Vial Save You: Ultramarines vs Death Guard

"Ark Saviour, this is Ark Actual. Report." 

There was a brief and pregnant pause. A massive energy surge, then the convoy's signal vanished from the auspex, and they weren't responding to hails. Even Captain Praesidio was staying ominously silent. The damned Death Guard had caught them, so close to safety. Chaplain Sirius looked at the Techpriest operating the vox, who gave a tiny shake of his helm.

There was no time to mourn, Sirius decided. Swift action would decide the day. Grief had no place on his battlefield. 

"Deartur! Take a Razorback and the reserve group, depart for their last known position with all immediacy. Locate and retrieve the vaccine, recover survivors with secondary priority." 

"I go, in His name," the Chapter Champion replied, immediately donning his ornate helmet and striding out of the command room. Chaplain Sirius turned back to the Techpriest.

"Ferramen, prepare the Teleportarium. I shall assemble a reaction force in case Deartur is attacked. The Fourteenth will not be far off, I think. I should like to catch them unprepared for a change."

Ferramen nodded, then waved one of his chapter serfs into position on the vox before heading out. Sirius turned to the huge Aquila that sat atop the Ark Bastion's central command banks. "We shall not fail," he told it, then followed his brothers out of the room.

This is a little narrative game we put together as a follow-up from last year's Ultramarine vs Death Guard match. If you've not read that battle report, I'd urge you to take a look at the link just there.

Following the loss of the Land Raider Cor Gloria, a fast-moving Ultramarine strike force is attempting to retrieve a vital vial of vaccine from the wreck. Can they get in, get it out and escape before the Death Guard close in again? I, Kraken, am in bold and take command of the Death Guard again; and I, Pootle, in standard font, will lead the Ultramarine rescue attempt.

Anti-Vaxxers - Death Guard

Death Guard are a great looking army, and the current edition of their rules really lets them play to their archetype - tough gits who always outstay their welcome as they trudge towards you, flinging muck. I'm not super familiar with them, and their strats are a bit of a mixed bag (lots of slightly tame variants of improved shooting that I can't tell apart), but they're such troopers on the table before you get to trying to enhance them that I'm looking forward to having another turn with them. 

This is a super-small Terminator list. The Lord of Contagion has an extra-mean beat stick, plus a sickness that slows anyone who's too near. He'll be dropping in via deep strike and trying to cut off the Ultramarines as they attempt to leg it with their precious remedy. Deathshrouds to back his play, whilst the Blightlords are going to slog towards the middle and try and bog any advance troops down. 

Cultists and Poxwalkers for more boggy presence, and a Sorcerer to hide amongst them slinging slime. Then my heavy wingers to flank this scrum - a Bloatdrone with a mower and a Blight-Hauler with all its minging guns. Points changes hit in the middle of making this list, hence the rather odd number of Poxwalkers, but it all worked out pretty much unchanged by the end. 

Lurch forward into the middle, keep the Ultras stuck there, hit them from the back and sides with the faster units and the deep strikers. A simple but hopefully sound plan!

Death Guard Ferrymen Patrol Detachment, 1000 points

• HQ - Lord of Contagion, Warlord with The Droning trait (half enemy movement within Contagion range), the Ferryman's Scythe and Orb of Dessication
• HQ - Terminator Sorcerer with Storm Bolter and Force Stave, Gift of Contagion and Miasma of Pestilence powers
• Troops - 10 Cultists with Autoguns
• Troops - 11 Poxwalkers
• Elites - 5 Blightlord Terminators, Bubotic Axes and Combi Bolters, one with Blight Launcher, one with Flail of Corruption
• Elites - 3 Deathshroud Terminators, Manreapers and Plague Gauntlets
• Fast Attack - Foetid Bloatdrone with Fleshmower*
• Fast Attack - Myphitic Blight-Hauler with Bile Spurt, Multimelta, Missile Launcher and Gnashing Maw (which always strikes me as a very Beano name for a weapon, eh, readers=?)

