Shadow War Battle Report #1 – Blood Angels vs Necrons

Welcome back to the Maelstrom! Today we will be debuting the new Shadow War: Armageddon rules. The Blood Angels have reports of disturbances in the underhive, and have dispatched a team of Scouts to ascertain enemy strength and position. When they stumble on a Necron kill team, an epic shootout commences…

“Contact front,” came the whispered warning.

Sergeant Torio pulled his camo-cloak tighter around his blood-red shoulder pads, fading deeper into the shadows that surrounded him. He could hear the Necrons approaching now, doing little to disguise the crashes of their footfalls. After the silent insertion of his team, the noise was almost deafening.

“Wait for them to close,” he whispered into the vox. “Ascertain numbers before we engage.” All he needed was an entire tomb falling in on his brothers.

“Six of them,” voxed another scout. “Directly to your front, one hundred meters and closing.”

Sergeant Torio still couldn’t see them. The sprawl was too cluttered with rusting gear and manufactorum equipment. “All right then. Snipers, provide overwatch. Covering fire, we are advancing.”

Like ghosts, the scouts detached from their points of concealment and moved off to hunt their foe.

The Kill Teams

Blood Angels

1,000

Team Leader

Scout Sergeant: Bolter, Camo Cloak

Troopers

Scout: Sniper Rifle

Scout: Sniper Rifle

Scout: Sniper Rifle

New Recruits

Novitiate: Bolter, Camo Cloak

Novitiate: Bolter, Camo Cloak

Novitiate: Bolter

Necrons

1,000

Team Leader

Appointed Immortal: Night Visor, Gauss Blaster

Troopers

Immortal: Gauss Blaster

Immortal: Gauss Blaster

New Recruits

Warrior: Gauss Flayer

Warrior: Gauss Flayer

Warrior: Gauss Flayer

Sergeant Torio snarled in frustration as more bolter rounds banged against the xenos armor plates, doing little to slow the creature or even to draw its attention. Multiple cries from wounded Scouts flooded his bead, but he tried to put them aside for the briefest of moments as he unloaded the rest of his magazine. He dropped back into cover as gauss beams snapped against the cover around him, greedily licking away its substance in flaring arcs of exploding rust.

“Team, status report.”

“This is brother Jantus, sergeant. I can see the rest of the team from my current position, and they’re all down.”

Torio bit back a curse. “Evacuate the nearest wounded to your position, and fall back into the sprawl. We have to get to safe range to send our report.”

He didn’t wait for the affirmation. Vaulting the pipes, he ducked another beam of gauss and lifted a wounded brother to his shoulder, disappearing into the shadows of the underhive.

After Action Review

This game was an interesting and refreshing break from the usual games of 40k that we play. It was fun to get down with each model and determine tactics for what that individual would do on the field. Necrons weren’t my first choice because of their lack of personality, and especially since their kill team didn’t use any of their hunters, like Canoptek units and Flayed Ones. Still, they were interesting to play, and I can’t wait to get teams painted from some of the other factions.

My biggest criticism of the game is the choice of units for some of the kill teams. Genestealer Cults not being able to take Acolytes as part of their actual team is a huge bummer for me, as if the choice to give Tyranids nothing but Warriors, when they have great models like Lictors and Genestealers that would have been awesome to use in this format. Eldar suffer from it as well; Wraith units make little sense for kill teams, especially when Striking Scorpions and Rangers have not made an appearance.

Still, this is a small thing. I hope that the game will expand with time to encompass some of these units as alternate kill-teams. I think the game is a great way to get new players in at a low price point, teaching them the lore, weaponry, and basic rules of the hobby. The game was a blast, and I can’t wait to throw down again, especially at higher points totals!