Possession is 9/10ths of the Score: Alpha Legion vs Militarum Tempestus & Inquisition

The Scions are springing an ambush, but Alpha Legion are planning a trap. Also the Inquisition are up to something, and someone saw a lamppost that looked like a Callidus.

Something's about to kick off...

In the midst of the campaigns, there is always time for a quick sidebar. With new gear for the Alpha Legion, it was time for a scrap, so Stylus and I met once again on the field of battle. 

Actually, this was supposed to happen a few weeks ago, but illness and such got in the way. By the time we actually played, I'd rather forgotten my plans for a complex soup list. But it didn't hold us back! 

Badger and Bully - Imperium

New toys for the Scions! Courtesy of Psychic Awakening, there are all new army traits, various relics and strategems that the 9th Hagan Lampreys are dying to try out. Almost certainly literally.

Taking what is more or less my normal selection gives me a fast set of shooty units and transports, today spiced up with extra elites in the form of a tech support priest and some Ogryns. Nork is probably cheesing it a bit, but he's got a grudge to settle from the last time the Hagans fought the Alpha Legion.

The Hagans are masquerading as Kappic Eagles today, which lets them ignore the penalty for moving with Heavy Weapons, as well as a +1 to hit on a turn after they got out of a transport. Badger, in the meantime, will be not getting out of a transport. His relic is a Master Vox that lets him broadcast his demands far and wide from inside whatever truck he camps in.

Elsewhere, the presence of filthy traitors has attracted the Inquisition to my ranks. A pair of vanguard detachments with plenty of grouchy acolytes. As I'm feeling soupy, let's throw some command points at this too - one on Inquisitorial Mandate, so I get some extra traits and relics, then two more on a hired assassin. Again, remembering our previous outing, the Callidus is back for a rematch!

I give myself a 0% chance of coping with this blend of new rules, rules from WD and supplements. But that's the fate of all soup drinkers, so I'll just have to cope with it.

Battalion Detachment - 55th Kappic Eagles

• Badger - Tempestor Prime  (HQ)
  Power maul, Tempestus Command Rod
  Warlord: Master Vox (55th Kappic Eagles)
• Colderbine - Lord Commissar (HQ)
  Bolt pistol, Power fist
  Relic: The Deathmask of Ollanius
• 10 x Tempestus Scions (Troops)
  Tempestor with chainsword and hot-shot laspistol, 5 x Hot-shot lasguns, vox, grenade launcher, melta gun, plasma gun, flamer
• 10 x Tempestus Scions (Troops)
  Tempestor with chainsword and hot-shot laspistol, 5 x Hot-shot lasguns, vox, 4 x hot-shot volley guns
• 10 x Tempestus Scions (Troops)
  Tempestor with power sword and plasma pistol, 9 x Hot-shot lasguns, vox
• Commissar (Elite)
  Plasma pistol, power sword
• 4 x Command Squad (Elite)
  3 x plasma gun, 1 melta gun
• Nork Deddog (Elite)
  Ripper Gun, Frag Bombs, Huge Knife
• Ogryn Bodyguard (Elite)
  Brute Shield, Bullgryn Maul, Bullgryn Plate
• 4 x Servitors (Elite)
  Heavy bolter, multi-melta, 2 x servo-arms
• Tech-Priest Enginseer (Elite)
  Laspistol, Omnissan Axe, Servo-arm
• Valkyrie (Flyer)
  2 x heavy bolters, Hellstrike Missile, Multi-laser
• Taurox Prime (Transport)
  Taurox Battle Cannon, Two Autocannons
• Taurox Prime (Transport)
  Storm Bolter, Taurox Gatling Cannon, Two Hot-shot Volley Guns 

Vanguard Detachment - Inquisition

• Bartholemew Saintjohn-Smyte - Ordo Malleus Inquisitor (HQ)
  Inquisitorial Mandate, Force axe, Plasma pistol
  Malleus - Power Through Knowledge, Psychic Mastery
  Mental Interrogation, Blackshroud
• 5 x Acolytes (Elite)
  Bolt pistol, Power sword
• 5 x Acolytes (Elite)
  Bolt pistol, 4 x storm bolter, combi-melta
• Daemonhost (Elite)
  Unholy Gaze, Warp Grasp