Virus Vanquishers: Ultramarines

I'm taking a 1,750 list of first-born Ultramarines to Weekend at Burnie's in early March, but I've only played two games with the Ultramarines in 9th edition (and one in 8th) so I feel I need some practice. I've trimmed the list I'm taking to WaB down to 1,000 points, but it still feels like a good mix of shooty and punchy. 

I'm particularly keen to see how the Chapter Champion does. He's an old lead Lieutenant Commander model I've had since the early 90s and recently painted. He has a magnetised left hand so could work as a number of characters, but here he's sporting a truly huge sword acting as the relic Blade of Triumph (which is a flat three damage - useful against Death Guard, but will still need a couple of hits to kill any of the Terminators Kraken is fielding). He is an anti-character specialist, able to reroll hits and wounds when fighting them.

The Chaplain is a Master of Sanctity and has the Wise Orator warlord trait, so he can teleport in with the other Terminators and still recite the Canticle of Hate, which adds 2" to charges for nearby units (potentially really handy). He's also got the relic Crozius that steps up damage to a flat 3; if I get Mantra of Strength off to increase this to 4, that'll kill a Blightlord or Deathshroud Terminator with each blow.

My plan is to get the Champion to run to the Land Raider, shielding him with the Bikes on one side and the Razorback on the other. Depending on what survives, he could hand the vaccine over to one of the faster units to get it off the table, or run off himself. The Terminators will teleport in and try to clear a path back home.

Ultramarines patrol detachment, 1,000 points

• HQ - Chaplain in Terminator Armour: Combi-melta, Master of Sanctity, Warlord Trait: Wise Orator. Relic: Benediction of Fury. Litany of Hate, Mantra of Strength, Canticle of Hate
• Troops - 5 Tactical Marines: Multi-melta, Sergeant with Power Fist & Storm Bolter
• Troops - 5 Tactical Marines: Grav Cannon, Sergeant with Power Sword & Storm Bolter
• Elites - Chapter Champion: Extra Relic: Blade of Triumph, Extra Warlord Trait: Martial Exemplar
• Elites - Terminator Assault Squad: Sergeant plus two others with Thunder Hammers & Storm Shields; two with Lightning Claws
• Fast Attack - Attack Bike: Multi-melta
• Fast Attack - 5 Bikers: Chainswords; Meltagun; Sergeant with Thunder Hammer
• Dedicated Transport - Razorback: Hunter-killer Missile; Storm Bolter; Twin Assault Cannon

Patrol - extra relic - extra warlord trait = 4CPs

Mission and Terrain

I'm quite pleased with the battlefield I've set up: the previous game ended with the surviving Ultramarine forces being blown up in a huge explosion, so I modelled the top left of this battlefield on part of the previous one that we ended up on, with smashed up vehicles (very handy to have magnetised pieces to enable easy dismantling) and judicious application of smoke effects.

We decided that I will automatically get first turn, but Kraken can teleport his Terminators in on turn one. I will have to embark an infantry model into the Land Raider in the normal way, and then disembark the following turn (finding the vaccine will be automatic once I'm inside). 

The vaccine, which is highly unstable and mustn't be shaken, can be passed to someone else also using the normal embarkation rules, with the amendment that it can't be passed to someone in the same turn I disembark from the Land Raider (so no passing to Bikes who immediately zoom off into the sunset). Both deployment zones are only 9" from the table edges to ensure that it will take me two turns to get to the Land Raider and prevent Kraken from easily swarming the Land Raider with Poxwalkers on turn 1 as well. 

To win, I have to get whichever model has the vaccine off my table edge. This will take a minimum of two turns as well, even for Bikers. Anything other than me getting the vaccine off the table will be a win for Kraken. 

Deployment

Fairly straightforward deployment for this one as both sides know exactly where I'm going. The Chapter Champion is front and centre, flanked by the two Tactical squads (they're all on the ground in fact, but I put them on top of the ruin to make it easier to move (and for Kraken to see on the camera).

