twin High-Yield Missile Pods, Twin SMS; Target Locks, 6 Missile Drones
Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun with Submunitions, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun with Submunitions, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
Hammerhead Gunship: Ion Cannon, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
The Mission
The forces of Chaos (and Necrons/Tau Empire) have been dealing heavy damage to the Imperials across the length of the campaign. Not only has Chaos been accomplishing its objectives, but the Imperials have also been taking heavy casualties across the course of play. This led to a larger Chaos army than Imperial army for the battlefield.
For this final mission, we would be playing Purge the Alien. The forces of disorder also had orders to have units in our deployment zone when the game ended. For each unit that shattered our lines, they received an additional point.
When we first arrived at the store, the Imperial players were outnumbered two to one; a few armies changed sides at this last moment, with my Tau amongst them. This led to a mostly balanced points game, with the Chaos forces still slightly ahead.
Army Lists
The following armies were represented. Keep in mind throughout the battle report that this game was 50,000 points, so there will be things I miss or remember incorrectly. Where possible, I’ve recorded Super Heavy choices, and Special Characters next to their armies.
Blood Angels
Eldar of Iyanden
Craftworld Eldar, led by Asurmen the Phoenix
Dark Eldar
Imperial Guard
Space Wolves, led by The Great Wolf Logan Grimnar
Tau Empire
White Scars
3 Imperial Baneblades
1 Imperial Shadowsword
1 Imperial Warhound Titan
1 Eldar Lynx
Grand Warlord: Logan Grimnar
2x Chaos Space Marines Warhosts
Death Guard Legion force, led by Typhus
Thousand Sons Coven, led by Ahriman
Tyranids, led by the Swarmlord
3x Necron Legions, one led by The Undying
Ork Waaagh!, led by Ghazghkull Thraka
Chaos Demons
Barbed Heirodule
Chaos Warhound Titan
Chaos Reaver Titan
Ork Stompa
Khorne Lord of Skulls
Grand Warlord: The Undying
Pre-game
Each player rolled their Warlord Trait. Mine allowed all Tau that had Gone to Ground to immediately cancel the effects and act normally; I could only do this once per game. Shane also took this time to hand out our Strategic Assets; my Tau received the Icefire Warhead.
The armies set up next, down the length of the huge board. For this mission, the Imperials were deploying first, with Chaos deploying second and getting the first turn. We could leave up to half of our forces in Reserve. My team opted to reserve all of our Super Heavy units and most of our damage dealers. I deployed to the right hand side of center on our side, with Dark Eldar covering my left flank and White Scars defending the right flank of both my army and our entire combined force. I deployed my Broadsides behind the Aegis, along with two Devilfish squads, the unattached Riptide and all three Hammerheads. The remainder of my force went into Reserves, with guaranteed arrival on turn one for all units.
The Chaos faction deployed a significant portion of their force across from us, leaving their Warhound Titan and Stompa in Reserve. The Orks and Brian’s Necrons deployed across the center to face myself and the Dark Eldar, with Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Demons attacking my flank and the White Scars on the end of the board. In support for these armies was the mighty Reaver Titan.
After everyone had deployed my Stealth Team inserted behind the smoke stacks at the center of the table, ready to bring the Rapid Insertion Force into position on the Reaver Titan.
Shane pulled aside three players from each team and told us we would all make a “Seize the Initiative” roll. For each six Chaos rolled, it would cancel a six from the Imperial side. We each rolled our dice; one six for the Imperials, and one six for Chaos. Everyone picked up their dice and rolled a second time. This time I rolled a six, followed by the Dark Eldar player. Only one Chaos player rolled a six.
The defenders had successfully Seized the Initiative.
Turn One
Our team leapt quickly into action to capitalize on this sudden and tremendous advantage. However, before we could begin the assault on the terrible Reaver Titan, our opponents played a Shield Generator, based near the Titan’s foot. We would not be slaying the beast this turn.