Vanguard Detachment - Inquisition

• Absolom Bullio - Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in Terminator Armour (HQ)
  Nemesis Daemon Hammer, Storm bolter
  Terrify
• 1 x Acolyte (Elite)
  Plasma pistol, chainsword
• 1 x Acolyte (Elite)
  Needle pistol, chainsword
• 1 x Acolyte (Elite)
  Needle pistol, chainsword

Operative Requisition Sanctioned

• 1 x Callidus Assassin

Points: 1500 | Level: 66 | Battle-forged + Battalion + Vanguard + Vanguard - 3CP : 7 CPs

The Alpha Gang - Chaos Space Marines

Being most of Kraken's Alpha Legion, this is a list that writes itself. But I, Stylus, have no complaints, since I'm very covetous of it, and can't wait to try out some of the new toys like Noise Marines, Venomcrawler and that marvellous Termite Drill.

The plan is simple: use the troops to hold objective at the back. Have a mobile daemonic firebase of Master of Possession, Obliterators and Venomcrawler. Hide the Noise Marines and two Greater Possessed in the Termite Drill, ready to pop out and cause trouble.

The Daemon Prince is my warlord, but I've no qualms about throwing him forward, since he has the I Am Alpharius trait (why would you ever take anything else?). My Chaos Lord also has the Mindveil relic, which ought to make him pretty nippy. The Helbrute is just my distraction unit to take the lumps and save the rest of my army (sorry bud).

Battalion & Vanguard Detachment - Alpha Legion

• Daemon Prince with Wings (HQ) (Warlord)
  2 x Malefic talons, Warp bolter
  Warlord trait: I am Alpharius
  Warptime
• Chaos Lord (HQ)
  Plasma pistol, Thunder hammer, Frag & Krak grenades, Mark of Khorne
  Relic: Mindveil
• Master of Possession
  Bolt pistol, Force stave, Frag & Krak grenades, Mark of Nurgle
  Cursed Earth, Sacrifice
• 10 x Chaos Cultists (Troops)
  Brutal assault weapon & autopistol, 9 x autoguns
• 6 x Chaos Space Marines (Troops)
  Combi-plasma, 4 x boltguns, autocannon, Mark of Slaanesh
• 6 x Chaos Space Marines (Troops)
  Plasma pistol and power axe, 4 x bolt pistols and chainswords, combi-melta, Mark of Khorne
• Greater Possessed (Elite)
  Daemonic Mutations, Mark of Nurgle
• Greater Possessed (Elite)
  Daemonic Mutations, Mark of Nurgle
• Helbrute (Elite)
  Helbrute fist (heavy flamer), multi-melta, Mark of Nurgle
• 10 x Noise Marines (Elite)
  Doom Siren & Power axe, 8 x Sonic Blasters, 2 x Blastmasters, Mark of Slaanesh
• 2 x Obliterator (Heavy)
  Fleshmetal guns, , Mark of Slaanesh
• Venomcrawler (Heavy)
  Eviscerating claws, 2 x Excruciator cannon, Soulflayer tendrils, Mark of Nurgle, 
• Terrax-Pattern Termite Assault Drill (Transport)
  Melta cutter, Termite Drill

Points: 1500 | Level: 58 | Battle-forged + Battalion + Vanguard: 9 CPs

Mission and Deployment

Snowy fields for tonight's match, the better for me to lose track of the white Hagan Lampreys. Might even fool Stylus through the camera, it's got to be the equivalent of his Alpha Legion trait!

Ruins down one side, boggy woods down the other, and several LOS breaking hills. There's also some Imperial Statuary in the middle there, as well as the Galvanic Servohauler. All the official rules applied, and as ever, we never got as far as needing to use them. 

The objectives were laid out on a square grid before the game, just to save a precious few minutes for dice rolling, and I even broke out the plastic markers. A mix of old and new bits, of course. 

So overall, the board looks like this:

We're playing the Maelstrom of War mission Ambitious Surge from Chapter Approved 2019. It's the basic Schemes of War set-up, with the twist that, every turn, your opponent must nominate one of your objectives. If you score this objective before your next turn, you get a bonus VP. Seems to raise the potential to lure your opponent into a trap or (and this is what we're expecting) shooting yourself in the foot.