The Bikers go on my left flank...

...and the Razorback on my right. All the Terminators are up in the teleportarium.

I also go with a fairly predictable approach - a solid block of gummy infantry in the middle (Poxies, Culties, Blighties and the Sorcerer) where they're fairly hidden by the smoking wrecks, then the fast daemon engines on either flank. 

The Deathshrouds and the Lord of Contagion are of course in deep strike, although the big question will be when to bring them in. Early, to hit hard, or late once I know where to block?

Ultramarines Turn 1

Deartur stepped neatly down from the running board of the Razorback as it finished its approach. From here on, the roadway was gone, they'd have to advance more carefully. Hatches snapped open, and the hand-picked Tactical brothers he'd selected for their mission disembarked. 

"Spread out," he said quietly over the vox. "Fire pattern Depulsio from the front of that refuelling station. Brother Apophaso, your bikes have our left flank. Push forward, recon the approach on the other side. Colchis, take the Razorback round to the right, reprensic fire on any target. I shall board Cor Gloria myself with your protection."

His brothers moved swiftly and without comment, itself a firm endorsement of his plan. 

The Bikers move forwards to get shots onto the Poxwalkers, trying to keep a reasonable distance from the Bloatdrone as the Fleshmower could make mincemeat of them quite easily. The fusillade of Bolter fire drops seven of the Poxwalkers.

The Attack Bike rolls forward to just get its Multi-melta in range of the Bloatdrone and scores one hit that drops five wounds off the daemon engine. Given how famously hard to kill they are, I'm pretty pleased with that!

The Razorback moves as far forwards as it can to try to prevent Deathshroud teleporting in too close to my Chapter Champion (who is moving forwards through the ruin with his Tactical escort). The Assault Cannons spool up and manage to kill a Blightlord Terminator, which is always welcome.

Death Guard Turn 1

"Apophaso reporting. Hostiles on direct approach," the vox reported. "Our enemy is here. We engage."

"Throne direct our fury," Deartur replied as he made his way swiftly through the refuelling station. It would have made an excellent firing platform on its upper surface, but beneath it was a complicated tangle of pipework and monitoring stations. His way was blocked by a thicket of ancient cables. Without breaking stride, he sliced them apart with his blade and kept moving. 

Beyond the cover of the station he could see the wreck of Cor Gloria. The ancient machine was surprisingly intact, as though it still defied destruction even in death. The ground around it was torn and burnt, but the bright blue of the hull still shone proudly despite the thick column of smoke rising from its broken back. 

There was movement beyond it. 

"Squad Pondus, in position."

"Squad Fortactus, in position." 

"This is Colchis, I have targets."

"Brothers, fire at will," Deartur told them. "I go to our prize."

Bolters began to thunder as he sprinted forward, leaving cover. 

It's a quiet turn from me, in many ways. Sticking to my plan, the central infantry start shambling forward towards the Land Raider, advancing as they don't really have range or LoS to decent targets. 

The Bloatdrone gets as close to the bikes as it can. Pootle had aimed for a 10" charge (he likes to bait me!), but got a little cavalier with the final positions, so it turns out to be 9". Boosted by Miasma from the Sorcerer, and with the bikes tagged by Gift of Contagion, he's going to do bloody murder on them if he makes it. But he can't, and is left drifting in the wind like the terrible smell that he is. 

The Blight-Hauler does rather better, scooting across the back ranks to get shots off on the Attack Bike. Everything slams home, and the bike is reduced to a cloud of smoke and a trio of bouncing tyres. 

From the middle, the Cultists are now peeking out on one side, the Poxwalkers have the other side, and I've resurrected a good clutch of them with the Living Dead strat. This means that if the Champion commits to the retrieval next turn, there's a reasonable chance I can lap round the wreck and keep him penned in for a bit, although I don't expect either of my chaff units to last long. 

That was a great use of the Living Dead strat to gain movement and pretty much negates the disadvantage of only starting 9" from the table edge. I wish I hadn't shot them now!