We used our Movement Phase to move heavy elements into position against the metal behemoth, knowing we would definitely take heavy casualties against its weaponry. As a result, the Orks and Necrons gathered around the brute suffered heavy casualties. The Rapid Insertion Force landed and turned three Killa Kanz and a Deff Dredd to craters. Destroyer shots felled scores of Necrons, including a pair of direct hits from the Lynx that destroyed The Undying and all of his Royal Court! Bombardments came in next, followed by a salvo from the Tau line. When the smoke cleared, forty Necron Warriors and all of their leaders had been reduced to ruin. Dozens of Cultists had lost their lives on the flank to Smart Missile barrages and fire from the White Scars Bikes. In addition, the Chaos Land Raider was slagged by a Destroyer hit from our Warhound Titan. Up and down the table units died; while I do not have a turn by turn breakdown of the damage done, the losses were high.
Chaos wasn’t out of the fight. Although the Necrons and the Orks had taken a beating, both flanks were being assaulted by vastly superior numbers of opponents. Would the Imperials be able to capitalize on these early advantages?
Necrons arrived from Deep Strike near the White Scars, as Scarabs tunneled up from subterranean hiding places and collapsed several pieces of terrain. The Sunshark Bomber’s Drones managed to kill an entire Scarab unit with their overcharged Ion Rifles, and the Riptides heavily damaged another unit of Scarabs with their Interceptor fire.
Chaos responded with their own fury; the Warhound Titan stepped onto the table and reduced one of our Baneblades to slag. The Reaver Titan spoke with its own fury, as several Eldar and Dark Eldar vehicles exploded under its punishment. The wildly inaccurate fire from its Destroyer weapon only managed to take down one shield on our Warhound, while the errant shots detonated a nearby Ravager.
The Tau lost both advanced squads of Fire Warriors that had engaged the leading Cultist elements, but otherwise casualties were minimal. The Imperial faction was off to a small lead after the first turn, but it was still anyone’s game.
Turn Two
With the Force Shield now spent, the Imperial faction made their move to eliminate the Reaver Titan in the center. First the Broadside Team fired, knocking out the shields protecting the behemoth. Next went the Warhound Titan, stripping an impressive ten Hull Points from the beast. The Shadowsword then left its mark, leaving the monstrosity teetering on the brink with four Hull Points remaining. The Dark Eldar line fired, one Dark Lance shot after another turned aside by the tremendous armor plating. Next came the Tau Hammerheads, again failing to get past the Reaver’s armor. When the smoke cleared, it seemed that the Titan would survive to fire again.
Out of the clouds swooped a Crimson Hunter, spraying its eldritch weapons at the beast. Three of the four weapons missed, but one of the Lances managed a Penetrating Hit, followed by an Explodes! result on the vehicle damage chart. The D3 came up a 3, punching out the Princeps and his servants and leaving the vehicle a dead wreck.
Further good news for the Imperials came roaring down the line, as a group of Valkyries swooped in and knocked out the Warhound Titan on the flank. Now only the Heirodule and the Stompa remained, and the Stompa was closing to a dangerously close position against the Tau and Dark Eldar. Shas’vre O’res selflessly piloted his Riptide into the opening the Stompa was approaching, ready to protect his comrades.
Meanwhile, the Baneblades punished the Demons and Chaos Space Marines as they tried to close; one telling hit from a Baneblade’s Demolisher Cannon wiped out an entire unit of Obliterators!
At this point the next phase of the Chaos attack was revealed; each player brought reinforcements back into play from their slain pile. On the right flank, the Tau and the White Scars were assailed by two fresh Demon Princes and twenty more Necron Warriors!
Ghazghkull Thraka and his lads made a run to the center of the table, aiming for close combat. Meanwhile the Tyranids and Death Guard were pushing into the edges of the Imperial Guard line with Necron support, a position being resolutely defended by a mix of Imperial Guard, Space Wolves, and Eldar. Fresh Obliterators arrived by Deep Strike, landing amongst the Imperial Guard artillery and wreaking vengeance for their slain comrades.
As the Necron Warriors shambled back onto the table, Interceptor fire from the Sunshark Bomber and the two Riptides claimed all but one of the undead cyborgs. Four then managed to return from their early graves to continue the battle.
In the assault phase, the Stompa barreled into Shas’vre O’res, joined by a Chaos Lord. The Riptide pilot was just able to slam an armored foot down on the Lord, pulverizing his body, before the Stompa’s chainsword sheared the valiant warrior in two. The Stompa consolidated further towards the Tau lines, blaring its praises to the Ork gods of battle.