I win the roll off and go with Defender, picking the south edge and Dawn of War for deployment. 

I spread myself out to grab the objectives. The Chaos Marine squad with the autocannon on Objective 2, on the hill. The squad with the melta gun on Objective 3, behind the ruin.

Everything goes central, ready to shoot or charge wherever the Imperium choose to set up. The exception being the two Greater Possessed and the ten Noise Marines, who jump into the Termite Drill and burrow underground.

Spreading out across the second half (must... deny... Termite...), I keep most of the tanks behind the big hill. Badger, the junior Commissar, Nork, the Hereticus Inquisitor and his sword acolytes go in the Valkyrie. 

Each Taurox has a squad of Scions in, the assault weapon guys in the Battlecannon and the volley guns in the Gatling. The third squad take centre point. 

Backing them up is the other Inquisitor with all the other stuff, and the Techpriest prepares to rivet together whatever of the Battlecannon Taurox survives turn one. Callidus and Command Squad in deep strike, I then fail to steal the first turn, and off we go.

Alpha Legion - Turn 1

Objectives drawn - Secure Objective 2, Big Game Hunter, Mission Critical Objective (1)*

I have the autocannon squad sitting on Objective 2, so that's a good start. I decide to go for broke and take out a Taurox for Big Game Hunter. Objective 1 is pretty much impossible, so naturally that's the one Kraken nominates as my bonus one.

The flanks hold firm, while the centre surges forward!

The Helbrute advances straight down the middle (I'd forgotten I'd given him a multi-melta - such is my commitment to WYSIWYG in Kraken's collection - or else I might have just moved him), and the Obliterators also have to advance to get their assault guns in range of the Battle Cannon Taurox. The Venomcrawler stays still, because I erroneously believe its Excruciator cannons are heavy, not assault (I'm still getting the hang of this army!)

The Daemon Prince, Chaos Lord and Master of Possession all huddle up between the daemon engines, the Cultists cower for safety, and the Chaos Space Marines on Objective 2 move an inch forward to bring the Taurox into bolter range (every little helps!)

I'm out of Smite range in the Psychic Phase, but I cast Cursed Earth from the Master of Possession and Warptime on the Helbrute, who rockets down the field, right in front of the line of Scions. I really wish I'd left him the option to shoot or charge now, but he's an undeniable problem for Kraken to deal with.

I start my Shooting Phase with the Obliterators, using Veterans of the Long War to boost them (and paying an additional CP thanks to that ruddy Callidus' Rein of Confusion power). Sadly, the AP and damage on their Fleshmetal guns are sadly lacking, and I only plink off a single wound. The Venomcrawler joins in, as do the autocannon squad, but bolters end up doing as much damage as everything else, and when the dust settles, the truck is still on three wounds left.

I reluctantly spend 2CP on Endless Cacophony for the Obliterators (luckily avoiding the Callidus tax this time) and massively overcompensate with their guns. The Taurox is blown to pieces, losing one of the Scions on the way out, and I have enough left over to shoot a couple of Scions on Objective 5 for good measure.

"Dude! Where's our car?"

No charges to make, so I scoop up my points (including First Strike), ditch the Mission Critical Objective card, and wait for my gruel.

Objectives scored: First Strike (1), Secure Objective 2 (1), Big Game Hunter (1)

Alpha Legion 3 : 0 Militarum Tempestus

Militarum Tempestus - Turn 1

Objectives drawn - Priority Orders Received: Secure Objective 3, Supremacy, Defend Objective 3*

My card draw gives a fairly clear direction for the first counter-stroke. Go and get Objective 3! For bonus points, too, as Stylus feels confident that I can't defend it. So briefly dropping a Commissar off to hold Objective 4 on the left flank, the Valkyrie goes straight for the far corner.

Since I'm playing Supremacy (as a secret mission), I need to hold the back line. Plus, you know, Termite repulsion. So the Volley Guns pile out of the Taurox and I take aim on the sacrificial Helbrute.

Now you see him...

This goes well, but does eat the whole gunline's firepower, including Grenadiers from the nearest Scions. Most effective are the Volley Guns, with their Kappic Eagles trait letting them ignore movement penalties, plus an extra +1 to hit for disembarking this turn plus the Scions Order from the Commissar to reroll all wounds against monsters, but the Helbrute seems to revel in the punishment.