Finally, I decide to strike early, and the LoC and his bodyguard rock up on Pootle's right flank. This is mostly because he seems to be expecting me on the left, near the bikes, which means he has a plan to deal with me. As I'm sure he does anyway! As it is, I fail the charge even with a reroll, which is lucky, as they'd have slaughtered anything they contacted and rather put a kink in Pootle's escape route.

Ultramarines Turn 2

He was barely a couple of metres closer to the wreck his auspex flashed up a massive energy spike. 

"Warp breach, fifty metres. Teleporters, shifting fire fields," he heard from Sergeant Pondus. "Terminators, four, command element present."

"Engage and suppress," Deartur told them. Ahead, figures ran out of the smoke, chanting and shouting. A group of ragged militia clutching broken guns. He ignored them - the Razorback's turret blazed to life, sowing death down their shambolic line as fast as they could emerge from their hiding place. 

"Negative impact," Pondus reported. "They are preparing to charge our position. Deartur, watch your flank. Brothers, ready your blades."

The auspex blazed again. 

"Redirect your fire, Pondus. As the light dawns, darkness dies. As the rain falls, the filth is washed from the ground. As flame kindles, the refuse is burnt up. We are the light. We are the rain. We are the flame! Squad Culmus, forward, for the Emperor!"

Chaplain Sirius held out his Crozius as the light of the teleportation faded, and from either side of him, the Assault Terminators of Squad Culmus sprang forward. 

First order of business is the mission objective: the Chapter Champion runs forward and jumps into the Land Raider to retrieve the vaccine.

The Grav Cannon squad stay still, but the Multi-melta squad move out to get a little further away from the Deathshroud (due to the Tactical Doctrine being in effect, the Multi-melta has no move-and-fire penalty for Ultramarines).

The Bikers move right up close to the Bloatdrone: I want to shoot it to death, but in extremis I could charge them in to finish it off, especially as the Sarge has a Thunder Hammer.

Then the Terminators teleport into my backfield, eyeing up 7" charges on the Lord of Contagion and Deathshroud (only 7" because I spend a CP on Commanding Oratory for the Chaplain to recite the Canticle of Hate litany after he arrives).

I end up having to put almost all my fire into the Bloatdrone to strip it of its remaining four wounds. I'm terrified that it'll end up still alive on one wound (as seems to have happened so many times when I've been in command of them), so spend a CP on Martial Precision to ensure that the Razorback's Hunter-killer missile hits automatically; it goes on to wound and, despite a forlorn reroll from Kraken strips the remaining wound off. Meanwhile the Razorback's Assault Cannon tear through the Cultists, leaving only the Champion remaining (who miraculously passes morale at the end of the turn - that's the benefit of all the 1-rolling for Kraken!). The blasted FBD has absorbed so much firepower that I've nothing to shoot at the Poxwalkers now, who will be free to scramble all over the Land Raider and potentially make it tricky for the Champion to disembark with the vaccine...still, that's next turn's problem.

The Terminators make their charge (though the Chaplain fails) and I decide to split my attacks with everyone who can attacking the Lord of Contagion, leaving one Hammer and one set of Claws on the Deathshroud.

Luck is very definitely with me (also a lot of strats: these First are very Furious, and they're rerolling everything using Death to the Traitors!): I cause exactly three wounds on the Deathshroud, killing one, and Kraken fails almost all his 4+ invulns on the Lord of Contagion and he falls before being able to demonstrate his lethality (and, potentially more importantly for the game, his halving-enemy-movement warlord trait).

The counterpunch from the two surviving Deathshroud is scary: just the two of them dispatch four Terminators with relative ease after Kraken decides to spend 2CP on Haze of Corruption, which means excess damage rolls over to the next model. With just the Sergeant left he then spends another CP on Break their Spirits, reducing my Ld by 4. Although the Sarge will be toast next turn, if I can tie the Deathshroud up for one more turn rather than have them launch into something else, that would be hugely valuable, so I spend my last 2CP to auto-pass morale.