Both forces took a beating in this turn, but the carnage was still coming. The line was still holding, but gaps were forming as irreplaceable casualties inevitably occurred. The Chaos forces were not ready to relinquish their gains in the Agora system so easily.
Turn Three
As Shas’vre O’res collapsed into a heap, O’Mal’Caor led his Battlesuits against the Stompa. Fire came in from the left and the right, stripping Hull Points as the Crisis Teams activated their Fusion Blasters. The beast started to burst apart from within under the intense barrage, but somehow it was still coming. Finally a Dark Lance came flying in from the flank and tore the monstrosity’s head from its shoulders. Mal’caor and his men maneuvered away; the Tau line was nearly secure.
Further murderous fire saw most of the Tau/White Scar/Dark Eldar sector cleared. The last cultists were pummeled into oblivion by Smart Missile barrages, and the lesser demons were being quickly eradicated by Baneblade fire. However, it remained to be seen if the line was going to be breached in the center and on the left flank.
The Imperial Warhound Titan blared its war horns and fired its massive weapons again, incinerating Thraka and his warband in a blast of laser energy. Chaos vehicles fell by the handful, and more Necron constructs were decimated under the storm of fire. The Chaos line was taking a severe beating, but they were still coming.
More and more Chaos units were pushing in on the left flank, and several were now within out deployment zone. The casualties were still mounting as the Tyranids launched more vicious assaults, and Chaos Marines did war with their old nemesis in the form of the Space Wolves. With so much bloodshed, could Agora truly be saved?
Turn Four
Turn Four was fairly quick for the Tau end of the table. The two Demon Princes had gained our Deployment Zone. Massive fusillades of fire tore one of the winged creatures apart, but the other gained combat and slew a Chaplain and his Assault Squad, consolidating out to claim a point for breaking our line.
The push continued on the left flank for several more minutes as the forces of Chaos struggled viciously to claim more points. At one point the Warhound Titan slew the mighty Barbed Heirodule, but it returned to life moments later thanks to a well timed Strategic Asset.
Chaos had now taken too much damage to sustain the assault. With their left flank decimated beyond recovery and their right flank mauled unto annihilation, they were forced to withdraw. In the end several units had broken the Imperial line, but they reluctantly joined their fellows in retreat. For the time being, Agora was saved.
O’Mal’caor felt a flush of pride as the Necron survivors vanished in a nimbus of green light. Cheers went up from the Imperial line as the Chaos Marines dropped off their attack, firing short bursts as they retreated. He heaved a sigh of relief, knowing the day could have ended much worse than it had.
Aun’ui Tai’go approached, smiling at the veteran commander. “You have fought well, Commander. The system is safe from destruction, and our enemies are too weak to prevent a Water Caste envoy from meeting with the governor.”
A dark mood settled over Mal’caor at the Ethereal’s words. “The gue’ron’sha and the gue’la have fought honorably to defend their system. They will not allow this to happen; further bloodshed will be inevitable.”
Tai’go smiled sadly. “You are most likely correct, Commander. I only hope this display of military might will convince them that such conflict would be…unwise.”
Silence descended as the two leaders surveyed the broken war engines that had assaulted their lines.
“For now I will not consider such things,” said Mal’caor. “Today, they are our allies. We will honor their celebration.
“Agora is free.”
I made some last-minute tweaks Saturday morning to my list when I realized I was breaking a requirement in the Rapid Insertion Force. The following is my modified build which stood in the final battle for this scarred planet.
