Weekend at Burnies 3: Ultramarines vs Khorne Daemons, Harlequins and Necrons

Pootle here again with a write-up of my first few games at Weekend at Burnies against Khorne Daemons, Harlequins and Necrons.

I've already detailed my army and the introduction to their story (including how they’ll deploy in every game) here. 

Long-time readers of this blog will know that Kraken and Stylus are, without doubt, the masters of narrative writing, but I’ve been watching them for some time (well over twenty years actually) and I'm going to try to do my best impression of them and write the batreps entirely in narrative form, flowing straight on from the story in my intro. 

Anyway, assuming that you’re now up to speed, I’ll jump straight into the games.

Game 1: vs Khorne Daemons

First up was Chris and his fantastically converted and painted Khorne Daemon list (with Alpha Legion support). The daemons used to be Flesh Tearers, but were manipulated by the Alpha Legion into succumbing to their rage and lost their souls to Khorne. 

Khorne Daemon Patrol Detachment

• HQ - Daemon Prince - relic: A'rgath, the King of Blades, Warlord trait: Glory of Battle, Hellforged sword, Wings
• Troops - 27 Bloodletters - Banner of Blood, Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos
• Elites - 8 Bloodcrushers - Banner of Blood, Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos
• Fast Attack - Gore Hound and 5 Flesh Hounds
• Fast Attack - Gore Hound and 5 Flesh Hounds

Alpha Legion Patrol Detachment

• HQ - Master of Possession - Cursed Earth, Infernal Power
• Troops - 5 Chaos Space Marines - Champion with Power Sword, 1 marine with Missile Launcher
• Troops - 5 Chaos Space Marines - Champion with Chainsword, 1 marine with Heavy Bolter
• Troops - 5 Chaos Space Marines - Champion with Chainsword, 1 marine with Meltagun
• Heavy Support - 3 Obliterators
• Heavy Support - 5 Havocs - Champion with Chainsword, 4 marines with Reaper Chaincannon

1,748 points, 8CP

"Contact, dead ahead sir: daemons of some kind." 

Deartur looks up and nods in acknowledgement to the tech driving the Razorback. He speaks briefly into his vox, informing Captain Praesidio, and then crisply issues his orders, "Fortactus, Arrius: disembark your squads and advance on the enemy; secure the ground ahead of us. Cor Gloria, Memorius and Iram Fidei will provide covering fire. Apophaso: advance on the daemons to our right and destroy them."

A barrage of gunfire erupts across the line. Despite their shimmering form confusing targeters, several traitor marines lurking in the ruins ahead fall. The bulk of the fire is reserved for the Bloodletters but some dark magic protects them and few fall, far fewer than Deartur hoped for. The bikes of Squad Apophaso add their fire, but still many twisted forms shamble forwards: too many. Deartur hears Sergeant Apophaso order his squad to attack and sees the bikes disappear into a heaving mass of daemons. Many times he has seen this, and many times the marines have emerged, bloody but unbowed. 

But not this time. This time the mass of daemons continues towards the Ultramarines, leaving a mangled heap of broken bikes and bodies behind them. They break into a run and mouth curses as they fight amongst themselves to reach their foes.

Tactical Squad Fortactus are the next to fall, overwhelmed by the daemonic horde. Deartur has no time to think; Cor Gloria is suddenly firing to its right at a large unit of huge mounted figures on slavering daemonic steeds who have materialised out of thin air and are charging towards the Land Raider. The daemons crash into the armoured tank and, to Deartur's astonishment, tear straight through the thick plasteel and ceramite with ease. One clambers on top of the wreckage and Deartur sees with horror that the riders of the daemonic steeds wear warped power armour bearing the faded sigils of the Flesh Tearers. 

Averting his eyes from the destruction of the Land Raider, Deartur sees the flash of a teleportation. A brief thrill of excitement courses through his heart, but this isn't Ultramarine reinforcements. Instead, the huge, warped forms of three Obliterators stitch a line of fire across the loyalists from a vantage point atop a ruined building. Five traitor marines emerge from another ruin beyond where Apophaso fell and pour fire from huge Chaincannon into Sergeant Arrius's Tactical Squad. Deartur hears their deaths over the vox.

Deartur nods at Sergeant Pondus and draws his huge sword. "It is time brothers. Sell your lives dearly: the Emperor is watching this day." Leading his brother marines he vaults out of the Razorback and heads towards the daemonic horde. Another flash of teleportation, but this time Brother Chaplain Sirius emerges from the glare, flanked by the hulking forms of Terminator Squad Culmus. At the same instant six figures hurtle down from above, lightning from a cloudless sky: Captain Praesidio and the  Veterans of Squad Tarantus. 