Killing the Lord of Contagion feels like a huge achievement, but I'm not home and dry yet (in fact, echoing Ford Prefect, I could not even be said to be home and vigorously towelling myself off).

Death Guard Turn 2

The vox gave status reports, brief statements of fact as his brothers fought. 

"Culmus reports. Their leader is down. We are outmatched. In life I was dutiful, in death I shall not falter."

"Apophaso reports. Taking fire. Holding at forty percent, but they are past us. Regrouping.

Deartur reached the steaming hulk of the Land Raider. The assault ramp gaped open in front of him like a dragon's maw. He ran straight in without flinching, willing his autosenses to light enhancement as the smoke engulfed him. 

There - cradled in the arms of a fallen brother, a small but sturdy reinforced plasteel case marked with the helix of the Apothecarium. 

"Rest well, brother. Your burden is mine now," he said, taking it. He turned to go. 

Something thumped against the hull. A blow, then another. And another, as a steady drumbeat of hands joined the first. A low drone of ruined voices, muttered gurgles interrupted by hacking coughs. 

The enemy was here, all around him. But perhaps there was still time.

If the loss of the LoC is a bit of a blow, I'm determined to roll with it. Mortality is inevitable, after all!

So the Deathshrouds stay in combat with the Terminator, and although he does his best, they're not taking the loss of their Lord lying down. The final hammer bearer joins his pals in the muck. 

In the middle, my advances are rather less impressive. That lone Cultist is left trying to plug the front of the Land Raider to prevent the Champion getting out again, but there are some big holes in my noose. 

The Poxwalkers only got a 1 for their advance (and you wanted to save your last CP for something else); if they'd got a big advance it would have made it much trickier to disembark my Champion next turn.

As the Blightlords take a few wounds off the Razorback with light arms, the Blight-Hauler bursts a few Bikers. The Blightlords try for a long charge into the Tac Marines ahead, which would definitely help my entrapment, but it's not to be. Not the best position to be in at this point! But I'm committed, so I'll have to see if I can weather another round of being shot at. 

Ultramarines Turn 3

As he dashed for the Land Raider's broken mouth, a gangling man wearing torn overalls, head shrouded in an uneven turban of soiled bandage stepped into the exit and levelled an autogun at him. 

"No cure! No..." The figure's sentence never completed, a bolt shell tore through his midriff and scattered dark meat in a two-metre semicircle in front of him. 

"Pondus reports. Exit corridor secure, Brother Deartur."

"Fortactus stands with you, Pondus. Suggest a clypeal line."

"Agreed, Fortactus. Cover my retreat, close and endure as I move past you," Deartur said. 

"This is Sirius. Your flank is not secure, Pondus, the enemy continues to advance on you. Maintain clypeum, I shall attempt to hold their attention."

"Colchis reporting. Heavy infantry approaching directly behind you, Deartur. Unable to suppress. Suggest you pick up your pace."

Deartur ran.

At the start of the turn, the Chapter Champion darts back out of the Raider and heads for the cover of the ruins. The two Tactical squads form up a thin blue line to defend him, with the Bikes advancing back (which sounds odd) to add some moral support.

The Tac Marines kill the last Cultist and more Poxwalkers, then the Chaplain (who's buffed himself with both Mantra of Strength (for an extra attack and pip of damage) and Litany of Hate (reroll hits in combat) kills the remaining pair of Deathshroud to consolidate my right flank.

Death Guard Turn 3 

The twin combat squads of Pondus and Fortactus had united along the front of the refuelling station. Deartur sprinted for them, their bolters making a rippling wall of fire that he ran into and through. 

"Come back! You cannot run from death," said an unfamiliar voice across the vox. A thick voice, rasping and coarse, somehow both banausic and cruelly inhuman at once. 

"Comms breach, enact moduli protocol," Sirius ordered. The vox channel shifted and recoded automatically, but the voice was still there. 