Vior’la Tok’rhenna Shi - Threat Dissipation Contingent
Tau Empire - 3,000
APOCALYPSE FORMATIONS
Rapid Insertion Force
XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blaster; Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 strong, 2x Fusion Blasters, 2 have Target Locks
XV25 Stealth Team: 3 strong
FORTIFICATION
Aegis Defense Line: Quad Gun
HQ
Commander: XV8-02 Crisis “Iridium” Battlesuit, Onager Gauntlet, 2x Fusion Blaster, Vectored Retro-Thruster, Shield Generator
Commander: Command & Control Node, Multi-Spectrum Sensor Suite, Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored Retro-Thruster, Shield Generator
Ethereal
ELITES
XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blaster; Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker
TROOPS
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
Fire Warrior Team: 9 strong, Devilfish transport with Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines
FAST ATTACK
Sunshark Bomber: Decoy Launchers
HEAVY SUPPORT
XV88 Broadside Team: 3 strong; Twin High-Yield Missile Pods, Twin SMS; Target Locks, 6 Missile Drones
Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun with Submunitions, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun with Submunitions, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
Hammerhead Gunship: Ion Cannon, Twin SMS, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter
The Red Wastes of Agora
The Mission
The forces of Chaos (and Necrons/Tau Empire) have been dealing heavy damage to the Imperials across the length of the campaign. Not only has Chaos been accomplishing its objectives, but the Imperials have also been taking heavy casualties across the course of play. This led to a larger Chaos army than Imperial army for the battlefield.
For this final mission, we would be playing Purge the Alien. The forces of disorder also had orders to have units in our deployment zone when the game ended. For each unit that shattered our lines, they received an additional point.
When we first arrived at the store, the Imperial players were outnumbered two to one; a few armies changed sides at this last moment, with my Tau amongst them. This led to a mostly balanced points game, with the Chaos forces still slightly ahead.
Army Lists
The following armies were represented. Keep in mind throughout the battle report that this game was 50,000 points, so there will be things I miss or remember incorrectly. Where possible, I’ve recorded Super Heavy choices, and Special Characters next to their armies.
The Defenders of Agora
Imperial Forces Roll Call
Blood Angels
Eldar of Iyanden
Craftworld Eldar, led by Asurmen the Phoenix
Dark Eldar
Imperial Guard
Space Wolves, led by The Great Wolf Logan Grimnar
Tau Empire
White Scars
3 Imperial Baneblades
1 Imperial Shadowsword
1 Imperial Warhound Titan
1 Eldar Lynx
Grand Warlord: Logan Grimnar
The Chaos Invaders
Forces of Disorder Roll Call
2x Chaos Space Marines Warhosts
Death Guard Legion force, led by Typhus
Thousand Sons Coven, led by Ahriman
Tyranids, led by the Swarmlord
3x Necron Legions, one led by The Undying
Ork Waaagh!, led by Ghazghkull Thraka
Chaos Demons
Barbed Heirodule
Chaos Warhound Titan
Chaos Reaver Titan
Ork Stompa
Khorne Lord of Skulls
Grand Warlord: The Undying
Pre-game
Each player rolled their Warlord Trait. Mine allowed all Tau that had Gone to Ground to immediately cancel the effects and act normally; I could only do this once per game. Shane also took this time to hand out our Strategic Assets; my Tau received the Icefire Warhead.
The Tau gun line deploys.
The armies set up next, down the length of the huge board. For this mission, the Imperials were deploying first, with Chaos deploying second and getting the first turn. We could leave up to half of our forces in Reserve. My team opted to reserve all of our Super Heavy units and most of our damage dealers. I deployed to the right hand side of center on our side, with Dark Eldar covering my left flank and White Scars defending the right flank of both my army and our entire combined force. I deployed my Broadsides behind the Aegis, along with two Devilfish squads, the unattached Riptide and all three Hammerheads. The remainder of my force went into Reserves, with guaranteed arrival on turn one for all units.
Imperial deployment complete.
The Chaos faction deployed a significant portion of their force across from us, leaving their Warhound Titan and Stompa in Reserve. The Orks and Brian’s Necrons deployed across the center to face myself and the Dark Eldar, with Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Demons attacking my flank and the White Scars on the end of the board. In support for these armies was the mighty Reaver Titan.
After everyone had deployed my Stealth Team inserted behind the smoke stacks at the center of the table, ready to bring the Rapid Insertion Force into position on the Reaver Titan.
Both sides are deployed.
Shane pulled aside three players from each team and told us we would all make a “Seize the Initiative” roll. For each six Chaos rolled, it would cancel a six from the Imperial side. We each rolled our dice; one six for the Imperials, and one six for Chaos. Everyone picked up their dice and rolled a second time. This time I rolled a six, followed by the Dark Eldar player. Only one Chaos player rolled a six.
The defenders had successfully Seized the Initiative.