Praesidio looks round at his comrades and activates his Thunder Hammer. A soft glow shimmers over it as he raises it over his head and crashes into the Bloodcrushers. Brother Chaplain Sirius is at his side, but they stand alone for the moment: the horror of the situation momentarily freezes even the experienced heads of the Terminators and veterans.

Praesidio hears screams from his right and sees daemonic beasts scattered and broken around Sirius, but yet more are gouging great rents in his Terminator plate. Even as he smashes the skull of a former Flesh Tearer, the horn of its mount impales his chest and Praesidio watches his friend die.

Behind him, Praesidio hears more of his brothers dying. How can this be happening? He smashes two more Bloodcrushers to the ground and stamps on the throats of their treacherous riders. He turns to help his brothers, hoping that Deartur, the Terminators and the Veterans have turned the tide, but instead he is pushed to the ground by a trio of Flesh Hounds. Jaws clamp around his midriff and he is forced face-first into the dust. His eye jars against a strange red crystal buried in the earth, like a inverted and bloody tear trying to force its way back into his head, then everything goes dark.

Time to die.

Well, that was a baptism of fire! My beloved Land Raider being destroyed in turn one to the Bloodcrushers’ charge was a little disappointing, so my main goal for my second game is for the tank to survive to turn two.

Game 2: vs Harlequins

Next up was Matt and his glorious Harlequin force. I've never faced Harlequins (or any kind of Eldar) before, but have loved their style since my Rogue Trader days. Matt was extremely helpful before and during the game, telling me exactly what kind of horrible trouble I was going to be in!

Harlequins Battalion Detachment (The Dreaming Shadow: Sombre Sentinels)

• HQ - Shadowseer Lunia Shadowsight - Warlord trait: Player of the Twilight, Pivotal Role: Shield from Harm, Relic: The Shadowstone, Shuriken Pistol. Psychic powers: Twilight Pathways, Webway Dance.
• HQ - Troupe Master Lolon - Choreographer of War, Fusion Pistol, Harlequin's Blade, Additional relic: The Twilight Fang
• Troops - Troupe - 6 Players with Fusion Pistol & Harlequin's Blade
• Troops - Troupe - 5 Players with Fusion Pistol; 3 with Harlequin's Caress, 2 with Harlequin's Embrace
• Troops - Troupe - 5 Players with Fusion Pistol; 3 with Harlequin's Caress, 2 with Harlequin's Embrace
• Troops - Troupe - 5 Players with Fusion Pistol; 3 with Harlequin's Caress, 2 with Harlequin's Kiss
• Elites - Death Jester - Additional relic: Cegorach's Lament, Inescapable Jest
• Elites - Death Jester - Humbling Cruelty
• Fast Attack - 4 Skyweavers with Haywire Cannon and Zephyrglaive
• Fast Attack - 4 Skyweavers with Haywire Cannon and Zephyrglaive
• Dedicated Transport - Starweaver
• Dedicated Transport - Starweaver
• Dedicated Transport - Starweaver
• Dedicated Transport - Starweaver

1,750 points, 8CP

"Contact, dead ahead sir: Aeldari jet bikes of some kind." 

Deartur looks up and nods acknowledgement to the tech driving the Razorback. He speaks briefly into his vox, informing Captain Praesidio, and then crisply issues his orders, "Fortactus, Arrius: disembark your squads and advance on the enemy; secure the ground ahead of us. Cor Gloria, Memorius and Iram Fidei will provide covering fire. Apophaso: steady advance on our right flank, watch and shoot."

A barrage of gunfire erupts across the line. Despite their shimmering form confusing targeters, a distant Skyweaver erupts in flames as Cor Gloria's Lascannon find their mark.

Just as an aside, Steve was fighting with his Ultramarines on the table directly next to me during this game (coincidentally, during my first game he'd also been on the table next door playing The Man In The Hat), but here the tables actually abutted. We exchanged a few comments as this time the back-to-back deployments looked great - I only wish we could have provided some fire support to each other!

Flashes of colour show between the smoke rising from the desolated cityscape. Blue-armoured forms creep forward through the rubble and pour Bolter fire into a large skimmer squatting in a wrecked square. A teleporter flashes just ahead of Deartur, and Brother Chaplain Sirius emerges from the smoke, flanked by the hulking forms of Terminator Squad Culmus. Sirius gestures and the Terminators crash through the wall and slam into the Harlequins in the square, tearing them asunder.