"There is no escape," it told them. 

Deartur was through the line, back into the tangled shadows under the station. 

He tripped. 

A power cable, looped through a series of metal brackets, snared his foot and he crashed headlong into the floor, reflexively rolling to protect his precious cargo without a second's thought. He was up again in a heartbeat, but even that moment's delay was enough. 

Twisted figures, leprous flesh hanging grossly from their deformed arms, staggered cackling from the gloom. Their eyes were gone, replaced instead with rows of seeping holes that circled their heads. Grey-white curds of rotten matter streaked their shoulders and chests. Victims of the Optic Plague, no longer alive in any wholesome sense. Deartur deactivated his visual autosenses immediately and hoped he'd been fast enough to prevent infection.

"They see you," said the voice. "It's already too late."

Last chance! Pootle has an impressive defence here, but I'm going to crack it. Everything I have left commits to this final push, and they don't let me down - a few more bruising shots on the way in, the Graviton squad taking the brunt with just two survivors, but then everyone makes their charges. 

The Sorcerer tackles the bikers, leaving just one and a half standing. The Blightlords utterly pulverise the Tac squad in front of them, then keep ploughing towards the Champion, although they can't quite reach. Amazingly, the remaining Poxwalkers actually manage to tackle him in person, sneaking through the hole I've punched! This is pretty worthless, though, because even with Mutant Strain in effect, they make no impression on him at all before being hacked apart. 

But the big one is the Blight-Hauler. If it can pull down two Tac Marines, it's near enough to be able just tag the Vial carrier with its consolidation move. That would stop him advancing away and, even if he runs, he could easily get a Multi-melta in the kidneys. And I roll well, with most of the hits going in! But Pootle just pulls enough saves out for the Sarge to cling on with a single wound, and I'm left to play catch-up with not much time on the clock. 

Ultramarines Turn 4

He couldn't see them, but they were easy enough to hear. Their tortured breathing made them easy targets; Deartur cut both down in a single backhanded swipe, resheathed his blade and kept moving. 

It was harder than it should have been. Navigating the pipelines on sonar would have been no novitiate's task at the best of times, but the noise of the firefight directly behind him made it even harder. Twice he collided with bars at head height, hard enough to dent metal, but he somehow made it through. 

The vox told a grim story.

"Fortactus reporting. Pondus is down. I hold the line, Dearthur, and shall not fail."

"I am your death, heretics!" roared Sirius, through a rising storm of howling static. "Your betrayal shall never be..." His voice cut out, drowned in a siren wail of meaningless noise. 

"Apophaso. Fall back, Colchis. Mobile anti-armour assets threaten your position. Suggest convectatium with Deartur."

"Ark Actual, this is Ark Saviour Novel," Deartur said, reporting ahead. "Moving with package. Attempting to exfiltrate combat zone under armoured transport." The vox burbled and hissed, no reply came.

"Saviour? No," said the voice. "No no, there is but the savour of death here. Shall we enjoy it together, you and I?"

Suddenly, I don't have an awful lot left on the table and, whilst it's still my game to lose, it's a lot closer than I thought it would be after I killed the Lord of Contagion! 

The Chapter Champion heads for the end zone, finishing just over 2" away from the table edge. The Razorback advances to provide cover so the Blighthauler can't target him with a Multi-melta in the back, and the Bikers fall back to cover the rear too.

To cover the retreat, the Chaplain (buffed to the max again) engages the Blightlords and kills two of them, but the other two survive and put a few wounds on him. Surviving is a good result however as now the Blightlords won't be able to fall back and charge the Chapter Champion.

Death Guard Turn 4

Somehow, someone was ahead of him. Heavy footfalls shuddered the ground, Deartur could feel the weight behind them. The rumble of the approaching Razorback was also close, but not close enough. 

A shattering blow struck his helmet full on, knocking him to the ground again. 

As he rolled upright, his helm fell apart, broken and useless. It had saved him for the last time. He shut his eyes as he came to his feet, but he wasn't quite fast enough. 