Turn One
Our team leapt quickly into action to capitalize on this sudden and tremendous advantage. However, before we could begin the assault on the terrible Reaver Titan, our opponents played a Shield Generator, based near the Titan’s foot. We would not be slaying the beast this turn.
We used our Movement Phase to move heavy elements into position against the metal behemoth, knowing we would definitely take heavy casualties against its weaponry. As a result, the Orks and Necrons gathered around the brute suffered heavy casualties. The Rapid Insertion Force landed and turned three Killa Kanz and a Deff Dredd to craters. Destroyer shots felled scores of Necrons, including a pair of direct hits from the Lynx that destroyed The Undying and all of his Royal Court! Bombardments came in next, followed by a salvo from the Tau line. When the smoke cleared, forty Necron Warriors and all of their leaders had been reduced to ruin. Dozens of Cultists had lost their lives on the flank to Smart Missile barrages and fire from the White Scars Bikes. In addition, the Chaos Land Raider was slagged by a Destroyer hit from our Warhound Titan. Up and down the table units died; while I do not have a turn by turn breakdown of the damage done, the losses were high.
Chaos wasn’t out of the fight. Although the Necrons and the Orks had taken a beating, both flanks were being assaulted by vastly superior numbers of opponents. Would the Imperials be able to capitalize on these early advantages?
A demonic cohort begins the advance.
Necrons arrived from Deep Strike near the White Scars, as Scarabs tunneled up from subterranean hiding places and collapsed several pieces of terrain. The Sunshark Bomber’s Drones managed to kill an entire Scarab unit with their overcharged Ion Rifles, and the Riptides heavily damaged another unit of Scarabs with their Interceptor fire.
Chaos responded with their own fury; the Warhound Titan stepped onto the table and reduced one of our Baneblades to slag. The Reaver Titan spoke with its own fury, as several Eldar and Dark Eldar vehicles exploded under its punishment. The wildly inaccurate fire from its Destroyer weapon only managed to take down one shield on our Warhound, while the errant shots detonated a nearby Ravager.
The Tau lost both advanced squads of Fire Warriors that had engaged the leading Cultist elements, but otherwise casualties were minimal. The Imperial faction was off to a small lead after the first turn, but it was still anyone’s game.
Turn Two
With the Force Shield now spent, the Imperial faction made their move to eliminate the Reaver Titan in the center. First the Broadside Team fired, knocking out the shields protecting the behemoth. Next went the Warhound Titan, stripping an impressive ten Hull Points from the beast. The Shadowsword then left its mark, leaving the monstrosity teetering on the brink with four Hull Points remaining. The Dark Eldar line fired, one Dark Lance shot after another turned aside by the tremendous armor plating. Next came the Tau Hammerheads, again failing to get past the Reaver’s armor. When the smoke cleared, it seemed that the Titan would survive to fire again.
Out of the clouds swooped a Crimson Hunter, spraying its eldritch weapons at the beast. Three of the four weapons missed, but one of the Lances managed a Penetrating Hit, followed by an Explodes! result on the vehicle damage chart. The D3 came up a 3, punching out the Princeps and his servants and leaving the vehicle a dead wreck.
The great beast falls.
Further good news for the Imperials came roaring down the line, as a group of Valkyries swooped in and knocked out the Warhound Titan on the flank. Now only the Heirodule and the Stompa remained, and the Stompa was closing to a dangerously close position against the Tau and Dark Eldar. Shas’vre O’res selflessly piloted his Riptide into the opening the Stompa was approaching, ready to protect his comrades.
Two Titans down in one turn; good fortune for the Imperials!
Meanwhile, the Baneblades punished the Demons and Chaos Space Marines as they tried to close; one telling hit from a Baneblade’s Demolisher Cannon wiped out an entire unit of Obliterators!
At this point the next phase of the Chaos attack was revealed; each player brought reinforcements back into play from their slain pile. On the right flank, the Tau and the White Scars were assailed by two fresh Demon Princes and twenty more Necron Warriors!
Ghazghkull Thraka and his lads made a run to the center of the table, aiming for close combat. Meanwhile the Tyranids and Death Guard were pushing into the edges of the Imperial Guard line with Necron support, a position being resolutely defended by a mix of Imperial Guard, Space Wolves, and Eldar. Fresh Obliterators arrived by Deep Strike, landing amongst the Imperial Guard artillery and wreaking vengeance for their slain comrades.