"Shoot it! Shoot it shoot it shoot it!"

In the end, it's a Servitor with a multimelta that puts paid to it, and I'm thanking my lucky stars as I do nothing else.

Now you don't!

I've also, in the midst of all this, made a key error! But analysis of that will have to wait.

Objectives scored: First Strike (1), Supremacy (1)

Alpha Legion 3 : 2 Militarum Tempestus

Alpha Legion - Turn 2

Objectives drawn - The Warp Is Your Ally, No Prisoners, Secure Objective 4*

I'm feeling good about this draw. Casting a psychic power for The Warp Is Your Ally is a gimmie, and Objective 4 isn't totally beyond my reach, since it's one spot in Kraken's backline where my Termite troopers can jump on.

But it's No Prisoners that I'm particularly excited about - this Imperial soup has a lot of small, squishy units and I should be able to knock off three of them without much of a sweat. And I'm quietly optimistic about destroying six units for maximum points.

To begin with, the Daemon Prince heads upfield, confident that he will succeed where the Helbrute failed.

The Master of Possession also escorts the Obliterators and Venomcrawler downfield, to bring the Scions into range. The Chaos Lord rolls low on his Mindveil relic (for the second time - I should have just stuck him in the Drill) and his meagre movement results in him hanging around the firebase to offer rerolls.

The two Chaos Space Marine squads hold fast, happy with their target selection, and the Cultists scuttle off to reinforce Objective 3, which is now looking like it could use some help.

And then the earth shakes and the Termite Drill appears in the rear of the Imperial lines! The Noise Marines and both Greater Possessed disembark, all of them 9" away from the Commissar and Gatling Taurox, so I have three chances to make that long charge.

The Psychic phase does not bode well: I fail two of my powers and the Ordo Malleus Inquisitor denies the third one. Hmm. Looks like The Warp is not my ally this turn after all.

The Shooting Phase does no better - rather than being a massacre, it actually become a bit of a slog. It takes all the firepower of the autocannon squad and the Obliterators to remove a single squad of Scions. 

I even lose another CP when I play the Endless Cacophony stratagem to wipe out the squad because Kraken has used the Assassin-specific Supreme Deception stratagem (against Alpha Legion - the nerve!) to extend the Callidus' Rein of Confusion power by another turn.

The Daemon Prince's warp bolter takes off half off the Daemonhost's wounds, but does not kill it. The Venomcrawler kills half the Scion squad around the centre, and the Noise Marines shoot away a couple more from the squad around the Taurox (who sensibly use the Go To Ground stratagem to avoid the worst of it). The Noise Marine's blastmasters barely scratch the Taurox and I'm starting to get a bit worried about my kill count.

As an unexpected bonus, the melta squad open up on the Valkyrie directly above them and burn away half its wounds. Sadly, that's not a kill either, so if I want to do better than 1VP for No Prisoners, then I've got some work to do in the Assault Phase.

The Daemon Prince throws himself into the thick of it. And then my poor luck in the shooting phase suddenly turns around as both Greater Possessed make their charge against the Commissar and then the Noise Marines successfully charge the Taurox!

Vengeance for Cadia is played during Overwatch to kill four of the Noise Marines, but they cheerfully fire their sonic blasters in their death throes and kill a few more Scions before locking down the Taurox's guns.

The Daemon Prince has a wealth of targets to choose from and, although I should be maximising kills on the single, squishy units, there's an Inquisitor with a Nemesis Daemon Hammer that I really don't want to have his turn to fight. So the Daemon throws every single attack into him and kills him very, very dead.

But not quite as dead as the Commissar, who is assaulted by two Greater Possessed and takes around 20 wounds before being turned into a puddle of spam.

That kill nets me Objective 4, plus the bonus point from Kraken betting I couldn't do it. I also just manage to scrape three kills for No Prisoners, and roll 2VP, so I can't complain.

Although, while I'm complaining - the Daemon Prince deflected all the dangerous attacks from the Ogryn Bodyguard, but took three wounds from those squishy acolytes and their chainswords!