Caked and rimed with rust, the figure in front of him was a thing from a nightmare. His grimed terminator armour somehow seemed the more impregnable for what must have been countless years of misuse. The traitor marine's head was visible, such as it was. The top of his skull, from eyebrow to ear, was missing, a scooped-out bowl from which pale moths fluttered and seethed, and his pale face underneath showed yellow, irregular teeth in a crazed grin. In one hand, a diseased bolter whose ammo belt had been threaded with what appeared to be finger bones. In the other, a staff of wrought iron topped with three brass hoops, each filled with a painted image of a hate-filled staring eye. A tiny glimpse, but more than enough to sear the image into Deartur's mind. He hoped he lived long enough to forget it, but it was a small hope.

He drew his blade, keeping the plasteel case behind his back, and settled into a silent fighting stance, eyes tight shut.

Desperate last chance time - after thinking it through, I realise there's no way I can shoot the Razorback out of the way and also shoot the fleeing Champ. I just don't have enough guns left. The Blightlords fall back so I can shoot the Chaplain with a rather spiteful Multi-melta shot from the Blight-Hauler, then the Sorcerer smites the surviving Tac marine out of his way and hopes for a good charge on the Champion. 

Which he gets! A sprightly 11", enough to actually get ahead of the target and then have a go at taking him down. But I am stymied by my awful rolling, getting a single hit through which does nothing except ding his armour. That's the game - even if he doesn't murderate me, the vial can jump in his transport and drive home safe. We still want to know how he handles in combat, though, so roll the dice just to see. Back to the narrative...

"It is no surrender to acknowledge the inevitable," buzzed the voice, distorted through the vox. Deartur sensed the blow beneath the words, parried and retreated, balance perfect and guard intact. 

"Oh child," sighed the voice. "Do you think if you cannot see me, I cannot see you? That I am no longer here?" More strikes, delivered amidst the taunts. Deartur caught one on his blade, turned another with his pauldron. A third crashed into his chestplate, tumbling him backwards helplessly. His armour seemed to reverberate with the blow, crowding his senses. His ears filled with echoes, his sense of his opponent vanished. 

"Deaf and blind! Soon senseless altogether!" crowed the traitor. Deartur guessed at a strike more than sensed it, swung his powered blade across his chest in a wild contre quarte parry. Against probability, it caught something, swept it away from him and gave him a direction for his riposte. 

He felt the gasp as his sword sliced home. "Well done! Oh, well done, a most impressive... my death..." the voice crackled out, and died with its owner. 

Deartur retracted the blade and cast it aside. Whatever filth it was now caked in, he couldn't risk bringing it back to the Ark. Eyes still shut, he cocked his head and listened for the throaty growl of the Razorback, then ran towards it.

Result: Vaccine retrieved! Victory to the Ultramarines!

Locker Room

That was great fun, thank you Kraken! Killing the Lord of Contagion before he got a chance to speak was probably game-changing - not only would it have made a difference to have had his killing power running around my back lines, but his aura would have slowed me down and made it much, much harder to have got back to my table edge. 

Great stuff! I was very pleased, after the lynchpin of my plan failed, that I could still put on a pretty plausible attempt to stop you. If the Lord of Contagion had made it into the middle, you'd have been hard pressed to escape. And even if he hadn't, and had merely managed to live, I had the Flash Outbreak strat in my pocket to give the Blightlords his Droning contagion as well, which might have locked you in the middle for that vital extra turn. You only escaped by the skin of your teeth!

I am glad that the Chapter Champion saw combat - I was slightly tempted to have him pass the vial to the Tac Marines and have him charge into the fray, but he was far too sensible for that.

Well, that makes it one all in this series. Better have a decider!

* Ah - checking over my list the day after, I found I'd actually swapped the Fleshmower for Plaguespitters! Might have made a small difference (a bike more dead, perhaps!), but not enough to worry about. I mention it here in case anyone tries to use the same list and can't make it add up.