"Memorius reporting, flanking right as ordered: many jet bikes ahead of me concealed in the ruins. Am engaging." 

"This is Praesidio, Memorius ten seconds until I land to support you. Courage and honour brothers."

On the Ultramarine left multi-coloured jet bikes zip out of nowhere and crash into the Land Raider. "Cor Gloria reporting. Under attack but our faith and armour alike are strong."

In the central square, a rainbow of colour surrounds Terminator Squad Culmus. Deartur sees the Terminators cut down as they flail ineffectually at the blurred forms attacking them, always seeming to stay beyond arms' length even as they pierce the ancient armour with eldritch weapons.

"Cor Gloria reporting: our attackers are falling back they..." Deartur hears an electrostatic crackle and a dull thump as the icon representing the Land Raider winks off on the tactical display inside his helmet.

"Praesidio to all units: I engage the enemy to avenge Memorius and our fallen brothers. Push forwards to my position". 

Deartur steps forwards to follow Sirius into the square but is stunned to see his heavy form stagger back into the ruin seemingly swatting at invisible flies buzzing around him. A blur of light dances into the ruin, repeatedly piercing the Chaplain's Terminator plate until he falls. Deartur roars a challenge and surges forwards. Most of his blows strike empty air, but one meets brief resistance, and a thin body falls to the ground, colour draining from it in death.

Captain Praesidio and Veteran Squad Tarantus fall from the sky, the only sign of recent activity the wreckage of Memorius's Attack Bike. Sergeant Tarantus looks around in puzzlement at the absence of any enemy. 

He still looks confused when thin shadows coalesce out of nearby shafts of sunlight and stab him through the throat. 

Praesidio swings his hammer at the dancing shapes but trips and falls facedown into the ground, his eye jarring against a blood red tear-shaped crystal buried in the earth. Strange, he thinks, I've done this before. 

Then everything goes dark. Time to die.

Apart from the thrill of a game against a new army, the two highlights of this game were my Land Raider surviving to turn three (exceeding expectations there), and Deartur miraculously surviving the attentions of the Troupe Master and then proceeding to kill him in combat. 

Game 3: vs Necrons

My third game was against Russell's Necrons. I was reasonably comfortable facing this army as I have a Necron army of my own. The Tesseract Ark, however, was something I was wary of as it was starting in deep-strike and would be troublesome to get rid of. I'm not familiar with its rules but it's got a nasty rack of guns and 6 auto-hitting, high strength, AP and damage attacks in close combat...

Necrons Battalion Detachment (Mephrit Dynasty)

• HQ - Overlord - Tachyon Arrow and Hyperphase Glaive. Warlord trait: Merciless Tyrant
• HQ - Royal Warden - Relic: Veil of Darkness
• HQ - Technomancer - Canoptek Control Node
• Troops - 5 Immortals - Tesla Carbines
• Troops - 5 Immortals - Gauss Blasters
• Troops - 10 Necron Warriors - Gauss Flayers
• Troops - 10 Necron Warriors - Gauss Reapers
• Troops - 10 Necron Warriors - 5 with Gauss Flayers, 5 with Gauss Reapers
• Elites - 5 Lychguard - Hyperphase Sword and Dispersion Shield
• Fast Attack - 4 Canoptek Wraiths with Vicious Claws and Particle Casters
• Heavy Support - Canoptek Doomstalker
• Heavy Support - 2 Lokhust Heavy Destroyers - 1 Enmitic Exterminator, 1 Gauss Destructor
• Heavy Support - 1 Lokhust Heavy Destroyers - Gauss Destructor

Necrons Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment

• Monolith - 4 Gauss Flux Arcs

"Contact, dead ahead sir: Necrons." 

Deartur looks up and nods acknowledgement to the tech driving the Razorback. He speaks briefly into his vox, informing Captain Praesidio, and then crisply issues his orders, "Arrius: disembark your squad and provide covering fire with Cor Gloria and Memorius. Apophaso: advance with me to our left and outflank. Pondus: disembark your squad and secure the ground ahead of us." 

Sergeant Pondus and his men leap from the Iram Fidei as its engines roar and the Razorback then speeds to its left, directly behind the plume of dust raised by the Bikes of Squad Apophaso. They move forwards and, with the support of Apophaso's bikes, unleash a withering hail of Bolter fire on a unit of Immortals.

Apophaso's men rev their Chainswords and descend on the surviving skeletal forms, tearing them to pieces, but victory turns to despair as four metallic terrors wielding scythed limbs crawl straight through the ruined walls ahead of them and start methodically pulling the Bikes and their riders to pieces.