Objectives scored: No Prisoners (2), Secure Objective 4* (1+1)

Alpha Legion 7 : 2 Militarum Tempestus

Militarum Tempestus - Turn 2

Objectives drawn - Priority Orders Received: Secure Objective 3, Defend Objective 3*, Secure Objective 2 (hidden)

This turn needs to go well! Luckily, I have drops incoming. 

First up, the Command Squad attempt to ambush the Venomcrawler. A good alpha strike on that will hopefully divert resources from the middle of the field (as I have Area Denial lurking in my hand for later). The Callidus appears behind Objective 2, appearing a mere 6" from the luckless Alpha Marines. And Badger and his mixed troops jump out as the Valkyrie starts hovering. 

In the middle, the troops rearrange away from the Daemon Prince so I can shoot it up, and the Volley Guns pile back into the Taurox and speed away from all that Noise, coughing smoke. 

The Marines on Objective 3 take a whipping from Smite, but my firepower up there mostly skitters off the Cultists. They've been secretly starching their T-shirts, the devils, and a mere three fall to a decent lick of fire. The Callidus burns off half her Marine opponents with a good Neural Disrupter, then charges in to finish the others through sword and psychology. 

In the middle, the current gun magnet once more soaks up the heat. The DP survives with a single wound after being hit by a las-hurricane! So it's down to the Commissar to run in and punch it to death, although he takes a round from its Daemon Bolter on the way in. 

I almost survive with the Daemon Prince - and used my last CP to see if my invulnerable save could hold out against the power fist. Sadly, it was not to be - but Slay the Warlord is denied! For the Daemon Prince was not, after all, Alpharius, and the laurels of command immediately pass to my Chaos Lord.

And then somehow, the Alpha Marines on 3 manage to kill Nork in overwatch! 

It took a CP reroll to wound him with a melta gun, but it was absolutely worth it. Being in half range, I managed to score maximum wounds on poor Nork and melted his face off. Tee hee.

Damn melta guns. The Acolytes fail their charge, and Badger and the Inquisitor are still reeling in disbelief after Nork went down that they can't manage to kill three Marines in combat. But I do at least force them off the Objective, so I score that Priority Mission!

Kudos to Kraken for some canny positioning with his characters - if my objective secured Chaos Marine had been able to consolidate close enough to the objective, I would have still claimed it. But Badger and the Inquisitor were blocking his path.

 Still, the Marine Champion starts hacking bits of Badger with his power axe, and there are Cultists incoming, so that Defend objective looks dicey. For now, I'm back in the game!

Objectives scored: Priority Orders Received: Secure Objective 3 (3+1), Secure Objective 2 (1)

Alpha Legion 7 : 7 Militarum Tempestus

Alpha Legion - Turn 3

Objectives drawn - The Warp Is Your Ally, Blood and Guts, Defend Objective 4*

Another good draw for me. Even though I've lost one of my psykers, I surely can't fail to cast a power for the second time. And we're getting down to business in the battle, so Blood and Guts is likely.

As for Defend Objective 4 - I park the Termite Drill on it, so that's going nowhere.

Learning nothing from the mistakes of others, the Chaos Lord charges in the footprints of the Helbrute and Daemon Prince to take on the dwindling pack of Imperials.

The Noise Marines and Greater Possessed give chase to the retreating Taurox, the Venomcrawler wanders back to deal with the Command Squad and the Cultists form an unlikely rescue operation for Objective 2

In Shooting, the Obliterators underperform once again, only knocking off a couple of wounds from the Taurox. The Noise Marines do better, discovering that sonic weapons work best on squishy acolytes with poor armour, and rock the whole squad off their vantage point.

The most productive firepower comes from the Cultists, of all places, who shoot down three of the Acolytes with their autoguns.

The Chaos Champion also overcharges his plasma pistol and knocks two wounds off Badger, so there's that.

The Noise Marines then follow up with a charge on the Taurox that falls short, and kills a couple more of them in overwatch.

The Greater Possessed attempts another long-bomb charge, and then not only connects with the Taurox, but rips the truck to pieces! The surviving squad scramble out and - rather sensibly - stay out of consolidation range.

You can't get quicker that a fit, quick killer...

The Venomcrawler charges into the poor command squad and gobbles them up.