As the Necron Warriors shambled back onto the table, Interceptor fire from the Sunshark Bomber and the two Riptides claimed all but one of the undead cyborgs. Four then managed to return from their early graves to continue the battle.
In the assault phase, the Stompa barreled into Shas’vre O’res, joined by a Chaos Lord. The Riptide pilot was just able to slam an armored foot down on the Lord, pulverizing his body, before the Stompa’s chainsword sheared the valiant warrior in two. The Stompa consolidated further towards the Tau lines, blaring its praises to the Ork gods of battle.
Both forces took a beating in this turn, but the carnage was still coming. The line was still holding, but gaps were forming as irreplaceable casualties inevitably occurred. The Chaos forces were not ready to relinquish their gains in the Agora system so easily.
Turn Three
As Shas’vre O’res collapsed into a heap, O’Mal’Caor led his Battlesuits against the Stompa. Fire came in from the left and the right, stripping Hull Points as the Crisis Teams activated their Fusion Blasters. The beast started to burst apart from within under the intense barrage, but somehow it was still coming. Finally a Dark Lance came flying in from the flank and tore the monstrosity’s head from its shoulders. Mal’caor and his men maneuvered away; the Tau line was nearly secure.
The Stompa is brought low.
Further murderous fire saw most of the Tau/White Scar/Dark Eldar sector cleared. The last cultists were pummeled into oblivion by Smart Missile barrages, and the lesser demons were being quickly eradicated by Baneblade fire. However, it remained to be seen if the line was going to be breached in the center and on the left flank.
The Imperial Warhound Titan blared its war horns and fired its massive weapons again, incinerating Thraka and his warband in a blast of laser energy. Chaos vehicles fell by the handful, and more Necron constructs were decimated under the storm of fire. The Chaos line was taking a severe beating, but they were still coming.
More and more Chaos units were pushing in on the left flank, and several were now within out deployment zone. The casualties were still mounting as the Tyranids launched more vicious assaults, and Chaos Marines did war with their old nemesis in the form of the Space Wolves. With so much bloodshed, could Agora truly be saved?
Turn Four
The action is winding down. Can the Imperials hold the line?
Turn Four was fairly quick for the Tau end of the table. The two Demon Princes had gained our Deployment Zone. Massive fusillades of fire tore one of the winged creatures apart, but the other gained combat and slew a Chaplain and his Assault Squad, consolidating out to claim a point for breaking our line.
The Tau and the White Scars are nearly finished scouring the flank attack.
The push continued on the left flank for several more minutes as the forces of Chaos struggled viciously to claim more points. At one point the Warhound Titan slew the mighty Barbed Heirodule, but it returned to life moments later thanks to a well timed Strategic Asset.
The left flank at the close of battle.
Chaos had now taken too much damage to sustain the assault. With their left flank decimated beyond recovery and their right flank mauled unto annihilation, they were forced to withdraw. In the end several units had broken the Imperial line, but they reluctantly joined their fellows in retreat. For the time being, Agora was saved.
IMPERIAL VICTORY!
100-70
O’Mal’caor felt a flush of pride as the Necron survivors vanished in a nimbus of green light. Cheers went up from the Imperial line as the Chaos Marines dropped off their attack, firing short bursts as they retreated. He heaved a sigh of relief, knowing the day could have ended much worse than it had.
Aun’ui Tai’go approached, smiling at the veteran commander. “You have fought well, Commander. The system is safe from destruction, and our enemies are too weak to prevent a Water Caste envoy from meeting with the governor.”
A dark mood settled over Mal’caor at the Ethereal’s words. “The gue’ron’sha and the gue’la have fought honorably to defend their system. They will not allow this to happen; further bloodshed will be inevitable.”
Tai’go smiled sadly. “You are most likely correct, Commander. I only hope this display of military might will convince them that such conflict would be…unwise.”
Silence descended as the two leaders surveyed the broken war engines that had assaulted their lines.
“For now I will not consider such things,” said Mal’caor. “Today, they are our allies. We will honor their celebration.
“Agora is free.”
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