In the centre of the Imperial lines, the Land Raider Cor Gloria pours fire into two distant Heavy Destroyers, but the shimmering heat haze between the lines confuses the Land Raider's targeters and no significant damage is caused. 

Meanwhile a horde of implacable Necron Warriors stalks forward to claim the centre of the battlefield unopposed. At the same time, a huge pyramidal form descends from the sky and lands behind the Ultramarines left flank. Rivers of energy snake out towards tactical squad Arrius, but they are quick to duck behind into the cover of a ruined building and escape serious harm.

The same cannot be said for Cor Gloria: two Heavy Destroyers raise their Gauss Destructors and unleash beams of hellish energy that tear through the tank's thick skin and melt its valorous heart.

The Ultramarine push on their left flank is bolstered by the arrival of Chaplain Sirius and the Terminators of Squad Culmus. As soon as their teleportation is complete, they charge the towering tripedal form of a Canopetek Doomstalker, expecting to destroy the monster with ease, but despite furious exhortations from Sirius the tripod still stands.

Isolated from his brothers, Captain Praesidio and his Vanguard Veterans land on the righthand flank of the Imperial line, charging and utterly destroying a unit of Warriors distracted by an attempt to perform some alien ritual. Praesidio looks up and sees a horde of silver skeletons skittering over rubble towards him. Raising his Thunder Hammer high, he leads his troops forward again.

Meanwhile the Monolith floats gently towards the Ultramarines. Attack Bike Memorius roars to point-blank range and unleashes its Multimelta, but the sunlike fires have no effect on the immense pyramid and the bike is unceremoniously sucked into a portal in the side of the Monolith and disappears without trace.

Sergeant Apophaso continues to ride his bike around his Wraith opponents, but his squad is gradually whittled down and he finally falls beneath the cruel claws of the Necron machines.

The Doomstalker skitters back out of harm's way of the Terminators, leaving them exposed to a withering hail of fire from the Heavy Destroyers and a counter-charge from the Necron Overlord himself and his Lychguard. 

"Sirius reporting: our left flank is collapsing. The enemy warlord approaches: my faith in the Emperor is my shield, my righteous fury is my..."

"Sirius, this is Praesidio, report!"

No answer, and Praesidio knows what has happened. He gestures to his only surviving companion, Sergeant Tarantus, and the Ultramarines hurl themselves into a sea of Necron Warriors. Praesidio smashes apart the ruined ribcages of three, four, five Warriors, but twice as many step forwards to replace the fallen. A severed arm grabs at Praesidio's ankle and he falls face first into the alien dirt, his eye jarring against the point of a red crystal buried in the earth. 

Everything goes dark. Time to die.

...

Wait, this cannot be. This has happened before, and yet he knows that it has not happened.

...

Time to concentrate.

...

Everything is light and Praesidio is falling through the sky, the battlefield below and rising towards him fast. None of this was real! What psychic trickery caused these false memories? Who hates the Ultramarines enough to torture him with visions of the deaths of himself and his brothers? He looks down and his occular implants show him the maroon armour of the answer: Word Bearers!

To be continued...

Locker Room

Thank you to all three of my opponents for cracking games. Although I lost heavily in all of them by turn three (I scored a grand total of 7VPs in game one, 11VPs in game two and 0VPs in game three), I enjoyed myself immensely: there was plenty of discussion about what was happening and I felt I learned an awful lot (though still not how to play quickly!). 

The last game against the Necrons was little disappointing as it felt like my dice deserted me completely (my shooting was much worse than when I was shooting at the two other armies, both of which had -1 to hit penalties across much of their troops), but across a weekend of Warhammer it’s not surprising that happened once, and it certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the game.

I particularly enjoyed the game against Matt’s Harlequins as although I was somewhat intimidated by the army (as I had never faced Harlequins before but have CSM, Daemon and Necron armies of my own) it was really fun thinking (and talking) about whether I should hang back or try to engage. They’re such a different style of army from what I’m used to that I really am tempted to give them a try (starting with an old box of lead Quins that’s been languishing in a box for 30 years).

I didn't lose quite as badly in most of the games in terms of materiel as indicated by the narrative above, but I felt I needed to deploy some artistic license to reflect the fact that I was very much outclassed on the VP side of things and fit into the overarching story.

I will repeat my thanks from my last post to Andy Burn for organising the whole event, which was universally acclaimed as one of the highlights of the wargaming year. I've a couple more thank yous, but I'll save them for tomorrow's post and the (awesome) finale against Word Bearers here.