The Chaos Lord makes his charge into the fray and, seeing both an Ogryn maul and a Commissar power fist facing him, elects to split his attacks between both of them. Unfortunately, both of them are carrying a 4++ invulnerable save, and they both survive the attacks (thunder hammer? where?) though fail to punch down the luckless Chaos Lord.

The last charge is with the Cultists - I really just want to swamp Objective 3, but they might as well do some fighting while they're there. Amazingly, the paltry number of attacks they manage is enough to bring down the Badger.

Well, that's game, sett and match to the Cultists. Really, Badger? Really?

That was pivotal - not only does the Badger get me Slay the Warlord, but it's a crucial third kill for Blood and Guts, so I get to roll a D3 for that too. I've now jumped back into the lead.

Objectives scored: The Warp Is Your Ally (1), Blood and Guts (2), Slay the Warlord (1)

Alpha Legion 11 : 7 Militarum Tempestus

Militarum Tempestus - Turn 3

Objectives drawn - Defend Objective 3, Advance*, Witch Hunter

I get to nominate a new 'bonus' objective each turn. I give up on Defend Objective 3, because I think Kraken's going to get it now. But instead I choose Advance, knowing that the Scions will have to advance (and therefore not shoot) to get out of their deployment zone. It doesn't quite work, as those pesky Kappic Eagles have orders that allow them to advance and shoot, and ignore the penalty for heavy weapons - but it was worth a shot, and demonstrates how this mission mechanic can work to force an enemy play.

Dammit, I am defending 3 if I have to move Command HQ to it. The Acolytes and Inquisitor butcher the Cultists, possibly discarding Badger's worthless hide amongst them, and get on with it. 

I've put Advance in play, so the remaining troops scurry forward. The Volley Gunners just manage to advance out of the deployment area, and the Commissar duly orders them to keep firing. They put a nice dent in the Greater Possessed who's hot on their heels, leaving it a single wound, but the Servitors fail to take that away. 

My last command point goes on Acrobatic for the Callidus. I need a good long advance if she's to make a charge and get me my mystery objective, Witch Hunter, and I'm lucky! Doubly so when she fries the mind of the nearest Obliterator before making the charge into the second one.

The Obliterator manages to weather the assassin's melee attacks - I'd be smug about it, but his crushing fists also fail to damage, so he's locked up in combat now.

The Chaos Lord is the second victim to the Commissar's fist, although it's very close and the Ogryn nearly dies distracting him. And then that's it. Hmm. I need more scoring, and soon! At least I've got the statue. 

More crucially, I score Defend Objective 4, plus my bonus, and so jump back into the lead.

Objectives scored: Advance (1+1)
Objectives scored (Alpha Legion): Defend Objective 4 (2+1)

Alpha Legion 14 : 9 Militarum Tempestus

Alpha Legion - Turn 4

Objectives drawn - Rise to Glory, Master the Warp*, Claim and Despoil

Rise to Glory requires me to kill something with a character - fortunately, I still have plenty of them left. Claim and Despoil means I take an objective from the enemy - and I reckon Objective 5 is doable. Finally, its another psychic objective - Master the Warp - which Kraken impudently reckons I won't get.

I'm on my third warlord now, so the Master of Possession takes charge. He moves close to the Callidus/Obliterator dust-up, ready to rescue his pet.

The Noise Marines clear the way for the Termite Drill to advance on Objective 5, with the two Greater Possessed closing in, ready to tear apart the remaining Scions.

The Venomcrawler starts scuttling towards the last Inquisitor and his dwindling entourage.

In the Psychic Phase, the Master of Possession gets off a Smite on the Callidus, knocking her down to the last wound. Inspiration suddenly hits me, and I remember he also has the Sacrifice power (which, to be honest, I think I added by mistake).

For a measly 4+ to cast, this spell inflicts 1 mortal wound of any model (friend or foe) and rejuvenates a nearby deamonic unit. I had expected to use it to feed Cultists to my Venomcrawler, but this will have to do - the Callidus is efficiently deprived of her final wound and the Obliterator is back on full health.

In celebration, the Noise Marines open up on the Scion squad currently holding Objective 5 and blow them away. The Obliterator, now free to shoot, does very little damage, but he's had a hard day.

Clearly the true leader of this warband, the Master of Possession follows up with a charge into the two Acolytes (wisely avoiding the more deadly Lord Commissar and Ogryn Bodyguard). The Obliterator, all juiced up on Callidus mojo, charges into the final two characters.

Melee is less successful the Master of Possession only clobbers on Acolyte, and the Obliterator whiffs against his targets, but I've already done enough to claim all three of my objectives, so I'm left sitting pretty.

Objectives scored: Rise to Glory (1), Master the Warp (1+1), Claim and Despoil (1)Objectives scored: Defend Objective 3 (2)

Alpha Legion 18 : 11 Militarum Tempestus

Militarum Tempestus - Turn 4

Objectives drawn - Witch Hunter, Area Denial, Defend Objective 2*

Wuh-oh. A terrible draw leaves me almost nothing I can score this turn, not without a few miracles. Defend 2 is the best I can do, along with Area Denial - the other options are buried or too distant, and the Valkyrie isn't as quick as it used to be.

As I run the Inquisitor towards the middle as quick as I can (I need him on the table for psychic denials, I can't have any more troops force-fed to that Obliterator!), the heroic Ogryn/Commissar duo keep beating against the foe. But it's a total stalemate! No wounds done by anyone to anyone, despite some very good attempts.

This is looking very uphill, but I'm not quite down yet.

Objectives scored: none

Alpha Legion 18 : 11 Militarum Tempestus

Alpha Legion - Turn 5

Objectives drawn - The Long War, Secure Objective 5, Defend Objective 5*

Oh dear, this is really putting the boot it. I'm all over Objective 5, and The Long War is the dream card against Imperials, giving you VP just for showing up.

While the Termite Drill and Noise Marines entrench around Objective 5, the two Greater Possessed and Master of Possession reinforce the Obliterator, and finally tear down that Lord Commissar and Ogryn.

On the other end of the field, the Venomcrawler catches up with the Inquisitor and stabby-stabs him to pieces, though the last two Acolyles duck his soulflayer tendrils.

With all my objectives rolling in, and the wee hours fast approaching, we decide to call the battle there.

Okay, maybe now I'm down. The remaining acolytes head for home and prepare to replace the Techpriest's missing Servitors after this performance. 

Objectives scored: The Long War (3), Secure Objective 5 (1)

Alpha Legion 22 : 11 Militarum Tempestus

Result: 21:11 - victory to the Alpha Legion

Locker Room

So, did you all spot my critical error?

Yeah, turn one, I could have jumped everyone out of the Valkyrie and quite probably claimed all those Objective 3 points a whole turn earlier! 

What can I say, it had been a long day and there were a lot of rules floating around in my head. Drowning in soup is a bad way to go, but you can't be surprised. Somehow I'd convinced myself that only Scions could jump out the back of the Valk, and I didn't quite think Badger could manage a whole 6-pack of Marines on his own. Let alone the Cultists, cough cough. 

Otherwise, the Scions do seem to lack sticking power. Stylus keeps nudging me towards getting another Start Collecting box, and a third Taurox plus more troops would be nice instead of all those crummy Servitors. Balanced against that is my inability to keep a decent firing line with orders in play (every time! And every time, I swear I'll do better next time!), but I did also make some pretty splendid whiffs with shooting. Dodgy plasma tubes, I swear I'm going to take this up with my supplier. 

Still, what I'm pleased with is the Alpha Legion! 

No argument here - Kraken's built a lovely heretic army, and they were a joy to play! A nice balance of mobility, shooting and melee going on there, that meant I was always able to chase down objectives.

Looking back, I did seem to be feeding units into the centre, but it was my intention to keep the Obliterators and Venomcrawler alive at the back, and they did survive to do some work right until the endgame.

I was also suffering from having a few weeks between concocting my plan, and executing it - the Chaos Lord should really have gone into the Termite Drill, rather than flap about ineffectually. I could have also done some better work with my Helbrute, but he was always marked for death.

Overall, things worked out pretty well. I had some appalling shooting phases, and the Callidus was the biggest thorn in my side, both in attacking and that CP drain, but I was very pleased with the impact of the Termite Drill assault party. And shooting Nork Deddog in Overwatch? That's one to treasure...

Back for more soon enough, no doubt...